1976 Tom Boy Boat, 1976 40 HP Johnson Outboard and who knows what Trailer

[gm280]

Lol that was Chuck not me....I am not that ambitious lol!

Sorry about that Arch! Why didn't I see that... Getting old is so bad. I hear your memory goes first...I think....

 

[archbuilder]

lol I just wanted to give Chuck the credit! No problem, just hanging out in sunny but somewhat chilly OK today. Looks like winter is showing up early! Boomer Sooner!

 

[Baylinerchuck]

lol I just wanted to give Chuck the credit! No problem, just hanging out in sunny but somewhat chilly OK today. Looks like winter is showing up early! Boomer Sooner!

Not sure if credit is what’s necessary.....maybe what the heck’s wrong with you man!!! Ha ha. I have to admit, I do like taking on projects I’ve never done before. My Dad has the knowhow, just no ability at this point with a bum hip. At least when I rebuild that chimney, it will no longer be as crooked as a dog’s hind leg. I’m thinking they didn’t have levels back when this thing was originally build in the early 1900’s.

 

[gm280]

Not sure if credit is what’s necessary.....maybe what the heck’s wrong with you man!!! Ha ha. I have to admit, I do like taking on projects I’ve never done before. My Dad has the knowhow, just no ability at this point with a bum hip. At least when I rebuild that chimney, it will no longer be as crooked as a dog’s hind leg. I’m thinking they didn’t have levels back when this thing was originally build in the early 1900’s.

Well Chuck, They probably didn't have levels, or decided not to use one, but it did the job all those years, even looking like a "dog's hind leg". But now you get to improve on their initial design and make it look more like a "dog's front leg... lol
Just be safe as you rebuild it though... Any time you venture on any roof, you are testing gravity. Don't allow gravity to win that test!

 

[KJM]

It must be the season of chimney fixing. I just repaired my parents chimneys. Yep two of them. One with a terra-cotta insert for the oil fired furnace, the other is older, all brick, no insert. Believe it or not, that’s the wood burning chimney. Both chimneys required that several courses needed taken down and laid back up. I convinced my dad that this spring the older chimney needs taken down completely and rebuilt around a stainless insert. That will be a fun project.

Would it be easier to use a stainless steel prefab insulated chimney? Those things aren't to hard to install and are very sturdy and safe. They are very common around here.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Would it be easier to use a stainless steel prefab insulated chimney? Those things aren't to hard to install and are very sturdy and safe. They are very common around here.

It sure would....but then again it would look like a stainless steel pipe, not brick. Brick is easier on the eyes IMO.

 

[gm280]

It sure would....but then again it would look like a stainless steel pipe, not brick. Brick is easier on the eyes IMO.

I think what KJM was referring to is the stainless steel flue inside the brick chimney. A lot of masonry chimneys these days have stainless steel flue liners. You can't see them, but they are there to make it easier to clean and maintain.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

I think what KJM was referring to is the stainless steel flue inside the brick chimney. A lot of masonry chimneys these days have stainless steel flue liners. You can't see them, but they are there to make it easier to clean and maintain.

Perhaps he was. I had mentioned the stainless steel insert. I assumed he meant a stand-alone stainless pipe.

Also, sorry for the thread hijack on chimneys.....let’s get back to your boat. Time to get that transom cap fabbed. You better not miss crappie season for the 20th time in a row......ha ha.

 

[KJM]

Actually i was talking about the steel pipe, not the insert. Not so bad if the chimney goes up thru the middle of the house and only a short length exits the roof, but yeah not as good looking as brick if going up full length visible on side of house.

 

[gm280]

Not so much of an update on the boat project. Many things are going on. Seems my older sister who was initially working on dad's estate, made her decision to stop working on our passing dad's estate and handed everything over to me to settle his final estate. OMG! Actually mailed everything to me and left the state. So I am now working on my dad's house trying to get it ready to sale. Problem is between the original electrician AND my dad trying to fix electrical problem in the house, I have many rooms that are dead to any electrical operations. I already fixed three rooms, but without a wiring schematic, it is hit and miss.
Seem to save a few pennies, the original electricians decided to use all the push in type rear wiring setup in almost every switch and receptacle. I guess it was quicker and saved from stripping wires and bending them for the side screw terminal setups. And what I am finding is broken wires that were pushed in AND broken off at the push in holes on the rear side of the switches and receptacles. And there are switches that are broken. Yes, switches that literally broken with the side of them coming off. You can see the inside switch action and connections So far I replaced 5 switches for that very reason. I can't imagine where they purchased such cheap plastic junk, but the plastic switches are falling apart. So I have to replace every one that isn't working now, and that is almost every switch I look at. This isn't an old home. This is maybe 15 to 20 years old. I can't use a typical circuit tracer since it takes an active circuit to trace back to the circuit breaker box. I made an adapter to connect up at the circuit breaker box, but it interduces the single to every circuit and therefore I can't isolate a dead circuit that way.
I still have three more rooms that are totally dead. Nothing works in those rooms whatsoever. But since they daisy chained them from who-knows-where, it is now open up every switch plate and receptacle to see if there are broken wires and switches. So that is taking time to do. Then comes the plumbing... SMH
And I have to sale not one house, but three houses he owned. This is beyond anything I ever tackled before.

I have an idea that isn't associated with my boat project or my dad's estate. I was thinking about starting a thread called Tips, Hints and other ideas. A thread that everyone can contribute to for cleaver ideas about doing things around the house and/or your boat projects to shop ideas. I have a slue of hints and tips that maybe others haven't thought about. Nothing Earth shattering but maybe helpful. What do you all think?

 

[Baylinerchuck]

I think that’s a great idea, but might be good to organize those thoughts into separate threads. Like one specific for home improvements. Another for small mechanical projects. Another for machining/ welding/ fabrication. Something like that to keep things more organized.

 

[KJM]

That sounds like a good idea. As for the house wiring, sounds like it won't pass an inspection before sale? May be time for an electrician, wouldn't want to sell a house that could have an electrical fire and kill someone.

 

[gm280]

A little update.

Well seems I finally got around to it to start back on the transom cap. And I have to say, those stretcher/shrinker tools work amazingly well. I am very please with how they came out. And I have been bending the metal to work on the fit. Amazing to see you can bend metal to the exact design you want and need. So that is my number one goal now to finish that transom cap. Then that dreaded live well cushion... Odd how I put that very project off until the last issue to deal with. And that is because I am not a seamstress by any stretch. But it still has to be done... I'll post pictures of the finished cap when I get it done...

 

[archbuilder]

Looking forward to seeing it!

 

[gm280]

Well it is not finished yet, but here is some assembly pictures. I switched up materials for the transom cap from aluminum to steel. Why you ask? Because I STILL can't weld .060" aluminum after so many tries and setting with ZERO accomplishments. But I can weld steel all day long and make it come out pretty nice too. So since I have a lot of quality steel sheets, I thought, 'why don't you take those sheets and cut them down for the transom cap'. And that is what I did.

These sheets of steel are actually pretty heavy industrial electronics lab cabinet doors, sides, backs, tops and such. I got a lot of them a long time ago, and they haven't even thought about rusting at all. So I cut the top to 1.75" width and whatever length I could cut from them. Yes I knew I was going to have to butt weld them to get the transom length, but I can easily do that and make the weld joints disappear from either side. Then I wanted 1/2" sides on the cap and had to cut them also and piece them together.

I had to bend the top section to fit the transom and then use the shrinker/stretcher tool to bend those 1/2" steel sides. And I was amazed at how easy the stretcher/shrinker did those steel sides. Hardly any effort needed to bend them however I needed.

I attached some pictures and while not finished, I can easily see this work for a perfect fit.

These is the 1/2" strips I cut for the sides.

The bending was easy.

The everything (for one side) got welded up.
You can see the shiny stops. That is where the butt weld are.

THe charred wood pieces are where I tried the first option many months ago. But since they are a perfect fit for the transom, I am still using them to align the metal up for additional welding.

 

[archbuilder]

Well sounds like you have a plan and are making progress!

 

[gm280]

Not quite ready for pictures, but it is welded up and looks pretty darn good. I should have done this from the start and it would have been finished a long long time ago. But then I didn't have the tools needed. Amazing how you can weld metal and the polish it out so the metal looks seamless. Not sure yet of the final finish, but it is amazingly close to posting it now.

 

[gm280]

OKAY, I got pictures for that long long way way long over-do transom cap now. While I haven't installed it for final, once I make my decision whether to paint it or what, it is going on for finish. And then the corners go on and that means I have to do the live-well cushion then...
Is it perfect? In two words, @#$& (HECK) NO! But I have never ever made anything that came out perfect. You get to the point that you will accept what you did, imperfect as it may be, and move on. And that means you have to accept non-perfect projects or you will go crazy trying to get to that level. It is how you maintain sanity in the trying to perfect things. At least for me!

I attached a few not very clear pictures of it. And there are at least 9 different metal parts welded together to make this. I can weld steel.
Hard to see that cap in this shot. You can see both corner pieces though.

A back shot. There is about a half inch down edge on the cap to help keep water out.

You can see the polishing marks from the top. If I leave it metal with a clear coat, I will polish them out.

Just another top shot.

This is the cap sitting on my crude welding table setup. That is another project I have to make yet too, a welding table.

And another shot on the welding table setup.
I know a lot of you are thinking, he drug this out for an amazingly unbelievable long time, and it is merely a simple metal top piece. Amazing how he made such a huge deal out of that. I could made one in less then a day. And I'd have to say, most people probably could. But I wanted a certain type transom cap to help keep the transom solid for as long as possible and I tried all types of options to get to this point. It is still obvious, I can't weld 0.062" aluminum, even after buying a super quality welding machine capable of it. The machine doesn't make you a welder, you do. And that skill set isn't easy to learn.

So there it is. For what it is worth, I am a more happy camper now then a year ago...




And the shrinker/stretcher came in extremely helpful for this...

 

[sphelps]

Looks nice ! I think I would paint it ...
Dont sweat the extra time spent gm ... You already weld 100 times better than me and that’s steel and aluminum ...

 

[archbuilder]

Looks really good to me! I can relate to getting caught up on certain items lol!