Making Perfect Epoxy Fillets

Real time demonstration of making a perfect epoxy fillet using WEST epoxy and Microspheres Blend filler by expert ply/epoxy boatbuilder Hanneke Boon of James Wharram Designs.
The boat featured in this video is the CNC kit ply/epoxy trailer-sailer catamaran Mana 24.
www.wharram.com
JamesWharramDesigns

[@dustman96]

I tried epoxy fillets for the first time today. I have to say, you are a master.

[@SailingLuckyfish]

Great video. Looks so easy with no sanding needed. Having the sheets of ply coated in epoxy beforehand is by far the most efficient use of time, epoxy and produces the most even coatings as the epoxy can be applied with a sponge roller while sheets are laid flat. Nice !

[@o.h.w.6638]

Awesome video thank you for letting the video run real-time. So helpful!!

[@seanmastro6782]

Apply with corner of bag cut, like icing. or tube it and cut a profile in applicator tip.

[@kevingore9625]

Very adeptly done! Take me back to when I built my 17ft Chesapeake sea kayak, had 8years of fun with that, worth the effort🙂👌

[@patrickgrinter2470]

Top Class. I wish more people would look and learn!

[@Thomaspullin]

Great video that was really helpful.. thanks a bunch I'm new at boat building and to build my own sail boat in the near future.. and I've been stuck trying to figure out how the heck the bridge deck and the hulls are joined is it simply bond and glass taped once in place ..? This would mean a lot to me if I could figure this out

[@mr.morgan5643]

Great video!! Nice work! 😎

[@stevensobba1785]

I enjoy the contrast; fillet white with warmth of the mahogany (🤔I believe). Very clean, very well accomplished.

[@Hindukushsailing]

Good video will you post anymore of the Mana building process?

[@Glen.Danielsen]

Thanks so much! Super helpful! 💛😎

[@MikeBanks2003]

I bought plastic heavy wall small bags used to carry goldfish and poked a short length of a piece of plastic irrigation 10mm hose through one corner, then rubber banded the bag corner over it to make it seal well. Cut the end of the plastic at a slight angle say 30 degrees, and put your filleting goo in the bag and close the end with a rubber band so now you can squeeze it out along the seam just like icing a cake. Then take a large popsicle stick or a tongue depressor, or as someone said, a light bulb, and put the final shape to the fillet bead. It saves a lot of mess and time.

[@howardday5449]

If you use a light bulb as your fillet tool, no matter what angle you hold the light bulb you will always get the perfect fillet

[@nathelm]

Would it work if I only have florescent lightbulb tubes?

[@markbrown-sb2zm]

I see what you mean but doesnt a blade perhaps paddle the epoxy more into the joint instead of the rounded edge of a bulb with possibly less traction ?

[@howardday5449]

If you look up filet tools that the mold makers use for fine parts it's a steel rod with a steel ball on the end of it. I just up sized the filet tools to a light bulb for the diameter

[@howardday5449]

@@markbrown-sb2zm depending on the angle on your paddle it can change the radius

[@jasonandersen5975]

@@nathelm especially if you have those corkscrew type.

[@jonathananderson2218]

Really good job

[@vicyboy12]

Is that a kind of epoxy glue or epoxy resin? I wish to bond two part of wood strongly.which one should i mix the glass bubble. Epoxy glue or epoxy resin (used for fiberglassing)

[@georgebush2798]

Thats beautiful neat work

[@flyingfifteen2745]

You’ve helped me quite a bit. I’ve linked this video in my latest episode. Thanks!

[@fmagalhaes1521]

Hanneke : Veel dank voor deze video!! Many thanks for this video!! :):) Groetjes!! :):)

[@pejoly2]

would it work to mix in a plastic bag and cut corner off and squeeze out like a pastry bag?

[@markbrown-sb2zm]

looks good.Whatabout putting mixture into a mastic container and apply with a gun ?

[@diogod1801]

Beautiful

[@johnday530]

Yes its a very neat finish..i have done many fillet joints using Wood Flour from ur electric sander.strong No cost..u need to paint the 2 surfaces with epoxy resin before fillet.i would allways use a small electric fan close to the job...breathing epoxy fumes is not advise.able..

[@oceannavagator]

The fillet needs a wet coat of catalyzed epoxy resin before the filler is applied regardless of whether or not you have previously coated the ply. This alone doubles the strength of the joint. In addition, you can speed up the job by putting the filler in a plastic bag and applying ah-la cake decorator by cutting the corner of the bag and squeezing the thickened epoxy into the joint. I have done as many as three bulkheads at a time with this method, mixing as much as a quart of filler at a time with virtually no waste and very little cleanup on either side of the joint. A chip brush with the bristles cut in an arc can be used with more epoxy to clean up and seal the fillet in one stroke and will allow you to apply four oz. glass to the joint for maximum strength easily. Some boats have hundreds of feet of these fillets and you need to have a system to get it done or you'll never finish.

[@TheDamnSpot]

Bloody brilliant man. Advice to remember.

[@dejayrezme8617]

Are there also "glue guns" that mix 2K epoxy with this special mixing tip but including the microspheres? I figure you could mix the microspheres into one component and then mix them while extruding. Might be overkill and not needed of course.

[@dejayrezme8617]

PS: About the need to wet coat the corner - did you or someone test this? Is this really needed? Seems like it would make the job a hell of a lot more cumbersome, having to mix another batch of epoxy and also the filler having much less grip in the corner when scraping it in.

[@TheDamnSpot]

I've seen the wet coat effect in action first hand. If anything I believe he's understated the effect. His advice came at a crucial time on a project of mine and it increased the laminate strength by a lot more than double. The filler mix I was using wasn't perfectly rationed and this advice made it work a LOT better. If it's just a dinghy you're putting together it may not be a big deal but if you're building a 50' cat, this method is... yeah, super helpful.

[@dejayrezme8617]

Thx! You're building a 50' cat? I'd be very curious about that because I've been told anything above 32 basically takes crazy long to build.

[@vincent7520]

… once you're done get seasick !… Great job !… Thanks for posting.

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

well done!

[@xandolucena]

Can wood flour replace microspheres?

[@xandolucena]

Were the bulkheads covered in epoxy before assembly? if so, were they sanded prior to filleting? thanks for the instructions Hanneke.

[@paulbriggs3072]

Yes they were,

[@dejayrezme8617]

I figure taping the edges of the fillet would help with the cleanup.

[@WharramCatamarans]

It is a lot of extra work to tape first and can leave a little ridge when removed. You can see on the video how fast the clean up is and how little needs removing if you apply the correct amount of filler mix initially. Do use a fine chisel shaped stick to remove excess. That scrapes it off clean and easy. Beware of nicking the fillet, a steady hand.

[@tinosenf6937]

Only the glue? Why not tissue?

[@cawfeedawg]

I use a makeshift pastry bag to lay down the filleting mixture... by makeshift I mean.. use a plastic food storage bag filled with the mixture and cut off one corner.. the angle of the cut depends on the amount of material I want to lay into the joint. squeeze it out at a constant rate.

[@blanchexxx6509]

No glassing over fillet??

[@WharramCatamarans]

If you make large light weight fillets in corners of approx. 90 degrees, as shown here for fixing bulkheads, there is no need for glass tape over them. The fillet is at least as strong as the plywood (6mm in this case). In fillets over flatter joints where there is a lot less filler mixture in the corner then we do glass over the fillet.

[@seamusmcgarvey4663]

Hi! Looking into making my first canoe. Does this method substitute the need to use fiberglass tape?

[@bipedalhominid6815]

No. Put tab over the fillets with fiberglass

[@kenshaw4337]

It seems they dont use tab fiberglass on warrhams.. I have a brand new build 2021-2022 19 foot tiki... One of a kind with some of woods design built in to it as well... As a monohull guy i thought everything was to be tabbed! Not on these canoe's... I have a feeling id like them tabbed but its sealed and is what it is...

[@johntame7323]

I thought that west say you should prime the fillet area with raw epoxy before applying the mixture?

[@WharramCatamarans]

The plywood was already epoxy coated and had been sanded where the fillet is being applied. In this case it is not necessary to coat first as there is sufficient resin in the filler mix to make a good bond. If making fillets on bare wood coating/priming first is recommended.

[@misiumalowany]

Would it be beneficial to the joint strength ( or overall structural strength) to round little bit the edges of bulkheads to increase the fillet contact area ? What is your opinion on effort spend on green on green application of resin - first one (which is priming the plywood ) and then going with fillet. Thank You!

[@labtrainer09]

This is indeed a gorgeous, nearly perfect fillet. But I'm puzzled about the fillets on the two triangular "knees" visible in the background. There, the fillets are narrow to start with and taper to almost nothing where the inboard tip of the knee joins the panel. Why isn't the width of those fillets constant, like the one you show us how to lay down for the bulkhead?

[@WharramCatamarans]

Those bulkhead fillets in the background are not finished yet. Can't remember the reason for this, probably ran out of resin and decided to do it later.

[@chris15325]

Answer is at 4:27

[@cooperscure780]

Thank you for showing me how to stir something I always wanted to know how to do that

[@bipedalhominid6815]

Dude those are the thickest fillets I've ever seen

[@Diycanada560]

Why applying epoxy fillets in the inside if the outside is sealed with fiberglass?

[@georgewashington7444]

Strength in joint. All boats flex.

[@pikethree]

There's a easier way. Try a cake icing bag. Faster cleaner, 2 passes you are done.

[@WharramCatamarans]

I have tried this and did not like it, though some people do. There is the extra step of filling the bag. Then the mix is all in one lump and will heat up quicker making it set all of a sudden. Hot hands make this worse. Only possible with slow hardener. More epoxy waste. Then the extra epoxy you scrape out with the spatula still needs a pot and the be reapplied as in the video or you throw it away and waste a lot of expensive epoxy. Applying mix with a stick gets it in the joint and spread right out to the edges of the fillet. A slight over fill is always best so you can draw the fillet in one go, without having to add more mix and do it again. We have built many boats, including a 63ft Catamaran, making fillets as shown here. NO WASTE.

[@kenshaw4337]

Only time you bag it... In my opinion is if you are tabbing over with fiberglass ..........

[@humanitynow1565]

What is the microsheres ? ! Do you mean microballoon ?

[@johnstarkie9948]

Microspheres.

[@AntiVaganza]

Exactly the same

[@AntiVaganza]

@@johnstarkie9948 same, same...

[@paulbriggs3072]

I am a fan of glass microspheres as they are slightly stronger than the wood and sand easily. A clear video. I also recommend Mastering Epoxy With Russell Brown Part 1 and Part 2 here on KZbin and his book by the same name. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3XSkqh-lrSZeLM

[@walkertongdee]

Uh, I thought that microspheres weaken glue fillets because they don't absorb resin like other fillers do so enlighten me, please.

[@DavidBrockes]

I use talcum powder, really cheap, plus you get to choose the fragrance.

[@atholraw5883]

@@1Howdy1 You so clever you should have been twins.

[@georgewashington7444]

Wood flour/cabosil and or microfibers for fillets.

[@WharramCatamarans]

@@DavidBrockesusing talcum powder or wood flour uses far more resin as it is absorbed into the powder, hence dense and heavy fillets. Microspheres and Microballoons are embedded in the resin, but don't soak it up, hence lightweight but strong fillets. Epoxy is expensive! so better to make larger fillets with a lot less resin. I have built a 63ft catamaran with miles of fillets, you learn the most economical methods that way.

[@DavidBrockes]

@@WharramCatamarans 63ft sounds like my sort of dream retirement live aboard sailing round the Philippines🥰🥰🥰

[@chriswills9530]

One part of the process you missed out - the very first thing you have to do - buy a Christmas Pudding & consume it, so you have a plastic bowl of perfect size for this job.

[@TheMatrixgod]

why not just buy a ready mix ,like the fillers they have at west marine

[@Chuck-gd9rr]

$$$?

[@roberthernandez8918]

Easyer with a bakers bag and tongue depresure

[@nathelm]

Wait, is someone taking a shower?

[@sajidrafique375]

Basically you made a pas0te out of 0the liquidy epoxy ...and this paste is available in market

[@AntiVaganza]

eh, are you serious? I know your post is old, but hope no one is listening to you. For a big project, it makes 100% sense to try to stick to one epoxy system. Also, most epoxy putties are very heavy, difficult to mix and the lights ones way too expensive. Plus, your own mix can be customized to have the consistency be exactly as you want it and you have a choice of fillers and hardeners to dial it in even further.

[@rovidbouski4022]

DOES NOT HOLD UP ON ATV FENDERS! Comes apart just riding over bumps

[@rovidbouski4022]

Petnzme, that doesnt hold either. I have a Bumper Smith for repairing car bumper plastics. Works great on cars but atv plastics see a lot more stress and it doesnt last long.

[@rovidbouski4022]

stitching does nothing, the bumper smithdoesnt use glue. I have repaired hundreds of bumpers for Geico that never came back. The difference is abs on atv fenders see a shit ton more impact and stress and I found the best way is to buy new plastics. If not you get a sub par repair job that looks nothing close to oem.

[@FiferSkipper]

Not only are fillets a proven waste of effort, this is anything but perfect.

[@Theuniverseisstrange]

James Jenson how are they proven to be a waste? Where is the proof?

[@sail4life]

I hope you know how many ocean miles these people have made in these boats since the 1960s? This is the difference between mathematical or theological perfection and engineering perfection. In engineering, Perfect is whatever gets the job done safely in the real world. Mathematical or theological perfection is in another realm and not a great way to accrue sea miles...

[@AntiVaganza]

Eh, they are more than proven in the world of wood-epoxy boats. There are still racing boats from the 60/70s sailing around today which were built with this technique and they got abused like little else.

[@simondelaney2958]

Fillets or fillers?, I think you need to get out on the water bro, you’ve got fillets on your brain!.

[@israelcontreras5332]

Oh its asmr…had to stop watching.