None of these are critical issues; they just need to be accounted for in the project design.

FABRICATIONPaul EsterleThis proof-of-concept KLEER hadrail has worked perfectly and weathered well.

Here the advertising is dead on. The material is really is easy to work with. Hand and power woodworking tools do a great job. I particularly like using a router to trim edges. In fact, my usual practice is to cut the piece just slightly oversize with my jig saw and then trim it to the final dimension with a router. I use a bit with a ball bearing on the end to act as a guide. If I clamp a guide bar on the curt line, the router bit will follow the edge of the guide bar and gives me a smooth, finished edge.

Edges can be sanded but you will have to move through a progression of finer and finer grit sandpaper until you get a matte surface equal to the texture of the top and bottom surfaces. Standard wood drill bits and hole saws also work well.

I design all my StarBoard projects to be assembled with mechanical fasteners. I pilot drill the fastener holes and then use stainless steel self–tapping screws. You can bung the holes if you wish, but I use either flat or oval headed screws countersunk into the surface. Another option is to use oval headed screws in finishing washers. The fasteners don't tend to split StarBoard.

The material can be glued if you use the right glue and the right gluing process. Most common adhesives, 3M5300, epoxy, etc., will not adhere to StarBoard.

The trick is to use a special technique of flame treating the surface and then applying glue specifically designed for StarBoard, using standard propane torch equipment with a wide, flame–spreading nozzle. Passing the flame over the surface at the right speed will oxidize the surface. If you do it right, this oxidation doesn't burn or discolor the surface. The oxidation gives the adhesive something to grab onto and affect a strong bond. One supplier of these specialty adhesives is Poly–Bonder (see link). This site will provide complete directions for the flame treating process.

As stated before, StarBoard requires no finishing. In fact, paints will not stick to StarBoard. The color you buy will be the color of the finished project.

ALTERNATIVESPaul EsterleA StarBoard mount for a flare container.

The StarBoard family is not the only option. Another product is less expensive, lighter, and in most cases just as good. A foamed PVC product also can be worked with standard wood working tools. It does have the advantage that it can be glued with common PVC cement and can also be painted. The foam cells are very small and unnoticeable in most instances.

This material has been in use in house construction for quite a while. It is used as corner and cover boards. If you ever watch "This Old House," Tommy Silva used it to trim out windows in an East Boston Project.

It comes in a variety of sizes and thicknesses under several trade names. Komex and Kleer are two popular brands. These products are becoming more and more popular at regular (not big box) lumberyards. Most retailers will be able to order larger size sheets and different thicknesses for you.

Initially, I was skeptical. I was given enough material to build two projects, a custom handrail system and a new drop board for one of my project boats. But almost three years of use have proven the material to be a good choice for the marine environment.

The first project was building replacement handrails, replacing the existing well–worn mahogany ones. This project exposed a lot of the bare foam edges of the material to the elements. It also provided some experience in gluing components together with PVC cement. The design accounted for the less stiff nature of the product and has not deformed in the three years of use. I left the edges unpainted and exposed to see what would happen. It is slightly more prone to dirt and mildew build–up over the winter but not much more than the top and bottom surfaces.

The advertising literature for these products states that they can be painted. Their use as trim board for houses would suggest that they do this well, though I haven't tested this feature yet.

Fabricating components was just as easy or perhaps m ore so than working with StarBoard, but again, not by much. All in all, though, the foamed PVC is a viable and economical substitute for StarBoard.

NEXT WEEK: plastic polymer, tips and tricks.