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Notes to self:
- Check measurements twice, again.
- Pay attention to wife.
Some things bear mentioning over and over again.
These molds have been in place for a month, through several tinkerings and tweakings. Still, it wasn’t until doing a dry run with the first strip that I discovered a pretty big error – one mold station on one boat was out of position. It was plumb and square, and visually everything lined up, but when I bent a strip around the form there was a suspicious 1/2” gap between the strip and this station. A little pressure closed the gap, but the wood knows best, and it told me something was wrong: this station was an inch too far back along the strongback. Good to catch it now, rather than later.
These first strips are critical, as every one that comes after builds on the first. So checking from multiple angles is a good idea.
Even with multiple checks, after doing a few strips I noticed a slight dimple in one place on the other boat. Station 8 was a tad out of plumb, which translated to an eighth inch deviation at the sheer. Fortunately, just pulling those staples and all but one screw, with judicious application of leverage, brought everything right again. Apparently, an eighth of an inch makes a difference.
The first few strips, without others for support, are a bit delicate. Later, you can use considerable force to press the strips in place, but the first rows have to be carefully squeezed together. It helps to have lots of clamps.
A little bead of low temp hot glue helps hold strips together where staple holes would be unsightly. Once the wood glue sets, a little pressure with a putty knife pops off the beads without damaging the wood.
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