1935 Old Town HW

I got this picture yesterday from the previous owner! Cool pic of this canoe back in its glory days. Lots of good use and stories on this one!
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Brian

Your photo showing your very nicely done birds mouth stem splice brought to mind a suggestion for you to consider especially if you have not done the other end stem splice/extension. I saw that you had made a template tracing of the canoe end profile - good. To avoid the issues of trying to bend the top portion of your birds mouth stem splice to conform to the canoe end profile, I suggest that you consider cutting the new stem piece to exactly replicate the original curvature shape. You might even consider doing this for your depicted piece rather than steaming. Hopefully you have stem stock wide enough to do this. You will also eliminate any possible post steaming spring back and curvature shape loss with an accurately cut birds mouth stem top replacement .

Ed
 
Todd, here are my pics.

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johnle, using black locust because of its rot resistance and easy bending. The bending part went okay. Learned some things. The only thing about the locust that I am concerned about is that it is so hard I am hoping I don’t have trouble tacking into it.

Ed, I haven’t started on the bow. I do have stock wide enough but I am worried about cross grain at the top. You have prompted a bit of an idea though. Of laminating three thin pieces that are cut as you mentioned but with alternating grain. Still brainstorming but am leaning toward not bending and trying a different approach. Will keep you posted!
 
For another update! I ordered bronze ring nails, brass tacks, 2 new stem bands, and a painters ring assembly today. I browsed the local orange and blue store and ended up with 2 cedar planks that will provide 4 ribs. I got it for the same price as I paid for 3 feet of 2x6 plank stock last week. Enjoying making progress even though not much is seen.
 
So I did a thing… math…

I have done 4 rib tips. They took me ten minutes apiece to shape the new wood by hand with a block plane and sanding block. I have 64 left to do. That is 10 hrs and 40 minutes…

A quick search of fb marketplace yielded a bench top sander for about the price of two Red Robin burgers. This reduces that 10 minutes down to about 10 seconds… reducing 10+ hours of work down to 10+ minutes… I’m going to call that a wise decision.

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When I want to enjoy the serene atmosphere of hand tool woodworking I most certainly can grab the block plane. For this sort of repetitive work I think I will enjoy some headphones and a power tool!
 
Pulled the stem off the mold for a test fit. Putting it back on the mold until I am ready to install it and attach the inwales and decks.

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I will likely be moving to the bow before I finish this end. I will prep the stem and repair the ribs on the bow, make both decks, then prep the inwales. Then I will glue the stems once I am ready to immediately follow with the inwales and decks. It’s coming along!
 
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Brian,
Is it really necessary to replace the tips on 68 ribs? Just judging by the pictures posted above there are certainly some rib tips that need attention but 68 of them? Seems like a lot of work for limited return. What am I missing? Do you intend to strip the old varnish from the inside? Usually that's done before wood repairs are started.
It does look like a great project. Have fun.
Jim
 
Jim, you are right that replacing all the tips is unnecessary. There are probably less than a dozen tips that are salvageable without replacement. At that point it is a visual preference decision, replacing the last few is an easy way to gain a uniform look. Could be other things to consider and I may change my view before I am done. As for varnish stripping, I started the other day and did a section when it was warm. I am mostly holding out for warmer weather but wanted to get a start on the rest.

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David, I am now curious if you would tackle it and what it would take to do so. I am not in it for an income to live on so I am likely approaching it different. Other canoes in better shape may be available but this is all that I have come by local. I am enjoying the learning experience, research that goes into it, the woodworking, and having a project to document.
 
Actually I think it's great your taking it on. She'll be beautiful when your done. Right now for small boat and canoe restorations I'm running a two year waiting list. will be longer if I don't get off this computer and get back to work. :)
 
Brian,
I agree with Dave. I'm glad to see you taking on this project and it will be a great canoe when you are finished. Waiting for warmer weather to strip the inside makes perfect sense. I'm currently working on a Rushton Indian Girl that rightfully should have been dragged to the burn pile so like you I am spending way more time bringing it back to life than I sane person could justify. Good luck and have fun.
Jim
 
Love watching this come to life Brian. I was wondering what kind of cedar you're using for the planking? It turns out I may have to end up milling some of my own. Cheers!
 
Picked up a piece of clear 2x6 WRC from a place that sells deck lumber. I got 5 planks out of it resulting in 55 linear ft. from the plank. That gave me the bulk of what I have but it was pricey. The rest came from the orange and blue store and was way cheaper. The final cost for what I have at this point is roughly $1.81 per linear ft. The big box planks yielded 62 cents per linear ft. So there was a huge difference. It was milled on a friends bandsaw that was setup for resawing and it did a good job. Then we thicknessed it on a drum sander. Having the right tools made a ton of difference. Otherwise I would’ve been paying a lot more. Hopefully this helps.
 
Brian,

Hope all is well. I was wondering when you were making your steam bending forms, if you had to account for any bounce back after steaming. I know some people say to make the form a little tighter to account for this. Just curious on your thoughts.

Cheers!
John
 
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