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Article
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kit?
What comes with a rowboat
kit?
Greg's Online Water Color
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Can I Do It (what skills you
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How Much Does it Weigh?
Tatman Boats Go To Chile
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Tools You Will Need
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Tools are a "hidden" cost of building one of our
kits, so it is important to know what sort of tools
you need to do the project. Tools last a long time,
and are useful in repairing or modifying the boat
down the road, which helps a little when trying to
justify the extra purchases. It is also equally
important to know what tools you don't need! In
general, you won't have any use for a table saw,
radial arm saw, band saw, drill press, jointer or
any similar "floor" mounted tools. We do all that
kind of cutting. The most major tools you'll need
are:
Since all of our boats are screwed together, you will
need one electric drill to countersink the screws,
and one variable speed, reversible drill to drive
the screws into the countersunk hole. We use a high
quality cordless on both counts, but they may be
more money than one wants to put into this part of
the project. As a compromise, perhaps only one
cordless would do. That makes for fewer tangled
electrical cords.
Two Electric Drills.
We recommend six to twelve, four inch "C"
clamps for virtually any of the boats. The closer
to twelve the merrier. The clamps should be strong,
with as large a "foot" as possible. The "foot"
should be machined flat, so that when you clamp to
the wood it will minimize dents. "C" Clamps.
A
router is not required for building one of our
kits, but we include it in the tool list because it
adds so much to the "state of finish" of the boat
that it is worth having. Use a router to add
rounded edges to many of the parts. Take out an IOU
for the next Fathers Day or Christmas! A trip to
the second hand shop may yield a good buy on a used
router. An expensive one is not required. The only
bit you will need is a 5/16" round over one,
preferably carbide with a ball bearing guide. Router.
We use a 4"x 24" belt sander, which is about the
largest one can get, because it is a little easier
to bridge over some of the areas that require
sanding. For a given budget, we recommend erring
towards a smaller, higher quality sander rather
than a large, cheap one. You will need one or two
belts (in case one breaks) of heavy grit (as
close to #36 grit as possible) and two #80 grit for
finish sanding. Belt Sander.
The sabre saw (also called the reciprocating saw)
is the safest way to rough out the bottom plywood
panel, but if you are familiar and comfortable with
using a circular saw, you can lower the blade so it
cuts just a little more than the thickness of the
plywood and cut the shape out with it. This
requires the ability to control the saw when
cutting along a long curve. Use a sabre saw if you
aren't certain of your skill with a circular
saw. Saber Saw or Circular Saw.
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These are a few simple tools you need when
assembling your boat. Our goal is two fold: the
first is that when you finish your boat and use it,
you feel as though you really built it yourself.
That means we need to leave a considerable amount
of the work to you. Our second goal is that we need
to complete the kit at the shop to the point that
the average person can put it together. One of the
ways to assure that is to make it build able with a
minimal collection of tools.
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- Miscellaneous Tools:
- Hand saw
- Paint scraper
- Measuring tape
- Hammer
- Metal file
- Phillips driver heads for electric
drill
- Countersinks for screws
- Square
- Caulking gun
- Pencil
- Paint brush
- Vacuum cleaner with brush attachment
- 1/4" drill bit
- 1" drill bit
- Sand paper #80 & #220
- Hand plane
- Straight edge
- Framing square
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Four Inch "C" Clamps
A good clamp for boat building should be
strong , with a smoothly twisting shaft. The
"foot", the part which comes into contact with the
wood, should be fairly large and machined flat. The
four inch is the minimum size for building a
driftboat. You could get by with five or six (on a
larger driftboat), but things go more efficiently
with ten or twelve. Most folks can borrow the
clamps they need. If you can't, or simply need new
ones, these are the kind we use.
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Clamps
each..............$10
Six
clamps...................$48
To order call (541)746-5287 or e-mail at: mckenzie@gregboats.com
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Screw Countersinks
Here is another "we use this too"
recommendation. There are a lot of countersinks out
there on the market. Most of them are the
adjustable variety, which break frequently because
of the severe angles that need to be countersunk
into. These, made by Black & Decker, look
cheap, but we have used them for several years with
minimal breakage. They come in a bubble pack of
five, but you only use two of them (they're still
worth it!), the 1" and 1 1/4".
You will need a countersink for the 3/4" screws in
the kit. The one to the right in the photo with the
fixed collar is made by Stanley. It works the best
for the 3/4" screw situations you find in building
your boat.
Package of five
Countersinks.......$9
Stanley 3/4"
countersink............8
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Phillips Driver Bits
All the screws provided in our kits are
Phillips heads. These Phillips head driver bits
will fit into the chuck of your variable speed
drill. We suggest having at least three to start
your building project.
Three driver
bits......................$3
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Extra Long 1/4" Drill Bit
While not necessary, this extra long drill
bit makes drilling through the gunnels (handrails)
a little easier. Its length allows you to get
better aim.
Long 1/4" drill
bit....................$8
To order call (541)746-5287 or e-mail
at: mckenzie@gregboats.com
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One Inch Paint Scraper
To a normal person, even the thought of a paint
scraper, no less seeing one, tends to bring on an
attack of anxiety. To boat builders, at least at
our shop, we find a paint scraper a tool that we
would never want to be without. A very sharp
one inch paint scraper can remove saw marks
much faster than any sandpaper. It can also help in
the removal of set up caulking and does well
scraping level varnish or paint drips and runs. We
recommend a "Hyde" brand one inch scraper and an
extra blade. A fine metal file will keep
it nice and sharp.
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Extra
blade.......................$2
One inch paint
scraper................$6
To order call (541)746-5287 or e-mail at: mckenzie@gregboats.com
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