Finally got a day to myself!
I've got problems though.? All along I've known that one the most important things about this build was to get the mahogany veneer right, as it was going to be a really nice feature of it.? If it ended up looking crap, it would ruin the whole thing.? Well, it would for me, anyway.
Anyway, what I discovered a couple of weeks ago was that the veneer I put on the front of the boat had dried and left a tiny gap between each strip.? I was very very careful not to leave one when I was sticking it on, so the only thing I can think to explain it is this:
Do you recall the problem of the strips curling away from the boat at the edges due to being wet on one side and expanding? To cure that I sprayed the other side with water mist to make the strip lay flat, as it expanded the same rate on either side.? Now what I think happened is that as the strip dried, it shrunk again, leaving the gaps.? They're not even 1mm across, but they're there, and they look
RUBBISH.?
But that isn't the main problem I have, the gaps can be filled with dark filler as a last resort and hopefully they won't be too noticable.
The problem is that each strip down the port side of the boat has to line up with the one that it touches on that central seam which I've already stuck down on the starboard side.? The edges of the strips should make a nice even line of 'V's up the middle of the boat.? So now if I want to make these strips line up to make the 'V's, I have to leave the same crappy looking gaps between them. The alternative is to have the port side strips meeting each other properly side by side but not lining up at all with the ones on the starboard side - thus throwing the 'V's right out.?
Which would look worse?? ?>:(
And I still don't know what those bloody white things are supposed to be.? ???
I need a beer.? That's it - I'm off to the pub later to cry into my pint. :'(
Here's a picture of what I discovered as I worked my way forwards again with the veneer up the other side.? It didn't line up at all!? To make the proper 'V' shape I had to leave this gap between two strips of about 4-5mm!
"xxxxx".
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