Made some parts for the Pascagoula Diamond Bottom catboat MARGARET ROSE, glued together 4 pieces to make the transom, stuck them together with TotalBoat THIXO Wood and sandwiched a strip of muslin in between the outer and inner layers of cypress. The muslin will help ensure a watertight membrane between the laminated layers. Light clamping while it dries. Also stacked, glued and screwed strips of cypress to make a skeg aka deadwood. Then we started considering the bow stem profile, the stem pattern from our Penobscot 14 is a good start.
The transom will be laminated up with 2 pieces of 3/4 inch thick cypress (top and bottom) per layer, and 2 layers. We offset the location of the horizontal seam on each layer. We will glue the pieces together with TotalBoat THIXO Wood from Jamestown Distributors, a wood colored thickened epoxy adhesive, dispensed from a Newborn 18:1 High Thrust Caulk gun.
Dispensed the THIXO and spread it out with a putty knife. Also put THXO in the seam. We placed a layer of muslin between the layers of the transom, to help make sure there was a good fill with the THIXO and to create a watertight membrane. The next transom layer is laying nearby, and the offset seam is visible.
We used the plastic putty knife the force the muslin down into the THIXO, then added a skim coat of THIXO on top of that. We also put a coat of THIXO on the inside face of the second layer of the transom.
Had some fun with the THIXO. We appreciate the support of the team at Jamestown Distributors, they are always handy for Tech Team help and send us complimentary goodies to try out on our restorations.
4 transom pieces laminated, ready for clamps.
Light clamping for thickened epoxy, just enough to see a tiny bead squeeze out of the seams. Too much pressure can force all of the adhesive out and there would be a glue starved joint.
Next we turned out attention to the skeg (deadwood). We put a bead of THIXO between each layer and then screwed the layers back together one at a time. The Frearson Head silicone bronze screws will hold the cypress strips together as the epoxy dries and they will be captured in place and act as small drift pins.
Before we took the dry skeg apart we numbered each layer and drew an alignment line, the line helps get the pice lined up so the screw can find its old screw hole.
Skeg video: https://youtu.be/stYM6UTkWKo
Tiny beads of epoxy squeezeout are best, we have a few dry spots that need attention.
We used the DeWALT 20V brushless drill with pilot hole countersink bit to make a few new screw holes, the DeWALT 20V brushless impact driver to drive the Frearson Head silicone bronze screws from Jamestown Distributors and the THIXO to glue everything together.
Restocked.
We used the putty knife to spread excess epoxy into the dry seams.
Here's a trick shared by Louis at Tips From a Shipwright, we placed a few screws under the sked to hold it up off of the table while it was drying.
Lamination Tips: https://youtu.be/AZzBhr-6A_E
Shifted our attention to marking a centerline on the ladder frame strongback. Pulled a tight line then marked the line on each station crossmember.
We'll need to make a bow stem pattern, took a look at the pattern from our Penobscot 14 to see how it might look.
Log of MARGARET ROSE.
No comments:
Post a Comment