316 SS project

Aukai said:
Thanks Brino, I am a hobbyist, that gets requests, I do not wish to go into business, and I do not want any insurance hassles. As you pointed out, it takes longer than you think to get these little projects done. Prep, layout, execution, chamfering, cleaning up edges, and then just general cleanup afterwards. I do know that if I told him no go to one of the very few shops that are here it may be weeks until he is able to get it done, so I am happy to help.

Whtchu talkn' bout Terry :cautious: :grin:
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Yes, dealing with insurance. And landlords, and workers, and licensing, and taxes, and, and, and....

Helping out your buddies is probably one of the best things about having a home shop, for many it's a far better deal to be paid in liquid refreshment than cash:beer mugs:

John
 
Aukai said:
Whtchu talkn' bout Terry :cautious: :grin:
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Just stating the obvious. That's all.

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

Let the record note, I said, "He doesn't NEED any more tools." Didn't say anything about 'want' any more; or 'doesn't plan on buying' any more. I know better than that.
 
Aukai said:
A fisherman I know came to me to help him make hardware to mount the outboards on his boat. He was fishing recently on a rough day, and an engine fell off of the transom, it was banging up his hull pretty bad, so he cut the cables, and let it sink. In my opinion he was negligent in his maintenance of electrical grounds, and sacrificial Zinc anodes, you'll see in the pictures. I purchased 3/16" x 3" x 5' 316 SS, cut the 8 pieces needed, drilled 8 holes and made 8 3/16 washers. He want's to pay me, and I know material costs, but I do not know what to charge him for the work. Any suggestions are appreciated. The pictures are of making the washers, I put a penny over the center hole to start the through arbor coolant flow for the annular cutter, I cut the holes just before break through, and finished them on the vise, and belt sander. His old stuff is there too.


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Did you passivate your finished parts? If not, they will corrode instantly. Citric acid is extremely cheap to passivate SS parts. They don't look like they've been passivated. There are also much better SS than 316 for marine environments.

What makes SS corrosion resistant is when it is passivated it removes all iron atoms from the surface. The chromium then oxidizes and that is the protective layer of SS. If you scratch your sink you will see a rust line. Remove rust, put citric acid on it. No more rusting.

Sea water has a lot of salt which means it has a lot of electrons flowing everywhere increasing the corrosion rate. 316 is the most economical but there are hundreds of types of SS which are much better suited for a marine environment. I have a great book for materials engineering at work. I can come back and recommend better material options. Those would most likely increase your cost and your customer price but would be worth it if they are negligent in maintenance and checks of their equipment.
 
I'll have to look that up....I'm at a 140 bucks just for the 5' length of 316. I would like to know about the other grades though, when you have a chance.
 
Aukai said:
I'll have to look that up....I'm at a 140 bucks just for the 5' length of 316. I would like to know about the other grades though, when you have a chance.
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I will grab my materials book from work and do my best to suggest better materials tomorrow.
 
Thank you
 
No problem :encourage:
 
As to payment for work done for friends and neighbors, I don't charge for time, only for materials and any special tools required for the job. If I charged based on my last pay rate, most wouldn't give me the job and if I charged what they are expecting, I would be insulted. Much better to have them owe a favor. You never know if/when you might need something that they have to offer.

There are those who are takers. After one or two encounters, I write them off as "bad debts" and when they bring any future projects, I say that, "I'd like to help but I'm really backed up with work right now". Fortunately these are few and far between.

Concerning the incident, I'm curious to know how one can lose an outboard. My outboards are all bolted through the transom and if an outboard came loose it would take a good chunk of the transom with it. One issue that I have run into is that the wear and tear of the outboard will compress the wood core, creating leakage around the bolt holes and subsequent rot. My solution has been to make stainless steel bushings for the through holes so that bolts have solid metal to work against. When I replace the core with new wood, I fiberglass the core and set the bushings with epoxy.

Granted, I have a fresh water environment and I don't keep my boat in the water.
 
In my first set of pictures, the 3rd one shows his original bolt, and plate.... his Zinc anodes were completely white, and probably very ineffective, I'm not sure how his grounding is being done either.
 
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