Stripping side two of the SlumberMAX SO - Could get long

[Steve Frederick]

Oh Boy Dave! You've got me thinking about dusting that set of canoe forms off!
Stripping , has always been my first love..In Woodworking!!
Great build!

[Juneaudave]

Oh Boy Dave! You've got me thinking about dusting that set of canoe forms off!
Stripping , has always been my first love..In Woodworking!!
Great build!

I know what you mean Your kayaks are dropdead gorgeous....and you have a lot of creativity in your designs!!!

I just trying to give back something to the T&TTT membership (heaven knows how much I gained from the body of knowledge here) and wanted this post to give an inkling of an idea about what is involved (at least the way I've been going at it) if you want to try your hand at stripping a Tear. When you start a kayak or ceder strip canoe, there are books and books on how it is done...but I could find very little of that same body of knowledge on appling strips to the side of a Tear, even though there are a few really nice stripper tears running around!!!

[schaney]

That is a beautiful Teardrop ...

I build a woodstrip kayak a few years back and have been toying with striping a trailer box


How do you deal with sanding out the sides with a mix of hard and soft wood? Also isn't the Purple wood pretty oily, what do you use for glue?

One wood for strips I like to use, that I didn't see on yours is Spanish Cedar, easy to wood like Cedar, with an Oak like gain.

[Juneaudave]

That is a beautiful Teardrop ...

I build a woodstrip kayak a few years back and have been toying with striping a trailer box


How do you deal with sanding out the sides with a mix of hard and soft wood? Also isn't the Purple wood pretty oily, what do you use for glue?

One wood for strips I like to use, that I didn't see on yours is Spanish Cedar, easy to wood like Cedar, with an Oak like gain.

Very nice kayak and very insightful questions from one who has been there!!!!

As you know...hardwood strips next to softwood strips can cause all sorts of sanding boo-boos. You try to sand them both at the same time with a power sander, and the softwood will sand quicker than the hardwood leaving the surface uneven. Fortunately, on the large flat surface like the side of a tear, unlike a curved kayak shape, you can take some shortcuts. First off, on the large expanses of purple heart, for instance, I was able to use a belt sander following Roly's tutorial thread. That made it a lot easier!!! I was just careful to not to have the sander on both hardwood and soft wood at the same time.Roly's Belt Sander Tutorial Thread

On those areas where I had, for instance a single hardwood strip next to a softwood strip, I used a cabinet scraper and and a homemade flatboad for final fairing. Like all chisels, scraper and planes...take the time to keep the things sharp!

I didn't realize that purple heart was considered an oily wood, such as teak. As you might imagine, when I hit the purpleheart with the first coat of epoxy, it beaded up and wouldn't soak in!!!! Fortunately, the problem became apparent right away and I was able to stop, squeegee and clean the epoxy off. What I ended up doing was giving the purpleheart strips a wipe down with acetone about 15 minutes prior to applying the epoxy. That seemed to bleach out the surface oils and cure the beading.

For glue, I used Titebond III on the dark woods and Elmer carpenter glue on the lighter woods. I have a lot of faith in these glues and like the open time and gap filling abilities. The darker Titebond matches the darker woods better than regular carpenter glue.

Thanks for the interest and the great questions!!!!

[Greg M]

That's looking fabulous Dave, but what, no Bubinga . Remember to seal that Purpleheart away from oxygen and UV (particularly the UV) as well as you can so that it stays pretty for years to come. I actually did an experiment during my year at furniture design college with a piece of lace, some Purpleheart, and a UV lamp. It looked pretty cool for about six months until it faded away. I really should have put a good UV inhibiting varnish on instead of just waxing it

-Greg

[schaney]

Thanks for the info. Now you've got me laying out scrap strips and thinking about designs. I'll have to get some Purpleheart to play with.

[Steve Frederick]

That's looking fabulous Dave, but what, no Bubinga . Remember to seal that Purpleheart away from oxygen and UV (particularly the UV) as well as you can so that it stays pretty for years to come. I actually did an experiment during my year at furniture design college with a piece of lace, some Purpleheart, and a UV lamp. It looked pretty cool for about six months until it faded away. I really should have put a good UV inhibiting varnish on instead of just waxing it

-Greg

I was thinking along the same lines!
I heard that Purpleheart would turn brown in light/air.
Would one have to seal the front and back from air? Light filtering would be handled by a good u/v inhibiting varnish??

[Juneaudave]

I wasn't going to subject the thread to this but I thought some might like to see how the bottom strip is done!!!!

First off...I went ahead and clamped the nearly completed top strip back on, as well as the fender. I want these on temporarily to do the layout of the bottom strip and see how things are looking.



Taking one of the thin purple heart strips, I layed in a curve. The strip will pretty much set in a fair curve, but you need to adjust it to suit the look you want...



Once I have that strip in place, I take a cheap compass and lay out the inside line...that will be where I put my handy, dandy dowel blocks...



Set the dowel blocks...a bit of steam bending...and the lower strip is clamped in place for the night. I'll glue it up in the morning!!!

[Juneaudave]

Well...the upper and lower rear quarter strips are on...and I am begining the fun part, stripping the Tear!!!

First a decision...do I use staples to temporarily hold the strips on the 1/4 ply substrate while the glue dries? Or do I use a stapleless method. A most difficult decision!!! Here's the pros and cons....

I could use staples through the strips to temporarily fix the strips to the ply while the glue sets up. That would allow me to go bang, bang, bang and the whole side is done. The downside is that after I pull the staples, those tiny dots from where the staple legs enter the strip would show when I epoxy. Those little dots would not be apparent to most people...but I would notice...

If I go stapleless, I have to let each strip set about 1/2 hour before I put the next strip on. It is much more time consuming, but gives you a bit more control...

I went stapleless and here is my solution. First off, you need pressure in two directions...one to keep the strips snug together, and secondly, provide sufficient pressure against the ply so the glue and strip have contact. My little dowel pieces with wedges keep the strips snug. The wood lever holds the strip tight against the wood...there must be a better way but that is what I came up with!!!



Next...how the heck do you cut a strip so that it fits those curves????

[apratt]

Next...how the heck do you cut a strip so that it fits those curves????

YEA!!! That is what I say! I have a hard time to get it perfect. I would have to go through 4 or 5 sticks of trim or 1 extra long trim and hope it is still long enough when I do get it right.

[Juneaudave]

Next...how the heck do you cut a strip so that it fits those curves????

YEA!!! That is what I say! I have a hard time to get it perfect. I would have to go through 4 or 5 sticks of trim or 1 extra long trim and hope it is still long enough when I do get it right.

Good idea actually!!!! Maybe my next post should be...strip economy or "Planning for not-so-good cuts!!!" When you are stripping a boat or the side of a tear, you can plan your build so as to minimize waste even though you know you are going to make some bad cuts (and I have plenty )!!!!

I actually have some thoughts and tips on that!!!

[Steve Frederick]

..... When you are stripping a boat or the side of a tear, you can plan your build so as to minimize waste even though you know you are going to make some bad cuts (and I have plenty )!!!!

I actually have some thoughts and tips on that!!!

Please do tell!! Good stuff!!
I have this thread saved on the favorites bar of my Mozilla!!!

[Juneaudave]

Well here we go...I wanted to show you how I cut strips... So...lets do the toughest strip and fit it!!!!

The first strip of purple heart on the bottom of the SlumberMAX is a tough one. First off, the first strip is fixed at both ends so that you have to cut one side, index the other end, and cut again. Secondly, the cut towards the back is very shallow, so you have to fit it just right!!!



We are going to work both ends separately....I'll do the hard end first. To start, I clamp in a temporary strip along the straight part of the bottom profile. I'm going to mark the point at which the curve begins with a piece of painters tape.



I'll lay the bottom strip on top...



And scribe the curve. Because the purple heart is so hard, I cut the curve proud with a jigsaw and use a stationary disk sander to close in on the line.



Shucks...it didn't quite fit right...no problem. As you can see, I got pretty close with the jigsaw, but I need to take a couple gentle swipes of the strip against the disk sander until the gaps are gone!!!



Sheeewwww!!!! After I fuss with it and the first cut is exactly how I want it, it's time to move towards the other end. Using the handy, dandy painters tape, I index the strip both fore and aft!!! Those index strips will tell me that my first cut is in place, and give me a guide to cutting the opposite end.



On the second cut... there is no room for goof up now that I have the other end done!!!



Putting the strip in place, I can simply mark the line with a straight-edge. This end of the strip doesn't have such a flat cut, so I'll just mark it and cut it proud.



After putting the strip back in place, I see that the index tape is off just a hair...I'll carefully trim that cut so that the tape aligns and ....


We are Done!!!

[Miriam C.]

Knowing how to do it and seeing it done are two different things. Great tutorial. Now if I could have gotten mine that close.

I think you need to get it done and bring it South for the winter. Kinda of a tour.

[apratt]

That is the secret. I forgot about using the compass. Good work