Beveling! or "How to be straight edge"

Beveling is the "first" step in getting your strip and glue Kayak ready to assemble.  I say first because technically you should glue your puzzle joints together first, but I didn't have enough room to glue then bevel (as you will soon see).  The first thing you must do to bevel anything is to get the correct tools! Which means if you don't have them you get to go buy them!  (Insert Auburn football size yell here)  I like to shop at Woodcraft, it's got everything you could need at one stop, and if you plan right you can everything you need for the whole project in one stop.  Below are the beveling tools I used for my boat, I'll explain what they are too.

The first and most usefull tool will be a low angel planar, I have a Stanley 60-1/2 low angle plane.  Nothing special but invaluable for cutting bevels.  My favorite tool I have is a 9in Shinto saw rasp.  It is great to get into tight turns and makes quick work of even the hardest woods.  It has a coarse ripping side and a fine tooth side which is great for finishing.  You also will need a sanding block, this is just about only good for a final clean up of your bevel, don't try to bevel the whole boat with sand paper, unless you want to look like a one armed Popeye the Sailor man.  Last, you will need at least 2 good size clamps to hold the pieces down while you work your magic.  I like the Irwin quick grips cause they are well quick and grip well.

It's important to note that this is not an exact science.  You should aim for a good 45 degrees.  But don't fret if you end up with like 25 or 60 instead.  It's all about the feel of the wood under you plane and watching the piles of curly shavings pile up on the floor (good thing I have my hand friend in my garage to sweep up for me).  Beveling is really just a one man job, unless you have an extra plane.  So enjoy this time getting intimate with each piece of wood that goes on your Kayak.  This is also the point that you want to inspect ALL the boards and be sure you select which side you want to e on the external sides of the boat.  Remember to mark the INSIDE edges you are gong to bevel, this makes it a little harder to bevel yourself two left side boat panels.

I would explain how to actually bevel the edges of your Kayak, but I think if your doing it you will know how, and if your not, you probably don't care.  So I'm just not going to.

 Cockpit clamped and ready to be beveled

A spare board makes a great clamp extension!  Look at that beautiful edge, too bad it will be on the inside of the deck and no one will ever see it.

Long pieces are difficult and have to be done in sections

Everything's all done! yay!

On a completely different note, if you want some good boat building music might I suggest Explosions in the Sky! Or you can listen to whatever you want.