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Thread: Making Wooden Boat Blocks

  1. #1
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    Making Wooden Boat Blocks

    In keeping with the old boat house look, I thought I'd take a stab at making a boom vang with wood blocks. The wood is sipo.

    I cut the wheels using a 4" hole saw then took it to the router table to put in the 3/4" groove


    For the spacers, I also routed a 3/4" groove through them


    For the two blocks, one will be a double the other a triple. The ends are thicker then the spacers in between


    This is how it will be assembled


    I made up full size plans to follow for rounding the ends on the bandsaw and cleaned it up with a sander




    Next is to run a groove around the outside to accommodate a strop with an eye.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  2. #2
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    After making the strop, I used the table vise to squeeze the 3/4" rope as I pulled it tight around the bottom and serve 1/4" line around the loop until it was snug.






    Next is to do the same with the double block
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  3. #3
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    Stretched out the line to see what overall length I'd have for the boom vang


    Trying to get the strop, made from the same length rope as the one on the triple, to cooperate was quite a struggle. I knew I should have cut a new length but that meant lopping off another 10'-11' just to get one winding to make the rope grommet (strop). So I decided to see if I could make it work. About half way through seizing...


    Not a pretty picture. (The bowline will be replaced with an eye splice.)


    I'll probably need to buy some more rope and make a proper sized strop.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  4. #4
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    Very nice Julie, thanks for sharing.

    I have thought about this project many times just never seemed to get one done.

  5. #5
    Certainly better looking than Lewmars. Good on!
    Fair winds and following seas,
    Jim Waldron

  6. #6
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    Thank you Keith and Jim.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  7. #7
    Great work on your blocks, very impressed!!! I am also working on making up a set of rope blocks, inspired from my recent volunteer work at an historical shipyard.

    Question for you, what type of splice did you use on the blocks? Did you use a short splice or a grommet type splice? Or?

    The one historical block I have access to are blocks about 12 inch in size and what appears to be a grommet splice with the rope ends located at the bottom of the block.

    This is a very interesting project with a lot to learn!!!

    Thanks for your inspiration!!

  8. #8
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    Hi Kreig,

    I used a grommet splice. It was pretty easy. The hard part was getting the measurement right. On one I got it perfect. The other was a bit short but I managed to make it work.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  9. #9
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    The pictures are not showing up!
    -Howard

  10. #10
    That's very nice work Julie!
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  11. #11
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    Thank you, guys. If anyone is interested, I got my inspiration from Traditional Maritime Skills. If you do a web search for "making wooden boat blocks", look for the one says "Traditional Maritime Skills :: Making Blocks" on the website boat-building.org. There's a video showing Dutch craftsmen at work in a shop dedicated to old boat refitting. You can hear the craftsmen tapping away in the background. Pretty cool...
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

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