Help! Beginner's error/question

Hi Folks,

I'm definitely a novice. Just started building my first boat (eastport pram). I just lofted my first two sheets of plywood, kept comfortably outside the line everywhere, with one exception. And I'm trying to figure out how big a problem I've got and what to do about it. 

On one of the planks I cut just inside the line. It wasn't imprecision. I just had a moment where I got confused about which side of the line I was on. It wasn't by much. I'd estimate I was just over 1/16th of an inch inside. But it definitely cut into my arc. 

So my question is, is this a small enough error so it will get covered up in the stitching and epoxy phase? Or do I need to cut another sliver and glue it on? Or do I need to - ugh, really hope not - loft and cut a whole new plank?

Any advice or pointers, I'd truly appreciate it. Like I said, I'm very new at this.  

I'm adding a picture here to give as clear a sense as I can of the scale of the issue.

 

Josh


9 replies:

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RE: Help! Beginner's error/question

1/16th of an inch is no problem.

If your cut is just on a small part of the plank, ignore it. If it's the entire plank, sand, plane or rasp the matching plank on the opposite side to the same size. Fairness is much more important than absolute size.

Happy New Year,

Laszlo

 

RE: Help! Beginner's error/question

Yeah, the overcut runs for about 8 inches from starting at one end of the plank. And for better or worse, I was doing two sheets clamped together. So it's the identical mistake on this one and the opposite side one. 

Looking at it again, it's probably more like 1/8th of an inch at the greatest depth. But I do not think more. Given what you say about fairness vs absolute size, would it be better to smooth out the ridge you see in the photo above and lose a bit more or just preserve as much of the plank as possible? My terminology probably isn't the best so I hope that that is clear. Since it's identical on both sides, it sounds like you're saying that I should just make sure they're identical and leave it at that.

Thanks so much for your reply and I hope you're having a great holiday.

Josh

RE: Help! Beginner's error/question

Since the Eastport pram is a lapstitch boat you probably should leave the plank shape as close to the original as possible. When you cut the rabbet follow the original curve. Let the rabbet narrow where you cut too deep. Once it's all glued up you'll be able to see if you need to add any additional fill.

Laszlo

 

RE: Help! Beginner's error/question

I don't fret about a loss of width in the planks;  this assembly sequence is massively forgiving.  I'd worry more about the jaggedness of the affected area, which is an aesthetic issue.  Were it my Eastport Pram, I'd fashion a sliver of plywood and edge-glue it into the damaged spot.  No One Will Ever Know.

RE: Help! Beginner's error/question

   If it's on both sides in the same place, it must be part of the design, right? :-)

 

RE: Help! Beginner's error/question

Laszlo said, " If it's on both sides in the same place, it must be part of the design, right? :-)   ".......I would agree. 

 

Gluing the sliver of wood might work fine especially if painting the project.  I would be tempted to flatten out the arch of the edge by sanding a long sweeping edge..........ie bring the high points of the line  down........those parts cut outside the line. ........the smaller the error in the run of the lap edge the harder it is for the casual observer to see. A  dimension width change over 3 ft is harder to see than one in 0.67 ft. (ie..8").

DP

RE: Help! Beginner's error/question

3rd vote for plane it to the line, dry fit them, if it is still noticable plane a smooth curve. I did the same thing on the side panels on my SWS. by the time I planed the panels, it was still off 1/8th of a inch fo about 1 inch. After filleting and taping the inside, and sanding, filling, and glassing the outside, I was the only one that knew where the problem was. Even if you are going for a varnished boat, you can use the sanding dust to make filler that is hard to see. Good luck. JRC

RE: Help! Beginner's error/question

Thanks again to everyone who is offering advice here. It's very helpful. So it sounds like from a functional point of view, it doesn't really matter. But aesethically it may be. Part of the challenge for me is that I don't yet have a real sense of how these things fit together later in the process since I haven't done it yet. I've read through the descriptions many times; but it ain't like doing it. It's tempting for me to plane it to a fair curve even at the expense of losing some width. But I'm a little spooked about that since I don't know just where that will leave me when I bind these pieces together. I think I'm going to take a shot at trying to create two slivers, with just that right jagged curve, glue them on and then come at the curve again with a block plane.

RE: Help! Beginner's error/question

Just to be clear, my last remark about it being on both sides was a joke about build philosophies.

Laszlo

 

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