Hi. I am building a Mill Creek 16.5 and am curious if someone has tips on how best to cut scarf joints for my mahogany rub rails. I have 10’ lengths of 1x6 mahogany and intend to rip 1/4” x 1/2” strips, but am not sure how best to ensure an accurate 1:8 scarf cut on a wobbly thin length like that. Should I consider creating waste and cut the scarfs before ripping lengths?
I really appreciate your tips and suggestions.
John “Manny” Lewis
I cut mine using a simple jig on a mitre saw…with a sharp blade. Not for the faint-hearted though!
Once I’d done a few test cuts it was quite a quick process. Be sure you have a really sharp (aka. new) blade fitted to the mitre saw. You’ll find pictures of my simple jig in my UK Fyne Boats forum posting: [North Easter dory build from plans. / Build Progress Logs / Fyne Boat Kits Forum]
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Thank you, Tom. I had not considered a miter saw. I had table saw on the brain,or hand plane which is how I learned in high school but I am not very skilled with the plane these days. I like the miter saw since I can clamp the end to the fence tightly and not have to worry about the “tail” of the rail (hey, that rhymes!) flopping about the place. I will give it a try with a sharp blade and some test pieces. Thanks!
I just checked out your posting - very elegant solution, indeed!
Tom, I just read through your entire build log and want to thank you for so much inspiring information. Did you make the oars from a plan or did you design them yourself? I don’t know if I like the “Harlequin approach, but I really like the shape and weight you reported. Did the NE Dory with your oars test out OK? And, I spent several formative years growing up in Thurso, Scotland sailing Sea Scout Mirrors in Scrabster Harbor and Thurso Bay.
Hi John,
The oars were made from plans supplied by Angus Rowboats here: [Hollow-Shaft Wooden Sculling Oars Built From Plans - Angus Rowboats]
I agree with you about the harlequin design! I made the blades up from whatever offcuts I had lying around my workshop at the time. Looking back, I wish I’d done it differently.
The final remark in my Fyne Boats posting on my build refers to Polly Swann, my niece, who was kind enough to ‘test drive’ the oars (sculls) and finesse the set up of my sliding seat rig in the NE Dory. She was impressed by the sculls even though she normally uses carbon fibre ones with a cleaver blade. Polly knows a lot about rowing - Google will explain!
Thurso! Small world. I’m some way south nr Kingussie in the Cairngorms.