Is it advisable or necessary to apply lapping compound to the seacocks every year? or only "as needed"? If "only as needed" , how do you know when you need it ??
joels@ids.net
seacock lapping compound: yearly? or only "as needed" ??
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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Clay Stalker
Re: seacock lapping compound: yearly? or only "as needed" ??
Hi there Joel:Joel S wrote: Is it advisable or necessary to apply lapping compound to the seacocks every year? or only "as needed"? If "only as needed" , how do you know when you need it ??
I took apart all of my seacocks this year, cleaned them in kerosene (they weren't too grimy), greased them up with Spartan grease, and reassembled them. Took a couple of tries to get them back together with the right amount of pressure on the handle. They seem to fit nicely, so I assume I don't need to lap them. If they have been reasonably well maintained, you might never need to lap them....if they weep and you have them at the proper tension, you might need to lap them. But certainly not every year. Just a trial and error thing I found. Not as hard as I thought it would be, but can be tricky to get them back together with just the right tension so you can easily open and close them but not so loose that they vibrate open. Good luck, and see you around the Bay!!
Clay Stalker
CD27 Salsa #247
Bristol, Rhode Island
cstalker@cheshire.net
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Warren Kaplan
Re: seacock lapping compound: yearly? or only "as needed" ??
Just an observation. All it takes is about 5 minutes to lap a seacock. You rub some compound on the two pieces and work them back and forth a few minutes until smooth, then rinse off, grease and reassemble. The lapping compound is dirt cheap. If it took me 15 extra minutes to lap the 3 in cabin seacocks on my CD27 as opposed to just greasing and reassembling it was alot. So, if in doubt, lap 'um. Its no big deal.Joel S wrote: Is it advisable or necessary to apply lapping compound to the seacocks every year? or only "as needed"? If "only as needed" , how do you know when you need it ??
Warren Kaplan
Sine Qua Non
CD27
Oyster Bay Harbor, NY
Setsail728@aol.com
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Ken Coit
Want a Close Fit? Try this.
If you really want to have a precision fit in those seacocks, take some advice from the following:
"The easiest way to determine where material must be removed is to coat the temporary reference edge with colored material that can rub off on the other edges when the reference and the test piece are rubbed together slightly. For rough surfaces, colored sidewalk chalk works well, is available in bright colors, and washes off with water. A more traditional material to use is Prussian blue in oil, such as Dykem's Hi-Spot Blue; this is much messier than chalk, although it can be cleaned up with alcohol. A cheaper alternative to Prussian blue is paint pigment in a carrier, in the form of tubes of universal tints for latex and oil-based paints; these are available in a wide selection of bright colors, and can be cleaned off with soap and water."
The entire article can be found at the link below. It will even tell you how to make straight edges without any reference surface!
The articles on lapping valves seem to indicate that when the lapping is complete, the lapping compound will have disintegrated into a non-grinding state. I don't feel very comfortable with that idea when it comes to lapping bronze; the valve-grinding compound may be too hard for the bronze seacock. I'd use very fine grinding compound sparingly and check often to see how the surfaces are wearing together.
Keep on sailing,
Ken Coit
CD/14
CD/36 Parfait
Hailing Port: Raleigh, NC
Sailing from: Beaufort, NC
parfatiNOSPAM@nc.rr.com
"The easiest way to determine where material must be removed is to coat the temporary reference edge with colored material that can rub off on the other edges when the reference and the test piece are rubbed together slightly. For rough surfaces, colored sidewalk chalk works well, is available in bright colors, and washes off with water. A more traditional material to use is Prussian blue in oil, such as Dykem's Hi-Spot Blue; this is much messier than chalk, although it can be cleaned up with alcohol. A cheaper alternative to Prussian blue is paint pigment in a carrier, in the form of tubes of universal tints for latex and oil-based paints; these are available in a wide selection of bright colors, and can be cleaned off with soap and water."
The entire article can be found at the link below. It will even tell you how to make straight edges without any reference surface!
The articles on lapping valves seem to indicate that when the lapping is complete, the lapping compound will have disintegrated into a non-grinding state. I don't feel very comfortable with that idea when it comes to lapping bronze; the valve-grinding compound may be too hard for the bronze seacock. I'd use very fine grinding compound sparingly and check often to see how the surfaces are wearing together.
Keep on sailing,
Ken Coit
CD/14
CD/36 Parfait
Hailing Port: Raleigh, NC
Sailing from: Beaufort, NC
Joel S wrote: Is it advisable or necessary to apply lapping compound to the seacocks every year? or only "as needed"? If "only as needed" , how do you know when you need it ??
parfatiNOSPAM@nc.rr.com