Laminated Ash Deck Fittings

Bending

Use a small-diameter tube as a core for bending.  I  tried two different diameter cores: a piece of 3/4" (I.D.) PVC pipe and a piece of 1/2" copper pipe.  I found that the 1/2" pipe made a loop that should provide a snug fit for three 3/16" bungees.  With 1/16" ash veneer, this diameter  was near the limit of its flexibility. To get a tighter diameter you might have to use thinner veneer.

Take 4 strips out of the pot, stack them and bend them around the tube core.  I found it easiest to clamp the center of the stack to the tube first and then to bend the legs around the tube, using a 2nd spring clamp to hold it in place with the legs parallel.  In the photo on the left, you can see that I forced the legs a little past parallel.  I thought there would be some spring-back after the stack had dried, but there was none.  Take your time to inspect the stack to make sure that the layers around the loop fit together with no gaps.  If you take care of any gaps now, you shouldn't have any during glue-up.

After a couple days of drying (the inner strips will take a while), separate the stack, placing a registration mark in the corner of a leg of each layer.  This ensures then when you reassemble the stack, you can easily get the correct orientation.  Coat the mating surfaces with some unthickened epoxy, recoat with thickened epoxy, and then reclamp everything in place back on the tube core until the epoxy cures.  Depending on what you use as your core, you may want to use piece of plastic wrap between the core and the stack to prevent them from become stuck together with stray epoxy.  Again, check for gaps between layers around the loop and adjust the clamps if necessary.

Cutting the Loops

After the epoxy has cured, it's time to slice off the loops.  I found it easiest to clamp the assembly to the edge of my workbench and cut each slice in 3 operations.  I used a Japanese dozuki for all the cutting to minimize kerf loss.  Divide-up the glue-up by drawing a series of lines 1/4"+ apart.  You might want to make the loops cut from the sides a little wider to allow for any misaligned layers.  Clamp it so that the loop portion extends over the edge of the workbench, and then with the saw held vertically, cut the loop back as far as possible.  Then unclamp, rotate the glue-up, reclamp, and with a horizontal cut, continue sawing through one of the legs.  A final similar cut on the other side frees the loop.

Alternatively, if during the initial cut the kerf extends at least 1/4" into the parallel legs, you can do all the loop cutting at once, and then cut off the excess on the legs right at the tip of the kerf.  The legs only need to be long enough to extend through the thickness of the deck.   You can do final fitting later, just make sure they're a little long now.

Shaping and Fitting

Before drilling into your deck, you may want to get an idea of how the loops will actually look when installed, so I recommend you use a test panel (I used a scrap from a bulkhead panel).  Using a utility knife, round file, sandpaper, or other method of your choice, round-over the edges of a loop (this is the tedious part, especially when you need 12-16 loops).  After arriving at a sufficiently rounded cross-section, use a brad-point bit to drill two 1/4" holes in the test panel at the appropriate distance apart and use a rat-tail file to adjust the hole size to fit the loop.  You want a snug fit to minimize filling later, but not so tight that the epoxy glue will be completely squeezed out.  Adjust the angle of the hole to allow the loop to enter at a slightly acute angle to the surface.  I did this because I wanted an arc that was less than a full semi-circle protruding above the deck. The rat-tail file was good for adjusting the fit. Once you're happy with the fit, trim the legs flush with the underside of the panel.

Two Sizes of Loops

I decided to make the smaller loops after finding that the larger ones were too large for what I needed.   Here's the smaller loop being fitted.  I put the pencil in the picture so you could get an idea of the size of the loops.

Installation

Coat the holes and the loop with unthickened epoxy, recoat the mating surfaces with thickened epoxy, and press the loop into place.  There likely will be some small gaps around the rim of the hole which should also be filled with thickened epoxy.  After the epoxy has begun to set-up, carefully remove the tape.

That's it!  You've now got an incredibly strong deck loop.  I encourage you to pull and tug on the finished loop on the test panel to convince yourself of its strength.  Ash is a pretty tough wood, and the multiple laminations compounds its strength.  I was curious to find out just how strong the fitting was, so I performed some extremely scientific testing.

The Test Panel

The test panel was not only helpful in visualizing how the loop would look on a finished deck, but also was useful for working-out the details of the installation process.  Here's what I learned:

• Be careful to not lift the glass.  This can happen during drilling and fitting.   Although I used a brad-point drill bit, it's still possible to lift the glass if you're not careful.  When fitting, don't force the loop if the hole is just too snug.   You'll risk lifting the glass when you remove the loop.  When using the rat-tail file, cut on the downstroke and don't drag the file on the upstroke.  And be gentle.

• When filing the hole to fit, angle it slightly to accommodate the arc of the loop. This will help minimize any gaps that will need to be filled later.

• Before epoxying a loop in-place on a real deck, fit the loop, and mark and cut the legs flush with the underside of the deck.  You can leave the legs run long during installation and trim them later, but only if the loop is in an accessible location where you can use a flush-cut saw.  However, you'll still need to epoxy seal the cut ends, so I think it's probably easiest to trim the legs as the final step of fitting so you can seal the ends during installation.

• The installation process is messy.  Before drilling the holes, mask off a good 3" square area and drill through the tape.  This way, when you install the loop you'll be certain that the epoxy won't smear your deck.  This is especially important when you're trying to fill those little gaps around the rim of the hole.  Pull the tape after the epoxy has begun to set and there's no risk of it running.

I hope this has been helpful.  When I get some of the loops installed in an actual kayak, I'll post some more photos and anything else I discovered during installation.   Good luck!

-Ross