The Gougeon Brothers on Boat Construction - WEST SYSTEM Epoxy

Chapter 21 – Laminating Veneer Over a Mold or Plug 233
Figure 21-5 More staples are necessary to hold down thin
veneers in a reverse or concave area near a skeg. Note the
reasonably regular stapling patterns employed on planking in
the foreground.
members such as the stem and keel, although these
may be left in place if corrosion-resistant types are used.
From the third layer on, we use shorter staples, say 3 ⁄8"
(9mm) or 5 ⁄16" (8mm) long for three layers of 1 ⁄8" (3mm)
veneer, because we are no longer stapling into the
mold. Since these staples will not penetrate beyond the
first layer and will not interfere with the mold, they do
not have to be extracted. We do, however, pull out
staples used on the final, exterior lamination.
<strong>The</strong> third layer of veneer
should only require 3 ⁄8" or
5 ⁄16" staples to hold it down
to the previous layers
This should reduce the number
of staple holes punched
through the inner layer
First 2 layers of veneer will require
longer staples to hold the planks
together and to the molds
Planking veneers
Figure 21-6 Recommendations for staple length.
Figure 21-7 Stapling veneer plank to a hull’s stringers. Note
the use of plastic strips under the staple heads to ease
removal.
You can use steel staples, but plan to remove them. If
you don’t want to pull them out, use Monel or plastic
staples (plastic staples require a special staple gun). We
have left steel staples in our own boats with no problems,
but steel staples may rust if the hull or the protective
coating around them is damaged. Monel staples are
more expensive than steel, but their cost is more than
offset by the reduced risk of corrosion and by the labor
savings which result from leaving staples in place.
If you use Monel staples and do not remove them, be
sure to adjust your staple gun so that it shoots the
staples slightly recessed into or flush with the veneer.
Otherwise, difficulties can develop when you try to fair
the surface in preparation for the next layer of wood. If
protruding staples interfere with laminating, grind them
flush with power tools when you rough fair your hull.
As you build, you will remove a good many staples. To
make this job easier, staple through a strip of material,
leaving a tail you can grasp to yank out your fasteners.
For most applications, we use inexpensive 1 ⁄2" (12mm)
wide, .030" (.8mm) thick plastic banding tape. We
cut this to length, usually 3' to 6' (1m to 2m), tuck
the pieces in our belts, and pull them out as needed,
perhaps four or six strips on a 6" (150mm) wide
veneer. When our veneers are very long, it’s more
efficient to cut and handle strips that are half the length
of the veneers. <strong>The</strong> plastic is so strong that even when
we staple through it, we only have to tug at it to pull it
and many staples free. We remove staples from our
banding and reuse it.