On Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:55:25 -0400, "Flying Pig"
wrote in part:

Ed. Note:
So, that's what I'd had last night. In the meantime, I came up with various
sorts of pipe solutions - 2" PVC, a 2" nipple, and, today, as I was
wandering in the yard and happened upon the welder here, I realized that he
probably used 2" aluminum pipe in his work. He confirmed that he did, and
that 2" dimension was ID, and has offered me a cutoff.

I don't think that I can get it down the shaft, and if I could, there
wouldn't be room for sandpaper's thickness, even if I could figure out how
to adhere it. I'd first test it to see how exact it was, of course; if it's
very slightly oversized, that changes matters, as, of course, its being
slightly undersized would, in my thinking.

However, I believe that if I cut it lengthwise at slightly less than exactly
half, I will have a small section which I can carefully ram/wooden-hammer
(lengthwise) over the shaft, thus expanding it slightly so as to allow for
sandpaper's thickness.

This would solve both the straight line challenge I posed above, as well as
enhance the ability to end up with a round finished product, by going not
only up and down the shaft, but around it with this slightly-more-than-half
pipe. If I can't make it expand enough, I could use the
slightly-less-than-half-pipe nearly as well to the purpose. Both would be
amply stout to preserve a straight line, my original thought/challenge, from
good material over pit repair to good material on the other side, but would
have the advantage of a curvature closely matching that of the shaft.

So, back to all my begs in one ask-it, are there any better ideas? And, if
this idea is da bomb, what's the best way to manipulate this sanding shoe to
achieve the best results, in your collective opinion?

L8R, y'all

Skip, working on the boat

Skip, I really hate to throw in a very negative note, but...

I've used that Devcon commercial stuff quite a lot. You really don't
realize just how difficult that stuff is to sand. Imagine you welded
around to build up the shaft and then take that metal down with
sandpaper. That's pretty much how the Devcon is. When they say can be
"machined", they do mean machined with a lathe, milling machine,
drill, etc.

One thought. Take that 2" drop off and verify it'll fit over the shaft
snugly, even, in fact preferably if it has to be heated a bit. Camfer
one end. Apply the Devcon to the shaft, letting it build up a bit.
Coat the inside of the drop off with some kind of mold release. Heat
it up and slide / hammer it over the area and fasten in place. Remove
all the Devcon squeezed out. After it's cured, hammer and cuss to get
the drop off "mold" off.

Rick