Albacore continued

[greenman407]

Since I have no machine tools , I sent one of the propellors to my favorite machine shop to have a bushing installed. He did a perfect job. One of the benefits to it is that now that thick walled bushing will run right against the extended race of the rear bearing, absorbing all of the thrust load.

[greenman407]

Here are a few more quick shots taken at the same time.

[greenman407]

Does anyone have any good pictures and info on the masts for the Albacore?

[greenman407]

Problem: The first propellor must be attached to the tube shaft. At the point of attachment it is two tube thicknesses thick. Inside of that spins the 3/16" S.S. shaft. If you were to tighten up a normal set screw you would crush or deform the tube causing drag and still not have a reliable connection. How do you do it?

Answer: You drill down thru both sections of tube and use one of these special set screws with a small extended tip. That way, after blue loctiting the set screw you have a positive conn. without binding. Im going to do it in two places. I dont want to lose this prop!

[greenman407]

I just reached the point where I could slide all the parts together for a test fit. SO FAR..........SO GOOD!

[greenman407]

Notice the paint scheme for the props.

[greenman407]

The props will of course, have to be cleaned up and then plated with the Cawell nickel plating system. That should change their color drastically I would think.

[greenman407]

Just a little FYI. The hole size to drill for taping a 6-32 set screw is 7/64". The little nub on the end of it is a perfect fit for a 3/32" drill.

[greenman407]

And now the time consuming part, Evercoat and sandpaper, Evercoat and sandpaper, I think that you get the point. I dont know if any of you over the years have watched my threads on the "other site" on this modified Subtek Albacore but one of my complaints was that the plastic hull material is readily attacked by the solvants present in many easily available spot puttys and fillers. 3M Bondo single part "Glazing and Spot Putty" will eat it alive along with "Green Squadron" and "Tamiya" brands stuff. 3M Bondo two part doesnt seem to affect it. So thats what I am using to make it happen.

[Subculture]

That makes me wonder if the 3M spot putty you have is different to the 3M 'acryl red' spot putty which I use here in the UK? I have found it safe to use on any plastic substrate. If anything has a tendency to eat into styrene, it's the two part polyester putty, but I find that works to my advantage, and as it keys in very well.

[greenman407]

The Evercoat is definitely harder to sand than the spot putty. So I'm using the Evercoat on the areas at the seems where you want some durability but to help feather it in to the hull the spot putty is useful.

[Subculture]

Agreed. I only use spot putty for fairing and filling in pinholes, as I find it has virtually no strength and takes longer to dry- I look upon it as a very thick primer. For areas where I really need strength I use epoxy putty, but that stuff is really tough to sand, and much more expensive.

[greenman407]

Yes, and to compound the problem , this plastic is very soft. When I was using Evercoat on the GRP Oscar it was much easier to blend in because the GRP is so much more durable. This plastic however...........................

[greenman407]

I missed your reply on the other page there Subculture. The spot puttys that I mentioned here in the US not only soften it but turn it into tooth paste. It becomes even more apparent when you try to sand it as the neighboring surface that you are trying to blend in with keeps disappearing on you because it is gooey soft. But for some reason the two part stuff isnt creating a problem at this time.

[greenman407]

Alright, here is a step by step picture rendition of how the drive goes together.
Here you can see the two shafts installed and the nearest shaft is made up of the tube shaft and inside of it is the S.S. 3/16" shaft now properly cut to length. On the end of this S.S. shaft you can see mounted the brass drive dog.