Diamond Head Bolts
- Thread starter Mark747
- Start date
Dave Osborn
LIFE MEMBER
Dab a little paint and varnish remover on the nut and exposed threads. The threads sometimes get boogered up with varnish.
Sometimes a little shot of WD-40 makes it easier to remove the nut.
Small vise-grip helps hold the head sometimes.
A piece of hardwood clamped on either side of the bolt sometimes helps hold the head down tight enough to get them started.
Once the nut is off, you will need to unscrew the bolt from the inwale. They were threaded into the inwale at the factory.
Good luck
Sometimes a little shot of WD-40 makes it easier to remove the nut.
Small vise-grip helps hold the head sometimes.
A piece of hardwood clamped on either side of the bolt sometimes helps hold the head down tight enough to get them started.
Once the nut is off, you will need to unscrew the bolt from the inwale. They were threaded into the inwale at the factory.
Good luck
Turn the boat over and with good light use a Dremel with a metal cutting disc and cut a slot in the end of the bolt of sufficient dipth to take a small screw driver or even a ground down Allan wrench to fit. You should be able to stop the turning and if not, use some WD-40 or similar and let it sit for a while. Sometimes the nut will release if you exert some tightening pressure first or alternatively in both directions. I have tried clamping small hardwood blocks on the wale top next to the head, but they don't seem to hold their position well. They will however help the head to stay when prepared as above. It probably would work with one or two small steel blocks . I think it is called patience. If the bolts are reusable, clean the threads well and grease a little when you reassemble. You may want to soften some slot edges as you may have a burr or two. Have fun !
Dave
Dave
Just1moredave
Enthusiastic about Wooden Canoes
I got a few out without much fuss. Then I made a wrench for the rest with some maple scrap, just mark around the diamond and chisel out the recess. If the head stayed firmly in the inwale, I didn't need the wrench, but if it started to turn, I tapped the other end until the wrench could grab the diamond and hold it.
IMGB7683 by Dave, on Flickr
IMGB7683 by Dave, on Flickr
Shari Gnolek
Have dog, will paddle
Threads/suggestions like this are examples of what makes this forum so helpful!
I had been able to get the nuts off, but the diamond heads were too low to turn and tapping the bolts wouldn't budge them. We made a "poor man's" version of Just1moredave's wrench by just drilling three holes right next to each other in a scrap piece of wood (the diameter just bigger than the width of the diamond). Then we stacked another small piece of wood on top of that and applied pressure to the bottom of the bolt using a C-clamp. That pushed the diamond up enough to use the "wrench" to twist it out.
I had been able to get the nuts off, but the diamond heads were too low to turn and tapping the bolts wouldn't budge them. We made a "poor man's" version of Just1moredave's wrench by just drilling three holes right next to each other in a scrap piece of wood (the diameter just bigger than the width of the diamond). Then we stacked another small piece of wood on top of that and applied pressure to the bottom of the bolt using a C-clamp. That pushed the diamond up enough to use the "wrench" to twist it out.
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David Satter
Wooden Canoe Maniac
Placing your clenching iron over the head of the bolt on the rail with the opening in the iron over the bolt head gives you a good solid backing while you hit the bottom of the bolt after the nuts of with a nylon hammer or mallet , nylon so you don't flatten the threads. Helps to get it out of that indent.
