Month: November 2018

Well, the good news is that I was able to cut the stem from a single 1×2 on the table saw. The bad news is that I still didn’t like the result.

What I wasn’t appreciating last week was how I could set the table saw fence much closer to the blade than otherwise (or even looks wise), since the blade is tilted away from the fence when cutting a bevel. So I was able to get right into the middle of the 1×2.

The resulting 2 pieces weren’t quite symmetrical, though. I didn’t like them. So I went with the alternate method of cutting off the left side of a 24″ 2×4. And the resulting stem is pretty much perfect. Love it.

And I also cut the gussets, although I ended up going with the sliding chop saw instead of the table saw. I also tacked the two pieces together with staples over jute, the way that Beede uses for clamping the butt blocks. Cutting the gussets together this way made them exactly symmetrical.

Somehow I screwed up the layout, though. I still got the 106° angle, but they’re not isosceles triangles. One leg is the 6″ I was aiming for, but the other only ended up being like 5-1/4″. Oh, well. Measure once, cut twice. And it’s the angle that’s the important measurement, and it’s right.

I screwed together the frame, or at least the part of the frame that will end up as the frame of the boat. I have an idea to sister some pieces to the bottom and sides, temporarily, to help with alignment when attaching the plywood sides to the side frame members. And there’ll be a top stretcher to the frame, again temporarily.

And it was a three-day weekend and I only got an hour or so of work on Monday afternoon. (Met up with family, including seeing Dad’s gravestone at Arlington on Saturday, then had St. Andrew’s Day and the Bishop’s visit and the potluck on Sunday.) Maybe one night this coming week I can make & attach those frame parts, as well as make up the transom story assembly. We’re going on vacation first thing next Saturday morning, so I’m going to miss a weekend of working on the boat.

I’ll need some parts made from 1×2 lumber to help shape the plywood parts into boat parts. Working from fore to aft, there’ll be a stem and a frame, and at the stern there’ll be a transom made from 3/4″ ply. But, I’m a little wary of the size and angles of the transom, so I’m going to make a mock-up of the transom from 1×2’s, something of a story stick, a story frame made out of 3 story sticks.

First, though, I need the 1×2 stock. But you know what? A 2×4 is cheaper than a 1×2, and I can cut four 1×2’s out of a single 2×4.

So I’m definitely making 1×2’s out of a 2×4.

I set the table saw fence at 3/4″ and start ripping.

Then, after I’ve gotten four 1×2’s out of a single 2×4, I measure, mark, and crosscut all the 1×2 parts.

And now I’ve got parts.

And more parts.

All the parts!

I had hoped to make the stem and the frame today, but I ran into some serious trouble ripping the 20.5° angle in the 1×2 for the stem. I tried on a scrap piece, but I couldn’t get anywhere near the center of the scrap piece to be able to reverse the parts and combine for the stem. I’m not sure how I’m going to cut it.

I’ve got an extra 8′ 2×4, so maybe I can rip a 1×2 and cheat on it from either side to be able to make two 20.5° parts to make the stem. We’ll see next week.

See this page for notes regarding cutting the stem out of larger stock.