Thread: 1996 Blazer VL100 Restoration to Crappie Chaser

It will be a good project for the father and son to do together.

Well you've seen the full sheet of aluminum and seen some hatches formed, I thought I would post the rest.



First things first. Draw out all the hatches you need to fabricate on paper. After that task is completed go back to the boat and re-measure everything! Measure twice - cut once. It's Real. I try to use a sharp Sharpie for these lines for a more accurate final product. We don't want trapezoidal Hatches. In the second image you see I have to do mirror image hatches in the front. Layout the reverse in the middle of your sheet stock as shown here. It ensured you don't make 2 Port or 2 Starboard hatches. When cutting the aluminum always use a saw guide whenever possible. There is a saying; "A lazy man does the most work" very true words if you try to save time by not properly setting up a saw guide. You can see in the last picture how straight the Cold Saw cuts sheet aluminum using a guide.



So I bought this Antique Notcher from a scrap iron hauler for $50 and paid his son another $50 to free it up for me. (It still needs the long handles to make Notching easy) I got to say a solid Notcher like this and as long as you're accurate with your aim you get perfect notches. I notch everything at one time for speed in production.



Forming the Hatches for my boat on the Brake is pretty straight forward as long as you keep two things in mind. Always square your boxes (hatches) with the teeth of the brake, this ensures square hatches. Second, the side of the hatch that is mounted to the piano hinge must be bent at 90 degrees or a little more. If not your Hatches will not close properly. Using a Box & Pan Brake is very easy due to the removable teeth. It allows you to bend Boxes. Seen in the picture I have removed 2 teeth so they do not interfere with the 3rd & 4th bends. You can see an example of a formed Hatch next to a Notched only Hatch. Last picture is the first 4 Hatches off the Brake.

Very nice work. I am amazed at the change in my body and the need for pry bar assists etc in the last 10 years. Your work is amazing sir!

Very cool and nice. Good find for $100. Lots of use left in that machine.

I removed two teeth too, but it was not intentional. Dentist thought they should go! lol J/K, I got all toofers in my face still, cept one got a crown! doh

Originally Posted by Slab

I removed two teeth too, but it was not intentional. Dentist thought they should go! lol J/K, I got all toofers in my face still, cept one got a crown! doh

You toofer made me think of this clip…

Fortunately my best friend is a Rock Star Dentist, graduated top of his class in Calgary one of the best Dental schools in the world. He also owns a small fleet of boats 17ft-36ft so I keep all his stuff fixed. I have more crowns & root canals than I can count. This winter I have to have surgery and a graft to replace one. Take Care of Your Teeth.

I have some pictures here to show why I profile the corners on all the aluminum hatches I fabricate that gets Edging installed. The Edging doesn't like to make corners, the metal reinforcements embedded in the Edging Rusts. Here you can see I'm using standard Auto Body Tools, Dolly & Flat Faced Hammer to form radius corners so the Edging will stay where I put it and not "Bulge" in the corners allowing water to intrude there first. By Tapping the edge of the aluminum with the hammer while holding the dolly just past the edge you "Roll" the radius in the corners. Be patient. It will walk right where you want it to go. Afterwards I TIG weld the corners with 5356 alloy rods, very tough filler material. Lastly you can see the profile of the edging material, since these are sitting on gelcoat I'm using Edging that has a Bulb Seal, hopefully it will last because My suppliers are out of stock on anything else.




Ever hear the joke "Welders can fill any crack"? So cutting the radius on my bandsaw was a bit crooked but it doesn't matter on the profile as I'm matching the hull radius curve so the hatch looks "Factory". After tacking in the middle I clamp one edge then the other in the natural bend the aluminum wants to form. Using the TIG welding technique again I weld the Side Strip onto the Hatch filling the cracks as I go. Most was welded with 3/32 filler rods but for "Bridging the Gaps" I just step up to 1/8 filler rods, push the thicker rod into the puddle absorbing the excess heat then stopping my Arc to let the puddle solidify. Works like a charm. Well what do you know, the crooked cut is gone. Of course the welds will be cut smooth during the painting process.



The Rod Box Hatch is a little different animal. With reverse bends a radius side, and different hinge mounting I used the lid itself to transfer the angles to the aluminum sheet before forming. The rest is straight forward as written above.



So the Blazer gets 5 new 1/8in 5052 Aluminum Custom Hatches............I will post the painting later. Hope you enjoy. I made all the Main Hatches deeper so the Hatches would be level with the rest of the Decks. The original Hatches sat lower then the Decks.