Home made alignment tool part 2

[Gerhard Peters]

In reference to an archived topic titled home made alignment tool, Thank you for the info. I do not have a steel lathe but I figured it should work just as well with a wood lathe. Here are the results

 

[wahlejim]

Wood alignment tool

Gerhard Peters I saw the tool you made in the closed alignment topic, I would not encourage that to anyone. Wood warps and swells when exposed to grease and oil (ie a gimbal ring and coupler)

 

[DouglasW]

What if you coated it with a sealer before use?

 

[Scott Danforth]

I wouldn't trust a wood alignment tool. way too flexible, not to mention the issue Jim brought up.

why not spend the $30 on a steel alignment tool on Ebay/Amazon, etc.

 

[GA_Boater]

Wear gloves to protect your hands from splinters when your "alignment" bar breaks when giving it a few whacks with a BFH while trying to square a gimbal bearing.

Spend the money for a steel bar. Alignment isn't a one time thing. It should be checked every time the drive is removed.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,....... I agree with the other posters, wood really ain't viable for an alignment bar,......

Even hard maple, or black locust just ain't up to the tasks asked of an alignment bar,.....
Slammin' it up, down, port, starboard to center a new bearing would probably do it in,.....

'n as mentioned, dimensional stability of wood is less than ideal,.....

 

[jimmbo]

A lot of Dealers will rent the tool out for a couple days. Eventually it would be cheaper to buy one. I can't speak for the ones on Ebay, but a Mercury one isn't cheap

 

[JASinIL2006]

Buying a $30 bar off EvilBay (where I got mine) is a lot cheaper than having to buy a new coupler...

 

[Grub54891]

Case in point. Customer came in with a bad coupler. New engine installed two weeks prior. He travelled 4 hours to take out friends and family, got out in the apostles about three miles. Boom coupler shot. Had new coupler the next day, as I was installing it he says I hope you have a wood dowel for aligning it, if not I will go to the hardware store and get one......Really? I have a real alignment bar. Job complete, and no more issues.