Screws & Finish

Ed Houston · Post by **Ed Houston** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 7:14 am

Good morning all knowing list!

First question is on screws, Brass or Bronze? I have used Brass screws to attach my inwhales fully intending to replace them with Bronze before fitting the outwhales, however a couple of problems have raised there heads problem one some of the Brass screws will not come out without breaking (Epoxy glue holding them tight) problem two finding Bronze screws at the correct size has been difficult in my area.

Will the Brass screws be OK to leave in place?

Question two is regarding finish, I have made a nice inlay on my decks (birds eye maple deck with purple heart and blood wood inlay) that I was thinking of finishing with tongue oil before applying the varnish. The idea is that tongue oil seems to show the color better than raw varnish.

Will the varnish take over the tongue oil and will it last?

Thanks for any assistance
Ed

Hope to launch my Ranger in the next few weeks.

Rick · Post by **Rick** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 8:00 am

Ed,

I went with stainless steel screws to attach the outwales, so that replacement would be easier. SS is strong enough to break free from epoxy, and easily available in my area, and doesn't look bad on my boat. Although it's not as strong as SS, silicon bronze might be better for appearances, and both should be available through mail order places, eg.

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/siliconbronze.jsp

As far as oiling before applying varnish, good quality varnishes, (eg. Interlux Schooner) already have that oil in their mix, so I wouldn't oil first... although I've never actually tried that to see if it'd make a difference.

AlanWS · Post by **AlanWS** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 8:10 pm

As far as I know, the problem with brass screws is that they can break while you're installing them, but they are fine once installed: corrosion resistant, good looking, and strong enough. Bronze is stronger, but I wouldn't replace installed brass screws unless I needed to remove them for some other reason.

Ed Houston · Post by **Ed Houston** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 8:32 pm

Thanks Guys

I will leave the brass & I have interlux schooner varnish so will just slosh it on and not bother with the tongue oil.

Thanks again.

Ed