Masts,plywoods and epoxy thinning......
Hi Group!
Well,after being away for a week,it only took me about an hour and
a half to slug through all the recent postings...this Yahoo thing sure
is slow!
Re:Mast making.For what it may be worth I took the low road and
followed the designers drawings for the Micro mast.A few pieces of 2 X
10s of so called clear spruce(came with little dime and quarter sized
knots).The scarfing and laminating consumed one whole day.The
following day,I went through the not unpleasent task of lining off and
planing the mast(you know,the old routine of 8 siding,16
siding....).Before final sanding,I used a Fostner bit to remove the
unsightly/loose knots and plugged with a appropiately sized wood plug
set in 5 minute epoxy.Day three was a breeze!One last round of fine
sanding and then varnishing!It only took three days,used up about 2
litres of epoxy and less then $200.00CAN($97.52US)in wood for 2 mast,2
sprit booms and one boomkin.These spars have now gone through 8
seasons of almost daily use,have been exposed to everything from the
violent rolling caused by large cruises on calm days(mast-whip?) all
the way to gale force winds under sail(two reefs!) and are stored
outside in winter(Canadian winters).Sadly,I can not report any
de-laminating/mast breaking adventures.Also,not being too richly
endowed with power tools,especially the large stationary kinds,I was
forced to really on the writings of Bud MacIntosh(sp) from his
book"How to Build a Wooden Boat"and a few sharp tools.I'd love to try
another method of mast building but have yet to find cause to do so.
Re:thinning epoxy.I missed out on this chance to experiment!Being
financialy challenged,I was obliged to use the Industrial Formulators
of Canada line of epoxies.(I believe they are now owned by System 3)
which included Cold-Cure for our winters,G-2 for structural
bonding,HR-8543(I think!)laminating resin for fiberglassing(we called
it G-3....) and S1 epoxy sealer for all my sealing needs(just like
water and penetrates deep,real deep).The whole kit and caboodle has
held up really well,no failures to report and was cheaper then
W.E.S.T. epoxy.I guess my point is to use a product that
is"engineered"to your needs.Read the labels.Trying to make a product
do something it really wasn't designed to do just lessens your chances
at optimal success.I admit that it can be"exciting"when the experiment
appears to work however.......
Re:Plywood.My own simple experience has been that BC fir MDO is hard
to beat except in comparison with top of the line stuff like hardwood
marine plywood.Being poor keeps the real stuff out of reach!
So,that's my contribution to these much flogged subjects.Hope no
one is offended!
Sincerely,
Peter Lenihan,scheming up other,more cathartic,things to whip,while
the sun blazes through the blowing snow on the shores of the
St.Lawrence...........
Well,after being away for a week,it only took me about an hour and
a half to slug through all the recent postings...this Yahoo thing sure
is slow!
Re:Mast making.For what it may be worth I took the low road and
followed the designers drawings for the Micro mast.A few pieces of 2 X
10s of so called clear spruce(came with little dime and quarter sized
knots).The scarfing and laminating consumed one whole day.The
following day,I went through the not unpleasent task of lining off and
planing the mast(you know,the old routine of 8 siding,16
siding....).Before final sanding,I used a Fostner bit to remove the
unsightly/loose knots and plugged with a appropiately sized wood plug
set in 5 minute epoxy.Day three was a breeze!One last round of fine
sanding and then varnishing!It only took three days,used up about 2
litres of epoxy and less then $200.00CAN($97.52US)in wood for 2 mast,2
sprit booms and one boomkin.These spars have now gone through 8
seasons of almost daily use,have been exposed to everything from the
violent rolling caused by large cruises on calm days(mast-whip?) all
the way to gale force winds under sail(two reefs!) and are stored
outside in winter(Canadian winters).Sadly,I can not report any
de-laminating/mast breaking adventures.Also,not being too richly
endowed with power tools,especially the large stationary kinds,I was
forced to really on the writings of Bud MacIntosh(sp) from his
book"How to Build a Wooden Boat"and a few sharp tools.I'd love to try
another method of mast building but have yet to find cause to do so.
Re:thinning epoxy.I missed out on this chance to experiment!Being
financialy challenged,I was obliged to use the Industrial Formulators
of Canada line of epoxies.(I believe they are now owned by System 3)
which included Cold-Cure for our winters,G-2 for structural
bonding,HR-8543(I think!)laminating resin for fiberglassing(we called
it G-3....) and S1 epoxy sealer for all my sealing needs(just like
water and penetrates deep,real deep).The whole kit and caboodle has
held up really well,no failures to report and was cheaper then
W.E.S.T. epoxy.I guess my point is to use a product that
is"engineered"to your needs.Read the labels.Trying to make a product
do something it really wasn't designed to do just lessens your chances
at optimal success.I admit that it can be"exciting"when the experiment
appears to work however.......
Re:Plywood.My own simple experience has been that BC fir MDO is hard
to beat except in comparison with top of the line stuff like hardwood
marine plywood.Being poor keeps the real stuff out of reach!
So,that's my contribution to these much flogged subjects.Hope no
one is offended!
Sincerely,
Peter Lenihan,scheming up other,more cathartic,things to whip,while
the sun blazes through the blowing snow on the shores of the
St.Lawrence...........