Removing propeller from taper shaft

The figure quoted, 20 lb.ft., is quite a low torque. If your prop has been fitted by someone who applied a torque consistent with the nut size on a non-tapered fitting you could have a real struggle.

Yes that struck me as quite low, and Kiwi have actually increased that from 10lbs.ft that they used to say but I believe that was based on early ones having a plastic nut :eek: it's now stainless.

As far as I know, my present prop has been on since the boat was built, so I wonder what torque Monsieur Jeanneau's man is likely to have used?
 
Yes that struck me as quite low, and Kiwi have actually increased that from 10lbs.ft that they used to say but I believe that was based on early ones having a plastic nut :eek: it's now stainless.

As far as I know, my present prop has been on since the boat was built, so I wonder what torque Monsieur Jeanneau's man is likely to have used?

You would expect the manufacturer to understand it, so with luck it won't be too difficult to remove. I have never bothered to measure the torque when fitting mine but my estimate is similar to Stu's 10" adjustable spanner with a moderate pull. I use a socket with a 10" T-bar, as an adjustable won't fit a Bruntons.

To contrast, the torque specified for a 5/8" UNF (the size of the one on my shaft) conventional non-taper nut or bolt is 128 lb.ft.
 
You would expect the manufacturer to understand it, so with luck it won't be too difficult to remove. I have never bothered to measure the torque when fitting mine but my estimate is similar to Stu's 10" adjustable spanner with a moderate pull. I use a socket with a 10" T-bar, as an adjustable won't fit a Bruntons.

To contrast, the torque specified for a 5/8" UNF (the size of the one on my shaft) conventional non-taper nut or bolt is 128 lb.ft.
Gosh the last torque-spanner I borrowed (in Argeles) to do up my Brunton was only graduated in Newtons - do people still use ft-lbs?
 
Gosh the last torque-spanner I borrowed (in Argeles) to do up my Brunton was only graduated in Newtons - do people still use ft-lbs?

I think my torque wrench was the first tool I ever bought when I first started work. I still have it. Newtons hadn't been invented then.

It appears that Kiwiprop, at least, still quote in ft-lbs. Bruntons quote both ft-lbs and Nm.

I would be amazed to find anything calibrated in feet or pounds in Argeles!
 
Last edited:
I still have a Britool torque wrench which was old when I got it in 1976.
A few years ago a friend who runs a garage tool business suggested it should be calibrated.

I took it down and they put it on their electronic rig which declared it was 6% out.
The fitter took the plate off and took out some washers which he wiped with oil, put it back together, and re-tested it.

Less than 2% out.

That is (of course) marked in lbs/ft and also kilogram/metres
 
Gosh the last torque-spanner I borrowed (in Argeles) to do up my Brunton was only graduated in Newtons - do people still use ft-lbs?

No, not ft.lbs, the correct Imperial unit for torque is the lb.ft.
Thank you for highlighting my lack of youth. :(
Kiwiprop do quote the torque in other new-fangled units as well such as Newton metres. A torque wrench "graduated in Newtons" would be very odd.
 
Most people's problem with releasing using heat is timidity about the heat required. It has to be well above the temperature at which any grease flashes off and you have to get that heat through the prop and not just on the surface. You wont harm the stainless - its been annealed already at 1050C - and you are very unlikely to be able to damage a big lump like the prop using just a butane or propane torch and common sense. Problem is, you cant really get stuck in with the shaft in situ unless the cutlass bearing is to be replaced as well.
 
Last edited:
Eh-up here's another -

Remove the shaft with prop attached.
Loosen the nut, Gently heat the prop. Bring the nut smartly down onto a blacksmith's anvil, from the height of about a nine inches.
Mind the prop does not drop on your foot.
 
This is what was used to get my prop off.


proppuller001.jpg

Absolutely the best type of puller, because it does not have any way to slip off. Slacken but do not remove the nut and fit the puller, wind the nuts up evenly and tighten, using two spanners, then a sharp hammer blow on the end of the puller will break the taper fit.
 
Tried a few bangs on the boss with no sign of movement.
Popped up the road and borrowed a puller from a mate with a car business - one knock and it was off. Briliant!
Only moved a short way from slip back to mooring but KiwiProp seems much smoother - less vibration - than fixed two blader (Radice) taken off.
 
I normally use a big lump off wood, the type the boat sits on when out of the water, pick up said log and whack prop with it, (in line) never failed yet and I've removed a lot of props.
 
Top