Prep Stabilizer for Glassing

Last night I removed the waxed paper from the stabilizer. As expected, much of the excess epoxy ended up along the bottom edge where it formed into a somewhat flexible flash. Some of this could be removed by snapping it off. Some of the thicker sections were quickly removed on the bench belt sander. I had to take care to not go too long on any given edge so as to not chew into the joint.

The rest I removed with a hand held electric belt sander with an old 80 or 100 grit belt. This actually worked very well, as I paid attention to the direction of the belt and the grain of the wood. It is important to apply sanding pressure against the edges where it was supported by the underlying wood so that the edge doesn't split or fray.

Along one edge the side managed to get glued slightly recessed from the edge of the top. While this could be handled with filler paste and faired smooth I chose to sand the top edge to be even with the side. One way or the other needed to be done so that when the exterior was glassed there would be no cavities.

I then belt sanded smooth the remaining high points of epoxy. This went pretty quickly.

Most of the seams turned out fine. Unfortunately, however, there was not quite enough weight put against the bottom, so the edges did not quite meet in one area. This will be addressed when the glass layer is applied as it should be easily filled with epoxy.

Tonight I think I'll either have to get more waxed paper or, better yet, some polyethylene plastic and put together the other stabilizer.