Making the Stems (Ep 3 - Cedar Strip Canoe Build)

In this video I explain how I make my inner and outer stems for a cedar strip canoe.

I cut about 20 strips of white ash (1/4x3/4x45”). You need 12 strips total (6 for each end of the canoe) but I cut more because sometimes strips break as you bend them and it’s nice to have extras. I didn’t show it in my video but I plane the faces of all my strips so they’re perfectly flat when gluing. I fill my bathtub with boiling water, and let the strips soak in it overnight, then the next day I fill it with boiling water and let them soak in that for about 20 minutes then fill it one more time with boiling water immediately before I’m ready to bend.
It’s important to start bending as soon as you take the strips out of the hot water. Take 6 strips out (and the 8th inch scrap strip) and bend them onto the stem form. Put clamps on as you bend. Do not try to force the bend but let the wood adjust as you are bending.
When your strips are tightly clamped let them sit for a couple days, then take them off, tie the ends together, and let them sit like that for a couple more days to dry.
After they are sufficiently dry, apply tape to separate the inner stem from the outer stem and glue the strips together (do not glue the inner 3 to the outer three!).
Let the glue dry for a day, then sand the edges of the outer stem. You’ll need to shape a running bevel into the outer stem. There are many different ways to do this but I found the easiest for me was to shape it on a belt sander.
The strips will be attached to the inner stem, then the outer stem will cap the outer for aesthetic purposes.


Things to remember
Take your time! For the average woodworker this process has some steps that are uncommon. It’s a good idea to make more strips than necessary to give yourself opportunity for failure. The first 3 stems I bent in my life came out perfectly but I had to redo one for this canoe because it snapped as I was bending it.

Feel free to comment on this video if you have any questions! Thanks for watching!


I get my canoe building materials from Noah's Marine Supply (http://www.noahsmarine.com/index.asp)

Subscribe to my Channel!:
https://goo.gl/z237Hb

Follow My Instagram!:
  / aguydoingstuff  

Like Me on Facebook!:
  / guydoingstuff