Filler?

S

sleats

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Afternoon, question today is..... on a wooden boat is the best form of filler to use? heard some people suggest car body filler for its amount to cost ratio... whilst obviously others shrink at the idea due to lack its lack of movement once dry.

so looking for suggestions, if anyone has some!

Fanks
 
whether it was suitable for 'holes'

Not being funny but.............Still making trees.

Use wood and any fairing needed use epoxy with the appropriate epoxy filler, that site should give you a fair understanding of what you need. If it's something specific give Bob the owner a ring and he will tell you what to do.

Tom
PS No association with the company. just a satisfied customer.
 
By far the best way is to let in a graving piece of some sort - especially if its a relatively small hole - up to say 3 inches in dia (or say half of the plank width).

The method I use is to make the graving piece first - a diamond shape is good with the long axis along the grain. I then draw round the graving piece with a sharp pencil and route the area out freehand getting close to but not actually up to the pencil line and to a depth of about half the thickness of the plank.

Trim the rebate up to the pencil line with a sharp chisel, apply some balcotan or similar and tap the graving piece in to the recess making sure it bottoms out in the hole. Incidentally, the graving piece should be of similar timber and be thicker than the recess so as th be planed/sanded flush when the glue is dry.

All this sounds complicated but isnt - after you have done it once you will never use filler again because this method is so much better.
 
I go along with what Manx-Nobby has to say entirely the best way to go. Filling and faring seems is better done with the traditional methods it works with the wood.
Jeffreys Seam flex I believe is being re-made and obtainable from "Traditional Boat Supplies". see here
No modern two pack will work with the wood as it sets rock hard and has no flexibility.
I only wish one of the manufactures could come up with a
"Two-Pack" fully setting but remain flexibly waterproof compound that will bond to wood..
 
They do.............It's called Timberfill, and it's like a car body filler, but made for wood, it's more flexible and will move with the wood. I still woodn't (groan) use it though, I prefer to let in pieces of timber meself. By the way, a better and more accurate way of marking out for graving pieces is to use a Stanley Knife, (very carefully). The advantage is that you can cut in your marks progressively deeper, and the chips just fall away from the edge when chiselling out.

Best to all, Charlie.
 
Re: Routing in graving pieces

To make life eisier you can make up some templates in 10mm perspex - Use a top bearing guided flush cutter and cut the outer one the diameter of the router cutter larger than the inner one then you use the SMALL on to rout out and the larger one to make the graving piece. Bit fiddly but you can test it on scrap till you get it right and then get a perfect fit everytime.
 
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