The tiller handle on Mallard has seen stirling service but it was starting to slop a bit and although in no danger of coming adrift from the top of the rudder it was not offering the positive steering control that it once did. What had happened was that over the years the bolt hole through the top had fretted out a little and was allowing the tiller to wobble within the cheeks so I decided that remedial action was needed to address this problem and restore the steering to it's former positive, un wobbly self.
Here's how I did it and you may find this technique useful with a little adaptation for your own projects. Indeed this drill and fill procedure works equally well on fiber glass and other materials.
After removing the tiller from the boat I used a Forstner bit to drill out the hole. The bolt is a quarter inch diameter so I used a 1 inch bit to open up the hole to allow for a good bit of epoxy to be poured in. Note that I am using a G clamp to hold the tiller to the work bench, this makes for more accurate work as it allows two hands on the drill and prevents any vibration and other unwanted and unnecessary movement.
The good thing about Forstner buts is that they give a perfect hole with no tear out even on difficult timbers like teak.
As the hole was going to be filled with epoxy I laid it on the bench with a layer of polythene underneath so that it would not stick to the bench. Also providing that the plastic is in perfect contact with the wood it leaves a smooth clean surface requiring little if any extra work.
After priming the hole by brushing on some neat epoxy some fillers were added to the remaining mix which was then poured into the hole until level with the top surface. You will need to do this slowly to allow any air bubbles to escape. Then when the epoxy had cured overnight the quarter inch bolt hole was re drilled through the center of the now hard epoxy and the tiller reattached to the rudder. The job took a total of about 3 hours and I now have a tiller that no longer wobbles.
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