Recent content by Alan Gage

I'm assuming he means an inner stem with the strips attaching to the side of it, so the face of the stem will be exposed after shaping. I did that on a couple builds when I wanted a tapered stem and a more blunt profile. Alan

I think walnut would be the obvious choice, if a bit expensive. I would think there would be enough in the area to find it a local mill. Alan

LOL. I don't think I know of any farmers that still sit on a "tractor" seat. The seats in their equipment probably puts my recliner to shame. :) Alan

Is this the inaugural event? Nice to see one in the Midwest. Alan

I can't recommend it as I've never used one like that. The regular seats suit me fine but I thought I remembered seeing one with a cutout in the rear so I went looking and I found it at ZRE. Alan

You must not be the only one to experience this. Check out option D from ZRE: https://zre.com/products/carbon-fiber-canoe-seats-seat-only Alan

I'm not the best at PPE either but WRC will make my nose start to run and give me a cough almost immediate once I start cutting or sanding it so I always wear a respirator when cutting it. Mask might be fine but I have a respirator and it's more effective and I don't mind wearing it (especially...

I think it's important to remember that lots of people build cedar strip canoes and, assuming they actually finish what they started, they always seem to turn out fine. Not making mistakes certainly makes it easier but it's pretty hard to mess it up to the point it can't be fixed. And there...

Like this? Very impressive at 90. :)

I've never paddled a prism but I would guess they'd be quite similar. I used to paddle mine back to back with my magic and they performed quite similar. The magic was a little more maneuverable and the Jensen was a hair faster. Alan

Looks nice. How is the Jensen treating you? Alan

I would check with Wenonah if I wanted pointy caps. Alan

LOL. I had the same thought when I first saw the undersized plans. :) Alan

Cottonwood tends to have interlocking grain and is generally resistant to splitting. It might not be as tough as what you're looking for though and pretty much no one saws it. It's super easy to saw though and dries well as long as the logs are quality with no stress (centered pith and the tree...

What about red elm? American elm is all but gone here as well but there is enough red elm that it can be had from small scale sawmillers. It's not something you'd find commercially but maybe someone has it. Finding a good, small scale, sawmiller is not always an easy task either. And if they...