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New project... 17.5' Atkinson Traveler

Stem blanks are off the stem form, and on the canoe form! No bending defects. I was a little surprised by the amount of spring back once off the stem form, but clamps brought them tight to the canoe form. The stem blanks are not yet notched for ribs, or shaped for the planking bevel. This will reduce the stiffness, and presumably result in less resistance to bending into the canoe form. tempImage9TLbJy.pngtempImager6SigD.png
 
Here's the grain orientation diagram:
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Patrick, another non-builder question from me so I can understand this process better.

I understand your diagram to show two different grain orientations for the stems. But is it meant also to suggest that you bent only one piece of wood on the first try, but two pieces of wood on the second try? Stated differently, do you bend one piece of wood on the form to create both stems and then saw that bent piece in half to create two stems; or do you use the form twice, once for each stem?
 
Patrick, another non-builder question from me so I can understand this process better.

I understand your diagram to show two different grain orientations for the stems. But is it meant also to suggest that you bent only one piece of wood on the first try, but two pieces of wood on the second try? Stated differently, do you bend one piece of wood on the form to create both stems and then saw that bent piece in half to create two stems; or do you use the form twice, once for each stem?
Glenn, I think the standard practice is to bend one blank which is subsequently sawn lengthwise to create two bent stems. After my initial failure I decided to rip the next double-wide blank into two 7/8" square blanks, and rotating them 90 degrees into vertical grain orientation. I then bent them together. There were absolutely no defects on the resulting bends.

The failures I saw in the first bend were all associated with the flat grain orientation so I decided to try vertical. It worked.

I watched a number of steam bending videos here, which were very helpful.

 
I'm going for the marathon length build record on this one...

Actually, I got focused on really diving into the restoration of the early Chestnut Bobs Special. I did finish all the repairs and got her into canvas in mid-October 2023 and will prime, paint, and complete that canoe when weather conditions allow in Spring. Similarly, I will get to the rib steaming on the Atkinson Traveler in warmer weather as well. In the meantime I milled the Spruce inwale stock, tapering the ends for a "slim" appearance at the decks. Unfortunately, one of the pieces broke at a spot of bad grain near the upsweep of the sheer. Back to square one on that one! Here's the side that went well. The sweep is pretty gentle, and these inwale pieces were neither soaked or steamed for installation on the form. Because of the tapering they bend pretty easily at the tips. tempImageHnNvSw.png
Bad grain at the failure spot:
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Tapering the last 18" of the inwales where they meet the deck sides:
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The inwales are tapered so they will look like this when the deck goes in:
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And finally, I just picked up some hardwoods today. Mahogany for carry handles, maybe seat frames; quarter sawn tempImageES483j.pngSycamore for thwarts & perhaps seat frames (the decks will be Sycamore) instead of mahogany; and some curly Maple for two paddles.

I am considering caning the seats like these found in a Gerrish canoe recently restored by Zachary Smith, https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=763110889185782&set=pcb.763111435852394:

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Bummer about the split. It’s going g to be a dandy though. I like the wood choices- it will stand out in a crowd!

Bob
 
I am considering caning the seats like these found in a Gerrish canoe recently restored by Zachary Smith

That's different, distinctive and classy looking. I like it. And it looks as if it won't sag and break as easily as regular cane.
 
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