27 replies to this topic

[P Douglass (WA)]

Not mush happening here lately so I thought I'd post something. I am making my second coaming. This is for my FreeB14. When I made the one for my Curlew I made the "solid" with slots cut in it for the clamping. This time I decided to try a peg one. I used 3/4" pegs. Since using my 3/4" forstner bit resulted in a real sloppy fit, I used an 11/16" bit and than mounted each peg on the lathe and turned it down just enough for a snug fit. Sounds bad but it only took about 1/2 hour. I also cut a notch in each peg for the clamp to bite on. Here is what I ended up with (using an old router table top I had:

I am using much fancier wood this time and I really didn't like doing the heat gun thing on the last coaming, so I'm soaking the strips of wood and pre-bending them. I'll let them dry several days and try gluing them (think I well use epoxy this time). I've got to figure out something so I don't epoxy it to my table or pegs. Here are two strips bent around. I really find this much easier with the pegs. I used plenty of pegs so I can really clamp it up. We'll see how it all works out.

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[Hirilonde]

I've got to figure out something so I don't epoxy it to my table or pegs.

Waxed paper.

[woodman]

Looks good...and how thin did you rip the strips?

[Steve Bumpus]

you could also paint the pegs and the table top to prevent the glue from having anything to bond to.

I cut the coaming strips to 3/32" thick, using the Ash, I had no problem bending and only had to use the heat gun on the small side of the radius about half of the time.

[P Douglass (WA)]

These strips are 1/8, or as close as I could get to that. My last coaming I used 3/16 but this is a much more brittle wood so I went thinner.

[Kudzu]

Every since I saw that idea I have been thinking about it. Matter of fact, this morning as I was driving home I was wondering how well that would work and log on and here we are. Interesting!

[woodman]

Hay..using a dowel jig and steam bending ash...to the extreame....

[P Douglass (WA)]

That is interesting. You would need some extra hands doing it that way, I would think, but maybe not. By the way, this is what I am using to soak my strips in. 2" pvc pipe capped at one end of coarse, so it well hold water. The stick at the top is stuck in there to hold the strips down in the water. It is working out pretty well. If you wanted to soak all of the strips at once you would need a bigger diameter pipe.

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[P Douglass (WA)]

Dave, when you use epoxy on your coaming, did you mix any filler or anything with it? Has anyone used Weldwood Plastic Resin Glue? That is the glue recommended on my little sail boat. I have always had a hard time getting it mixed just right.

[Hirilonde]

I like colloidal silica (West filler 406 or equivalent) as a filler for epoxy for gluing. Many use wood flour with very good results. The goal is to thicken it a little, to the consistency of mayonnaise is a fair description. I have never used that plastic resin glue. Resorcinol, also made by Weldwood, is very good for marine applications as well, but the purple color looks terrible on varnish applications. The bottom line for me is that nothing is as good as epoxy, so I see no reason to use anything else. It bonds even the hardest woods well, it is clear (or close enough even with colloidal silica) and nothing is more waterproof. I put too much work into my boats to have something come apart.

[P Douglass (WA)]

Thinks, I have some from Raka. Mine makes a white-ish paste. I also hafe some red-ish filler, may add some and see if I get some near my wood color. May turn out pink though.

[woodman]

Soaking the strips in water and clamping it up I noticed it remains wet where they overlap on the inside...and dry fast on the outside which causes the wood to cup.....a challenge to deal with that....

[P Douglass (WA)]

Soaking the strips in water and clamping it up I noticed it remains wet where they overlap on the inside...and dry fast on the outside which causes the wood to cup.....a challenge to deal with that....

Yes I have noticed a little. I'm hoping that when I glue, if I put some sticks between the clamp and the coaming, with as many clamps as I'm using it will flatten them out. It's very little so far. I wish I had done it while I was pre-bending with them wet, but too late now. It's mostly where I use C-clamps because most the pressure end up in the center of the strip. I tried turning the c-clamps around for the bigger flat piece "c" was against the strip, but I didn't have enough room inside the coaming. except in a few places.

[Hirilonde]

Thinks, I have some from Raka. Mine makes a white-ish paste. I also hafe some red-ish filler, may add some and see if I get some near my wood color. May turn out pink though.

The whitish will go virtually clear when it cures, I suggest you use the colloidal silica. The reddish filler is likely micro-ballons and is intended to thicken epoxy as a surface filler or filet material, not an adhesive. Each filler gives the epoxy different characteristics, they are not interchangeable for all applications

Soaking the strips in water and clamping it up I noticed it remains wet where they overlap on the inside...and dry fast on the outside which causes the wood to cup.....a challenge to deal with that....

The soaking is why this happens. There is less cupping if any if you use very hot water and only dip the strips for a minute or so. I mark on the strip the section that will go around the tight curve at the forward end of the coaming and dip just that part into a wide baking pan of boiling water and immediately bend it around the form and clamp it. It also dries a lot faster if not saturated. Some people use a cloth wet with hot water and find this is sufficient.

[P Douglass (WA)]

I saw somewhere some time ago, a steamer to be used to remove wrinkles from curtains or pants when they were hung up. It was hand held and shot out steam. I wonder how that would work. Probably on one of those ads that "it's not $100, It's not $59, but only $19.95 and if you order in the next 30 minutes we will send you a second one for only the cost of shipping!!!"



Hey! here it is but more than $19.95

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[Kudzu]

From what I have read heat, not moisture is what makes wood bend. If you soak it, you have to let it dry before you can glue it so I am a bit leery of soaking word.

[Hirilonde]

Raka website says the following:

Phenolic hollow reddish brown spheres that make excellent light weight putties with superior feather edge sanding qualities. They sand easier, smoother and have better sag resistant properties than the white bubbles. Phenolic is the best quality filler for an easy sanding fairing putty.

Fumed silica known as Carbosil or aerosil is the most commonly used filler and makes a very smooth strong non sagging putty and is often added to other fillers to improve their properties. Fumed silica can be added to make a smoother paste.

This confirms that the fillers are what I thought they were and the equivalent to West System 407 micro-balloons and 406 colloidal silica

[P Douglass (WA)]

From what I have read heat, not moisture is what makes wood bend. If you soak it, you have to let it dry before you can glue it so I am a bit leery of soaking word.

You are correct, I would not recommend this procedure. I'm going to finish it up after it dries well and see how it looks. If it doesn't work out, then I get to build another. I do like the peg board though.

Raka website says the following:

Phenolic hollow reddish brown spheres that make excellent light weight putties with superior feather edge sanding qualities. They sand easier, smoother and have better sag resistant properties than the white bubbles. Phenolic is the best quality filler for an easy sanding fairing putty.

Fumed silica known as Carbosil or aerosil is the most commonly used filler and makes a very smooth strong non sagging putty and is often added to other fillers to improve their properties. Fumed silica can be added to make a smoother paste.

This confirms that the fillers are what I thought they were and the equivalent to West System 407 micro-balloons and 406 colloidal silica

So it's Fumed silica, okay, Phenolic no?

[Hirilonde]

So it's Fumed silica, okay, Phenolic no?

As a filler for adhesive that is correct. If you want to make a surface putty use the phenolic hollow spheres aka micro-balloons.

[P Douglass (WA)]

What a mess I've made using epoxy! I think I even have epoxy on the ceiling!! Epoxy everywhere!! Me and epoxy should not be in the same room! I thought I was going to destroy the coaming trying to get the clamped un-stuck to the coaming! But I think I well recover.