Re: AHHH scarfing

Posted by Steve Miller on Apr 14, 2005

If you are building from plans then scarfing is actually a bit easier than with a kit. From plans you will normally cut stock from your plywood sheets to a certain width/length (per plans) and then scarf those. That way you get to layout the planks full size and no worries about keeping them straight and oriented correctly while scarfing. And if you blow one then you can fix it without affecting the finished plank.

As the others said, sharp plane or even belt sander. No disk sander (tears the thin edge). Lots of info online on how to set up and so on. I have them clamped in place before I glue. Just lift up one side to stick the goo in there so the top side needs to be clamped back a bit. Be sure to first coat both sides with unthickened epoxy, let it soak in a few minutes then add your thickened goo. No bad joints that way. And mask it off ahead of time to save clean up and sanding. I use blue tape. You need only enough pressure on the joint itself to hold it tight so a board and some weights work fine. No fancy clamps needed. Or you can just screw the board down. Use wax paper or plastic backed freezer paper to keep the scarf from sticking to the work surface or the clamp board.

When you are done with your yak you will think back and ponder what the fuss was about - scarfing is actually one of the easier parts of building.

In Response to: AHHH scarfing by Gober on Apr 14, 2005

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