bending plank success . . . . . so far!

I’d been quite nervous of how to bend the planking on my WB&B canoe. Added to the fact, I was using European Lime instead of Basswood, it was a complete unknown to me.

I read everything I could find and after asking on here had advice from Paul Miller to reassure me that my ideas were certainly in the right direction; Thanks Paul.

This is a repair job on this canoe – To restore to ‘like new’ condition would have meant taking everything apart and starting again.
Once the ribs were sorted and the damaged plank removed, I cut the new plank a little over size.

I taped spacers to the ribs. Making the spacers by pouring boiling water over cut strips showed just how easy the wood was going to bend. I had intended to soak the plank first, but after this little experiment decided not to. I then held the plank in place with a strap at each rib and ran a batten along the top and bottom edge to ensure an even pull between the ribs. Rather than pour on hot water I used a wall paper steam stripper. Two people would have made things easier, but after holding the stripper in place for a minute or so, then moving it along the plank and holding it with my knee I was able to pull the each strap progressively tighter. I worked my way up and down the plank until it was tight against the hull along its length. At both ends I added a couple of wedges to hold the curve and at one end I added a ratchet strap so I could get it really tightened down.

From putting the oversize plank in place to turning off the steam less than 15 minutes. I now need to leave it to set then get a plank gauge to cut the plank to exact shape and size.



Sam

 

Nice job Sam,

The pictures should help others, as this system works good for all planking, especially if your working on a E.M. White that needs to have a tapered edge.

Paul

 

Now Done . . .



Sam

 

Also works on bigger gaps!



Sam

 

Very interesting method. Looks to be working well!