Where to start...

[billy c]

would go a little wider with the blade unless you are doing lots of intricate work. 6tpi is ok. you can run 1/2" for most everything boat related. the Timberwolf is the blade i use. been running saws for 45 years and this is the best blade to date. it is thin kerf so doesnt require the tension of some of the blades.your runout will be nil and tracking/guiding along a line much improved. of course time on the saw will improve results too.

[Iggy]

Ok now I am just plain jealous Bill.

I will pick up a wider blade, I don't need any small curves really and I'd rather more stability and a straigher cut anyways to save myself work later.

[ttownshaw]

Billy, if I ship my wood to you will you cut it for me....

[DaveLott]

Billy, if I ship my wood to you will you cut it for me....

ME TOOOOOOO!!!!

[Dave Grason]

Wow, you could sure bookmatch your covering boards.

[billy c]

swing on up or send to NH and i'd gladly resaw for you! (may not send it back if it is real nice stuff )
once you have the bandsaw working properly, you find many uses for it. the thin kerf is much less hungry than the tablesaw thru the expensive woods too!
Ian if you get the new blade and need some help setting up just PM me.
-Billy

[Iggy]

I've been wracking my brain as to how I want to do the top deck even though its a little ways off. I am challenged by all the incredible works of art done by the dozens and dozens of Glen-L boatmakers before me.. and I've been looking over them all in the customer photo directory. I am also challenged by my own workmanship limitations. I am not someone who has a natural talent for wood.. I enjoy it.. but my hands don't have the manual dexterity to make seams invisible or cut a flawless joint. Nosce te ipsum... I would have to recruit someone else to have them done to any acceptable level of quality. However, in the end, this is my baby... and even with all the flaws I am bound to make, she will float, she will move, and she will have many years in my family boating around western Canada.

So, my ambition has me thinking of doing the following:


I want the entire deck to be as dark a finish as I can get (I may or may not stain it), and the thinner lines are intended to be a light color/contrasting wood.

Now, I just have to figure out how I am going to do it and with what materials. I have a few things in mind, but want to get a little further and get more experience handing the lumber/plywood I have before I commit to any particular method.

[billy c]

not too early to think about the deck. now is the part of the build where you have the best selection of lumber and can pick the best for the coverboards deck and topsides.

[Iggy]

Another milestone.

I picked up a new 3/8" x 6tpi blade for my bandsaw and OH MY what a difference. Blade tracking was WAY down, and it cut faster. As a result, all my frame pieces are cut and ready to get some 'shaping'. Like any newbie.. I wish I could cut all my frames over again now that I have a bit more practice, however I think what I have now is workable. Thanks for the tip on the blade replacement.. save me a lot of time, I am sure.

I also finished marking all my last pieces on my 3/4" plywood. I will cut them out tomorrow and then work on my 3/8" frame gussets.

[Iggy]

I look some photos of the process I used to transfer the plans from the full sized half-patterns to my lumber.

The Glen-L plans for the Malahini show a center line you can use to mirror your plans to get both sides of the bottom and top frames.

(Notice my leather hole punch I used beside the plans in the photo above).

Using Carbon paper face up I trace the ourside contours of the frames for when I flipped over the plans.



I also used a hole punch to create some 'line up holes' so I could see the edge of my lumber below and centerline for flipping them over.


I lined up the 'setup level' line on the planed straight edge of my lumber, then used finishing nails at the corner and mid-curve location(s) of the plans to set the location for my guide.



I then lifted, flipped over, lined up the center line and straight edge and used finishing nails on the other side of the frame section.



I removed the plans, placed a 1/4"x 1/4" square cut guide and flexet to match the curve, using finishing nails on the opposite side to hold it in place while I traced the line.



On the side frames sections where I had a large enough piece of carbon paper and was not matching up the setup level (all sides curved), I put the carbon paper face down, nailed the finishing nails on the top surface, placed my flexible guide, then traced the line on-top which transfered down onto the lumber.


I worked out very accurate, pretty quick once you got the tools ready, and the finishing nails pulled out quite easily by hand (don't pound them in too deep). I ended up using a smaller 1/8" x 1/4" guide on the tighter curves of the transom frame sides, but otherwise everything was easy to line up with either one to three nails along the curve for the guide.

[Iggy]

Arggg.

My love/hate relationship with my band saw goes on. After the blade change I was able to zip through the lumber cuts for the frames, but when it came to cut the plywood for the stem and even the thinner 3/4" (3/8"x2) gussets I had some real issues keeping the blade on-line.. or more accurately OFF the line. It just wanted to curve in or out and I had a real tough time trying to get it 'back' on the line if it got off even a little. I stopped several times to readjust tension and the guides.. but it made little difference.

Does plywood 'cut' harder than lumber? Sure seems like that to me. I did manage to get everything cut EXCEPT the angle cuts for the brestnook, chine block and transom... I have zero confidence in making an even remotely accruate angle cut on this plywood right now.

I got my sanding station up and running.. and if I had all the money and time in the world I would be tossing out 60% of my lumber and recutting them again. I was just too close to the line for comfort and on several pieces I over-cut inside the line. But.. as I am not weathly.. I have to live with my bad cuts and will likely have to deal with doing a lot of 'filling' and re-sanding later... and I not looking forward to the fairing process.

I've also looked at every single boat in the Customer Photo section.. every last one of them.. for ideas as to color, finish, trim.. anything and everything.

I have to admit, I am not very confident that I have the skill to make my Malahini as good as most of them out there. I almost wish I started with a more 'basic' painted style boat so I could hide more of the errors I am likely to make underneath a coat of paint. I am doubting my ability to make something I will be proud of.. and I really want to do a good job on this boat. I just fear my personal ambition might be larger than my personal skills to do it.

I know I can get it to float.. and run.. and function just fine, I am just struggling with the balance between how I want it to look and what I can actually do myself to make it happen.

Its weighing heavy on my mind... its not going to stop me.. but its been a mental struggle in the past few days to get that 'cutting' confidence back again. Its time like this I wish I had more woodcutting experience... everything is either first time or been a very, very long time since I did it.

[upspirate]

Hang in there IGGY....it sounds like you need a good C&C session.

Take each step slowly,it'll turn out fine.

[ttownshaw]

Iggy,

Been right where you are at now! You will find a way that works best for you when cutting different lumber/plywood. For me, rough cuts with a jig saw and a fine tooth metal cutting blade, then over to the stationary disc sanding station worked best. I screwed all my gussets for one frame together and sanded them to the final dimension at one time...the same process for the frame pieces.

If you are not too far into it...add 2-3 degrees angle to the transom. This means changing the angle of the transom knee as well. Also means your sheers will be a little longer by an inch or two. I say this because I know this is going to be an issue for me. Every single outboard I saw at the Gathering either had additional angle built in to the transom or wedges added to increase the angle (below is a picture of how Sam Witherington did it on his Malahini). Also, don't forget the inside plywood lamination of the transom before mounting it (like I did...oops). Finally, be aware of the angle of the sides of the transom. In retrospect it would have been a lot easier to have built in some of the bevel rather than sanding, and planing, and sanding, and planing, and sanding to get the correct bevel.



Hope this gives you some additional hope...don't give up...building is most of the fun (at least for me anyway).

[Iggy]

Oh no.

I cut the sides of my transom and lumber already, I left 'extra' at the bottom for the the angle cut but the top and sides where cut at a standard 90 degree cut. I don't have enough 3/4" mahogany ply to cut another transom,.

Am I royally screwed now? Do I need to order another sheet of ply.. or do I 'add' some filler to the sides and recut them again somehow?

By 'angle' I am assuming you mean the angle of the plywood as it moves from the transom to frame 1, right?

[ttownshaw]

By 'angle' I am assuming you mean the angle of the plywood as it moves from the transom to frame 1, right?

Yep, you got it. And no you are not screwed! You'll (like me) just get to spend a lot of extra time with sanding and planing to get it curved just right...kinda like time spent with a new girlfriend.

Don't fret, you're fine.