Shaping the stems

September 20, 2007 at 9:16 pm · Filed under Freedom 15 Canoe

Once all the forms were in place the next thing I needed to do was shape the stems. The idea is that the outside of each stem is 1/4″ wide and the strips lie flat on the stem as they run out to the forms. Typically a spokeshave or plane is used to put a rolling bevel on the stem. The “rolling” refers to the fact that the angle of the bevel needs to change along the length of the stem.

Working the stem with my spokeshave was a bit tedious and frustrating at first. I was planing through 3 laminations of wood and not all of the laminations had the grain running the same way so it makes for some tougher cutting. It was also obvious that it would take some getting used to before I would become efficient and proficient in using the spokeshave for this job. In order to assist the work, I made a sanding stick. The basic idea is from John Michne’s website. Instead of attaching short pieces of strips to my stems, I just draw lines marking where each strip would run and then move the sanding stick within these lines. It works well, but it is better to do most of the wood removal with the spokeshave and finishing touches with the sanding stick.

When I first started with the stems I found it quite tedious and was wondering if I could handle building a strip boat. Once my technique improved the job became more enjoyable. I decided not to shape the stems all at once but I make sure that at least 4″ of shaped stem is showing above where the top strip lays. This gives me plenty of room for shaping more of the stem. Waiting for strips to be attached also helps a lot in stablizing the stem while shaping.

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Strongback for the Freedom

September 15, 2007 at 1:47 pm · Filed under Freedom 15 Canoe

Holy moly batman, I haven’t updated my blog with canoe stuff for a long long time. Where to begin… Well, I should say something about the strongback. I first started with a 6×5 boxbeam setup that is typical for kayak building whereas canoe builders often go a bit bigger. I created two 8′ long sections and a 4′ long section. Hot glue was used to hold the plywood boards in place while everything was nailed together (brad nailer). I then added a few screws to help secure everything. The 4′ section sits inside the the ends of the 8′ sections, joining everything together. As I had anticipated, this nesting of beams wasn’t super easy. Well, it was sort of easy but that is because I was a bit sloppy.

I then mounted the boxbeams on some stands that I had made, and leveled the stands. When this was done I realized two things. First, not everything was level. Secondly, the box beam was way too high.

After a bit of thinking I decided to re-do the stands. This time I did them exactly as described in CanoeCraft. I made the legs and cut out sections in the box beam to accept the legs. Because my legs were wider than the boxbeam (since my boxbeam was narrower than specified in Canoecraft), I was able to cut slots in the legs and slide the legs into the boxbeam that way.

Prior to mounting the boxbeam on the legs, I reassembled the beams on the floor making sure everything was straight and level. While still on the floor I screwed the sections together. Once the boxbeam was lifted onto the legs, it was easy to level the legs and bingo! everything was golden.

With the strongback assembled, adding the forms was dead easy. I just took my time with the spacing and working the for/aft level. Since the strongback was dead straight, the forms were extremely easy to align.

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Strongback for canoe

September 15, 2007 at 1:33 pm · Filed under Freedom 15 Canoe

Holy moly batman, I haven’t updated my blog with canoe stuff for a long long time. Where to begin… Well, I should say something about the strongback. I first started with a 6×5 boxbeam setup that is typical for kayak building whereas canoe builders often go a bit bigger. I created two 8′ long sections and a 4′ long section. Hot glue was used to hold the plywood boards in place while everything was nailed together (brad nailer). I then added a few screws to help secure everything. The 4′ section sits inside the the ends of the 8′ sections, joining everything together. As I had anticipated, this nesting of beams wasn’t super easy. Well, it was sort of easy but that is because I was a bit sloppy.

I then mounted the boxbeams on some stands that I had made, and level the stands. When this was done I realized two things. First, not everything was level. Secondly, the box beam was way too high.

After a bit of thinking I decided to re-do the stands. This time I did them exactly as described in CanoeCraft. I made the legs and cut out sections in the box beam to accept the legs. Because my legs were wider than the boxbeam (since my boxbeam was narrower than specified in Canoecraft), I was able to cut slots in the legs and slide the legs into the boxbeam that way.

Prior to mounting the boxbeam on the legs, I reassembled the beams on the floor making sure everything was straight and level. While still on the floor I screwed the sections together. Once the boxbeam was lifted onto the legs, it was easy to level the legs and bingo! everything was level.

With the strongback assembled, adding the forms was dead easy. I just took my time with the spacing and working the for/aft level. Since the strongback was dead straight, the forms were extremely easy to align.

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Emma’s First Haircut

September 14, 2007 at 10:19 pm · Filed under Just Stuff

wow, Emma May gets her first haircut and looks all grown up.

Emma kept getting really bad tangles in the back of her hair. I would spend 45min detangling it and only get about 70% done. Mama took matters into her own hand (and scissors) and shazam, Emma is now sporting a nice bob.

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