Sealing gaps in wood hatch

[DaveC426913]

So,I'm finishing up my hatch. It's made of reclaimed mahogany.

It's got an outer frame with an inner panel , like a panel door. The inner panel is not attached to the frame in any way, it floats in a groove in the frame, to allow to expansion and contraction. This is standard stuff.

But the groove is too wide, leaving a channel of as much as 1/8" most of the way around the inner rim between frame and panel. I need to fill it with something flexabile, to prevent rain building up.

If this were an older window pane, the obvious choice would be window putty (keeps the windows from rattling and keeps out rain). But I don't think that will will stand up to a marine environment.

I'm thinking possibly some sort of weather-stripping, or even used windshield wiper blades. I could stuff them in the crack, then cut off the excess flush. Or possibly black silicone seal. It might be flexible enough so the panel can still expand and contract.

Any other ideas?

[DaveC426913]

Bah. I thought I had the perfect solution.

I milled scraps of the mahogany down to make shims. It should have worked perfectly and been invisible.

Unfortunately, there's too much gap underneath, and the shims just slipped in and then tilted. (Hard to describe. Suffice to say, it failed).

So, I think I'm going to get some black marine grade silicone seal. (Or white and tint it mahogany).

[sirlandsalot]

Might be able to use saw dust.preferably mahogany, and mix it with a clear sealent of some sort. This tec works on wood flooring, and it can match the wood better than a silicone bead......

[DaveC426913]

Might be able to use saw dust.preferably mahogany, and mix it with a clear sealent of some sort. This tec works on wood flooring, and it can match the wood better than a silicone bead......

Yeah. 'swhat I was thinking.

[seahouse]

D-
Window screen spline? Installs easily with a roller tool.

-B

[NavySailor]

photos please

[RobertB]

If you want this to look good, recommend you disassemble the frame, fill the grooves and recut. Anything else will just look like a filler. I have been designing and building furniture most my life and this is the best I can suggest. If not this method, possibly cut out the groove flange on the inside, shim as needed and then fasten the panel with screwed in battens.
As a separate note, how do you intend to prevent moisture capture, and thus rot, on the bottom rail? Sounds like this panel needs to be well caulked to seal it.
I guess you could get a colored caulk, like CEDAR (has a dark red tint), center the panel to make the groove uniform, and just caulk away.

[sirlandsalot]

Yup, actually that would be the right way to do it....my dad is a cabinet/furniture maker. And he would tell me to bang it apart and re assemble it. The last idea I had was an old rocking chair i found. Thought an easy glue to tighten up, BUT nooooo, "bang it all apart". And before long we are making new spindles and it is a pile of wood on the bench.....he was right.

[DaveC426913]

The frame has been marine-epoxied into a single unit. There will be no banging apart.

This is the second time I've built this thing. The first was even worse. Mostly, the problem is not having the right tools & techniques, (although it doesn't help that - as reclaimed wood - it's got a fair bit of warp and curve). I'm using a table saw to cut the grooves, so my cuts for joints are way too large.

[RobertB]

How about using a router on the back side to cut out the frame joint? Then easy to shim and use screwed in battens to hold the panel in place. This makes the assembly serviceable in the future.

[DaveC426913]

How about using a router on the back side to cut out the frame joint? Then easy to shim and use screwed in battens to hold the panel in place. This makes the assembly serviceable in the future.

Maaaaaaan! I just spent the last several months making this thing! Now you guyz're tellin' me I built it wrong and I should tear it apart and redo it??

[seahouse]

Rescue it!

I was thinking installing the spline from the back of the raised panel, so that from the front the groove would be pushed closed. A narrow-kerf carbide blade (cheap- even a 7 1/2" blade should cut deep enough in a table saw for this) would get you a groove narrower than you would need, so you could open it up to the right width (but too late now for that).

The bottom would have been left open on the outside so water would drain ship-lap style(?)… no? just drill a series of scuppers along the bottom of the outer groove if you haven't already allowed for the drainage. Keep it clear of debris in the future, though.

[RobertB]

How about using a router on the back side to cut out the frame joint? Then easy to shim and use screwed in battens to hold the panel in place. This makes the assembly serviceable in the future.

Maaaaaaan! I just spent the last several months making this thing! Now you guyz're tellin' me I built it wrong and I should tear it apart and redo it??

A Mac is never done

[DaveC426913]

Schematic:

See why my shims won't work? Or a screen spline? The inner panel doesn't have enough overlap. Shims will just slip into the gap.

[seahouse]

Aha! Got it now. 1000 words there.