Week One Reflection
This week has been really amazing. Not only have I learned countless things about woodworking and boast building but I have made huge progress on my project and been loving to work on it! At this point, I have mostly completed work on my gunwales all I need to do is varnish them. I have fully repaired the hull and just need to do a small amount of sanding, then give it a new coat of paint. On the oars, I am just about halfway through my first set. Greg suggested that I do one set at a time just in case I run out of time, just so I can have at least one pair of finished oars but I don’t think that will be an issue. I have cut, processed, and glued two oars already and all I need to do now is grind them into shape and varnish (maybe fiberglass) them.
This week I learned a lot about how to use epoxy. You might think that there is a set way to do everything but, as I’ve learned, most often when adding thickener to fill a hole or something, the best description for how much thickener to add is, “till it’s the consistency of mustard”. Who knows the consistency of mustard off the top of their head? Anyway, I've also gotten a lot better at sanding and processing wood. Sanding because I do it for at least an hour or two every day, and processing wood because Greg has been helping me to develop a better feel for the wood and what needs to be done to get it into the form I need.
For the most part, everything happened as expected, though there were a few surprises. First, I went to the hardware store to get varnish, paint, and cleaning supplies. When I got back got right into cleaning the inside of my boat but I didn’t quite realize what I had gotten as a cleaner. I poured it into a bucket and that was when I first noticed the smell, not too strong though. However, when I started cleaning, a wave of it nearly knocked me over! It was extremely concentrated ammonia! Next time I used it I used just a few drops in a bucket of water! The other surprise came when I got the wood for the paddle of my oar. Greg and I hiked over to the construction site where there was a pile of scrap wood. We dug through it until we had come up with eight or nine pieces of wood that, after some processing, would be perfect for me! It was I nice surprise and I loved being able to apply a bit of recycling rather than getting a completely new piece.
This week I learned a lot about how to use epoxy. You might think that there is a set way to do everything but, as I’ve learned, most often when adding thickener to fill a hole or something, the best description for how much thickener to add is, “till it’s the consistency of mustard”. Who knows the consistency of mustard off the top of their head? Anyway, I've also gotten a lot better at sanding and processing wood. Sanding because I do it for at least an hour or two every day, and processing wood because Greg has been helping me to develop a better feel for the wood and what needs to be done to get it into the form I need.
For the most part, everything happened as expected, though there were a few surprises. First, I went to the hardware store to get varnish, paint, and cleaning supplies. When I got back got right into cleaning the inside of my boat but I didn’t quite realize what I had gotten as a cleaner. I poured it into a bucket and that was when I first noticed the smell, not too strong though. However, when I started cleaning, a wave of it nearly knocked me over! It was extremely concentrated ammonia! Next time I used it I used just a few drops in a bucket of water! The other surprise came when I got the wood for the paddle of my oar. Greg and I hiked over to the construction site where there was a pile of scrap wood. We dug through it until we had come up with eight or nine pieces of wood that, after some processing, would be perfect for me! It was I nice surprise and I loved being able to apply a bit of recycling rather than getting a completely new piece.
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