Fiberglass masts? Try birdsmouth
To me, fiberglass masts seem like an awful lot of trouble, for a
unknown result, out of a material that is demonstrably heavier than,
and not nearly as strong as, that old fashioned but still miraculous
material, wood.
Try birdsmouth. If you have a tablesaw it works like a charm, it
takes surprisingly little wood, it's easy, and it produces a superior
product in what can be very little time--like, say, a long afternoon.
I've posted the numbers you'll need, some other info, and a drawing
in the files. Gregg Carlson's Masts download in the files will also
give you a (better) drawing.
Eight mast-length staves, each with a notch (thus the 'birdsmouth
name) cut into one narrow face, into which the square edge of the
adjacent stave is fit, will make one mast. It sounds like real
woodworking, but all it really entails,
after ripping up the staves to width and thickness, is one tablesaw
setup, with the blade at 45 degrees, and the blade height set to 1/2
the thickness (not the width) of the staves. Position the
stave 'birdsmouth' face down and set the fence to cut to a feather
edge to the face nearest the blade, without cutting into that face.
Run the stave through, and turn end for end for another pass. That's
it! All you need do now is taper the staves, on the side opposite
the birdsmouth, easily done with a handplane, a belt sander, or a
tablesaw set up with a taper jig.
Use nearly any glue for glueup, but epoxy is the best and easiest.
Paint it on the staves. Starting at the base, roll the staves up
around a suitable round cylinder (the idea is just like pastry
sticking to a rolling pin, with the staves being the pastry, held in
place by your glue covered, gloved hands) hold together the assembly
with some rubber bands or a pipe clamp, and make a hand tight, spiral
wrap around the spar (just like the luff of a small boat sail) up the
mast using waxed twine (which won't stick to epoxy). Make sure the
mast is straight, and come back the next day to plane and sand it
down smooth--and you're done!
John
unknown result, out of a material that is demonstrably heavier than,
and not nearly as strong as, that old fashioned but still miraculous
material, wood.
Try birdsmouth. If you have a tablesaw it works like a charm, it
takes surprisingly little wood, it's easy, and it produces a superior
product in what can be very little time--like, say, a long afternoon.
I've posted the numbers you'll need, some other info, and a drawing
in the files. Gregg Carlson's Masts download in the files will also
give you a (better) drawing.
Eight mast-length staves, each with a notch (thus the 'birdsmouth
name) cut into one narrow face, into which the square edge of the
adjacent stave is fit, will make one mast. It sounds like real
woodworking, but all it really entails,
after ripping up the staves to width and thickness, is one tablesaw
setup, with the blade at 45 degrees, and the blade height set to 1/2
the thickness (not the width) of the staves. Position the
stave 'birdsmouth' face down and set the fence to cut to a feather
edge to the face nearest the blade, without cutting into that face.
Run the stave through, and turn end for end for another pass. That's
it! All you need do now is taper the staves, on the side opposite
the birdsmouth, easily done with a handplane, a belt sander, or a
tablesaw set up with a taper jig.
Use nearly any glue for glueup, but epoxy is the best and easiest.
Paint it on the staves. Starting at the base, roll the staves up
around a suitable round cylinder (the idea is just like pastry
sticking to a rolling pin, with the staves being the pastry, held in
place by your glue covered, gloved hands) hold together the assembly
with some rubber bands or a pipe clamp, and make a hand tight, spiral
wrap around the spar (just like the luff of a small boat sail) up the
mast using waxed twine (which won't stick to epoxy). Make sure the
mast is straight, and come back the next day to plane and sand it
down smooth--and you're done!
John