I would like opinions on using particle board for station forms. My big concern is whether particle board will hold a staple on the edge adequately. Who has used this stuff successfully?

I was going to use MDF but was offered a deal at Lowes that I could not walk away from. The guys in the lumber area offered me two 4'x8' sheets of 5/8" particle board for FREE. The material was used in packing and it was destined for the dumpster. It is in perfect condition.

Go for it ! .After you have the forms cut, apply a few coats of varnish ( Polyurethane) to the edges. That should help hold your staples.

I never had a problem with mine holding staples. I used 1/2 ply on one boat and particleboard on the other. It was actually harder to pull staples out of the particleboard. Go for it!

And just to add. I was also worried so I used 1/2 staples with particle board and I would 100% recommend NOT doing so! Lol. 1/2 was too much- very hard to pull.

5/8" particle board is what I've used for 8 different canoe builds. The tape, either masking or packing, will protect the form edges. I build without stems, so my stem forms are shaped to a knife edge. I have put old polyurethane on them and they survive just fine. I doubt even that is necessary since they're taped too.

I use 9/16" staples. My staple gun has just enough strength in the spring to keep the heads proud of the strips by 1/16" or so. They would probably go deeper if I used plywood. You can build up tape on the stapler to keep the head off the strips if your stapler is stronger. Pulling them is easy enough. You can test all this before you start the build

Did you settle on a canoe design?

Mark

MDF, yes!
Particle board, ehh not so much.

Tom

Thank you all for sharing your experience, your technique and your comments. I have always built with plywood and I felt that I was on shaky ground going to particle board. So now I have a bit of confidence in my decision.

I wanted to build another small canoe. I played around with the idea of reducing the the Ranger 15' to a 13'. But I would be building another Ranger. Where is the fun in that?

I stumbled upon the WEB site of Ashes Stillwater Boats and found a sweet looking 13' called the Solo Pack. The recurved tumblehome sold me. I liked that look on my Merlin and I like it on the 13' Solo Pack, so I ordered the plans. I will post something about my progress when I get the forms on my strong back. Right now I am working on milling my strips.