chris pearson
Michigan Canoe Nut
Do you guys still singe canvas before filling? Mark and Andy, I know you do, just looked at your FB post!
Torching....
- Thread starter chris pearson
- Start date
Nope.
NOPE X ad infinitum. I couldn't sleep with the image of a square inch of smoldering canvas at 2 am. Lets just say I think the fuzz is good tooth and I sleep great. And when I wet sand I can easily see where I have been. All good. " It's your canoe, do what you want. " doesn't apply here, me thinks.
And same for the oil soaked rags in the old paint can.
Dave
And same for the oil soaked rags in the old paint can.
Dave
patrick corry
solo canoeist
I do. When I canvassed my first canoe I read that singeing was the thing to do... so I did and have done since.
Here's a Chestnut Chum freshly cooked and brushed with a stiff bristle brush, then vacuumed. I guess maybe I should re-think it?
Here's a Chestnut Chum freshly cooked and brushed with a stiff bristle brush, then vacuumed. I guess maybe I should re-think it?
Gil Cramer
The wooden canoe Shop, Inc.
no.
Michael Grace
Lifetime Member
No, not in many years. I worry about an edge thread burning up into the canvas, and I found that it simply isn't necessary. After filler cures, there is very little fuzz, and what there may be left is easily sanded off. So NOT singing saves time, is safer, and apparently is unnecessary.
JClearwater
Wooden Canoes are in the Blood
I do not sing the canvas anymore. I did back in the day as recommended in Jerry and Rollin's book but now with the mildew treated canvas I worry about putting fungicide into the air I will be breathing while I'm using the torch. I also worried all night whether I'll have a shop in the morning after using a torch on the canoe in a building filled with wood, other canoes, paint etc. etc.
Dave Wermuth
Who hid my paddle?
Nope! Years ago I smelled something burning. I thought it was outside. I stepped out to look around and when I turned to go back in the shop I saw ther orange glow coming from my customer's recently singed canvas canoe. A single thread was lit like a candle wick.
Dave Wermuth
Who hid my paddle?
I seem to recall a war canoe that I assisted Gil and Skip with and it wasn't given the torch treatment either.
Andre Cloutier
Firestarter. Wicked Firestarter.
Nyet. any fuzz sands off with the epoxy these days.
Dan Lindberg
Ex Wood Hoarder
Never did - just didn't like the risk.
Mark Giovannetti
Itchydog
As Chris pointed out we still do but I certainly understand all the concerns. The one thing we do is leave plenty of excess material hanging past the inwale so the flame never gets close to the edge. I will say I'm a little surprised with Andre ( who I don't know and have never met) not singeing. It says Firestarter. Wicked Firestarter under his name. Thought he'd be a torcher for sure.
Gil Cramer
The wooden canoe Shop, Inc.
A long time ago, I singed half of a canoe and not the other half. After filling and curing, I could not tell which half had been singed. Granted, when i used to singe the canvas, I once had a wicked fire that I fortunately extinguished before it burnt higher than the outwale would cover.
Andre Cloutier
Firestarter. Wicked Firestarter.
Hi Mark, good observation. My incendiary proclivities are restricted to those hulls that are pronounced too far gone, and at that after canvas has been removed. Not everything needs to be saved, if this was automotive world i doubt anyone would lavish time and money on a vintage Chrysler K car. I dont see much nap or fuzz on canvas these days, but i will confess to soaking with zinc napthenate which also serves to tighten up once dried, and before filling. Your work looks fantastic btw.
David Satter
Wooden Canoe Maniac
I never have. I learned from Jerry Stelmok years ago at Wooden boat School. I believe in that class we did singe the canvas. That was a long time ago. I also have never wet sanded a paint job. With today's paints I don't see any reason to.
patrick corry
solo canoeist
So... I think that's 10 NO's and 2 YES. I'm thinking maybe my torching days are over. The canoe in progress will not get the torch treatment then I'll compare to the others which have been torched. That will certainly alleviate my fears about doing this in an all-wood old barn! Now if I just had a fireproof room for my steambox burner... You'll note that I do have a fire extinguisher close at hand!
