Chesapeake 17 Kayak - Making the sheer clamps- January 24, 2015

This evening I used my table saw to rip the 10 foot pine board into four 1 inch strips, 10 feet long of course. Since the kayak is 17 feet long I need sheer clamps about that length. Here is the table saw with the fence measured and set to one inch from the saw blade.

Once the one inch strips were cut they need end to be joined with a scarf joint to get the desired length. It is recommended the scarf be 6 inches for a three quarter inch board. I marked the strips like this for cutting and used my pull saw to make the cut.

Then the pieces need to be epoxied together. To be sure enough epoxy stays in the joint when it is clamped together to form a strong bond you mix in this filler called cell-o-fill until the epoxy has a mustard like constancy. Below is the epoxy without any cell-o-fill (top picture) and with the cell-o-fill mixed in (bottom picture).

 

See how the epoxy is now white in color and in the picture above it is clear. I spread the epoxy on the joint...

and clamp the pieces together.

They should cure for 24 hours and then I'll cut them to the correct length. Then they will be ready to attach to the side panels. A couple of things to note. I have plastic under the scarf joints so they don't become glued to the work table and I scraped off the excess epoxy that squeezed out of the joint so I won't have to deal with it stuck to the outside of the joint after it cures.