Re: [Paddlewise] Boat Building with group or class?

On 19 Sep 2003 at 10:01, Melissa Reese wrote:

> Even if one purchases a mortising machine to make that process faster
> and easier (these can be had for as little as $200), the cost of the
> rest of the tools plus materials can still be comparable to the class,
> and you then have the tools to build more boats. Building one's own
> steam box system can be really cheap as well.

Agreed.  Cunningham suggests a circular saw for all long cuts.  
Reasonable circ saws are not too expensive.  They don't require 
a lot of room (the saw moves 16 feet instead of the wood moving, 
requiring 32+feet with a fixed table or band saw.)  I got a band saw 
as a gift, and that is a tool I prefer.  Band saws are a lot more 
expensive than circ or even table saws.  One of these tools is pretty 
much mandatory as ripping 16 foot long pieces into several stringers 
with a hand saw is nothing short of torture!

I'm doing without a morticing machine (drool...), using a simple
hand drill in a drill guide instead.  I've made practice blind 
mortices (harder to do than the through mortices in an sof) using a 
brad point drill bit and a chisel.  My set of four regular chisels 
(Marples, a reasonable quality mid-range brand) costs less than _one_ 
good morticing chisel.  Takes more time than with a morticing chisel, 
but not so hard to do.  A good, corded electric drill is a better 
deal in the long run and at a lower price than a finicky cordless 
drill.

In addition to these tools, a hand saw (Japanese style are good), a 
scroll, jig, keyhole or similar hand saw (lacking a band saw) for the 
curved cuts on the end pieces and a decent plane or two (good block 
plane like Stanley or Record [though Lee Valley's is the best 
$value]) and a bench plane (optional), covers most of the bases.  
What you don't have, you can adapt with a good jig.  Cunningham, 
Starr and Morris all cover these things.

Beyond cutting and such, measuring and layout tools are important, 
but not too expensive.  

Purchased wisely, these tools will last for a long time and do lots 
of things beyond a second kayak.

I would only recommend a class for someone who has absolutely no 
skills with woodworking and is starting from square one.  It helps if 
there's an relative, club member, whatever to lend a hand and some 
further experience.

Mike
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