How to Attach Cedar Strips Without Staples

Building a cedar strip canoe takes patience and an eye for detail, and even more so if the builder is determined to attach cedar strips without staples. Using staples significantly speeds the process and you can complete the canoein a matter of days. Building without staples is painstaking, but removes the risk of staples marring the finished appearance of the canoe. You can use regular wood glue or epoxy, as both have their pluses and minuses, but it will be the final sealant that will make the craft waterproof.

Instructions

1

Cut a length of latex hose with scissors one foot longer then the strips of cedar to be applied. Cut down the length of the entire piece of hose so you can open it to lie flat as a strip of latex.

2

Apply glue to the underside of the bead and the groove of the cove of the strip to be applied (unless it is the first strip of the side; in that case, apply to the groove of the cove only).

3

Lay the strip on the strong back, bending it to the form and holding it in place by applying clamps along the strip no more than 12 inches apart.

4

Go back along the first strip being placed during the session and open each clamp to slide a portion of the latex hose under the clamp. Pull the hose tight between each clamp and leave 6 inches of the hose hanging over each end of the strip. The wood glue or epoxy will not bond to the latex, so do not worry about it becoming attached to the cedar face.

5

Apply glue or epoxy to the underside of the bead of the second strip and in the channel of the cove. Wait until the adhesive begins to become slightly tacky.

6

Clamp the strip into place fitting the bead into the cove of the first strip and pulling the latex hose down under the feet of the new clamps, stretching it tightly across the surface of the two strips.

7

Continue to place strips, pulling the hose over the surface and under the feet of the clamps until there is no more width of hose to be stretched. Usually an open hose can be stretched across a 4 inch width of strips. The pressure from the hose on the strips will hold the strips together between the clamps.

8

Stretch bungee cords over the cedar strips between the clamps. Attach each end of the bungee cord to the strongback form or the work table the strongback rests on, and not the cedar strips themselves, to provide additional holding pressure. Wait for the glue or epoxy to dry; check the labeling on the adhesive for the recommended drying times for the temperature and humidity in the building area.

9

Work from one end of the canoe to the other removing the clamps and peeling up the latex hose before beginning the next session of attaching cedar strips.