With a round of summer colds hitting our crew we switched from grinding and sanding to making templates, a job we could do without wearing masks (except when cutting the wood).
We ripped 4x8 sheets of 1/8" mahogany plywood into 2" strips and then used the chop saw to cut them into various lengths; 2", 3", 2', 3', and 5'. Using a hot glue gun we spot glued the longer strips to the basic shape of the bulkhead and then glued the 2 & 3 inch pieces to those strips to form the complex curves. Using this method the bulkhead templates are formed quickly and easily and without the use of a tape measure, pencil, etc. The templates are then carefully popped loose and carried into the workshop and laid onto 1/2" OSB (oriented strand board /chip board). The shape is drawn onto the OSB and cut out with a jig saw.
We ripped 4x8 sheets of 1/8" mahogany plywood into 2" strips and then used the chop saw to cut them into various lengths; 2", 3", 2', 3', and 5'. Using a hot glue gun we spot glued the longer strips to the basic shape of the bulkhead and then glued the 2 & 3 inch pieces to those strips to form the complex curves. Using this method the bulkhead templates are formed quickly and easily and without the use of a tape measure, pencil, etc. The templates are then carefully popped loose and carried into the workshop and laid onto 1/2" OSB (oriented strand board /chip board). The shape is drawn onto the OSB and cut out with a jig saw.
The OSB bulkheads are then carried into the boat and fitted and adjusted as required. The OSB is only seven bucks a sheet and allows us to make adjustments and changes on an inexpensive piece of wood rather then going directly to a $165 sheet of marine plywood and risking a mistake.
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