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CS 17


Paul356

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Still waiting on the bill for mast and track.  Planning to paint.  Yup, my dad bought that table saw new in the 50s.  A friend, amazingly, had the extension tables but no saw, and put them on permanent loan.

 

Had to take some time off and sail Lake Michigan for a while.  Back at it in a few days.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Today I experimented on Lennies mast to ream out the lower sections. I tried a cylinder hone and it worked quite well. They are both masts are done so it will be one less challenge for him to meet. I found it both easier and quicker to do than the sand paper/ flapper method.

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Frustration.  The dimension lumber is driving me crazy.  I don't know where you guys are finding such good looking fir, etc., but Wisconsin, contrary to its lumberjack heritage, seems berift.  I may have to drive to Mass or NC.  Nonetheless, I found some relatively straight No. 2 doug fir 16 footers.  The grain isn't much and there are a lot of knots to work around.  I also had a lot of trouble trying to rip the sticks for the centerboard, and I'm not looking forward to making stringers. 

 

When I finished gluing up the sticks, I realized my CB blank was badly cupped. Tacking to stbd would be easy, getting back not so much.   I was about ready to call it firewood, when ...

 

Remedy.  I made a very simple milling jig for my router, and now the blank is at least flat on both sides.  I can shape, fill and glass it now.  Phew.  It's not perfect, but the board will be.  Here's the jig:

post-1405-0-26284700-1377966074_thumb.jpg

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Interesting.  I would have thought that Wisconsin would be chock full of mom and pop lumber yards that carry the good stuff.  I did not know how fortunate I was to have clear fir and cedar within a mile of my house.  Boulter Lumber is also within an hours drive.  May be worth your while to go off line and old school and call the local yards within a 50 mile radius to see what they have in stock.  My local yard also can get me BS1088 ply if I want, but it is pricier through them.  

 

got the keel batten carved up today and fitted for glueing on Monday.  

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Paul-

I spent better part of three weeks and several lumber yard/ hardwood specialist trips here in SW FL and also found it a challenge to find dimesional lumber. Literally called 10 lumber yards per day. Finally found a specialty door place who does millwork as well,a nd they promise to deliver this week.....we will see. Their raw lumber lookes good and they have ample stock of 20' fir and mahogany. I probably spent too much but was glad to have it behind me and long distance suppliers had very expensive shipping costs.

My kit # 370 arriving tomorrow or weds! Borrowed from your rolling cradle design!

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I bought rough-cut lumber and ripped it myself. It was cheaper and better quality than the dimensional lumber I had regular access to in North Carolina. I don't think it was really all that much extra work, either.

If I didn't have a table saw at the time to do all that cutting, I would have considered it a good excuse to buy one ;)

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Ken-

When you buy rough cut (I assume not planed) can you run it thru table saw without first planing it , and come out ok? I guess your saying you can....news to me (good news). That may be what I do next time as getting rough sewn lumber was an option I passed on and it was cheap and available.

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Lennie - For epoxy joints in my boat (NOT glue joints in fine furniture) I skipped the jointing and planing. I just ripped it carefully on the saw. If you've got a good, sharp blade on your tablesaw give it a try and see if you agree.

If I had the jointer handy I would have given myself a good edge to start the job of ripping with, but I managed without.

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Being in MO, I too have had trouble finding clear dimensional lumber to work with. Amazing how far the quality has dropped in such a short time. As recent as 10 years ago, you could pick through the stacks of #1 and structural select and find some really good stuff. Even the box stores had a few sticks of remarkably good stuff. Seldom is that the case today. It bothers me less that the supplies of quality lumber are dwindling than the standards are being lowered. What was #2 or #3 as recent as 10 years ago now has a structural select stamp on it. As I told the manager of the yard where I got the lumber for my home 20 years ago, if that is what is available to build with, I wouldn't build anything. That extends to a lot of areas. Look at the luan plywood subfloor they sold as recent as 10 years ago and look at it today. Not the same product at all.

 

As for rough cut lumber in the SE, most likely that is going to be yellow pine. The concern I'd have is if it is dry. If not, it needs to be stacked and dried and that could take a year or so. If it was dry, you could run it through a surface planer and table saw and clean it in less than an hour or so. No issue there, especially if the quality is good.

 

Other alternatives to the lumber yards are the mill shops. Most carry and use "clear" graded lumber, meaning no knots. Won't be vertical grain, but may not have knots. A second source I've found are companies that manufacture building trusses. Their stuff is mostly #1, structural select and an additional grade called MSR, which is machine stress rated. MSR will generally be dense and clear (but still flat sawn). A third source, if you are looking for CCA treated lumber (which is no longer sold to consumers) to talk to a utility trailer manufacturer. They use #1 and structural select 2X CCA stock for their trailer beds. Check to make sure it was dried after treatment. If not, it could take forever to dry out.

 

As for the local yards, if you use them, best bet is to pick through the stacks to find clear segments and plan on piecing them together. You will have a lot of waste, but when half the board is knotted and split, that can't be helped. If looking for cleats and stringers, look for the 2x flat sawn pieces.......and rip them down. They will then be vertical grain. Might have to scarf them together, but such is the case.

 

The issue with flat sawn is they cup over time. Not the best for laminations. The smaller the piece, the less concern. Vertical grain is more dimensionally stable and always the best to use if the flat side is what is being glued.

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Not sure if this will help, but I found it wasn't reliable just to call around to lumber yards. I had no luck finding a lumber yard by phone that offered "clear" Douglas Fir. When I finally decided it was worth a drive to my local lumberyard in downtown Augusta (who told me by phone they only have "C or better"), I was stunned to walk out and see a bin entirely full of absolutely clear Douglas Fir. When I asked the lumber yard why they told me by phone they don't sell "clear," he said it was because they didn't want people going out there and "cherry picking" the best pieces and leaving them with only knotty lumber to sell to their high volume buyers (contractors, etc.). So they just list it as "C or better" and when you drive out to have it loaded, you get what you get. After seeing it, I said I'll take 5 boards and the first 5 off the pile were BEAUTIFUL pieces.

 

Many of you may already know this, but I just wanted to point out for the sake of others: There may be a disconnect between what the lumberyard tells you they have, and what is actually laying in their bins. After that experience, I'd say it's worth it to actually visit a few lumberyards in person and ask to look at what they're selling. If you tell them it's because you're building a boat, most of the folks I've dealt with take an active interest and will let you go look the wood over first to make sure it's suitable. In a few cases back when I was building a cedar strip kayak many years ago, the guy at an Iowa lumberyard actually cherry picked the pieces for me and was excited to see the boat when it was finished. I think he put more effort into selecting top pieces than I would have!

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C or better is a visual lumber grade and it should be almost clear.  It is used a lot in the northeast for cabinets and and high end mill work.  I don't think lumber grades have changed in many years, though thanks to the big box stores there is a lot more garbage available.  Plywood and other forest products are another story, they are getting worse, especially in the USA.

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Good info! Thanks for all of it. I received my cs17 kit yesterday and hardwood today. All looks great. I am setting up a blog and will start a thread . Hopefully building the boat easier than the blog :)

Trying to use the IPad and bought Wordpress app and couple Struggle to upload photos but will figure it out also struggle uploading photos here on IPad.

Hardwood received today looks great! Got great looking d fir and Honduras mahogany. Jewelry may be cheaper but set to go...

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The adventure begins.  I hope you have as much fun building as your future sailing.

.Hardwood received today looks great! Got great looking d fir and Honduras mahogany. Jewelry may be cheaper but set to go...

Douglas Fir is a softwood, but a great choice for structural components and I don't think anything is prettier on boats than real Mahogany.

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