Frames 2,4 & 6 plus a scarfing jig

I permanently attached frames 2,4 and 6 today with no real dramas. I have also finished drilling all the clips ready to do frames 1 & 3 on Sunday.

I'm a bit worried about disturbing the glue on frames that are drying so I turned my attention to making a scarfing jig copying a design I found on the Glen-L forum. That didn't take to long and seems to work ok. I need to get beeswax or something to lubricate the slide on my table saw.

No work tomorrow as I am on duty at the station.

Frame 5 attached

I marked out and drilled the holes in the clips for attaching the frames in frames 2,3,4 & 5. Then took these to work and used the drill press to get nice square holes.

I also drilled the holes in the stringers for frames 2 & 3. Somehow I messed up frame 3, with one side of it out by about 10mm, still can't figure out how I managed that.

Lastly this afternoon, I permanently attached frame 5. This went without too much stress. The photo is with the job complete. Note the string level being used to check the frame is level across the stringers.

It almost looks like a boat

I threaded the frames onto the stringers and then leveled and bolted the stringers to the building form. All of a sudden it almost looks like a boat.

Leveling the stringers was a bit of a mission, they are close but not as perfect as I would like, but I ended up just chasing my tail trying to get them any closer.

Got frame 5 into its correct position and drilled the holes for the clips into the stringers. Went without too much problems, although I discovered I had forgotten to notch the frames to allow the floor timber to sit on the stringers. Easily fixed with the jig saw but I got a bit carried away and so have a but of overcut to fill with glue.

So ended the day with the frame 5 clips about half fitted.

Stringer Preparation complete

It's taken a while and I've had a few problems along the way, but finally they are complete and today they received the first coat of penetrating epoxy. I can't say I am 100% happy with them. I had a lot of trouble cutting the taper at the end. My jigsaw just refused to cut squarely.

I also picked up a second hand bench saw from my neighbor. It's a triton 2000. In great nick and was a good price. Can't try it out however as I can't raise any dust while the epoxy on the stringers is drying

Stringers have arrived

Got the call yesterday afternoon to say my LVL beams have arrived. This stuff is basically plywood, 45mm thick x 145 wide. It is cut dead straight, and being ply is dimensionally stable, it is also stronger than wood alone. But..... Its designed to replace 2x6 in buildings and as such is a bit rough when delivered. I have spent the afternoon filling various holes with epoxy. It also has a coating on it that i need to sand off so that the penetrating epoxy will soak in. I foresee about 3 or 4 days of time before i can start to shape them, most of that however will be waiting while the glue dries. Below is a photo of the LVL product.

I also took my clips to work today and used the drill press to drill the holes that bolt the clips to the stringers. I will mount them temporarily and mark the holes for the clips to frame bolt and then go back to work and drill those too. Nice square holes that way.

Building form and clips are done

The building form went up easier and quicker than expected.

I have also mostly finished the clips, going to drill the bolt holes at work on the drill press so they are nice and square.

I am now completely at a standstill waiting for materials. I have also decided i really need a bench saw from now on in. I have got away with a circular saw up until now, but just can't see that working for doing things like scarf joints and ripping long battens etc

Excitement is building

I have had very little chance to work on the boat this week, but finally today got some work done. I have been dry fitting the stem to frames 7 & 8. I have had a few problems to work through. On frame 8 the slot for the stem wasn't wide enough, this was relatively easily fixed with the router. Frame 7 however was a bit barder to fix. The slot for the stem was too big, so I had to glue some shims in.I'll post a photo later.I then got started on the building form. A freiend of mine was able to get me all the timber for the building form for free. So far I have the base bolted to the ground and the cross pieces bolted to the base. Tomorrow I am going to go and order my LVL stringers. Being this close to Christmas I am not sure they will arrive before the new year.I'll post a photo of thr build form later as well.

Frames are now complete

Frames are almost done

The last frame is glued up, and by tomorrow will be complete.  In the morning I have to flip it over and put the gussets on the otherside.

I have done three frames in 3 days, lightning fast progress compared to the others, taking some time off to do this has been fantastic.

I have enjoyed for the most part making the frames, only but that dragged was transferring the patterns to the timber / layout board.  I really struggled with that, but came up with techniques that made it easier as I went.

I have just about run out of materials, so things will be pretty slow until about mid January, which is a pity as I have a couple weeks of over xmas.

The garage is empty

Big milestone of sorts, on the weekend just gone I completed the re-wiring of my brothers replica MG TF, and as luck would have it he has moved into a new place with a garage and so now has somewhere to put it, so after 18 months my garage is empty and so I now have somewhere to begin assembling the boat.

However I am not quite at that stage yet, I have completed another frame and the stem and breasthook since my last post, but still have 2 more frames to assemble.

I have taken a week off work, mostly to retain my sanity, or what's left of it, and am using as much of the time as I can on boat building, and so I expect to finish the last two frames this week.

Through a friend in the building industry I am getting all the timber for the building form for free, aside from the long piece, all the rest of the form components are less than about 1000mm so he is collecting offcuts that would otherwise go into the skip bin.

So, all I need now is the stringers to take the next couple of leaps forward, but won't have the cash for those until January, but that's not too far away.

A bit of an update

Work has once again got in the way so progress has slowed somewhat. Since my last post frame #1 has been completed, and I have acquired the timber for the deck beams for the remaining frames. I have cut out deck beams for frames 4 & 5, marked out the floor timbers for all remaining frames, created patterns for the gussets for all remaining frames and finally started cutting out the first stem piece.

Hopefully this coming weekend will see me glueing up Frame #4.

Glueing of Frame 1

This photo is my prepeartion to glue up Frame 1. 

I start off by transferring the pattern to my work bench as per the instructions from Glen -L.  I then layout the frame pieces and make any adjustments to the pieces to ensure everything fits properly.  I then screw chocks all around the pieces.  This is done using offcuts of ply.  I screw these directly into my workbench.  This workbench was specially made for the process of building the frames, and I have absolutely no worries about drilling, cutting & screwing this bench top as required.

I have all my tools layed out, and all un-nessecary clutter cleared away.  If you look closely you will see that I have laid out all the screws and nails,  The tools have been wrapped in glad wrap to keep the worst of the epoxy off.  All parts are layed out, marked out (extents of glue application areas), and pre-drilled whereever possible.  For the gussets, I mark and drill the holes in the gussets, then after applying the glue and positioning, I drill one hole through into the frame and then bang a nail most of the way home.  Then do the same with a second nail.  At this point the gusset can't move so I drill all the remaining holes and then nail them all.

All the screws for the floor timers are "soaped" up to make them go in easy, all holes predrilled with a proper "screw" drill that makes the holes the correct diameters for the shank and threaded portions.

I have taken to weighing my part A & B of the glue to ensure I get an accurate mix.

You can also see a box of rubber gloves.  I often change gloves at least once ot twice during a gluing operation.

You will also see a mirror.  This is so I can see under the floor timbers and gussets to scrap away the excess glue.

End result is that the glueing operation generally goes very smoothly, and I have no surprises.  I in-variably forget some part of it, but because I do all this prep, missing one thing is no biggy.

Raptor Brads

I received a sample of raptor composite brads today. I spent a good hour trialing them in my brad gun. The suppliers have been adamant that they will only work properly in their guns, something that was at least in part bourne out by my tests.

Shooting into ply it works perfectly, really happy with the result. However when I tried to shoot them into ply and sapelle the result wasn't so good. In most cases they only penetrated between 3 and 5 mm

I have a few more experiments to try, but I think I will have to either not use them on the first layer, or buy their gun.

Waiting to find out what they cost.

Frame 2 complete and frame 1 underway

Last weekend was a long weekend here in NZ, so I was sure I would get at least a day to do some boat building, but no, other pressures got in the way.  Not least of which is my brothers car, which I am doing the wiring on.  Its been a fun exercise, but I really need to get it finshed for two reasosn, firstly I need the space for boat building and secondly, when it leaves here, if its un finished then I'll have to travel over to his place every weekend till its done.

In laying out frame 1 tonight, its obvious that my woodworking skills are improving rapidly.  For the first couple of frames I was quite glad the gussets and floor timber hid the joins, but on this frame they aren't too bad, and the gussets and floor timber will only require minimal sanding to make them flush with the frames.

I have also  dramitcally improved my technique from transferring the pattern to my layout table.  I meant to take a photo tonight but carried away.  I'll try to remember for the next frame.

Here is a photo with the pieces laid out on the pattern, note the deck beam has yet to be cut out.

My only issue at the moment is my foam rollers delaminate from the inner core when I am using the penetrating epoxy.  As its the first coat I am thinning it down 10%, and I suspect its the thinners causing it.

I have also been looking ahead, and trying to source some of the composite nails popular with several other Glen-L builders.  The thought of pulling some 22,000 stables leaves me cold.  I have aquired a brad gun a ways back, and I'm currently waiting for a sample of the nails to see if my gun will shoot them.

The nails I'm planning on using are from Raptor.   www.raptornails.com.

Frame 6 complete

Over the last week or so I have completed frame 6. It has turned out a lot better than the first two. I have made a lot of progress in my techniques for laying out the patterns, creating my gussets etc It will still need a lick with the sander, but not by much. This week I will start in frame 2, as it's the last one that I have a complete set of components for. I still need to manufacture the deck beams for all the rest.

Penetrating Epoxy

Not a lot of progress this week.  I did however last weekend get Frames 7 & 8 coated in the first of the penetrating epoxy coats.  The respirator worked very well, no smell whatsoever until I took the mask of at the end.

Takes a long time to cure, but makes the timber look great.  I have started on cutting out the floor timbers and gussets for frames 2 & 6 tonight.  I hope to have frame 6 completed by the end of the weekend.

Also looking to get another coat of sealer on Frames 7 & 8.

Frames progress

Frame 7 is assembled, just waiting for the glue to cure, then will give everything a sand and then seal it with the penetrating epoxy.

I approached this frame with some trepidation based on reading the forum and people's experience will ring nails, but I had absolutely no problems. I drill two holes, applied the glue, tapped those two about half way home. I then drill all the other nail holes, and again drove nails in all the holes about half way home. Then bashed them all the way in. Sweet as, no problems, and nothing moved.

Finally got around to getting a respirator.

Also got some thinners for the penetrating epoxy, hopefully it will makes the first coat soak in a bit better.

Frame 8 complete, Frame 7 in Progress

Had a good weekend of progress.  I have glued together frame 8, and made a start on Frame 7.

I also did some trials with my penetrating epoxy.  That stuff smells bad, I must go and get a respirator.  I painted the stuff on a scrap of mahogany and also on the ply that I am using for my floor timbers.  Then after drying I cut the pieces in half to see how the penetration had gone.  Not as much as I would have thought, although it seemed to suck into the wood quite readily when I painted it on.  The instructions say I can thin it for the first coat by up to 10% so I am currently researching suitable thinners.

Work commitments are still a bit of a killer, but I'm hopeful of getting the frames all assembled and encapsulated by early November.

Transom Frame is Complete

I've been a bit slack and haven't taken any photos yet,I will sort that out when I return to NZ.

Before leaving I completed the assembly of the transom frame.  I wrecked several more screws in the process, I had to drill and ezy-out a couple of them.  However by the end I wasn't wrecking screws any more.

This is also the first big test for the epoxy glue and so far I have no complaints.

I am pondering whether to glue the deck arches on just yet.  The plans say to do it when the ply skin is on, but lots of people have done it before.

I have also acquired a couple of sheets of ply to make my gussets and floor timbers.  So Frame assembly should progress fairly quickly over the next couple of weeks.

Stage 1 glueing the transom together

Well that was the scariest half hour of my recent memory.

Elected to glue the transom bottom laminations to the floor timber, and the centre upright to the floor timber.  Learnt a lot of things really quick.

1. The glue makes everything really slippery, so when your trying to clamp, things slide all over the place, particularly as I was wary about over-clamping and squeezing all the glue out.

2. If you don't apply clamps before you screw, the two pieces will not respond to clamping afterwards as the screw threads hold the pieces apart.

3. If the screw driver bit slips even once with Silicon bronze screws, then the head is stuffed and your best course of action is to take it out if you can.  I wrecked two screws in the process of putting 6 screws in.  One of the things I did forget to do was use soap to lubricate them, must remember that for next time.

I had read numerous comments about over clamping, but found when it came to doing the job, I wasn't actually sure what constitutes over clamping.  currently I have about a 1/32th gap between the pieces that is filled with glue.  I need to do some research on this before my next glueing attempt.


But after all that I am reasonably happy with the outcome.  But will need to wait for the glue to dry to be sure.

Transom Dry fit up

Well after being a bit concerned about the complexity of the transom frame floor timber, it actually turned out to be quite easy to make.  The part is formed from a 2 x 4 x 26 piece of mahogany, but has several angels, a notch for an uprights and one face is rounded off to match the curvature of the transom.

That done I set about dry fitting all the other pieces of the transom.  This is the first time my entire clamp collection has been put to use in one go.  I am going to have to get some more.  Dry fitting was well worth it as there a subtleties (and minor errors) in the plans that don't become clear until you dry fit....and it doesn't fit.  In my case most of the "doesn't fit" turned out to be because I had pieces not quite correctly positioned.  I will have to square up the tops of my side pieces to get the deck frame sitting correctly, but other wise it looks pretty good.  The other thing I noticed is the curve on my lower frame pieces doesn't quite match the curve on the Floor timber.  Once they are glued together I'll marry them up with the belt sander.

I'll post a photo when I get home.  But from here I have a 3 stage glue / screw plan.  Stage 1 is the lower laminations and centre upright get secured to the floor timers.  Stage 2 is the side pieces and deck beam.  Stage 3 is the remaining uprights.  After that I will encapsulate it in penetrating epoxy and be able to call the first frame done.  Hopefully by about this coming weekend.

First piece laminated

Glued up my first real piece of boat today, for the record it was one of the bottom laminations of the transom frame. Didn't go too bad, I pre-drilled the nail holes, then plastered the glue on and stuck it together and bashed the nails in. I ended up also clamping lightly as the ends seemed to have a bigger gap. I didn't quite get glue squirting out all the way around. So obviously I need to stick a bit more glue on. Pity to as I had some left over but once the nails were driven there was no going back.

I practiced the nailing on some scrap pieces and determined that a 2.5mm drill bit seemed to be the best. I tried to find a suggested size but the only thing I could find was that you need to Pre drill the full length of the nail. Anyway that seemed to go off without a hitch.

Glue trials, more frames and assembly

I have purchased some epoxy glue from EPG and decided to do some trials with it. So I glued two pieces together and left them for a week. I then beat the crap out of it with a rubber mallet. The wood broke in several places, but not the glue. I then tried the same thing with Gorolla glue, almost as good but eventually a part of the glue broke.

I have cut out several more frame pieces, and am closing in on completing that phase so for a change I decided to work on the transom, and started to cut out the notches for the bottom battens. Slipped with my newly sharpened chisel, and cut my finger, a nice clean cut so there was coupious amounts of blood. Sorted that out and finished the notches on one side. Will do the notches on the other side tomorrow and then glue the transom bottom laminations together.

I also played around with the hole sizes for Pre-drilling the nail holes. Determined that I need to buy a new set of drill bits.

More parts made and some decisions made

Made another 4 frame pieces today, and marked out some more ready for cutting.

Also made some decisions, I am going with Stainless bolts (the price was right - FREE !!!), the old saying "its not what you know, its who you know !!".

I have also decided to try epoxy products by EPG, a local manufacturer.  They do Epoxy, Epoxy Glue and timber penetrating products, so I'm planning on getting the smallest pack sizes of each and try them out.

Excitement is building, very close to starting to assemble the frames.

On the subject of Epoxy, there has been a couple of posts on the Glen-L forum regarding sentitivity to epoxy products, so I have decided that from the outset I will use Paper overalls, disposable gloves, safety glasses and a respiriatory whenever I use the stuff.  I have used epoxy from time to time before without any problems, but they have generally been for small jobs, with long intervals between exposure.

More timber and flatting boards with a power plane

I have almost exhausted my first lot of timber, I now have a reasonable pile of odd shaped pieces of timber.  So it was back to BBS timbers to get another couple of pieces.

For my first lot of timber I took it to a local cabinet maker and got royally ripped of getting him to put it through his jointer and give it all one good face.  So this time I cut my first piece and had a go at flatting it with a power plane (see links page for you-tube video on how to do this).  Guess what....it worked, and was extremely easy.  Admittedly this particular pieces wasn't in too bad a state to start with, and I have yet to put it through the thicknesser to see what the final product looks like, but so far so good. I was surprised at how little I had to take off, thankfully I had the planer set for a very shallow depth.

So currently I am about 2/3rds of the way through the cutting out of frame pieces, and hope to start glueing shortly.  Unfortunately I will be away for 3 of the next 4&1/2 weeks so not a lot is going to happen in the short term.

Decisions to make in the short term are


1. Stainless (316), Zinc plated or Galvanised bolts.  I don't think plated bolts would be up to the task.  Galv, well nothing wrong with them, just me being picky, so I am going to price up 316 stainless, and as long as its not a small fortune go that way.

2. Epoxy, now this ones a bit harder,  we have a distributor for 'West' products, but they are real pricey, there are some locally made products, that look OK, and are about half the price, so I am going to go and see them tomorrow and get some more info. From a support persepctive West would be good as there are plenty of people on the forum who use the stuff, but have to stick within a budget of sorts.

Just more Frames

I probably wont post to much in the next month or so, as I have now fallen into a fairly repetitive routine of marking out, cutting out and fairing frame components.  I'm not getting a lot of time at the moment, so I am only getting around 4 - 6 pieces a weekend done, less this weekend.

I have changed my method a bit.  I was marking out each piece from the patterns.  Now I mark out and cut one pieces, and then use that to trace around to make the corresponding piece.  Its a bit easier, plus I tend to end up with two pieces that are more closely matches which makes fairing them a bit easier.

Opps - Small mistake

Was re-reading the instruction this afternoon and came across a note advising that the notches for the Keel, Chine and sheer were marked out when producing the frames but not cut out until it was time to install the sheer / Chine and Keel.  Well......I have cut out pretty much all the keel notches, all the Chine notches, and a couple of the sheers....Opps.  Never mind, nothing that some scraps on Mahogany and Epxoy glue wont cure.

I must have read the instruction at least a dozen times recently, but until you become really familiar with the parts, which only really comes when you start to manufacture them, its easy to miss the subtleties of it all.

Circular Plane

I was cleaning up a few more frames today, and up until now I had been clamping the two identical halves together and then using a belt sander to fair them off.  Works fine, but a little slow.  Then I remembered I had acquired from my late grandfathers tool collection a "Circular" plane.  This great little plane has a flexible base plate that by means of an adjusting screw can form a convex or concave base.  Following the curves is a simple as putting the plane on the surface, and then eyeballing it while you adjust it.

 The only problem I had was that the way I had cut the parts meant that I was planing with the grain on one piece and against on the other, but as long as I took it gently it wasn't a problem. I was mostly just taking high spots off, so I would change directions depending on which piece I was taking the high spot off.