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  #1   IP: 75.172.51.64
Old 01-27-2020, 03:00 AM
DDO DDO is offline
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Drive Train: How to cut the shaft...

After reading several of the drive-train-remodel discussions, I've decided to go straightaway to cutting the s. s. shaft and then remove the coupling, etc., and just get on with the entire "remodel" process. But no one has discussed details of how to cut. I have only 1/3 inch of access between the coupler and stuffing box, and it is all getting done just under a gas tank -- so which tool, blade, safety gear, anything?, suggestions? I assume I will have sparks and wobble and other terrifying things happening, and I especially want it to be over fast! Thanks; I like to plan ahead!
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  #2   IP: 107.77.109.94
Old 01-27-2020, 03:33 AM
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The stainless shaft will be very hard to cut. Is it really necessary to destroy it?
I used a cheap cordless "sawsall" with a good bimetal blade and cut the old coupling off. I cut from both sides lengthwise. I just cut until I got close to the shaft and split it the rest of the way with a big screwdriver
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Last edited by lat 64; 01-27-2020 at 03:38 AM.
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  #3   IP: 71.208.58.235
Old 01-27-2020, 03:21 PM
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A grinder with a metal cut-off disc would work great. You can get an El Cheapo at harbor freight for well under 20 bucks. 4 or 4 1/2 inch model
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  #4   IP: 71.212.169.99
Old 06-19-2020, 12:44 PM
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So glad I just cut it all out and replaced everything!

Just to follow up, it was not so dramatic to cut the shaft, pull everything out, and put in new parts. The cutting didn't take long at all and I'm glad I did it as the shaft was ready to be replaced as well. The new split coupler should make future work easier. (My Ranger 29 has 8 1/2" shaft log to engine with only 1/2 inch of the shaft showing. Yiks.)
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  #5   IP: 72.69.36.126
Old 06-19-2020, 07:35 PM
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I had to cut my shaft two weeks ago, and used a cheep Harbor Freight oscillating saw and 2.5 bimetal Bosch blades (not too expensive). It took about ten minutes. Couldn't do it with a Sawzall - not enough room to finagle the blade into the tiny area between the V-drive output and the shaft seal. And the oscillating saw cut was satisfyingly precise, relatively speaking.

Now: the new shaft has a wobble as the prop is turned by hand. It's almost certainly the alignment, not the shaft. This was probably the case with the previous shaft, but I've replaced the shaft seal with a traditional stuffing box which seems to show the motion more clearly.

I'm debating how hard I should try to address it with the boat out of the water.

Could not use the Moyer 3/4" split coupling that I've so carefully hoarded for 11 years since the last time the coupling came off; it isn't compatible with the V-drive. So it's back to the old solid coupling, or the OLD old solid coupling.

The work:satisfaction ratio associated with hassling the coupling and shaft is the lowest of anything I've ever done with a boat.
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  #6   IP: 32.211.28.40
Old 06-19-2020, 09:02 PM
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I really don't like the power tools from HF - they're noisy and poorly balanced. I threw away the angle grinder from HF and bought a Bosch. The only HF power tool I have left is one of those 'multi-tool' things that wiggles a blade back and forth. Big day in my life was when I got rid of my Craftsman table saw and bought a Delta.
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  #7   IP: 72.69.36.126
Old 06-19-2020, 11:49 PM
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Yup, that's the oscillating saw. It is pretty darn handy.

Harbor Freight tools are to me a no-lose situation: if you wear one out, or break it, that's good news - you used it enough to justify buying a better brand. But if you don't wear it out, or break it, or it gets rusty on the boat or falls off the boat, that's also good news - you didn't need to buy a better one in the first place.

I'm still waiting to break/wear out:
* Oscillating saw ($20) - yes, it's noisy, but for the fifteen minutes a year I use it, with good blades, it's actually fine
* Ultrasonic cleaner ($35) - did what I needed it to do three times so far
* Bench grinder ($35) - actually this is going on 15 years, it isn't so bad. Replaced the wire wheel a few times.
* Pneumatic paint shaker ($80) - looks and sounds like it came from the Crusades, but wow, what it does for bottom paint
* 2000W inverter ($120) - certainly inadequate for surgical purposes, but so handy for vacuum cleaners, my boat is on a mooring
* Heat stripper ($15) - perhaps the most barbaric of tools. Still gets wicked hot, paint jumps off, this customer is strangely satisfied
* Bottle jacks ($10) - don't use them much but the HF ones keep working

These deserve much higher quality than HF:
* Hand drill
* Drill press
* Table saw
* Band saw
* Circular saw
* Jigsaw
* Sawzall
* Compressor
* Palm sander
* Orbital sander
* Angle grinder
* Car jack
* Anything rechargeable
* Drill bits, taps, dies, etc.

Glad I didn't spend more:
* Small motorcycle lift - didn't use it, sold it easily
* Motorcycle tire changer - leave for the pros to do
* Circular saw blade sharpener - looked like a good idea in the store, and of course I had a coupon, but just buy a new blade
* Car AC recharge kit - ugh this is much better to leave to the pros
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