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Dumbest butterfly opening question, ever. (Spindrift 10N)


Rdubs

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  • 2 weeks later...

I hear you, regarding getting sawdust all over your wife's car.  It happens here on a regular basis.  For scarfing, I use either a standard hand plane, or the routing jig shown in the attached photo.  I like the hand plane for this, over my power planer, simply because it is a slower, more controlled process.  (Key word here being "slower".)  What I don't like about the router jig is that you need to make successive passes AND scoot the jig from side to side.  It does provide a nice, precise angle, though. The plane provides a smoother surface than the router jig does.  But the joint is concealed under thickened epoxy, so nobody sees the lumps and bumps.  Just make sure you remove any high spots with an 80 grit sanding block, if you use the router.  The epoxy takes care of any low spots.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey everyone, I'm making progress on the build but have two questions, somewhat related.  Right now I have the major section pieces cut out and the nesting bulkheads built, and am ready to put the sides and bottoms together to form the two wings.  I have not yet drilled the holes which the stitches will go through.  The questions:

1) When is the best time to drill the holes for the stitches for the bottom pieces which hold the two bottom pieces together?  Should I do it right now with the bottom pieces free (just lay them on top one other and drill)?  Or wait until later?  Also, what about the holes along the outside of the bottom pieces which stitch to the sides?

2) When is the best time to drill the holes on the side pieces which stitch to the bottom piece?  My fear of drilling them prior to unfolding and going 3D would be that they wouldn't line up, but it also seems harder to drill the holes with the boat 3D while you are trying to get the hull to form up and not have these huge wings out to the sides.

Thanks

'Dubs

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Scratch that, re-read the instructions for the 10th time and looks like you drill the holes to mate the side with bottom during the unfolding.

 

Have a question about setting up the fiberglass reinforcements on the bow prior to unfolding.  It looks like the instructions are to set up the fiberglass then clamp all four pieces together while the epoxy cures (using plastic to separate the two halves).  But, how do you get the glass on when you only have access to one of the four sides?  If you clamp down the pieces on the bottom to keep them from moving, you can't get under them to put the glass on, but if you don't clamp them down they will move around ruining the quality of your glassed joint.  It seems more logical to do the two halves separately, so then you have easy access to the face which is up, so only have to figure out the bottom face, but if you stack both halves on top of each other you have four glass joints at play you have to glass and set.  

Thanks for any tips.

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Hi Rdubs,

 

The idea is to make an inside-out jelly sandwich for each side.  Here's the recipe for one side:

 

1) plastic

2) fiberglass tape - wetted with epoxy

3) wood - wetted

4) fiberglass tape - wetted

5) plastic

 

You can see the the results in this video at about 1:40  https://youtu.be/bPjfXCXAxwE.  Of course it's a different boat, but the method is the same.  I really recommend watching Alan's excellent series of videos.  Often the "how-to" is easier get when you see it.

 

The advantage of building the two sandwiches on top of each other is that you can line up the two sides right on top of each other (plastic in between) to make them identical, then clamp them down all at once.    That's a lot of moving parts, though.   You'll have floppy sheets of plywood, wrinkly sheets of plastic and the sticky, slippery epoxy and the fiberglass tape to handle.   That's a lot of material to get together just so.  So I also recommend doing a couple of "dry runs" without the actual epoxy, but using a brush and a container for realism, just to make sure that the things you will need will be within reach, and so that you can work out for yourself ahead of time where you are going to put everything.

 

Here's a tip.  Before you mix your epoxy, tear off several sheets of paper towels and stuff a couple of them partway into each pocket so that you have a supply that you can grab for each hand.  You are going to get epoxy on your gloves, and then it will start getting all over.  It's gonna happen.  Having the paper towels handy to wipe off my gloves and clean up the stray drop can be a sanity saver.

 

You can make the sides one at a time, but it takes longer.  Build the first one, clamp it down and let it harden up.  Then take of the clamping, put down plastic and build the second right on top.  Be sure to carefully align the 2nd set of panels with the finished side below to make the two sides exactly the same. 

 

HTH,

Bob

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