The Art Of Boat Building

In this video Bob makes a mini T-Bevel gauge.

In this episode of Tool Making, Bob shows us his take on making a classic marking gauge

In this episode of Tool Making Bob makes a strikeable awl with a olive wood handle and brass ferrule. An awl is an important tool for any boat builders toolbox let alone any craftsman It's really an essential tool that everyone needs. I've always had a Stanley awl which has worked really well for me. One of the thing I like about it is that the metal shaft runs through the handle. I can strike it with an hammer with out damaging the handle. So one would be able to punch leather or things like that. I'd be looking for a small lathe project and decided that an awl would be a great small project. I made this awl with and olive wood handle, a brass ferrule, and a tapered polished shaft. All metal parts are easily found at my local hardware store.

In preparation for spiling the planking on the Haven I build a pair of compass dividers. In boat building there's a method called spiling and it is the process of determining the shape of a plank that goes on your boat. In order to do this you need a good pair of compass dividers. Those old-school compass dividers we all had in grammar school just isn't gonna cut it. So, I made a pair that is accurate and will lock in place. In this episode of tool making I'll show you how I made pair of compass dividers worthy of passing down to your heirs!

There's a saying in boat building and in woodworking in general you can never have too many clamps. The truth is it's not the amount of clamps you have but the variety of clamps. Recently I was looking through a Wooden Boat series book on planking and in there there was a chapter on "Clamps in the Boat Shop" and a section about cam clamps. So, in this tool making episode of the Art of Boat Building I will build 8 cam clamps in the Klemmsia style.

In this episode I build a Round Bottom or Hollowing Plane. This plane is also referred to as a Coopering Plane, which is a hand plane, meant to create a concave surface. This is an important tool for a shipwright who is “backing out planks” in carvel planking. The construction method used on this razee plane is in the Krenov style. This type of construction is done by laminating the plane with several pieces of wood, as opposed to the old method of mortising out the throat of the plane. In designing my plane I was taken by a Jack Plane I saw in The Unplugged Woodshop that Tom Fidgen had built. In my plane, not only is the bottom rounded, but also I increased the length and made the handle larger to fit my hand better. In 1981 Ron Hock began making blades for Krenov’s planes, and is still the leading manufacturer of this style of blade. Because I’m making a round bottom plane, I would have to alter a purchased iron, so I decided I would make my own iron from some O1 tool steel

The plane adjusting mallet is used for tapping the iron or blade of the plane to gain more depth of the cut. A tap on the top of the body near the throat will retract the iron for a shallower cut. In this episode Bob builds a brass mallet to adjust the new curved bottom plane in built in the last episode. The walnut and brass hammer is designed to complement the walnut hand plane.

In this episode of Tool Making Bob shows how he made a reefing hook. Reefing hooks are traditionally used to remove old caulk from between the wooden planks of a boat. This tool will be used to clean up the seams and give them an even spacing in preparation for caulking the new boat's hull.

In this episode of the Art of Boat Building I build a caulking wheel for caulking a wooden boat. This shipwright tool is used to press cotton caulking in the seams of tightly spaced Atlantic White Cedar planks. Small wooden sail boats that are carvel planked, like the Haven 12 1/2 generally have tight seams that require the use of a caulking roller. The hand crafted walnut handle is beautifully set off by the brass accents.

In this episode of tool making on the Art of Boat Building I make a shipwright’s caulking mallet. If you google shipwright tools most likely one of the first things that comes up is a caulking mallet and these strange looking mallets are very specific to caulking a boat. They have this very long head and these longitudinal slots. From my reading, the slots are to reduce the fatigue and add a little bit of springiness to the mallet when it’s being hit on a caulking iron. The other thing I’ve read is it gives the mallet a nice ring. You can imagine the number of taps you have to make on this over the day you’d want a pleasant sound. This may be ship lore but I’ve also read that when there’s a large ship being caulked they tune the mallets so all of the shipwrights’ mallets were ringing in the same tone. Either way, I hope you enjoy this build of a shipwright’s mallet on the Art of Boat Building.

In preparation to work on "Arabella" I make a 2" Shipwright's Framing Slick. Using a inexpensive wood chisel I repurpose it with a custom lathe turned cherry handle to make a handy small framing slick.

In this video boat builder and tool maker Bob Emser explains the making of a 4" Try Square and a matching Mitre Square. This is a continuation of the making of shipwright tools. All are tools that are used in the building of his Haven 12 1/2 sail boat.

In this episode of the Art of Boat Building. Bob does a restoration on an old T-Bevel. Follow along as he breathes new life into an old tool during a T-Bevel restoration.

In this episode of The Art of Boat Building, Bob Emser boat builder explores the 3 Elements to Building a Wooden Boat. Have you ever thought of building a boat? Do you have the skills to build a boat? Want to start a boat but don't know where to start? You've started a boat and need help? What tools do you need to build a boat? All of these questions are answered in the episode.

In the continuing series of tool making videos, Boat Builder Bob Emser, creates a 4 inch drawknife. Getting inspiration from a Veritas 4" carvers drawknife Bob builds a knife out of O-1 tool steel featuring black walnut handles with brass ferrules.

In this episode of the Art of Boat Building boat builder, Bob Emser demonstrates the making of a half- hull model using basic tools. This first is a 3 part series explores the basic or beginner skill in half-hull modeling. The tender “Victoria” is created using Honduras Mahogany.

The Art of Boat Building presents the second part of half-hull modeling. Boat builder, Bob Emser, guides us through making a half-hour directly from boat plan. Using the plans from famous Herreshoff 12 1/2 footer, Bob shows how to adjust the thickness of lifts and add a watering of contrasting wood. Carved of Honduras Mahogany with aspen accents this beautiful model is one you’ll want to make yourself.

How to use Buttock and Waterline together in a half-hull model. The Art of Boat Building presents the third part of half-hull modeling. Boat builder, Bob Emser, guides us through making a half-hull directly from boat plan using buttock and waterlines. Using the plans from the Dark Harbor, Bob shows how to adjust the thickness of lifts and add contrasting wood for above and below the designed waterline. As a bonus the attachment of a rudder to the model is covered as well as how to add a rail lift to the deck. Carved of Honduras Mahogany and Bass Wood this beautiful model is one you’ll want to make yourself.