Issue 20 : Sept/Oct 2001
A keyhole saw is invaluable when you need to fit a barometer or speaker into a bulkhead, cut a dolphin-shaped vent in a locker-door, or for any holes you have to cut when — for one reason or another — you can’t use a power jigsaw.
If you don’t have a keyhole saw in your tool locker but find you need one, take a jigsaw blade and lock the butt end of it firmly between the jaws of a pair of Vise-Grips. If you use a sharp, fine-toothed blade, your makeshift keyhole saw will cut just as efficiently as the real thing.
Keyhole saws have one unfortunate habit: when sawing plywood, they tend to splinter the top veneer away from the edge of the cut, giving a messy result that is impossible to clean up with sandpaper. For a neater cut, run around your outline with a utility knife before you start sawing. The knife slices through the top veneer, so as long as you saw just inside the knife cut, you’ll end up with a much better finish.
Niki and Jamie left Australia in 1992 to cruise in their 35-foot Lion class sloop, Siandra. After crossing the Indian Ocean, they spent several years exploring Europe, including an icy winter in Arctic Norway. They are spending this summer in Maine.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
