WJ Handlepole repair , the real slim shady version

[WFO Speedracer]

I posted this in the what did you f&^% up today thread , it's Fubar if you know what that term means , I must preface this thread with a warning :

It's Memorial day weekend and I am about four bottles of Jack Daniels into a six pack.

There you were warned.

I was drunk when I wrote this so forgive me if it goes astray, but when I woke up this morning I knew the handlepole had to be squared away , the sky was all cloudy and dust was flying everywhere , if it weren't for this poles destruction you know I didn't even care , 2000 little pieces , Oh I have screwed up big time , so tonight I'm gonna party like its 1989.

Here is the damage so far , easy peasy right , sure I mean why not .

 

[WFO Speedracer]

So nothing left to do but totally F it up some more right , I mean why wouldn't I at this point , I am drunk, bored and the world is my oyster .

 

[WFO Speedracer]

Time to start putting it back together but by now I am really drunk , so I can't drive to the shop for supplies now, no big dealio I will just use what's on hand , JB Weld is epoxy / plus it's metal filled so it should be really strong and stuff right , after all I have a plastic fork to mix it with , what could possibly go wrong , this should work really well.

I mean I feel like it's almost ready to put back on the ski and ride it like a rental right ?

This SMC repair stuff is childs play and I am feeling really good about this whole repair job right about now..

 

[WFO Speedracer]

It's outside in the sun drying , I am inside the house, chillin like a villain , all this time I am killing , I will start back on this tomorrow if I am willing .

I need more supplies , mostly beer , that's the important thing here.

 

[Myself]

Dude!.............When you get that back together you can........"Jam your jams off on a Yamaha Wavejammer!"

 

[WFO Speedracer]

Apparently I jammed it too much , now I am in a jam with my jammer that I can't fix with a hammer , if I had more beer I can fix it but I might end up in the slammer.

 

[WFO Speedracer]

So this one small piece kind of determines where the rest of the pieces go , glad I didn't lose this piece, there is not much there to work with there so I am just going to superglue it back in place .

Second pic part reattached , this stuff will hold a mans hardhat to a crane , it should be awesome and Shazam , just like magic it fits in there like swim wear.
You guessed it , I glued it in upside down so I had to rip that shizzle out and go again , ain't no thank but a chicken wang on a string.

 

[Harbor]

So nothing left to do but totally F it up some more right , I mean why wouldn't I at this point , I am drunk, bored and the world is my oyster .

That saw mill blade on a 1/2 grinder is wicked !!

 

[WFO Speedracer]

I needed something to hold this POS, errrr I mean beautiful handlepole together while I glue it back up with bathtub caulking and some screen wire , a piece of road sign did the job nicely , the rest was pulled together with zip ties , I would have used electric fence wire but I didn't have any handy at the time and the cows might get out if I rob a piece , road signs , hell they are everywhere out here..

I used the existing holes for the steering cable bracket and one of the holes for the steering hub plate to secure it , a little bending here and there and it's all good in the neighborhood.

 

[WFO Speedracer]

I picked up some more superglue and some baking soda to go with it, this combo of stuff is really strong and dries instantly.

So the next step was slathering it with epoxy , no cloth , just epoxy and baking soda , it worked so well with the superglue that I decided to mix it with the epoxy instead of Cabosil , I mean hell why not , it's only a dollar, this stuff is awesome it dried in like 5 minutes and it's as hard as a brick bat , I used duct tape to cover the gaps because no real repair job is done till you break out the duct tape.

 

[mrfist9]

I love this. I wanna reinforce mine ahead of this disaster.

 

[Myself]

Shoot,.....that thar tub caulk wuz all yu-ens needed anyway!

 

[WFO Speedracer]

Shoot,.....that thar tub caulk wuz all yu-ens needed anyway!

I know right , using household products is way underrated for simple repairs and stuff like this .

 

[WFO Speedracer]

Starting to look something like a handlepole again ,I didn't bother removing the zip ties , I just hit them with the flap disc easy peasy lemon squeezy , the motto here is if you believe it you can achieve it . If life hands you lemons , make some lemonade .

 

[WFO Speedracer]

I ground on it a bit , then I mixed up some more filler and went at it again , this time I decided to use powdered sugar as a filler , I expect this thing to come out looking really sweet , there is nothing too this SMC repair stuff , it's just like icing a cake !

 

[WFO Speedracer]

Reinforcement , we don't need no stinkin reinforcement , I am thinking corrugated cardboard , I mean when you wet that stuff out with epoxy it's just like Nomex honeycomb but one hella lot cheaper , I am really liking my thinking right now , this is gonna work great , You know how I want to be environmentally friendly and stuff , ahhhh the power of positive thinking, you just can't beat it.

 

[WFO Speedracer]

I decided to start working on the bottom piece of the handlepole that I removed earlier , it's not as trashed as the rest but it is still trashed nonetheless.

I glued the piece back on that I zipped off when taking it apart , I will have to lay up some cloth because it is now shorter than the other side and these two piece have to fit together fairly well to have any strength.

It is also damaged where the vent is cut in at, I doubt I will put it back exactly as it was, I have something else in mind there that will be much easier and cleaner.

As my dad used to say that's too much sugar for a dime.

 

[WFO Speedracer]

I do want to note that not one special tool has been used on this thus far , a grinder with a flap wheel and a cutting disc , if you want to call that a special tool .

My point is if I can do it , you can do it , don't think that you have to have all of this stuff to do a small SMC -FRP repair , you need basic stuff , small paint brusher, popsicle sticks ,scissors , small container for mixing , epoxy resin and Fiberglass cloth.

Would I suggest just anyone do the type of repair I am doing here , well no , not really but , hey you have to start somewhere and if it's already this F'ed up , what do you have to lose really , for sure , you can't make it any worse.

I look at SMC - FRP repair like welding , there isn't much in welding repair that can't be fixed with more weld. , at least when you are dealing with steel welding anyway , if you screw it up , grind it down and start over .

 

[WFO Speedracer]

I had to take a short break on this , it has been raining cats and dogs here all week and we are not done just yet , the garden is loving it though.

I had a bout of what I am guessing is Diverticulitis , at any rate it kept me couch bound for a few days and, getting old really sucks.

As you will see later in this thread the goal here is not just to rebuild a fubar handlepole that should have been thrown in the trash.

I have a somewhat loftier goal but right now I am keeping it under wraps , if you follow along you will find out , if you don't well I guess you won't .

 

[WFO Speedracer]

I ground out the loose stuff on the bottom piece, then I laid down some parchment paper and duct tape, serious repairs require serious tape you know.

After that I laid up two layers of 2 inch fiberglass tape , wet sloppy lay up but no worries , in the end it doesn't even matter .