Removing cutlass bearings is fun.
 

And by fun I mean a #^&#^&#^&#^&ing nightmare.
There was blood.
And a sawzall.

Sawzall good.

Haha. Been there x2
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You had your struts out too didn't you?

Makes it SOOOO much easier.

My strut is shimmed, gonna make a new shim (instead of washers) out of G10.

Thank god for machine shops. :hihi:

Sawzall with a demo blade made quick work of it as long as you had a buddy watching from the other end with a flashlight.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1..._5423427_o.jpg

Likwid,

You had the strut off and you couldn't press it out, or make yourself a homemade puller out of all thread, washers and a pipe nipple? Was it held in with allens also or just an interference fit?

USUALLY easier to just cut the stupid things than it is to play games with making a puller.

I've got a prop puller of doom (5/8" tool steel plates, very very heavy threaded rod) but a cutlass puller would be used so rarely its not worth it.

And my strut is stepped in the bore so its all moot. :wall:

May talk to scandia about having them bore it smooth. (twin set screws along with it being a VERY tight fit, it would NOT budge even with a sledge and drift)

Sounds like it was an interference fit... Cannot confirm from the damage recon photo. (You're a butcher) Hope you are going with a clearance fit bearing for the replacement. However, if you do go with an interference fit, ice the bearing and have the receiver heated up since it's winter. Makes for an easier press fit.

Its pressed, all struts have set screws as a "safety".

I'll take it to Scandia and have them press it. :hihi:

I've gotta drop off a big boat MaxProp to get rebuilt anyhow.
I'll have them clean up the sad 35 year old bore. (Strut casting has 1/23/1976 on it)

And butcher?
There isn't a single tool or blade mark in the bore of the strut.
Butcher my a@#$ ;)

:rotf2: Get out of the kitchen....

Did you try heat before surgery? Be sure they can identify what bearing will work before they do the bore... Don't ask me how I know. But it may save you from replacing with a larger shaft.

Scandia knows their chit. They've been in the prop/shaft business since the beginning of time and do beautiful work.

I'd recommend them before ANYONE else for prop/shaft work/repair/anything.

Interesting that its a 10" strut bore but only a single 4 1/2" cutlass. The extra support is certainly nice to make sure there's never any vibration. (even after 35 years)

I think cutlass size is determined by shaft diameter. I think. Been too long.

shaft dia/strut bore

lengths are all pretty universal

I cut a turkey in half with the sawzall after the cutlass.
Different blade.

Just to add about shafts/struts/props, this is the prop I ended up with from Acme:

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...019_122645.jpg

Half the price of Michigan and twice the performance from what they spec'd for me.

I have to do a couple this year myself. I've done them several times and other than working under the boat they really are not that bad. It is much easier to cut them and bend them out.
Here is some info on removing and installing new cutlass bearings.

Replacing A Cutlass Bearing Photo Gallery by Compass Marine at pbase.com

Hey two-tog.... How's your back?? I hope things are feeling better.
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Eben, The back is doing great, the operation was well worth it. Thanks for asking.

ahhh the winter projects... Tis the season

I don't complain about anything that lasted 35 years in seawater.

Milling G10 (full length) shims to replace the washers that were on the rear bolts: also fun.

1" end mill and alot of patience. :hihi:

squirt bottle of soluable oil will help keep the dust down a little. Makes a pasty mess though, but better than the dust. Hate machining the stuff. Glad we don't do it all that often. We do a lot of fiberglass impregnated plastics though, like 10% glass filled delrin and such. God I'm talking machine shop on my day off. Whats wrong with me?

Because you love the shop. :hihi:

Had a helper holding the shop vac next to the end mill. Worked great.

Had to make tapered shims that go from nothing to 1/4" (thickness of the material) over 6".
Alot of work.

Trigonometry good.

That's how I would have done it...Gotta love Sawzall...Nice job

yeah shop vac is the best way but ours is so destroyed after vacing up oils spills and such and never cleaned it isn't worth the aggravation.:)
Funny in high school I hated math and was a C plus student at best, but after actually doing things relying on math and applying trig and such I now find it fun, sometimes. Glad it went well. P.

I'm destroying home depot special $30 mini shop vacs on the boat.
On #2 now. :hihi:

Had a transmission leak, no problem cleaning it up! That was the death knell for #1 :rotf2: