Joe's Starfire 210

[plutoniumJoe]

I had a rough start to the weekend on Friday. During my original leak test the overflow bulkheads didn't get much of a go. Needless to say the emergency drain on the Herbie was showing some signs of leaking. I the joint from the bulkhead to the drain pipe seemed to be the problem. Everything below that is glued up and I there was no way to undue the joint and fix so I cut the bottom pipe away.

It was very tense as I was using a saws all and the power caused the bulk head to work its way loose and then bang around. Once the pipe was cut I realized how stupid I had been but the damage or lack their of had been done.



That was just the start of my troubles. With the pipe gone I tried to loosen the nut to the bulk head but the threads of the bulkhead had gotten so beaten up that it a bugger in a half. I still couldn't loosen the drain pipe from the bulkhead as I couldn't get a grip on anything. The bottom pane of glass sits on 1/2 foam then I have 1" plywood under that. The hole I cut for access to the bulkhead is too small to get much into it and the tension was mounting.

I also knew that it didn't even matter if I was able to get the nut off the bulkhead I still wouldn't be able to get it over the the threaded pipe nut.

I tried using a blade held with pliers to cut between the two but nothing was working and I couldn't get any decent access to it to get any kind of grip. I finally had a eureka moment and thought what if I just use a cutting wheel on a dremel and cut the nut.



Voila! Everything replaced and water tight. I don't know how many more frustrating evenings it might take but it was a close one.