Making “Home Made” Hardware - Offshore Electrics



How to Make Your Own Hardware

By Edmond J. Hansen

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All rights are reserved, and permission must be granted by the author for use on any public or private website or publication. It is intended for private individuals as a reference. The use of these instructions is at your own risk, and the author or provider of these instructions assumes no liability for their use. No part of such content may be otherwise or subsequently reproduced; downloaded; disseminated; published; or transferred in any form or by any means; except with the prior written permission of, and with express attribution to, the author or parties agreed to by the author.

Making “Home Made” Hardware

1. I have often been asked about my hardware. How to get some; how did you do that; can I do it at home myself? And I receive mostly the same reason: “I don’t have any machine tools” or “I can’t do that.”

2. Well, the purpose of this article is to help you along. Because you can make that hardware! Even if you do not have any machine tools, the hardware I will show you how to make can be done with some simple hand tools; some elbow grease; and a little patience.

3. I am not a machinist. I will never turn out hardware jewels like a Mr. Joe Solinger. And, if you really want that type of hardware (who wouldn’t), BUY IT!! It is worth the money. But, if you get a kick out of making your own hardware; or perhaps what you need may not be available; or you have an idea for something cool; (it doesn’t matter) once you get started you can’t stop! I recently put together a Campbell Vintage Shovel (excellent kit by the way) and I wanted something different for the rudder; and I wanted it on the cheap. So I looked in my spare parts bin for what was lying around. I found a very nice Rum Runner Hobbies strut; a stub shaft and cable; and part of an Octura OC-4 rudder assembly. Just the blade, as a matter of fact. Well, this is what I did with those bits and pieces and some inexpensive aluminum found at Home Depot. So c’mon! To paraphrase Home Depot, “you can do it and I can help.”

Strut Brackets

4. As mentioned above, I had a really nice strut from Rum Runner Hobbies. The instructions will be good for any strut. Depending on application, you may wish to get .125” (1/8”) aluminum angle. It comes in different sizes as well, and if it is a 6-8 cell application you are making hardware for, I have had no problems using 1/16” angle. And it also comes in different widths, up to 2 inches. If you are going to make a lot of pieces buy several sizes. If only a few pieces or one piece, buy the larger size and cut it down. It will be the most versatile, in case you get bit by the bug and decide to make turn fin brackets, etc.

5. Measure from the stern of your boat, and see how much bracket you will need or would like to try. Usually 1 inch is plenty. If you have an old strut bracket lying around you can get an idea for hole patterns and strut mounting slots. If not, for the strut mounting slots on a 1 inch bracket I like to cut the slots at ¼ inch from the top and ¼ inch from the bottom. A 5 /32nd drill bit is used to make several holes along the ¼ inch line, depending on how much adjustability you need. If you know about where you want the strut, drill only one hole and add a second hole later to “lock” in the strut for the strut mounting slots ( see diagrams A & B).

[pic] Diagram “A”

[pic]Diagram “B”

Rudder Bracket

6. I like to have the leading edge of the rudder at or near the front of the prop, but you may of course place it anywhere that you feel is best for you. The beauty of making your own hardware is you’re the boss. Measure the length required and cut an appropriate length of aluminum bar stock.

7. Weight is important, so we will need to reduce the weight of the rudder support. If you happen to have a mill this is fairly easy, and I don’t really need to go in to how to do this with a mill. But what if you don’t? There is a solution. In fact several, if you have a drill press or hand drill; a jig saw or a jewelers handsaw (a coping saw with a metal cutting blade); then it is possible. If you don’t have these basic tools then perhaps it really is a better idea to buy your hardware. Anyway, let’s continue. For a very basic design you can use these measurements as a starting point. It is just to give you an idea. Let’s get started!

8. Leave approximately ½ inch toward the rear of the boat, and then leave about the same at the rudder end. Take a scribe or a nail or whatever, and make witness marks; take a square and draw a LIGHT line. Not too deep, but just enough to see it. You can use what they call machinists blue dye (Dykem), but a thick permanent marker (Sharpie) will also suffice. Then, find the center of the bar (height) and mark a line for that. Also mark a 1/4 inch line top and bottom of the piece; see Diagram C. The drawing is not to scale but should give you an idea of what we are going to do. You should now have a rectangle scribed on your piece with a center line. Inside the rectangle the area may be cut out if you wish. This can be done several ways. Drill a ½ inch hole on both sides and then use a jig saw with a bi-metal blade to cut a line between the circles on each side. Or, a series of holes may be drilled for decoration and functionality. I have done decreasing size holes similar to the design that was popular in the 60’s and 70’s. Again, you’re the boss. Make it so you are pleased. There will be some filing necessary, and the amount of time you devote to it is up to you. Highly polished; brushed finish; or rough and ready. See diagrams “D” & “E”

[pic]Diagram “C”

It is possible to use different size holes,

[pic]Diagram “D”

Or simply cut out between the two or more holes using a standard jigsaw and bi-metal blade. [pic]

Diagram “E”

Mounting the Rudder

9. After you have made the bracket, you will need to mount your rudder. If you wanted to use a Fuller/Fine Design rudder you will need to either use thicker stock, so you may drill a hole large enough to accommodate a 3/16th shaft; or make a separate bracket. This can be made using a 1 inch “C” channel available from Home Depot as well. You will need only a small piece, perhaps only a ½”. You will drill holes through the bracket and corresponding holes in the “C” channel to mount on the bracket. You can even tap the holes to fit the bolts to save additional weight. I suggest to countersink the screws from the inside and use lock nuts outside. Again, you can get as fancy as you want. Use one larger center screw and nut, to allow adjusting the angle of the rudder. Once you find the sweet spot, drill a second hole to lock it in. The drawings below (F & G) will give you an idea. Then, you will need to drill a 7 /32nd hole or slightly larger for the rudder post to allow a 7/32nd ID piece of brass tube to be used as a bearing on the post.

[pic]Diagram “F”[pic] Diagram “G”

10. If you plan on using an Octura rudder blade, then there are also two different ways to mount it. The first way is to file or cut away enough of the bracket so the bracket that comes with the rudder mounts flush and allows you to adjust the angle much the same as you had in Diagram “G”. Or, you can remove the pin (save all the parts). This is accomplished by removing the very small c-clips that hold these pins in (see diagram “H). The parts you will use are the pin, the c clips, the rudder blade. Don’t toss the rudder mounting bracket, this will allow you to mount your Fine/Fuller rudder on your next bracket. The opening is 7/32nds; once you pop out the bushings, save them they can be used for a 1/8th drive shaft or stub shaft; but that is another story. (Save everything, you never know what you’ll make next :-) )

11. If you planned on using an Octura rudder blade mounted directly on the rudder bracket, you are going to have to make a notch to allow free travel of the rudder arm. Basically, depending on the size of the arm, you will notch about a ¼ inch off the top rear corner and then round the edge of the rear of the bracket to allow easy travel of the rudder blade (see diagram “H”). Then, it is a simple matter to make a rudder mounting bracket. This is the same as we did for the strut, with the exception that the holes will not be adjustable (they can be, if you wish to adjust the bracket forward and back and then corresponding holes drilled in the rudder mounting bracket.)

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Polishing

12. A lot of people ask me about polishing. Well, there is no easy solution to tedious work. But one bit of advice I can offer that will take a lot of this away is to take a 1 ¼” piece of brass rod and cut a slot about ½” long in one end. Then, you mount this in your Dremel tool, being mindful of the rotation of the rod (mine is counterclockwise). Fit a piece of 320 grit wet/dry paper about a ½” wide into the slot. The length can be adjusted so you have different diameters and you will wrap the paper around the rod , forming a very fine sanding wheel. You will wrap the paper in the same direction of the spin (counter clockwise), this way the paper is always tightening against the rod. Then dip the part that you are working on in water and use this tool to get the bulk stuff out of the way. Wear eye protection, and do not use too much water. Keep dipping the piece in, rinsing off the old grit, and leaving lubricant. Of course you must ALWAYS be careful around electricity and water! This isn’t the safest thing, but it is what I do. What you do will be up to you. Anyway, continue with this using finer and finer grit paper (320, 400, 600, etc) until you are happy with the finish. Then, finish up with some very fine 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit paper by hand. Then, use a buffing wheel. It will be sweet!

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Well, I hope you try this. There is a great sense of accomplishment when you get ‘comps’ on your hardware and you can say “yeah, I made that.” If you get stuck or need some help, feel free to contact me. I am always there to help. I can be contacted at ejhansen@ . Or even better, come to , the best ‘Fast Electric’ forum on the planet, and post a question.

All the best, and have FUN!

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All rights are reserved, and permission must be granted by the author for the use on any public or private website or publication. It is intended for private individuals as a reference, and the use of these instructions is at your own risk. The author or provider of these instructions assumes no liabilities for their use. No part of such content may be otherwise or subsequently reproduced; downloaded; disseminated; published; or transferred in any form or by any means; except with the prior written permission of, and with express attribution to the author or parties agreed to by the author.

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