Re: Sheer Clamp Joint Wea

Posted by Howard on Mar 15, 2005

if you can pick it up by the short section and it doesn't break (the remaining part will still touch the floor)...then it is probably fine.

at the end of the day, if it survives to the point where you glue it to the hull panels and spread the hull into its final shape...then you are totally out of the wood.

as you are just starting into the project....this is a good time to learn. the basic rule on glueing joints is to pre-coat the edges that are to be glued with unthickened epoxy....which will get sucked into the wood a bit. then, when you are actually glueing the pieces, you should be shooting for a mayonaise consistency mixture of epoxy and cabosil. you want a bit of squeeze out when you clamp the pieces together...which tells you the space is filled with glue.

a couple other helpful hints....

- keep your epoxy in a warm place ~ 70 degrees. it will make it easier to work with. i do the same thing as you...i use a heat tent to build in an unheated garage. but i keep my epoxy in the house when not in use.

- once you are done with the sheer clamps, now is a good time to round the lower inside edge. (so you dont have a sharp corner of the sheer clamp to bang your knees on) this can be done with a router or if you are handy with a plane. but once you stitch your panels together....you really are beyond the point of being able to do this.

you sound like you are real thoughtful in analyzing your problem....if you have questions about a step just shoot clc a call or post it on the board. plenty of help here.

hs

In Response to: Sheer Clamp Joint Weak? by Matt Croce on Mar 15, 2005

Replies:

• Re: Sheer Clamp Joint Wea by Laszlo on Mar 16, 2005