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Bead and cove

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Bead and cove is one of the best innovations to strip construction to come down the pike !

Bead and cove helps the beginner to produce professional results. It aids in splicing, creates a superior glue joint, and keeps the strips in line with each other.
With a simple router mounted on a table and two bead and cove bits you're in business.

Here is a trick I use to give uniformity to my strips. Most planks vary a little in thickness.Often by as much as an 1/8". To solve this discrepancy .
I run my strips BETWEEN the fence and the router bits. This insures they all come out the same. Lets say the 3/4" plank, that I'm cutting my strips from, has a thin spot of 5/8". I set the gap between the fence and bit at 5/8".

Cedar is soft enough that the bits have very little trouble handling this crowding. I WOULD NOT do this with hardwoods !

After the first pass, and by the way, cut the bead first ! Your strips will be uniform to 5/8".
Here is a pic of my setup.
These are cheap routers, that I've used to bead and cove strips for at least 30 canoes..
 

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Hi Jim, thanks for the tip.

I have to say that for safety sake, it isn't really a good idea to "pinch" the wood between the bit and the fence. I really hope that you don't get upset at me for saying this. I wouldn't want to ever hear that someone has been injured as a result of an improper set up, especially if I saw it and didn't say anything.

As you have stated, cedar is very soft and generally quite forgiving when it comes to machining. Problem is, someone will see this post and think that they may be able to run other materials through this type of set up, and then end up in the ER. I have witnessed, and had to stop setups like this mid stream. I have also seen the results of material that split, tore apart, or was just too hard and was consequently ripped right the way through the setup. (Change your diapers here)
I have a very good friend that lost the tips of 3 of his fingers to a poorly set up router. Shame really, that it could have been prevented.

I say this with all the care I can muster on a forum post, I just want to prevent injuries.

Thanks for listening,

Momentum
 
Good points Momentum ! And NO I'm not upset !!

Any time power tools are involved, you should understand the risks ! Safety glasses, as well dust masks, gloves and body armor, if available, should be used.

Several points I'll bring out. The use of finger boards prevents strips from flying back out.
Cedar is soft, if it were to jam, it will be chewed up by the bit. It may cast off splinters. Though I've never witnessed it.
Another thing I feed the strips from at least three feet away, Helps keep the dust out of my face, especially if I'm outside
As I stated earlier, DO NOT DO THIS WITH HARD WOOD !
I've done this for at least 30 canoes, and have had no problems.

As far as risk, everyone must access that for themselves .

Jim
 
I was originally going to do that. I've seen a few different setups.
Some made a rig that had one router on top, and one on the bottom. Others set the routers side by side, and cut the bead backwards, and the cove normally, both at the same time. This is how I was originally going to set mine up. I felt controlling the strips would be more difficult.

I'm quite happy doing one at a time, easier to set up too.

Jim
 
I have not built a boat, but it seams that there is a flaw in the design of most commercial bead/cove set ups. I believe the radius of each cutter should be larger. The perfect radius would be 1/2 of the width of the planks. Cutters of this description can be had separately. This shape would give maximum wood-wood contact at the joint. Most current sets will not allow this.
 
Mike, could you explain that one some more, I can't visualize what you are getting at.

Jim, I have put the bead and cove on the way you describe for one set of strips I made up. There was far fewer instances of "tear-out" if you know what I mean, when chunks of wood rip out of the strip. I felt like I had better strips when I was finished. However, that router bit rotating away at a million miles an hour without anything really covering it was too spooky for me in the end.
 
Memaquay
I agree. A cover over the cutting area, like is on the Craftsman router tables could be set up. It's just not been a problem for me.

Mike .
I believe, at least for the bits I have, that they are as you say. 1/2 of the width radius.
1/4" strips are cut with 1/8" radius bits. A 1/4" strip is beaded and coved from edge to edge. Some use these bits to do thinner strips. They just have to center the strips in the bit.

Jim
 
No Title

Let me try again. Let us assume that our hull planks are 7/8" wide, and 1/4" thick. The Frued bits in my photo have a cutter edge with a 1/8" radius (r- in the graphic). they will mill a perfect half circle on the 1/4" plank edge (positive and negative) I think this is too small, and leaves ridiculous edge feathers on the cove edge. A larger cutter radius will make a better hinge with a larger glued surface. Comments?
 

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Hi Mike
I understand what you are saying, but I disagree that you would be creating more glue surface with a larger radius.
. As far as edge feathers, that relates to how the cove bit is set in relationship to the fence. Again I run my strips BETWEEN the fence and the bit. If my fence is too close, I have feathers. To far ,I have a shallow cove. It has to be near perfect.
I would rather have feathers, than too shallow of a cove.
I've had terrible edge feathers in a couple of instances, but sanding the hull solved it for me.

Jim
 
I'd heard that going up one size in cutters would help eliminate the fine feathers so since I normally use 3/16" or skinnier strips I bought 1/4" cutters. They worked but the cuts were quite shallow. The other day I used them on 1/4" strips for the first time and the cuts were much nicer and seemed to fit together better than the skinny strips. I'll find out for sure when I start stripping. The feathers weren't bad at all. I wasn't cutting quite to full depth so the full thickness of the cutter wasn't into the wood.

Alan
 
Oh those feathers...
For years, I resisted using cove and bead strips, just because of those feathers. I had helped a boat buddy strip his 18'6" comp cruiser, those feathers broke off and peeled back all over the place. He ended up spending twice as much time sanding, because of those feather gaps.
When I cut the strips for my most recent build, I used a pair of 1/4" radius cutters in my shaper for 5/32" strips. No feathers, and plenty enough engagement.
And a very fair hull.
I'll probably never use square edge stips again, those cove and beads take a few hours to cut, but likely save me many hours in sanding!
 
I thought I'd add some to this post, as I've evolved my technic from the last 5 yrs.

I've also up graded my table ! That first table did an excellent job, even with cheap routers and a crudely made table top.

Here is a pic, showing how the strips are held against the fence, and down on the table. Some worry about flying splinters. The softness of the Cedar has made this possible. The Carbide bits cut it like butter.

Feathers have really not been a problem, Setting the router right is important and all wood is not the same ! Grain orientation comes into play, as well as dryness of the wood. Again I haven't had those problems.

Running the strips between the bit and the fence, uniforms the strips so they are the same width, from end to end, and the first pass makes all the strips the same width.

The uniformity of the strips makes building easier.

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I used to set up elaborate, and long infeed and out feed tables.

I found a simple roller stand worked quite well, and was easy and fast to set up !

One roller is all that is needed on both ends, The Feather boards really forces the strips to behave as they go through the router

I get great satisfaction milling my own strips ! I think you will too ! Not to mention the $$$ you will save !

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You obviously have a system that works for you.

For the benefit of others, however, you are not supposed to trap a work piece (like a strip) between the fence and the bit. This greatly increases the chance of kickback. The accepted procedure is to bury most of the bit in/behind the fence with only enough protruding to make the cut. You can still have feather boards pushing against fence and down against table.
 
You obviously have a system that works for you.

For the benefit of others, however, you are not supposed to trap a work piece (like a strip) between the fence and the bit. This greatly increases the chance of kickback. The accepted procedure is to bury most of the bit in/behind the fence with only enough protruding to make the cut. You can still have feather boards pushing against fence and down against table.

With the Feather boards there is no way for kick back ! Again this is Cedar, not a Hard wood !

Yes, this system works ! Even with my crude original set up !

Different times with knots you will hear some racket, but never a kick back !

Jim
 
When I first saw photos of Jim's setup I was a bit perplexed as it was not the way I was trained. I agree with and appreciate alsg's comment as a general rule and it's the practice I normally adhere to. However for the purpose of taking a very light cut in very thin, soft material, with properly fitted featherboards, I like Jim's setup. It has the added benefit of unifying stock width, a particular advantage to those without access to a thickness planer. Also, fence setup is easy with no need for fussy depth of cut offsets between infeed and outfield fences to eliminate snipe. A setup that would be ill advised running 4/4 maple can be safe and effective running 1/4 cedar. The Devil's in the details. Whenever in doubt, alsg's description is best practice.
 
When I first saw photos of Jim's setup I was a bit perplexed as it was not the way I was trained. I agree with and appreciate alsg's comment as a general rule and it's the practice I normally adhere to. However for the purpose of taking a very light cut in very thin, soft material, with properly fitted featherboards, I like Jim's setup. It has the added benefit of unifying stock width, a particular advantage to those without access to a thickness planer. Also, fence setup is easy with no need for fussy depth of cut offsets between infeed and outfield fences to eliminate snipe. A setup that would be ill advised running 4/4 maple can be safe and effective running 1/4 cedar. The Devil's in the details. Whenever in doubt, alsg's description is best practice.

Absolutely ! Nicely worded Rick !

If it had proven to be hazardous, I wouldn't have brought it up.

I've cut a lot of #3 West Red Cedar for strips.. The planks vary a lot in thickness. This method gives me the uniformity I'm after, without needing an expensive planer.

If anyone feels this is unsafe ? By all means don't try it !
 
I guess this question can go here along with the topic. I have a 1/4" shank router to do all my router work. Looking for bead and cove bits I see that the name brand (Freud, Rockler,...........
) that I know of are 1/2" shanks.

So is any carbide router bit good? Pick one off Amazon and go with it? What does everyone use?
 
I did 75% of my bead and coving with 1/4" shank router bits. The reason I now use a 1/2" shank ? I have a router to do that with.

You will be fine with a 1/4" shanked bits.

My first routers were 1/4", Sears 1/8hp plastic based routers. I bought them on Clearance for $18 a piece. I still have them. They still work.
Each was set, one with the bead bit and the other with the cove. I didn't need to change, or adjust bits with that set up.

As builders, most of us get by with what we can afford !

The Yellow 1/2" shanked bit set, I use came from China, for less than $20.

Jim
 
I agree with momentum, you're lucky it works for you, but that's normally definitely a wood-working no no, and I've learned to never trust finger boards- the clamps holding them are designed to work under tension, not torsion (sideways pressure) I've actually seen a C clamp frame break resulting in the fingerboard being ejected at high speed part way through a wood garage door!
 
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