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The block is a Nicro or a Fico , Ronstan makes a similar one . They come stock with black hard rubber cheeks and a white plastic sheave . This block was modded by me when I had my machine shop , so it was a doable thing to make the pulley out of SS , but even though I lightened it up all I could it was still heavy . Recently I purchased these sheaves from Duck works and they are perfect . https://www.duckworks.com/product-p/rl-e-5-8.htm
The first thing you need to do when starting this project is to disassemble the block of course , drill out the riveted axle and make a new axle tapped 1/4-20 . That could be done with a drill press or a small hobby lathe . There are some plastic spacers in there too , they can be re used . I prefer to remake them (the axle too) out of brass . Another part is the round bar at the end of the block , This I made from SS, it is taped at both ends and the screws that are used have had the heads cut down . Next is the wood , I like teak . When I had my shop , I cut the slots and hole on the mill , it was fast and easy . A small hobby mill would do nicely . A little while back I made a few more of these and my good friend Jboat Tom cut the slots for me in his awesome wood shop on his router . So that's the hardest stuff , the rest is just shaping , sanding and a coating of your favorite stuff . Hope you like it . It is a fun project .
Mark . 025 by mark westi, on Flickr 020 by mark westi, on Flickr
Last edited by markwesti on Fri Mar 20, 2020 9:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.
That came out very nice. I have a couple of snatch blocks that came off a larger boat. They have black plastic cheeks that softened like it's melting somehow and leave black gooey stains everywhere. I hadn't thought about rebuilding them so thanks for the info.
You are welcome and thanks ! Let me know if you need anything . I kept my original post kind of short . Back in the 90's I made and was trying to sell wood shell blocks , with pretty much no luck . Here are some of the ones I made . 018 by mark westi, on Flickr 021 by mark westi, on Flickr
025 by mark westi, on Flickr
020 by mark westi, on Flickr
