Birchbark Canoe Build - Part 5 - Shaping ribs and decorative stem lashings - Algonquin old model

Working on the canoe ! Finally bending and shaping the ribs to give them their curvature. The lashings are also advancing, I work on the stem pieces decorative lashings on the ends.

[@danielvrana9444]

OMG THATS BEAUTIFUL!!! It’s my first time seeing you I’m hooked!!

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Wow, thank you!

[@charlesleblanc6638]

Great looking work and Canoe Steve .. I can appreciate your work much more now that I'm making my own !! Can you try to explain how the decorative lashing on the Bow end is started and finished ? I seen how you tucked in your root tip under the lashing.

[@mushercdn]

You must have the strongest grip in town from pulling the root lacing. Amazed at how quickly the hot water added flexibility to the bircg strips. Were they 100% dry or had you presoaked them? Decorative lacing looks great.Thanks for the video.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

The ribs are made with eastern white cedar strips, yes they are soaked for over 1 week prior to steaming / boiling and bending them. Works like a charm when they are already full of water. Cedar absorbs water nicely. I did it as well with spruce but it is not as soft and flexible as the cedar. Thanks again for watching and commenting my friend ! Appreciate it. Hope you will hammer some geese and ducks soon. Regards, Steve

[@mushercdn]

@@NomadicWoodsman Geese have started and the dogs have had their mouths full of feathers! Ducks begin in a couple of Saturdays.

[@timothylongmore7325]

Hey Steve, what'd ya use for ribs n planking on this one? Sorry if you mentioned it. I know you said spruce for gunnels. I not finished watching before commenting.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Split Eastern cedar for the sheathing, my friend split alot for me in Quebec and I mailed it out here in Alberta. The ribs are also eastern white cedar, but I got rough lumber boards that I sawed and planed to size. Did not have access to green logs to split my own.

[@timothylongmore7325]

@@NomadicWoodsman I had thought of trying that myself. I traded a bull for some logs. Most of which were white cedar. Like most of the cedar around here it is knotty. I have a band mill now and thought I'd cut the better into rib and the knottier into sheathing. Since my last video uploaded I've restored an old towne and have an old town sailing canoe to start. I haven't done any videos because to busy. My hope is to do a hybred canoe. Kind of reverse engineer the reverse engineering , lol. First would be birchbark but may try canvas later. Coated and painted to resemble bark. I saw a video on the tube where natives used sawn cedar for sheathing. Seems like a good work-a-round and makes good use of scarce material. I'd send you some but cross border wood shipping is crazy. If you know any good way to do it lmk.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

@@timothylongmore7325 I would try to use the first 5 or 6 feet of the logs that grew closer to the ground. That is usually the log you would use for canoe parts as there are very little knots. The rest of the tree is used for other things as there too many knots and branches. Sawn wood works well, just try to saw it with the grain of the wood as much as possible and don't wait for it to decay or get punky. I am good on wood, when I go back to Québec i might get me a log as well and bring it out haha or talk to familly and see if I can get some too.

[@charlesleblanc6638]

Apx how long would your longest ribs be Steve ? I've got split rib blanks and some are 5,6,7, feet long and I want to avoid the extra shaving down with the drawknife. I know they need to be a bit longer then the finished length.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

The longest ones are in the middle of the canoe. Depends on the size of your canoe and the height of the gunwales and also the width of your middle thwart. I'd say, have about a dozen ribs as 6 footer for the middle, and then you can go to 5 or 4 feet even for the rest of the canoe. 7 would be excessive. My 10 footer canoe was small and I only used 4 foot boards for ribs if i remember correctly. Other canoes I've made i was good with 5 footers for the middle. I got some 6 footer cedar ribs now .... if I make my 20 foot rabaska canoe. 6 foot ribs might be a bit short for the middle ones but it will be close I think. 7 footer ribs would probably be good for big rabaska canoes.

[@charlesleblanc6638]

@@NomadicWoodsman Got all my ribs made out this winter about 50 which went well and I enjoyed doing this type of shaving/carving ... Cedar is great for this.

[@69burbon]

Beautiful work

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Thank you so much 😀

[@michaelwolf8781]

Looks great 👍

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Thank you! Cheers!