Encapsulating stringers

[lewisboats]

You're better off warming the wood. When the resin hits is it absorbs some of the heat and thins out, plus it is exothermic so it creats it's own heat as it cures. Warming up the resin can cause it to gel faster than you can apply it, and even get to the point of smoking in the pot and being too hot to hold!!! To keep it from doing this, mix it quick and get it into a wide shallow pan so it isn't concentrated so much. A lot of people mix a batch then chuck it into a cooler or freezer to slow down the kick (when it is hot out) so they have a little time to work with it. I won't say that I have never thinned out epoxy, and it has worked quite well for me. I would only use a 5% mix (1:20). With a very dry wood, heated to about 100-110 deg, and thinned just a tad with acetone, you could conceivably (sp?) attain 1/16 in of penetration, depending on the base wood and how it is sawn. End grain will suck it up like a sponge and you will need to recoat (within 18 hours or so for chemical and mechanical bonding, per coat) to fill all the little tubes properly. Scoring the wood will allow the epoxy to migrate into the endgrain in the scores, so this is a good way to promote penetration, but not if things are to be left bright, as the scores will show up. Side note to the filleting. Hit the joint you are going to fillet with a quick swipe of plain epoxy before filleting, just to get that infinitesimal bit more bond. As a last note, don't bother with poly as it is usless as a glue, has less penetratability (is that a word????) and is not really waterproof to begin with.

Steve

[gonzo]

Testing by the Gougeon Bros. show that scoring the wood makes a weaker joint. The broken fibers have less strength than longer ones. Thinning resin makes it weaker too. Also, voids the manufacturer's warranties. I believe in following instructions in the label. Anything else is an experiment, which usually results in expensive mistakes.

[Ok J]

Thanks to you all for replying, you have definetly helped, and my old boat will be many times the better for it, I am in a very dry environment and heat will be my method for laying up and penetration. I also plan on installing a few bulkheads as well, perhaps I will start a new thread on that topic. Cheers all.
The nice weather is here...got to get this done!