Workshop and fixit stuff

[Bad Penny II]

I got my nice Valley Aquanaut kayak a couple of months ago, it is a very nice thing, 17' and a bit, a skeg boat, a better boat than I am a paddler.
Less than 24"wide.  My previous love was only 16' and 24"wide, a rudder boat.

I thought a skeg would be a tougher thing than a  rudder, apparently not.
Through a series of unfortunate events I managed to break it.
Ran over a stump, skeg is dislodged and is wobbling about, no worries.
I pull in, lift the back of the boat up and turn it over, I didn't just roll it over on the ground 'cause it was muddy, grubby.
I reattach the skeg and then boat slips out of my grip, twists, an impossible and yet inevitable meeting of  skeg and a small yet big enough log occurs, it snaps.

How to fix?
Could buy a new one for $80, seems a bit much for a bit of plastic.
The skeg is 6mm thick plastic, that is pretty thick.
The skeg is a retractable thing, it has a cable, no spring that I know of but some do.  Pushing on a string?  It is a pretty chunky cable.
Rudders are aluminium, maybe aluminium is the solution, I could buy some or have at an old fry pan.
To glue or not to glue?
Rivets? No.
Splints, possibly thin metal attached to both sides of the broken off bit?
Possibly could have gone wood and spent $30 on some marine grade lacquer.

Years ago I bought a set of not very thick plastic kitchen plastic cutting boards, who needs that many cutting boards?
I went looking through my accumulated fasteners, computer case fan screws, perfect length. Very shiny now, how long will they last in salt?


Those screws get quite a bight in 6mm thick plastic of the original skeg stub.
How long they'll last is the question.



The theory of skegs is interesten.

The front of the boat is most masterfully doing its thing with the water, causing a vee.
Back of the boat is lazily lagging along, the wind pushes it, forcing the front windwood.
Half out skeg and you can equalise this, arrows in a diagram I saw clearly illustrated this.
Fully deployed skeg, back of boat is more resistant to wind so the bow is going leeward

[hermes2015]

That's fascinating, Bad Penny. I love this type of engineering problem. Would 3D printing be an option?

[Bad Penny II]

That's fascinating, Bad Penny. I love this type of engineering problem. Would 3D printing be an option?

It would be an option if you had one but I'd dismiss it I think.

My father was born in 1928, one of nine in a poor family, the depression, the bank bastards took his fathers truck, grandfather who I never met was a sleeper cutter.  Felled and cut hardwood logs for the railway, before chainsaws.  There is the wartime and post wartime lack of stuff.  My father ended up with a bus company, he had about six that he kept on the road himself.  I have respect for the old way of finding a solution with what you have and not resorting to paying to have your problem solved.
Keeping stuff is good, the stuff you've got suggests solutions to the problems you have.

[Tank]

I think this is my favourite thread

[hermes2015]

That's fascinating, Bad Penny. I love this type of engineering problem. Would 3D printing be an option?

It would be an option if you had one but I'd dismiss it I think.

There are quite a few companies in my area that do 3D printing at a very reasonable price. You just have to give them the STL file, which should be easy to create for a your shape.

[hermes2015]

I think this is my favourite thread

 

[Recusant]

I don't know if I used the common term ("scary sharp" -- I think I first heard of it nearly 20 years ago) for this sharpening system upthread, but I came across a concise video showing the materials and the steps.

I've used regular sandpaper in higher grit numbers (auto supply shops are one place that can be found) and got results that were acceptable for professional finish carpentry work & cabinetry--I'm sure the special paper he recommends does an even better job.

[Tank]

I've heard of that but not looked at it in detail. I shall have a good look now

[Dark Lightning]

I've never sharpened my bench chisels above 2000 grit. I used to do them on glass like he shows, but there wasn't any adhesive on the paper- water alone is enough to make them stick. I also have the same tool he has for setting the angle. It's real handy for making the edge square to the body of the chisel.

I have one of these, now-
https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/sharpening-systems-by-work-sharp

I hone my wood carving chisels with a cardboard disc on the machine. I have the leather disc, too, but it is more "compliant" and the edge can get rounded over. It only takes a few seconds to hone a wood carving chisel.

[Tank]

First proper attempt at a band saw box. The boxes I have made to date have been assembled from pieces. This starts as a block of wood which is then cut up on a band saw and then reassembled.

[Icarus]

Nice work Tank.

[hermes2015]

It looks cuddly. What size is it (the box)?

[Dark Lightning]

That's a cute l'i'l bugger, but I've never been big on them. This one is, of course, small.  What, about 4" or so, per side?

[Magdalena]

That is a cute box. 

[Tank]

It's 80 x 80 x 100mm.

I'm with DL on band saw boxes. I made this to see if I could and I'll be making some more as They are one reason I git the band saw.