[bolger] re;keel anxiety and belly-buttons
Hello David Jost,
I poured my Micro keel in the winter of '93 and I used a number of
references before handling all that hot lead!Namely,''Bud''MacIntosh's
How To Build A Woodenboat.Here I learned that you need a good constant
sourch of heat.I rented one of those propane burners used at corn
roasts etc and had plenty of heat for the duration of the melt down and
pour.Next came a discarded hot water tank which I then had cut opened
on the side and had legs welded on to it so that it would lay
horizontal and high enough to get the burner underneath.a lenght of
pipe was then fitted with an elbow and screwed into the''lower''drain
tap of the tank.It was snugged up just enough so that I could pivot it
90 degrees,that is,from a position at right angles to the tank to one
running in line with the tank.The mold is then postioned such that when
you do lower the pipe,the open end rests on the edge of your mold.
As for the mold,I have no experience with flat open faced molds
like the one you propose.Mine was simply a long rectangular box with
the boats bottom profile and the bottom of the keel defined by a
tight/close fitting silhouette made up from 2X2 clear pine.Before
sandwiching the whole works together with 3/4 inch plywood,both halfs
were liberally coated with waterglass(sodium silicate,available at most
good hardware stores,at least up here in Montreal)
I would be concerned that your oil drum is too light a gauge of
metal to take the prolonged heating and weight of well over 425lbs of
lead.Also,not sure just how hot those briquets will get and
STAY.....The idea is that you want to be able to get all the lead
melted in one go.Do not over heat the lead,if you see a purplish hue on
the surface,you are too hot!Laddeling out the lead........425lbs?! How
big is your laddel?! Seriously though,the risk here, besides very long
exposure period to the toxic fumes,is that your first droppings of lead
will already begin to cool and harden enough to prevent later ones from
congealing as one cohesive whole.It doesn't take much cooling either!
Well,that is my belly-buttons worth for ya David.I would check out
some boat building books at the library before proceeding further along
your lines.If only I wasn't so completely useless with this here
computer,I would scan a ton of pictures I have of the building of my
Micro.Feel free to write to me for more info and perhaps I could mail
some to you.
Sincerely,
Peter Lenihan
I poured my Micro keel in the winter of '93 and I used a number of
references before handling all that hot lead!Namely,''Bud''MacIntosh's
How To Build A Woodenboat.Here I learned that you need a good constant
sourch of heat.I rented one of those propane burners used at corn
roasts etc and had plenty of heat for the duration of the melt down and
pour.Next came a discarded hot water tank which I then had cut opened
on the side and had legs welded on to it so that it would lay
horizontal and high enough to get the burner underneath.a lenght of
pipe was then fitted with an elbow and screwed into the''lower''drain
tap of the tank.It was snugged up just enough so that I could pivot it
90 degrees,that is,from a position at right angles to the tank to one
running in line with the tank.The mold is then postioned such that when
you do lower the pipe,the open end rests on the edge of your mold.
As for the mold,I have no experience with flat open faced molds
like the one you propose.Mine was simply a long rectangular box with
the boats bottom profile and the bottom of the keel defined by a
tight/close fitting silhouette made up from 2X2 clear pine.Before
sandwiching the whole works together with 3/4 inch plywood,both halfs
were liberally coated with waterglass(sodium silicate,available at most
good hardware stores,at least up here in Montreal)
I would be concerned that your oil drum is too light a gauge of
metal to take the prolonged heating and weight of well over 425lbs of
lead.Also,not sure just how hot those briquets will get and
STAY.....The idea is that you want to be able to get all the lead
melted in one go.Do not over heat the lead,if you see a purplish hue on
the surface,you are too hot!Laddeling out the lead........425lbs?! How
big is your laddel?! Seriously though,the risk here, besides very long
exposure period to the toxic fumes,is that your first droppings of lead
will already begin to cool and harden enough to prevent later ones from
congealing as one cohesive whole.It doesn't take much cooling either!
Well,that is my belly-buttons worth for ya David.I would check out
some boat building books at the library before proceeding further along
your lines.If only I wasn't so completely useless with this here
computer,I would scan a ton of pictures I have of the building of my
Micro.Feel free to write to me for more info and perhaps I could mail
some to you.
Sincerely,
Peter Lenihan