>

> If you are building one or two boats - save yourself the time
> and aggravation, and in the end, expense. NewFound Woodworks has great
> strips - both red and white - and great service.

You are probably right about time, possibly right about aggravation. But think about all that nice sawdust you are missing out on :)

On cost though we can be specific. I'll get 14 (sometimes 15) 1/4 inch strips from a 1 x 6 plank. If I use the process I've described for scarfing, I'll get 7 strips (18 feet long) from each 10 foot long 1 x 6 or 5/4 x 6 plank that I start with. If I was cutting 3/16 thick I would get a few more strips (probably 3 or 4 from the 10 foot boards, and 2 from the scarfed-to-make-18-footers), so if you are going with 3/16 thick, figure on either 9 or 18 strips depending on how long you go.

A 10 foot long 1x6 is 5 boardfeet. if you get 15 strips from five boardfeet, then you will get 3 strips (10 feet long) from each boardfoot of lumber you buy. For the 18 footers, you'll get about 1.5 strips for each boardfoot of lumber.

I'm no speed demon at ripping. I get about 40 strips in an hour. To put it another way: The last time I cut strips for my projects, I spent about 2 hours from setup to clean up. During that time, I ripped about 70 strips (12 feet long) for canoes, 9 wider pieces as stringers or chines for a 19 foot kayak, as well as 8 or 9 pieces for stringers for a 12 foot kayak. That is about 90 pieces of wood, of varying lengths, and a big pile of sawdust. (Have I mentioned that this creates a lot of sawdust?) That time I got an average of about 45 strips an hour -- a good day. The wood for these strips for all three boats combined cost me under $60. (Plywood for frames and oak for gunwales significantly added to the lumber costs, but that's another story.)

Cedar is soft wood to cut, and my 10 inch sawblade has now cut enough wood for 4 boats. It is about time to get it sharpened. Figure ``wear and tear'' on the saw and blade at around $5 per boat. Double that amount If you are going to run out and buy a new blade, figure in the entire cost.

Now, with this information, you can go to your local lumber store, price a plank, and with the help of a pocket calculator figure out how much you save by doing it yourself.

Then you get to make the decision of whether the savings in dollars is worth the expense of your time.

Let me give an example of these calculations: For a canoe with a beam of 36 inches, and a side height of 14 inches I estimate I would need AT MOST 36 plus 14 plus 14 (or 64) full length strips if I am working with 1 inch wide strips. If I am using 3/4 inch wide strips I'll need 25% more. How do I get this? Well, I base it on how many strips laid side-by-side would it take to cover the circumference of the boat in the middle. It takes fewer at the ends, but this practically guarantees me that I will have enough materials. For a kayak with a 26 inch beam, I would use a cylinder with that diameter for my estimate. Multiply 26 times 3.14 ( roughly pi ) and you come out a shade over 80 inches, so I would cut the equivalent of 80 full length strips -- and even with substantial waste I'd probably have more than I needed.

If the wood is selling for $2 a board foot, then that 10 long board is selling for $10.

If I needed 80 strips, and got 1.5 strips per board foot, I'd need about 55 board feet of lumber. At $2 per board foot that would cost around $110. Put another way, that would be about $1.38 per 18 foot strip if your wood is $2 per boardfoot.

Remember, all these numbers are ballpark estimates.

Also remember, if you are planning to use long strips, you have to include the time to scarf shorter pieces of wood together. Allow an extra day for that.

Hope all this info helps someone, somewhere. Paul Jacobson