The Epoxy and Fasteners Stuff

I am using the West System's Epoxy. For the moment I opted to use the 105 resin, 205 (fast) hardener and the 404 adhesive filler. Eventually, I will have to move to different fillers for different parts of the boat but in the phase I am in. Currently I only need the 404. I like the craft popsicle sticks for stirrers; wasn't sure if that would be long enough, but has managed well for the small batches I am making in building the frames. I purchased my epoxy though Discount Marine Supplies. I wasn't thrilled with the prices for the epoxy on the Glen-L website. For my boat it was around $700 buck. Now that did come with two stretches of woven fiberglass cloth. However, I found that I could purchase those and all this for less than half the 700 mark. So I recommend you look in your area or online before plunking out major bucks on this. Also though the forums I found another supplier for screws and bolts was the Bolt Depot. This is where I purchased all my fasteners. It was hardest finding the long bolts for attaching the keel since there are quite long and of bronze.

Wood all came from a local source. Still about two hours drive from the house and hull ply will come from another supplier two hours in the opposite direction. I do live in north Georgia, so nobody around here needs marine ply I guess.

 

 This is what happens when you don't plan out the procedures. During the epoxy stages of the frames I didn't remove my gloves before grabbing my drills for drilling and screwing. The drill on the left was not cleaned the one on the right was cleaned. But in the process of making this mistake I did find out what best removes the epoxy in gel state or before.

 

Here's your friend in this case. GoJo works excellent in removing epoxy from your hands or your tools during glue up stages. Now I always recommend that you wear the proper safety material and gloves during your build, but accidents happen. I found that if I got some of the epoxy on my hands or tools and as long as it was still in a "wet" stage, it is possible to scrub if off with the GoJo and a terry towel.

Also I have to recommend the eye pro. More than once I have gotten sawdust in the eye while cutting out frame parts (especially the white oak). These cheapo babies have more than once saved my sight. As Norm Abram would say for good reason, "And there's no more important safety rule that to wear these... safety glasses"

It is funny how that is one of the most memorable quotes I can think of to date. He was a great carpenter and a great teacher. Every show started with the same safety brief but was given on every show. A genuine concerned fellow from an era of great do'ers.