Cove Stripe Cutting

[Noah]

Hi Everyone!

I have replaced the top two planks up in the bow on my Hinckley 36. The replacement actually looks pretty good, eventhough it was my first time replacing planks.

Anyway, it's all done, but I need to re-do the cove stripe and Hinckley "Talaria". The width of the cove is about 1/2" and the depth is right around 1/4". What would you use to cut this. I router on a guide might be good for the straight sections, but the talaria is going to be tough to make look nice. A nice Gouge?

Let me have it...

BTW, the cove looks like this (Not my boat) :
http://newimages.yachtworld.com/1/2/2/4/5/1224518_2.jpg

[ 05-27-2004, 02:13 PM: Message edited by: Noah ]

[Bruce Hooke]

A router on a guide seems like a good possibility for the straight part. For the "Talaria" I can see two possible options:

1. Rig up a router template to guide the router. With a template collar on your router it seems like it would be a pretty easy shape for which to make a template.

2. Sharpen up your carving gouges and go to it. It's not that complicated a shape but the rounded ends on the lines and the hook are perfect for a router and a little harder to carve.

I hate to point this out now, but it seems to me that it would have been a lot easier to cut both the cove and the "Talaria" just before you fastened the plank in place (i.e., after you were done fitting the plank but while it could still be laid flat on a bench).

[Noah]

Yeah, I thought about cutting them while still out, but because it transverses two planks it was going to be hard to know exactly where it fit. The two new planks weren't exact copies of the originals so I couldn't use them as a guide. (Plus they were pretty well broken up) It's mostly flat up top so it won't be too hard to get router to lie flat.

Tell me more about how to build a router guide that would work? Would you make a ply cut-out that was large enough for the router to run against?

Thanks,

Noah

[Bruce Hooke]

Ah, I didn't realize that it crossed two planks. In that case I can see where it does make more sense to do it in place.

As to the router guide. You need one of these:

http://www.highlandhardware.com/ProductImages/routers/102050.jpg

in the style that fits your router and just over 1/2" in diameter to match the 1/2" router bit that you will presumably be using. Here's another view of the same concept. This one fits Bosch routers:

http://www.highlandhardware.com/ProductImages/routers/ra1111.jpg

These template guides fit into the bottom of the router and wrap the top part of the router bit in a metal cylinder that is just a little larger than the bit. So, the router rides on top of the template and the template guide rides against the edge of the template. This means that the template openings can be only slightly larger than the shape you are trying to cut. I usually make my templates out of masonite.

Does that make sense?

[Noah]

Ok, that makes alot of sense. I have always used the outside edge of the router, but you quickly get a huge template.

I have a Bosch plunge router so I will look for a guide kit.

Thanks,

Noah

[Jon Etheredge]

Tell me more about how to build a router guide that would work? Would you make a ply cut-out that was large enough for the router to run against?
Since you only have one of these to do, it seems to me that hand carving the figure would be the way to go but...

If you want to build a router jig, a guide bushing for the router will probably simplify jig construction a great deal. With a guide bushing you will need to cut a slot of the required shape in a piece of plywood. The bushing slides in the slot and the router bit is centered in the bushing.

I have a set made by Porter-Cable and I imagine other companies offer them also. Here is a photo that I found through a google search:

Porter Cable Guide Bushings (http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/product_details.cfm?&offerings_id=1522&catid=7&objectgroup_id=237&sid=AFD70)

Edited to add:

Oops, looks like Bruce answered your question while I was composing this reply.

[ 05-27-2004, 03:35 PM: Message edited by: Jon Etheredge ]

[Ken Hutchins]

A ply template seems like a good method, only 1 needed. The ply needs to be slightly thicker than the length of the router guide bushing. The simplest way to make the template is draw the centerline of the shape in a cad program and use offsett command to make the shape larger on each side. the offsett amount is determined by the cutter/bushing combination used. After ploting it out, glue plot to the plywood and cut to the line.
If you don't have a cad program and plotter available, send me some dimensional information and I will make a plot for you.

[Noah]

Good information here guys! This board is great!

I will probably just tack a strip onto the hull for the Cove, as that is going to be the easiest way to do the long line. As for the Talaria it looks like I have two options...trace the original and build a guide that is enlarged slightly for using Router Guide Bushings.

The other way to do it would be to get out the gouge and try to make it look nice. I'm not totally confident that that this will look good though. The Mahogany is pretty brittle and blows out easily so I don't think it is going to look real crisp and nice.

Noah

[Bruce Hooke]

Yup, while there would be a nice sense of tradition from doing it with a gouge my suspicion is that it may be quicker to make a template if you do not have much experience carving. Of course, if these planks are going to be painted then the worst that is likely to happen whichever way you do it is that you would have to fill some mistakes with epoxy and then redo that section. With gouges mistakes tend to be small, but may be more frequent. With a router it's easy to make big mistakes in a hurry, but mistakes may be less likely overall! ;)

[Bruce Hooke]

By the way, I just took another look at the "Talaria" and I'm thinking that you may need to make a seperate template for the center line in the group of three horizontal lines. It looks like there may not be enough space between that line and the two adjacent lines to leave any wood in the template once you allow for the guide bushing.

[Thad]

Find a cove plane with the right arc. Tack a batten along the underside of the desired line. Plane to the desired depth and width. The talaria(?) looks like a classic carving problem: draw, cut, clean up -- requiring consideration of the run of grain as well as sharp knives and gouges.

[Paul Scheuer]

Practice, Practice, Practice. Until you can do it in your sleep. It's much less expensive that way. Multiple, registered templates sounds like a good idea. Very sharp bits will keep the edges clean.

[Buddy]

I got to believe if you got the Hinckley folks on the phone, somebody would be glad to tell you how they do it for starters. They'd want it done right for one of their babies.

[Nicholas Carey]

Originally posted by Buddy:
I got to believe if you got the Hinckley folks on the phone, somebody would be glad to tell you how they do it for starters. They'd want it done right for one of their babies.At the very least, the Hinkley folk would prolly pony up properly sized art for it as well.