Damaged canoe yoke

A customer wanted a seaworthy replacement for this damaged canoe yoke.

Transfer of pattern

Mahogany was chosen for both its beauty and weather resistant properties. The curves are transfered with a scratch awl followed by an ink pen.

Bandsaw curves

The mahogany is freehand cut on the bandsaw.

Spokeshave

The trusty Stanley No. 151 will smooth the curves. This board had an unusual grain pattern which required changing approaches. The 151 iron carries a single 23-degree bevel.

Drum-sanding the curves

To eliminate spokeshave chatter (a result of abrupt directional grain changes and a low bevel angle), the edges are drum sanded at 120-grit.

Roundover

This piece was a bit unweildy for the shaper in our small shop. A bearing-guided roundover bit in this 3 3/4HP plunge router worked well, although the clamps had to be repositioned often.

Rough finished piece

The customer requested an additional inch at each end to trim-to-fit.

Match-up

The dimensions match well.

Finishing

This piece will get two coats of Natural Danish oil followed by two HVLP sprayed coats of satin polyurethane.

Finished

Ready for trimming and installation!