Rough shaped

Shop dog in training...

D.

Top Panels done

I cut up a couple 2x4's to get these last two strips. I'm happy with this so far. It'll set in the jig for few days under weight to let everything settle in.

D.

Top Panel gettin done.

It's going along well and I'm loving it. It's still setting nice and flat with minimum weight. I'll belt sand down the nose and tail a little before stripping those out.

The cedar blocking in the tail is for the leash plug and the off center cedar is for the vent. I like to keep the nose and tail as thin as possible.

D.

Not your usual stuff.

Today, I received a package from the United Kingdom. It contained some of the most beautiful wood I've ever seen. A big thanks to Mike Skinner for these pieces of English Elm Burl. It's a very rare wood and I can see why. I plan to use it for the fin stock on my blunt nose. It's going to be amazing.

Here is a picture of how this wood looks when it's finished.

http://www.dunnsohnwoodwork.com/newstuff/elmburl.html

Thanks Mike, you made my day.

D.

Transitioning

I finished with the rail strips. The next step is to scribe in some 5/8" wide stock. It's a good time to square up the strips. I use the spar as my line of reference. All my rail and top panel strips are soaked in water for 30 minutes before they're set.

Yesterday, I re-sawed my 2x material for my top panel strips. I got lucky, there are some nice fungus stains and a little heart wood. I'm thinking book matched reverse flames. It's gonna be fun.

D.

Not so fast.

I set the first rail strips on each side. That went well and they have a good sweeping flow that follows the ribs. Next, I set the second rail strip on one side. That seems to go fairly well also until I looked at it again this morning. I noticed that strip dipped down in a couple places (L7-L9 & L2-L3). It would be a big problem if I just kept on railing the board.

The way I fix these trouble spots is to cut them loose and reset them. The gorilla glue is very forgiving in that respect. It's an easy fix and using the right tension clamps is essential. I also used some scrap wood to push out the strip. Yes, rail strips can be a PITA but, it's a much better and easier system than bead and cove.

D.

Prep and rails

I ran some 1/4" x 1/4" stock so I'd have another surface to glue the first rail strip to. Lots of little relief cuts to make the bends. The tail got widened a bit and some 1/4" stock was added there too. The first rail strips got set.

D.