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for hacksaw use one of those round tunston blades works on just abount anything and really hard to break. cover the blade with a split piece of clear tubing. jim fox At 04:33 PM 12/18/97 -0800, you wrote: >Dave thanks for the info on wreck kit. I've just started the retrieval >portion of my dive career ;} Brought up a 90# steel winch pulley from 170'. >From now on, I'm looking for smaller, more manageable items. I assume a >bolster is the same as a chisel? Do you take a hacksaw and, if so, how do >you keep the blade covered. I'd like to carry a small hacksaw but want some >sort of sheath for the blade to avoid cutting my dry suit. I'd appreciate any >thoughts or comments. Tom > >David Shimell (shimell) wrote: > >> Lawrence >> >> Nice to hear from you again. This is what I have done, maybe someone has >> done better or can contribute to the approach. (Sorry for the >> verbosity.) >> >> Firstly, my wrecking kit mentioned here is a crowbar of about 0.6 m >> (24"), a lump hammer of 4 lb. (I don't bother with toffee picks), and a >> bolster of 2" width. The 2" bolster is ideal as it is easy to position >> on an object without slipping off but not too large to create clutter in >> the pocket. I have carried other kit for specific tasks but this is the >> basic. I keep the bolster in my suit pocket but am working on an >> alternative location to keep the pocket clear. (A Winter project.) >> Always keep the bolster sharp. >> >> Firstly, the lump hammer. >> >> The lump hammer is kept in a home made "pouch" on the harness webbing, >> currently on the RHS where the canister torch would go. It sits head up, >> handle down. As I am buying a Gavin light, I shall probably move the >> pouch to the LHS, behind the waist D-Ring (I have not yet tried this). >> The important thing is that it sits far back, near the backplate and out >> of the way. The pouch has a loop through which the waist harness belt >> goes and it is currently kept in place by a buckle just like the canister >> torch would be. >> >> I have made this sort-of-builders-pouch from 2" harness webbing this took >> 2 hours but now I have a hand sowing machine so my next model should be >> quick to make. Here is how to build it (I hate to say sew :)). >> >> Form a loop of webbing large enough for the handle to go through but not >> the head. Stitch Velcro to the section that will face the outside. The >> next bit is hard to describe but the idea is that you have a length of >> webbing that acts as a flap from the rear (close to your waist belt), >> goes over the top of the hammer head and then Velcros to the front loop >> made earlier. Clearly flap has Velcro stitched on as well. Make sure >> there is plenty of Velcro to ensure easy, and firm closure. Also, make >> sure the flap protrudes below the outside bottom of the loop so that it >> can easily be lifted with gloved hands. Stitch this flap so that it also >> acts as a second loop for the harness waist belt to pass through. >> >> The idea is to have the hammer head level with the waist belt webbing as >> the centre of gravity is high otherwise it will flap around and be >> annoying. >> >> Next the crowbar. >> >> The crowbar is easy: get a section of waste water piping (1.5 inch, I >> think) cut to slightly longer than the length of the crowbar, this acts >> as a sheath - just like a sword. Fix two dog clips (AKA bolt snaps, >> piston clips) to the piping and carry the arrangement as a stage on the >> LHS. Put this on before your stages so it sits close to the body, >> allowing the stages to find their own attitude as they streamline >> themselves. >> >> The crowbar must be selected to fit by friction *alone* into the piping. >> Not all do this - most are too tight. Shop around and you should find >> one that is fine and buy several. The handle of the crowbar (the bit for >> getting nails out) does protrude and is a point where nagging can happen. >> So make sure it is close in to your body and is slotted right into the >> pipe as far as possible. The "handle" is easily accessible and visible >> so snagging is not really a problem. Make sure there are no rough or >> sharp points on this end of the crowbar as you may cut yourself or more >> importantly your suit :). >> >> And finally the ancillary kit. >> >> Lift bags (up to four) and goodie bags (1) sit on the back gas cylinders. >> They are folded into long tubes slightly longer than the gap between the >> bands. Strops and clips are pre-connected but wrapped up inside so they >> do not snag. Each bag is kept tidy using the same sized inner tube as >> used to retain the Barry Miller backup lights to the harness. These are >> cut thinner (e.g. 10 mm) so that they can be easily removed underwater. >> On each back gas cylinder I have two truck inner tube strips about 1" >> wide. The top sits under but near the top cylinder band, the lower under >> or over (but near) the lower band. Pre-packed lift bags sit under these >> truck inner tubes. The method of deployment is to pull the lower part of >> the pre-packed lift bag outwards from under the lower tube and then pull >> down to get it out of the top tube. This is real easy. >> >> Try to have the bags as close to your body as possible as this will >> minimise drag and allow the wings to wrap around better. The bags sit >> well on the cylinders, do not come off and are out of the drag as the >> wings wrap around them. The arrangement is clean. I only have one large >> and tough (90 Kg) bag, the rest are 35 Kg Bowstones. >> >> The only problem I have had with this arrangement, common to stuffing the >> long hose, is that once removed, the lift bags cannot be re-stowed to >> their proper place. However, they can be stuffed under the waist belt to >> the rear since they are thin tubes. But then who is going to get a bag >> out and not lift their prize? >> >> As with all things only take what you need on a dive and this kit is not >> taken on all my dives, only when "I'm on a mission". >> >> David Shimell >> Project Manager, Sequent Computer Systems Ltd, Weybridge, UK >> Email: shimell@se*.co* >> >> ---------- > > > >-- >Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. >Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'. > -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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