Thanks, all! This project has been a bit on the backburner lately. Partly because I'm trying to finish my Muscongus Bay Sloop model, but also because the next step required getting into the carpentry workshop, which I haven't been able to do lately.
Although I could be working on the gunwales, I'd really like to add the keelson, which I made quite a while ago. However, before I do it, I need to drill holes in the keel for the stand. (My plan is to use brass tubing, with holes all the way through the keel and a small stop blocks added above, which will be covered by the keelson.) I've had trouble getting these lined up in the past, so I wanted to drill the holes in the base at the same time using the holes in the keel as a guide. So, before I add the keelson, I need the base.
I got some nice mahogany from a lumberyard in Veracruz that I wanted to use for the base, as well as for an unrelated picture frame. But, after cutting off the strips for the frame, I found that the board was a bit warped, undoubtedly from the humidity changes between humid Veracruz and dry Mexico City.
After trimming the board to length, cutting off the knot and splitting at left above, I began work on flattening the board. I started with a hand plane to take down the high corners, then ran it through an electric planer. I had a lot of problems with tearout, although I went very slowly with the planer, taking an hour to shave off a very little at a time, usually running it through a dozen times per side before adjusting by a hair.
The final result still needs some sanding and scraping, as well as shaping at the edge. I have an interesting old molding plane I'd like to try, but it still needs work to get it working properly, so I think I'll probably just plane a chamfer on the edges.
As can be seen, I ended up taking off a lot in my unsuccessful quest to not have so much tearout. (Original at left, planed at right.)
Learning to mill my own wood is a useful skill for scratch-building, especially as thin sheets and the like aren't readily available here, but wow it takes a lot of time and effort. I may just keep buying pre-milled stuff on my visits to the US for the time being, I'd rather spend my limited hobby time actually building stuff instead of flattening boards.
By
JacquesCousteau ·
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