The Gougeon Brothers on Boat Construction - WEST SYSTEM Epoxy

62 Getting Started
necessity. We also have a 14" table saw which can
handle very large stock, but it is not needed very
often.
14" wood cutting band saw—After the table saw, the
band saw is the most important stationary power tool
in any boatshop. It is the most accurate saw for cutting
curves and bevels. We often use an older Crescent 36"
band saw and a 14" metal cutting band saw.
14" radial arm cut-off saw—This is not a particularly
important tool in our shop, but we use it with a special
jig to cut perfect splices on stringers. It produces very
good miter cuts.
Planes, Polishers, and Sanders
7" electric orbital polisher—We use a polisher with
high-density foam disc pads to work on large areas
such as hulls and decks, and with two kinds of lowdensity
pads on interiors and strip construction. Stick
with a 2,000 rpm polisher because faster models will
scorch finished epoxy. We think this tool is an important
labor saver.
Air-powered file sander or body file—This tool, more
commonly found in body shops, is used for fairing.
We have modified it by replacing the standard 14" � 2"
pad with a 22" � 41 ⁄2" wood pad, which is perfect for
9" � 11" sheets of sandpaper split in half lengthwise
and held in place with feathering disc adhesive. With
Figure 8-4 Using a 7" electric orbital polisher with a foam
disc sanding pad.
Figure 8-5 Using an air-powered file with the standard
2" � 14" pad.
the long pad, the file sander does a good job of rough
fairing hulls and decks. Final fairing is still done by
hand.
Air-powered random orbital sander—Another auto
shop tool, this sander is lightweight, which makes it
very handy on irregular surfaces and in tight areas
such as the interiors of hulls. We use it mainly as a
finish sander with 180-grit and finer sandpaper,
although it does a good job of rough sanding with
coarse grit paper.
Figure 8-6 A foam disc pad used with the 7" electric orbital
polisher. We bond a piece of 1 ⁄16" birch plywood (or plastic
laminate) onto the face of the disc. <strong>The</strong> plywood is flexible
enough to follow major contours, yet is effective for sanding
and fairing uneven surfaces with varying densities, such as
cured epoxy with various fillers.