Will I need to cut any cured fiberglass that extends above the hull sides along the shear clamps before a plane the shear clamps? Will the plane just cut through it or potention crack it?
The plane will cut through, but the blade will be dulled. Do you want to spend the time sharpening your blade or removing glass beforehand? You’re going to be doing one or the other.
Laszlo
Laszlo,
It may just be easier to cut it with a utility knife and just replace the blade, although I was planning to sharpen the blade on the hand plane before I begin. I just needed to know if it needed to be trimmed flush with the hull. The manual just says cut below the shear clamp but not how far. Thanks for the help.
Rob
Hi Robert
Let the block plane do the work as you plane the shear clamps down so they intersect flush with the side panels.
Once it has cured, as your picture shows, there is not a really good way to cut it with a blade without risking the blade accidentally cutting into your hull mahogany.
To the extent you were trying to trim it to the edge of the hull, your timing needed to coincide with when the glass was in a plasticy state…so at this point, that ship has sailed…
You do need to be careful not to slice the tips of your fingers with this glass edge…so make sure when working around this with your block plane that you keep your finger grip above the level of the plane face and work with care…
You can imagine how i might have come to this advice. It makes me uncomfortable to think back about it…
H
Howard,
I did cut some that were as high as the shear clamp. And you are right, the glass is sharp as I am typing this with a bandaged finger. I just wish the instructions were clearer on this. Thanks for sharing your hard won knowledge.
Rob
I let some glass cure before removing last week. My hands show it. Also my feet, never wear sandals when you are removing cured glass.
1 Like
And safety goggles are also a must when cutting into cured glass.
1 Like
Howard,
Yes, I wear them every time even when applying epoxy.
Rob
I trim the glass edge down with a plane while beveling the shear clamps. As noted above, the glass edge is very sharp so can cut your hands if you are not careful. For this reason, best to use a wider plane like the Stanley Sweatheart 60 1/2 because it provides more hand protection.
The other issue mention above it that the epoxy will dull your blade more quickly. All that means is that you have to sharpen more often. If you don’t already have one, a good sharpening stone is an absolute must for boat building. Unless you are skilled at hand sharpening, I also suggest a good honing guide. Once you get the hang of it, you can put a razor edge on your iron in just a few minutes. My technique is to sharpen my blades every morning before use. Note that the Stanley blades are rather dull when new so you must sharpen before first use. In the picture below, you can see my Veritas Honing Guide and water stone in the lower right corner.
If you plan to build more than one boat, you may consider buying higher quality tools than Stanley. I am a big fan of Lie-Nielsen but there stuff is double the price of Stanley. For me, this is money well spent. The LM blades are sharp when new and made of harder steel so they hold an edge much longer than Stanley. In the picture above, the five bronze planes in the middle are all LM with the two in the center (Low Angle Block Plane and Violin Makers Plane) being the most used for strip building. For comparison, the Stanley 60 1/2 and Stanley Low Angle sold by CLC are the two just right of the big plane center top.
Since the above picture was taken, I have added the LM 60 1/2 pictured below. Same size/shape of the Stanley version but much easier to adjust and stays sharper longer.
My experience is that the next step in your Chesapeake build, beveling the shear clamps, is the one that most first time builders struggle the most with. I had zero experience with block planes and used the dull Stanley on my first build and it was a real struggle. I got it done but the result was pretty bad with lots of tears and gouges. Since switching to LM and using sharp blades, I have found this a much easier and enjoyable task. Picture below is current build, a Chesapeake Sport Tandem.
Mark,
I started woodworking about 5 years ago in anticipation of building a boat (a Northeastern Dory but alas, no room). I am no expert but I enjoy it and have a knack for it, or at least the wife likes the furniture I’ve built. I also have little experience with a hand plane. I bought a new Jorgensen hand plane for this project and actual used it successfully on a small table build. It is sharp but I ordered a honing guide and new sharpening stone. Thanks.
1 Like
Mark, you building hamster accommodations into your new boat?
Laszlo
Yes Laszlo, I plan on adding mini-treadmills for added hamster power in races.
Seriously, I wanted to see just how many shavings came off the shear clamps, so I put them inside bow and stern while working. Turned out to be two kitchen garbage bags full total. Here is picture of the bow. There were fewer shavings up front because the bow bevel has a much smaller radius.
That’s some fairly expensive Hamster bedding.