The Steamie

Welcome to the much publicised never to be repeated second part of The Second Coaming. 


There are probably a hundred easier ways this could have been done but this is how I did it. 


As previously explained I'm using extremely cheap WBP ply of dubious origin and unknown species. I was trying to save my wallet not the planet, but as is so often the case if I'd used decent materials in the first place I would have saved a whole lot of time and money not doing it twice. 
We live, sometimes we learn.  

So here is the hardboard template I made to start off with. The forward part of the coaming is supposed to slope forward in a stylish and sporty fashion, which means that the template has to be a wide curve and looks like this on the flat. 

Problemo numero 1 with this ply is that it doesn't like to be cut, so the surface veneer (!) splinters and cracks leaving a nasty edge.


Problemo numero 2 is that the ply doesn't like to be bent as the inside veneer with bubble and bulge if not treated very gently. 


Problemo numero 3 is that once bent and glued the edge doesn't like being trimmed without doing that splintering thing again, which will result in the kind of dogs breakfast I made of the first attempt. 


So here we are cutting the blanks oversize to overcome problemo no1.  

I hasten to point out to the fashion concious that I'm wearing my favourite padded boiler suit, as we were still in the deep mid winter at the time and yes I'm in my winter plumage. 


What follows shows how problemo No 2 was overcome with a bit of gentle heat and steam. The observant will also notice that the blanks were cut across the board in the hope that the grain would compress when bent rather than bubble.  


To entertain you while you watch the equivalent to paint drying I have supplied a sound track by Mr Bruce Springsteen who I doubt has ever been seen bashing away with a smoothing iron. 
You may wish to ensure your wife is visiting her mothers before borrowing her favourite Morphy Richards.   Sorry about the lack of editing, the PC kept freezing.


Play Loud!

And finally, to overcome Problemo No 3  I coated the whole caboodle with epoxy in an attempt to stop the edge splintering when it was being planed down to size. This seemed to work and you can see the nearly finished result below. Next stage will be to trim and fit the forward and aft parts then bridge the gap with short spacers.

You can also see a sneak preview of the hatch covers, exciting isn't it ......................................