PIcking up where we left off........Canoe Coffee Table ...... REMEMBER....

I'm sorry it took so long to get back to my blog. Life got in the way......

But I am back up and running now. Gluing the strips in place does take some time and patience.

1- In these pictures I finally got the last strip fit and glued into place.

2- Here I have the last of the rubber straps removed. Things look a little crude at this point, but with a “little rough” sanding it will start to look a lot better.

3- Now the rough sanding is done.

I generally start the sanding with 60 grit sand paper on my random orbit sander.
Also the ends need to be recessed so the outer stem end can be epoxy to the hull.

4- Once I have the hull shaped to fit the outer stem end they are glued into place using epoxy thickened with some wood flour. I like it to be about a peanut butter consistency. Wood flour can be purchased from your epoxy supplier. Or you can do like I do and shake the saw dust off my shop-vac filter, and sift it through a very fine screen(the finer the dust the better) . I hold the stem ends in place with clamps, and rubber straps until the epoxy has cured.

5- Here I have removed the straps and clamps.

6- I am starting to shape the outer stem ends, so it matches the contour of the hull. I use my random orbit sander to finish the shaping, and sanding.

7- At this point I re-sand the exterior of the hull with 100 grit sand paper in preparation for the first fill coat of thickened epoxy.

I promise to be back with the epoxy procedures very soon! It is spring here in Wisconsin and my wife has a "honey do" list " that just can't wait any longer!!!" :) Greg