cracked frames

[EASLOOP]

I have a wooden sloop with some cracked frames at the tightest bend of the bilge. Having difficulty getting strips of oak thin enough to bend the tight radius in order to make up in-situ laminated frames. Thought of using exterior 3/8" or 1/4" ply strips (easy to cut) soaked in epoxy resin glues and assembled in-situ - either sister or replace. Does anybody have experience or a view on using ply strips for this purpose?
I would appreciate your comments
John

 

[Strathglass]

Don't use ply. Any sawmill will cut your pieces of oak into very thin strips. I laminated replacement floors on an old one rater. Before epoxying them together I initially isolated the planking and old ribs with parcel tape. When the epoxy was set I removed them and dressed them up then fitted them properly. Ply would not be nearly as strong or resilliant as oak.

 

[Peterduck]

Try softening the strips that you can get by wrapping them in rags, and pouring boiling water over them. Let them stand for a few minutes to soak up the heat, [the rags are there to retain the heat for the longest time] and then try to flex them into position. You may be agreeably surprised by the degree of relaxation brought about by the boiling water.
Peter.

 

[rjp]

Interesting....but would 'dry' steam be better from the point of view of using epoxy immediately afterwards. Not sure it would be too good if the wood is wet? I'm about to do the same type of job (see my adjacent post 'Which wood') so interested in you experiences.

 

[Peterduck]

Dry steam takes a lot of setting up, and doesn't have the same power of getting heat into the timber. I'm talking about just a bundle of rags and an electric kettle, borrowed from the kitchen while the dragon's not looking. Keep it simple! Because everything is hot it will dry out quickly, but once the rib laminates are bent, there is no hurry. If you really must rivet up before the wood is dry, use one of the moisture-curing polyurethane glues.
Peter.