Nokomis Build

[Jim Dodd]

Mihun,
The Jap rasp is most impressive! It's two sided, so you can choose how aggressive you want to be. It without a doubt is in my top three tools. Jap made pull saws are awesome also. I bought a blade and made my first one (I'm cheap). Have put it away, but it is still good.

Spent about an hour with the rasp, working the ends to my liking, knocking off excess glue and high spots on the hull.

45 minutes with some real course Industrial paper on a flexable hand sander.(I'll get a pic tomorrow for you).

another hour sanding with one 50grit, 3X sanding disc, on a ROS. Quality discs make a difference. What kind of glue did you use for you strips ? I'm real happy with Elmers Max.

I will put on a fresh disc tomoroow to do the other side.

Some glues gum up your sanding discs pretty fast. Titebond's Ultimate, is good, maybe a little more runny, but good. I used about 12-13oz of Elmers Max, for this solo.

Jim

 

[Jim Dodd]

One more pic.

The left half is course sanded.

Jim

 

[Mihun09]

Jim

Yes, my discs were not Norton or Diablo, just the local hardware store brand, 50 disc pack for $25. I saved driving 45 minutes into the city to get to a HD for name brand discs though. I can be cheap too.

It is funny, I think I did a better job on the first stripper I built because I didn't know what I was doing. Mind you, this is only the second one and I will improve as I do more of them. The 40 grit discs did the job quite quickly though, entire boat in a couple of hours.

I have a pull saw which I love and a flush cutting saw which takes a bit of getting used to but works dandy for trimming the strips at the ends and when cutting new rib tips flush with the inwales on w/c canoes.

I used LePage wood glue, just the standard variety. 400ml is 9 bucks plus taxes. I have used Titebond and the glue you have used on w/c boats but it is premium priced here. I figure the glue just holds the wood together until the glass goes on so doesn't need to be high tech really. I didn't get much squeeze out which will be good when sanding the interior since that side will be clear finished and I usually wipe up excess before allowing it to set anyway. I went through 1 1/2 bottles of glue but then I have innie and outie stems to be glued as well. The fairing filler I am using is West System epoxy with their lightweight fairing filler additive, #410. It set up well overnight so I'll give it a sand today before puttying up the entire boat.

You might be cheap but you are retired right, so fixed income kind of makes one pick and choose what they can afford.

Karin

 

[Alan Gage]

Yes, my discs were not Norton or Diablo, just the local hardware store brand, 50 disc pack for $25. I saved driving 45 minutes into the city to get to a HD for name brand discs though. I can be cheap too.

Things are probably different in Canada but I get high quality discs considerably cheaper than that.

I mostly use Mirka discs and get them from Amazon for $20 per 50 discs: http://www.amazon.com/Mirka-23-614-1...ing+discs+5%22

I couldn't find Mirka in anything coarser than 60 grit so for the more aggressive stuff I tried Industrial Abrasives. They're considerably cheaper at $13-15 for a box of 50 but I'd heard a lot of good things about them and have been very impressed with the 40 and 60 grit I got there. I like their 60 grit better than the Mirka 60 grit. I'm about due to order some 80, 100, and 150 grit and I'll be getting it from Industrial Abrasives this time hoping they match or better the Mirka in the finer grits as well.

http://www.industrialabrasives.com/5...41-p-1017.html

Both are Stearated (non-loading) so they don't tend to plug up.

Alan

 

[Alan Gage]

Can't believe this Great weather. Will finish sanding tomorrow outside.

This winter certainly has been a blessing so far, unless you like cold and white. Normally 16" of snow before Christmas would be a rough start to the season but warm spells after each storm completely melted them away in a week or so.

The boat is looking great. Maybe one of these weekends I'll buzz down and hang out with you in the shop for a while.

Alan

 

[Mihun09]

Things are probably different in Canada but I get high quality discs considerably cheaper than that.

I mostly use Mirka discs and get them from Amazon for $20 per 50 discs: http://www.amazon.com/Mirka-23-614-1...ing+discs+5%22

I couldn't find Mirka in anything coarser than 60 grit so for the more aggressive stuff I tried Industrial Abrasives. They're considerably cheaper at $13-15 for a box of 50 but I'd heard a lot of good things about them and have been very impressed with the 40 and 60 grit I got there. I like their 60 grit better than the Mirka 60 grit. I'm about due to order some 80, 100, and 150 grit and I'll be getting it from Industrial Abrasives this time hoping they match or better the Mirka in the finer grits as well.

http://www.industrialabrasives.com/5...41-p-1017.html

Both are Stearated (non-loading) so they don't tend to plug up.

Alan

The biggest difference up here is most products we buy are brought in from the USA and our dollar is at about 72 cents to one greenback. I can get a 50 pack of Diablo 60 grit at the home depot for $22 but I would need to spend $10 in gas to go get them, about a 60 mile round trip.

So you got your Mirka working again by the sounds of it, I remember you saying it died last Spring.

 

[Alan Gage]

So you got your Mirka working again by the sounds of it, I remember you saying it died last Spring.

Yes, turns out the sander head was under a recall for that problem so they sent me out a new one.

Alan

 

[Iskweo]

Thats looking good Jim. Instead of a sundial in the thwart, have you considered inletting a small compass? I know its a little lame but there might come a time when you would need one. And it would be tres custom eh.

Christy

 

[Jim Dodd]

Thats looking good Jim. Instead of a sundial in the thwart, have you considered inletting a small compass? I know its a little lame but there might come a time when you would need one. And it would be tres custom eh.

Christy

I saw a thread awhile back, where a builder inletted a compass into a canoe paddle on the side of the grip. I thought that was cool !

You must know me, as I've been known to get confused once in awhile. I'll keep my eye open for a suitable compass. Putting it on a thwart, would be a good location. Visible while paddling.
A GPS would even be better, If I could find a small enough one, I'd love to check my speed and where abouts !
Good idea Christy !

Jim

 

[Jim Dodd]

This winter certainly has been a blessing so far, unless you like cold and white. Normally 16" of snow before Christmas would be a rough start to the season but warm spells after each storm completely melted them away in a week or so.

The boat is looking great. Maybe one of these weekends I'll buzz down and hang out with you in the shop for a while.

Alan

I'll wait to glass until then, and you can show me some pointers !!! Seriously, Welcome any time !!!

Finished rough sanding today. Need to fill a few small gaps, and think, what I'm going to do about the staple holes. I want to fore go a seal coat this time, and don't want any staple holes weeping away resin.

Outside today.

Used Discs from Menards, their brand. $6.99+ tax, for a 12 pack. They were 50grit, and plenty aggressive. Two discs was all I used. Time now for some milder 80 grit, and finish with 100, or 120grit.

If you look close, you can see my Ridgid variable speed ROS, on the ground. I like it for a cheap sander.

Oh, one other thing! You notice I have my strongback on a tilt. This works great, to sand the tumblehome, but I hang on to the canoe when I'm out on the ends sanding.

Jim

 

[memaquay]

Looks fantastic! You guys are getting me itchy to build again!

 

[Jim Dodd]

Mem
I like building, but I really like being excited, about what I'm going to build!
To be honest up until I found these hidden forms from years ago, I wasn't excited. Now I'm driven, as this will have a special meaning for me.

If you have a design that's been Nagging on you, GO FOR IT !

I'm surprised that materials, other than wood, hasn't gone up as much as everything else.


Jim

 

[Jim Dodd]

Finished sanding today. The staples holes, at the forms, (the ones that go all the way through) were filled and sanded today.

I'll order some Peel Ply in the am. I'm hoping it will cut my resin usage.

Planning on an extra layer of cloth (S-glass) on the football area. Debating if I should wet out both layers at the same time, before applying Peel Ply. I think that would be the best, just worried if I'll have enough time, before my resin starts to sets to get the Peel Ply on?

Jim

 

[Muskrat]

What resin are you going with this time? If you're going with the pro build slow like we were talking about in another thread, you should have plenty of time to do individual layers.

 

[Jim Dodd]

What resin are you going with this time? If you're going with the pro build slow like we were talking about in another thread, you should have plenty of time to do individual layers.

I have RAKA's 350 non blush. This time of year, it should be slower to set. But I'm still a little apprehensive !

Really hoping for a resin, and weight savings, with the Peel Ply.
Just ordered Peel Ply from Express Composites. Hoping they can get my order out before Christmas.

Jim

 

[Muskrat]

Keep in mind that the peel ply soaks up resin and holds any extra on top. I know you like to measure your epoxy consumption, so you might want to weigh the fabric before and then weigh it again when you peel it off. I've never used raka so I can't help you there. I have used 9 oz Kevlar in the past (from raka I think) and you know how kevlar wets out. I bet you'll be fine wetting out two layers of glass. I'd just go over it once kind of heavy and then do the rest of the glass while you let the double layer soak, then go back and touch it up with any more resin it might need. With the peel ply you don't really have to worry about extra resin in any spots as it will soak up through when you lay the peel ply on and squeegee.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Thanks Muskrat

Weighing the Peel Ply is a great idea ! I will do that !

Part of what worries me is getting the Peel Ply on the wet hull, and getting it lay even, without wrinkles, before the resin starts to set.

Good points !

Jim

 

[Alan Gage]

Part of what worries me is getting the Peel Ply on the wet hull, and getting it lay even, without wrinkles, before the resin starts to set.

I've only done it the one time and while it was kind of a hassle it was doable. An extra set of hands would be a big help. That way you could stretch it out and set it down on the hull knowing it was straight and centered. Mine didn't go on straight and centered and took a while to get it worked into the correct shape. You can get it to slide around on the hull, though slowly, after it's been placed. It's got quite a bit of drag so just be sure it's not sliding your s-glass layer around at the same time.

You could even do it in two or three sections. The seam will be nearly invisible and the hull will be sanded and recoated with epoxy anyway. Mine was in two sections because I measured wrong and the seam is very light.

Did you get the blue peel ply from Express? I used some of the white stuff the in the past couple days and was surprised at how much stiffer it was than the blue. I think the extra softness helps the blue conform better.

Good luck!

Alan

 

[Jim Dodd]

From Alan Gage
" You could even do it in two or three sections. The seam will be nearly invisible and the hull will be sanded and recoated with epoxy anyway. Mine was in two sections because I measured wrong and the seam is very light.

Did you get the blue peel ply from Express? I used some of the white stuff the in the past couple days and was surprised at how much stiffer it was than the blue. I think the extra softness helps the blue conform better.""

I was thinking of cutting it into manageable sections, maybe 4 or more, and not worry about a seam. The one time, I almost used the peel ply I remember it to be grabby.
The two person gig sounds like the way to go ! As I'm going with RAKA's 350 non-blush. Need to look up the specs on it, to see how low I can work with it, temp wise.
I ordered the blue Peel Ply. Express is closing up for the Christmas, and this is their last working day for awhile. I made the internet order last nite, and will call to see if it will ship today.

Thanks Muskrat and Alan !
Merry Christmas !!!

Jim

 

[Jim Dodd]

Looking over Nokomis yesterday, and noticed a slight gap between the hull and the forms, at the keel. I've had this before on another hull. Caused no doubt because of tight fitting strips in the football.

Advice I received from another builder, on the Canoe Craft site. I hot melt glued a little block to the hull on the inside, pull the block down until the hull mated with the forms, and fastened the block to the form. This worked great, and the block was easily removed when I turned the hull over. I will do this on Nokomis.

Got to love idea sharing !

Jim