Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Making Dust




I spent most of today behind a sander and router, prepping the two halves of the strut for my new daggerboard. The last board I made was under Gui's tutelage back in the fall of 2007. It was a pain then and it still is. Getting the two halves flat isn't too bad, but routering the groove for the actuating rod is not easy. I suppose in a production setting with the correct tools at your disposal, thing can go okay. But for us shade tree boat builders, it's jury rig with the tools you have to achieve the result that you need. Once the halves were glued up and under vacuum I felt that things went alright, but in the heat of the battle there were a few curse word uttered.

Below are some pics of the FC wand pivot John sent me. The red washers hold eight tiny ball bearings that lay against the aluminum body.




Enjoy Kansas



Dust in the Wind, by Kerry Livgren and Steve Walsh (1977)

I close my eyes
Only for a moment, then the moment’s gone
All my dreams
Pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind
All they are is dust in the wind Same old song
Just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do
Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind, ohh Now, don't hang on
Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away
And all your money won't another minute buy
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind Dust in the wind
Everything is dust in the wind
Everything is dust in the wind
The wind

6 comments:

Teknologika said...

Joe,

Instead of routing a groove in I have always glued in a tube (carbon or plastic). This allows you to get the the tolerances really close so there is no slop which equals better control.

Joe Bousquet said...

Bruce:

The routed groove was to receive a plastic tube (actually some 7-11 coffee straws taped together.) Inside the straws I placed a 1/8" brass rod that will be withdrawn after everything kicks. The end result is a plastic tube with a 1/8" inside diameter. I suppose a one piece tube would be neater, but it would still have to be placed into a groove, would it not?

Phil Stevenson said...

Joe,
I hope that core material has some sheer strength, otherwise I would be putting some sort of hard spar in that fin. 40mm x 12mm hard timber, oak or similar is pretty standard but Bruce and others have been using carbon pultrusions 15 x 7.5 from CST, one full length and another in the top half I think.
Phil S

Joe Bousquet said...

Phil:

The core consists of strips of hard maple. My first strut (the one that exploded last October) just had a cedar core.
After allowing a couple of days for the epoxy to fully cure, I'll conduct some comparative bend tests.

Joe

Rod Harris said...

Hi Joe
I have the same wand plate but have made a load of mods that really helped at the euros - email me if you would like pics and a summary. Thanks for compliments on my euro result as well! best Rod rodharris1987@yahoo.co.uk

G said...

I thought you were getting a complete main foil? Good luck with the T!