: You have nothing to apologize for.

: I cut my strips carefully on a saw, insuring I have a consistent
: thickness. Running strips through a planer is a good idea if
: you have problems cutting consistent thickness strips.

: You posed a statement that turned into a question I thought was a
: very important one.

: I answer questions and post statements on this board with the idea
: of addressing ALL the readers not only
: the one person posting the question.

: Perhaps I didn't make myself entirely clear. I'm not as concerned
: with gaps or glue lines BETWEEN strips,
: but aligning strips on and between stations to create a fair
: surface.

: That you have made the project work well for yourself speaks of
: your experience. Many do not have your
: experience and may not realize how focusing attention now, on strip
: thickness and alignment, will make every
: following step in the building process easier.

: Yes, a stripper can be made with irregular thickness strips, it can
: be planed, sanded and faired into a decent shape,
: but it is a LOT more work to do it that way. I know, I've done it.
: If you haven't done it both ways you'll never know
: how much easier it is if you take the time to align strips first.

: My training is as a sculptor. I've made complex shapes from
: formless lumps of clay. This is why I appreciate strip
: building so much. Why I think it is genius that these strips of
: wood bend over forms to create a perfect surface
: naturally if you align the strip edges.

: Try making a hull from clay. Sure you can do it. Then strip a hull.
: Wow, what a comparison. How much easier.

: All I'm saying is a matter of focus. Instead of coming at stripping
: from the slap it together and fix it later
: mind set, try working with the idea that the stripping stage in the
: most important step, that it's not hard
: to strip a perfect hull.

: Focus on the details of aligning each strip edge with the previous
: one
: and it will pay BIG dividends in work saved.

: Rob

Hi Rob,
"Sweat the small stuff and the big stuff will fall into place on its own".
I often spend more time just looking at a project than actually working, running the sequence through my mind. The overall time taken usually ends up much less than if I go at the project straight away.
When I hit a hitch, I stop and switch to something else and let my subconscious work out the problem.

Oh yeah, always stop just before you get frustrated. And set a maximum time limit to how long any one session lasts, even if it is really tempting to 'put just one more strip in place'.

Mike Savage
South West Cork