Temps stalled epoxy use in my shed (planking), so...

[HarryH]

I wondered how I could maintain a degree of progress... My neighbor offered use of his basement where temps stay in the 50's. (My bowed roof/poly shed temps are in the 20's most of these nights.)

Deck and cabin trunk beams beckoned. I had the beam molds (patterns) generated back from the lofting days, so I plowed through the scrap lumber pile for jig material. A couple of 2x10s about 8' long and some scrap 2x answered. I covered the 2x10s with old poly cutoffs, then screwed down blocks along the curve to clamp the lams.




The glue up:




The resultant product. I moved the beams back into the shed for sanding, etc. They came out so darned purty that I hesitate to paint them, which was my original intent.



The overhead will be white, so a contrasting beam color would be nice, and I am wondering if there is a stain or natural finish that will not cause the glue line along the lams to stick out. (I've seen comments here to use Weldwood to avoid this problem, i.e. color line, but as above, I thought I might paint them when I began)....Guess I might try a little stain, etc. on an offcut...

An album of my build to date can be found here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Harrible/PogoConstruction#

[Dan McCosh]

If they are white oak, they don't stain well anyway, and a plain varnish coat blends the glue lines. The effect of varnished beams and a painted cabin top looks great.

[The Bigfella]

We've been getting the opposite temp effects down here. I was fibreglass sheathing yesterday and had to slop the epoxy on real fast beofre it went off. We've had a bit of a heat wave - and epoxying when the temp is over 100 is no fun.

[mobjack68]

We've been getting the opposite temp effects down here. I was fibreglass sheathing yesterday and had to slop the epoxy on real fast beofre it went off. We've had a bit of a heat wave - and epoxying when the temp is over 100 is no fun.

dunk your mixing bucket of epoxy in a bucket of ice water....

[gert]

Build a tent and put an electric heater inside.

[HarryH]

Build a tent and put an electric heater inside.

I got pretty far with that technique, considering the boat (and planks) are >22' long...made a little shelter tenting the latest planks, but with a couple of heaters, I am limited to nightly outside temp in the mid 30's and above...I can keep the glue line at about 50 in that case.

[rob]

I see you painting in the bilge with red lead, which has it's advantages. but you don't seem to be painting the planking sides of the frames......that's the one place I would recomend it most

[HarryH]

I see you painting in the bilge with red lead, which has it's advantages. but you don't seem to be painting the planking sides of the frames......that's the one place I would recomend it most

Hi Rob....indeed I would if my boat were regular plank-on-frame. In this case, it is strip built, and the planks(strips) are epoxied to the frames as well as each other. My concern is of course that the red lead would interfere with the bond, so I just did the other three sides of the frames, as well as everything else, up to the sole.

Which brings another question to light...what should the undercoating or primer be below the waterline (under bottom paint)?

[rob]

Right after I posted it occured to me that was probobly your statedgy....I don't really do or know stripper construction all that well, and those I have worked on had planks glued to each other but nailed to the frames. Is glueing to the frames common practice?

[HarryH]

Right after I posted it occured to me that was probobly your statedgy....I don't really do or know stripper construction all that well, and those I have worked on had planks glued to each other but nailed to the frames. Is glueing to the frames common practice?

This plan is not of the latter day stitch & glue variety, or stripper...it was designed in the mid-sixties; the designer called for sawn frames and 3/4 x 1-1/2" strips, glued and edge nailed. The strips are screwed to the frames every 4th plank as called for; I took the liberty of gluing planks to frames also. I may yet run small-bead epoxy fillets along the frames as well, mimicking modern stitch and glue a bit. So, I cannot say with any experience to back it whether or not the modern strippers epoxy strips to frames, tho' I can't see why they would not...

-H