Asciidv

Degrease, into the blacking solution for 10 minutes, wash, then into dewatering oil for 30 minutes. That's it! The finish looks very good, but the corrosion reistance isn't as good as what used to be achieved with vats of boiling caustic cyanide solution. But then again doing it the old way on your cooker top along with the chips wouldn't be too safe.

Steve,

Do you thing the springs were actually painted or chemically blacked instead?

I have used this kit quite successfully although the corrosion resistance isn't perfect.

Barry.

I don't know about Thornycroft, but nobody (as far as I know) has ever managed to weld the alloy that White and Poppe used.

This is the corroded hose stub on the water manifold of a 1913 White and Poppe Engine.

I cut the stub off and replaced it with a new turned part. I had it welded on by a 'professional welder' and although the welding looks superficially O.K. it was actually hideous. I always believed that the alloy that W & P used had a high magnesium content and that is why the castings were always painted silver to help protect the reactive surface.

The flanges were also cracked and leaked despite the welding, so a mechanical solution was employed. The spigots were bored and 'top hat' sleeves pressed and Loctited in place.

Today was a day of great satisfaction as the engine was bone dry!

So you too Tony have been watching Poldark and then just turned your computer on!

Barry.

As you should now end up with 7 blocks the only sensible thing to do is to build up a W & P six.:nut:

Steve,

Did you assume that the spigots as cast had sufficient positional accuracy for you to take a centre from one end, or was there a magic method to ensure that everything ran true?

Ben,

When you were machining the ball, what step size did you take? How long did it take to machine the ball? I do admire your determination to chew through large lumps of steel just with a HSS bit

Are you going to harden any of the components in this assembly?

The sacks are wonderful!

Barry.

Steve,

Can you explain when you were machining the ball cup what combination of motion you used? Obviously there was the rotation of the part in the rotary table but what about the z and x axes?

Amazingly clever!

Barry.

You know it has to be a pattern....but I wouldn't let it stop you from buying an AC TIG!

Isn't this just a beautiful little part! Easy to make on a CNC milling machine but on a manual machine it is a work of art. The radii are perfect and all the edges are absolutely square. Surface finish is perfect too. Definitely 11 out of 10 for this.

Sometimes I even surprise myself with what can be achieved with a pile of rust and thousands of hours!

.....thousands of hours AND a glamorous assistant.

Do you have any secret technique to prevent the paint from running through the holes on panels creating drips/runs on the other side? On the scuttle which is absolutely full of holes there not a single trace of a run!

Steve is saving up his pocket money to buy one of these;

No need to ever go to the sandblasters again.

As Andy has just said, removing and fitting solid tyred rear wheels like those on a Dennis 'N' Type is just impossible to do single handedly. Although a lot more expensive than some wood and four castors I bought this to be able to do the job by myself.

It does give the benefit of adjustable height and after struggling for years in the past I now don't know how I would do without it.

Barry.

Is the magneto the only source of ignition?

I hope you have plenty of muscles for starting!

Barry.

I like houses that have 3 Phase Electricity!

Could you not have used a 1" hole saw to make the hole for the bracket, rather than having to chain drill and file

I think only a carbide tipped 'Rotabroach' would have been suitable for this job rather than the cheap hole saw cutters you generally see.

However the existing offset hole would have probably damaged the teeth of even a Rotabroach so I am almost sure that Tony used the best method. Also you just have to admire the roundness of the hole and beautiful parallel sides to see that a true craftsman did the job!

Although there has just been one folding operation prior to the pressing of the 'P' I woudn't underestimate the gains that might be achieved by annealing between the two operations. It would also be nice to make a third tool and punch in the rivet holes too!

Barry.

TonyWhere are you getting your gills from, is it Vintage Wings and Radiators. Did the pattern maker have existing letters for the Thornycroft on the radiator casting

"I had a go at welding up the holes in the bottom tank of the radiator. I didn't think I could make it any worse than the big holes that were in it. It was reasonably successful but I only had a few rods."

Stick welding aluminium...what sort of rods were you using? Can we have a look at the result :-) ?

Barry.

The cast bronze pedals look beautiful. Have you shown a detailed picture of these before? If not can we see some? I know that you have shown the making of the round accelerator pedal.

Barry.

A fine looking even weld bead!

The perimeter of the bonnet is edged with 1/2"x1/4" convex brass. This was easy to purchase last time I wanted some but it seems that it is no longer manufactured in the UK.

Ben,

This absolutely correct, with the only close manufacturer being in Germany. One of the largest brass stockists/distributors in this country is Holme Dodsworth

http://holmedodsworth.com/

who are based in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Their stock is exhausted too, but I think Trish has persuaded them to re-order from Germany (Minimum delivery quantity 1 ton! - delivery 8 weeks), as we need some too for our bonnet projects. I will let you know what happens.

Ben, what steel grade was the gear made out of? What process do they use to harden the teeth? It does look very nice!

Excuse me, but what happened to Steve Metal-Spinner Gosling?!!