This morning I glued up BH2 and BH3, this time precoating the pieces with straight up epoxy and then mixing a thicker glue with the silica which makes me cough like the dickens, hopefully that stuff isnt setting up in my lungs. Things definitely went a little smoother this morning. One person over at the Storer forum suggested drilling small holes and dropping in some nails in the holes to hold the pieces laterally. I did exactly that this morning, and it works quite well, I am pleased with the result. Unfortunately, haste makes waste and I put one piece on upside down, so I turned it around and applied more glue after ripping it up, and a put another piece down 180 deg. of what I wanted, but it works in that position anyway but not as aesthetically pleasing, so I left it in place. The side arms on BH3 also extend all the way up beyond the ply, and I precoated the whole arm even though that was unnecessary. Oops. One more BH to go, and then I can tackle that transom.
Showing posts with label transom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transom. Show all posts
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Sunday, May 22, 2016
The transom is ready for gluing. I spent mucho time preparing the top frame last night, I cut it wide with the jigsaw and then sanded it down to match the ply, so this took quite a while. I was being cautious. Everything fits nice and tight and perfect. I am pleased with the result of taking my time with this important element.
AND THEN
I screwed up. I was cutting out the hole for the tiller. I carefully plotted everything out, carefully cut everything out, sanded smooth and inspected for variations. Along the top cut, I noticed I had ever-so-gently strayed "north" and my top cut was not as true as my bottom cut. "NO PROBLEMO" I muttered, whilst grabbing the jigsaw firing it up. "Ill just trim it straight out easy peasey! The fact that maybe the power tool wasnt the best idea didnt cross my mind and I proceeded to venture boldly north now, as opposed to gently stray. goddammit. Now the radius of the corner doesnt match the width of the hole, the top cut is wobbly and not even parallel anymore, and Im super scared to keep cutting to get it straight, because even with a jig clamped down for the jigsaw, I wasnt getting a straight cut. So Im leaving my wobbly, diagonal, cut as a two part lesson: a: SLOW DOWN. b: Its OK to screw up. Im owning up to it, and Im walking away from my almost-but-not-quite perfect transom.
Tomorrow, I will do the first gluing, and stay tuned for some exciting new boat developments!
AND THEN
I screwed up. I was cutting out the hole for the tiller. I carefully plotted everything out, carefully cut everything out, sanded smooth and inspected for variations. Along the top cut, I noticed I had ever-so-gently strayed "north" and my top cut was not as true as my bottom cut. "NO PROBLEMO" I muttered, whilst grabbing the jigsaw firing it up. "Ill just trim it straight out easy peasey! The fact that maybe the power tool wasnt the best idea didnt cross my mind and I proceeded to venture boldly north now, as opposed to gently stray. goddammit. Now the radius of the corner doesnt match the width of the hole, the top cut is wobbly and not even parallel anymore, and Im super scared to keep cutting to get it straight, because even with a jig clamped down for the jigsaw, I wasnt getting a straight cut. So Im leaving my wobbly, diagonal, cut as a two part lesson: a: SLOW DOWN. b: Its OK to screw up. Im owning up to it, and Im walking away from my almost-but-not-quite perfect transom.
Tomorrow, I will do the first gluing, and stay tuned for some exciting new boat developments!
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Today I coated one side of my BHs with two coats of epoxy to seal and waterproof the wood. I used the wet-on-wet method that Storer recommends. The first coat when on quite well, I used a small cheap squeegee thing to spread it around, and a small roller held stationary to smooth it down. I kept one BH on just using the spreader, to little difference. Once the first layer got tacky I added the second layer of epoxy, again with the squeegee and then rolled smooth. The second coat went on waaaaaay smooth and took less epoxy as well. I was actually surprised at how little epoxy this whole operation took. A little goes a long way.
At this point my wife called me to join her downtown for dinner, which I happily did. I thought I would have had enough time to get back to apply coat three, but I was wrong. I came back and the epoxy had all hardened up. Some bulkheads will have to be "de-waxed" and sanded for the final coat, because I need these to be waterproofed up. Others are good to go right now with two coats because in some places it went on a little thick. So Im good in some area, not so good in others, all in all, Im not worried. I made a little more work for myself, but oh well.
Damn. Those look good.
The gluing of the buttstraps and the chinelogs yesterday still goes. The temperature is maybe around 50 deg. in the garage, so today I built a heat box with a space heater and a sheet:
Not the most efficient design, but better than nothing under the circumstances. The glue has set up, but if I press firmly I can still get a fingernail in, which is a Storer-failure. So Im not touching anything and well wait until tomorrow before I move anything.
The dreaded stem still continues to stump me, but I shall solve it by jove!
At this point my wife called me to join her downtown for dinner, which I happily did. I thought I would have had enough time to get back to apply coat three, but I was wrong. I came back and the epoxy had all hardened up. Some bulkheads will have to be "de-waxed" and sanded for the final coat, because I need these to be waterproofed up. Others are good to go right now with two coats because in some places it went on a little thick. So Im good in some area, not so good in others, all in all, Im not worried. I made a little more work for myself, but oh well.
Damn. Those look good.
The gluing of the buttstraps and the chinelogs yesterday still goes. The temperature is maybe around 50 deg. in the garage, so today I built a heat box with a space heater and a sheet:
Not the most efficient design, but better than nothing under the circumstances. The glue has set up, but if I press firmly I can still get a fingernail in, which is a Storer-failure. So Im not touching anything and well wait until tomorrow before I move anything.
The dreaded stem still continues to stump me, but I shall solve it by jove!
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Im trying to build a swing-up rudder stock design for my Goat Island Skiff, similar to the one I have on my Laser, except wood, and fitted for the GIS rudder. The original plans call for a daggerboard style rudder stock where the rudder is removed vertically through the box, and the tiller is permanently attached to the box. See here. I am not a big fan of this design, though I appreciate its simplicity.
Here is why:
1. I do not want a permanently attached tiller to the rudder stock. I would like to be able to remove the tiller, and leave the rudder in the water, or at least raised but still attached to the transom.
2. I do not like the bungee cord design to the hold the rudder in place
3. I want to use pintles and gudgeons, which would be difficult with a permanently attached tiller and dropping the assembly into place.
Here is a quick mock-up of a slightly enlarged rudder box per the plans, with a rudimentary rounded rudder top for swingability.
The stock has been extended 3 cm aft, and 1 cm down. I am limited by the size of the transom and the location of the hole to accept the tiller in the transom. The tiller would run between the two side of the stock across the top of the rudder and be fastened with a pin. The spacer in the front of the box would be the same called for in the plans. The exterior of the stock would have the two re-enforced areas per the plans, running across the top and bottom, and in addition a third re-enforced area to support the axle. I will probably also trim the leading and trailing edges of the top section of the rudder in the box area to get a good climb out of the water as well as keep it from dragging along the beach.
Thoughts?
Here is why:
1. I do not want a permanently attached tiller to the rudder stock. I would like to be able to remove the tiller, and leave the rudder in the water, or at least raised but still attached to the transom.
2. I do not like the bungee cord design to the hold the rudder in place
3. I want to use pintles and gudgeons, which would be difficult with a permanently attached tiller and dropping the assembly into place.
Here is a quick mock-up of a slightly enlarged rudder box per the plans, with a rudimentary rounded rudder top for swingability.
The stock has been extended 3 cm aft, and 1 cm down. I am limited by the size of the transom and the location of the hole to accept the tiller in the transom. The tiller would run between the two side of the stock across the top of the rudder and be fastened with a pin. The spacer in the front of the box would be the same called for in the plans. The exterior of the stock would have the two re-enforced areas per the plans, running across the top and bottom, and in addition a third re-enforced area to support the axle. I will probably also trim the leading and trailing edges of the top section of the rudder in the box area to get a good climb out of the water as well as keep it from dragging along the beach.
Thoughts?
Thursday, May 12, 2016
A few things on tools that I have found out the past few days.
A japanese pull saw is awesome. I doubted it at first, hemming and hawing for months before getting a small one-sides saw. A FANTASTIC PURCHASE. Versatile, sharp, easy to use, and precise. Practice first, because youll saw through something important quickly and without realizing it (trust me).
My random orbital sander was a $9.95 DEATH DISASTER I purchased at cheap-tool-emporium Harbor Freight. Its so frustrating to use I want to throw it at the cement wall. I will have to go buy a better one that actually secures the sandpaper.
Most importantly, I was perusing my jigsaw blades and saw something called a "scrolling blade." It was small and skinny. "Hmmmm, I betcha this is for going around corners a little tighter than the normal blades!" Hmmmm, I reckon I was correct... and this was after I cut the hole through the transom, BH2 and BH3. Boo me, for not knowing my tools. Again, amateur style is my building style.
A japanese pull saw is awesome. I doubted it at first, hemming and hawing for months before getting a small one-sides saw. A FANTASTIC PURCHASE. Versatile, sharp, easy to use, and precise. Practice first, because youll saw through something important quickly and without realizing it (trust me).
My random orbital sander was a $9.95 DEATH DISASTER I purchased at cheap-tool-emporium Harbor Freight. Its so frustrating to use I want to throw it at the cement wall. I will have to go buy a better one that actually secures the sandpaper.
Most importantly, I was perusing my jigsaw blades and saw something called a "scrolling blade." It was small and skinny. "Hmmmm, I betcha this is for going around corners a little tighter than the normal blades!" Hmmmm, I reckon I was correct... and this was after I cut the hole through the transom, BH2 and BH3. Boo me, for not knowing my tools. Again, amateur style is my building style.
Sunday, May 8, 2016
Ooooh boy, Im in it now. I got home after being on the road for almost two weeks and immediately picked back up on working on the boat. I decided to frame the transom. I cut the cedar parts to frame the sides, the bottom, and the seat cleat in 2:45. I thought it would go significantly quicker, but it didnt because it was a little more complicated than I thought, and my framing was fraught with multiple mistakes. I also do not have a solid piece of cedar for the top piece, which needs to be wider than any of my stock. Maybe Ill use two pieces, maybe that will have to wait.
The first mistake was correcting an old one... the transom needs 7mm of extra on the sides of the ply and 12mm extra on the bottom. I figured this was extra that was going to be cut off, so I threw in a few extra mm to make round numbers. Turns out the 7 and 12 is important, because I will be basing the bevel of the sides and bottom off these numbers. Fortunately I read the section first before, cleaned up the lines to the correct length, and then cut and sanded smooth.
After that, it was a comedy of errors cutting the cedar to fit appropriately. In the end, it looks good, tight, and straight. Next up, I have to glue it all on and/or seal the ply in epoxy and then glue it on. I also do not know how to bevel any of this stuff. This is something I am going to have to ask about for because I dont know how to do it simply and without screw up. Time to phone the collective.
The first mistake was correcting an old one... the transom needs 7mm of extra on the sides of the ply and 12mm extra on the bottom. I figured this was extra that was going to be cut off, so I threw in a few extra mm to make round numbers. Turns out the 7 and 12 is important, because I will be basing the bevel of the sides and bottom off these numbers. Fortunately I read the section first before, cleaned up the lines to the correct length, and then cut and sanded smooth.
After that, it was a comedy of errors cutting the cedar to fit appropriately. In the end, it looks good, tight, and straight. Next up, I have to glue it all on and/or seal the ply in epoxy and then glue it on. I also do not know how to bevel any of this stuff. This is something I am going to have to ask about for because I dont know how to do it simply and without screw up. Time to phone the collective.
Thursday, May 5, 2016
SHE STANDS ON HER OWN!!! OH HAPPY DAY!
Shell slice you in two! AAAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!
Flash made BH1 and 2 darker than they are.
The last one here is through the transom hole.
A couple of notes:
Everything is almost perfectly level and/or lines up. Seat cleat on transom to BH4 for example, BH1 and BH2, transom and the sides etc.
I used 1 1/4" drywall screws with plywood backing on the heads.
My notches are all mostly too big, epoxy will have to fill them. Also, my bevel on the transom was a little too much, but it will be easy to plane down.
SHE LIVES! SHE LIVES! LONG LIVE MY BEAUTIFUL BOAT! POSEIDON BE PRAISED!
ZINEA FROM CRIMEA
Shell slice you in two! AAAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!
Flash made BH1 and 2 darker than they are.The last one here is through the transom hole.A couple of notes:
Everything is almost perfectly level and/or lines up. Seat cleat on transom to BH4 for example, BH1 and BH2, transom and the sides etc.
I used 1 1/4" drywall screws with plywood backing on the heads.
My notches are all mostly too big, epoxy will have to fill them. Also, my bevel on the transom was a little too much, but it will be easy to plane down.
SHE LIVES! SHE LIVES! LONG LIVE MY BEAUTIFUL BOAT! POSEIDON BE PRAISED!
ZINEA FROM CRIMEA
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Yesterday and today I worked on BH2. This went smoothly, with no problems. I spent some time shaping the side frames down to match the curved bulkhead. I was pleased with the result, though my plane is not working as well as I would like. Ive got a sharpening problem I have to deal with-- as in I have to learn how to sharpen my blade iron better.
During the construction of BH2 I realized that I screwed up on BH1, cutting a 19x19 mm piece for the bottom frame instead of the 45mmx19mm piece that the plans call for. I have not decided yet if I want to keep the original piece or put together a new one. The question is pending on the Storer forum. Im OK on wood, but I dont have a lot of extra, and cedar is pricey.
On the road for the next 8 days.
During the construction of BH2 I realized that I screwed up on BH1, cutting a 19x19 mm piece for the bottom frame instead of the 45mmx19mm piece that the plans call for. I have not decided yet if I want to keep the original piece or put together a new one. The question is pending on the Storer forum. Im OK on wood, but I dont have a lot of extra, and cedar is pricey.
On the road for the next 8 days.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
I was home for a few days, and I buckled down and got right to it.
Day one:
First I enlarged the holes in BH2 and 3. I want more room to store my gear: oars, extra spar, etc. etc. I was able to do this neatly and cleanly with my scrolling blade that I discovered in my blade set! Yo dummy! Im much happier now with the results.
Second: I wet-on-wetted the un-wetted sides of the BHs with epoxy to encapsulate the wood. Three layers, which got it quite thick I may add. Maybe a little too thick. I used squeegees and and a brush and the roller a la Storer. I must say I wasnt impressed with the roller method, I feel like I could get a smoother surface without it-- the roller left funny little bumps. I think the thickness is just sloppiness on my part and maybe too much epoxy. Needless to say, everything will be sanded down for paint/varnish whatever I decide. Id love to do some brightwork, but I dont know if I want to do the work. I see lots of sanding in my future with the splotchy epoxy job.
That being said, epoxy got everywhere, and it was a big mess, including the undersides of my BHs, despite carefully applying tape everywhere to hold the mess. I used painting masking tape, packaging tape that would have hung lower than the BH would have prevented epoxy from curling underneath and dripping onto the BH backsides that were already done.
Day two:
Then I cut the notches for the chinelogs into the BHs. This was more difficult than I thought it was going to be. I used my nifty Japanese pull saw, and it was awesome. I paid very close attention to bevels and carefully marked the boundaries of the notches. A few mistakes were made, but nothing that cant be saved or filled with epoxy. Taking my time instead of rushing this part was worth its while.
Afterwards I FINALLY CONQUERED THE DREADED STEM! (second try)
I unfortunately did not photo-document this. This is how I did the stem:
1. Cut out a rectangular blank of the stem from my stock.
2. Draw the stem out on the blank-- triangle on top, the front edge and then on the backside, the back edges graduating from 36mm at top to 22mm at the bottom.
3. Plane down the starboard and port sides from 36mm at the top to 22mm at the bottom. At this point, looking at it either from the stern or bow, I have a trapezoid that is wider at top than at the bottom. Still rectangular.
4. Now, all that is left is to remove the material from the backside to the bow point. Using the backside 36mm-22mm edge, I planed down the material to the front pointed bow. I left the bow a little wider than a knife edge, about the width of the sharpie pen mark. Its a little tricky to get the second side because there is now no longer a flat surface to work.
5. Patience.
THEN THEN THEN
I kind-of dry fitted the hull together!!! (I was impatient, I had to see the boat for morale)
I screwed on the stem to the bow pieces, with screws through ply backing as described in the Storer plans. This is hazardous, because once the screw gets into the backing it spins around like the devil and Id have to push frantically for bite into the side of the boat or else the screw and backing ply goes zooming off the bow and then Id slam the drillbit into the side of the boat leaving a good dent. A good method is to push the screw through the backing first so a little pokes out that it can be stuck into the side by hand to hold it in position. Watch your fingertips!
So the stem went in and then I spent a while screwing around with BHs and and the transom and placing them more or less where they were supposed to go. I took some tie-down straps and cinched the stern together to get a visual idea of what the boat was looking like.
It looks like a Goat Island Skiff! Amateur Style! But a GIS, nonetheless, the curvy midsection and straight knife-like bow are telling.
HOLY SHA-MOLEY!!!
I attempted to screw in BH1 but it was about as difficult as pulling my own wisdom teeth. Sagely, I walked away when one side of BH1 ripped away from the screws holding it into the port side.
In the following picture you can see the gap between the chinelogs and BH2. Imagine BH1, which is just as bad if not worse. Its going to be a true WRASTLING nightmare to get that together, I think. Im going to re-measure my BHs, make sure they are the right size, and do some brainstorming. BH3 looks gappy, but its not bad, a little squeezing and it fits right in.
Some things I noticed: The chine logs butted up against each other in the bow next to the stem. A little bit of chisel work took care of that, giving them more room.
Also, my stem needs to be cleaned up a bit, especially the bottom portion. Maybe this will aid in screwing in BH1. As I said, I was impatient to actually see something, and Im glad I did this today.
Day one:
First I enlarged the holes in BH2 and 3. I want more room to store my gear: oars, extra spar, etc. etc. I was able to do this neatly and cleanly with my scrolling blade that I discovered in my blade set! Yo dummy! Im much happier now with the results.
Second: I wet-on-wetted the un-wetted sides of the BHs with epoxy to encapsulate the wood. Three layers, which got it quite thick I may add. Maybe a little too thick. I used squeegees and and a brush and the roller a la Storer. I must say I wasnt impressed with the roller method, I feel like I could get a smoother surface without it-- the roller left funny little bumps. I think the thickness is just sloppiness on my part and maybe too much epoxy. Needless to say, everything will be sanded down for paint/varnish whatever I decide. Id love to do some brightwork, but I dont know if I want to do the work. I see lots of sanding in my future with the splotchy epoxy job.
That being said, epoxy got everywhere, and it was a big mess, including the undersides of my BHs, despite carefully applying tape everywhere to hold the mess. I used painting masking tape, packaging tape that would have hung lower than the BH would have prevented epoxy from curling underneath and dripping onto the BH backsides that were already done.
Day two:
Then I cut the notches for the chinelogs into the BHs. This was more difficult than I thought it was going to be. I used my nifty Japanese pull saw, and it was awesome. I paid very close attention to bevels and carefully marked the boundaries of the notches. A few mistakes were made, but nothing that cant be saved or filled with epoxy. Taking my time instead of rushing this part was worth its while.
Afterwards I FINALLY CONQUERED THE DREADED STEM! (second try)
I unfortunately did not photo-document this. This is how I did the stem:
1. Cut out a rectangular blank of the stem from my stock.
2. Draw the stem out on the blank-- triangle on top, the front edge and then on the backside, the back edges graduating from 36mm at top to 22mm at the bottom.
3. Plane down the starboard and port sides from 36mm at the top to 22mm at the bottom. At this point, looking at it either from the stern or bow, I have a trapezoid that is wider at top than at the bottom. Still rectangular.
4. Now, all that is left is to remove the material from the backside to the bow point. Using the backside 36mm-22mm edge, I planed down the material to the front pointed bow. I left the bow a little wider than a knife edge, about the width of the sharpie pen mark. Its a little tricky to get the second side because there is now no longer a flat surface to work.
5. Patience.
THEN THEN THEN
I kind-of dry fitted the hull together!!! (I was impatient, I had to see the boat for morale)
I screwed on the stem to the bow pieces, with screws through ply backing as described in the Storer plans. This is hazardous, because once the screw gets into the backing it spins around like the devil and Id have to push frantically for bite into the side of the boat or else the screw and backing ply goes zooming off the bow and then Id slam the drillbit into the side of the boat leaving a good dent. A good method is to push the screw through the backing first so a little pokes out that it can be stuck into the side by hand to hold it in position. Watch your fingertips!
So the stem went in and then I spent a while screwing around with BHs and and the transom and placing them more or less where they were supposed to go. I took some tie-down straps and cinched the stern together to get a visual idea of what the boat was looking like.
It looks like a Goat Island Skiff! Amateur Style! But a GIS, nonetheless, the curvy midsection and straight knife-like bow are telling.
HOLY SHA-MOLEY!!!
I attempted to screw in BH1 but it was about as difficult as pulling my own wisdom teeth. Sagely, I walked away when one side of BH1 ripped away from the screws holding it into the port side.
In the following picture you can see the gap between the chinelogs and BH2. Imagine BH1, which is just as bad if not worse. Its going to be a true WRASTLING nightmare to get that together, I think. Im going to re-measure my BHs, make sure they are the right size, and do some brainstorming. BH3 looks gappy, but its not bad, a little squeezing and it fits right in.
Some things I noticed: The chine logs butted up against each other in the bow next to the stem. A little bit of chisel work took care of that, giving them more room.
Also, my stem needs to be cleaned up a bit, especially the bottom portion. Maybe this will aid in screwing in BH1. As I said, I was impatient to actually see something, and Im glad I did this today.Monday, May 2, 2016
Ok. Ive been off the radar for a few weeks for several reasons. Namely: Job related problems now solved, my marriage, my inadvertent cutting-off-the-tip-of-my-finger winterizing my garden which led to a giant bandage and stitches, and my work that takes me on the road. Im suposed to be on the road today, but Im not because I have a massive head cold and I think my eyeballs are going to pop out of my head. So no work for me.
About two weeks ago, I glued up the transom. Storer recommends not using screws in the transom, I think this is for aesthetic reasons. I did use screws as opposed to the nails I had been using for the BHs, primarily because I could get a slightly tighter fit. I did not use nails on the transom head-board because I wanted to maintain the visual integrity of that piece, and I was able to secure it in spot with clamps through the tiller-hole. Everything came together really nice and I am pleased with the result. I was careful to wipe away the excess, and I was sure I had gotten everything, but I didnt. I came back and found hardened drips that materialized sometime during the night and they dripped onto the stern-stern of the transom. Using a chisel to cut them off, I ended up mucho-biting into the top of the transom and took a chunk out of the ply. OH WELL. I saved the piece and will epoxy it back in.
Otherwise, I think the transom looks good!
About two weeks ago, I glued up the transom. Storer recommends not using screws in the transom, I think this is for aesthetic reasons. I did use screws as opposed to the nails I had been using for the BHs, primarily because I could get a slightly tighter fit. I did not use nails on the transom head-board because I wanted to maintain the visual integrity of that piece, and I was able to secure it in spot with clamps through the tiller-hole. Everything came together really nice and I am pleased with the result. I was careful to wipe away the excess, and I was sure I had gotten everything, but I didnt. I came back and found hardened drips that materialized sometime during the night and they dripped onto the stern-stern of the transom. Using a chisel to cut them off, I ended up mucho-biting into the top of the transom and took a chunk out of the ply. OH WELL. I saved the piece and will epoxy it back in.
Otherwise, I think the transom looks good!
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Jeezum Crow.
First, Ive been having problems on the employment front that has been keeping me out of the workshop. Today, Im feeling good, confident, its raining, Ive got nothing else going on, so I roll into the shop and quickly pound out the framing for BH4. Then, I decide to start my first gluing.
Holy Baloney, what a disaster the whole thing turned into. First, I cover most everything with plastic. I set up my pumps, prime them, get my yogurt cups, my ziploc bags to deliver my epoxy to the wood Storer-style, etc etc etc. I got medium speed epoxy, so Im feeling pretty good and I go ahead and throw in a mess of pumps to the appropriate 2:1 ratio for the "Marinepoxy" brand that Im using. I decided to start out as clean as possible with the Duckflat method mentioned on Storers website, ie. mix everything in the ziploc bag. So I pour in the resin and hardener, I "massage" the bag to mix, then I start dumping some silica into it. For this part, I placed the bag over a yogurt cup. Interestingly enough, the level of epoxy in the bag continued to get lower and lower as I mixed in silica. A hole mysteriously appeared at the bottom. If this was a self-inflicted hole or a heat-inflicted hole, I dont know. Whilst I was investigating the bag dropped into the cup. At this point the mix just freaking took off temperature wise. "Whoa Nelly!" Batch One, done. I sat it aside and kept an eye on it so it didnt combust on my workbench.
Discouraged but not out, I mix up batch Two. This time, screw it, Im mixing in a cup, and Ill pour into a ziploc bag. The mixing goes well, I dump in the silica, that goes well. Its thick, but not super thick, definitely not peanut butter thick, but the temperature was starting to rise, and I wanted the epoxy delivered on the wood before it took off like the previous attempt. So into the bag, I cut the corner and that stuff just started pouring out all over the place. Then the bag got super hot, I dropped it, kicked it aside and starting grabbing the top and bottom frames for BH1. I placed them accordingly and clamped them down, but they started swimming all over the epoxy and wouldnt sit still. Epoxy was oozing out of every seam all over the place, I was watching two batches now for tell-tale smoking and potential combustion, and I was worried like the dickens that my frames were going to set akimbo.
Son of a bitch! Everything is somewhat quieted down now, and things are positioned somewhat where I want them, but not as perfect as I imagined. Im not down with the ziploc bag idea with the speed at which the epoxy starts to hyperventilate. Ive got to spread it over a larger area to mix and then either pour into a bag or distribute it over the surfaces with a different method. Im going to try the sidearms tonight just for fun, but after I calm down.
Edit: Some ideas on gluing better.
Mark the centerlines on the top and bottom frames to line up with the centerline on the BH in case everything goes to hell in a handbasket and the sidearms are removed.
Mix smaller batches, as in 2 pumps to 1 pump. Just keep it small and work from there.
First, Ive been having problems on the employment front that has been keeping me out of the workshop. Today, Im feeling good, confident, its raining, Ive got nothing else going on, so I roll into the shop and quickly pound out the framing for BH4. Then, I decide to start my first gluing.
Holy Baloney, what a disaster the whole thing turned into. First, I cover most everything with plastic. I set up my pumps, prime them, get my yogurt cups, my ziploc bags to deliver my epoxy to the wood Storer-style, etc etc etc. I got medium speed epoxy, so Im feeling pretty good and I go ahead and throw in a mess of pumps to the appropriate 2:1 ratio for the "Marinepoxy" brand that Im using. I decided to start out as clean as possible with the Duckflat method mentioned on Storers website, ie. mix everything in the ziploc bag. So I pour in the resin and hardener, I "massage" the bag to mix, then I start dumping some silica into it. For this part, I placed the bag over a yogurt cup. Interestingly enough, the level of epoxy in the bag continued to get lower and lower as I mixed in silica. A hole mysteriously appeared at the bottom. If this was a self-inflicted hole or a heat-inflicted hole, I dont know. Whilst I was investigating the bag dropped into the cup. At this point the mix just freaking took off temperature wise. "Whoa Nelly!" Batch One, done. I sat it aside and kept an eye on it so it didnt combust on my workbench.
Discouraged but not out, I mix up batch Two. This time, screw it, Im mixing in a cup, and Ill pour into a ziploc bag. The mixing goes well, I dump in the silica, that goes well. Its thick, but not super thick, definitely not peanut butter thick, but the temperature was starting to rise, and I wanted the epoxy delivered on the wood before it took off like the previous attempt. So into the bag, I cut the corner and that stuff just started pouring out all over the place. Then the bag got super hot, I dropped it, kicked it aside and starting grabbing the top and bottom frames for BH1. I placed them accordingly and clamped them down, but they started swimming all over the epoxy and wouldnt sit still. Epoxy was oozing out of every seam all over the place, I was watching two batches now for tell-tale smoking and potential combustion, and I was worried like the dickens that my frames were going to set akimbo.
Son of a bitch! Everything is somewhat quieted down now, and things are positioned somewhat where I want them, but not as perfect as I imagined. Im not down with the ziploc bag idea with the speed at which the epoxy starts to hyperventilate. Ive got to spread it over a larger area to mix and then either pour into a bag or distribute it over the surfaces with a different method. Im going to try the sidearms tonight just for fun, but after I calm down.
Edit: Some ideas on gluing better.
Mark the centerlines on the top and bottom frames to line up with the centerline on the BH in case everything goes to hell in a handbasket and the sidearms are removed.
Mix smaller batches, as in 2 pumps to 1 pump. Just keep it small and work from there.
Monday, March 14, 2016
In the course of beveling the bottom edge of the transom, I took a couple of chunks out of the endgrain of the starboard side frame. Then, I head a ***CRACK*** on one pass of the plane. I ripped a sizeable piece of the side frame away from itself. I carefully chiselled off the exposed end, and on another pass from the plane... ***CRACK*** and I took another strip, this one very deep. I can epoxy this all together, but Id just as rather not have the integrity of the wood comprised. I only had one remaining bevel left with an endgrain, and I beveled it with a rasp and then planed the rest to match. Dammit-- This is an amateur mistake! Other amateurs beware!
Take note that I did not break the epoxy bond between the side frame and the transom ply, the surface layer of the side arm remains firmly glued to the ply.
Take note that I did not break the epoxy bond between the side frame and the transom ply, the surface layer of the side arm remains firmly glued to the ply.
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