Old Man Winter is really giving it to us this week with daytime temps in the single digits and nighttime temps below zero. On our back road morning commute, the other day, the thermometer read -20 F.  We have now been monitoring that area of our commute and have been finding there’s this little stretch of micro climate where the temperature is usually a few degrees cooler than elsewhere.  Hmm…

I’m committed to splitting up a giant red oak for firewood tomorrow but we’ll have to see if the machine will start in this kind of weather.   The forecast calls for -17 F night tonight so, dreaming of boats is a good way to pass the time.  As cold and snowy as it is outside, I still have some off-site projects to accomplish.

One of the off-site projects I am pleased to have gotten done is cutting out the port-side cabin carline to replace the damaged rotting one.

 

On wooden boats, carlines are fore and aft deck supports that frame openings, such as hatches and the coach roof of the cabin, that run parallel to the keel.  This carline had already been removed when we got the boat. Luckily, it was intact so I had a nice template for the new one to replace it.  White Oak is the wood used for the deck beams and carlines of Reverie.    A band saw would have been very handy to cut out this piece as the carline is about 5-1/2 feet long.  That means 11 feet of sawing through 1-1/2 inch white oak.   Not having a band saw at my immediate disposal didn’t deter me from getting this done.

 

 

I first tried using a saber saw thinking it would be a good tool to keep the blade perpendicular to the mark and, ultimately, less work shaping the carline to its final dimensions. I made it less than a foot before the saber saw blade yielded to the mighty white oak and snapped.  Had I been successful with that laborious method, it would have taken me forever to cut that eleven feet.

It was time for bigger guns and a bit more concentration.  I chose to go at it again with a Sawzall and the largest blade aptly named ‘The Ax’ .  This is a big blade made for demolition work and capable of cutting through not only wood but stray nails and the like; perfect for hard white oak.  That said, I started with a fresh blade and noticed it wasn’t cutting as well by the time I finished.

 

Concentration was key at this phase.  I wanted to keep the cut 1/8″ from the template lines so as not to spend an inordinate amount of time shaping the piece later.  It wasn’t fast but the cut went well and I was glad to have gotten that close when I finished shaping the outer curve of the carline with a draw knife and hand planes.

 

The draw knife was used to bring the piece evenly close to the final mark.  The rabbet plane set in the bull nose position worked admirably for the concave planing as did the wooden jack plane for the convex planing.  As I worked, I checked for square often. It varied by no more than a 32nd” off square. I marked those areas with a pencil so as not to plane the rest of the edge out of square.

Keeping the Sawzall visually perpendicular to the piece takes a bit of practice and I would recommend cutting 1/4″ or slightly more away from the template mark if you’re not confident in your sighting ability.  It might take a bit more time in the final shaping but it’s better than ruining a big, expensive chunk of oak.

The wooden jack plane is one of my favorite tools.  I stuck the removable handle back on it for the photo but I use it without.  I find I have a lot more control with both hands cupping the body.   It has somehow survived these 100 plus years and gives me great joy when I use it.  It looks crude and simple compared to more modern steel body planes but its razor sharp, heavy blade doesn’t chatter and provides lovely curls of fragrant wood as it glides its way through a project.  It literally sings with sonorous notes that tell you it is perfectly adjusted.  I made our Arts and Crafts inspired oak and walnut bed relying heavily on this plane and I can still hear the notes as I planed away. It planes so smoothly, I’ve never bothered to sand or take a cabinet scraper to the bed. The old jack plane comes alive and the resonance in the wood is sheer delight to experience. It did sing a couple of times when I was working on the carline but it was quick work and I never really got it going.   It is a privilege to own and I hope it provides some other lucky woodworker(s) the joy is has for me when I am dead and gone.

 

 

Once the piece was square and within 1/16 ” to the template mark, I stopped and will do the last few passes when I’m back at the boat. When you shape a piece of wood like this, you are releasing it from its former state and it now has a definite purpose.  The carline was always there, latent in that slab of oak.  I feel that I did nothing more than free it to a higher purpose.  After all, it could very well have been cut into 16″ sections and split up into firewood to warm some chilly soul on this frigid Winter day.

Stay warm, my friends.

~Roger