Grommet help needed!

[imported_Steven Bauer]

I'm finally putting the finishing touches on the sail rig for my 14' John Gardner skiff. Mary helped me sew the sail last fall but I never put the spur grommets in. Do you just hammer them on with the grommet set or do you cut a hole in the fabric first? Do you need to melt the edges of the hole? It's a regular dacron fabric from a sailrite kit.

Thanks,
Steven

[ 08-03-2004, 11:14 PM: Message edited by: Steven Bauer ]

[phiil]

Gosh, I'm no expert at this, but:
I like to make a hole with a red-hot something, not my best awl, but a piece of ferrous stuff about the right diameter, (i.e. the minor diameter of the grommet) or tapered, and thrust through the fabric to the right diameter. Then set the grommet. Use the tool that came with the grommets, as it makes all the difference. I like slow pressure, with an arbor press or a vise, rather than fast pressure, as in hammer. If you are putting grommets in the leach of your sail so as to have a proper place to fly your ensign, take care that you do not pinch the leach trim line in the process. (Please don't ask me why I know this.)

[imported_Steven Bauer]

Thanks, I just poked around Sailrite's site and found some instructions.
Now the list is down to - varnish the spars, mount the rudder, make the tiller and add some flotation. Maybe next weekend.

Steven

[Todd Bradshaw]

Just pound them into a bare hole with a wooden or rawhide mallet. Don't use a metal hammer. Spur grommet setters are expensive and you run the risk of fracturing the setter it with a hammer. You can hot-cut the holes in the cloth if it's easiest, but it really won't make any difference in strength. The teeth around the rim of a spur grommet do the cloth-gripping, not the barrel in the hole (unlike the toothless variety of hardware store washer-grommets, which is why we use spurs on sails).

[Hughman]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid117/p1b455f8ecb187be7a3e16f6c365bf306/f89d7ce6.jpg

Be glad to help! :D