
This clever little tool is called a Slickplane. Technically a radius plane, it rides the corner of a piece of wood and breaks the edge.
Truthfully these are poorly manufactured and fussy to get running cleanly, (hence the video outtake) but they also aren’t that expensive and make the tedious job of rounding stringers and keels much easier. I usually keep a handful of them in the shop set to different depths, and I write the date on them whenever I buy a new one so I have some clue of which ones need to be replaced when.
When rounding over the stringers and keel in a skin boat it’s important not to go too far. A lightly rounded edge will reduce wear, but a heavily rounded edge will allow pebbles to crawl between the keel and the skin, creating little bumps which then wear through, dramatically reducing the lifespan of your skin.


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