gogittum
Well-known member
A while back I commented on the neighbor kids breaking my shiny new bamboo push pole. The fella who gave me the pole declined to give (or sell) me another, so I set about repairing this'n. A side note: I was surprised at the weight of the 12 ft pole I brought home with me. That's been a couple or 3 weeks ago now and, picking up the pole today, I was again amazed at how much weight it's lost. Pretty lightweight, now. Easy to manage.
That pole is pretty strong. Those kids must've put some serious force into breaking it like this.
I didn't want it to split past the nodes so wrapped it tightly with heavy waxed leatherworking thread. Also put 3 more wraps in the middle to stabilize it when the foam expands.
Nozzle of the foam can is 1/4", so drilled a 1/4" hole for application and another at the other end to be sure of complete filling.
Man, this stuff goes fast and it is STICKY....and messy. The segment filled up quickly and started squrting out the other end.
To try to contain it and let it build up some internal pressure, I quickly wrapped the holes with several turns of electrical tape. It worked. Hard to see, but there are eruptions of foam all over. I let it sit overnight to really set up properly.
Next day, I cleaned it up and did a careful test bend of the repaired section. It's rock solid and I'm very pleased with it. The foam is feather light and appears to be totally waterproof. Should last forever.....if I can keep the kids out of it.
Sad to say, I had a quiet, firm talk with the kids and their father when this started and figured my point was made. I did more work inside the boat yesterday, then covered it with a blue tarp.
This morning the front of the tarp was folded back. The neighbors weren't home all day, but I'm watching for them and we "will" have another talk.....possibly not quite so quiet. I hope they're reasonable. I'm a quiet, easygoing guy, but there are limits.
That pole is pretty strong. Those kids must've put some serious force into breaking it like this.
I didn't want it to split past the nodes so wrapped it tightly with heavy waxed leatherworking thread. Also put 3 more wraps in the middle to stabilize it when the foam expands.
Nozzle of the foam can is 1/4", so drilled a 1/4" hole for application and another at the other end to be sure of complete filling.
Man, this stuff goes fast and it is STICKY....and messy. The segment filled up quickly and started squrting out the other end.
To try to contain it and let it build up some internal pressure, I quickly wrapped the holes with several turns of electrical tape. It worked. Hard to see, but there are eruptions of foam all over. I let it sit overnight to really set up properly.
Next day, I cleaned it up and did a careful test bend of the repaired section. It's rock solid and I'm very pleased with it. The foam is feather light and appears to be totally waterproof. Should last forever.....if I can keep the kids out of it.
Sad to say, I had a quiet, firm talk with the kids and their father when this started and figured my point was made. I did more work inside the boat yesterday, then covered it with a blue tarp.
This morning the front of the tarp was folded back. The neighbors weren't home all day, but I'm watching for them and we "will" have another talk.....possibly not quite so quiet. I hope they're reasonable. I'm a quiet, easygoing guy, but there are limits.
