Profile of thwarts

[Michaux Hiker]

Does anybody have a profile of a Old Town 17' (1923) thwart. I assume mine had 3 thwarts, but all three are somewhere in Harrisburg or in Susquehanna River never to be seen again. Too cold in my workshop for gluing, etc. Thought I would start making parts. Steam box is built.

Also is there a good place to buy ribs? White Cedar doesn't grow here.

 

[johnmetts]

https://www.wooden-canoes.com/canoes/materials/basic-materials/

Rollin Thurlow will send you pre-cut of stock that you can cut yourself. There is also someone there who will give advice if you need it when ordering. They are very nice folks.

Good luck!

John

 

[Michaux Hiker]

Thanks. Think I can get stock here for the thwarts and decks using ash.

 

[David Satter]

Check your local fence co. for cedar. My local fence co. always has some white cedar. A lot of the fence co. have knotty white , my local co. has beautiful clear stuff.

 

[Greg Nolan]

Both Rollin Thurlow (Northwoods Canoe) and Jerry Stelmok (Island Falls Canoe) sell cedar rib stock. Especially if you are new to steam bending, order a couple of extra pieces . . .

 

[Benson Gray]

The pictures shown at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/12325/ should give you an idea of the Old Town thwart profile from that era and the build record for your canoe will usually indicate the wood that was used originally. Someone in a local chapter or a restorer may have a thwart that you can trace. See http://www.wcha.org/local-area-chapters and http://www.wcha.org/builders-and-suppliers-directory for some ideas. Good luck,

Benson

 

[MGC]

Jerry sells Old Town replacement parts.
THWART ASH - SPECIFY LENGTH $ 25.00
THWART ASH - CLASSIC WOOD CANOE $ 35.00
DECK-16" ASH $ 34.95
DECK, 20" ASH $ 49.00

 

[Howie]

Hope this helps. My 1939 16' Yankee uses two of these at 30" long. I also have a 17' Otca that also uses the same two thwarts front & back in addition to one that's 34" long for the center thwart. The thickness ranges from 13/16" to 7/8". Maybe use a french curve to get the profile to taper down to 1-3/16" - there should be no 'flat' areas until 2 or 3" from either end. Once that's done use a router to put 1/2" radius on the top side & 1/4" rad on the bottom. No radius was used on the ends - just break the edge when sanding. And you'll want to angle the ends to match the profile of the inner rails across the width, and angle the width to match your tumble-home.

 

[Michaux Hiker]

Thanks Howie and everybody else! This is exactly what I need. Have a piece of ash left over so I'll try and make one this weekend , I'll need three. Been busy moving my brother so not much progress on the canoe. Didn't think anybody knew what a French curve was! I was a technical illustrator and patent draftsman for almost 40 years. When we went to CAD I grabbed all old drafting board supplies and surprisingly they come in handy. Tested the steam box today. Broke for lunch came back and drilled the vent holes at the wrong end! duh....

 

[Dan Miller]

. Broke for lunch came back and drilled the vent holes at the wrong end! duh....

Just stuff a wood plug in them and drill new ones in the right end.

 

[Michaux Hiker]

That's what I did, except I glued them then someone stopped before I hammered them all the way in and the glue set. Just wasn't my day for building.