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I am almost finished my first cedar strip canoe, but I am having trouble installing the gunnels. The canoe is 16' long and I am using mahagony for the gunnels. I have cut the gunnels to a 3/4" width and 1.25" thickness. My problem is I can not get the strips for the gunnels to bend enough to meet the shape / line of the top of the canoe. No matter how many clamps I try to put on them. Did I make the strips too thick? Or, am I missing something? If I cut the strips down to 1" or even 3/4" thick I am not sure they will bend enough. Someone locally recommended a steam box, but I am not sure that is feasable.
2 replies:
RE: Gunnel question
Twofoot is spot on, split them into strips and laminate them. Keep the slices in order and you won't be able to see the joint.
RE: Gunnel question
» Submitted by twofootartist - Wed, 12/30/09 » 9:59 AM
That's much too thick to bend mahogany. You need to laminate the gunwales from strips that are no more than 3/8" thick across the direction that you are bending. Even then, you might want to use a heat gun to soften the wood.