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Visual History
The Building of Aslan
Updated 5/20/01
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Visual History
The Building of Aslan |
Updated 5/20/01 |
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Woodtape, a brand of veneer edging for plywood, can be used to make mast hoops. This is veneer with a heat activated glue on one side. First, I wrapped a piece around my form (the quart paint can), cut it to length, placed it glue-face to glue-face with the end of the roll, and ironed it to the sticky side of the end of the roll. Then I was able to wrap it around the form and glue each new layer to the one below it without gluing it to the form. |
| Two tips: use aluminum foil around the can to make it easier to remove the finished hoop, and 8 layers seem to make a good thickness. Some of my hoops are thicker, and some thinner, and I'll report if any break. Construction is pretty simple, but you do need to go slow enough that the adhesive melts and doesn't start de-laminating as you form it around the can. |
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Here are 10 finished hoops just after the second coat of varnish. I'm not sure the adhesive is waterproof, so I want to make sure to seal the edges of each hoop well. When sizing the hoops, you want their diameter at least 25% larger than the mast itself. These are thick, so I cut them down to 1/2" wide, the dimension the plans specify for mast hoops. |
| UPDATED 5/20/01
After launching Aslan, I can see these mast hoops will not work. The heat sensitive glue used on the edge banding material is too soft, and the hoops tend to deform and twist. Its not horrible, and I'll be able to sail with them for a while, but it isn't the solution to having wooden mast hoops without steam bending them either. |
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Updated 6/3/01
Bent and mishapen, the mast hoops continued to deform until they needed "help" to raise above the mast tabernacle. Reverting to the original plans, I decided to use 4" ABS couplers and cut them into 1/2" wide hoops (ABS couplers in this size are about 1/4" thick, and very rigid. The black color goes well with my painted metal trim; if a builder prefers white, PVC couplers in 4" would work.) |
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ABS is a soft material, but it can be hard to cut. I actually had a carbide blade failure cutting the hoops, even though my technique was correct. Here, I have a stop which is clamped to my table saw sliding cross cut box. Its adjusted so that a 1/2" wide strip will be left after cutting (with the off-cut away from the stop, of course.) With the blade just high enough to cut through the coupler, you slide the table forward until the blade cuts through the plastic, then rotate the top of the coupler toward you slowly. The secret, I'm told, is to use a regular steel blade, and mount it backwards in the saw. The carbide blades take too much of a cut, and I did have them "grab" the coupler a couple of times when it got less than 1" wide, and send it went flying across the shop. I've trained myself to pull my hands back when that happens, but still ... the backwards steel blade trick sounds safer. |
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After cutting, and then sanding the edges and especially the inside edges where the hoops will run against the mast, they had quite a number of scratches. Wiping them with a paper towel dampened with acetone helped, but they tended to get white deposits as the acetone dried. Through trial and error, I found a method that gave me highly polished mast hoops. Using a new paper towel for each hoop, I dampened it with acetone, and then wiped each edge of the hoop. Then, just after it dries from the "tacky" state, I buffed it with a cotton towel. If you wait too long, it won't polish it, and if you do it too soon, the towel will mar it. But you can just wipe it again and start over. With a little practice, I ended up with some pretty nice looking mast hoops. |
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