Carving Out Cores

1

A modified roofing nail is perhaps the most versatile tool for removing core when sealing fastener holes. It is much easier to control than bent nails or cut-down allen keys, which can jump around as they spin. Core removal is more uniform. Wood chips are finer and easier to remove. It is faster than a Dremel cutter and undercuts twice as far.

Fabrication is easy. Clamp a nail in a vice, slot the head into quarters with a hacksaw or Dremel wheel, and bend the tabs in alternating directions. Each nail is good for many, many holes. Make several if you like, from different size nails, but we like roofing nails.

Darrell Nicholson
Darrell Nicholson is editor emeritus of Practical Sailor. He is a longtime liveaboard sailor and has logged tens of thousands of miles in three oceans. A winner of dozens of writing awards in disparate genres, he currently edits Marine Electronics Journal for the National Marine Electronics Association. He holds a U.S. Coast Guard 100-ton Master license and sails his S&S-designed Yankee 30, Opal, out of St. Petersburg, Florida. He can be reached at darrellnicholson.com.

1 COMMENT