Comments on: FOPA https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/fopa/ Wed, 07 Aug 2024 20:40:20 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 By: Steven Clancy https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/fopa/#comment-96259 Thu, 16 Nov 2023 18:57:29 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=146454#comment-96259 Well said Malcolm!

]]> By: Malcolm Comyn https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/fopa/#comment-96216 Wed, 15 Nov 2023 23:47:12 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=146454#comment-96216 Grandpa Steve should wear his lifejacket, if only to set a good example.

]]> By: David Peebles https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/fopa/#comment-96207 Wed, 15 Nov 2023 21:26:48 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=146454#comment-96207 Sorry to sound like a broken record here, but again I urge the use of DRY heat for bending. A heat gun is a good tool for this. By pre-bending the slats for the stem, the problem of breakage in the laminations would be obviated. No need to bend them to an exact curvature. Bending them one at a time, the whole stack could be made ready for gluing in half an hour or so. Heating without moisture means no need to wait for them to dry out before gluing. Of course you would use your bending mould for clamping in the final layup.

For severe bends, a bending strap (the steel strapping from a lumber stack at the lumber yard works very well) helps a lot. I use a vise at one end, and a clamp at the other in order to control and manipulate the strips of wood. Securely clamping the bending strap helps force the bend into the inner wood fibers, rather than trying to stretch the outer fibers (which is sure to lead to breakage).

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