How the heck can I remove a couple of cracked ribs? Is there a way to do that and salvage them? Thanks. Hope the assembly was enjoyed by everyone.
How to remove ribs
- Thread starter workingbadger
- Start date
Dave Wermuth
Who hid my paddle?
I use a tack puller and wiggle the tack out. get under the head a bit and pry gently. It will want to roll out in one direction depending on the bend of it. Slower makes for a higher chance of getting it out unscathed. These days I generally remove the rib by splitting it and bringing it out in splinters.
Rod Tait (Orca Boats)
Designer/Builder
Are you planning on repairing them and re-installing? Otherwise, I use an angle grinder and grind off the bent ends of the tacks from the inside and the rib will fall out without pulling tacks and possibly damaging the planking. Tack heads fall out from the outside. I then soak and steam bend a new rib by pushing inside.
On mine, which was a new, but freight damaged canoe, many of the ribs were "glued" to the planking by varnish that had seeped in between them, making removal difficult without damaging the planking after grinding the tacks as suggested above (which I highly recommend). I found that an oscillating multi-tool with a straight saw blade was great at allowing me to saw the ribs into small sections that could then be removed by slipping a putty knife underneath them. This probably isn't as much of an issue with an older canoe. The same tool was also great for trimming rib tops and other delicate sawing tasks.
I use a Cat's Paw pry bar with the blade of a putty knife under it to protect the planking. Using a grinder to grind off the clinches makes a lot of sense. The question is why bother removing a rib if you think it's strong enough to reuse? It's not difficult to fabricate, bend and install a replacement rib which would seem like a better course of action.
