Glen-L.com

Hi everyone,
I an in the process of cutting out the frames along with other bits and pieces from the plans of a cruisette. I have successfully transfered the plans onto a piece of MDF as a template. However when cutting it out with a Jigsaw I find it hard to follow the line 100% and thus getting the pieces a little out of shape (98%). I have tried to sand and fair it as much as possible to bring it back to shape but obviously can not get 100% to the plans. Is this going to cause a problem? should I start again? how much lead way do I have in these cuts. Any advise would greatly be appreciated.
Marcus.

I bought a Rigid bench belt/spindle sander at Home Depot. You can make your initial cuts with a saber saw about 1/16" outside of your line, and then use the sander with the belt attachment with an 80 grit belt to take it right to the line. With very little practice, you will have everything perfect.... Personally, I would do the bad cuts over as every mistake now can multiply later in the build....... Neel

I also have that sander and it is GREAT!!! If you have a limited budget and have a drill press, you can place sanding drums in it and use that as a budget spindle sander. I did that for a while and clamped a shop vac near the drum to suck up the dust.

Many builders cut wide of the pattern and sand to the line. For one shot builders, this is much easier than making templates.

Roberta

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Roberta
Built Zip "Oliver IV" and Super Spartan "Jimmy 70"

As far as recutting, thats a judgement call on your part. The critical dimensions are at the chine, shear, battens, keel, as thats where the material will be resting and if those are out of alignment its a real pain to clean up during the fairing process.

Now, you can shim out, fill in, and re-cut pieces also. I wasn't 100% myself, pretty darn close, and it worked out.

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Ian (aka Iggy)
My Malahini Build

On my Zip I made templates for all the parts with 3/8 plywood. I did as suggested above by cutting a little large and bringing it down to the line with a sander. If you do that with a drill press you will get the sides of the template square. Then using the template as a pattern I traced the part onto the lumber and again cut it out a little outside the line. It was then a simple matter to tack the template to the lumber and take off the excess with my router and a flush cut bit. The advantage I see by having a template is then you can real quick cut a new piece if you wreck one or if you (or a friend) build another boat you already have them ready. Also, the left and right side pieces of the frame will be identical, which is important if you want the port and starboard sides of the boat to be the same.

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Ches

12" disc sander and a Oscillating Drum and a 12" Disc Sander are very helpful in boat building. Heck, ... Harbor freight Cheapies are perfect for the job.

http://www.harborfreight.com/oscillating-spindle-sander-95088.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-inch-di ... 43468.html

Bill

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Bill

TNT Build, ... On Going, ... http://tinyurl.com/abmae64

The Freebie Zip, ... On Going, ...http://tinyurl.com/at3udss

Super Spartan Build, ... Completed, ...http://tinyurl.com/b488wsz

Hey just wondering if you would be able to post the dimensions of the pieces for the frame? I ordered the cruisette plans as well but with the holidays who knows when I will get them. I have a bunch of days off in the coming up week so I was hoping to have the wood for the framing ready to go for when I receive the plans.

Also if you find any good tips while making yours I would love to hear them.

Hi,
All the frame pieces are not regular shapes so I wouldn't be able to post you the precise measurements. However I can tell you that my MDF measured at 12mm thick by 1200mm wide by 2400mm long. This was perfect for me to lay out the plans. The bill of materials on this site will give you more precise dimensions for the cruisette, at least as a starting reference anyway. As for advice, this is my first build and I am still in the process of gathering all the relevant materials to start the project. I had a few problems cutting out the frame templates with precision but quickly learnt that nice and easy is most effective. I am in no rush .
I have a lot of tools for general purposes but I strong recommend getting the right tools specific for the job ( sanders-table saw- sabre saw etc...), budget permitting of course. It is not that much easier or faster than conventional tools (jig saw, sand paper) but less frustrating and more satisfying once a piece/section is completed It is great to hear/know someone else who is building the same boat, perhaps we can keep in touch and build her together.

Sounds like a plan, I hope to take a ton of pictures of the build process. I think the only tool that I need yet will be some form of a belt sander, Picked up a nice refurbished 9" band saw from canadian tire on sale for 105.00 yesterday as well.

The question on the lumber was mostly for the frames, on the bill of materials they just list it as random. Do you have a rough idea of how wide the largest one is and how long the longest is?

If not no big deal, the plans are past customs so should have them in a day or two, cant wait to start.

Are you modifying yours at all? I was thinking about extending it a bit but this is my first major project so I am going to build it to the plans without changing anything although I will be adding a bunch of minor things, definitly need a small livewell somewhere and fishing rod holders. As well some form of a canopy for the sun, but those are all minor touches near the end.

Have you decided what to make the frames from? Mahogany over here cost an arm and leg so I still haven't found an alternative yet. As for modifications I am on the same boat as you. The plan once finish is to go fishing with my son and perhaps overnight as well. Thats what attracted me to the cruistte in the first place.

Where are you located by the way?

So far I am not sure on the wood for the frames, hopefully I will know today I am waiting to hear back from a few places. I have been having the same issue with mahogany the only places I found it want a fortune for it, as well most of the places I found decent hard wood already have it milled and their 1" thickness is actually around 3/4's. Once I get the plans I will check if the frames need 1" net or if it gets planed downt o 3/4". If it does I might just grab those.

I found decent red oak at a few places but from what I have read on this forum red oak is prone to rotting.

If you can get Dark Red Philippine Mahogany, that is really nice for framing. Try LL Johnson in Michigan USA. I have ordered fine wood from them for my Zip. It might be worth your while to make up a list and have them ship it to you. African Mahogany is very hard and heavy. Honduras is very expensive. If you can resaw and plane, that will save you a lot of money. Chris Fletcher is the guy to talk to at Johnsons. Let him know what you need to net and he will make sure the lumber is selected to give you what you need.

http://theworkbench.com/

Do not use red oak. White oak is fine for keel and battens, but get heavy for framing.

Roberta

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Roberta
Built Zip "Oliver IV" and Super Spartan "Jimmy 70"

Roberta, What is wrong with White Oak for framing?

I have been browsing through the site and forum and it seems to be used quite a bit for framing. This is the first I have seen someone say do not use it.

I already bought 40+ board feet of white oak and want to get all the info before I cut it up.

Nothing wrong with using White Oak for framing. I just prefer lighter species. White oak can get heavy.

Roberta

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Roberta
Built Zip "Oliver IV" and Super Spartan "Jimmy 70"

I actually read your other post wrong, I just re-read it and get what you meant now.

Thanks.