: Nice vice and nice skinny work-bench.

Thanks Etienne,

I haven't mentioned it before, but I am a finish carpenter by trade. Tools and jigs and fitting wood is usually a way of life for me. To build a kayak by hand, and fitting all those strips in the quiet presence of a block plane, is most appealing for me. I am in no big hurry, work on the kayak when I'm up for it (which is usually) and don't keep track of my time. The decision to go with a rolling bevel has made sense to me from the beginning, and gave me a excuse to buy a good block plane instead of router bits -- even though I have the router and router table.

Since I build from plans, acquiring the cedar for my strips does not necessarily happen all at once. I bought some of the boards a long time ago, ripped the strips, then ended up shelving the project for two years. Since the strips were square edged, they stored well. When I got the kayak going again, there were quite a few of the strips that I rejected for grain reasons. Since I had little labor into the strips, it was no big deal.

This leads me to another advantage of square edge strips and beveling: you can "design as you go" with color and wood variations, reject strips that have flaws, and add newly ripped strips without concern for router set-up and the cove/bead registration.

It's well known that intricate deck patterns may be easier with square edge strips. On the other hand, if a builder purchases cove & bead strips in a kit from one of the excellent suppliers, those strips are most likely to be of high quality, and will not have to be selected and rejected.

I just like the Zen of block planing. I have spent more time studying the art of successful fiberglass & epoxy work. Structurally, this is most likely more important.

Chris