rusted prop shaft

[mark burrows 2Participant @markburrows2]

hello modellers,i have now got another problem,my old boat  propshaft has rusted badly ,on close inspection,found deep holes and very weak, i went to local model shop to buy replacment,to be told 4ba shaft not avaliable and will need to remove whole shaft!!! and buy new 12inch stainless shaft,so i asked when could he get me one and he told me  he did not have a clue,most modellers in portsmouth sail in salt water lake?can any body help,on how to remove old and where to buy new stainlees steel 12 inch shaft assy.4mm or 5mm.thanks for looking.

Edited By mark burrows 2 on 20/09/2009 00:07:19

[mark burrows 2Participant @markburrows2]

[neil hpParticipant @neilhp]

Hi Mark,

I sail in salt water all the time at Fleetwood, and only once have I ever had problems with a rusted and seized prop shaft, and that was in my old Rau 1X whailer.

 

I learned from experience and now always pack them with a mixture of vaseline and graphite greese and have never had a re occurance of the seizure problem.And they have all just been standard prop shafts..outer brass tube and brass barings and silver steel ( not even stainless) shafts.

How ever that doesn’t solve your problem!

What is the boat made from that the shaft is inserted into and do you know what adhesive it was fixed in with.

I have taken shafts out of friends boats quite easily, if they have been glued in with epoxies, by going from the inside of the boat and getting a set of the gripper mole grips that clamp tight, and moving slowly left to right. This usually frees the tube from the glue and eventually you can jiggle the tube free.

If it has been set into a grp resin mix, you would best be taking out a lot of the resin by using a power file( black and deckker type) and then when you are close to the tube, putting into the area some Acetone, which melts the grp, BUT ONLY IF THE BOAT IS MADE FROM WOOD!,  as the acetone will melt plastic and fibre glass hulls.

It is a purely messy job, if set in resin, but if just epoxied in, it should come free reasonably easy.

If you want a shaft…..they are advertised daily on ebay in the toys section under r/c boats and hovercrafts, by the dozen, and delivery is quick.

neil.

[mark burrows 2Participant @markburrows2]

Thanks neil,my boat is plywood construction,the prop shaft is held in with epoxie  and seems to be brittle,just a bit worried what damage that might occur,i have found ads on ebay ,thanks again.

[neil hpParticipant @neilhp]

with it being wooden and old brittle epoxy, you shouldn’t have too much difficulty with mole grips held tightly. just start easily with slow movements, and it should start to twist and rotate easily.

[The Long BuildParticipant @thelongbuild]

In regards to the 4ba shaft have you tried places like Howes Models , propshop , shitek ,or SHG, pretty sure you could easily get one from them.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Stainless is the only way to go, i would take the old shaft out and stick a new one in. Its not so easy getting 4ba shafts anymore.

I have a couple of boats with a similar problem, only it this case they are are not too bad. I would get some st/steel rod and have it threaded if I could find a supplier of the correct size material, but no luck so far.?

 

Ashley

[Peter FitnessParticipant @peterfitness34857]

I agree with Ashley, go with stainless. 4mm stainless steel shafting is not too easy to find over here either, although I have found a supplier in Brisbane. The down side is that it only comes in 300mm (12 inch) lengths. I bought a good 4mm die and cut the thread myself.

 

Neil’s idea for removing the rusty shaft is a good one, but go carefully.

 

Peter.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

 I have had to remove a few shafts before now, that had been araldited (epoxy) in, and i scored heavily either side of the shaft with a Stanley knife first to cut away as much stuff as possible, after which the thing would generally come loose.

 

A “dremmel” or similar small drilly thing with a saw blade on it also works wonders.

 

Brass rod is actually O.K for making shafts with, its very easy to cut a thread at one end, and although in theory it wont last as long as a stainless one, i think in practice it will last long enough, and in the event of severe wear, its easy simply to make another one. The main benefit is that its easy to obtain in a wide range of sizes from modeling suppliers.

OR…Paul likes to use threaded,plated steel rod, as an alternative.

 

Ashley

 

[mark burrows 2Participant @markburrows2]

prop shaft is out! phew what a scary job used a little bit of heat from hot air paint stripper and mole grips ,little damage  ,cross brace,and lower keal.new one found and ordered on line, just got to wait for it to turn up.

[Peter FitnessParticipant @peterfitness34857]

Pleased to hear you got it sorted Mark.

Peter.

[mark burrows 2Participant @markburrows2]

thanks peter,new shaft has turned up,now got to find time  to fit.

[mark burrows 2Participant @markburrows2]

new stainless propshaft  from(modelboatbits)is now fitted and what a difference its so smooth.thanks for all help.

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