About to start my first HWS was planning on B&C rails and planking the deck, base however after some trhought on cost of solid planking and as it is my first attempt have been considering using ply for the deck base for cost saving and ease , The first problem i can forsee is the exposing of the ply layers when feathering the deck onto the rail stripping ,? Can ply be used with this rail method ?
Any advice welcome
Thanks Tim
I've done three boards with plywood. It has its limitations, and good, light, plywood is hard to find. I enjoyed the process because its all part of my training, but at the end of the day, I would prefer to work with wood strips for the decks.
i did a ply bottom on my HWS and It was a big pain, When i was blending and shaping the rails there were plenty of little nicks that made super ugly holes in the ply layers. I would stay away from it personally unless you have no other choice or have a much steadier hand than i did. That was my major regret in spending so much time with a HWS was cutting corners a bit, Had i used planking like the deck it would have been much less of an issue. This winter I want to have the winter project be round 2 with paulownia and balsa.
howdy tim,
you can actually use ply as rail material. check out paul jensen’s posts here. it’s even far simpler than bead & cove.
cheers,
Don't use plywood unless you realy don't have the funds for the real stuff. I did one HWS with plywood, but found the result unsatisfying. It seems to have bumps and dips after glassing, and after all the work you put into your first HWS , you want a result to be proud off. Good luck it's worth the afford.
Bart
i don't have aproblem with ply - just take it easy blending in to the rails. it also means that there is no reason to feel guilty about covering it up later. it saves a heap of time and expense and sanding. go for it.
[IMG]http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn229/blue-pig/mini%20simmons/DSC00084.jpg[/IMG]