Here is a picture of the previously mentioned STRAKE cutting jig in situ on a bandsaw to show how it fits.

Once the table is set over to 45 degrees the jig is simply clamped in position and it is ready to go.

The jig can be simply removed by releasing the clamps, returning the table to horizontal and the bandsaw is then ready cut wood again.

I have also cut bass strakes on your bandsaw using this same simple jig Chris, but it is important to guide the wood more after it leaves the blade to keep it “on track” and to stop it following any errant grain deviations because it cuts quickly and so it is easier for the blade to “dig in” and follow the direction of the grain.

Light pressure on the cut wood (to keep it straight) as it leaves the jig can help to keep the cut on track and produce triangular section strip from square section strip with no failures

Obeche is a nice timber Bob and is close grained and often "defect" free so I can see why you've used it.

I've got some in stock but don't use it much as it's quite hard and so I tend to use bass most of the time. But in small sections as for strakes I can see it as being ideal as you testify.

I have been able to find and check my wood orders Chris, and can confirm that the square section strip that I converted to triangular section wood to use for STRAKES was OBECHIE.

I found the obechie cut cleanly and was flexible enough to bend around the contours of the hull without steaming or soaking in water - but I only secured tiny parts of the length at a time when working around the tightest curves of the bow.

All of the strakes that I have fitted have been secured with a thin superglue and have no other form of attachment.

I was a bit nervous when I first ran my restored Rapier as it was the first hull that I had fitted strakes to using thin superglue only and feared that in use they could peel away from the hull.

To date my Rapier has run regularly since it was restored and gained its strakes during the Covid lock down and the strakes have needed no repairs or maintenance to date .......and it has clocked up a lot of hours being driven fast and hard and survived the inevitable minor collision with unseen submerged debris.

The hull is painted in good old fashioned non-drip household paint (oil based) and I always check after each session to see if any paint has been knocked off or is missing for any reason as I think it gives a valuable protection to the strakes - and perhaps more importantly to the superglue bond?

The strakes that I have cut from the basic jig that I made was designed to feed 5mm sqaure wood and I never had to change the basic general purpose saw blade to make it work.

Following the enquiry from Chris (who had guessed that I had used larger 6 mm square strip), I will have a play with making a couple of new jigs to cut smaller sized square wood to see if I can cut the smaller sizes that he likes to use (4mm and 3mm).

I think there should be plenty of “headroom” to drop from cutting 5mm square strip to 4 mm square strip but dropping to cut the 3mm square strip may need a finer pitch band saw blade than I would normally use when cutting bulkheads and keels etc.

Personally, I think the strakes that I make from the 5mm square strips work well in the 12 inch to the foot scale water that we sail in (!), and even their slightly over-scale size actually look really good on the approximately 1:12 scale classic power boats that I fit them onto.

If I were only making my classic model power boats to display and view (including from the underside), I may check more carefully to see if they resembled the full size boats strakes, but my classic model power boats are made to perform in all weathers and conditions and to date I have been very pleased with the look and performance of the slightly over-scale size I have been using.

Having said that, I do like a challenge, and if I can make a jig to perform successfully with the smaller sizes of square section hardwood strip, I will fit some of the smaller sizes strakes to a comparable hull to see if they perform any differently.

This simple jig has been preceded by many failures and is the result of many hours of experimentation - and a lot of wasted wood - before coming up with this simple way of making triangular strip on a bandsaw without waste.


The table of the saw is accurately set over to 45degrees and the jig is then securely clamped into position as close to the cutting edge of the blade as possible.

The blade position to the jig can be checked to be absolutely central to the jig by pushing the square strip up against the stationery blade and checking it with the mark one eyeball before the machine is switched on.

The jigs position on the bandsaw baseplate needs to be checked (and checked again) after the clamps have it held it securely in place before the machine is switched on.

Sometimes feeding the strip in from the opposite end can help the strip to cut square and true if the grain direction is clearly not wanting to run cleanly.

Once completely happy about the position and security of the jig clamping, the square strip is slowly fed into the jig and onto the running blade with slow but firm and constant pressure.

It soon becomes clear when the wood grain wants to pull the strip over to the side of the blade, but by guiding the already cut end after it leaves the blade this "wanderlust" can be controlled perfectly.

Here are some pictures (as promised) of my simple jig to convert square section hardwood strip into triangular strip - in my case to be used for STRAKES.

As I have marked on the end face (for my own reference) this simple jig is for use with 5mm square hardwood strip.

I will make other sizes to fit different sizes of square strip as it is important to get a good accurate fit through the front, top and back (as well as the saw table base plate and the underside of the strip to be cut) to guide the square strip accurately through the jig as the grain of the wood strip changes direction all along its length and will try to pull itself off of the bandsaw blade to follow its own grain direction rather than stay corrected seated in the jig.

Hi Chris, you are the current owner of the actual bandsaw that I cut most of my strakes on (!)

The crude little jig that I made can be clamped on to any bandsaw table using simple small clamps.

I will check my wood orders (if possible) to see what type of wood I always buy for my stringers, but it is the same sort of wood that Aerokits and LesRo always supplied in their kits, so it should be easy for a wood expert (not me!) to identify .

When cutting the 1 meter lengths of square section wood I could always "feel" when the direction of the grain was changing - sometimes several times in the same length! - and use my finger pressure to help keep the wood firmly in position against the side of the guide to stop it "running-off".

This became instinct after a time (and a little practice) and got to the stage where I was genuinely able to claim a 100% success rate - no failures due to "run-off".

You are right to suggest that there must be a size of wood that will be too small to split from a square section to a triangular section of wood - probably due to the actual width of the blade being used to cut it.

If I can get some workshop time (in my shed) this winter, I will experiment with this to find out just how small a section of wood that I can split in half using my bandsaw jig - but to date, I have had no problems cutting the size of strake that I have wanted to use on any of my classic model power boats to date.

I know you have successfully cut quite small strakes Bob, are they 6mm (?) on your bandsaw, using a self-made jig but I guess it would be a challenge going smaller than that due to the characteristics of timber. I've had small section timber break easily on me due to natural "defects" in the timber (though this was mainly with mahogany - perhaps bass would be OK?) and think breakages would invariably occur if trying to cut small section strakes if using a band saw or table saw if there is any flex at all applied to the cut timber. What timber do you use Bob?

A suitable guide and then restraint of the cut timber is I think the big challenge with using a table saw is that the timber needs to be accurately aligned as it approaches the blade and then restrained once cut with ideally something matching the strake.

I have thought in the past about planing small square section down but again it's the problem of securing the timber again that's the issue. Ideally it needs to be held in a vee over it's length!

The strakes I use are only 3mm and 4mm and I think it would be almost impossible to cut timber to those sizes in triangular section. Short lengths probably but 900mm? Also I prefer strakes at 60 degrees so that would be another problem!

I did have an issue with a small number of short lengths of styrene strake not bonding using canopy glue but that was due to not holding sufficiently in place until the glue dried. But those issues have now been rectified using cyano. I really like the styrene strakes as they are small, strong and very accurately made and can be steamed to a bend like timber. I've used them on three builds now but when I do the next one I shall use cyano from the off.

I guess it would probably be best to make your own guide for cutting triangular strip in any case?

It needs to be clamped to the table from both ends as cutting strakes needs a solid fixing guide that has zero movement.

Maybe with that in mind it would be possible to make a 45 degree angled guide to clamp onto the simple Proxxon table saw to split square section strip wood:

The expensive version Proxxon table saw could have the blade set at 45 degrees instead and use a right angle guide.

There's two Proxxon saws available with the considerably more expensive one having the angle adjustment. Reading the reviews on the Axminster site there are some criticisms, particularly about the fence. Most are favourable though. I have a number of Proxxon tools and in the main find the quality fine, though funnily enough the one issue I have is with the moveable fence/stop on my little drill press which isn't very precise! I think I'd have to have a look at one before buying.

Trouble is there's not much on the market really. The Rolls Royce of model making tools, including table saws was a little US company, whose name escapes me, but unfortunately I believe they are no longer in business?

Chris

Hi Bob it must be a subsequent addition, my one stays vertical only.
Roy

Hi Roy,

I see the claim that the Proxxon table saw blade can be set over to 45 degrees.

This would suggest that cutting a triangular strip would be possible if it has a suitably accurate edge guide - possibly by splitting a square section strip.

An alternative method could be achieved by slicing the section off from a square plank edge, and then taking a second cut with the blade vertical to produce the second matching triangular strip......and repeated until sufficient strips had been cut.

Is this something that you have tried by any chance?

Bob.

This is my saw, it uses slitting saw blades and can cut planking to down to 2mm.
It was originally built by my father for a left handed static ship modeller but he never collected it.
I finished it and use it from time to time

Hi I have a Proxxon circular saw it has the footprint of an A4 sheet of paper and my one from new is at least 20 years old, same blade and working well.
I use it every day I am in my shed / workshop.

Treat it carefully, it is very slow on hard wood like mahogany and cuts to a depth of 1cm, 3/8ths inch. I would not be without it!
Roy

Following on from the mention made by Chris for the Proxxon miniature table saw, I have been taking a good look at it, and from what I can see and read it looks like it could easily cut and produce triangular section hardwood strips - more easily than I can using my bandsaw.

I will study the online videos and user reports some more, but I admit to being quite tempted by it...... and if it were not so expensive I may have hit the purchase button already........

.........but because of its price, I will also check-out the much less expensive but similar looking machines on eBay and elsewhere before making any decisions.

My first search for an Inca table saw did not prove fruitful, but I did find an Inca bandsaw for sale, so at least the brand has found its way “over the water”

When I changed my search pattern to “miniature table saws”, quite a few popped up on eBay so I will take a good look at them as I am a sucker for adding useful machine tools to my workshop (shed) but due to congestion, they need to be small enough to fit in and useful enough to justify the space.

....a miniature/small sized table saw could be a very useful addition, as long as it is accurate and well made.

I remember seeing a beautifully engineered example on one of the many Facebook adverts that appear at random most days - but now I could actually be interested in buying one - I can’t see them advertised any more.

I did check them out at the time though as they had a small range of working miniature machines (including a post drilling machine) and found that they were made in Ukraine.......I will keep looking......

I haven't got a circular saw either. As I buy my planks already cut I couldn't really justify one, but you never know!

Proxxon, although expensive for what they are have a small one which gets good reviews.

As you have some small strakes in your kit Bob it shows itcan be done.

Chris

As Chris mentioned, I prefer the Aerokits type of integrated construction for my classic powerboats rather than those that have a “lift-off” superstructure, but only because I enjoy running my models in all weather conditions, and (previously) even off-shore in the open sea!

The lift-off superstructure has the benefit of giving much easier access but can never be as water-tight when the decks are awash.

My friends beautifully build and constructed Swordsman ( built from the excellent Phil Connelly plans) actually had his complete one-piece superstructure washed completely off when we were testing our Swordsman boats together on the river Avon prior to the first off-shore race off the Devon coast.

The superstructure floated and was recovered safely, but he wisely declined to enter his Swordsman in the off-shore races! My Swordsman competed and survived a race in rough seas with a 6ft swell proving the integrity of the integrated construction - but all the hatches needed to be very well screwed down - or they would have been washed off ... and if that happened, the hull could have easily filled with water.......

That is an interesting little saw that could be at least as good at cutting triangular section as a small band saw .

I have never seen a miniature circular saw before .........but I am sure that my workshop (shed) would benefit from having one...........

Mmmmmm.......I may just take a look on eBay to see if I can find anything like it....

My fathers one was scratch built, he drew up drawings from a friends Aerokit and enlarged it a bit.
My father cut his trailing edge from spruce or obeche, can’t remember which. He cut it on a circular saw.
If I remember correctly it took two cuts, one at an angle and one at 90deg. This produced two pieces.
He had an Inca saw and used a very small fine blade.
I see that Inca is still in business and this is very similar to my fathers 1950s one.

The triangular wood supplied by Aerokits in their Swordsman kits was quite small in section - smaller than the strakes that I made and fitted to my Swordsman.

……yes I have an original Aerokits Swordsman kit to refer to …..😱

SLEC do a range of leading, trailing and triangular section but they're in balsa. I suppose it could be hardened up but it's not ideal. Also, the smallest section is too big for my needs.

I guess your father's Swordsman was from an Aerokits kit? There were (well still are) drawings as well but most I guess were built from kits.

Bob/Zooma used to run one offshore as well and says the kit was better as it has hatches for access rather than a lift off superstructure. I prefer the latter but I don't run offshore or on choppy water.

My build, which is the same size at 33"/scale 1:12 was based on the Aerokits drawing but modified to have the lift off superstructure and the raised aft cabin as per the later SLEC kit.

My father used model aircraft trailing edge instead of strakes, this gave his Swordsman very good planing characteristics especially in rough water. Although they were not scale they looked good.

Hi Roy,

I am away for a few more days yet, but when I get home I will dig the jig out and send you some pictures of it .

Hi is it possible to see a photo of your jig used to cut the triangular section strips?

I use a small band saw it it might be useful as I have an even smaller Huntsman at 16 inches which planes nicely. Single prop and a 380 geared down 1 : 2, motor which runs at 20 watts under load, prop I think 35 mm dia.
Roy.

After deliberately causing the KK to “dig-in” at the bows - so we could observe the cause, the conclusion is probably the same as yours - the chine rails can attempt to deflect the bows downwards when submerged - as when turning hard at speed or when turning in choppy water conditions.

Personally I find the spectacle very exhilarating to watch and a tribute to the design and construction of the boat that it repeatedly survives the ordeal without breaking-up under the weight and pressure of water that it is under (this can only be increased with speed or heavy conditions).

Operating classic power boats is good enjoyable fun, and making “white water” is very much part of this - and this new attempted “nose dive” is not something that I have ever experienced before in over 60 years of running them - in all conditions!


When the weather gets a bit rough (and sensible club members kept their boats safe and dry in their cars etc), mine can usually be seen braving the conditions and giving the owner a lot of pleasure.


Like yourself Chris, I have no intention of removing any part of the chine rail or strakes as I am “enjoying the ride” and it is quite easy to avoid or get out of the “difficulty” by closing the throttle so the boat is not bring driven “into” the water in that instance.

Funnily enough (with reference to Bob's Kopy Kommander thread) looking at the first photo which is the Huntsman 28 makes me wonder if the layout of the strakes at the bow could be the reason for it digging in on tight turns?

I followed the layout shown in a drawing to give a scale look. The lack of strakes towards the stern is because the full-sized boats are twin screw and you don't need strakes at the stern anyway.

With the Huntress (last photo) I just went with what looked right and the strakes are straighter at the bow. This hull is the same as the H28 but 5" shorter and I don't have any issues with digging in. Whatever, the strakes on the H28 are staying as they are!

Just to add some examples (me being one of those mentioned who needed triangular section) photos showing the strakes on my Huntsman 28 which are square section with the edges taken off and plastic section as used on my other builds.

One of the reasons for me going down the plastic route is that apart from the Swordsman (photos 2 & 3) at 33" all of my other builds are smaller, including the Huntress shown at 23" and I wanted quite small sized strakes. For my use, the plastic has been fine so far and so I didn't venture down the cutting my own route and I think I'd have problems cutting such small and accurate strakes.

One of my future builds is a non-Fairey and a bit bigger at 34" so I might be brave and have a go at cutting some! 🤔 😁

Sorry to anyone that is confused by the heading off this blog.

I was typing it on my iPhone whilst sat outside in the sun, and I made a typo !

The heading should read:-

STRAKES on Classic Model Powerboats.

Does anyone know how I can correct this please?

STRAKES on classic model power boats look good and can even help to improve the performance.

Having made my own supply of triangular section hardwood, I was able to make the correct size STRAKES and fit them to the Rapier that I was restoring and a pair of Swordsman hulls that also needed them.

I actually think that model power boat hulls with STRAKES fitted to them look very handsome and are greatly improved by having them fitted, and I also love to watch the way that the water rolls back from them as the boats drive by with them fitted.

STRAKES can also improve the handling and performance of a classic model powerboat hull - especially those that have deep vee section hulls.

I had a small hobby sized bandsaw and so I looked to see how this machine could be used for the production of triangular section hardwood from square sections of wood - without any waste.

The aim was to divide each strip of square section hardwood diagonally into two identical triangular strips of wood from each piece - without any waste .

Eventually I devised a simple jig to fit onto the table of my bandsaw that was able to produce triangular sections of hardwood from square sections with no waste.

I have produced hundreds of triangular strips to date using this simple jig with a 100% success rate - no failures and no wasted wood.


When I sold my bandsaw to Chris, I adapted the jig to fit my new bandsaw and found that it works just as well on any machine that I have tested it on to date - so cutting triangular sections of wood at home on a simple hobby bandsaw can overcome the unavailability of this very useful wood shape in the model shops.

My experiments were to show that splitting a square section of wood into two identical triangular halves was not going to be as easy as I had hoped it would be.

For a start, the wood grain over any length of square section wood tested was not consistent and absolutely straight along its total length .


I was surprised to discover the number of directions that the wood grain veered off into over a regular one metre length of wood strip.

Not one square strip was consistently “straight grained” and so the simple act of splitting it with any sort of sharp blade was doomed to failure as the blade would want to follow the grain of the wood off into any direction it happened to be heading.