First gunwale bend

I steamed one end of the gunwales and cracked one, but successfully bent the other. 

I have a couple of spares, plus the cracked one broke close enough to the end that I think I can still use it. 

Gunwales milled

I've milled 4 gunwales for the canoe out of the log out back. I only need 2, but forming them to the canoe may be tricky, so some spares may come in handy. 

I took a piece of scrap from the gunwale stock and fit it up to the canoe to see how hard it will be to form the gunwales. The scrap is 3/8" square and the gunwales are a 3/4" half round with a lip attached. So the scrap is more flexible.

 I plan on firing up the steamer to get the gunwales formed without breaking. The steam box is 6 1/2 feet long and the gunwales are 15 1/2 feet, so the middle will have to bend on its own. I'll have to bend an end, clamp it up and let it set up, then do the other end. 

Completely planked

After one more run to the store for cedar, I'm finally finished planking the canoe!

One end complete

The final plank is on the stern after two tries. 

I also had the second to last plank on the bow formed and clamped in position.  I didn't nail this on yet so I can take it out of the way to form the last plank. 

Stern keel plank steamed and formed

You can never have too many clamps.

Stern keel plank

Put on the first of the 4 keel planks at the two ends. These are the most curved of all the planks and are not easy to get formed and nailed on.

Froe mallet

I'm getting sidetracked from the canoe, but I'll use this to make canoe parts. 

 

I took a piece of Douglas Fir I found in the woods and put it on the lathe. 

The result is not a fine work of art, but then, in use, it will get all beat up anyways. 

Quartered log

The second split went a lot faster. I can actually move the piece now.  I managed to drag it and cart it with the wagon to the garage.  To split it into useful pieces, I need to clean up the faces and split off a piece small enough to run through the saw and planer. 

So I started shopping for a froe and realized in the box of old tools from my grandparents farm, there was a froe blade.

I bought a new handle for it, sharpened it up a bit and it's ready for splitting, as soon as I make a suitable mallet.

First split

The log is now split in half. 

Starting with two steel wedges. 

Replacing the steel with big wood wedges. 

Hammering. 

More hammering. 

And finally, success!  This took about two weeks, hammering a little bit each day. Sometimes you could hear it pop an crack long after I stopped pounding on it. 

Going to the source

I need some long, clear pieces of wood for the gunwales, and I just happened to have this beautiful Douglas Fir laying out in my forest. It's on a 30 degree slope, just to make things interesting. I need 16 foot pieces, so I cut off about 17 or 18 feet of the tree. Not having sprung for that $400 Stihl yet, this was a job for the axe. Halfway through, as I was catching my breath, I counted the rings and this tree was probably sprouting around 1900. 

The plan is to split the log lengthwise, quarter it, and keep dividing until I have a piece small enough to carry.