Plankity plank plank
A while ago I wrote about making a nice plank. It was a very nice plank, and it had a funky wave in it along the top (sheer) edge. I thought it would all work out, but that was really just wishful thinking. When I steamed it and put it on the boat, it looked awful.
Dammit dammit.
So, a lot of head scratching and staring at things later, I decided to start from scratch and re-batten out the lines that I’d worked from. These lines had been worked out earlier by other students on our team, and usually I just trust what they’ve done. This time, though, when I re-battened out the lower edge of the sheer, things looked much better.
So, I spiled the plank again, found another board, re-cut the plank, backed it out, and sanded it. This one was even more fun because our cedar this year is probably a little more real-world than last year. There are knots to attend to, and that
means they get drilled out and plugs get epoxied into the holes first.
And this board had teh craziest reversing grain, particularly around the knots. Take a look at this one.
If you look at the grain directly above the plug, you can see how it’s tearing out a bit on both sides. On the right, it’ll tear out if you plane from the right, and on the left it’ll tear out if you plane from the left. The trick is to find those areas and use a scraper as much as possible, working from the middle of the reversal.
I favor a curved cabinet scraper when working on the backed out face of the plank.
You just have to remember that this is a tool for cleaning up plane marks and evening out the tops of lengthwise ridges. It’s not a tool for fairing along the length since it rides up and down the little hills and valleys of the board. You want to fair out using a longboard or long concave sander.
So, another day, another pile of shavings.
I’m getting over the flu, so my energy level hasn’t been the best. Nothing like hours of planing to sweat that out of you!
So, at last the plank has been steamed and fit to the hull. This time it fits like a glove. I was particularly pleased with how well the backing out matched the frames.
Here you can see the inside of the plank clamped up against an oak frame. Nice and tight fit. Phew! I was starting to wonder if there was some essential spiling trick that I’d forgotten somehow…
Well, actually, there is. It’s “double check the work of others if you’re not completely confident in their ability.”
NOTE: To Prospective Employers.
RE: Recent gaffs, slow-downs, and general signs of less than stellar productivity.
Aren’t you glad I’m not learning this on your dime? Think of these little incidents as less of a gauge of my abilities and more as a documentation of mistakes I’m unlikely to make while at your shop. Remember, you guys were newbies once too, and someone probably yelled at you for making these mistakes. Now, I pay someone to yell at me, or at least give me a sour-milk face. And you get an employee who’s been pre-humbled. Not a bad deal, eh?
The Whitehall we copied didn’t have any limber holes. Bad design there. Limbers are essential for allowing the water to drain down into the lowest point in the boat where you’ll be able to get it out more easily.
We put limbers in.
Mike roughed them out with an air drill fitted with a ball rasp. It sounded like a cross between an auto repair shop and the dentist from Marathon Man. Bad bad bad sound. Anyway, you can see how he’s carefully putting the limber in right above the rabbet. It was essential that he didn’t nick the rabbet. He did great.
Scott followed up and cleaned out the limbers with a carving gouge.
The result was a series of beautiful limber holes along the boat.
That’s it for now. Time to go use my friend the Neti Pot.
I love my little neti pot
I stick it up my nose.
It irrigates my sinuses
And out the mucous flows.
Burma Shave.
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