Ahoy , Does any one know what the red rubber cheeks on South Coast blocks , are composed of ?
Also , is it possible to purchase this red rubber in block form , in order to cut and fabricate our own replacements ,
Obviously , I love my “South Coast” Blocks , but the UV has taken a tole on them , Ouch !!!
I think the old Southcoast blocks are some of the best made with the bronze frames and roller bearings…usually outlast the boat they are on. I had same issue and ended up making new cheeks from Black Locust. It’s not that difficult to do and they wear well and look great.
There are a number of articles and blogs on doing this…you may want to check out the “Wooden Boat Forum” and do a search.
Good luck
Mark
SV “Seabird” Frances 26
I suspect they were fabricated from Buna-N rubber. Blocks of rubber
are available (McMaster.com) but shaping the rubber into block cheeks
is difficult. Once can machine rubber providing it is “frozen” in a
dry ice alcohol slush then machined before it becomes too soft.
As stated in the last post, fabricating wood cheeks is not difficult.
All one needs is a Japanese handsaw, I similar saw, a drill, wood
files and assorted grades of quality sandpaper. A band saw and drill
press speeds the job. Wood choices range from quarter sawed Douglas
fir to white oak to teak to black locust.
Rod
BCC IDUNA
On Wed, Sep 25, 2013 at 6:09 PM, BCC Forums bccforums@samlmorse.com wrote: