Finished the bookcase
It’s been a long time since my last update. I had about a one year absence from my shop caused by some vision problems in my right eye that have led to the loss of my stero vision. It’s taken this long to adapt and re-learn where things (like spinning blades and chisel tips) are in the world and keep my fingers safe.
So for a warm-up, I thought I’d finish the craftsman bookcase that I had started so very long ago, and that had been sitting languishing in a corner. For finish, I fumed the piece in ammonia, did a few coats of thinned linseed oil, and then several coats of shellac to finish. Next time I’m going to at least pre-finish the shelves - they were a bugger to get the shellac on.
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Hello,
My girlfriend is a big time weblogger (she knits and sews and has developed a sort of interesting web-community with people who have similar hobbies). Anyhow, i thought i’d google wood boats/wood working blogs to see what came up. I own my own wooden boatworks/custom woodworking shop in the hinterlands of northern wisconsin- i am actually in from the shop for a few minutes to eat lunch while some new garboards kick on a lapstrake rowboat i am restoring…that said-i really like your kayaks. I was hoping to build one for my mom for her birthday this year, but i am not too familiar with the construction methods you are using. Mostly i just want to know how long it takes so that i can determine when and how much time to set aside. I realize the first always has the steepest learning curve, but i feel confident that my skills are relavent and transferrable to the peg and stitch (is that appropriate?) construction. additionally, she we be exclusively on flat water, so i was curious to get some feedback regarding skin material. I’ve done a lot of wood/canvas restoration work and also reskinned an ultralight boat with dacron. are these some of the skin materials you use? any other starter advice? -thanks-i realize there are lots of books on this topic, but it would be nice to get the distilled version from someone who’s done it. alos, sorry about your eye. what a bummer, recaliberating your depth perception. thanks. i like your weblog.
joshua swan
Comment by josh — 10/11/2005 @ 11:00 am
Hi Josh - I’m glad you like the site. You can put together one of these skin-on-frame boats in under 40 hours - I’ve done one in as little as 5 evenings after work, especially given that you have good shop experience. I mostly skin my boats with a 12 oz nylon; it’s tough as nails and easy to work with, although a little expensive and harder to find (George Dyson carries it). But pretty much anything will work - most boats in Greenland are still covered in canvas followed by an alkyd house paint; definitaly low-tech. For books, I recommend Rob Morris’s “Building Skin on Frame Boats” and H.C. Peterson’s “Instructions in Qajaq Building"; the first is very detail oriented, and the latter will tell you lots about traditional building technique in Greenland.
Paul
Comment by Paul Lalonde — 10/11/2005 @ 4:21 pm