I am starting to build my second Uncle John's pirogue. The first one I built was in plywood. I would realy like to build my next one in cypress strips. Does anyone know where I could find a mill to purchase the wood from in the Nacogdoches area or within reasonable distance? Thanks for your help.
New Pirouge Build
- Thread starter Nac
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Thanks Mike. The reason for my question is because I did get a quote from a cedar mill in Anderson Co. For 45 pices of 1 1/2 inch by 3/8 inch and another 2 pieces of 1 1/2 inch by 3/4 inch, I was quoted at $427. All at 16 ft lengths. Seems too steep for me. Does anyone have any other ideas?
I'd think you could even do it yourself with a circular saw and some sort of homemade jig. And if you could live with strips that had been scarfed together from shorter sections I'd imagine the raw wood (privacy fencing boards perhaps?) would be even cheaper.
Check around, particularly on the net. There might be some sort of local woodworking club. They might be able to help you out and a pirouqe might be an interesting and new project for them.
Check around, particularly on the net. There might be some sort of local woodworking club. They might be able to help you out and a pirouqe might be an interesting and new project for them.
Thanks for the replies and ideas. I did find a mill over in Rusk that has some 1X8X16ft, but he was unwilling to mill it down to 3/8 for me because he would first have to cut it to 1/2inch. He said the job would be too big.
I do have a table saw, but I do not think Ihave the room nor the help to mill down anything 16 ft long to 3/8 inch. Any experiences on here?
I do have a table saw, but I do not think Ihave the room nor the help to mill down anything 16 ft long to 3/8 inch. Any experiences on here?
Strips should be 3/4" tall by 1/4" thick.
Plane the board to 3/4" thick and then rip 1/4" strips.
Not sure where the 3/8" dimension comes into play.
Plane the board to 3/4" thick and then rip 1/4" strips.
Not sure where the 3/8" dimension comes into play.
I agree with the others mate, in particular - Matt.
For a canoe, strips should be around 3/4" wide X 1/4thick. Pirogues, the width is not so critical because there is very little, if any edge bend.. There is absolutely no need for 16 feet clear lengths. Rip down shorter lengths and then scarf them together to get the required length.
For a canoe, strips should be around 3/4" wide X 1/4thick. Pirogues, the width is not so critical because there is very little, if any edge bend.. There is absolutely no need for 16 feet clear lengths. Rip down shorter lengths and then scarf them together to get the required length.
All my ss@g boats are ripped from 2+6 ceder 8ft long , I use a table saw (cheap one from horbor frieght ) and a 13 inch planer.50.00 dollars worth of wood will build a 16 ft boat.
Ron
Ron
Sometimes a board will get "wavey" when you start ripping and it releases tension in the board. One guy on Iowa paddlers forum had some pictures of a circular saw (Skil saw) with an 18" long angle attached to the shoe, or bottom plate, as a rip guide. Said it allowed hin to make uniform thickness strips quickly and easily. He claimed it beat a table saw for one person. Just another thought. Just as one boat won't fit everyone, methods don't always fit either.
switch out the 10'' blade for a 7 and 1/4'' Freud Diablo 24 teeth, use feather boards to ensure good alignment with fence and table (also eliminates kickbacks)
MM
MM
Nac said:Thanks for the replies and ideas. I did find a mill over in Rusk that has some 1X8X16ft, but he was unwilling to mill it down to 3/8 for me because he would first have to cut it to 1/2inch. He said the job would be too big.
I do have a table saw, but I do not think Ihave the room nor the help to mill down anything 16 ft long to 3/8 inch. Any experiences on here?
Nac.
Makebmend gave good advice on using a 7 1/4 inch thin kerf blade on your tablesaw for cutting strips. It will allow you to wind up with more strips and less sawdust out of a given board. Do not worry about not having full length strips. In a strip canoe you don't have that many strips that go the full length of the canoe. Years ago my buddy and I went up into east Texas somewhere to look at a strip canoe that a guy had made. It was beautiful. He showed us around his shop and had a good discussion about the way he built his boat. He told us that he had enough cedar left to build another and said that he probably would. He showed us his precious stash of cedar that was left over from the first build. We were shocked. What we were looking at. Before us was a motly little pile of cedar fence post. After thinking about it for a moment it reminded me of a story that my wife's Uncle Frank Bruner told me. Frank was pulling old cedar fence post from around a field to replace the fence. A guy pulled up in a truck and ask him what he was going to do with the post he was pulling. Frank told his that he was probably going to burn them but if he wanted them, then have all you want. The man told Frank to come by his place when he could and see what he did with the old cedar fence post. Uncle Frank said that about a week later whe went buy the guy's place for a visit. This guy would rip the old fence post down into however big strips he could and glue them togeather to make boards with. Uncle Frank said that the guy was building beautiful cedar chests out of them.
So in the end, make do with what you've got.
Ron,
Those two cedar logs are still in my buddys yard, if you want one of them. Like Monty Hall used to say "Come On Down".
Bob
Thanks for the advice. As you can see, ive been busy. I did buy a rip attachment for my skill saw, worked great, no waves. Got it at lowes (accu rip). Ripped enough after church today for 1 side and half the bottom. Problem is that when I bought the cypress, it was all rough cut and I could not tell any differences in the wood because it was hidden beneth the rough. Well, I bought 2 boards that were 1x8x16. I bought another board that was 1x11x16. The wider board was "red" cypress" with several knots. The other two narrow boards were very clear and cut smoothly. In the end, I will most likley have to scarf the "red cypress" board together to make the bottom of the boat, which defeats the purpose of me buying 16 ft lengths, because the wood broke at the knots while cutting it. This has been a learning experience already and I am just cutting wood. Any advice/tips are greatly appreciated.
You look to be progressing fairly well. A buddy of mine scrounged around - lumber yards, hardwares, small restaurants, barber shops, etc. (areas of guy-gossip) and picked up word of stashes of red & white cedar. Some in a corner of a lumber yard, some in an old barn, etc. Got it for low dollars. He cut his own strips, then used dadoes to cut the bead and cove.
Do the ends of strips have to be joined by scarf? Could it be a butt joint with fiber glass? Just asking here.
Do the ends of strips have to be joined by scarf? Could it be a butt joint with fiber glass? Just asking here.