Square broach

...er, well sort of.

After spending countless hours building a 17ft all wood fishing boat, finding a suitable motor (and rebuilding it), and then FINALLY getting everything into the water for a maiden test run...everything was...so far so good! Or so I thought...

...while returning to the dock, I went to shift the old Merc outboard into reverse, only to have the shift lever break off and fall in the water. Too deep to retrieve, :( so I managed to shift it using my multi-tool and get docked, onto the trailer and then home.

Once there, I removed what was left of the shift lever.
Attachment 38339
Attachment 38340

It was the factory original, and made of all things...plaaaaas---tic??? :headscratch: I scoured the web as well as local sources, but couldn't find a single replacement. So I made a pattern, rammed up a green sand mold, and cast a new one in aluminum!

Attachment 38341

Only one problem...that cursed square hole to fit the shift-shaft!

To date, I still know very little about making a broach, and I knew even less at that time. But I decided to give it a go, and see if I could make something that would work. I found some square key stock that was the same dimension as the shift-shaft, as well as the old handle remnant, and turned a round section onto one end to act as a guide. Here's the finished item (photo'd after it was used):

Attachment 38342

It didn't work the best, and had to be resharpened often. But it did broach the square hole, and that's all I needed. The new handle was fitted to the old Merc motor, and works great!

Attachment 38343

-EN

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Thanks EclecticNeophyte! We've added your Square Broach to our Machining category,
as well as to your builder page: EclecticNeophyte's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-square-broach-5"> <img src="/uploads/247507/homemade-square-broach-5.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-square-broach-5">Square Broach</a> <span> by <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/builder/EclecticNeophyte">EclecticNeophyte</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='https://www.homemadetools.net/tag/broach'>broach</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>
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Nice repair / upgrade!

This just highlights the concept “ if there is a will there is a way “

Well done, sir.