deck beam: laminate or saw?

Hi,

As I don't look forward to the job of laminating deck beams, I wonder if someone tried to saw them (succesfully) with the correct radius instead. What is the advantage of laminating over sawing the beams? Sawing seems much simpler to me.

 Mariska. 


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RE: deck beam: laminate or saw?

Mariska,

Sawn beams are provided in all the kits, so no problem doing it that way.

Laminated can be stronger and it lets you use more conveniently sized pieces of wood, especially if you're laminating from solid wood (as opposed to plywood).

All that said, for the kind of boats built here sawn is plenty strong, so go with whichever method you like better.

Have fun,

Laszlo

 

RE: deck beam: laminate or saw?

ok, thanks a lot!

RE: deck beam: laminate or saw?

You can also router them for a cleaner cut....

RE: deck beam: laminate or saw?

I made my laminated deck beams this weekend.  The jig was fast and simple to make. I used a string and a pencil to get my 15 radius for the jig.  I then cut it out with a jig saw. I then used  a hole saw to cut the holes to allow for clamping. It only took about 45 minutes to make the jig.  I took left over Okume and ripped it down on the table saw 1-1/2" wide.  I slathered the pieces up with epoxy thickened with cab-o-sil, wrapped it up in plastic and 12 hours(Overnight) later the epoxy was dry.  I now have the deck beam installed. I recommend putting clear tape on the top and bottom piece to avoid from haveing too much epoxy to sand off. I had to use a cabinet scraper and my sander to get it smooth. Make it easy on yourself and use the clear tape. The jig was made from 3/4 inch ply. I just centered the 1-1/2" strips and clamped them.  Fitting the deck beam took some time because I am so picky. I needed a perfect fit.

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