: This is the nicest steel square beam strongback I've seen. Even though the
: picture is self explanatory, I'd love to see more info and pics. Looks to
: be 50 very well spent dollars.

Hi Roger, you're a Seattle guy, aren't you? The source is Pacific Iron on S. 4th. They have all common metals there, and they only charge $.25 per cut. No waste! Here's another pic, and if you want to see it up close and personal, drop me an email.

The risers are 1/2" CDX, with vertical 5/16" slots, to simplify removal when the hull glass is done. The forms are fastened with 1/4" carriage bolts, backed up on the other side with fender washers. Layout is done with a small square and machinist's Prussian blue dye. The mold blocks and U-bolts are easily tweakable, scalable, add- or subtractable for different boats without any modifications to the beam itself. It can also be used as an internal strongback with no modification, but I wanted to try the external version this time around, as recommended by the designer Joe Greenley. The stands are right out of Nick's book, as is the Guillemot in the background.