Wooden Boat Restoration Repair - WEST SYSTEM Epoxy

5.1.2 Filling the seams with wood
After machining a clean gap between two planks, bond a spline of suitable wood into
the gap. The spline should be of the same species or stronger than the planking.
Remember! Support the hull in its proper shape before bonding. The shape of the hull
will be permanently set once the planks are bonded.
1. Prepare the splines. Cut them from stock that is the same species and thickness as the
planking. Rip the splines on a table saw, with the blade set at a 5° angle. Flip the stock
end for end after each pass so each spline will have a 10° taper in cross section. Set the
width of the cut so that the wide end of the taper is the same width as the seam gap. It
should fit snugly when pushed into the gap, just as the narrow end hits the bottom of
the gap. The splines can be any convenient length for easy handling. Cut a 45° scarf on
the ends of each spline.
Figure 5-5 Inject epoxy into the wet-out seam.
Repairing Hull and Deck Planking 29
2. Wet out an equal length of opened seams and splines with resin/hardener mixture. Use
a glue brush or swab to wet out the seam. Use a foam roller, cut to a narrow width, to
wet out the splines.
3. Apply a bead of epoxy/403 or 406 (mayonnaise consistency) in the seam. Use a syringe
or an 810 Caulking Tube to fill the gap with enough epoxy so that a small amount will
squeeze out when the splines are pushed in (Figure 5-3).
Figure 5-3 Push the wet-out spline into the seam. Figure 5-4 Use a plane to remove the excess spline and a sander
to fair the surface after the epoxy has cured.
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