Leading Edge On The Rolling Bevel

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

I got my inner stems mounted tonight and used a neat little trick to layout my centerline and 1/8" leading edge. I took the two previous outer stems, ripped one to 7/16" wide to get a gauge for laying out the centerline. Then I ripped the other one to 3/8" wide to get a gauge to layout my 1/8" leading edge. I just layed the stems on a flat surface and slipped the guages up against them and bang, I was done. But...

After I got the stems mounted and took a few "look sees" with a fairing batten, I can see that these stems are going to be way under 7/8" width in most areas after I do the rolling bevel except down near the keel line.

My question is, has anyone ever went with a wider leading edge on the inner stem of a Redbird and had good success, or would that throw all the fair lines off too much? I'm just thinking ahead about ending up with as stout of inner stem as possible.
It appears that I got a better view tonight that I may definately need to add the extra blocking for my rudder gudgeons.

[Glen Smith]

With the narrow bow and sten on most canoes, you will have about 1/2" of inner stem width left after doing the bevel. I guess you could trim some off the stem molds to obtain wider inner stems that would fit in a bit further into the boat but then you will be back to making stems again!

Maybe Todd will have some acvice fo you.

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

I have had my fill of making stems for a while Thank You!
It is time to move on to getting this thing stripped!
I'll just add the extra blocking. It will actually be easier having the inner stem width die into the hull where the extra blocking needs to be, than having a little step on the side of the stem to deal with also.
I'm just a bit confussed why Ted's book says to make these things 7/8" wide, when most of it is going to be around 1/2" wide. I'm sure as I get into the beveling part the answer will hit me right between the ole eyeballs. (Did that almost sound like whining?)

[Glen Smith]

Actually the more vertical part of the inner stem will end up about 1/2" wide and the more horizontal part along the keel line will be about 3/4" wide. When gluing the laminations together it is a bit difficult to keep the sides perfectly aligned. So if you start out with pieces that are less than 7/8" wide and then have to plane the sides to compensate for mis-alignement, well the laminations will be too narrow once you have done the rolling bevel and you could end up with a hole when you shape the mortise for the outer stems.

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Thanks Glen,
Since I got some extra practice making stems, three sets, twelve stems and only one steam burn, I started out with planed strips 15/16" wide on the last two sets. They swelled to about 1" wide after steaming. I could get them all lined up when I glued them, but the edges on the 1/4" laminations didn't allways retain their 90 degree edge through out the length. So, when I planed these two later sets, I ended up with 7/8" wide finished stems, my first set ended up 3/4" wide after planing. I didn't actually plane my stems. I ripped them very carefully on my table saw and then used a scraper to remove the saw blade marks. My planer isn't wide enough and a "buddy" of mine wanted twenty bucks to send a set of stems through his planer. It's not that I wasn't willing to pay the money, I have done some favors for this guy in the past and was expecting the same in return.

I do have a little issue to deal with. My stem stations are a bit warped out at the ends where the bend of the stem is. I was aware of this and to get a handle on it to find out exactly how much, I strung a 30' centerline on vertical stations so I can raise or lower the centerline string at will. It works quite well, but it does take time to precisely plumb everthing up vertically using a level with the string line. I mounted one up against a wall and the other one is only connected at the floor and ceiling, which I had to back with 2" box steel to get the right amount of stiffness. I'm going to hang a plumb bob from the ceiling at each end of the canoe to make checking quicker.
I was thinking about just leaving the warp in the stations and plumbing my inner stems when I mounted them, but if I just push the station into the correct alignment, it throws the first station out of wack. At each end, the warped 1/2" station is flush with the 7/8" wide stem in one area out at the ends. I don't think I can leave it alone because I will have to hog off quite a bit of the station material on one side when I do the rolling bevel. My guestimation is that my station would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1/4" to 5/16" wide after hogging in these areas. What do you think, leave it alone, since I have the extended string line, or change it?

My next project I do is not going to have plywood stations. I'm thinking of using lexan, since I'm a glazier and my next strongback is going to be a steel I-beam with a wood deck.

I thought of a way to go with a wider leading edge and not having to remake my stems. It would be quite easy, but I'm not going to do it. It would shorten the length of the canoe just a bit and I want it to finish out at the specified length. All I would have to do is rip down the station where it buts up against the first station.

[Glen Smith]

Hi Dean, I have worked with warped stem molds before. I added a "knee" joing the stem mold and the abutting mold to make sure that was square. Then I added a piece of hardwood about 3/4" X 3/4" along the length of the stem mold to straighten it out a bit. It still wasn't perfect so I aligned the inner stem at the keel line and at the centerline on the strongback and just ignored the little warp left in the stem mold. The boat turned out just fine.

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Hey Glen,
I'll add that length of hardwood and see what that does. I already have the shelf installed that joins the stem mould to the first station. It's not like I need to use these forms over, because we are only supossed to build one boat according to the copyright information on the plans.
My next project will be my own design, so I'll come up with something that can be reused as far as moulds and stations go.