I've been working on my Freedom 17 off and on for over a year... Job changes... a baby... life... you know? Anyway, I've finally started stripping the hull a couple weeks ago. I've gotten 8 strips on each side, and I'm thinking it's time for a status check as I've noticed a couple potential "red flags."
I'd like to know if my strips are coming together normally, and whether I might be causing some problems with my process and glue selection. Here's the gist:
- I prep each strip prior to gluing by running some fine steel wool over the bead to remove unruly grain, in hopes I'm achieving a better joint. It seems I caused a lot of raised grain when I milled the strips because I ran the strips through the router table against the grain. Anyway, I wipe the strips with a dry towel after the steel wool to remove any steel dust (and avoid rust issues).
- I'm using Titebond III to glue the strips.
- I'm using a stapleless method, with the typical clamping jigs and system.
- The strips were milled with a 3/16" radius bead/cove bit in lieu of the standard 1/8" radius bit. I believe I got this idea from a post on this forum.
1) Are my strips coming together with the proper/normal looking "gap." I believe my clamping is strong, and if it were any stronger, I'd starve the joint of glue.
2) Am I using the right glue? There seems to be a solid dark grey line between each strip.
3) Could the steel wool be producing the above mentioned dark grey color? I kind of doubt this as there isn't much steel dust, and I do make sure to wipe the strip after the steel wool.
4) Are the gaps just due to the larger radius bead/coves, and I'm stuck with it? Will I end up having to scrape, plane, and sand a ton to get these lines to be finer or invisible?
Thank you for any and all help! I've spent many hours going though posts on this forum for advice,
tips, warnings, etc.!
Patrick