Float Frame 8

My wife gave me a GoPro camera for Christmas! It's one of those things I always wanted, but wouldn't spend the money on. So this short video is a first attempt at capturing some of the work that goes into making one of the thirteen float frames. I haven't figured out the GoPro Studio software yet, so I'm not sure how to add music, captions and etc. but the computer I'm using is almost six years old, so it struggles to process the videos.

I have a new computer and a shop camera coming next week, so that should make things a bit more interesting around here.

But in the meantime, this post will pretty much wrap up 2015.
More to come soon.

Happy New Year from me and my family!

First Float Frames cut

In theory, I have a pretty good idea of what needs to happen to get this project put together.
But in practice, well - lets just say it sometimes might take a while for the light bulb to come on...

So anyway, the day after Christmas I pulled the Full-Sized plans out of the storage tube to locate the float patterns and tape some transfer paper to the back side. After that was all ready to go, I cut the first MDF board in half then used some clamps to hold the two pieces together before carefully marking out the center line and squaring up float pattern number one. I used the jig-saw to make the cut and then ran the belt sander along the edge to smooth the shape out a bit. After all that was done, I marked along the bottom edge to pre-drill the screw holes to mount to the strong back cleats before setting both frames up against the cutting table in preparation for moving on to the next frame.

However, as I was marking out the next frame I took an admiring glance over at the first frames and realized the working height would be almost 5' (1.5m) off the floor!

 - Yeah, remember that "light bulb" comment I made earlier?

Well anyway, I wasn't super excited with the cut quality so I went back to the plans to determine just how high the frames actually needed to be, then I rearranged the work area for a a second go at it.

The next thing that stumped me was the cut-outs for the raised deck section. The plans call for leaving a section of the foam on outer float frame extended above the top of the frames and cutting back the foam on the inner side. This was confusing to me and I actually just stopped working for an hour or so to take a break and think it out before screwing up another cut, but a quick look at Henny's site reminded me of the proper method and I was on my way again.

At the moment, I have six of the 13 frames cut and ready to go but I'm not happy with frame number two, so I'll probably re-cut that one (dull jigsaw blade made an angled cut). It takes a while to get these done since I have to make the initial cut for height, then I need to cut and glue some extension pieces to accommodate the larger frames. That all needs to dry before moving on to the marking, cutting and sanding.

However, the one thing that has really worked well for marking the patterns is the double marking wheel I picked up a while back. The wheels are removable and can be reinserted at different locations to suit the width required.

Unrolling the plans

Double marking wheel

First Frames cut. These are the ones that ended up being reworked.

Two frames are cut at once to match the profile along both halves

Also had the brilliant idea to cut a "window" in the pattern to square things up.

Second cut on Frame One. Much better working height!

Frame number seven - I think this might be the largest one.
I ended up redoing this frame because the flat top wasn't straight when I put the two halves together. Also, I plan to use this frame set as the master template for getting the other flat top frames angles lined up.
(Note: I'll be going with the rounded outer side vs. the width reducing shaved section)

Counter Top Laminate glued in place & some supplies

I got a few minutes today to glue on the counter top laminate and run the router around the edge, then took these pictures before leaving the shop - the glue fumes were quite strong.

And for bonus points today, I received some supplies before Christmas Day!
Several rolls of FlashBreaker tape, a bag of Aerosil and 25lbs (11.3kg) of 1/16" (1.5mm) milled glass.

Plugged a leak and spent some Boat Bucks

Not a boat related leak (not yet anyway), but rather a condensation issue in the shop.
The construction design for this shop results in an uninsulated gap between the two main rafter C-channels. Those rafters make direct contact with the exterior steel skin and get cold enough to cause a condensation drip when the weather conditions change. It's not a lot of water, but it's enough to be a bother and not something I want to deal with later on when I'm trying to fair and paint.

I looked around for something that could fill the gap to provide some insulation value before taping it up and was happy to find that I had some small foam mats that could be cut to size and stuffed into the gap. It worked perfectly and best of all cost nothing but an hour of time!

It's menial - I know it, but I was so happy to save a few dollars with this fix since my Credit Card is absolutely ON FIRE at the moment! The carton of foam plus two sheets of M-200, all the lumber I've gone through and today I ordered some epoxy and fillers, Bio-Solv epoxy solvent/cleaner, Peel Ply, Perforated release film, Green-Flow breather, vacuum film, gum and flash tape plus a roll of Enka fusion, some mixing buckets and a couple of cans of release wax plus almost a dozen rolls of various fabrics.

Cha-Ching!!
The Piggy Bank has imploded.

In other news, I'm hoping to get a call tomorrow saying the counter top material for the laminating table is ready for pickup. I need to get that glued down before I can finally unroll the full-sized plans to start marking out and cutting the float frames.

After that, well - after that I guess I'll actually be building a boat... to be honest, it seems a bit surreal when I stop and think about it.

A bit hard to see in this picture, but there is a small gap between these two C-Channels making up the support rafters

Foam sheets. We had these on the floor in the kids playroom in our old house

Gap filled with foam sheet and then taped over with some foil ducting tape

Sealed up now. If any further condensation occurs, I'm hoping it tracks along the tape and drips out towards the ends instead of the middle of the shop.

Fabric Table Top and Battens

I received the Rhino "Self-Healing" cutting mat from SpeedPress.com last night. It was much thicker than I assumed it would be and looks to be some really high quality material. I also received a roll of double-sided carpet tape that I was hoping would do the trick to secure the mat to the fabric cutting table top. The "XFasten Double-Sided Carpet tape" ended up working better than I hoped and is completely removable if I ever need to re-position the mat some time down the road. The tape is really thin and very sticky, so it may come in handy later on when I start laying up the composite materials.

The counter top material for the big lamination table isn't due until later this week, so I think I'll spend some time tomorrow cleaning up the shop. It's quite a mess in there after running the table-saw for half a day!

I also have some tool maintenance to take care of, but after I get the table top glued down I'll be rolling out the full sized plans to begin marking out the float frames.

I left the mat overnight to flatten out from being curled up in the shipping box

Seriously Heavy duty cutting mat!
Over 4mm thick

Double sided carpet tape

Carpet tape laid out and ready to receive the cutting mat

Cutting mat installed and trimmed to size with the track saw

Ripping battens all day resulted in nearly filling this garbage can

My little guy and my daughter helping to do a quick sanding of the battens after pre-drilling

A good stack of mostly 12' (3.6m) milled battens ready for use.
I'm sure this is just the beginning of many more required...

Fabric Rack & Battens

I built a large (maybe too large) rolling fabric rack. The existing layout will accommodate ten rolls of 5' (1.5m) material plus a space up top for an over-sized roll of material like the polyester batting I picked up at the fabric store to be used for vacuum bagging. I can store some additional material at the base of the rack and can add an additional three of four supports up the middle if that becomes necessary. The rack was designed to sit in the middle of both strong backs to serve up fabric and bagging films to the cutting table, but is able to be pushed back and behind each strong back to provide material along the length of the hulls.

I also triple-checked the cleat measurements before running the center string at a 90 degree angle down the length of the frame and got set up to start milling and pre-drilling the first set of battens. I'm going with a .71" (18mm) width to allow for .5" (12mm) penetration into the foam. This will leave 1/4" (6mm) of foam between the tip of the screw and the vacuum bagging materials. I'm hoping this will help a lot with the vacuum integrity.

Base of Fabric Rack

Fabric Rack side supports

Base flipped in order to attach a set of castors

Uprights built, screwed and glued

Pre-drilled for fabric roll support rods.
Notice the bottom two are set towards the middle to help keep the overall width down a bit.

Uprights installed and working on center bracing

Center brace detail

I'm short a few lengths of pipe, but I was able to get that big roll of polyester batting up off the floor.

Laminating table lifted up out of the way to allow for gluing the top to the frame.

Same thing for the Fabric cutting table

Fabric table flipped and set in position near the fabric rack

Laminating table flipped, moved and shimmed into location next to the fabric cutting table

Almost ready for work, I even had a left-over piece of carpet from the last apartment flip.

Adjusting the center line location to provide a 90-degree angle to the cleats.
This line was run on top of the strong-back to serve as a reference for the "real" one that goes under the cleats

Table Saw all set up to rip some battens

Just the start of many more to come

I made a jig for the Drill press to pre-drill a hole every 6" (150mm) along the length of the battens

Big Laminating Table and a fabric cutting table

Last night, I got started on a big 5'x10' (1.5m x 3.0m) laminating table and also started on the smaller 4'x5.5' (1.2m x 1.67m) fabric cutting table.

Both tables are designed to work with edge clamps by moving the vertical support up underneath the table a bit instead of mounting the board flush along the outside edge (a lesson learned from a previous table I made).

The laminating table is sized to accommodate the easy infusion of a full sheet of foam. It will be covered by a single piece of white linoleum (gloss finish) and is designed to be cut in half later on for space savings if that becomes necessary.
The cutting table on the other hand is sized to handle a 5' (1.5m) wide piece of fabric and will be covered by a single piece of "Rhino" cutting mat which is a commercial "self-healing" mat produced for sign makers. It works really well with the rolling razor cutters. I plan on using some indoor carpet double-sided tape to secure the lining to the table top.

The strong back makes an excellent surface to work on while building these tables.

Table top pieces cut and laid out

Framing pieces getting laid down

Note the recessed vertical support. This allows for the easy use of smaller edge clamps

Center Supports.
Note: Table is designed to be cut in half later on if necessary.

Corner legs

Center legs

Lower bracing for stability and also support for a lower shelf.

Work starting on the cutting table