Get an uniform bevel on long inside curve???

[chuckt]

The rather crude drawing below (which is not to scale) Is the first "plank" of my swim platform. It will be an inch thick. The first plank is the one that goes against the transom. I would like to bevel this curve to match the angle of the transom. But I am stumped as to how to do it. The only possibility I can think of is to use a belt sander. Other ideas?

I should add my bandsaw is out of commission and the part on backorder.

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss151/cmeke0870/work%20begins/IMG_0042.jpg

[Iceboy]

Bandsaw?

[chuckt]

I just edited my post (after your reply) to add that my cheap Porter cable Chinese-made bandsaw is out of commission for the third time. Same cheap part failed.

[Paul Scheuer]

Draw knife.

[Peerie Maa]

^ or spoke shave? Compass plane may also serve.

[Jim Ledger]

How close does it have to be to an airtight fit?

[BBSebens]

use someone else's bandsaw.

A jigsaw may be able to get you close enough to sand/plane/... it to the line.

[chuckt]

Never used a spoke shave. That may be my solution. I forgot my jigsaw might have a tilting base so it might work. A regular plane wont work because of the curve. Compass plane looks like a tool for the job. I didn't know such a thing existed.

[Jim Ledger]

You could probably finish it with a block plane held at a steep angle. This might give a more fair surface than a spokeshave, which tends to follow humps and hollows.

[wizbang 13]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4943414448_30096e97c1_z_d.jpg You've come this far WO one of these?

[Bob Cleek]

Never used a spoke shave. That may be my solution. I forgot my jigsaw might have a tilting base so it might work. A regular plane wont work because of the curve. Compass plane looks like a tool for the job. I didn't know such a thing existed.

Even if you can cut the angle with a jig saw, it won't be fair and you'll have to fair the surface anyhow.

The only compass plane still manufactured will set you back between $450 and $500. Manufactured by Kunz, a "third string" outfit, quality and reputation wise. It's a knockoff of a patent-expired Stanley #113.

http://www.fine-tools.com/kunz11.jpg

A used Stanley 113 in good condition shouldn't cost you more than $150 or so. Much better tool. They quit making them in the mid-/40's.

http://myvintagetools.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/-1080973305601705540.jpg

A Stanley 20 will also serve. Many prefer it to the #113, actually. It'll run you about the same price as the #113. Prices vary given condition. Also out of production, like all the rest of "the good stuff."

http://www.hansbrunnertools.gil.com.au/imagesStanley%20by%20Brunner/Stanle2.jpg

That said, compass planes are tricky buggers to get to work just right. For your purposes, what you would probably do best with is one of these:

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/toolsplus_2156_415671017

Delta rubber sanding drum kit. Under $25 just about anywhere. You can probably find a knock off for half that at Horror Fright. Just chuck it into your drill press and away you go. A coarse grit will remove a lot of wood. Tilt the drill press table to the angle you want. DO BE CAREFUL NOT TO PUT TOO MUCH LATERAL PRESSURE ON IT. Let the abrasive do the work. Drill press quills don't like lateral pressure. They aren't milling machines, ya know. This can also be used in a hand drill, but then you have to do the angling yourself by eye.

There are also "Sureform" round rasp bits that will do the same job as a drum sander, if you prefer.

Don't use a sanding disk. It will dig in at the edges and score the piece. If it has a soft pad, it will also round the edges.

[Bob Smalser]

Anything that can be done using a drawknife, spokeshave or compass plane can be done just as quick (and a helluva lot cheaper if you don't have the tools) using a rasp....and get you into a lot less trouble if you don't have a lot of experience using slicing tools.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/7081299/93859833.jpg

Set up a Workmate near the transom...cut to the outside of your line using a jigsaw...lock the board in the vise curve-side up and use the rasp in the drawfile mode to fair and smooth the sawcuts. Then continue in the drawfiling mode and begin to cut your bevel, checking it against the transom and marking high spots with a pencil til you get the fit you want.

To keep the Workmate from tipping under pressure if the board is over six feet long, you can support the ends using adjustable outfeed rollers, jackstands if you're in a boatyard, or even notched 2X4 scraps.

Then simply clean the rasp marks using an old machinist's file followed by sandpaper. A 25-dollar Nicholson cabinetmaker's rasp and a flea-market machinist file will do the job nicely. Later look for their #49 (coarse) and #50 (fine) patternmaker rasps on sale. These are lifetime tools that'll make your life a lot easier once you get the hang of them.

I have all those other tools, but for your job I'd reach for the rasps as being quicker and providing a more precise fit.

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/search.aspx?manufacturer=1186#

[Bob Cleek]

Smalser's got a good point. A rasp will do it for you, too, with a bit of elbow grease. Be careful, however, not to tear out the grain in splinters at the edges of the piece. Work from the outside towards the center with your rasp. Across the edge of a plank, a rasp's teeth can catch on the far edge of the work and rip out a nasty spinter of grain much deeper than you'd intended to take.

[Ron Williamson]

I'd do the same as Ledger.
Skew the block plane to 45 degrees or so to the work and angle the bow downwards to get the chamfer, working from the outside to the centre.
R

[Kayutwo]

Chuck, for a neat fit you'll need to take 2 templates. Draw a pencil line across the tuck, where the bottom of the platform is to be positioned ...then draw another line 1 inch above...mark the centre of the transom clearly through the pencil lines(and mark centre of ply template material)..........take templates of the lines using some ply , wide enough to have a curve on each side of the ply, and wide enough to keep the ply rigid. Clearly mark the top and bottom curves. When the two curves fit neatly to the pencil lines ( all aligned with centre line) , tranfer the curves onto your 1 inch board. Angled plane , rasp , small adze, chisel & mallet or power tools with do the job easily with the piece in the vice, using the pencil lines as your finish line( leave a wisker for final sanding or filing). At a thickness of 1 inch , it may be overkill , but it will fit neatly and you should have no problems !.....

[chuckt]

Now that I have the first piece roughly cut out I can see the angle is not much at all. I can probably just sand it out or hold the plane at an angle. However, thank you guys for these comments--I learned a thing or two.

[Paul G.]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4943414448_30096e97c1_z_d.jpg You've come this far WO one of these?

you and I are on the same page brother.... de grinda is de botebilda right han'

[George Ray]

For challenging angles I find that using a hand saw to cut kerf(s) to the line(s) provides positive easy visual guidance for the stock removal to follow.

[Handcrafted]

Just as another option. Porter Cable makes a nice trim router )laminate trimmer router( that has an adjustable base that angles. This router with a two flute cutter would be ideal in the right hands.

[S B]

Uniform bevel? pad base of standard router to give bevel and use template to guide it.

[CundysHarbor]

I vote for the spokeshaave. There are two types, flat and curved. For your project you want one with a convex curved sole. They are really pleasing to use and much less problematic than the compass plane. In fact, the first woodworking tool I was allowed to use in my dad's shop was the spokeshave. Almost impossible to get hurt using it, great for learning how to sharpen and the joy of seeing a flat beveled surface created by one's own hands make it a great tool for tots.
Dave