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new thread on Edson pedestals

terry_thatcher

Terence Thatcher
Started a new thread for this issue. If you buy directly from edson, prices are 50% higher. The best northwest chandlery, Fisheries Supply, sells the bigger "offshore" pedestal for $2K. A place called Marine.com does too. Defender doesn't list the pedestal, but they could get it for you. Still lots of money, but not the $3K from Edson directly.
 
The extra cost from edson is because the pedestal is larger, so some of the "extras" that we have won't fit. For example, the engine controls and compass. Edson's cost for the pedestal alone is $2091.
 
Dropped off my pedestal at the machinist today. Estimate is $450-$500. More than I hoped, and more than I probably would have paid on the west coast. I assume because of the amount of government/military work around here.

That is a bit more than a used pedestal, which would be of unknown condition, and quite a bit less than a new pedestal. So I am going forward with it, and expect to have a stronger than new pedestal.
 
So,Warren what will your machinist do for you? Ream out the bearing races? Make stainless sleeves? How thick will you make the sleeves? I am thinking of doing the same thing before I cross an ocean again, although I might use the high strength brown delrin. I also note that Edson's bigger pedestal has three needle bearings,,rather than the two in the 336 pedestal. That would probably significantly strengthen the pedestal used with a Monitor. 50% more bearing surface.
 
They will bore out the housing, fabricate and install stainless sleeves. Assume about 1/16" thick. The discussion was to bore out about half the available material. This is a precision operation, I don't think even an above average garage mechanic could pull it off. The alignment of the two bores must be very exact, even a very slight misalignment will cause the bearings to bind. A machinist has a special machine for it. It is similar to boring the cam bearings in an engine. I figured it would be cheaper because it is a pretty routine operation for an engine builder, but the "engine builder" shops I called didn't want to even look at it if it wasn't an engine. So I had to take it is a higher end machinist.

I don't think delrin is a good idea. I just looked it up, and Delrin AF (the formulation for bearings) is slightly harder than aluminum. Stainless is harder than both. The tensile strength of delrin is much much lower than either aluminum or stainless. My machinist recommended hardened steel because he was concerned stainless might be too soft.

Anecdotally, the sheaves that I used to route the lines to the wheel use delrin bearings, and they did not survive either. Still intact and working, but very loose and in need of replacement. Not sure of the grade of that delrin, probably cheap.

Yes, the 402 has 3 bearings total, and that would be even stronger. But if this lasts twice as long as original, that is 60k miles, and I probably won't be sailing any more than that. The 402 is also a larger diameter, so the engine controls will not fit, the compass will not fit (but an adapter is available) and the steering wheel will be moved back by about an inch. I have already had heavier crew complain the steering needs moved forward, so I'd rather not deal with all of that. If the 402 was dimensionally the same as the 335 and the other parts all fit, I would buy one new. But everything else makes it too much of a compromise for me.
 
I made a mistake above. Delrin is tested on a different scale (less force applied) than Aluminum or Steel. Accounting for that, Delrin is much softer than aluminum. It would probably fail quickly.
 
Thanks for all the info. I think 1/16" may more than you need,and it leaves you less meat on the pedestal. But I am not going to argue with someone who has (nearly) completed a cirumnavigation. I will probably do the same to my pedestal this winter. I know the shop to do it. I saw them machining an entire race car engine.
 
I got my pedestal back today. I am happy with the result. I ordered a new idler assembly. Mine wasn't in bad shape, but the expense of pressing it apart, cleaning and powder coating, and new axles, would have been nearly the same cost as new. My bronze sheaves are in good shape, and I will probably swap those in place of the aluminum sheaves.

IMG_3256.JPGIMG_3258.JPGIMG_3257 (1).JPG
 
Thanks for the update. Looks like a winter project for me. How thick are you stainless bushings? Did you go with 1/16 or something thinner? Are they easily removable and replaceable? Thanks for teaching the rest of us about this issue.
 
I estimate about 1/16", or a bit less. They were pressed in, and probably are very difficult to remove. I would guess that they were pressed in before machining to the final size I.D. That is how I would do it anyway.

The aft could probably be pressed out with some sort of custom jig, but the forward is blind, so I have no idea how that would be accomplished. The fit is perfect, very precise. The bearings fit and run smooth, without any play whatsoever. I expect it to last the life of the boat.

My new idler assembly arrived today, so I'll start putting it back together this weekend-weather provided.
 
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