Project Log: Monday, November 1, 2010
In the course of some email correspondence with a fellow
Fisher 30 project owner in England, the suggestion was
made to perhaps try a power planer on the Treadmaster
nonskid. I thought this sounded like an
interesting idea, so I gave it a try.
The planer worked quite well. I began up on the
coachroof where I'd left off the last time, and finished
removing the bulk of the Treadmaster in only about 5
minutes. I only planed deep enough to remove the
product down to the adhesive layer, as I didn't want to
cause undue damage to the substrate, but the overall
effect was about equivalent to the other removal methods
I'd tried--but far quicker and easier. I lightly
scalped the gelcoat in a few places as I got used to the
tool in this application, but these areas would be easy
to fill and fair later. |
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Satisfied with the process, and with improved technique,
I continued on the starboard side deck, and then the
port sidedeck. The decks were relatively flat
across the beam, but since the deck followed the
sheerline there was a sweeping curvature in a
fore-and-aft direction that, in places, prevented the
planer's blades from reaching the surface, as the table
was long enough to more or less suspend the blade over
the slightly curved surface.
Nonetheless, the process remained effective, save for a
few areas as described above and along the very edges
and corners of the deck, where access was too tight for
the tool. |
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With both sidedecks mostly rid of their Treadmaster, I
continued on the foredeck. It was clear that the
planer was becoming dull; I knew that this job
would be hard on the planer blades, but was willing to
sacrifice blades for speed and ease. Removing 1/4"
of cork, binder (adhesive) and whatever else made up
this durable deck covering was clearly taxing to any
blade. However, eventually I realized the planer
wasn't doing much of anything, and, inspecting the
blades, I found them worn away completely.
Down on the bench, I hoped to remove and reverse the
blades--the original set for this tool, as it's a tool I
only used infrequently. However, I found there was
nearly no recognizable sign of the blades remaining.
Both blades were work down to absolutely nothing, and
also chipped and broken, which precluded the possibility
of reversing them.
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With no spare blades in stock, I had to call it quits.
Still, I'd made good progress, with only about half the
foredeck remaining (plus some small cockpit areas).
I still had to remove the remaining bits that the planer
couldn't reach, plus the adhesive, but this chore would
be much easier without the need to remove 1/4" of
Treadmaster first. |
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Total Time Today: 3 hours
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