Results 1 to 16 of 16
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Inside the Circle
    Posts
    4,167

    What Tool Am I Looking For?

    I have to affix some wood blocks to the underside of the fore/aft decks on a fiberglass sailboat.

    From the floor to the underside of the decks is about 30" in the bow and more like 24" in the stern. I need to put some upward pressure on the blocks while the 3M 5200 cures and there's no way to make regular clamps work. The deck is also not thick enough to support screwing into it without penetrating the exposed deck above. I could just cut some scrap 1x4 wood to length and wedge it in there but I'm wondering if there's an adjustable tool that would do this and not be ridiculously expensive. The boat manufacturer suggests doing this operation with the boat out of the water and upside down but I don't have the manpower to flip it and I don't really want to take it out of the water yet anyway.

    I was thinking something like a small adjustable lally column. Is that the best option? I've seen some that adjust from 12" to 16" so I could build up below it with 4X4 blocks.

    Thoughts?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    you see a tie dye disc in there?
    Posts
    4,652
    https://www.harborfreight.com/ratche...bar-96811.html

    edit: can cut down if needed or maybe a bottle jack?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Back in Seattle
    Posts
    1,259
    bar clamps are often reversible to provide outward instead of inward pressure.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    关你屁事
    Posts
    9,532
    Yes, there’s a wonderful adjustable tool. Rip that 1*4 into 1*1/2. Nice springy lathe. Beware too much force. Car Jack or lally column could easily bust something
    Last edited by dunfree ; 08-25-2021 at 02:07 PM.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    1,744
    2x4 and the jack from your car seems to be the cheapest option to me.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Inside the Circle
    Posts
    4,167
    Quote Originally Posted by hawkgt View Post
    https://www.harborfreight.com/ratche...bar-96811.html

    edit: can cut down if needed or maybe a bottle jack?
    Me likey and have a Harbor Freight 15 minutes away.

    Quote Originally Posted by carlh View Post
    bar clamps are often reversible to provide outward instead of inward pressure.
    True but have you seen the price of bar clamps?

    Quote Originally Posted by The Tortoise View Post
    2x4 and the jack from your car seems to be the cheapest option to me.
    Simple is usually better. I actually have a bottle jack as noted above but it's 75 miles from where my boat is. Will probably go with the jack from my car.

    As always, this community delivers. Thanks all!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Dystopia
    Posts
    21,053
    Quote Originally Posted by The Tortoise View Post
    2x4 and the jack from your car seems to be the cheapest option to me.
    Five posts for the obvious response to appear

    The Tortoise beat you Hares to the finish
    . . .

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    inpdx
    Posts
    20,197
    Quote Originally Posted by carlh View Post
    bar clamps are often reversible to provide outward instead of inward pressure.
    ^^^ this

    or dual wedges cut from 2x...position over longer 2x4 cut shy by 1" or so; knock wedges in from two sides to keep surface parallel; profit

    (car/bottle jack? no...you're not trying to break the fiberglass, just put pressure on it)

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    1,744
    You can apply as much pressure as you'd like with the scissor jack. It's not an on/off switch.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
    Posts
    2,669
    Zip poles .might have to modify them . Sometimes you can combine adhesives with different properties like a ca gel for quickset and the other product you mentioned.

    Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    driven way past the Stop and Shop
    Posts
    3,068
    Screw Jack. (Not a sentence- the name of a tool.)
    Damn, we're in a tight spot!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Inside the Circle
    Posts
    4,167
    Used my car jack for the first one. Had to use some plywood and shims to get the base parallel with the underside of the deck but after about 5 minutes of screwing around it was ready to go and worked like a charm. Block 2 went into place at lunch today.

    No cost and actually very precise in terms of pressure once I got the base aligned.

    Thanks again all.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    1,744
    Glad it worked.

    Everything I've read says that the 5200 is totally permanent. So it shouldn't be going anywhere.

    I've used the 4200 and that stuff will bond anything. Can't imagine what the 5200 is like.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Inside the Circle
    Posts
    4,167
    5200 is the duct tape of the boating world. If only it would kill the mouse that has taken up residence in my boat.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    between campus and church
    Posts
    9,925
    Quote Originally Posted by MyNameIsAugustWest View Post
    5200 is the duct tape of the boating world. If only it would kill the mouse that has taken up residence in my boat.
    Strap a loop of it, sticky side out, across the entire beam. that little fucker will not be able to cross it and wham….better mousetrap!

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    base of the Bush
    Posts
    14,871
    5200 is epoxy
    www.apriliaforum.com

    "If the road You followed brought you to this,of what use was the road"?

    "I have no idea what I am talking about but would be happy to share my biased opinions as fact on the matter. "
    Ottime

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •