New Sewing Machine

Well, it's been a while since I have had time to post much of anything.
Walmart was selling a Brother LS-30 sewing machine on black Friday for $54. The Wallmart near me still have a few on Sunday so I picked one up. It isn't the heavy duty walking foot machine I want, but it will suffice for the time being.

I have been making and fixing a few things just to get used to the machine. It's been a while since I used a sewing machine back in highschool.

I have made a couple of stuff sacks, and fixed my tent. I have been playing with some heavier materials, threads and needles to practice for making the skin for my Kayak!

I was hoping to have the kayak done by the end of this year, but I don't think I am going to finish it today. I think I am going to set a date for completion for the kayak of March 20 - the next equinox.

Working on the Kayak again.

Well, I finally got to working on the kayak again. It has been a long time away from my pet project. It has been sitting, all folded up, at the foot of my bed. It took me a while to realize that I have misplaced all my old notes, so I had to pull up the plans on my computer. As you can see, the cat's decided that they are going to help. Here Sister is curled up in the jigsaw case. Is that comfortable Sister?

I had a hard time trying to figure out how to cut this fancy shaped hinge piece. I ended up cutting all the curves and so on with it still on the stock, and then cutting it off and cleaning it up with a file and a dremel tool.

This is the end piece of the cockpit end assembly. I had a hard time trying to figure out from the drawings what to do here. I ended up just making a piece, seeing it was wrong, and re-making it correctly. The bottom piece is wrong, the top piece is correct. Note 2 things, one, that there is an eight inch slot between the flat and bent ends for the cockpit sides and also that the bend starts at 7/8s of an inch, and not at the full 1 inch that I had cut.

Like I said, the cats had decided that they where going to help!

Lakeland Florida

Or, I found out why rent is so cheap

Or, I now have a reason to build that folding Kayak

I am being really bad about keeping up to date with my blog. Too busy with the move and so forth.
 Not this friday but the one prior, 9 days ago now, it rained. Now, when I say it rained, that isn't an adiquite description. Imagine a swimming pool with a lot of bubbles in it. That is what it seemed like outside. It rained THAT hard. More water then air. With my place of residence being in a hole, it gets wet. Really wet. The water was half an inch over the threshhold for the front door. You can see that in this photo. I had the door open (it didn't matter, it was coming in anyway) with the towels set to slow it down. I was mopping it out with another towel and sweeping it out with a broom. It also came into the bedroom and along the wall in the living room.


 There is a channel cut in the yard to try to direct the water away, it was just overwelmed with how hard it rained.

Packing up...

 I won't be working on my boat for a few weeks. I am going to haul the pieces up to my new place this weekend when I pick up my keys for my new apartment. I am hoping that I can move in 2 weekends, but I am prepared to take 3 weekends to do it. The fish tanks and computer are the last to go up. Home is where the Hard Drive is...


 I bound up all the loose pieces together that are too long to fit into the truck. I then wrapped the ends in plastic so a loose board or aluminum peice doesn't work itself loose. I will rope and bungie this bundle to the roof rack on the truck. It ought stay.


 When I walked to Target to get the string and bungies, I wandered through the frozen food section and saw Pizza. YUM! Where I am staying was having a party tonight, so I felt awkward using the microwave, so I broke out my little camp oven. I preheated it up to nearly 400 degrees, but it could only cook the pizza and bread at 300 degrees.


 YUM. It is good as I am writing this. The Pizza got a little bit toasty on the bottom, being so close to the heat.

A month already?

I can't believe I haven't had a chance to work on my boat in a month already! With the new job, and the commute, and the getting ready to move, I just haven't made time to work on it. Last weekend, I did pick up a new piece of aluminum stock to replace a piece that I incorrectly bent for the coaming. I have been working until after 6 and 7 so I haven't been getting home until dark some nights.

I have been thinking about how I am going to move my stuff that has been in storage in Wisconsin for approaching 3 years now down to Florida now that I have a vehicle that can actually carry stuff. I was thinking about buying/building a flatbed trailer, and then using some of the ideas and techniques from the PakYak to make a collapsing box so I can have a covered trailer. I also have some ideas on how to make the trailer itself fold up so it is easier to store. I have to think through the safety implications of a folding trailer, but I think it is doable in a safe manner.

Adding the rubber endcaps.

I finally made time to work on my boat tonight. This Friday is my last day at my current job, and I start my new one on Monday, so I have been busy. I have also made a bookshelf between now and my last PakYak update.
I went out and bought a brand new bicycle tube this last weekend. I was thinking about getting one that would fit my bicycle, as I have patched both tubes on it at some point. This tube was cheap though.



I didn't cut it straight, I let the curve of the tube work for me. I let the arc in the tube follow the natural curve that the finished assembly wanted to follow. I used a knife sharpener to punch the holes in the tube. It is the closest thing I have to an awl shape, and it was already in my pocket, so it was really handy.




A short video of putting the snaps onto the rubber endcap. I am using the tooling that came with one of the two snap kits I bought.




Here it is ready to assemble. I found it is easier to stretch the tube onto the bolt and slide it all the way down, then add the next piece of boat.



Here it is assembled. Mine seems looser then what I have seen in other people's photos.



 If I may suggest not drilling holes on the ends of each of the end side stringers... It makes adding the other half of the snaps less then ideal. I hadn't drilled out the end stringers for the opposite end of the boat, so I only had to deal with this issue on one side.



 

I bought screw in snaps as seen on the right. But I was worried that with the hole already there, the snap won't be that strong due to the risk of tearing out the end of the stringer. I tried to pop-rivet the snap on, but my rivets are too thin for the holes I had drilled (sized for the bolts that are used to assemble the rest of the boat).

 I ended up using the screw in snaps. I just centered the snaps between the end of the stringer and the hole. Time will tell if this was a wise choice or not.



 Here is a close up shot of the final rubber end cap. It looks like I am going to need to trim the end of the bolt short. I will also probably get some nylock nuts for these bolts as well. They already have a rounded end so I don't have to worry about the skin as much.

PakYak Guestbook

I am looking at the access logs for my blog, and I see that people are looking at my PakYak information from all over the world.

If you like what you see, leave a comment to this post as a way of "signing a guestbook". Let us know where your from and if your building a PakYak, or just thinking about it.

I broke my boat!

I got a little bit rough with the kayak frame tonight. Grabbing it by one end and pushing and dragging it around while I am trying to work on it.
 One of the side stringers broke in the middle of the boat. There was a void in one of the plys and it snapped right there. It didn't like being bent sideways. It is strong enough the thick way, which is how the water will apply pressure for the most part.


 Yep, it's broken! Right in half...


 I think a little tape will fix it up! Well at least enough that I can fold the boat up for the night. I will cut a new stringer tomorrow.


 It isn't duct tape, but I think it will hold.




I was thinking about stretching the center of the boat out maybe 2-4 inches in each of the stringers. This should give me just enough leg room to be able to use the boat. Then I remembered, I had already cut the 2 foot long pieces for the coaming, and the longer cockpit would need longer pieces! Oh well, next boat I guess.

End Brace Detail

 I recessed in a pan headed screw into the wood stringer because I was worried that a flat headed screw would split the end of the stringer.


 Here you see the end brace. Most of the bolts have been cut down. The nuts are recessed into the wood so everything is flush.


 Here you can see the recessed bolt head in the stringer. The long bolt is for a piece that I am going to add to strengthen the end braces.

Cutting the long bolts down to size.

I couldn't find bolts that where 5/8ths, or 7/8ths or 9/8ths, so I had to make them.


 From what I have found the best tool for the job is an electricians wire cutters. I am not fond of this style of wire cutter for doing electrical work, but the built in bolt cutters are the handiest! You can see that I "modified" this brand new pair of Channel Locks brand wire cutters with a extra padded handle. I knew I was going to be cutting a lot of bolts and this makes it easier on the hands.


 You thread the bolt into the threaded side of the bolt cutter.


 I wanted to cut 1/8th of an inch of the bolt off. This is about the thickness of the tool. I found that if I run 2 threads out past the end of the tool, I get the perfect length.


 After you cut the bolt, you have to unthread the bolt from the cutter. This acts like a die and cleans up the threads on the bolt.

Kayak Research

Or 10 things I learned by looking at what I am building after I have built it.

Funny, how I have half built a kayak without ever really looking at one. I had seen them on the top of SUVs and Volkswagons and so on and in stores, but I had never really LOOKED at one in person. One could safely assume that I have never been in one either from that prior statement.
I brought a co-worker home today who's ride didn't show up (cross fingers that said ride was just being forgetful and nothing serious happened) and the road back home was at a dead stop. So, I decided to go to Bass Pro Shops and do a bit of "research". My discoveries are:

1. They sell a lot of plastic & fiberglass boats.


2. They sell a really cool boat that the back 3rd splits open so the boat forms a Y with the pull of a lever. You can stand up in the boat, so they include a railing and push rod recessed into the floor of the boat. It costs $2k.


3. They have a limited selection of paddles, all of which split down the middle (for blade pitch adjustment) but none of the blades come off the shafts (without tools).


4. The equvilent of what I am making costs $600 and doesn't have many of the "extras" that the more expensive boats have, like cup holders.


5. Kayak Racks to transport the boats on your car cost extra money. As do covers for storing your Kayak.


6. They come in a LOT of colors.


7. Canoes (which I always thought of as small) seem HUGE next to a Kayak. Kayaks seem HUGE when they are standing straight up and down and are in a building.


8. I still haven't figured out this camera phone.


9. The only 2 "required" items to use a Kayak are a paddle and a life jacket. There are a lot of life jackets to choose from.


10. Parents are apt to drop a lot of money on their kids. 2 families walked in while I was gawking and picked out a kayak and had it rung up.

You sat on not in at least half the kayaks there. I am wondering if redisigning the boat to be taller and wider making a foldable canoe would be in order? Using 3/4 inch plywood would strengthen the boat a lot. You could probably add a seat to the top of one of the center braces then and sit up on the boat. Hmm, it would need to be strong enough to sit on unskinned as some dummy (me) is liable to sit on the boat on land.

200th post

Wow. This is my 200th post to this blog. I didn't think I had that much to say.

I worked on my boat tonight. I basically did the same thing as last night, only on the other end brace. I worked on the two bottom stringers - rounding them out and recessing the nuts. I can use a one inch flathead screw on the bottom of the end-brace aluminum and side stringers.
I didn't take any photos as it's the same as last night.

I was hungy so I took a walk. I was in the mood for fish. I stumbled upon Shucks on th Water. The Blackened Grouper Rhuben came highly recomended by the waiter who might be the owner by the way he talks. The sandwich was awesome. The steak fries are as good as they come. I am full, but am getting the triple chocolate cake.

A large hoe is squealing down the road. It is shaking my water on the table. It has traffic all tied up.

Finishing an End Brace

 I worked on finishing up one of the two end braces tonight. I beveled all braces, counter sunk all the holes, filed all the corners. I did notice that I need to cut a bevel on the bottom (short) braces on the end brace so they will clear the stringers when folding and unfolding.

I see what Jonathan Abitz means when he said that cutting the notches in the braces on the mid braces that hold the side stringers up makes assembly tricky. I futzed and putzed tryibng to get the boat unfolded tonight. It folds up like a breeze, I just cant get the goofy thing unfolded for the life of me. I must be unfolding a part too soon, and having a brace bind up on me.

Midbrace notched out for gunwales

 The midbrace with the different hole pattern gets notched out for the gunwales. Here I balanced one of the midbraces on the other so I can mark where I want the notch to be. I think the gunwale is supposed to lay flat and square to the ground.


 Here is the midbrace marked and ready to cut.


 The midbraces have been cut. I just stacked the two of them together and cut them both at the same time.


 Here you can see that the gunwales set flat, parallel to the ground. I had to disconnect one side of the gunwales from the other in the middle so I could put the brackets back on. I cut the other end of the boat, and then re-assembled the gunwales in the middle. The boat folds up a lot easier with these notches cut in too.

Notching the large flat bar mid brace

 I need to trim these braces at the black marks so they clear the notch in the large flat bar mid brace.


 The large flat bar mid brace cut, drilled, and countersunk.


 It looks like I have to go back and trim the other set of midbrace braces so they clear the notch in the aluminum

Countersinking the nuts

 I thought long and hard about how I am going to cut in the nuts. The instructions said to use a 3/8ths inch drill bit. Then I saw a spade bit in the store, and thought that's perfect. It will give me a nice flat bottom. So, I use a spade bit to drill the holes. I figure that if I do all my braces in the matched pairs, at the same time, laied out so they mirror each other, I don't have to worry about putting the nuts on the wrong side of a brace.


 Here is a brace with the nuts set. After this one, I lined up 2 edges of the nuts with the long side of the brace. I guess it is the perfectionist in me (some of my friends might have a different way to phrase it). It doesn't really take any longer, and it looks neater when it is done.


 I haven't decided for sure how I am going to cut off the bolts yet. I might use one of those cheap wire cutters with a bolt cutter in them. I think that will end up looking nicer. I would probably then clean up the tip a bit with my Dremel. I am thinking that using a cutoff wheel is going to leave cut marks on the nut. I could also cut it flush with a hacksaw.
I guess the lazys will win out and if it is easier unscrew the screw, and then nip it with the pliers, or if it is easier running a hacksaw on it's side.
\

Folded up PakYak frame.

 The whole boat folds up into this little package of wood, aluminum, nuts and bolts. It isn't folding too tight because I can't be bothered with the details in the directions. Flat Head Screws, not pan head screws. Oh well, I got some now, so lets see what it looks like with the correct hardware.


 Isn't it cute? It's like looking down into a crib at a newborn. It isn't all that much bigger then one. Well, not that one that was born a while ago in China.


 It looks like an alligator ready to eat my empty Mt. Dew bottle. Ok, so it is late and I am tired.


 The folded frame doesn't sit that tall for the 12 foot long version of the boat. If I make the stringers longer, the short braces and whatnot will have more of a gap between them in the middle. I would like to make the boat an inch or two wider, but I think I would need to re-figure more then just adding an inch to the length of all the short wooden braces. I think I would need to make the holes in the aluminum farther apart if I want it to fold up tight, and that would make the boat taller, which I don't want. Hrmm, I will have to think about this one.

Rough Assembled Frame

 Tada, the assembled boat frame. Now I get to take it all apart, round the corners that need to be rounded, bevel the edges that need to be beveled, counter sink the holes that need to be countersunk, cut in all my nuts, sand, and urethane the frame. Fhew, that sounds like work to me! Oh wait, then I have to put it all back together! This will be a good project for during the week. I can do a section at a time.


 Design Flaw. A 12 foot PakYak won't fit all six foot four inches of me. This photo has my back touching the rear thwart and my feet touching to front one. I won't have to worry about putting the spray skirt on while I am in this boat. I am going to have to sit down next to the boat, and see how much longer I NEED to make the next one in order for me to fit into it. I am going to finish this one up as I have the extra wood already, a lot of the aluminum for a new frame. I am thinking that Katie is too tall to fit into this one as well, so I just as well sell it to recoup some of the money I spent on the boat. So, if anybody wants a 12 foot finished PakYak Folding Kayak. I will have one for sale. If you speak up now, you can even pick the color skin you want. Make me an offer... Or I am willing to trade it for an Industrial, heavy material sewing machine that I need to sew up the skin.


 Here is a side view of the boat. The pieces that are going down the center, and then down to the ground get a little hook on the end,and they lock the whole front and back together. I haven't made the little hooks or the slots that they fit in yet, so they hang loose like you see for now.


 I don't think it is ready to go in yet. I just thought I would let the boat see what is has in store for it. Maybe if I start at an early age, I can scare it into not leaking on me.

Both halves of the Kayak side by side

 I laid out all the pieces on the ground so I knew where the longer and short stringers went together. I was really confused for a moment, because I was short a stringer, and then I remembered, I had broken one. So I cut a new stringer to size.


 I tried assembling all the little wooden braces to the aluminum braces first. I don't think this was as easy as bolting all the little aluminum braces to the flat plates, and then bolting them to the angle stock braces. I also think it was easier to bolt the whole thing together folded up like I did for the first half then unfolded like this. I kept fighting the sides that formed the gunwales. They just wanted to bind up on me.


 Here I have the 2 completed halves on my my Do It Yourself folding Kayak. This second half went together much faster, even though I fought with with assembly more. The first time I wasn't really sure if it was all going to fit. The second half, I knew it was all going to fit, I just needed to keep taking off pieces and shaving them with the block plane so they fit.


 It is pretty amazing that the frame on the left folds up into what you see on the right isn't it? Once I get the right hardware installed, the frame will fold up tighter. I bought more nuts and bolts tonight, the right kind, lets just hope they are the right size. I think the ones I got will all be too long, but I can fix that with my Dremel and a cutoff wheel. I couldn't find 5/8ths long flat head screws. So I got 3/4 inch.

Cutting the 4inch bar stock in half.

 I need to cut this in half lengthwise. I am not really happy with how I ended up doing it. It worked, but It didn't feel safe. I think that for the money, I am just going to buy a bit of 1" flat stock and not worry about my fingers.


  Doesn't this look like a stupid thing to do? It was all I could think of doing.


 This is how I ended up cutting the flat bar in half. I just used my jigsaw like it was a scroll saw or bandsaw. The aluminum wanted to jump up and down if I pushed to hard, I also had a courser metal cutting blade installed, so that might have been some of it. I cut half the length, then flipped it, and cut the other half. I went REALLY slow that last quarter of an inch so when I cut through, my fingers didn't go sliding into the blade. I am rather attached to my fingers. I use them a lot, being a web developer and all.


 I clean up all my edges with my Dremel rotary tool and an emery cut off wheel. I use the flat side like it was a sanding wheel. I picked up a file tonight to see if that does a better job or is quicker.

Assembling the pieces for the second half of the Kayak

 I figured out that if I stack the stringers and braces up to 4 tall, add my hole template, and a back board, I can drill my holes straighter. I think it is because I am taking more time to make sure I get the holes straight. I am also aiming for the bottom piece, which seems to help too. Lowe's has drill presses for $100. I might see if I can look around for one on sale somewhere.


 I cut the braces and brackets all in one fell swoop with the jig saw. I am so glad I dug that out of storage. I even cut one extra little bracket to replace the one I screwed up the other night. I cut all the 2 inch pieces first. It is so much easier cutting the little pieces when you have a handle to hold on to.


 I have marked this piece for drilling. I didn't have enough aluminum bar stock to make the other one like it. I made one out of a bit of 2" plywood. It worked for getting everything assembled. I picked up a new stick of 2" wide, 1/8 aluminum. The only piece Lowe's had left was 8 feet long! I only needed 5 and a half inches for this boat! Oh well, I got lots for the next 2 boats I am going to make.


 I wasn't the only one making a lot of noise. Helicopters have been going around and around like they are lost for the last 2 days. This blimp happened to move slow enough that I could grab the camera and take a photo of it.
I was thinking... Zeppelins are a skin on frame construction....

Half the frame - unfolded

 Here is a top view of what I have done so far. I must say, i am really enjoying this DIY boat building experience. I never thought that an hour a night would see the boat coming along so fast. Granted, none of the pieces are finished. I will have a lot of work to do going back and beveling all of the pieces and rounding corners and so forth. I am NOT looking forward to sanding all the edges of wood on this kayak.


 An angled view of this half of the frame.


 This is looking down the frame with me squeezing the end together. There is a piece of rubber and some snaps that does this when the boat is finished.
I am going to have to remember that for final assembly, I want all the exposed joints to overlap with the outside towards the front if I can get away with that and still have it fold.

The extra holes are to cut weight, right?

 I got half of the frame assembled tonight. It was getting dark, and I was trying to hurry, and I couldn't figure out why this thing wasn't folding very well. I put it down, and the problem jumped right out at me. I drilled one of the aluminum braces incorrectly.


 I was trying to get this piece done before dark last night, and measured my 5 inches from the end hole from the wrong hole. Oohps. That is what I get for hurrying, right?


 The frame assembled with the hole in the right spot makes the frame look right. I have the wrong hardware for assembling the frame. I got pan headed screws instead of flat headed screws. I have to go find the right screws. Once I counter sink where the screws go, and drill in the nuts so they can be pressed into the braces and stringers, this should fold up nice and tight. Lowe's didn't have the right screws, or at least, I didn't see them 10 minutes from closing time when I bought the ones I have. At least nuts and bolts don't go bad, and you always seem to need some.


 It looks like I am not getting my holes square in the middle and straight. I could either replace the bad pieces, or shave off where they are rubbing. I think I am going to shave them for now. I can always make new braces in the future. I do wish I had a drill press though. I would make a quick jig and I could bang out these holes perfectly so fast. One of these days...

Cutting Corners...

 Because I am making this boat low budget, no space, and to have something to do, I am using a lot more hand tools then other people might. To round the corners of the stringers and braces, I am using a blockplane. The blockplane works really well for beveling the edges, but it doesn't like rounding the corners. So I am cutting the corners off with a cheap hand saw miter box. I made up a jig to I can just drop my pieces in and cut them. The black pieces are cammed locks that hold the piece to be cut.
 Cutting the corners off takes a lot of the work out of rounding the corners of the braces. I just hit the shoulders of the cut with the block plane a couple of times, and I have a nice, round corner.
 The little piece of wood to the right is my jig and it really makes this a slick process. You can see that this is a cutting jig as well as a drilling jig. The whole is worn out from using it as a template for my centered hole 1/2 inch from the end. I need to make a new drill guide from another scrap piece of wood.

Power Tools.

 I don't know what I was thinking, trying to cut all the aluminum pieces with a hacksaw. I had at the pieces with my jigsaw, which I picked up last night, and got more work done tonight then I did the whole week. I finished cutting the 10" mid brace I was working on when I wrecked my hacksaw blade. I made up the other one, and I made up 2 of the 2" little braces too. I figured out that I want to cut the tab out of the little braces before I cut it off the aluminum stock. I don't want my fingers that close the blade on the jigsaw. I cut 1 tab off the wrong side of the corner in the angle. Oohps. So now I need to re-cut that piece. I will worry about it later when I do the finish work on the aluminum. I am anxious to see this boat come together, well at least the frame, so a lot of the corners aren't being rounded and so forth. A lot of that is because I am only getting an hour, hour and a half of work time in before it gets dark. People, if you have a workshop, appreciate it! Working in the dark sucks.


 So now I think I have half the frame done. That does not mean I have the frame half done though. The "half" that I show here unfolded needs to get the braces all put in. That is where it looks to get really fun. Being able to fold and unfold this thing to my hearts content. So tomorrow night, I think I am going to drill the holes in the 2 flat bar pieces of aluminum for this half, and assemble all the braces. Then hopefully this weekend I can build the other half of the frame.


I might need to find my canvas for the skin sooner than I had thought!

I am now Famous!

Like I said in an earlier post, I had sent a message to the inventor of the PakYak, Jim, letting him know