Saturday 10 April 2010

The Stanley 55 plane

Certainally one of the most collectable tools in my possestion,the famous Stanley 55 plane set,there is also a Stanley 45 set,which I do not have.Whats important with this set is its complete and all parts are in good condition,the box may be a little marked but its done a good job this far.My thanks to Ed for donating it to me when his elder brother was ailing some years back and he would not be needing it anymore.








A none slip paint deck system that works

This is the roof of our hard dodger kit,the paint work is is quite new,having been done late 2009,you can see how easy it can be to make the system fit the various shapes found on boats,ideal for all traffic areas,cockpits,sugar scoops and shower floors too.

This section of deck has had daily use for over ten years,there is no wear at all.


I was asked recently about deck none slip paint,well we know some comes in a tin (make sure you stir it) but just how good is it? We devloped or own system from around fourteen years back,here are the pictures of that boat now.

Friday 9 April 2010

Reconditioning flexible engine mounts

Given the chance,I will and normally can recondition most things,when I spotted a set of soft engine mounts going spare recently,I made a plan to get them to restore.
When cleaned up by bead blasting,then bonding one of the center rubber discs back to the top and bottom plates,I then re bonded the lower plate to the base with Dow-Corning 816 black silicone,when given the time to cure,which will be a few days,it can be disc sanded.


The important part of these soft rubber mounts is their ability to move or float a little,thats why the black silicone goes right to the bottom of the mount plates.
We stock and sell Dow-Corning 813 in tubes.

Drop keel unidirectional glass work

With the final Iroko drop keel foil being complete,we can now move to the next stage and add uni directional glass cloth and epoxy,one side a day due to the cure and setting side,this being two layers applied today.


Thursday 8 April 2010

Over sixties RCYC regatta gift collection


The RCYC Burgee.

Jackie has just paid us a visit to collect what has become a regular item for CKD Boats,we always support the RCYC with some small gift to be awarded to the huge entry they have in the over sixties race each year. They had nearly seventy entries last year,thats a big event and as Jackie has now taken over the role of collection of prizes for the event from Charles Paice and his A Team,she has a lot of work ahead,as each entry recieves a prize,one down Jackie and sixty nine to go?

Wednesday 7 April 2010

Our Toylander is near ready to fit out


We are fast reaching the stage when fitting the steering and road wheels will be next,trying to keep up with those who have bought our kits is the idea,so far so good!

Roy www.ckdboats.com or Cape Town on 021 510-7206


Ragin Cajun sends an AIS report.

As each order tends to be slightly different and some AIS need programing with the boats return signal,we bring orders in via TNT couriers,it takes just a few days from receipt of your payment.
Contact kits@comlumber.com or phone on Cape Town 021 510-7206




The three of us take turns to cook the evening meal. So far we have eaten very well. Dinner has to be ready before dark, so we usually eat at about 6. I am drinking very little of the huge supply of whisky I put on board - somehow, I just don't feel like it. This abstinence can't do me any harm, although I find it very odd. Browno takes the first evening watch from 9pm - 12am. He then wakes me and I go through until 3am, then Tony does the 3am to 6am shift. The AIS has been wonderful, warning us of large ships and tankers in our path. It tells us their name, their destination, and when and where we will intercept them. We still have to be very careful on watch to look out for smaller boats without AIS. We have a timer which we can use if we get sleepy. It is set to go off at 15 minute intervals, so if you should doze off, it will wake you in time to do another check. I am coping quite well with the new sleep pattern, although I find it difficult to sleep during the day.

A new beech wood handle fitted to a Johnson wood Jack Plane.

A new handle on a fine and now restored very old Johnson wood block plane, introduces a new tool to the workshop, it will be well used on Johns Iroko drop keel foil in the morning.


Simply a simple tool that is one of the best tools that I own.


The new handle was bonded in with epoxy and graded teak wood flour to ensure a good bond on the lower face of the handle, this will never fall out ever again, a little progress in wood plane making!


Epoxy glue will bond this handle in solid.


At this time I was not to know how special a wood working tool that this would turn out to be.


The front of the planes handle socket is square, while the back is round and on an angle leading to the back of the plane, making a slight wedge shape on the square end of the handle forces the new handle into the back of the plane socket when it is tapped home with a hammer.


Modern type router tools are very handy for such shaping, be very careful how you hold the item to be worked on,you must offer the wood up from the correct side of the cutter.


So a new beech wood handle had to be fashioned, I used the handle on my number 6 Stanley (bailey) metal jack plane as a pattern, that plane is 445mm long, while the Johnson wood plane is all of 610mm long, thats a nice length for doing foils and jointing work.


I thought to just try this old plane and see how it handled wood like Iroko, known for its hard and interlocked grain, sharp tools are a must, I was amazed at how this wood plane took off wood and with its wide blade and long base, makes for a very fine and straight finish.


I was not expecting to do this job today, rather start shaping the drop keel in Iroko for Johns Didi Mini Transat Cruise, things sort of said I need a handle on Dudley's old Johnson wood plane, using with as a trial on the finishing side showed me the plane is a 'whistler' so sharp is its blade that it makes a whistling sound as it removes shavings.

November 2017,

Simply the best!

Roy

Stanley 90 small plane

The Stanley 90 in a work situation.

The Stanley 90 in parts,they were made in the USA and also England.


A complete Stanley 90 plane with its upper body fitted.

The silver plane in front is a Stanley 90 plane,with its top body removed,this was done so the blade would reach right into a corner,unfortunatly for me the top was never replaced and I only have what you see,does anyone out there have the missing bit! When new these planes were nickle plated,not chromed,they are the Rolls Royce of small planes.The other plane is also a Stanley but dates back a lot earlier,the throut is adjustable but the nose can not be removed as with the Stanley 90 version.

Tuesday 6 April 2010

The South African Toylander Men

I am pleased to say there are quite a few of us these days but the picture of Andrew and Nigel show the two main guys,Andrew (red shirt) started it all really,he bought a set of plans from Richard at Real Life Toys,England,then asked CKD Boats to look at CNC cutting it for him.I then called in Nigel of Digicut to see what features we could introduce to ease Andrews ease of build, without taking any of the Toylander features away.Nigel used a system off our Didi Mini Transat boat kit interior parts,namely the 'finger Joint system' with those we could have basically a clip together car kit.

Andrew was the guy who had to see if it worked and when the build featured in last Novembers Popular Mechanics,it was Andrew we turned to for the use of his built up car,due to the succes of that magazine issue, more plans and kits were sold by us as a result. again we asked Andrew what changes we could make,with he and Nigel working together its just about perfect now.

Left click any picture to see a larger size.




Bead blasting service at CKD Boats

Clean again and ready to be etch primed and painted,a much better solution to buying new engine mounts.
Left click each picture to view in a larger size.

Old but still servicable engine mounts will look much better when blasted clean of surface rust,all items must be pre degreased before we will accept them as a job.

We have had a proffesional machine some while now,it feeds off tiny glass balls which will clean of most loose surface rust as long as its clean,the before and after pictures will give you an idea of whats possible.We charge a minimum of R365 per job,then per part hour there after.

Monday 5 April 2010

PayPal Banking payments




Our bankers First National Bank, have just advised that South Africa can now send receive payments from offshore,meaning you can pay us safely via PayPal and know your details are safe,with world interest rates at an all time low this is probably a great time to buy

PayPal Services on Online Banking!

PayPal Services via Online Banking is a first of its kind in South Africa and is exclusive to FirstRand Group clients! With this exciting new service you can sell products over the web and receive payment directly into your PayPal Account. By using PayPal Services you eliminate the security risk of exposing your credit card or bank account number, ensuring safe and secure transactions.

What can you do with PayPal?

- Use your PayPal Account to make or receive international payments online for goods and services.

- Shop online at merchants in 67 countries and regions.

- Pay for things and send money without sharing your financial information.

- Checkout quickly at hundreds of your favourite online stores.

- Receive payments from buyers in 190 countries and regions.

Register for a PayPal Account on www.PayPal.com

CNC shaping of a Lead Keel Bulb

Left click the picture to view in a larger size,we can do many shapes and profiles,we ship Didi 26 and Didi mini Transat lead ballast sections world wide,others are possible to your design required.

This work is done by Didgicut,a company headed by my son-in-law Nigel and Janet my daughter,they started out three years back using space in our factory and moonlighted for an entire year before they found their own premises closer to where they live.The company is based on a quality of service and good finish,check out the 3D work done on this lead keel bulb mould.