Building the Dream: A Cruising Sailboat Under Construction.: March 2025

March, 1

Doing some finishing up. I needed to make a sanding die to fit the drain in the showers. The recess area fit the drain (see photo below) but after fiberglass and epoxy build-up it need to be reshaped a bit. This sanding die will provide an even, level surface for the rubber gasket in the drain.

The die fits a common drill. There is a slight bevel to match the drain. There was a bit of trial and error. The first one I made was a bit too large and I had to turn it down a bit.

I made the blank on the band saw and put it on the lathe. Funny thing was, the lathe didn't work. It would only rotate at a very slow speed. The culprit turned out to be a 10k potentiometer. On leg of the voltage divider was open. I got two for $8. Actually, I could have gotten 20 for $10 but who needs 20. The part came in in less than a week and I soldered it into place. The lathe works perfectly now. My lathe is an old (25 years old) Craftsman 2HP. Can turn wood to 20" diameter and can handle wood to 38" long. In my research, I learned that these 2HP motors and motor controllers where the exact same ones used in Sears treadmills. So if you need a motor controller for a 2HP motor, old treadmills are a dime a dozen. A new motor controller will cost a small fortune. I'm glad it was simple to fix. I really haven't used it much except to make tools and wooden dies. I'm a novice with a lathe so I compensate by taking my time and breaking a few things. My plan was to turn the spindles for the rails on the gunwales. But there probably isn't much more I'll do with it in terns of boat building.