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Re: milled half-round for canoe gunnels?

Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 1:38 am
by JGood
When I make my half round, I cut 1/4" strips to the width and length I want the halfround. Then I tack them together using micro pin gun nails from the back side so the nails are not in the part of the wood that will be routed off. Then, I use a router with a round over bit and make a pass from either side which makes a bendable half round. If I am making a 1 1/2 wide half round I use 4@ 1/4" strips so there is extra thickness for the bearing on the bit to follow. I also lay a 1" thick board next to the pile of strips so the routers plate has a stable surface to ride on. After the routing is done, I pull the strips apart and use plyers to pull the pin nails out. You could also tack the strips together with dots of hot glue or small screws, but it would be a little harder to take back apart. On a canoe, I glue and clamp the routed strips on the gunwales using spring clamps. On Sabalos clamping isn't possible, because of the triangular shape where the cockpit walls meet the hull so I glue and pin nail the strips in place. If all the strips come from the same board, and used in the same sequence their cut in, you can barely see that it has been laminated when the final sanding is done. It almost takes as long to explain the process as it takes to make the half round. It works really well and it can be bent into some pretty extreme shapes. I am a stair builder by trade, so I have made many handrails for curved stairs using a similar process. It's called cold laminating.
Good Luck
Jesse