[C38] Loosening things that don't want to go...

Charles Finn charles at finn.ws
Mon Apr 12 15:44:34 EDT 2010


A couple more suggestions for the "Tool Box."

Like most of us on this discussion forum, I have had to remove bolts,
blocks, tracks, etc. from the Mighty Quinn that appear to have been
installed with the idea that they never would be removed!
Here are some things that have worked for me without damaging the boat:

1.  Hard plastic head hammer.  Sometimes you "need" to hit something! (I
believe there is a direct correlation between the amount of skin I have
lost on my knuckles and my need to use a hammer)    These hammers are
inexpensive and will drive out troublesome bolts without hurting wood or
fiberglass.  A bonus is they are the same hammers used to detect voids
in our decks, which is a good trick to learn.

2.  Small tapered wedges made of hard oak or even waste teak.   3-4
inches long with a taper from 1 inch to a point.   Inserting one or
several of these under tracks and tapping on them with your plastic
hammer will develop amazing force while not deforming your expensive
hardware.

When attempting to remove corroded bolts or nuts, we need to keep in
mind that the corrosion is a problem because the (usually) oxidized
material takes much more space than the original material (stainless is
reactive to chlorine of course, but the issue for us is much the same).
The first step if at all possible should be to remove as much of the
corrosion as possible.  There are many products on the market, but the
one I have found most generally effective has been "pb blaster."  I
think the trick to any of these solvents is time.....  (I hate this part
because I want that bolt out NOW!).

Heating bolts and nuts can also work as the repeated heating and then
cooling
can work loose corrosion and then the relative temperature differentials
can give you more room between the parts.  Keep in mind that the size
difference is in thousandths of and inch!  And that most of the metals
we work with don't really get to maximum until about 300 degrees Celsius.
Machine
shops have special crayons that melt at given temperatures, but those
inexpensive laser thermometers work well enough.   While most
of us automatically think of the "torch" when heating, a less dangerous
way around fiberglass and wood is to use a soldering iron.
Remember that multiple heating and cooling cycles work far better than one!

Cooling is often a better alternative and it works on the same principle
of heating.  I prefer liquid nitrogen, but dry ice can work as well.   I
bring a stainless thermos bottle to a welding supply shop, which will
keep for several hours.  Be very careful with liquid nitrogen!  It
burns/hurts
just like sticking your hand in the torch flame....   Always wear
welding type gloves and eye protection.
The bonus here is all the neat things you can do with the remaining
coolant!

Having fun?
Chuck Finn
Mighty Quinn #114
Great Lakes
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