Have you tried the Blacksmith forums , you don't say how big your bolts have
to be , Iron bolts are not difficult to make they can be made in a charcoal
puddling furnace , no rocket science really just Blacksmithing , a rough
sketch is ; a small pottery furnace but with a oval well in the bottom bits
of scrap steel and heaps of charcoal a buffalow forge blower when the shot
starts to melt a steel puddling bar is thrust into the melt , it isn't
really fluid but a thick sticky mass , the pudling bar is rolled side to
side and the sticky mass sticks to it , when enough material for the job in
hand has built up it is withdrawn and a power hammer does the rest in a
process called "drawing out" Blacksmiths do this process a lot .
Check out "Bramble Bush" forums , I have a book somewhere I will see if I
can find it , my email (remove all the
nospam) Cheers Ian in Bendigo Lat. 36;44;22 S Lon 144;19;47 E


--
A fine beer can be judged by one sip , but it's better to be sure
"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
ink.net...
Don wrote:
I have a problem of what type of keel bolt material I should use with
an oak keelson and an Iron keel. If I use 304 stainless steel the tanic
acid in the oak attacks the keel bolt and the stainless keel bolt is
more noble than the cast iron and the stainless attacks the iron. In
the old days they used a material called Black Iron. I have not been
able to locate any black Iron. I did a survey on a 1935 schooner called
Dabloon. I had the black iron keelbolts ultrasonicly inspected and were
good. Oak Keel and iron keel. Those old guys sure could do it right.
They also coated the bolts with red lead.
Send me an email if you have the answer
Don Huseman 310 4186481

Take a look at monel.

Lew