Today I received an order of 3 3/4 inch planks for the floor of my 1953 Old Town. The red cedar looks really good. It is clear and has tight grain. It looks to be quarter sawn.
The rib stock I got from the same place, Island Falls Canoe in Maine. The white cedar ribs have flat grain, very few rings per inch and some defect.
The old ribs from 70 years ago have extremely tight grain which runs fore and aft. The new ribs seem flimsy in comparison and the grain runs port to starboard. I am revising my rib replacement plan and leaving some of the old ribs that have one small surface crack. I will probably grind out the surface cracks with a dremel tool and fill with epoxy and wood flour. I think that is going to be much stronger and a lot less work than putting in new crummy ribs. Just a heads up for others. Where do you get your rib stock? I don't have a table saw or planer so I tried just buying a few.
The rib stock I got from the same place, Island Falls Canoe in Maine. The white cedar ribs have flat grain, very few rings per inch and some defect.
The old ribs from 70 years ago have extremely tight grain which runs fore and aft. The new ribs seem flimsy in comparison and the grain runs port to starboard. I am revising my rib replacement plan and leaving some of the old ribs that have one small surface crack. I will probably grind out the surface cracks with a dremel tool and fill with epoxy and wood flour. I think that is going to be much stronger and a lot less work than putting in new crummy ribs. Just a heads up for others. Where do you get your rib stock? I don't have a table saw or planer so I tried just buying a few.