I was just on the phone with John, who with his brother Dave founded Railmakers of Costa Mesa, CA, more than 40 years ago and are still going strong.
They are familiar with Ericsons, admire them, made much of the original parts back in the day, and still have many drawings, esp. of stainless tubing for pulpits and such. They still ship Ericson elements all over the world, John says, especially after hurricane damage. They've made several custom parts of stainless tubing for me over the years.
John is retired and was filling in for his brother, and usually not there nowadays, but when contemplating tubing issues Railmakers is a good place to call for advice.
For example, I'm attaching fittings to my stern pulpit. Will SS sheet metal screws work? Can you tap our tubing?
Answer: "The Ericson tubing wall is not very thick, but tapping is still better than sheet metal screws. The problem with self-tapping screws is that stainless is pretty grabby, it galls easily, and it's common to break off a screw and then you have a hole with a busted screw in it. The easiest thing to do is drill all the way through the tube and use a through bolt, maybe with an acorn nut for looks. That's strongest. Start with a nail punch, then a small diameter bit, then enlarge that hole. Low rpms and high pressure, with cutting fluid."
They are familiar with Ericsons, admire them, made much of the original parts back in the day, and still have many drawings, esp. of stainless tubing for pulpits and such. They still ship Ericson elements all over the world, John says, especially after hurricane damage. They've made several custom parts of stainless tubing for me over the years.
John is retired and was filling in for his brother, and usually not there nowadays, but when contemplating tubing issues Railmakers is a good place to call for advice.
For example, I'm attaching fittings to my stern pulpit. Will SS sheet metal screws work? Can you tap our tubing?
Answer: "The Ericson tubing wall is not very thick, but tapping is still better than sheet metal screws. The problem with self-tapping screws is that stainless is pretty grabby, it galls easily, and it's common to break off a screw and then you have a hole with a busted screw in it. The easiest thing to do is drill all the way through the tube and use a through bolt, maybe with an acorn nut for looks. That's strongest. Start with a nail punch, then a small diameter bit, then enlarge that hole. Low rpms and high pressure, with cutting fluid."
Yacht and boat rails and custom stainless steel fabrication
For over 40 years, Railmakers Inc. has built a reputation for quality yacht and boat rails and commitment to our customers in production, custom and prototype fabrications.
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