All of the prep work has really paid off on this first layer of stripping. The first day I had some snapped strips, which is a real pain, especially when you are racing the clock with the epoxy kicking off. The board snaps and the epoxy is setting and you have to pull a whole board. Bad stuff. That first day I started by using lath screws. After the snapping, I switched to drywall screws, which really helped. After a couple more mid-board snaps I started pre-drilling holes as well.
The combination of drywall screws, pre-drilling, and being extra careful on strips that followed a more complex curve in my rhythm, really paid off. After that first day, I didn’t have any of the 1 1/2 strips snap on my as I screwed them into place. Woohoo!