Thread: Cost of Propeller Boring

Not to sure if its expensive but we charge $70 AN HOUR for off the street work.

Hmm interesting. My first questions would be Who was going to wear it if things dont turn out right? and Whats the prop worth?

While $1100 sounds a lot it reminds me of a plumber I knew who was complaining about the $75 he was charged for a piece of S/S cut to size for the splashback of a small vanity. I had a little sympathy for him until I found out the said vanity was $1500!

Stuart

The cost was likely a result of the time and materials of making a fixture to hold it in the lathe.

Originally Posted by welder

Not to sure if its expensive but we charge $70 AN HOUR for off the street work.

Geez that is cheap, places are $50 an hour more around here...

I would not think $1100 that excessive, imagine trying to hold the workpiece in the first place.. May have had to make a custom chuck jaws to grip it...

Although maybe milling it might have been a better way to do it...On a CNC mill..

Remember to the shop it was only an $1000 job..... GST is $100... So at $120 an hour, only an eight hour job...

Thanks guys for the comments, always good to get a cross-section of opinions and to get a real-world point of view.
As an aside, it appears there is quite a bit of activity associated with steam launches, there is even a magazine published about 4 times per year.
John.

A friend of mine has a steam launch, "Brillig". He bought it 2 weeks after his first experience in one as an invited passenger, such is the attraction for some people.
His favorite fuel is old hardwood fence palings soaked in chip fat, which he reckons is only a bit less energy dense than coal.
Regarding the prop boring cost, it needed a big lathe but a pretty straightforward faceplate job I'd've thought.
It would then have been slotted for a key?

Jordan

Fairly large prop.
Cost comes out to about ten hours labour.
Bore and key to suit existing shaft.
sounds about right to me.

Originally Posted by welder

Not to sure if its expensive but we charge $70 AN HOUR for off the street work.

that seems cheap to me. id be happy with that.
so for walk ups would you be doing much of that work
or a more experienced trades man.

john i think they stung you a bit for the fact that it for a boat.
Is there any threaded holes on the forward side of that prop.
aaron

Originally Posted by azzrock

john i think they stung you a bit for the fact that it for a boat.

Yep, Bring Out Another Thousand

Cheers
Glenn

Originally Posted by electrosteam

A friend of mine is constructing a 19 foot steam launch.
The 20 inch propeller has been taper bored to fit the shaft at a local commercial shop.
He had to go commercial because no one in our circle of contacts had a lathe big enough.
It was a fill-in job and took over 3 months, for a cost of $1100.

Propeller on boat.jpg

The cost 'sounds' excessive, but was it ?

John.

I think it's excessive but I wouldn't do it for you at all so my opinion is worthless. I can handle up to 28" diameter.

Don't overlook that a job like this can be done in a reasonable sized horizontal mill, using a faceplate clamped to the spindle.

PDW

Originally Posted by PDW

I think it's excessive but I wouldn't do it for you at all so my opinion is worthless. I can handle up to 28" diameter.

Don't overlook that a job like this can be done in a reasonable sized horizontal mill, using a faceplate clamped to the spindle.

PDW

great idea. ive been thinking of how to bolt it down easy and safe.

Originally Posted by PDW

Don't overlook that a job like this can be done in a reasonable sized horizontal mill, using a faceplate clamped to the spindle.

Peter, a straight bore could easily be done in a horizontal mill, but how would you do a taper bore?
The only way I can think of is using a facing head and juggling the in-feed but that seems fraught to me.

Michael

I have done tapered bores on my Vertical milling machine by tilting the head and clamping the job to the spindle.

Originally Posted by Michael G

Peter, a straight bore could easily be done in a horizontal mill, but how would you do a taper bore?
The only way I can think of is using a facing head and juggling the in-feed but that seems fraught to me.

Michael

What's wrong with clamping the compound off of your lathe (or similar) to the mill table, dialing in the angle and going for it?

Really the biggest hassle with a job like this is getting the prop set up on the face plate etc in the first place. If it's got a pilot bore or an existing hole you can indicate off, not so bad. But I'd rather do it with the face plate horizontal so gravity was my friend and then lift the whole assembly into place once dialed in if I couldn't hold the prop in place with a live centre and clamp everything down.

Good job for a vertical boring mill if you have one - which I don't.

Then there's the keyway which needs a slotter with tilting table or tilting slotting head to match the taper. That would be a PITA to set up on my slotter because the head doesn't tilt and I may not have the clearance on a 20" prop. Might be a possibility on a shaper or planer if you made a custom angle plate to match the taper. Maybe you could make a custom keyway broach that had the correct angle and a milled slot then use a press to drive the broach. More than one way to skin a cat but it all takes either more time or more machinery.

All in all perhaps the price isn't so unreasonable for a one-off, when I think about it.

PDW