I'm not that experienced in any way. These are things I've done, right or wrong. I'm going to hush and watch along.
Roy
Roy
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Happy Mathematics Day! ❌📐♾️
First stripper build: Prospector-16 Help & comments appreciated
- Thread starter Kliff
- Start date
I'm fortunate to have a Format4 Austrian made planer. That's the only reason I'm still thinking of planing my strips. I can dial in the thickness to within .005", the finish is like glass, no chatter. with a light cut, knots don't blow up. Yeah, I'm aware of the challenges of mixing hard & soft woods. I might not use em, but I was dialing in the planer, wanted to use walnut for final set-up, so used it to rip some strips.
I'm having a heck of a time getting the cedar I want. I have a source for clear vertical grain 1 by 8, but it's close to $15 per lin. ft. Went to 2 different big box stores yesterday, didn't find any 1 by stock that would give more than a strip or two clear of knots. The thought of trying to fair the hull with knots gives me nightmares.
Do I bite the bullet & pay for clear cedar, or keep looking at big box stores? Going to make one more trip to a couple more now.
Do I bite the bullet & pay for clear cedar, or keep looking at big box stores? Going to make one more trip to a couple more now.
You don’t want to buy vertical grain boards. When you rip you strips you end up with wavy flat grain that is harder to sand. Look for flat sawn boards (they are cheaper too) so that when the strips are cut they will be the vertical grain. I tried to build a boat out of Basswood and the strips were mostly flat sawn. That hull twisted and warped and did all sorts of things before I even got the glass on the inside. I ended up giving it to someone else to deal with. Basswood was way more humidity sensitive than cedar which was the major problem.
Jim
Jim
Jim is correct ! You want FLAT grain 1x stock. Rough cut is great, as when you B&C your strips ( Run strips Between the bit and fence) You will take care of any discrepancy's in plank thickness.
I've sourced nearly all my WRC from Menards. Lowes, and HD have it, but too expensive. Even more now days !
Good luck on the WRC search !
I've sourced nearly all my WRC from Menards. Lowes, and HD have it, but too expensive. Even more now days !
Good luck on the WRC search !
Well, I got some cedar I'm satisfied with. Ended up with 1 by 4's, they were closer to knot free than anything wider. It's flat grain, I bought (8) 16 footers. Better than anything I found at the four menards I went to. Just stabilized all knots with epoxy, so they're not flying out while machining. Hoping to do the hull without any knots, we'll see. Sanding a hardwood accent would be a piece of cake compared to a cedar knot.
Here's my latest question that popped into my head while stabilizing the knots. I've seen all sorts of posts on taping the edges of the station forms so the strips don't get glued to them. Why not coat the edges with epoxy? I can see where it'd be a pain for stapling, but I'm going stapleless.
I've also decided to go with skill saw method for ripping the strips. I'd have to go into work to use a good quality table saw, with enough infeed & outfeed clearance. Hauling the planks in is one thing, trying to haul all of the strips back without messing them up isn't worth the trade-off. I'm going to set up one section of a 40 foot extension ladder (each section is 20 feet) with sacrifical boards for ripping. Then set up my router table for bead & cove next to it, won't have to move the strips, and it becomes the infeed table for bead, running the strips between fence & cutter. Set up other section as an outfeed table. Switch over to cove, feed strips other direction with strip outside cutter? Or, do you run strip between fence and cutter for BOTH bead & cove?
Here's my latest question that popped into my head while stabilizing the knots. I've seen all sorts of posts on taping the edges of the station forms so the strips don't get glued to them. Why not coat the edges with epoxy? I can see where it'd be a pain for stapling, but I'm going stapleless.
I've also decided to go with skill saw method for ripping the strips. I'd have to go into work to use a good quality table saw, with enough infeed & outfeed clearance. Hauling the planks in is one thing, trying to haul all of the strips back without messing them up isn't worth the trade-off. I'm going to set up one section of a 40 foot extension ladder (each section is 20 feet) with sacrifical boards for ripping. Then set up my router table for bead & cove next to it, won't have to move the strips, and it becomes the infeed table for bead, running the strips between fence & cutter. Set up other section as an outfeed table. Switch over to cove, feed strips other direction with strip outside cutter? Or, do you run strip between fence and cutter for BOTH bead & cove?
I would not risk it. You will be fiberglassing and epoxying the outside of the hull while it is still on the forms (you may also be applying an epoxy seal coat depending on whose methods you are following). Epoxy can and will seep through very small cracks and gaps between the strips; and epoxy sticks to everything, including cured epoxy, quite tenaciously. So, if epoxy is what you put on the edges of the forms you could end up with a giant stuck mess. Suggest you use the tried and true (and cheaper) method of taping the forms.
I would just use the packing tape and be done with it. Paste wax would work too but tape is quicker and better coverage.
Jim
Jim
Ohhh. Hadn't thought of epoxy seepage. Sure glad I asked about my "brilliant idea". Tape it is.
Finally found a use for my 40 foot extension ladder. I've had it for 20+ years, and used it once. It's heavy as heck, and who wants to be 40' off the ground on a ladder? Seems to make a great platform for machining cedar though. Just need to change the blade, and set up the guide on the saw. I should be ripping away shortly. Fortunately for me, I have an almost limitless supply of scrap 2*4's
That is an awesome setup.
Jim
Jim
That's the safest use of a 40 ft ladder for sure!
Well, I probably should have asked this BEFORE I cut all of my strips. Is there anything magical about choosing either 1/4" or 3/16"? I ripped all of mine to 7/32". By doing so, I have virtually no scrap. And, I figure why not go half way between the two thicknesses discussed? Well, anyway, I ended up with 96, from (8) 1 * 4-16'. If I'm missing something, and this is going to cause major headaches moving forward, please let me know. Next up, cove & bead.
My Bob Special strips were cut to .210". 4 oz glass with double layers on the interior and exterior footballs. No stems, though - you'd have to take that into consideration.
With a tailor's tape, measure shearline to shearline on your largest form, then divide by your strip width. Without calculating, I'd guess less than 70 strips.
With a tailor's tape, measure shearline to shearline on your largest form, then divide by your strip width. Without calculating, I'd guess less than 70 strips.
It's always good to have extras. You will find flaws in some.
96 strips sounds about right. 7/32" will be fine ! Just center your router bits, and you will be fine !
The Planks looked great! Grain look great !
I see you set up a block at the end of your planks. Did the fence on your saw hit it ?
Clear packing tape works great. Aliphatic glues will stick some what to dried epoxy. I'd go with Packing tape for the best release between glue and forms .
Great start !
96 strips sounds about right. 7/32" will be fine ! Just center your router bits, and you will be fine !
The Planks looked great! Grain look great !
I see you set up a block at the end of your planks. Did the fence on your saw hit it ?
Clear packing tape works great. Aliphatic glues will stick some what to dried epoxy. I'd go with Packing tape for the best release between glue and forms .
Great start !
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Strips between the fence and bit. Strips go left to right.
No need for an outfeed table, as strips will get in your way. I use a simple roller stand, on cement. All I have to do is stand and feed strips ! The following strip pushes the previous strip out of the way.
With this feather board setup ? There is no worry about kick back. It may throw a knot out. Plenty safe ! Al
ways Wear Safety glasses !
No need for an outfeed table, as strips will get in your way. I use a simple roller stand, on cement. All I have to do is stand and feed strips ! The following strip pushes the previous strip out of the way.
With this feather board setup ? There is no worry about kick back. It may throw a knot out. Plenty safe ! Al
ways Wear Safety glasses !
Rain day today, so no machining strips. Finished a bunch of Jimmy clamps. Went to local bike shop, and they gave me way more tubes than I needed. Figure I can use some for holding strips in other ways???
Question for you seasoned builders. Anyone ever had any reaction to the dust from cutting cedar? The day after I cut the strips, I had terrible headache, and other flu like symptoms. Apparently cedar has chemicals that can be absorbed through the skin that cause flu like symptoms. I figure I was covered in dust for about 5 hours. Not sure if that was the cause, just wondering.
Going to set the router table up, so it's ready to go when the rain stops. Think I'll be wearing long sleeves & pants, just in case.
Question for you seasoned builders. Anyone ever had any reaction to the dust from cutting cedar? The day after I cut the strips, I had terrible headache, and other flu like symptoms. Apparently cedar has chemicals that can be absorbed through the skin that cause flu like symptoms. I figure I was covered in dust for about 5 hours. Not sure if that was the cause, just wondering.
Going to set the router table up, so it's ready to go when the rain stops. Think I'll be wearing long sleeves & pants, just in case.
Some folks are sensitive to cedar dust. Suggest you wear a mask. Sorry to get political. 
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