Wooden blocks

[jalmberg]

Any one know of a book that describes how to build wooden blocks? I need a new set for my boat. Good winter project.

TIA,

[Sailor]

Search engine in this forum should turn you up more than a few threads on that. Good luck. I can't wait to get at blocks of my own.

[Dave Gray]

Use Google's advanced search option, use http://forum.woodenboat.com as the domain in which you want to search, and type in "wooden blocks" as a search term. You can't go wrong.

Here is an old thread on this topic from the year 2000:

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...n-block-design

[St.J]

Duckworks have an article about building rope stropped wooden blocks.

I'm basing my blocks on this but shaping them as an ellipse and mortising them rather than laminating.

[BillyBudd]

It is indeed a great winter project. The Duckworks article worked for me, the boat, the halyards and sheets. For thimbles, check out on the WB Forum their making from small pieces of copper pipe using several ball peen hammers. Like St. J, I made my blocks elliptical and they've worked out fine. I made a few extra but so far the blocks hold up very well. The little shaped microplane rasp works nicely to get the groove in the UHMH plastic sheaves. I used silicon bronze rod for the shaft, pennies for the shaft stoppers, a silicon bronze washer each side of the sheave, NE Rope 3 strand polyester line for grommets, lots of varnish (10 coats, I think) to build up a surface to take knocks. Seizing with small stuff tarred marlin line essential. Have had to tighten up seizing by adding more to some blocks.

[Eddiebou]

If you can find a copy of "The arts of the sailor" by Hervey Garrett Smith, you'll have all sorts of winter projects to keep you busy.

[holzbt]

Hervey Garrett Smith, THE MARLINSPIKE SAILOR. I've made dozens, not that difficult and they look and work great.

[St.J]

I made a few extra but so far the blocks hold up very well. The little shaped microplane rasp works nicely to get the groove in the UHMH plastic sheaves.

Billy,
I tried making my sheaves from Lignum (had some the right size) and went to work with the microplane. Bent it first go!
Set up the lathe and am having better luck.

[BillyBudd]

For rope grommets, I refer to Brion Toss' The Complete Rigger's Apprentice. The trick is to make grommets that lay flat--twists will be a mess. Toss tells how to do it with a throw-away very stiff rope that takes the softer polyester--you slowly unlay the stiff stuff as you lay in the soft, round and round until all three strands are replaced. Then some knotting, some feathering in of strands. You might like to look into it and practice a few times. For the rope "form" I used some stiff and rough old rope found on a beach -- probably ancient pot warp from lobster traps that washed up after a storm. It has to be the same diameter as the grommet will be. Although it is behind me, I think the tarred marlin I used was 3/64" diameter -- need sailor's palm, needle, needle nose pliers. Tight-tight-tight.

Never worked with lignum, but hear it is very heavy stuff. Pricey too. UHMW plastic less costly, lighter, easier to work. If you'd like to experiment, then try it out and see if you like it. Heard a great story about some ebony/lignum trees out in the south Pacific, felled 10' timbers too heavy to lift, a NZ lumber dealer out-foxed by islanders who needed a new saw for a week to cut it up into transportable lengths, the disappearance of the saw and islanders. Those days, those times!

[jalmberg]

Hervey Garrett Smith, THE MARLINSPIKE SAILOR. I've made dozens, not that difficult and they look and work great.

Great, thanks!

[jalmberg]

If you can find a copy of "The arts of the sailor" by Hervey Garrett Smith, you'll have all sorts of winter projects to keep you busy.

Cool, I'll try to find a copy. Thanks!

[jalmberg]

Duckworks have an article about building rope stropped wooden blocks.

I'm basing my blocks on this but shaping them as an ellipse and mortising them rather than laminating.

Good tutorial, thanks!

[jalmberg]

It is indeed a great winter project. The Duckworks article worked for me, the boat, the halyards and sheets. For thimbles, check out on the WB Forum their making from small pieces of copper pipe using several ball peen hammers. Like St. J, I made my blocks elliptical and they've worked out fine. I made a few extra but so far the blocks hold up very well. The little shaped microplane rasp works nicely to get the groove in the UHMH plastic sheaves. I used silicon bronze rod for the shaft, pennies for the shaft stoppers, a silicon bronze washer each side of the sheave, NE Rope 3 strand polyester line for grommets, lots of varnish (10 coats, I think) to build up a surface to take knocks. Seizing with small stuff tarred marlin line essential. Have had to tighten up seizing by adding more to some blocks.

I'll probably oil mine. Thanks!

[jalmberg]

There are lots of tutorials for making single sheave blocks. I need to make at least one steel-strapped, triple sheave block with becket for the double ended main sheet. Maybe it's no more complicated than gluing on a couple more cheeks and using a longer pin, but I'd love to see an example, first.

[Sailor]

Marlinspike sailor, last paragraph on stropped blocks:
"This is the basic design and you can take it from there. Many variations can be worked out easily for specific uses. For a double block merely increase the dimensions of the blank shown to accomodate another mortise, with a 1/2 inch separator"

The diagram is for line of 3/8 inch. the principal dimensions are 3 5/8 long, 1 3/4 wide and 1 1/2 thick for one sheave. mortise is 9/16 wide and 2 5/16 long located 1/2 inch from the bottom. Look it up, it's worth it.

[troutman]

I need a few for my SandDollar project. The Duckworks article seems to cover it. Those of you who are referring us to the WB search function.....thanks for nothing.

[Sailor]

Nothing turned up on the search function? HMMM I know we've discussed it at length on the forum. That's odd.

[jalmberg]

Marlinspike sailor, last paragraph on stropped blocks:
"This is the basic design and you can take it from there. Many variations can be worked out easily for specific uses. For a double block merely increase the dimensions of the blank shown to accomodate another mortise, with a 1/2 inch separator"

The diagram is for line of 3/8 inch. the principal dimensions are 3 5/8 long, 1 3/4 wide and 1 1/2 thick for one sheave. mortise is 9/16 wide and 2 5/16 long located 1/2 inch from the bottom. Look it up, it's worth it.

I just ordered a copy through interlibrary loan (a great service, btw.)

I was also reading Captain Pete on making blocks, and he's talked me out of using steel straps. I'll try rope for the triple & double I need.

[holzbt]

Locust blocks for a friends boat. They sailed around the world with them and had no issues. I know I made a few triples that they wanted just in case but I don't think they ever used them. There were plenty of doubles also.

If you want to read about the voyage try here http://www.worldvoyagers.com/iwalani/index.htm or here http://www.bookorchard.com/

[jalmberg]

Nice. I bet there's a triple right above that double.

Why are the pins in the shackles painted red?

[SchoonerRat]

I need a few for my SandDollar project. The Duckworks article seems to cover it. Those of you who are referring us to the WB search function.....thanks for nothing.

WBF's internal search engine is about as helpful as a screen door in a submarine!

Use GOOGLE.

When you type in your search terms, ad "site:forum.woodenboat.com" without the quotes, of course.

This restricts GOOGLE's search to the forum. GOOGLE will find what you want!

[Thorne]

Wood blocks can also be quite primitive, depending on the look and function desired. Here's one made by a friend for a period-look sailing dinghy -




I find the internal Wooden Boat Forum search engine to be pretty limited, as it doesn't allow Boolean searches (tow +dinghy +bridle).

Try Google's Advanced Search ( http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en ) . Just copy and paste the Forum's URL ( http://forum.woodenboat.com/) into the last field named "Search within a site or domain:", then put in search strings like "tow dinghy bridle" or whatever.

[jalmberg]

Is that a coin in the side of the block?

[jacketch]

Good info.

Thanks

[Thorne]

Is that a coin in the side of the block?

Don't think so, just some sort of copper rivet-thingie. This is a mainsheet traveler block on a 14' spritsail dinghy.

[Sailor]

Where's the rest of the dink Thorne? Looks interesting.

[jalmberg]

WBF's internal search engine is about as helpful as a screen door in a submarine!

Use GOOGLE.

When you type in your search terms, ad "site:forum.woodenboat.com" without the quotes, of course.

This restricts GOOGLE's search to the forum. GOOGLE will find what you want!

There isnt much to find, in any case, which is why I've been looking for a book. Still looking.

[Thorne]

Where's the rest of the dink Thorne? Looks interesting.

http://www.luckhardt.com/big-lagoon-06/ <- look at the last 6 images in the slideshow

Baaaack to the topic:

Using Google's advanced search for "wooden blocks" with the URL = http://forum.woodenboat.com/

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...ch-Linseed-oil

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...-Wooden-blocks

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...-wooden-blocks

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...-Wooden-Blocks

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...-wooden-blocks

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...-wooden-blocks

[jalmberg]

http://www.luckhardt.com/big-lagoon-06/ <- look at the last 6 images in the slideshow

Baaaack to the topic:

Using Google's advanced search for "wooden blocks" with the URL = http://forum.woodenboat.com/

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...ch-Linseed-oil

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...-Wooden-blocks

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...-wooden-blocks

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...-Wooden-Blocks

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...-wooden-blocks

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...-wooden-blocks

Thanks. I've been googling the forum every which way, and have found lots of threads on linseed oil, Canadian pennies, and rope grommets, but nothing on the construction details of complicated blocks, like this 3-sheave block with becket that I need for my main sheet. I probably have enough info to just wing it, but would love to see something definitive, first. Would hate to have my brand new blocks explode half-way to Nantucket.

I've got those two books on order from the library, and still digging for some ancient text... someone must have written a chapter -- at least -- on building blocks back in the 1800s. Just need to find it...

[Canoeyawl]

There were a few very good articles in the WoodenBoat magazine over the years.
And there are good illustrations and explanations in Clifford Ashley's book on Knots. This might be the best resource out there.

[St.J]

In WB 41 Brion Toss wrote an article on the construction of the "Handy Billy".
He mortised a couple of substantial pieces of lignum (can't imagine what they cost but I recall he compared them to a week's groceries - must shop at Fortnum and Mason).
He used very nice ball bearing sheaves if I remember correctly.
I mortised Afromosia and Elm. Elm has a complex grain pattern and so will resist splitting. I tried to make sure the grain run perpendicular to the pull on the pin.
Because he was making a double becket at one end he used a very large sheave so the line didn't chafe against itself on the smaller sheave.

[RodB]

You might contact Bob Albers, the builder building "Susan". He makes his own blocks and the size is based on the line to be put through them.... I believe the basic drawings and sketches are in some of the rigging books... but mostly he used the parameters from "The Marlinspike Sailor"....

bobalbers@purelyonline.com







RB

[Sailor]

http://www.wrenhouse.com/unique_gift...ocks/index.htm


Tell me the prices here are just a little bit high! Who'd pay that much to put wooden blocks on they're boat? You could take a woodworking course and a ropework course, buy tools (power ones too if you're thrifty) AND the materials to buy these things at that price.

[jalmberg]

In WB 41 Brion Toss wrote an article on the construction of the "Handy Billy".
He mortised a couple of substantial pieces of lignum (can't imagine what they cost but I recall he compared them to a week's groceries - must shop at Fortnum and Mason).
He used very nice ball bearing sheaves if I remember correctly.
I mortised Afromosia and Elm. Elm has a complex grain pattern and so will resist splitting. I tried to make sure the grain run perpendicular to the pull on the pin.
Because he was making a double becket at one end he used a very large sheave so the line didn't chafe against itself on the smaller sheave.

The Rigger's Apprentice has the most detailed information I've been able to find, thus far. I just sent him an email to ask if he knows of any out-of-print books that may go into more detail. If anyone should know, I'd guess it would be Brian.

Thanks for the info.

[jalmberg]

Rod, thanks for the photos... just the kind of thing I'm looking for.

So, with rope-stropped blocks, the cheeks are bearing all the load of the pin. As opposed to steel or bronze stropped, where the metal is taking most of the load.

The rope also makes the blocks a bit chunky. No problem for tail blocks, but a bit clunky to hang off the end of a boom, maybe. I'm thinking of using metal-stropped ones for those. That's what the boat had as 'original equipment'. I have some of them and I'm going to take them apart and salvage as much of the innards as possible.

Thanks!

[jalmberg]

In WB 41 Brion Toss wrote an article on the construction of the "Handy Billy".

Just got the PDF from WB (one of these days, I need to buy that USB drive with all the back issues...) Very useful. Thanks!

[RodB]

Heres a link that will help...

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...yes-and-blocks...

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...-Wooden-Blocks

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...d-yacht-blocks

[jalmberg]

I found a source of commercial wooden blocks... factory made for industrial use (including marine cargo). Gives you a baseline for how much these babies cost when built on an assembly line, rather than hand-crafted:

http://www.slings.com/servlet/the-28...ock-Reg/Detail

[jalmberg]

Heres a link that will help...

Good stuff. Thanks.