Build Notes
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We'll throw up some not-quite-random notes that have occurred to us as we've built this first canoe. In time we hope this can become a knowledge base that will be of service to future builders of this kind of boat
- Tools that work
- Shopsmith disk sander (?" diameter) - drum sander... need to improve it: currently just aluminum stock, abrasive-wrapped, chucked into the lathe - table saw with featherboard - awl/pick (piercing station molds for wiring stringers on) - thin wire
- Tools needed
- infeed and outfeed rollers for tablesaw - zero-clearance insert for tablesaw (cardboard over the existing insert worked in a pinch) - bandsaw (edit: now we have one!) - double-sided tape: hold saw guide to stem, for instance
- Processes that work
- pencil line on strongback
- didn't do taut wire, seems ok
- helps that strongback is very rigid and flat
- but: maybe would have helped avoid the swayback observed in Canoe1
- wiring stringers to station molds:
- enables single-handed stringer installation
- assists even when workers are plenty
- adhering temporary clamp-holding wedges to stringer ends
- CA glue is easy to knock loose later
- strong double-sided masking tape may serve as well
- friction tape on angle blocks could eliminate need for adhesion to stringers
- rubber band clamping stringers to stems
- enables stringer-stem adhesion without the temporary clamp-holding wedges
- install rubber bands onto stringers first, then tighten them and hold tight with a wire wrap
- lashing the ribs to stringers
- use artificial sinew: beeswax impregnated nylon, available at leather stores
- use a square lashing technique, frap clockwise then spiral clockwise up the rib to the next junction. (if that detail worries you :-)
- but: epoxy may actually be best:
-after lashing, additional sanding is very tricky, both on bare wood and after sealing the wood
-the wax from the sinew bleeds through the Dacron during the heat shrinking process
- Processes that need refinement
- assembling + adhering stem assembly
- need flat surface, nonstick (maybe bluetape)
- maybe nail in place?
- 2"x4" as station mold cleat
- adequate, but...
- could be more right-angled if tablesaw ripped to square section
- remember to note beam width amidships before cutting free of strongbacks and removing molds
- sand ALL stringers and ribs before assembly, sand smooth
- far easier to do at this point
- may reduce rib breakage during bending
- consider aggressive roundover: may reduce weight, reduce skin stress
- station molds: put the print side of the cardboard to the inside of the sandwich! Aesthetics...
- stringer cutting
- don't sweat it
- cut, then sand to shape... use motor sander?
- consider compound miter gauge?
- ribs:
- mark locations on strongback before building stringers on
- clothes steamer was adequate, may need slightly bigger tube.
- try to leave other tasks (sanding, etc.) for interstitial work during rib bending waits.
- use lashing, maybe not waxy, to hold ribs instead of zipties.
- wood finishing:
- epoxy: use only if wet look is ok, plan many coats + sanding (don't use lashing)
- other?
- Dacron attachment
- spend a little more time stretching and clamping at gunwales before fastening and shrinking.
- get better controlled irons! Arduino + PID, please
- Dacron shrinking
- ditto re. irons
- Heat 'n' Bond at ~250°F, also pre-shrink fabric there.
- Next shrink fabric at ~300°F
- Final shrink fabric at ~350°F
- Redesign/Improvement Ideas
- Build Strongback with station locations planned - Build reusable station molds with retractable stringer hookers