OT but still Commonwealth

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Originally Posted by Peter Laidler

Was/is that jig just a symmetrical cutting jig JM?

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It locates on the inside of feed lips of the clips. Angle of the cut was adjusted by shifting the fixture in the Kurt vise. Needed to be able to compensate for any shrinkage during welding.

---------- Post added at 01:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:58 PM ----------

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Originally Posted by smelly sam

The same man that beat Colt's patents with the Rem Model 51, the most ergonomic of handguns, me thinks, that today shoots as good as it feels

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One of my favorites! Of the pocket pistols, the best of it's era. Except for it's size, it would be a fantastic design now. Low recoil, excellent ergonomics. But not for dummies as far as field stripping goes.

Considering the off-the-charts rarity of the piece, one has to consider having a machine shop make some clips up from billet, assuming that accurate dimensional drawings can be sourced that is.

Rather, make the forming dies from billet! Annealed spring steel sheet for the clip material. Getting a near perfect blank profile is the trickiest bit. But it's far easier than in the old days as they can be drawn up in CAD and then wire EDM'd. If the prototype is off a bit, then a simple computer adjustment and you're back in business. No new punch and die set required! Forming dies can be simplified if you are willing to do some hand work. I don't have a forming press any more, (a 200 ton unit with a 24" dia. ram), but in a pinch, the old slow methods would work. Again, the aircraft restoration crowd does this stuff all the time, and with NO serious equipment.

Reading of your time in the aricraft restoration industry JM makes me wonder if that might be the best place for any engineering apprentice to start his trade. It just covers the WHOLE wide strata. 5 years as an apprentice there must be the most complete craft apprenticeship there is.

Just as a matter of interest JM. While it's simple to identify, say an original 30's or 40's alloy. How do you go about replacing it when the original material is just not available........... If the plane just had to look good and not fly, it's simple. But if it's got to fly, you just can't go to the next or closest spec of material - or can you?

My guess would be find the strongest material modern science can come up with and still passes all the specs in terms of "bendability" brittleness and the like ... Then have at it. As long as the "replacement" is stronger than the original in every way there should be no trouble.

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Originally Posted by Peter Laidler

Reading of your time in the aricraft restoration industry JM makes me wonder if that might be the best place for any engineering apprentice to start his trade. It just covers the WHOLE wide strata. 5 years as an apprentice there must be the most complete craft apprenticeship there is.

Just as a matter of interest JM. While it's simple to identify, say an original 30's or 40's alloy. How do you go about replacing it when the original material is just not available........... If the plane just had to look good and not fly, it's simple. But if it's got to fly, you just can't go to the next or closest spec of material - or can you?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter Laidler

Just as a matter of interest JM. While it's simple to identify, say an original 30's or 40's alloy. How do you go about replacing it when the original material is just not available........... If the plane just had to look good and not fly, it's simple. But if it's got to fly, you just can't go to the next or closest spec of material - or can you?

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Most warbirds use nothing more fancy than clad 2024-T3 sheet metal. Forgings as well (minus the cladding). I upgraded tracer milled forging copies to 7075 or 7050, and shot peened 'em as well. (The Japanese were the first to use 7000 series aluminum starting w/ the Zero-sen, BTW. SDCH designation, IIRC. )

As far as apprenticing, England and the commonweath countries had much better restorers than the pirates over here, in general. I DID learn way more than all the years of schooling as far as practical engineering. And machine trade techniques of "the ancients", too. But expensive! All the time getting tooling.

Now I have a 14 foot metal planer slowly rusting away in an open lot . Anybody need one? I'll give to anyone that won't melt it down.