# Flatten inside wire loops? **URL:** \ **Category:** Builder's Forum\ **Created:** [June 4, 2026, 10:37pm UTC](https://forum.clcboats.com/t/flatten-inside-wire-loops/72109 "2026-06-04T22:37:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Robert\_Luke\_Battenfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d26b3c/32.png) [@Robert\_Luke\_Battenfe](https://forum.clcboats.com/u/Robert_Luke_Battenfe)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://forum.clcboats.com/t/flatten-inside-wire-loops/72109/21 "2026-06-07T19:51:59Z")
Howard, Thank for the tips. I will use the timers. Great idea. Rob ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Richards](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex007/user_avatar/forum.clcboats.com/jeff_richards/32/29_2.png) [@Jeff\_Richards](https://forum.clcboats.com/u/Jeff_Richards)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 10:16pm UTC](https://forum.clcboats.com/t/flatten-inside-wire-loops/72109/22 "2026-06-07T22:16:15Z")
Adding two cents on the filets. I like to work as quickly as I can to get the mix to the peanut butter stage (first minute or so vigorously mixing without any wood flour in the cup, then rapidly add and stir in the wood flour. Then work quickly to get the mix into a pastry bag, then work quickly to lay down lines of epoxy as pre-filet tubular beads. I pre-position the pastry bag in a clean/dry cottage cheese container, the wide opening folded back over the rim, with the pointy end in the bottom of the cup, folded over and held that way with a cloths pin. That way when you take the bag out of the cup you have a clean end on the bag you can snip off with scissors. After some experience you’ll begin to guage how thick of bead you need to lay in based on the angle at which the panels meet and the thickness of the filet you desire. This way you can (at least I can) get the beads layed out much more rapidly than using a tool to place the goop scoop-by-scoop diretly from the cup with a filet tool. If you judge correctly you’ll be able to empty the pastry bag before the epoxy sets up too much. You’ll feel the bag get warm in your hands. The benefit to this rapid lay-in of the filet beads is that once you have the beads laid out, you’ll then have quite a bit of time (often more than 10 minutes, even if it is 80 degrees or more in your work area) to go back with the filet tool to shape the filets. Of course you can’t do too much at a time, as you have to shape in all the beads you lay in before they get too firm, but I’ve had much more success this way than loosing a half-cup of mix that cooks off while I fuss around trying to lay in nice looking filets in the scoop-and-shape-as-you-go method. Also much more efficient use of the goop, as once you get the size of your beads calibrated, there is much less goop that needs to be scraped back into the cup as a part of the filet shaping process. And of course the final step is to learn how to use the wet-alcohol-finger method for final smoothing just as the filet starts to firm up. As your technique improves you can learn to put in filets that require next to no sanding after they are hardened. ---
**Author:** ![Robert\_Luke\_Battenfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d26b3c/32.png) [@Robert\_Luke\_Battenfe](https://forum.clcboats.com/u/Robert_Luke_Battenfe)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://forum.clcboats.com/t/flatten-inside-wire-loops/72109/23 "2026-06-07T23:02:16Z")
Jeff, Thank you for the advice. I appreciate it. Rob ---
**Author:** ![Jon\_Ferguson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d9b06d/32.png) [@Jon\_Ferguson](https://forum.clcboats.com/u/Jon_Ferguson)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 11:07am UTC](https://forum.clcboats.com/t/flatten-inside-wire-loops/72109/24 "2026-06-08T11:07:39Z")
My SW Dory requires epoxy tack welds and stitch removal. In fact that is what I did this weekend. Some of them were epoxied in and I had to use a heat gun to pull the stitches. ---
**Author:** ![Laszlo\_Morocz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Laszlo\_Morocz](https://forum.clcboats.com/u/Laszlo_Morocz)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 11:12am UTC](https://forum.clcboats.com/t/flatten-inside-wire-loops/72109/25 "2026-06-08T11:12:38Z")
Just as a counterpoint here, I’ve never had any luck with the pastry bag method. The bag pops, the fillet mix cooks off in the bag, etc. I know it works for other people, but it’s like music - some people are piano players, others play the horn. Some people are baggers and others aren’t. I’m not. While bagging has never worked for me, I can quickly lay down a fillet with a rounded putty knife and don’t need to go back to shape the beads into fillets. I also don’t need to fool around with loading bags; I go directly from the mixing cup to the fillet. I’m a putty knifer, not a bagger. I’m not saying don’t use the bag method, just that you should be aware that it may not be the match for you that it is for other builders. Jeff’s key sentence is “After some experience…”. Don’t base complex build plans on either method until you’ve had a chance to get that experience. That’s another reason why Mark’s advice to start small and inconspicuous instead of trying to do it all at once is good. You can experiment and see if you are a bagger or putty knifer, or maybe even something else and proceed accordingly. Laszlo ---
**Author:** ![Robert\_Luke\_Battenfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d26b3c/32.png) [@Robert\_Luke\_Battenfe](https://forum.clcboats.com/u/Robert_Luke_Battenfe)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 1:05pm UTC](https://forum.clcboats.com/t/flatten-inside-wire-loops/72109/26 "2026-06-08T13:05:52Z")
Laszlo, I hear you. The only time I have ever used a pastry bag was on actual pastry (ginger bourbon blondies). It was a disaster, although they tasted great. I’d end up with epoxy everywhere. I will use the fillet tools I have. I cut some auto body scrapers to size and have some silicon stirrers and ice cream sticks for smaller fillets. I wouldn’t be able to do this without everyone’s helpful advice. Thank you. Rob ---
**Author:** ![Robert\_Luke\_Battenfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d26b3c/32.png) [@Robert\_Luke\_Battenfe](https://forum.clcboats.com/u/Robert_Luke_Battenfe)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 1:08pm UTC](https://forum.clcboats.com/t/flatten-inside-wire-loops/72109/27 "2026-06-08T13:08:07Z")
Jon, What tool did you use for the welds. I was going to dab the joints with a chip brush. Thanks. Rob ---
**Author:** ![Jon\_Ferguson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d9b06d/32.png) [@Jon\_Ferguson](https://forum.clcboats.com/u/Jon_Ferguson)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 2:23pm UTC](https://forum.clcboats.com/t/flatten-inside-wire-loops/72109/28 "2026-06-08T14:23:27Z")
I used pastry bags to do the welds, just small amounts of epoxy and filler for each bag. I haven’t had the problems that Laszlo described. My main problem was getting the correct amount of filler, too little and it dribbles everywhere and too much and your hand starts to cramp squeezing it out. That being said it worked just fine. For larger work like fillets it might be better to go another way, I don’t know. I’m going to try the pastry bag first and adapt as needed. ---
**Author:** ![Robert\_Luke\_Battenfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d26b3c/32.png) [@Robert\_Luke\_Battenfe](https://forum.clcboats.com/u/Robert_Luke_Battenfe)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 5:20pm UTC](https://forum.clcboats.com/t/flatten-inside-wire-loops/72109/29 "2026-06-08T17:20:21Z")
Jon, Thanks for the input. I appreciate it Rob ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Sawtelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/edb3f5/32.png) [@Steve\_Sawtelle](https://forum.clcboats.com/u/Steve_Sawtelle)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2026, 12:51am UTC](https://forum.clcboats.com/t/flatten-inside-wire-loops/72109/30 "2026-06-09T00:51:07Z")
I like the pastry bag, though I can see in warm weather it might kick off. I did long, large fillets with it on my Pocketship. One trick if you go that route: after filling the bag, close off the open end, hold on to that end, and swing it around to push the mixture down to the pointy end. I found the bags sold by CLC were worth getting as opposed to using old baggies. And I second the suggestion of putting the bag into a container to fill it. Much much easier. ---
**Author:** ![Jon\_Ferguson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d9b06d/32.png) [@Jon\_Ferguson](https://forum.clcboats.com/u/Jon_Ferguson)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2026, 1:35pm UTC](https://forum.clcboats.com/t/flatten-inside-wire-loops/72109/31 "2026-06-09T13:35:31Z")
I find with mine if I want to get every last drop out of it I can set it on my table and press the long edge of a tongue depressor and sort of slide the excess to the tip. This works surprisingly well. [Previous page](https://forum.clcboats.com/t/flatten-inside-wire-loops/72109.md?page=1)