RE drilling lead: I've seen the pros do it. Never drilled a keel myself. But this is what I've been told:
Chip clearance, chip rewelding and deformation are problems. The chips reweld to to the piece, the lead deforms if you are trying to drill holes close to each other or you are using a handheld. So.... use a drill bit prepared for soft metals (like soft brass); the bigger the drillbit, the more important this is. Use lots of coolant oil (keorsene will do) and go very slowly. Clear chips freqently and don't try to cut deeper than than the sidecuts on the drill without clearing the chips. I don't have any special drill bits for lead, but Jerry the machinist makes me the ones I use for stainless and he re-dubs my old drill bits for me when I have a dozen or so dull ones. IIRC, he sharpens my SS bits so they have a very shallow "bite" and shave the metal in paper thin chips. I know from personal experrience that "normal" drill bits for tiny diameter holes in lead work fine. Just use lots of ccoolant oil, work slowly with a very steady hand and clear the chips frequently. That's all I know. I'm sure a machinist could tell you more than I can. ________________________________ From: Phil Agur <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Mon, May 31, 2010 1:02:17 PM Subject: RE: [IC27A] Keel Question Vicky, Did you try getting the proper nuts from Catalina? West Marine would be lucky to get the diameter and thread pitch correct (typically if you miss the pitch they jam in a turn or two) but I suspect their eyes would glaze over if you asked them which alloy stainless should to be used to prevent galvanic corrosion between the keel bolts and the new nuts. The wrong alloy will not show signs of rust but will hollow out like a microscopic version Swiss cheese and fail mechanically. If you wind up calling Catalina find out the diameter, thread pitch, and the SS alloy number. Then you can call West Marine and see if they can supply that exact nut. You should also stop by an auto parts store and by a tube of ant-seize, without it or another assembly lubricant the chances of threading on the new SS nuts successfully is very low. It is bound to seize up before you can get in position to torque to the final value. Then it will become a fight to get it off again. If you know you have the right nuts already you might also consider buying a thread die that matches the thread diameter and pitch and then lubricate and chase the threads with the die. It will destroy the stud if is the wrong size, so no guessing, but if it is correct you should be able to work it down the threads by hand and clean them right up. This should be a lot faster than renting the massive drill motor buying the drills, and drilling the holes it take to install the lag bolts. I believe you can spend hours drilling per hole unless you get a machinist to regrind the drill bit point for a lead alloy. So much is manufactured overseas now this is almost a lost art here now. (Judy – Comments?) Phil Agur s/vWing Tip C270 LE #184 MMSI 366901790 From:ic...@yahoogroups. com [mailto:IC27A@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Victoria Bayly Sent: Monday, May 31, 2010 6:14 AM To: ic...@yahoogroups. com Subject: RE: [IC27A] Keel Question To be honest - we rescheduled to launch for this upcoming Friday and we need it done before launch and West Marine is around the corner. We have 3 bolts that the nuts rusted / fell apart on and we have been trying to get the proper nuts but they just don't fit! They get about 2 turns on and stop. So, this is a last resort. Thanks! VIcki --- On Mon, 5/31/10, Phil Agur <pja...@sbcglobal. net> wrote: From: Phil Agur <pja...@sbcglobal. net> Subject: RE: [IC27A] Keel Question To: ic...@yahoogroups. com Date: Monday, May 31, 2010, 1:40 AM Hi Vicky, It’s a lead alloy. Why West Marine when Catalina Direct or Catalina Yachts will sell you the kit developed by the boats designer? Phil Agur s/vWing Tip C270 LE #184 MMSI 366901790 From:ic...@yahoogroups. com [mailto:IC27A@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of VickiB Sent: Sunday, May 30, 2010 8:09 PM To: ic...@yahoogroups. com Subject: [IC27A] Keel Question I have a 82 and I am wondering if the keel is iron or lead. We want to do the keel bolt kit from West Marine and I am not sure which one to get. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks Vicki
