I spent the better part of two days in the volcanic sun trying to cut out a badly corroded leaf spring from my trailer. I still have another one to go and am not looking forward to it. In retrospect, I should have probably paid a pro to do the work. It was hot, dirty and a little dangerouss.
So the next time you fuss about what something costs to repair, remember you are paying for time and expertise. It’s fun (kind of) and gratifying to do someting on your own, but it sure can burn up a lot of time.
If it is attached w/ u-bolts, do it w/ an angle grinder. They’ll be off in minutes.
17’ Henry O Hornet
26’ Palmer Scott
They make those metal cutting blades for a skil saw that are awesome too. Lots of horsepower compared to an angle grinder if you have the room.
Being a mechanic its always a pet peeve of mine when someone says " that looks easy, it should only take a few minutes"
Well, if its so easy, why aren’t you doing it then?
Tools are a huge expenditure also for the diy guys. It doesn’t take long to accumulate 30-40k in quality hand tools. The good stuff is not needed for an occasional job at home but cheap screwdrivers and sockets round off fasteners and bloody your knuckles.
A little blood sweat and tears is good for the soul. Just think of the pride of accomplishment you will have when it’s completed. Well that is nothing goes wrong that costs you more money.
A wise man once said “Do as I say not as I do” Good advice when I tell you that.
I’m in the process of up-grading the electronics on my boat. When I went to run the new transducer I found that I had to make the hole in the stern larger to pass the cable end through. The hole was 5/8 inch and the new connector was 1 inch. Went to Lowes to buy a 1 inch drill bit and the only thing they had was one for $29.00! Being as cheap as I am, I said, Hell No, not to drill 1 hole. I had a 1 inch hole saw drill bit so I was going to try to use that. There was no way you could even start to keep the pilot bit centered in the hole. Back to Lowes I went! I really didn’t want to spend $29 bucks for a drill bit, But! Looked at the bit again and saw that it had a 1/2 inch shank on it. There was no way I’m going to buy a new drill and a bit for 1 lousey hole. I thought about my problem and it all came down to not being able to keep my hole saw bit centered in the existing hole. I bought a 1 inch wood dowel rod and tapered one end like a wine cork and hammered it into the hole. Took my hole saw bit and drilled into the center of the dowel and made a perfect new larger hole in the transom. And the best part was, I saved about $150.00 to drill 1 hole. MattR was right about investing lots of money in tools! Sometimes if you think it through you can make do with what you have. Don’t know if I’ll ever run into this problem again but I now have this trick in my bag. Maybe it will help one of you guys down the road sometime?
boatpoor, no wood in it! It’s a high density composite material. Made a beautiful cut! Didn’t even chip the gelcoat! You also seal the hole around the cable with silicon and put a clamshell over it!
