Laminating Wood
All materials used in this tutorial can be found at boatbuildercentral.com
Boat Plans are available at bateau.com
BASIC LAMINATION
The
first step in making a lamination of wood is to establish the form. For
the purpose of this tutorial, we will show a lamination of 4mm plywood
that will be used as framing for a hardtop. The technique is basically
the same for rubrails, inwhales, frames or even combing. In most cases
you can laminate your part directly on the boat - the boat is the form.
For this hard top, a simple jig is made using plywood and small blocks
of wood.
First draw camber onto plywood, making certain the plywood is flat.....
Secure
small blocks of wood along the curve at even spaces. You will use the
blocks to attach clamps. More dramatic curvature will require more
closely spaced blocks.
Dry fit the laminate
Coat the strips with straight epoxy
Mix epoxy glue. Mix wood flour into the epoxy until a "peanut butter" consistency is reached. Apply glue to strips by either "buttering" the strips, or use a heavy zip lock bag to put down a bead. The single bead allows for a uniform amount of glue throughout the laminate and keeps out air bubbles. TIP: For bright work, you can add a little phenolic micro balloons to your glue to get a darker brown glue which will match the color of the plywood better
Stack the strips and clamp. Be sure to use plastic sheet between the jig and the laminate! Allow the part to cure. It will take a couple days for the part to arrive at its ultimate stiffness
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