July 19, 2007
Cutting the planks -- 2:40 hours

I borrowed my friend John Grill's Bosch jig saw for cutting out the planks.  My cheap Skil saw does not cut square and has seen better days.  Cutting is pretty straightforward, except one does have to remember which side of the line to cut!  I gave myself 1/16" or so outside the line so I can sand right down to the line easily.  The book suggests that I hand plane the edges down to the pencil line, but I'm more comfortable with my small 3X18" belt sander.
I clamped each stack of boards to the edge of my bench and sanded to the line with 60 grit paper.  I stopped often to check that the edge was square.  If that edge is not square the planks will be different sizes which can make a wonky canoe that paddles in circles!
The finished planks are now all squared and perfectly matched, and I can move on to making the scarf joints that connect the planks end-to-end.
The book recommends using a hand plane to shape the slope, but I'm a power tool guy all the way and I love my little Skil belt sander.  So I used 80 grit sandpaper and it went very quickly.
I hate to waste good material, so I emptied the dust bag to save the wood flour for mixing with the epoxy for the fillets.  It should make a perfect color match with the wood.  I also purchased the recommended half gallon of wood filler, and may need to use some of that as well.

Here's a movie made from images taken every minute as I cut out the planks and sanded the edges, time invested: 3:20