Finished the molds today! The molds create the form upon which the boat will be built. There are 5 mold forms for this boat.
The shape of the molds are taken right from the lofting drawing. Picking Up refers to techniques of transferring shapes on the lofting to boards so that the shapes can be cut out. To pick up the mold shapes, I ground off half of the heads of a few dozen nails so that they would lay flat exactly on the lines in the drawing that I wanted to transfer. I then placed boards over the nails and lightly hammered down until the nails stuck into the wood. The boards are flipped over and a batten is used to draw a curve along the impressions left by the nail heads. The molds are then cut out on a bandsaw (both sides at the same time). The 2 sides of the mold are then compared to the lofting for any fine tuning. They are then nailed in place on the lofting and tied together with cross-spalls and cleats.



Next is building the strongback and placing the molds.
Mold Materials List:
- (2) 1×8x12, Lowes, $24
- (2) 1×6x12, Lowes, $12
- Misc nails and scrap lumber
Project Materials Summary:
- Plans and Book: $60
- Lofting Supplies: $47.88
- Mold Supplies: $36
- Total Project Expenses so far: $143.88
Labor Hours Summary:
- 5/29/09 – 6/8/09: Lofting – 12 Hours
- 6/14/09 – 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 17 Hours
-- Matt - Syracuse, NY






















5 comments so far
patron
home | projects | blog
2462 posts in 240 days
posted 161 days ago
we’re looking good , matt .
thanks for showing us the steps in this and the costs .
im going to favorite this so i can enjoy it with you .
hi jim , i know your here close !
-- david ,new mexico ,allheart
Mark Shymanski
home | projects | blog
1555 posts in 611 days
posted 161 days ago
Very interesting, thanks for blogging this. Great detail.
-- ...it's rennovation time!!!
Splinterman
home | projects | blog
4940 posts in 260 days
posted 160 days ago
Hey matt,
Keep it coming man….looking good.
-- I will just keep doing it till I get it right.
Occie gilliam
home | projects | blog
313 posts in 195 days
posted 140 days ago
thank for posting it will be nice to see this go forward
-- Occie down in Costa Rica. come down and see us some time. I'll keep the light on for you Occiegilliam@yahoo.com
Napaman
home | projects | blog
3492 posts in 976 days
posted 130 days ago
this is insane…I AM FAR AWAY FROM trying this…but loving the detailed steps…
-- Matt, Napa, CA...fun is beautiful...just trying to have some fun...