I will be working on building a sailboat later this fall. Right now I’m looking for wood that I can use to make the spars. Sitka Spruce is recommended and I’ve found a source where I can get 11/4 x 6″ beams. The pic shows the board end with the cuts I’m thinking of making. Mast 1 is 3/4 x 3 x 12-ft.
What I’m not sure about is the steps to take, for instance, do I need to worry about flattening the beam before milling out the pieces or do i rough cut the pieces then deal with any defects.
For power tools I have a good table saw and a older grizzly thickness planer.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mast 1 | 12-ft | Mast 3 | 12-ft | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mast 2 | 12-ft | 14-ft | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (2) Bowsprit 7-ft | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Mast 4 | 12-ft | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Replies
When you split a beam the unknown is how will the wood come out straight as the internal stresses are released. Some BC fir beams for example will yield straight boards while other types of wood will often yield curved boards, your plan will also generate much wasted wood, these are not big spars, can you get wood closer to the dimension you require?