Typical Job In The Shop

Looks really good. Is that going below the water line? I've used 5200 to seal stuff like that on my boats in the past and I agree that it is a pain to remove, but I bet the fiberglass would give before that stainless part does.

looks good!

Chris

Oh, that 5200 sealer is evil stuff. It's like a mix of Elmer's glue and super glue. If the 5200 gets in the threads, it's next to impossible to get the ring nut off. The spanner wrench that fits in the front doesn't give you enough leverage and if you put a pipe wrench on the shaft threads, that usually ends-up damaging them. I've seen these things completely smeared with 5200 and I reached immediately for the grinder to split the ring nut... Anyone that's ever worked on boats like this knows how little room there is to work and the luxury of a 14" wrench is not going to happen... For several weeks every spring, I do yacht repairs with a friend. -Oh those first couple days are killer.

Most of these overboard drains go above the waterline but on this vessel (which I didn't work on myself) I'm told there were several below the waterline. Seems weird to me but, I don't ask questions...

Ray
 
Looks like you have found your little nitche in life Ray. Very nice indeed.

"Billy G"
 
Nice, not sure I understand what it does! Is it for a bilge pump? Anyway does the temperature control reduce the temper color changes? Hope you get "permission" to share more!
 
Nice, not sure I understand what it does! Is it for a bilge pump? Anyway does the temperature control reduce the temper color changes? Hope you get "permission" to share more!

Hi...

I assume it was a bilge pump outlet. With stainless steel, color is changed by exposure to oxygen when the part is above about 500-600F. The hotter it gets, the darker it gets when exposed to oxygen. It will turn blue if it gets hot enough. When I do stuff like this, the work is set inside a small enclosure and I flood it with argon and use a larger size shielding cup. I also work as fast as I can. This displaces most of the oxygen and keeps the heat low. I could easily do that all in one step but you can see, I broke it up because the part was getting a little too hot. The heat doesn't bother stainless too much but I didn't want to oxidize/discolor the thread part as, some folks could mistakenly believe the part was heat damaged -which it is not.

As for posting pictures... My stance is to assume my clients want me to preserve their privacy. I take before/after pictures of every job I do and that's mainly to cover myself in the event of a dispute of some sort. My feeling is that I do this for money, every job is under contract -and that the customer owns all rights to the work (including photos) once the contract is signed and a commitment is made for payment.

Ray
 
I take before/after pictures of every job I do and that's mainly to cover myself in the event of a dispute of some sort.

Ray, may I suggest to take videos, too?
Maybe with a clock in the background, just in case someone complains you charged too many hours for the job.
Generally common people don't have an idea of the time required to make a piece, specially if it requires a good precision.
The most of the people don't even know what a reamer is, unless they found it in the crosswords…
 
Ray, may I suggest to take videos, too?
Maybe with a clock in the background, just in case someone complains you charged too many hours for the job.
Generally common people don't have an idea of the time required to make a piece, specially if it requires a good precision.
The most of the people don't even know what a reamer is, unless they found it in the crosswords…

Oh, I really don't like messing around with video files. They take way too long to transfer to the computer and I'd need a zillion terabytes of hard drive storage. I quote all prices up-front when/if I accept the job. I just had a multiple part order (100 pieces to start) for special fasteners for a local training academy. It was a small, custom fastener made of stainless steel and it had some unique characteristics. Each one had 6 operations and it was all manual work. Before accepting something like this, I insist on providing a first part for inspection and sign-off. When I make that first part, I time all the operations and that allows me to make accurate estimates. For simple non-quantity jobs, I'm pretty good at estimating times.

Also, most (but not all) customers don't really care what's involved in making a part -they just want it made or fixed.

Anyhow, taking pictures is mainly for my protection. If someone modifies something after I made it, I have proof. I someone claims I didn't make the right thing, I have proof... I always provide the pictures to the customer when they get the part. This tends to prevent problems before they start. Also, most of my regular customers are great to work with. I'm a subcontractor to them and the photos help them deal with their customers.



Ray
 
I get the concerns about using pictures of a customer project. I thought you meant the moderators would have some issue with posting it on the forum. Maybe sometimes both. Anyhow look forward to more!
 
I get the concerns about using pictures of a customer project. I thought you meant the moderators would have some issue with posting it on the forum. Maybe sometimes both. Anyhow look forward to more!

There are some concerns about both issues. I do a fair amount of critical part heat treating and don't want to plant ideas in people's heads that doing such things can or should be done in a home shop -especially without proper knowledge, procedure, equipment -and insurance.


Ray
 
I broke it up because the part was getting a little too hot. The heat doesn't bother stainless too much but I didn't want to oxidize/discolor the thread part as, some folks could mistakenly believe the part was heat damaged -which it is not.
When I worked in a grinding shop we'd dip tools into muriatic acid to remove bluing. Does that not work for stainless?
 
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