This may be the wrong forum, but here goes.
I have a small wooden sail boat. One of the pieces of wood has rotted out, and I need to replace it. The piece itself is less than 4" by 3" by 2", and curves along one dimension. Basically, I could make this out of a scrap piece of 4x4 in 1 minute on a band saw. But I don’t have a band saw.
I’ve been trying to figure out how to do this without spending a bunch of money. I’ve contacted some handymen, but they all want to charge me for at least an hour of their time. Which I totally understand. I’ve looked into woodworking places around town, but they tend to either do custom cabinetry, furniture, etc., and this job is too small for them to bother. The boatsmiths tend to be even worse. I put an add on craigslist to see if anyone wants to make a few bucks, or has a band saw I can use for a few minutes.
I wondered if there were maybe a small woodworking shop that set up an online form where you can draw the piece you want and they’ll mail it to you, but I haven’t been able to find one. Side business opportunity?
Right now, I’m considering just buying a sawzall, which I’m pretty sure I could do it with. It costs twice as much as the handyman, but I’d have a sawzall at the end of it.
Any other ideas?
Well, I’d do it with a jigsaw, myself.
Any woodworking stores around that rent time on their machines?
Pictures would really help. We talking 'bout a real sailing vessel here?
Sometimes the best thing to do with an ad hoc job is to show up with the boat at a boatsmith shop and just catch 'em off guard. They might take an impromptu look and get you on your way quickly.
Small jobs are a mess. You have to look at it, schedule time, set up, etc. This just screams ‘show up with the boat at someone’s shop’ …and then slip them some cash if they help you out.
Also…consider…does this really require power tools? I’ve seen friends drag out compound mitre saws to cross cut one 2x4. It never dawned on them that a hand tool would be best. One piece of door casing doesn’t require an air compressor and pneumatic nailer, either, but I’ve seen people forget that hand tools even exist!
A simple drill (even a hand drill) for a starter hole and a coping saw or other device. Again, a pic would help.
Dunno how the costs measure up to what you’ve considered, but if there is a TechShop near you, you can get a day pass for $30 and they should have whatever tools you need.
High-school shop class? It’s a little late in the year. But maybe there’s summer school for those who need credit to graduate. Let a student do it for you under teacher supervision.
Holy schneikies! At first, I was expecting them to be along the lines of the San Francisco Public Library’s Tool Lending Center, where you can “check out” hand tools to use at home, but this place has a **lot ** of exotic and hugely expensive stuff, including a 4x8 foot CNC plasma cutter and 3D prototypers.
Needless to say, they also have a well-equipped wood shop.
And, a communal Wall 'O Bins - perhaps the world’s largest shared “junk drawer.”
More about their offerings, and pictures of some of the more unusual stuff here.
I live in town, am a sailor, know a bunch of carpenters, and have some tools. Maybe I can help you out. I’ll email you.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Sorry, I’m not where I can take a picture of it, but it’s shaped just like a 3" wide slice taken out of a speed bump that’s 4" from beginning to end.
The boat is a full 14’ when I put the bowsprit on it :). This piece is where the port jib cleat goes. It just screws on to the side of the boat, so it’s not like I need to take the whole boat somewhere to make a new one. I still have the old part in the right shape, so it’ll be easy to compare with for the new one.
I have a jigsaw, but I wasn’t sure it would actually cut something this deep very well. Maybe I just don’t know how to use it, but I’ve had trouble cutting even just 1" boards straight with the jigsaw. I suppose I can always give it a try.
Darryl, thanks very much for the offer.
Just in case you didn’t notice it, I sent you a PM offering to fabricate the piece if you can’t find any local alternative.