Dry Fit Main Mast

Went to the shop this morning. Just had to try and get that mast dry-fitted. 

I needed a mold and a plug. Last night I glued 2 small pieces of 2x4 together with Elmer's Wood Glue so that I'd have something to cut a plug with. Just did a rough cut.

Then I changed the blade on the bandsaw to a 1/8" blade. Pretty simple. I cut a rough cut mold. Then I went to putting it together. I used zip ties to hold it together and then tried the hose clamps to see which sizes fit best. 

It's not perfect (did we know this? Perfect is not in my woodworking vocabulary), but I think it will be fine. Looks like it will be a little out of round but planing and sanding will take care of most of that. I just want to be careful not to take too much off. 

I may try to knock that little ridge off of the bottom stave that is keeping the next one from seating properly, though I think that I tinkered with it a bit after the photo and it settled in a bit better. With plenty of epoxy it will glue up well. 

I will make 3 or 4 more molds before glueing up. I need to take care that my mast is STRAIGHT!

One step closer to a main mast.