Rib Material

Questions/concerns/issues. How did the other guy do it? Find out here.

Moderators: a j r, TDockside, Miles, Moderators

Post Reply
Bill Montgomery
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2010 8:59 am
Location: Madras, OR

Rib Material

Post by Bill Montgomery »

As I mine the posts in this forum I see a consensus of opinion calling for heartwood white oak often accompanied by recommendations to use quartersawn material. On other forums I see equally strong calls for riffsawn and plainsawn material and an strong emphasis on making sure there's little or no run out. My bank balance suggests plainsawn will do just fine but I'm open to a compelling argument.
1960 Peshtigo Thompson 16' Sea Coaster
Never buy an old boat on a rainy day

Bill
THE LAKE
Posts: 95
Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2010 2:41 pm
Location: Sebago Lake Maine

Post by THE LAKE »

As I see it, wherever possible, every attempt should be made to duplicate the original material. Do that and you can't go wrong. One of the 1st little homilies I ever learned from my Grandfather and Father was "if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right " Still applies more than 50 years later.

Brian
I'd have a boat and a Harley even if there were no water or roads in the world.
89 MACH I MV1900CC
62 Cruiser's Inc 302V Commander (under restoration) 67 Johnson 100hp Golden Meteor (running like new)
sayuncle
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2010 6:26 pm
Location: Abrams, WI

Post by sayuncle »

I made my first attempt this weekend at steaming new ribs. I was using white oak with a mix of different grains. After 20 minutes in the steamer, you could bend them in any direction without any problem. The key seemed to be to have the steam chamber over 200 degrees before putting the rib in and then maintaining the temp. The rib was easily pliable for about 5 minutes. I have about 10 more ribs to go and keel and stem and ......

Brad
Brad K
Bill Montgomery
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2010 8:59 am
Location: Madras, OR

Post by Bill Montgomery »

That's encouraging. I bought the materials I need to build a steam box - turkey cooker, etc and what little snow we got is almost gone. I hope it will warm up enough to get started soon. It's not terribly cold now, mid 40s, but the wind is howling and the nighttime temperatures are still below freezing. Maybe mid March.

I'm told the hardwood supplier in Bend will machine the wood to spec. Probably cheaper than buying a planer. If not, I guess I'll have to do that. I've got everything else.
1960 Peshtigo Thompson 16' Sea Coaster
Never buy an old boat on a rainy day

Bill
Torchie
Posts: 270
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 4:55 pm
Location: Alden, Michigan

Post by Torchie »

Just steamed and installed 4 more ribs on my Off Shore last night so the port side is done.
The ribs I used last night were milled from a different board than the first 4 were and these ribs were extremely pliable. I bent one that was 4 ribs from the transom which is more or less a 90 degree bend with no problem.
Everyone has there own procedure ,but these things seem to be a common rule of thumb:
Be sure to soak the ribs first.
You want to have a good rolling boil to produce steam. Temp in the steam chamber will be around 212 degrees (The temp of boiling water).
Should not be a problem with a turkey fryer.
Chamber needs to be up to temp before putting in the ribs. Make sure that the steam flows thru the chamber and out the end.
1 hour of steam time per inch of thickness.
I used 1/4 sawn white oak because that seemed to have the least grain issues.
Also , you will need to drill pilot hole for any screws that you put in once the rib has dried or ribs may split or screw may snap.
My take on it is this:
This is not an exact science and everyone's procedure and results are going to be different.
Experiment and see what works best for you.
Karl
Post Reply