Another weekend of demolition. Starting to see the slab now. Maybe one more weekend cleaning up, and we might be able to start building the new shed.
The old shack is coming down. We have spent the weekend pulling off the old cement roof and removing burning infested timber. The more we do, the more we find needs to be done!
Materials are now ordered for the new shed. It will be 13.5x8m under a truss roof on 4.5m steel posts, with provision to build skillions along each side. The steel posts have arrived in town, timber lintels are being cut, and the trusses are being built.
After the weather last weekend, we have decided to put boat work on hold, and first build a shed. I’ve been away to Sydney this week, and the weather has been wet all weeks. Floods to the north and floods to the south. We have been lucky to have been spared.
I am hoping the new shed will not be too hard. There is already a 7x7m concrete floor in the old shed where I used to live, and a lot of brick paving around the outside of that. That will be the site for the shed. Access to the road is pretty easy, with just a couple of trees to take out.
I am hoping to re-use some of the iron and rafters from a couple of the old sheds in the new one.
\
I first built this shed back in the early ’90s, when I was planning to build on a new site. The posts now have termites, so I had better salvage what I can before it all falls down!
Keith delivered the cut frames and a supply of 42×19 this morning. We spent the afternoon racking all the timber and ply, but the weather has kept us under cover.
The rain has been incessant. At times it is just a drizzle, and then it buckets down.
I’m glad I don’t have a hull sitting out under tarps when the weather is like this!
Home late…
Been at the joiners all evening cutting all the frames for the starboard hull.
Not much progress over the last month. The 42×19 edge has been added to the frame 5. But most of the progress has been on the trigonometry to create the geometries in the Biesseworks software that will cut the frames. I have programmed the file so that the offsets are entered, and out comes a frame.
Thanks to the CNC router, there is no issue about making the second hull identical. So I only cut one side in case I want to change anything on the second.
Cut frames and timber will be delivered, but right now the weather is too wet.
The first frame was cut out today!
We spent a few hours programming the Biesseworks software so that the offsets could be entered for the frame, and the machine did the rest. The complete frame 5 was cut, notches and all, in about 2 minutes! And because it was a router bit that did the cutting, the edges are sharp and burr free.
Checking the cuts
CNC Router at work
When do I start counting the hours? Is the preparation to building part of the building too?
Today I built a rack to store sheets of plywood. I have heard stories of having the sheets stacked, and the one that you need next is on the bottom. This rack should solve that. It will hold about 90 sheets of 9mm ply.
Plywood Rack
Resin and cloth have arrived.
Timber will be ready next week.
I have just arrived home with a huge box full of screws – over 11 thousand!
I have had quotes in from timber suppliers from Brisbane, but thought I had better check my local suppliers, too.
There is a plywood factory just north of Grafton, but they do not manufacture marine ply. Pity that, as they use excellent quality timber to make the veneers, and everyone says that the exterior grade plys are made with the same glues. Anyway, in the total scheme of things, the plywood is a small component. I plan to stick to only the best materials.
The big news is the lumber. I visited a local joiner last week, and he said he would be able to supply all the framing timber from a hoop pine log that he knew of. He was busy at the time, but gave me a good hour having a look through his plant.
But today was a different story. I think he had looked at Easy cats online, and was so enthusiastic. He is assuring me that he can supply first grade timber at a price better than any quote that I have! And he will assist with any planing or milling that I may need.
This is really exciting news for me, as I am sure that between Keith’s advice and tools that I will save time and get a better built boat.
I was so anxious, waiting, waiting, waiting for the plans. Finally they arrived.
A large envelope with the A3 plans and an A4 instruction booklet. Also there is a CD with photos and a DVD.
The CD was pretty scratched, and would not work on any computer at home. I tried it at work and found a machine there that could open the disk, so now they are on a USB stick.
If I work on the suppliers, I might get enough to materials in to get started over the christmas break. Work closes down for 2 weeks, so that would be a good kick start.
