Don't try and repair yourself. The prop will be out of balance and will
tear up the outdrive.
It is repairable by a local prop shop but as you say, for $100 you can buy a
new one and repair of this one will be $60 to $80 depending on who does the
work.
SS will improve overall performance (not just top end) but at a lot more
dollars.

Bottom line - buy the new prop and be done w/ it.
Check ebay first just in case there is something there cheaper.

--
Tony
my boats and cars at http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com

-
"Ignoramus13822" wrote in message
...
This is a 14.75" diameter, 17" pitch aluminum prop from my boat. Did
some damage to it last year and am using a Piranha propeller (spit).

Here's my aluminum prop:

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/Boat-Prop/

I want to go back to metal props ASAP. I wonder what do you think
about the condition of my current propeller.

Should I attempt to grind it a little bit? It does not make sense to
pay for refurbishing it, with all the hassle etc, it is easier to buy
a new one for $99 at boat-props.com.

Is it really worthwhile to look for stainless props? I do not care
much about "top speed", my boat is mostly used for "ski tubing" and
such at below top speed. We do not water ski due to lack of skills and
desire.

thanks

i

"Ignoramus13822" wrote in message
...
This is a 14.75" diameter, 17" pitch aluminum prop from my boat. Did
some damage to it last year and am using a Piranha propeller (spit).

Here's my aluminum prop:

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/Boat-Prop/

I want to go back to metal props ASAP. I wonder what do you think
about the condition of my current propeller.

Should I attempt to grind it a little bit? It does not make sense to
pay for refurbishing it, with all the hassle etc, it is easier to buy
a new one for $99 at boat-props.com.

Is it really worthwhile to look for stainless props? I do not care
much about "top speed", my boat is mostly used for "ski tubing" and
such at below top speed. We do not water ski due to lack of skills and
desire.

thanks

i


Home repair of propellers is not an option in my mind. I do not believe you
will be able to "true" the blades of the prop.
I question if it is worth paying to get them rebuilt either.
I had one rebuilt a couple of years ago, then discovered the hub was
slipping too. Figured I had sunk the money in the rebuild so I may as well
have the hub replaced too. That prop never did run well. I finally ran it
through a gravel bed and wrecked it. I bought a new OEM prop and it worked
so much better.
I never will rebuild a prop again.
Greg

It's not something you can repair yourself. I've had my propellers repaired
for $35-$55.
If you plan on dinging it again, stick with aluminum: your propeller will
take a beating, but while it's absorbing the impact, less impact is being
passed through to the drive shaft.

"Ignoramus13822" wrote in message
...
This is a 14.75" diameter, 17" pitch aluminum prop from my boat. Did
some damage to it last year and am using a Piranha propeller (spit).

Here's my aluminum prop:

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/Boat-Prop/

I want to go back to metal props ASAP. I wonder what do you think
about the condition of my current propeller.

Should I attempt to grind it a little bit? It does not make sense to
pay for refurbishing it, with all the hassle etc, it is easier to buy
a new one for $99 at boat-props.com.

Is it really worthwhile to look for stainless props? I do not care
much about "top speed", my boat is mostly used for "ski tubing" and
such at below top speed. We do not water ski due to lack of skills and
desire.

thanks

i

If it is just the little dinks in the edge you are worried about I would
just clean it up and balance it as best I could. You could fill the dinks
with a TIG welder and the file to finish. I am not a big fan of stainless
props for recreational use.
A belt sander would probably be a good choice for cleaning it up. I use a
dynafile or belt sander to clean the profile and feather the edges back out.
A lawnmower blade balancer will get you close enough for your stated use.
Glenn
"Ignoramus13822" wrote in message
...
This is a 14.75" diameter, 17" pitch aluminum prop from my boat. Did
some damage to it last year and am using a Piranha propeller (spit).

Here's my aluminum prop:

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/Boat-Prop/

I want to go back to metal props ASAP. I wonder what do you think
about the condition of my current propeller.

Should I attempt to grind it a little bit? It does not make sense to
pay for refurbishing it, with all the hassle etc, it is easier to buy
a new one for $99 at boat-props.com.

Is it really worthwhile to look for stainless props? I do not care
much about "top speed", my boat is mostly used for "ski tubing" and
such at below top speed. We do not water ski due to lack of skills and
desire.

thanks

i

"Ignoramus13822" wrote in message
...
This is a 14.75" diameter, 17" pitch aluminum prop from my boat. Did
some damage to it last year and am using a Piranha propeller (spit).

Here's my aluminum prop:

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/Boat-Prop/

I want to go back to metal props ASAP. I wonder what do you think
about the condition of my current propeller.

Should I attempt to grind it a little bit? It does not make sense to
pay for refurbishing it, with all the hassle etc, it is easier to buy
a new one for $99 at boat-props.com.

Is it really worthwhile to look for stainless props? I do not care
much about "top speed", my boat is mostly used for "ski tubing" and
such at below top speed. We do not water ski due to lack of skills and
desire.



I don't see enough damage there to cause much if any concern at all....

--

SVL

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 03:24:54 GMT, Ignoramus13822
wrote:

This is a 14.75" diameter, 17" pitch aluminum prop from my boat. Did
some damage to it last year and am using a Piranha propeller (spit).

Here's my aluminum prop:

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/Boat-Prop/

I want to go back to metal props ASAP. I wonder what do you think
about the condition of my current propeller.

Should I attempt to grind it a little bit? It does not make sense to
pay for refurbishing it, with all the hassle etc, it is easier to buy
a new one for $99 at boat-props.com.

Is it really worthwhile to look for stainless props? I do not care
much about "top speed", my boat is mostly used for "ski tubing" and
such at below top speed. We do not water ski due to lack of skills and
desire.

That's not bad at all from that angle.

You didn't mention where you live, but around here, it's a $35 to $50
dollar job to fix and rebalance.

Later,

Tom

I had been in the prop repair business with my dad up until a few
years back, and if done properly they willl work as good as a new prop
or better. It is not something that can be done without the proper
pitch blocks. Other than flat filing any raised burrs off do not grind
or file on the outer edges of the blade or attempt to thin an edge
out. Its just as important to have equal surface area on each blade as
it is to have them all the same pitch. You grind off the edge to
remove nicks you'll only have to pay to have it built back up again if
yu go the repair route.

NIcks etc on the leading edges of the prop will cause or induce
cavitation, which may or may not affect performance but over time it
will cause erosion of the blades at the root/hub section.

Rebuild should run between $25-50 bucks depending on type prop and
amount of damage........hubs generally run $20 to 60 depending on the
prop.....if your payaing more than that your getting shafted.....

A lot of repair stations use the zinc filler rod and the O/A to fill
in nicks and missing pieces........This may last for some time but you
will find it is very prone to breaking out, and a shop that TIG welds
it up is the best route and it does not cost anymore overall.......

While shops maya play the balance deal on props it is highly unlikely
that any shops balance most props other than the solid bore props and
even then its unlikely...............Foks assume its out of balance
due to vibrations but its usually always because it has one or more
blades out of pitch that causes the vibrations. You can take a new
wheel and check it for balance, and you would be surprised just how
far out they are. Even in prop repair school, taught by Merc and back
them OMC and Rundquist Prop Tools, they told us straight up, don;t
waste time balancing these props......A prop run in water is different
than a prop run in air, and variation in weight and balance will not
have any effect on it, however its a marketing source for an extra
buck for doing nothing to earn it. Only props I ever balanced were the
typical bronzes found on ski natiques etc, again a non hubbed, ridgid
bore prop.......never a rubber hubbed prop.

If blade shapes, surface area and pitch are the same and if its
ground to carry the overall blade thickness on the repair to follow
what ws original, it will be fine.

A prop actually only uses the outer 10% of its blade to do the
work......the inner portion of the blade is needed to hold on the
outer portion and does come into play at low or intermediate speeds,
but most work is done by the outer 10% of the blade itself. This is
why nicks and dings on the blades tips are important to have repaired.
Your one blade tip looks pretty chewed up to me and I would be
surprised if that blade itself was not also bent out of original pitch
shape......so it really needs to be put on a pitch block and checked,
repaired, and not merely file off the nicks etc......


On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 03:24:54 GMT, Ignoramus13822
wrote:

===This is a 14.75" diameter, 17" pitch aluminum prop from my boat. Did
===some damage to it last year and am using a Piranha propeller (spit).
===
===Here's my aluminum prop:
===
=== http://igor.chudov.com/projects/Boat-Prop/
===
===I want to go back to metal props ASAP. I wonder what do you think
===about the condition of my current propeller.
===
===Should I attempt to grind it a little bit? It does not make sense to
===pay for refurbishing it, with all the hassle etc, it is easier to buy
===a new one for $99 at boat-props.com.
===
===Is it really worthwhile to look for stainless props? I do not care
===much about "top speed", my boat is mostly used for "ski tubing" and
===such at below top speed. We do not water ski due to lack of skills and
===desire.
===
===thanks
===
===i


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!
"The original frugal ponder"
~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 11:35:03 GMT, (~Roy~) wrote:

I had been in the prop repair business with my dad up until a few
years back, and if done properly they willl work as good as a new prop
or better. It is not something that can be done without the proper
pitch blocks. Other than flat filing any raised burrs off do not grind
or file on the outer edges of the blade or attempt to thin an edge
out. Its just as important to have equal surface area on each blade as
it is to have them all the same pitch. You grind off the edge to
remove nicks you'll only have to pay to have it built back up again if
yu go the repair route.

NIcks etc on the leading edges of the prop will cause or induce
cavitation, which may or may not affect performance but over time it
will cause erosion of the blades at the root/hub section.

Rebuild should run between $25-50 bucks depending on type prop and
amount of damage........hubs generally run $20 to 60 depending on the
prop.....if your payaing more than that your getting shafted.....

A lot of repair stations use the zinc filler rod and the O/A to fill
in nicks and missing pieces........This may last for some time but you
will find it is very prone to breaking out, and a shop that TIG welds
it up is the best route and it does not cost anymore overall.......

While shops maya play the balance deal on props it is highly unlikely
that any shops balance most props other than the solid bore props and
even then its unlikely...............Foks assume its out of balance
due to vibrations but its usually always because it has one or more
blades out of pitch that causes the vibrations. You can take a new
wheel and check it for balance, and you would be surprised just how
far out they are. Even in prop repair school, taught by Merc and back
them OMC and Rundquist Prop Tools, they told us straight up, don;t
waste time balancing these props......A prop run in water is different
than a prop run in air, and variation in weight and balance will not
have any effect on it, however its a marketing source for an extra
buck for doing nothing to earn it. Only props I ever balanced were the
typical bronzes found on ski natiques etc, again a non hubbed, ridgid
bore prop.......never a rubber hubbed prop.

If blade shapes, surface area and pitch are the same and if its
ground to carry the overall blade thickness on the repair to follow
what ws original, it will be fine.

A prop actually only uses the outer 10% of its blade to do the
work......the inner portion of the blade is needed to hold on the
outer portion and does come into play at low or intermediate speeds,
but most work is done by the outer 10% of the blade itself. This is
why nicks and dings on the blades tips are important to have repaired.
Your one blade tip looks pretty chewed up to me and I would be
surprised if that blade itself was not also bent out of original pitch
shape......so it really needs to be put on a pitch block and checked,
repaired, and not merely file off the nicks etc......

Every once in a while, a real gem comes along.

Great information - thanks. I always thought balancing was a part of
the repair process - now I know.

Appreciate it.

If I was going to replace my prop with a new one, I would go with a
Michigan Wheel brand or a Propco brand over OEM brands. Michigan wheel
and Propco use a slightly different alloy which is more suitable to be
able to be straightened and they are usually cheaper and are just as
fine as OEM which usually cost more to buy.

Some of the hardest props to repair were the ones made by OMC/Johnson
/Evinrude.........Merc, Mariner, yamaha and Volvo among the
easiest........but propco and Michigan wheel a piece of cake and much
more substantial and cheaper.

Unless you have a performance type boat, I would not use a SS wheel
on. Folks think the SS wheels are able to do wonders, but in most
cases they can not. On top of that if you hit something hard enough to
really tear up a SS wheel you also have more risk in tearing up
something else in the lower unit.....I would run aluminum, and use the
extra money I saved and buy a spare composite or aluminum
prop..........plus you pay more to repair stainless when its damaged,
by almost 50% over aluminum repairs, and stainless does get tore up
its not destruction proof like some will lead you to believe.


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!
"The original frugal ponder"
~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o

I have had great luck and many repairs done by this guy he is great.
IMHO. I have even bought new from him.

http://www.midwestpropeller.com