: Hey Rob -
: Did you follow the WD manual or did you just blow it off? The manual suggests
: a partial bevel that keeps some gap on the outside for a bead of epoxy but
: provides a mating surface for the panels. Seems like a good idea but also
: looks like a bit of a hassle to get all those angles just so. Did your
: panels tend to slip with those sharp edges against each other?

I used too much bevel with the first yak and ended up with a knife edge: big mistake. The glass wouldn't hold around the edge because the corner was too sharp. No matter, I did the bevel acording to the manual with the VJ. It worked out a little better but in hindsight, I think I'd rather go with no bevel and use a bead of thickened epoxy. I'm thinking that with no bevel the keel will be a little wider and thus a little easier to wrap and glue. I had no problem with slipping panels coz I tied the panels loosely initially then held them in place while I made the final adjustments. I did have the problem of having the copper wire cut through the wood when tightening. With no bevel that problem should go away. Of course, tightening the wire "carefully" would have helped as well. Just to contradict myself a little more, if a really minor bevel was used it would be easier to mate the edges but as I said before, a little TLC makes a big difference. How is the building going?

Robert N Pruden