Cracks in spreaders

[Poda]

So now that I've got my bulkhead plan-of-attack in place for when I do them in October, it's time to tackle the projects I've taken home to work on..

One that I hadn't anticipated was my spreaders. Here's a lovely pic of one taunting me with it's gaping mouth.. The other one is cracked in the same spot. Very careful examination and strategically placed tension seems to indicate the rest of each spreader is fine. Dirty, but fine.



I initially thought of using a drill press to drill out holes at the edges of the cracks, using a dremel to widen it slightly, and pack it tight with JBWeld. This is the DIYer in me..

However, I'm assuming most, if not all, of you are going to say "What, are you NUTS? Get new spreaders!" In anticipation of that, where would you guys recommend I go to get these made/buy (preferably in Canada, but US suggestions are welcome too)? Or, alternatively, is my hare-brained idea not so hare-brained after all?

[Hirilondë]

Or, alternatively, is my hare-brained idea not so hare-brained after all?

Oh, it's hair-brained all right!!! ;-)

Wood spreaders are really easy to make. I am surprised more don't opt to go that route. Visit your local lumber yard and hand pick a 2x4 of Spruce or Douglas Fir. Look for an 8 footer with few knots and you should be able to get 2 pieces the length needed that are virtually if not clear out of it and spend $4 or $5. Anyway, it's another option.

[Skipper599]

... The spreader in the pic looks to be an "airfoil" section ... so try some of the spar suppliers on-line and buy a piece long enough to make two new spreaders.

... If you want Tapered Airfoil, you can cut the section to desired taper, squeezing the cut edges together and get them welded up by someone who knows how to weld aluminum ...this is what I did when modifying a rig to fit my new boat and needing longer spreaders. I will say that sqeezing them together was a bit of a challenge causing me some anguish and worry about "screwing up" and what a waste of money it would be. However, I succeeded eventually. If you don't want to attempt this yourself, surely there is a spar manufacturer in Toronto somewhere?

... As well, I made new spreader ends from a solid block of Aircraft Aluminum (6061?) complete with clamping bolt to grip the shroud. This entailed lots of careful grinding and filing to obtain the desired shape and size etc. The main thing when doing this was to complete all drilling and machining while it was still in "block" form. Only after all was done did I start shaping them.

... I'm sure everyone is aware non-ferrous metals such as aluminum can be "machined" using wood cutting equipment. Be sure to use only 80 or 90 tooth Carbide Blades. Just be very careful how you feed the material into the saw ... slow and easy does it. Be sure to wear safety equipment and clamp the material to the mitre tool. Use good push-sticks if feeding between fence and blade. Some fellows will install the blade backwards cutting the metal with the back of the tooth, believing it is less likely to "grab". As for myself, I feel you're more likely to lose a carbide tip that way ... I have had very good success using the blade in the conventional way and working slower.

... I would love to insert a pic to show the results of my handiwork but, I'm having troubles doing that. I keep getting a message "the file is too big" ... even though they are JPEG size ... I'm not very clever with computers. I've posted pics previously and didn't have this problem. Don't know why that would be.

[Rachel]

Tangent alert:

Bob, I know we would all enjoy your photos here, so let me at least get you started:

.jpeg is a file type, not a file size. So a .jpeg could be tiny or huge or anywhere in between.

To see how large one of your photos is, you can right click on it (or control click or command-I if you are on a Mac), and then select "properties." Properties will give you a file size. For example, 50 kb is small. 2 mb is large-ish. That type of thing.

I think there is a photo tutorial here in the forum info section to take you further along. I hope you won't give up!

Rachel

[Skipper599]

... Thanks Rachel, I'll give it another try ... first, I'll search out the tutorial and see if I can make it work for me.

[Skipper Dan]

Just take it to a welder and have it welded up. he may even put a doubler on it. Not really a big deal. If there is a pontoon builder in your area take it to them. Have it all cleaned up and acid washed.

As far as pictures go you can download a tool called "Image resize power tools" from the microsoft web site. Once loaded right click on any photo and resize to Large, medium, or small. Makes a copy of your jepg. Medium is what I use for photos on the web. You can click a photo at any time and resize it. takes about 10 sec.

Dan

[Ric in Richmond]

...
... I'm sure everyone is aware non-ferrous metals such as aluminum can be "machined" using wood cutting equipment. Be sure to use only 80 or 90 tooth Carbide Blades. Just be very careful how you feed the material into the saw ... slow and easy does it. Be sure to wear safety equipment and clamp the material to the mitre tool. Use good push-sticks if feeding between fence and blade. .

And some serious ear plugs....man that has to be loud!!!

[Skipper599]

And some serious ear plugs....man that has to be loud!!!

... Not as loud as you may be thinking ... I use Ear Muffs and the sound level is minimal. As well, it probably depends on what metal you are cutting eg: Brass or Aluminum ... and the quality of equipment you are using.

... Also, I forgot to mention, use a good home-made plywood "Zero Clearance" plate on the table saw. DO NOT use the metal plate that came with the saw. This helps to reduce the noise level considerably.

... Actually, the biggest obstacle was overcoming my initial fear of deliberately feeding a piece of metal into a brand-new and very expensive 90 tooth Freud saw blade. I don't know if my fear was the "danger aspect" or the deliberate action of possibly destroying the blade ... which it did not. I have cut an awful lot of metal since the first time and have no fear at all tackling all kinds of ferrous metal work.

... What a pity it doesn't work for stainless steel ... I send that to a local shop where they cut it on a laser cutting machine ... but I do most of the drilling, bending and "edge break" work.