Best Tool for Cutting Fiberglass Deck ?

[bazzer]

I've just discovered my core is 1 inch plywood. I don't think a rechargeable will do it!
Baz

[bill good]

Still recommend that Bosch tool. Find it one of the best tools ever purchased!! See the video demos.

[pressuredrop]

Originally Posted by bazzer

I've just discovered my core is 1 inch plywood. I don't think a rechargeable will do it!
Baz

what kind of boat bazzer? thats mighty thick

[smurphny]

The idea behind using balsa or some of the light composite cell materials is for the light weight. Never seen ply between glass skins other than at deck fittings. If used throughout your decks, it must add plenty of weight up where you don't want it. Replacing with balsa would likely make your boat sail better. Was it built like that or does it look like someone re-cored it with plywood? Sounds like a regular 110v. circular saw for most of that job.

[Whimsy]

Originally Posted by bazzer

I've just discovered my core is 1 inch plywood. I don't think a rechargeable will do it

Yeah. And neither the brown carbide grit cutting wheels nor the diamond blade will cut solid wood much at all... They cut the glass great but mostly just rub and smoke in solid wood.

Looks like any type of tool with a rotating toothed carbide blade and a way to set the depth of cut is your best bet. Standard circ saw will have plenty of power and cheap blades available if it will get into the area where you need to cut...

If you decide to buy dedicated tool, the smaller the blade diameter the tighter the radius you can cut, and also, even a cordless tool might create enough torque to turn smaller diameter blades.

[foamcore]

Just get a Skilsaw and a carbide blade and get to it. When I did that job on my boat, I replaced the ply with end grain balsa. Worked great.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Fishman_Tx

Amazon.com: Makita 5090DW 9.6-Volt 3-3/8-Inch Cordless Circular Saw Kit: Home Improvement

And there it is...3-3/8 cordless circular Makita. .

Nice tool but what else does it do?

Works like a dream and a Harbor Freight "Fein" knock-off for the tight spots and detail work. The "Fein" also can use scrapers for taking core off the lower skin without trashing it. JMHO

And so does an angry man with a scraper, chisel and sander
But he's happy because he has several hundred dollars in the kitty for beer.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Ram

im in the process of doin this now, replaceing the deck on my dive boat, I used a 4.5 in grinder with a diamond blade and it worked like a charm

The tool of choice
1 $7-00 diamond blade is on its 5th boat

and I dont need to buy a new tool that I'll probably only use once

[foamcore]

I have that Makita. It will cut about 3/4" deep. I doubt it has the zip to cut a layer of fiberglass, or very much of it

[Whimsy]

Originally Posted by cat man do

The tool of choice
1 $7-00 diamond blade is on its 5th boat

and I dont need to buy a new tool that I'll probably only use once

Ya. The angle grinder with the diamond is likely the most versatile for cutting the glass, and it works great for that, but it won't cut the wood - it will just rub and smoke in wood.

Maybe use that for cutting the glass. Peel the glass off the part needing repair. Then use a circular saw of some type to cut the wood.

At some point, on one of these jobs over the decades, I used that and similar methods. And that's kind of what it comes down to - whatever works for whatever part of whatever job you happen to be doing...

The hardest part of a new job is often just transitioning from the thinking and prep part to the nitty-gritty of just making that first cut. Speaking of which - I'd better get to work!

[smurphny]

I originally bought the little rechargeable Makita circular saw about 15 years ago to put in my tool belt making cuts in cedar bevel siding when up high where dragging around heavy corded tools is a pain. It works really well for that with a carbide blade. It also works fairly well with a diamond blade for tile work and has been largely useless for anything else except deck re-core where it works perfectly for slicing through a few layers of glass and balsa core. It goes through this stuff effortlessly, requiring infrequent battery swaps. The blade turns very slowly, nothing like a typical circular saw, makes a very small width cut, and throws up almost no dust. It would not work well to cut through 1" plywood unless you wanted to swap batteries every 5 minutes.

[s/v Jedi]

This sounds like a pretty tough job, but I wouldn't be surprised if the 1" plywood is only in reinforced areas with balsa core elsewhere.

Anyway, I would go for a full size Mikita or Bosch router because it's the only tool that will cut both the glass and plywood while leaving the lower layer of fibreglass intact and at the same time follow the curves.

cheers,
Nick.

[pressuredrop]

heading out the door to work on my deck recore in a minute

yesterday i went to harbor freight and got the fein oscilator knock off, and a 4" angle grinder, i am very impressed with the oscilating tool for 30 dollars, but the grinder just wizzes through with a cut off wheel,

i have no problem controlling the depth, it is difficut to cut through both laminates, if you dont have that kind of control you probably should not be working with power tools...

[Fishman_Tx]

Originally Posted by pressuredrop

heading out the door to work on my deck recore in a minute

yesterday i went to harbor freight and got the fein oscilator knock off, and a 4" angle grinder, i am very impressed with the oscilating tool for 30 dollars, but the grinder just wizzes through with a cut off wheel,

i have no problem controlling the depth, it is difficut to cut through both laminates, if you dont have that kind of control you probably should not be working with power tools...

HA! True that! But then there are all kinds out there, trying to do their own thing. We live and learn don't we? I know a few that shouldn't have sharp objects, much less power tools.

Bazzer, whatever works for you is what you use. Good luck to ya. We're getting ready to do this on our Bristol 34 VERY soon now. 100% of the foredeck, 70% of both side decks forward of the cockpit, all the cockpit floor and seats, and all aft of the cockpit. Seems the only part that doesn't need it is the deckhouse overhead. But then it is a 30+ year old boat. All is 1/4" balsa being replaced with marine grade ply and we're rebedding all the attachment points (shrouds, rail, etc...) on the deck.

[capngeo]

If you have fat $, Kett Saw with Vacuum is the mac-daddy