Swapping Wood

Last night I was planning today's work. The goal was to trace and cut the mahogany sections. When I was moving the wood to my tracing area, I discovered that both lengths were noticeably warped. I exchanged both board and picked up an additional 3/4" x 6" x 5' length ($42.27). The guys at Rings End were very helpful. Pablo told me that to laminate or encapsulate plywood, the protocol is to (1) sand area with 80 sandpaper, (2) brush off excess dust, (3), remove dust particles using tack cloth. 

With straight wood in hand, I cut full-size templates of the mahogany frame components out of the white paper roll from staples (I have to return the brown roll from HD). The plans call for a 13' length of mahogany. Rings End lengths jump from 10' to 20', and at $10.50 a linear foot, I want to minimize waste. It took a bit of thinking time, but I finally figured out the best placement for the cuts. I felt a bit like Gary Sinise in Apollo 13 when he finds the perfect sequence for powering up the Command Module. 

Anywho, the 3/4" x 6" x 5' length I picked up today turned out to be a bit to small. REMEMBER, 6" really means 5.5". I'll be swapping that for an 8" x 5' tomorrow morning. I'll also drop by HD to buy a table saw to rip the mahogany. Everyone likes new tools!

Templates on Mahogany

Time:  5:00 (Total 17:30)
Cost: $42.27 (Total: $938.33)

Mo Clamps No Problems

Picked up 4x 10" C-clamps, 4x 10" Jurgensen clamps, and some 2" x 4"s at HD ($99.07). I'll be returning some of the clamps I purchased on the first HD run.

I tested the West Systems EPOXY. Too cold to begin gluing frame components

QUESTION: What is the best method of laminating plywood? Sanding? Cleaning? Clamping together? Would like to hear input.

The Jig is Up....Well, Not Quite

I began today by leveling the base. My garage slants about 1.5" over 8'. This was corrected by placing a "1 x 2" under the low end of the base in addition to adding several shims. I cut the jig components from scrap 2" x 4" and 1" x 4" poplar from RE. I intended to build the jig, but am waiting to purchase mounting brackets for the legs.

The bulk of my day was spent tracing frame components onto the marine plywood. Before I started the project, I thought that the patterns would have to be cut out from the large pattern sheet, and then traced on wood. THIS IS WRONG. No pattern should be cut out. This will make life not fun.

Because only half of several symmetric components are printed on the pattern sheet, I had to find a method of turning the half into a whole. After reading the Glen-L protocol and reviewing the forum, I concluded on a method that works well.

Tracing Protocol:

1. Lay 5' x 4' marine plywood (excess from transom cut) flat on the floor.
2. Place carbon sheet face up on top of the plywood. (Because I could only find 8.5" x 11" carbon paper, I had to tape multiple sheets together to make up a large sheet. Tape was placed on the back of the sheets, and the pages were overlapped about an inch to ensure the image was fully imprinted.)
3. Place pattern sheet on top of carbon paper and weigh down with bricks. It is important that the pattern sheet does not moving during the tracing.
4. Using a mechanical pencil, carefully trace the desired pattern. Straight lines were traced with the help of a 5' metal ruler.

Once traced, the pattern is on both sides of the sheet. For example, the front of the pattern sheet shows the left half, while the back shows the right half. Next, the image must be transferred to the wood. When transferring patterns that are only given as half-images, the following protocol must be used. If full size patterns are present, no reference lines are needed, and the image can traced anywhere on the wood.

Transfer Protocol:

1. Draw a straight line in the center of the plywood. This will be the mirror line. When I was cutting the transom, I drew this line 90 degrees from the edge of the plywood. This line will mark the center of the boat. To keep the line perfectly straight, I used a carpenter triangle and a metal ruler. 
2. Draw a line perpendicular to the straight line. The transom pattern has a line which corresponds to this line. Because I was using the edge of the Marine plywood as the top of the transom, I positioned this line the appropriate distance away from the edge. 
3. Using an Exact-O knife ($3.99), cut small squares (1cm x 1cm) through the pattern sheet along the mirror line and the perpendicular line. These cuts allow the pattern sheet to be aligned perfectly over the plywood. 
4. Place carbon sheet face down over the Marine plywood. Writing on top will press the image into the plywood
5. Lay pattern sheet face up over the carbon paper, and carefully align over the perpendicular lines that were drawn on the ply wood. 
6. Once in place, anchor the pattern sheet by using bricks. 
7. Carefully trace the shapes. 
8. Now that the front of the page is traced, one side of the image is complete. Now, flip the pattern sheet over (the backside has the pattern that was traced earlier), and repeat the process for the other side. In the case of the transom, the front of the pattern sheet showed the left, while the traced image on the back revealed the right side. 

I was pleasantly surprised by how accurately the form copied over. Everything was ALMOST perfectly square. I almost lost my sanity (if there was any at the start), and briefly accused my carpenter square of being un-square (91 degrees). After checking with two other squares and triangles, I found that the mirror line of the pattern board is actually 89 degrees. Loathing compromises in quality, I had to trace outside the lines to ensure that the transom would be straight. 

Word to the wise, the Glen-L pattern sheets are fantastic and have more information than what first meets the eye. If you can't find what you need on the pattern sheet...LOOK AGAIN. A good portion of my day was spent trying to figure out how to fit all the pieces on a 3' x 4' board, while minimizing the amount of straight freehand cuts I had to make. About the time I finally solved the puzzle was the moment I noticed the diagram (describing what I had just done) displayed on the corner of the pattern sheet. My hairline did not appreciate that!

I finished the day by cutting out the motor mount, breasthook, transom knee, and #1 floor timber. I used a ryobi jigsaw with a reverse cutting blade. Prior to cutting, I secured the plywood to the base I made the other day usingusing Jorgensen 10" clamps. These guys are great and allow the wood to be moved and secured very rapidly. I clipped spotlights to the tops of each to provide me with the needed light. It was my first time using the tool, and I was content with the quality of my cuts. Although the straight cuts came out acceptably when performed  freehand, I will use a guide in the future.

Time: 7:20 (Total 12:30)
Cost: $3.99 (Total: $896.06)

Slanted Substrate

Today was the first of many supply trips. My first stop was HD. I bought a roll of 35" x 140' brown builder's paper for tracing the patterns, 8 C-clamps for laminations and assembly, a file, a chisel set, 10 spring clamps, a foam roller with 4 rolls, and 6 paint trays ($133.27 total cost). I intended to pick up some lumber, but found that HD does not have any of the species that I need. As I was leaving HD, I was having buyer's remorse about the brown paper; I stopped at Staples to buy a roll of white paper ($4.25). Next I went to Ring's End to buy wood for the jig, frame, and transom. I picked up 1 board of 3/4" x 4' x 8' Marine Fir Plywood (cut to 3' x 8'), 1 board of 3/4" x 4' x 8' Exterior AC Fir Plywood, 2 lengths of 1" x 4" x 8' poplar, and 2 lengths of 3/4" x 8" x 8' mahogany (rich mahogany...I'm kind of a big deal.) The wood cost me $351.65

I dropped by West Marine to purchase EPOXY. I will be using West Systems 105 with 205, and the pump set. All totaled $174.91. I later revisited Staples to buy carbon paper ($19.66)

The first step of the build is making the jig (Glen-L calls it the "form"). The plans emphasize the need for the jig to be level both longitudinally and latitudinally level. I intended to use the AC plywood as a base under the jig. Before I could even begin, I discovered that the cement garage floor that I plan to build on is angled toward the outside of the house. While I'm sure this is great for draining water away from the house, it's not so great for boat building. I constructed a frame under the AC plywood with with scrap 2" x 4"s. This allowed me to (1) ensure that the ply wood is flat and (2) provided me with the ability to shim and level my building substrate.

Building the Base

Time: 2:50 (Total 5:10)
Cost: $638.74 (Total: $892.07)

Plans Have Arrived

THE PLANS ARE IN! I was very excited to bust open the box from Glen-L. The box contains text and picture instructions for building the Pee Wee, full size paper layouts, and the Brass (screws) kit. I spent today studying the plans. 

I has a couple surprises. First, I expected the full size paper layouts to be "full size." Instead, many of the pieces show only half of the full size. Because the boat is longitudinally symmetric, one size is to be traced onto the wood, and then the pattern is flipped, and the second half is traced. The plans come with instructions for completing this step. After reading the instructions and discussions on the forum, I have decided to modify the protocol a bit. I'll discuss this in future posts. 

The second surprise was that the screw kit does not contain carriage bolts for the transom and keel. Add that to the pile of things I need to buy. 

I took notes on the directions and put them into my project notebook. It was very helpful in forcing me to understand every step of the procedure before starting the build. 

Time: 2:20 (Total: 2:20)

Cost: $208.33 (Total: $208.33)

• Pee Wee Plans
• Pee Wee Brass Kit

The Start of Something New

Today is day one of my pre-tirement protect of building a Glen-L Pee Wee. The project's inception occurred in the same way which most of my projects begin; I bough something I didn't need, and then found a use for it on something that cost way too much (and that I DEFINITELY didn't need). This happened a few years ago when I found a 3.5hp Tohatsu outboard on Craigslist for a price that I couldn't pass up. Now, the deal would have been great had I had a use for the engine. Soon after I made the deal, I was in my UMD door room bidding on a dinghy that I would put it on. A great deal that lead to me spending a whole lot of money.

At around 2 in the morning in early February with over two feet of snow on the ground, I was in my house lamenting the months I would have to wait before boating season. Here in Connecticut, we only have 4 or 5 months of boating before the boats get pulled, and because I went to college in Maryland, that window becomes only 2 months. As I pondered, my thoughts went toward the 6hp engine resting motionless in my garage. If only I had a small boat to put it on that I could use in the winter. 

A few Google searches later, I was scouring Glen-L's over 300 wooded boat plans. The company has loads of plans, from human powered canoes and kayaks, to tugboats, to houseboats. Given my near complete dearth of woodworking experience, my choice of boat was obvious; build the smallest outboard they had. 

The design is called the "Pee Wee." It's an 8 foot mini-runabout that can accept a 5hp short shaft outboard. I think it will be the perfect introduction to my debut in boat building. I ordered the plans, and should be getting them, along with the brass kit, on Tuesday. Looking forward to starting my pre-tirement life!




Hopefully the boat will turn out as well as this!