Practically Classics Forum

being rained off again i watched it again the other day & they welded a section of propeller back onto the boat using nothing but a very hot fire.. im sure you know the scene i wondered is this possible or just more hollywood fantasy??
good film though

I haven't seen the film so can't comment on that. Did they also hammer the cr*p out of it when it was hot, you can forge weld, which is just a case of heating up the metals to somewhere below melting point and then hammering them together.

You can even join different metal types this way, really just good old blacksmithing.

I should also have mentioned, that you can just melt metals together, as in gas welding where you can get by without a filler rod and just fuse the two pieces together. The heat would need to be pretty localised in relation to the join though and applied for just the right amount of time or the propellar would become a blob.

I can remember The Africa Queen being broadcast on the radio and later when we had a telly being hugely disappointed with the film. Perhaps I have a more vivid imagination than the film producer. Often when they turn a book into a film it never seems to be as good as the book.

Easy- It was most likely brass so wouldn't need a huge amount of heat to braze...I remember doing it at school. It would need some filler alloy but I don't suppose they bothered showing that. Artistic licence I suppose- who's played the Poseidon adventure game? Next time it's on, try holding your breath for as long as Shelley Winters is under water....I guarantee you will die

Most props old and new of that size are a copper bronze alloy.

Was it welded, or is it an interference fit? I e get something hot so it expands, then slip it over the shaft, and as it cools and contracts it clamps on tight?

That would certainly work with just a good hot fire....

Gonna have to watch the film again now. was a very long time ago and I cannot remember the scene at all.

MW

Wiki has this to say.

No mention of welding.

"On the third day the launch strikes on rocks while passing another rapid; she loses way and does not respond well to the tiller, so they are forced to anchor in the lee of a rock outcropping. Allnutt dives and finds that the drive shaft is bent and the propeller has lost one of its blades. Over the next weeks they slowly repair the damage without being able to beach the launch; Allnutt has to dive again and again to remove the shaft and propeller. On shore they gather wood and construct a makeshift bellows to heat the shaft so Allnutt can straighten it. Then Allnutt makes a new propeller blade out of scrap iron and bolts it to the stump of the old blade. After many more dives to fix the shaft and propeller back in place, they continue on their way "

Mike Whiskey wrote:Wiki has this to say.

No mention of welding.

"On the third day the launch strikes on rocks while passing another rapid; she loses way and does not respond well to the tiller, so they are forced to anchor in the lee of a rock outcropping. Allnutt dives and finds that the drive shaft is bent and the propeller has lost one of its blades. Over the next weeks they slowly repair the damage without being able to beach the launch; Allnutt has to dive again and again to remove the shaft and propeller. On shore they gather wood and construct a makeshift bellows to heat the shaft so Allnutt can straighten it. Then Allnutt makes a new propeller blade out of scrap iron and bolts it to the stump of the old blade. After many more dives to fix the shaft and propeller back in place, they continue on their way "

Just so neat & concise!! Remind me to drag Wikkie out, into the Car Park >> and SHOOT Him!

alfaSleep