Thread: Setting up for boat building

You start with what you've got and you add to it as you need it. Seriously. I know someone's going to give you a list of tools, but ignore them (unless it's a 'buy now or miss out' situation). If you need some clamps, you go buy them. If you need a jigsaw, go buy it. If you don't have a shed ... umm ... actually, you can build anywhere but a lockup area is better (you don't have to put your tools away).

If there's something you think you need but can't be quite sure, like a thicknesser, borrow one or ask to use one owned by a friend. Somewhere along the track, you'll either get sick of borrowing it, or realise that although it was nice for a few jobs, you didn't really need it after all. It works - a mate avoided an unnecessary table saw purchase that way ... and yes, I have cut timber for him.

Dust and fumes? Leave the door open. Good old natural fresh air. Of course, having a dust extractor attached to your sanders etc is better, but if you don't have one and can't afford one, wear a mask (you should anyway). My thicknesser and table saw (a Triton :eek: ) get dragged out onto the lawn to do their bit (freaked my mate out when I vacumed the lawn I can tell you ).

Big work bench? I've got an old kitched table I can drag around anywhere I like with a thumping geat big piece of chip board that sometimes sits on top to expand the working area.

Start your boat building with a set of plans and light heart - everything else you buy as and when you need it.

Richard

Well Richard , I'm thinking of putting up something similar to a "Nissan Hut" , actually it is an RAL building , prefabricated .
And yes it can be set up for plenty of natural ventilation.
But I have a friend who has done a few carriage restorations , and now finds she has poisoned herself , through toxins inhaled .
I'm thinking of having both ends able to be opened right up for easy access , and a flat concrete floor , and a dust extraction system.
I believe that should be my basic start.
Anything to add on access ? , floor?(rubber mats over the concrete) , types of dust extraction ?.
What about tools that enable dust extraction . or setups for painiting that allow good ventilation or fume extraction.
I'm building now on what was the side lawn , and its a pain in the butt , so if I move and have to build , I want to include something for boat building in safety.
Rob Jj.

Rob,

What Richard says!

How big is this enterprise to be? Your answer will impact substantially on my answer!

Dust extraction is certainly a worthwhile endeavour, however if you are building one small boat, then there are other ways!

My GIS was built using a few basic hand tools: plane, battery drill, cheap jigsaw and spokeshave. I borrowed a sander, and had a friend spray the final finish.

12 years later I have a complete workshop, but the PDRacers were built with pretty much the same gear, except we milled the timber on a table saw and thicknesser, and a router was fired up occasionally.

Using a proper dust mask with the appropriate filters will fix the safety issues. I do that even with the extractor running.

Cheers,

P

Hi All,

I think it all relative to what you want to do and how you want to do it plus what you can afford at the time. I hate borrowing tools and I hate lending tools. Especially ones i have just sharpened........ yeah mate i'll look after it for ya...... famous last words. I started with the basics. A few hand tools, electric drill(20yo and still my favourite), small sander and a few other bits and pieces. A small table and a pair of saw horses to build on. Always used some form of dust protection. Usually a proper single of twin ventilated mask. Never liked the paper masks.

Now i have a complete workshop(at long last, much to the disgust of the better half). It's a 9x7 weatherboard shed to match the house. It has high open ceilings, great for stacking timber in rafters and running pipes for the DC's.I have purchased/collected a Bandsaw, thicknesser, table saw, router table, compressor, heaps of power tools and a lot more hand tools. All the big tools are connected to a DC and all the small power tools are connected to a triton DC(modified cyclone). None of which leave the shed unless the person borrowing them is prepared to donate blood if they dont come back in the condition in which they left. Shed has a U shape kitchen(with fridge and sink) in one corner with plenty of bench/cubboard/drawer space. I have a 1200x900 work bench on wheels and i'm about to build a 6m bench to scarf and glue py sheets on plus various other activities. It will in corporate a sanding station on it as well. Bandsaw will be at one end and the thicknesser will be at the other. This will enable plenty of outfeed support for both machines.

Its close to perfect for what i need. Just need somewhere to put the things i make. Anyhow, like i said i think its all relative. It has taken me a long while to get to what i have know. Having all this stuff doesn't make the build quality any better but it sure helps.

Originally Posted by mcchaddy

Having all this stuff doesn't make the build quality any better but it sure helps.

Yup

Richard

Good stuff here.

Well done all.

All my comments are from a boatbuilding perspective - and there are lots of people including the above that are much more up to date with what's available and how to use it than I am.

The shed with doors both ends is great. It also allows you to extend the shed out further temporarily if anything big comes your way.

With dust extraction it is really nice to have some sort of hookup for hand power tools - that you can move around where needed - like you can spend serious amounts of time sanding wood and paint and glass - and to have a Festo (at the top end) or ????? at the other can save you from many hours of dust exposure. The Festo is pretty nice - not too noisy - which is the biggest flaw of the cheapies I have used - and it turns on and off as the powertool is turned on and off.

I think paper masks are really crap. I've never found one where I don't get a nosefull of dust - I just laugh at all the pics showing people in factories trying to look professional in all the right gear and they have a paper mask on their faces.

To keep dust out properly a rubber mask is necessary IMHO. But a dust extractor hookup for sanders powerplanes jigsaws makes a world of difference and means that no mask is needed in most cases.

It does generally mean that the tools you buy have to be a bit more upmarket to hook up the extraction - which is a downside.

BTW, a paper mask, as crap as it is is much, much better than nothing at all - so I am not suggesting not using them.

I'm prepared to wear a rubber mask when using a table saw to cut up timber because they tend to be single sessions - do a lot in a hit then they sit idle for weeks. Bandsaws are pretty clean in most situations - and are really only short burst tools most times.

But just start with what you need and grow as needed. The tendancy is to get very "tool focussed" and have the right tool for everything but as Midge says you can get away with very little and still build really nice boats.

Like Richard says - lots of clamps are nice to have - but a cordless drill and gyprock screws can make up for a deficit. Or use packaging tape like we used for your PDR mast. I've even seen decks put on dinghies and kayaks using the stuff where nail holes were not wanted.

Rudimentary clamps can be bodgied up quite satisfactorily. Instead of long pipe clamps - a long piece of timber with blocks gyprock screwed to either end and wedges cut to get the pressure. - or the welder's style spring clamps - cheap and invaluable.

Best regards

MIK

Hi All,

I agree totally with the paper dust mask. Absolute rubbish.

One thing I have learnt from a friend is to mix epoxy/fillers etc in front of a DC outlet. Just incase any fibres are floating in the air they should get sucked out. Another good tip I learnt was the use of a heat gun to remove excess expoxy. You dont need much heat do to it and all you do is scrape it off with a paint scrapper.

Thanks everybody !.
Well , if everything pans out , we will be building an RAL house on our new block (just do a search for RAL homes) , and I'll put up a basic RAL shed , that can be opened up either end.
The beauty of them is that they are modular , so its easy to take off the ends , add another section , and put the ends back on.
And I have a fair tool collection already , but I'd like a good solid(wooden) work bench , and a table that I can move around , on a concrete floor.
Looking through my old "wooden boat" magazines , and they show how to make a cheap , rudamentary clamp , ideal for me to get some practise again , before cutting in to boat timber !.
I can make lots of wooden clamps !.
Besides the boat projects , Ii have 2 magnificent wagonettes to finish restoring , one was built in 1865 , the other in 1890 .
I was surprised at how quickly the DC's filled at the Spring boat building school , and since a lot of that crap was epoxy being worked down , I appreciated MIK and Davids vigilance , in making sure that the DCs were used.
There is also a very good article titled "boatbuilders beware" in the Wooden Boat of April 1990 .Well worth the read.
Rob J.

Check out my Sixpence threads - there are some home made clamp photos on one of them (probably the last one)

Richard

Originally Posted by Boatmik

Or use packaging tape like we used for your PDR mast. I've even seen decks put on dinghies and kayaks using the stuff where nail holes were not wanted.

like this.

P

Thanks Richard , yes I saw your clamps , well done !.
Rob J.

Originally Posted by dopeydriver

Thanks everybody !.

but I'd like a good solid(wooden) work bench , and a table that I can move around , on a concrete floor.
There is also a very good article titled "boatbuilders beware" in the Wooden Boat of April 1990 .Well worth the read.
Rob J.

Howdy Rob,

For boatbuilding it is great to have a couple of custom made trestles the same height as the workbench - so if you are working on long lengths you can just keep moving out.

Midges workbenches are also the same height as his table saw - which have all been altered to match his stature.

Not that you need all that stuff to start with but it is often a good idea to work out where you are going in advance.

MIK

MIK

I bought two cheap saw horses. It's dead easy to clamp something to them, it's dead easy to screw my infamous sheet of chipboard to them, you can rest a boat on them, you don't mind cutting them accidentally or tipping paint on them or driving nails into them, etc. Very, very useful and for the price of a pair of cheapies, you won't make a pair of good ones. They'll be the wrong height of course, but you won't actually know what you need until you start needing it. These cheap sawhorses will give you a start and an opportunity to work out what it's worth spending time and money on building - use them until they annoy you enough to build something good in other words. And, being cheap, they'll never be wasted.

The other really useful gadget in my shop is an old ironing board - instant adjustable support

Richard
Richard

Hi All,

Here are some photo's of the table i'm going to build. It is made from 2 timber I beams. Both ends of the table slide out and the mid section is stationary. This allows sheets of ply to be scarfed and then glued together over the mid section. Note the holes along the I beams for clamps.