Trying to laminate the five pieces of hardwood that go to make up the outer stem was complicated and took a long time. As I mentioned earlier, trying to steam-bend the pieces during the winter let to them splitting.
I finally finished the stem yesterday. Each piece had to be glued in situ, and then held in place by panel pins and, where the bend was tightest, screwed. When the glue had set I removed the pins & screws before repeating the process for the next piece.
Where the stem met the planking an irregular bead of white glue was painfully obvious to the eye. Similarly, the joints between the laminates could clearly be seen.
Using a sharp chisel I got rid of most of the volume of glue. Next the sides of the stem were planed and sandpapered. Finally, I covered the sides of the stem with epoxy resin mixed with filler powder to a peanut butter thickness. I covered the sides of the stem with this, neatly filleting it onto the planks.
I've fitted the runners along the bottom, with screws, although they still have to be glued in place.
I finally finished the stem yesterday. Each piece had to be glued in situ, and then held in place by panel pins and, where the bend was tightest, screwed. When the glue had set I removed the pins & screws before repeating the process for the next piece.
Where the stem met the planking an irregular bead of white glue was painfully obvious to the eye. Similarly, the joints between the laminates could clearly be seen.
 |
| The white line between the stem and the planks is an irregular bead of glue |
Using a sharp chisel I got rid of most of the volume of glue. Next the sides of the stem were planed and sandpapered. Finally, I covered the sides of the stem with epoxy resin mixed with filler powder to a peanut butter thickness. I covered the sides of the stem with this, neatly filleting it onto the planks.
I've fitted the runners along the bottom, with screws, although they still have to be glued in place.
No comments:
Post a Comment