It rained a bit. Well ok, it rained a lot. But still lots of fun.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Festival Set up
Helped shift boats for the Philadelphia Wooden Boat Festival. Put a coat of epoxy inside locker tops. Best of all, Sailed the Tuck-Up, Marion, to the Seaport from Gloucester City.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Silent Maid Christening
WOW
For more great pictures browse to Tom Armstrong's blog for June 14th at
http://70point8percent.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Progress. Notes on Epoxy.
Edge banded the centerboard, painted the inside of the lockers prior to gluing up the top. Recycled some masts and sails from the Dartmouth sailing team. Scribed and fit both the mast step and forward seat tops.
The real key in working with epoxy is to pre-plan as much of the job as possible before mixing the sticky stuff. I reuse LDPE sheet over and over as does the boatshop. This always forms the bottom layer of what ever I do since the hardened epoxy will lift right off. Gloves are essential, I've used many kinds; latex, nitril, vinyl. Good fit keeps the tactile sense useful and eliminates tears from baggy fingers. A pair of nitril ones will serve for a few times, I wipe them clean with a paper towel. Paper towels are also essential as they keep the phone & drill clean too. Plain old white vinegar will clean brushes and tools if you get to them before the stuff kicks.
To edge band, first finish the form with rasp & 36 grit abrasive. I use a bonded cloth from Klingspor, which I can vacuum off. It is non-loading and cuts a long time. put down drip sheet of LDPE. Cut strips of kevlar using a really sharp knife or razor blade. I will pull a thread at the correct width so I can follow the grain with the cutting tool along a very straight line. Kevlar is hard to cut. Pull the strip tightly along the edge to be banded and tape down both sides. The concept is to replace the screws, putty, and metal of brass half oval with resin and Kevlar. once the fabric is stretched into place, mix a small amount of epoxy and work it into the fabric wetting it compltely and soaking any raw wood underneath. More paper tape may be stretched over the top at right angles to apply pressure for complete contact between the fabric, epoxy and substrate. Wait about 4 hrs for the epoxy to get to the "soft" cure state. Remove the tape and reposition any errant strands. MAS epoxies can be recoated without hesitation. If it has been more than 12 hrs. with West System or System Three, you should either sand the surface to remove Amine blush or use a solvent. Working with epoxy is similar to camping. The goal is to stay clean and dry.
The real key in working with epoxy is to pre-plan as much of the job as possible before mixing the sticky stuff. I reuse LDPE sheet over and over as does the boatshop. This always forms the bottom layer of what ever I do since the hardened epoxy will lift right off. Gloves are essential, I've used many kinds; latex, nitril, vinyl. Good fit keeps the tactile sense useful and eliminates tears from baggy fingers. A pair of nitril ones will serve for a few times, I wipe them clean with a paper towel. Paper towels are also essential as they keep the phone & drill clean too. Plain old white vinegar will clean brushes and tools if you get to them before the stuff kicks.
To edge band, first finish the form with rasp & 36 grit abrasive. I use a bonded cloth from Klingspor, which I can vacuum off. It is non-loading and cuts a long time. put down drip sheet of LDPE. Cut strips of kevlar using a really sharp knife or razor blade. I will pull a thread at the correct width so I can follow the grain with the cutting tool along a very straight line. Kevlar is hard to cut. Pull the strip tightly along the edge to be banded and tape down both sides. The concept is to replace the screws, putty, and metal of brass half oval with resin and Kevlar. once the fabric is stretched into place, mix a small amount of epoxy and work it into the fabric wetting it compltely and soaking any raw wood underneath. More paper tape may be stretched over the top at right angles to apply pressure for complete contact between the fabric, epoxy and substrate. Wait about 4 hrs for the epoxy to get to the "soft" cure state. Remove the tape and reposition any errant strands. MAS epoxies can be recoated without hesitation. If it has been more than 12 hrs. with West System or System Three, you should either sand the surface to remove Amine blush or use a solvent. Working with epoxy is similar to camping. The goal is to stay clean and dry.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Mast Step
Glued up the mast step and laminated the other side of the centerboard. Sanded and filleted the aft bulkhead and transom.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Carbon
Epoxied one side of centerboard for stiffness. Laid LDPE on old door (flat surface scraped clean, Put down wood form. Stretched CF over using duct tape and staples into door. That way there will be no metal to rust out later. Poured epoxy, squeegeed, and stretched a piece of pallet wrap over top of wet epoxy, placed sheets of waxed recycled glass from bath cabinet over plastic, plywood and last 5 gallon bucket weights.
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