ASTOR, Etc.
Hi, Matt,
WB No. 299 was the first issue I’ve subscribed to, and it was a beauty. I’ve taken about two weeks to read it cover to cover, ads included, and I loved every minute of the experience. The article about the couple who have brought the schooner ASTOR back to life was a delight—as was INTEGRITY’s sailing of the Northwest Passage. The clincher for me was the magazine’s final article, “Save a Classic,” describing the availability of the Alden Q-boat HOPE, which is at Brooklin Boat Yard (Center Harbor Boatyard in my day). This really hit home, not because I’m a worthy buyer but because the article discusses people and a boatyard I know from having spent my 21 growing-up summers, 70 and more years ago, in grandparental houses along your home waters of Eggemoggin Reach.
Sid Eaton
Bend, Oregon
Dear Editor,
I just received the July/August issue of WoodenBoat (No. 299). The first article I read was about the Fife schooner ASTOR. What an enlightening and interesting read that was! It’s articles such as this one that will keep WoodenBoat the best boat magazine forever.
Larry R. Lozen
Traverse City, Michigan
Screw Removal
Dear Matt,
WB No. 299 has a nice Skills 101 article on refastening by Jan Adkins. I have a few suggestions to add to this topic with respect to fastener removal.
Bung Removal: Forstner bits are the tool of choice. I suggest that one not attempt to remove a bung of a given diameter with a bit of the same diameter. It’s more work, but taking the center of the bung out with the bit first, and then collapsing the remainder of the bung using an awl or similar into the center will get the bung out and leave the hole intact.
Fastening removal: My experience is limited to bronze. Rather than starting by turning the screw counterclockwise, I suggest starting by turning clockwise. It’s counter-intuitive, perhaps, but if the screw is stuck, any damage to the slot will be to the tightening sides of the slot, leaving the “business” portions intact. But, as Jan Adkins stated, there are likely further frustrations lying in wait!
Screwdriver choice: Most screwdrivers for slotted screws are slightly wedge shaped, and are, at best, an approximate fit to the slot. A better choice, in my opinion, are “gunsmith” screwdrivers, which provide a very exact fit to the intended size screw. Larger screws may require custom-made bits. I have had good luck with screwdriver bits made for impact wrenches.
As mentioned in the article, left-handed bits should be in one’s arsenal, and they can effectively remove the willing screw.
“Spinners”: Very annoying is the screw that is willing and turns but lacks the required grip to come out. If the slot is in good condition, a Quick-Wedge brand screwdriver might be just the solution. In use, it can be expanded to fit very tightly in the screw’s slot and might enable the screw to be simply plucked out.
Stubborn screws: These may be persuaded with a few taps, using a blunt punch and hammer on the head of the screw, in line with the screw. Sometimes the cautious application of heat from an electric soldering iron might do the trick.
The last tool I wish to address is the fluted screw extractor, which resembles a tapered lefthand drill bit and is meant to be spun into a hole carefully drilled in a screw’s shank to turn the screw counterclockwise. In use, they tend to expand the diameter of the screw one is trying to remove, increasing the difficulty of getting the screw out. Assuming a headless screw, what really works exceptionally well in my experience is a slightly modified “split pin” (not a roll pin!). Use a metal file, or similar, to cut a ‘V’ notch in the end of the pin, centered on the split. The inside diameter of the split pin should be a wee bit smaller than the root diameter of the screw. Use this in a drill, spinning counterclockwise, pressing it into the hole in the wood and around the screw. With a modicum of luck, as the ‘V’ notch cuts away at the threads of the screw and surrounding wood, the roll pin will grab the screw and voila, success with one more screw!
Ed Harrow
Hopkinton, Massachusetts
Variations on the split-pin extractor are available commercially, some with saw teeth and resembling long, thin hole saws.
—Eds.
Multihull Correction
Hi, Matt,
Just a small correction to Steve Callahan’s otherwise fascinating article on the co-development of multihulls and wood-composite construction. On page 53, he refers to the Prout brothers as American. They were, in fact, English, hailing from Essex’s Canvey Island. I should know, because I spent quite a few years of my life building craft—mainly catamarans—from 11′ to 80′ in wood as well as in fiberglass.
Dick Johnson
Via email
Thank you for this correction, Dick. The identification of the Prout brothers as American was due to a well-meaning but misguided edit, and not an error in Steven Callahan’s manuscript. Mea culpa.
—MPM 