Standing on the diving board
Sometimes a workday is just climbing up the high dive ladder getting ready for jumping. Today was prepping for whipping out the first broad, and then tying up loose ends and finding other things to do in the meantime.
Warren had the excellent idea of steaming the boards for the broad ahead of time so that they’d expand before I cut them out.
Clever fellow.
I resawed one thick board to get the 2 half-inch thick boards I’d need, and stuffed them into the steam box.
While they were steaming, it occurred to me that I didn’t have to bung and paint the garboard to seal the outside face. DUH. I could simply use sealer. And it dries quickly, so I could fasten the butt block on the garboard.
An hour later the boards came out of the steam box. The steaming increased the board’s width from 10 1/8″ to 10 7/16″.  The boards also cupped somewhat from this. Hmmm. Back into the steam box, and then out a little while later to a series of clamps to keep them pressed flat.
That did the trick. Now I have stock that’s flat & pre-swelled. As soon as they cooled I sealed both sides of the boards to slow down the moisture transfer and clamped them back up. I’ll give them overnight to get used to living life as flat boards and then, ah… finally, ready to de-spile and cut out the broad.
And yep, those are all the 1st year’s Beetle Cats there in the background. They’re moving along nicely and are all planked up. You go guys.Â
The rest of the day was spent doing little things that needed doing: cutting strips for laminating the knees around the aft cockpit, sharpening tools, all the fiddly stuff that needs doing when you have time to do it.
Woah, life in the fast lane baby.
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