MrPross

Great job so far Don, I'm just a few steps behind you on the Dory and I will be following your build with interest.

The use of pins for simple jigs is brilliant, reading through your log I've lost count of the times I've said to myself "why didn't I think of that! "

On 1/3/2023 at 10:22 AM, allanyed said:

Sorry I have no answer for your question regarding the frame height.   But, I do have a question for you as you have piqued my curiosity.  What is the object you are using as a weight in the photo.   If you mentioned it already and I missed it, my apologies. 

Allan

 

That is a flint I found in the garden, it appears remarkably like a primitive axe head so I kept it. Our local museum wasn't interested so perhaps it's nothing, a fluke. Perhaps I will find an expert to have a look at it one of these days, in the meantime it made a convenient weight.

8 hours ago, allanyed said:

I am thoroughly enjoying your build log and your willingness to press forward when finding a problem!   In order to avoid a confrontation with the Admiral if you happen to use HER hair dryer, there are industrial heat guns with a higher heat capability for $20 or less.  (Don't overdo, it can burn the wood)

 

Allan

Thanks Alan, Admirals are a little thin on the ground at the moment, perhaps a model Dory will persuade one to volunteer?

Still perhaps a heat gun is in order, less likely to send my plans sailing to one of the far corners of the office, I'd assume.

I've noticed the centre frame is considerably shorter than the rest, slightly concerning. Not quite sure what to do about it yet, perhaps I can use a couple of shims to raise it a little.

Today I finally got the bottom to bend, 3 times I followed the instructions to wet the bottom and weight the middle, each time I took the weight off the boards sprung back to their original shape. I know heat is often used to bend planks so I damped them down weighted the centre and then used a hairdryer to apply some heat. Hey presto the boat bottom maintains it's shape after removing the weight!

I also built the frame, as others have said in their build logs for the Dory, some of these where a little larger than the diagrams but rather than risk an uneven shape I decided to stick with what I've been given, time will tell whether this will work out.
When adding the transom holder it was a little tight, and being a damn brute, I forced and broke it. PVA to the rescue again I think it will be fine, going to give it overnight to go off before I attempt the next steps bevelling the frame and fixing the boat.

Impressive build, any tips for someone about to tackle this same project?

Love the extra details they really bring the Dory to life, something to aspire to. Thanks for sharing!

Excellent job Mark, thanks for sharing your build log a great resource for a first time builder. One I'll be referring back to periodically throughout my own build I'm sure.

On 12/31/2022 at 11:38 AM, DonBMichigan said:

My first attempt at gluing the bottom pieces didn't work - I didn't use enough glue. I did it again and used a corrogated plastic board and pins to hold it together. while it dried, and this worked.

Great idea, I held mine together with pegs but this seems a little more precise!

3 minutes ago, VTHokiEE said:

I haven’t built this kit so I can’t say for certain if you’ll need it if not but a small hand drill (or pin vise) with some small bits can be helpful. Also you may find some small “squares” useful, but these can potentially be found around the house - I have seen many people use LEGO blocks to keep parts square while they are clamped for the glue to dry.

Great idea; I have a pin vise on order as for "squares" maybe a good excuse to "invest" in some LEGO  

1 hour ago, allanyed said:

Welcome to MSW.

 

You can make a simple jig fixture to hold everything straight while assembling the various parts.   It can be set up so you can take the boat out of the fixture to glue on a part, then back into the fixture to hold everything true while the glue dries.

Allan

Thanks Allan, do you know of any good examples you could point me too? This is all fairly new to me still and while I'm enjoying researching and finding solutions to problems as they come up, a bit of direction from an expert is much appreciated.