Quote:
Originally Posted by wind_magic
Okay, hey, if that is the case and the saw is guiding itself, I can do it, that makes me feel better. I wonder if the Passagemaker is done that same way ? I have had to make these cuts through a solid piece of wood using a bandsaw and they are not easy, but if there was cardboard in the middle, I can do that.  |
Yeah, it's done the same way on the Passagemaker: There is a piece of cardboard sandwiched between the two bulkheads. The thickness of the cardboard is much greater than the kerf of the saw blade. In theory, the blade is guided by the sandwich, the only tricky part being navigating around the carriage bolts, which are already in place. The cardboard gets peeled away after the cut, and then the edges get tidied up with thickened epoxy and sandpaper.
I say "in theory" above, because if you are a congenital knucklehead like me and get a late start or distracted such that it becomes dark before you've finished "the cut", it's still possible to muck it up.
Fortunately, this sort of boatbuilding is very forgiving of amateurs -- there's almost nothing that can't be repaired with epoxy, wood flour, and cab-o-sil.
