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Re: Strip: glueing strips
By:Marc Upchurch
Date: 12/3/2014, 7:27 pm
In Response To: Re: Strip: glueing strips (MikeM)

Bending this size strips with a heat gun is really not difficult.
My information came from Laughingloon.com, there may be online information available - mine came from a set of plans with building manual.

The cheap type heat gun generally has two settings - 700F and 1300F.
You should lay the strip along your frames to see where it does not touch the next frame with low hand pressure.
Mark or grab the strip at the last touch point on the frames. Try to see how much and which direction the strip needs to bend - this is not critical since you can undo anything you can do.
Take the strip over to a work bench and clamp it at the point noted before. I use an adjustable wrench with flat jaws to grab the strip about where the next frame would touch (12", 16" or whatever your spacing is).
Use the heat gun to heat up the strip on both sides over the distance between the clamp and the adjustable wrench.
Put some twist or bend as required on the strip while you are heating.
Once it gets hot enough the strip will seem to get soft and start bending, even if you do not increase the force. This is the fibers sliding past each other. Once you think the strip is bent enough + a little, take away the heat, and just hold the wrench in place. When it cools a little it will be permanently bent.
Pull loose your clamp, take the strip back to the boat, check the fit.
If it needs more bend or twist repeat the operation to adjust as necessary. If you have overbent it, just bend it backwards.

When you first try, you might use the low heat. With cedar you will find it takes much longer to get hot than you are willing to invest. So then try the high heat. just remember to keep the heat moving - not especially fast. Your first strips might look a little toasted. That really doesn't matter since you will be sanding the entire hull to make it smooth and the "toasting" does not go deep.

Once you have the first frame spacing done, eyeball the second. Now mark the new last contact point, take it to your work bench, clamp, etc. until you get the entire strip done.
Adjust your rolling bevel if necessary, check the fit one last time, glue, staple.
Go to the other side of the boat and do the next.

Repeat until done. Often only the stern and bow will need any heat/ bending so it won't be as much work as it seems.

To practice just take a damaged strip or a cutoff piece and experiment. You will probably find most of the work needing to be done is twisting the strip, since they bend easily across the thickness.

Have fun, you can spend as much time as you want or not. The closer you get to the frames the easier it is to fair the surface.

Messages In This Thread

Strip: glueing strips
MikeM -- 12/2/2014, 1:55 pm
Re: Strip: glueing strips
Marc Upchurch -- 12/2/2014, 7:17 pm
Re: Strip: glueing strips
MikeM -- 12/3/2014, 8:12 am
Re: Strip: glueing strips
Don T. -- 12/3/2014, 8:28 am
Re: Strip: glueing strips
Marc Upchurch -- 12/3/2014, 7:27 pm
Re: Strip: glueing strips
george jung -- 12/3/2014, 8:45 am
Re: Strip: glueing strips
wanderfalk -- 12/4/2014, 1:16 am
Paulownia and heat bending
John Messinger -- 12/4/2014, 6:04 am
Re: Paulownia and heat bending
Jim777 -- 12/5/2014, 7:39 am
Re: Paulownia and heat bending
John Messinger -- 12/5/2014, 8:37 am
Re: Paulownia and heat bending
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 12/19/2014, 11:07 am
Re: Paulownia and heat bending
John Messinger -- 12/19/2014, 1:57 pm
Re: Strip: glueing strips
Mike M -- 12/15/2014, 9:13 am