Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

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terrulian
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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by terrulian »

Interior corners are the worst. I'm not just talking about yours. You will need to smooth that one out.
Anyway, good progress. What did you use to create the fillets? Everyone on the forum has some tool they think is just the bees knees for this. Although I've tried a lot of things, I have always returned to a tongue depressor.
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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by pee wee »

If you don't enjoy sanding rock hard epoxy fillets you might want to find time to sand sooner than a few weeks from now. Depending on temperature you may be able to sand it after 24 hours, if it balls up on the sandpaper wait a little longer. A sharp scraper works well to remove the worst of the lumps and bumps that are clear of your fillet, that chore can be done sooner than the sanding.
Hank

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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by OneWayTraffic »

I will tackle bumps and lumps today or tomorrow then. I was planning to use a sealant applicator tool for the fillets, halfway through I realised that wasn't working so used the rounded corner of the fibreglass plastic spreader that I had. I need to get a better tool as that was much too large to get into the corners very well so I used a mixing stick in a couple of places. I'm telling myself that when I go back over them after taking out the stitches no one will know that it's there. Then I remembered the photos. :)

I am open to ideas for fillet tools. Not sure whether I can find tongue depressors. I do have a couple of metal scrapers to remove uncured epoxy that seems to get everywhere but I didn't think of using them this time.

One of the reasons I am building this dinghy is to learn how to work with the material, and to gain experience. I am good with theory, learning concepts first time, but for hands on stuff I need the learning curve.

terrulian
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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by terrulian »

Tap Plastics carries tongue depressors.
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cape man
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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by cape man »

soft, plastic baby spoons.
The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that wasn't there before - Neil Gaiman

OneWayTraffic
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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by OneWayTraffic »

I will probably do over with bigger fillets just before glassing and doing that wet on wet. I can hardly wait to see how many new ways I can stuff that up. :oops:

I am based in Christchurch NZ so no tap plastics.
Love the baby spoons idea, I will look into it.

terrulian
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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by terrulian »

I would think any drugstore would have them, or Target or a store like that if you have them.
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Jaysen
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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by Jaysen »

cape man wrote: Fri Jul 21, 2017 2:30 pm soft, plastic baby spoons.
Look at his photos.

I used regular plastic spoons at first with good results. Really good option. Biggest problem I had was messy gloves and lots of clean up on the sides. Loved it though.

At some point I started getting... cheap. The spoons I used would get soft and lose shape after a few feet (i said I was cheap). At one point I did not have a soon near by and was desperate. Looking at my GLOVED HAND i took a finger and ... made the best fillet on the boat. Was already changing gloves after every batch so all I had to do was remember to not touch anything after making a fillet. Which is why, if you ever strip off the paint, you will find a LOT of hand print looking things. :)

And did anyone point you to the straight epoxy "top coat" tip yet?
My already completed 'Lil Bit'. A Martens Goosen V12 set up to sail me to the fishing holes.
Currently working on making a Helms 24 our coastal cruiser.
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Jaysen wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 3:44 pm I tried to say something but God thought I was wrong and filled my mouth with saltwater. I kept my pie hole shut after that.

Aripeka Angler
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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by Aripeka Angler »

Since you are going to tape over dry fillets, stop short of the stitches. Pull the zip ties after your tack fillets dry.
It's impossible to make a great fillet with the zip ties in place.
For a fillet tool, the baby spoons work great.
I also use scissors to cut a radius on the edge of a bondo spreader. You can also customize the angle of your spreader to fit various hull angles before you add the radius. Put a spoon full of goop right in the corner and drag it along with the spreader. Don't be afraid to make multiple passes over the same spot until you make a good fillet. This method is probably one of the best ways for a first time builder to master fillet making. The main thing is do your absolute best work on the inside of the boat. It's tough sanding in there :wink:
Your are making great progress, build on :D
Richard
Completed boats...XF20 "Red Alert", Aripeka Angler's Strip Canoe, FS18 “Bare Bones”, GF12
Currently building...PY12 Kayak
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Bare Bones build thread...
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=62146

OneWayTraffic
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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by OneWayTraffic »

I have heard of the straight epoxy top coat. I should probably clarify my original intention here. I intended to tack weld the frames together, using just enough epoxy to do that. Then later bigger fillets for the tape and wet on wet. I put on more than enough ('maybe it won't hold' :oops: ) and now am looking at the solid, less than smooth epoxy on my boat and thinking of the sanding! I was a bit generous with it as it was my first time working with it, and now that it's cured I think I could have gotten away with much much less. The boat would be just as firmly in place.

Oh well nothing a few hours of sanding won't fix. :(

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