Classic Boat – May 2018

CRAFTSMANSHIP

Boatbuilder’s Notes

Make a planing stop

BY ROBIN GATES

With a planing stop you can smooth or flatten the face of a

board without intervention of a vice, holdfast or clamps. The

edge of the board butts against it, and that’s it – plane one

side, flip the board and plane the other, as quick as you like.

A wooden stop has the advantage over a commercially

made metal one in not risking damage to the plane’s blade,

should the two come into contact.

Of the various designs, this one is simple to make from

ofcuts and rock-solid in use. It’s essentially a wooden T with,

in this case, a mahogany fence screwed and glued to a teak

cross-piece with a 1in (25mm) hole, and a rough-cut hazel

peg which anchors the stop to a dog hole in the bench.

The dimensions are^3 / 8 x 2^1 / 2 x 13^1 / 2 in (1 x 6 x 34cm)

for the fence, and^3 / 8 x 1^1 / 4 x 8in (1 x 3 x 20cm) for the

cross-piece, but yours would be larger or smaller according

to the scale of work and layout of the bench. When planing

a thin board, raise it on plywood to ensure that the plane

will clear the stop.

In praise of Cascamite

I recall my father building a plywood catamaran with

Cascamite 50 years ago, when it was the go-to glue for

amateur boatbuilders. Epoxy resin has knocked Cascamite

of its pedestal since then, but it remains a user-friendly,

strong and weatherproof alternative for load-bearing

joinery and laminating.

Cascamite is a water-resistant urea formaldehyde resin,

supplied as an of-white powder mixed 2:1 by weight with cold

water. At 15°C the pot life is around three hours. Apply to one

surface only using a stif brush; an old toothbrush is handy.

Clamp for six hours, and remove the excess with a damp cloth

because this glue sets like glass. The bond is stronger than the

timber itself. Where surfaces make less than perfect contact

Cascamite is also a useful gap filler. A 125g tub costs about £4. ROBIN GATES

Apply with a stif

brush to one surface

Above: planing

an oak board

with the stop.

Left: the stop is

anchored by a

wooden peg.

Right: raising a

thin elm board

on plywood