Lou Sauzedde, from Tips from a Shipwright, is getting close to finishing up his V-Bottom Kkiff wooden boat build. In today’s video of the week, Lou shows us how he creates the plugs and plugs the holes on the covering boards using our High Performance Epoxy.
We are back in the boat shop this week with your favorite shipwright, Lou! He is just getting started on the finish work on his beloved V-Bottom Skiff build. The first thing that needed to be done was to plug the holes that are apparent from the fasteners on the covering boards. He scrapes and sands the wood over the holes to remove any loose wood grain and get a smooth surface. Next, he shows us a clever way to make the plugs for the boards and edges. Lou takes the scraps he cut off the covering boards so he is recycling the same wood and that also guarantees the colors of the wood will match up. He drills one row at a time on the scrap wood with his plug cutter. This makes it faster and easier because once the row is cut, he applies a row of blue painters tape over the plugs and cuts the row down on the bandsaw. Once that is done, he can easily remove the painters tape and the plugs stick to the tape and pop right out of the scrap wood. He even marked each plug with a marker to identify the way the wood grain faces so he can get even more of a match when gluing them down on the covering boards.
Now that all the plugs are cut and ready, it’s time to plug the holes. Lou mixes a batch of our High Performance Epoxy with Medium Hardener. He shows us how to mix the 2:1 ratio with our plastic mixing cups. He then uses a small brush to coat the inside of the holes with the epoxy first to ensure it will be covered all the way around. He then takes his pliers, dips each plug in the epoxy and hammers them into place on the covering boards. The next day, he goes back to scrape off the excess wood on the plugs, and sands the surface smooth once again. While this may seem like a tedious job, Lou finds this part of the process enjoyable and satisfying. Even saying he feels bad for people who don’t have a couple hundred holes to plug!
It is great to see the finishing touches of the boat coming together! Be sure to give the video a like and follow Tips from a Shipwright on YouTube for an array of tips and tricks for traditional wooden boat building and woodworking! Enjoy!
