It keeps me out of mischief..........

Among the ex-Indian No32 wrecks that I bought there were a few Mk3 scopes that I jealously guarded. Well, it's now getting to the time to rebuild & do something with these. Except I noticed that I was almost out of the late type segment covers that one sees on most Mk3 scopes. I'd got plenty of the 'common' four screw type, just not the ones that I was going to need. In the end I bought a piece of brass sheet & thought 'you might just as well have a go yourself'. I have made three or four now by cutting & filing, & they seem pretty satisfactory. I suppose I ought to give the centres a little tap with a blunt punch, but even so they seem ok. They still need the edges dressed a fraction & the minor bruises courtesy of yours truly tickled out, but, I think they'll do in the absence of a box of originals.....!

Anyone else been creative lately?

Nice job, Roger!

Nicely done Roger!!

So often true isn't it that if we get stuck in with even simple tools we often get things done much more easily than we first expect? Have such a project in front of me at the moment.

You might see if a jeweller could run the brass between his rolls to put the curve on without hammering.

Good idea. For the moment I've just used a simple mandrel that I turned to the right diameter out of a length of mild steel rod, heating & quenching the brass first to soften it.

Of course, my way is a long-winded labour intensive way of doing it. I've no doubt a professional outfit could bang them out perfectly by the hundred. The problem is I'd have to order them by the hundred & I only need half a dozen, so this will have to do!

By the way, the Kelly Hoppen interior design books are buXXer all to do with me.......no doubt you can guess to whom they belong......;)

Does an original have teeth on the underside to lock in the adjustment?

The "teeth" are on the little erector segment and not on the plate. The plate holds the segment to lock the erector in place.

As Brian says. Here's a segment shown, & how it fits against the radial grooves on the erector cell. The downward pressure exerted by the brass segment cover stops the segment from moving & so in turn stops the erector cell from moving within the scope tube.

Some erector plate covers do have teeth or checkering on the inside of them.
I have only run into two or three in the several hundred scopes I have worked on but they do exist.
I think I might have kept photo of one.
One thing you learn real fast on the No.32 scope.....any Mk., is the only thing that is consistent is inconsistency.
cheers,
Warren

If you do get an erector cell that does move on you, you can make a short BA 8 grub screw and put it under the screw holding the erector plate to the tube.
It is something I have had to do with a number of the repro scopes as the early ones, the erector cell was just glued in with RTV.

I didn't know that Warren - about the grooved segment covers, I mean. Never ever seen one like that. If you can find the photo I'd love to see it. Presumably the segments in these scopes are also ridged to mate up with the ridges on the covers??