It would be interesting to know how they machined that rad on the original brackets, whether a milling machine was used or perhaps a shaping machine.
If you mean the convex radius on top of the "cradle caps" it's a rough cast surface usually, sometimes worked over on a belt sander or with a rotary stone (N92 brackets) Some of the early brackets were very well molded and finished, but rough as guts soon became the norm it seems.
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Yes, both Rose Brothers & Dalgleish brackets have cradle clamps that are only cleaned up where needed, & are definitely of two distinct patterns. As it happens a Black & Decker belt sander just gets in nicely on both! I did it approximately 650 times over thirty years on my reproductions (in fact 650 x 4 I suppose, as each bracket has two cradle clamps each with a left & right side).....
The pictures were taken somewhat hurriedly with my phone, but hopefully you can see the minor but real differences in contour between the Rose Brothers & Dalgleish variants. They came out like that pretty much from the sand moulds.
Photo 1 Dalgleish
Photo 2 Rose Brothers. Note the minor flat on the top of the clamp.
Last edited by Roger Payne; 08-20-2023 at 08:01 AM.