Auctiva Emporium: cannyscotsman

At first glance it seems crazy. How can you cut glass with scissors? Actually it is quite true--you can cut glass with an ordinary pair of scissors and it is easy to do. The secret is to cut underwater. Use a hefty pair of scissors or a tinsnips and with the glass under at least 2 inches of water cut away. Use a nibbling technique instead of trying to cut larger pieces off. You can cut circles or complex shapes for stained glass work. Replace a small mirror or just about any other small glass piece. Do not do this in the bathtub or kitchen sink. There will be glass splinters and you don't want to leave them there. Use a plastic wash basin or something similar which will allow you to cut under at least two inches of water. If you place some paper in the bottom of the basin you can remove the splinters with out endangering your hands. Now go to it. Tell someone you are going to cut some glass and show them the scissors--you will get some snide remarks but you will have the last laugh. Check out my ebay store for lots of good DIY info and plans: http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Books-Plans-and-Prints-4U__W0QQ_armrsZ1

An amateur boat builder has very few choices of materials for boat building. It is quite possible to build fibreglass boats and canoes but a mold, to build the fibreglass hull on, is needed. Cost of this mold is unfortunately quite high. Unless you want to build several boats from the mold it is really not an economical way to go. Building an aluminum boat or canoe is also possible but this needs considerable skill in sheet metal work which not too many amateurs have. The final alternative is to build a wood or plywood boat. Plywood boat building is the way that most amateur builders go. Plywood is quite inexpensive and is easy to work with. Small dinghies can be built from just one sheet of plywood to make a boat around 8 feet in length or a bit less. Plywood suitable for building boats can be either marine grade (which is best but costs more) or ordinary exterior grade. Interior grade or utility grade cannot be used. These grades of plywood are not made to withstand exposure to water and will delaminate since the glue between layers is not waterproof. Many boat plans require plywood lengths which are greater than the standard eight foot sheets available in building supply stores. Marine plywood in lengths of more than than eight feet is obtainable but may need be specially ordered. If plywood in the required length is not available, the simple solution is to join two sheets together by using a butt joint. Simply lay out the complete length of the boat part on two lengths of plywood, layed end to end, and butt joint the ends of the part together. A butt joint is made by laying the two ends together and laying another piece of plywood about a foot long over the joint. Then glue this foot long piece in place with marine glue or epoxy glue. Next use several wood screws on each side of the joint (from the inside where the short piece of plywood is placed) to make a very strong joint. The butt jointed section will actually be stronger than the rest of the length if you do it in this manner. Do not use a scarf joint in which the two sections are tapered and glued together. The butt joint is much stronger and is standard practice in boat building. The short piece of plywood for the butt joint should always be inside the boat. If you butt joint both the sides and bottom of the boat you should arrange the joints so that they are staggered and not at the same spot. Do not let the minor problem of getting longer than standard plywood stop you from building a boat. Butt jointed plywood parts are as strong as or stronger than single lengths, and many boats are built this way. You will find a number of good plans for plywood boats of all sizes in my eBay store: http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Books-Plans-and-Prints-4U__W0QQ_armrsZ1

Here is a really good all purpose plywood dinghy or small boat. Just right for the yachtsman who needs a strong seaworthy boat or for the angler who needs a light cartop boat. This little dinghy is light enough to be easily rowed even by youngsters but sturdy enough to be powered by a small outboard motor. This great little dinghy can carry two adults complete with fishing or camping gear. It is really easy to cartop or put in a van or pickup for transportation. Check out this fine plan in our eBay store and build yourself a great little boat at very low cost. Books Plans and Prints 4U"

You can build a canoe from plywood very easily. What's more it will be a very good canoe and it will cost a small fraction of the price of a commercially made canoe. You can use 1/8 inch door skin for the covering which is quite low cost. You can also use 1/8 inch marine plywood. The latter however is difficult to obtain in many areas. Heavier plywood is difficult to bend to shape but if you are prepared to sand it down thinner so that it will bend and possibly also to steam or soak it you can use 1/4" exterior plywood. This makes for a heavier and strong canoe but entails more building difficulty then 1/8 inch door skin. The door skin should be finished with several coats of urethane varnish to waterproof it. You could alternatively put a layer of fiberglass over the doorskin which will waterproof and strengthen it. You can find this plan and many more interesting DIY plans in my eBay store at: http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Books-Plans-and-Prints-4U