Lever project - Urania 1 group

borat123 · October 2011

Today's job is the pressure gauge, and picking up some 1/4" hard drawn copper tubing. The face of the gauge, and by the looks of it the internals are in fantastic condition apart from some surface rust on the pointer needle, and corrosion where it mounts with the brass body at 12 & 3 o'clock. I'm too scared of $*&#! it to attempt removal of the needle myself, so will visit a watchmaker this arvo to have it removed. What do you think is the best way to get the rust & paint off the needle? It's so thin, I dont want to sand it or put it into citric acid. How about an electrolysis bath? Any other ideas?

Koffee_Kosmo · October 2011

I have done this sort of work on car gauges 1) Place the gauge needle on some double sided tape and attach it to a flat surface You can also use some rust convertor if its on hand 2) Use some fine steel wool and remove the paint along with any rust 3) Use hobby paint (you can also use fluorescent paint) Best results are with a tiny roller however if you have a steady hand a brush is fine Also metal spray paint will also work well If it did not have rust I would have recommended to use a permanent marking pen KK

Ronin · October 2011

Re chrome flexible tubing - look into exposed shower heads. Looks very much like the one we have in the shower. Re rust removal - I'm with KK. Wire wool available at bunnings works wonders. Different grades, but the finer grade will take longer to remove paint but give you a better finish. Not sure I'd go with the double sided tape tho as it's so thin, you might bend it getting the tape off. Slow and steady

borat123 · October 2011

Thanks guys. I went to the watchmaker but unfortunately the needle is still holding fast.... The watchmaker was very cagey, and after a quick show & tell, handed the tool over and said 'here you do it - I don't want to break it'.... ::) I had a couple of goes at it, but its stuck on pretty good. It's a brass 'cap' that is a friction fit onto the shaft. So, I could make another trip into town and visit the vintage watchmaker guys that specialise in restoration, to try and get it off again. Or, find a way to support the pointer and prep it in place, for painting. Re support, I'm thinking of something soft like a bit of material, with maybe cardboard on top (all slid under the needle). What do you think? Re the hard drawn copper - 1/4" doesn't bend into a curve neatly with tool, as the hard drawn 3/8 tubing did. Might have to try it full of sand, or just use the annealed stuff.

Koffee_Kosmo · October 2011

With care and a steady hand it can be done while on the gauge With regards to pipe bending Sand will work and you can also try heat e.g. boil or heat the pipe in the oven then handle with heat resistant gloves KK

UNM · October 2011

For the gauge, I was going to suggest just replacing the needle with one from a new generic gauge of same diameter. If you can't remove it though, that isn't going to work

borat123 · October 2011

I ordered some unsheathed, stainless Ramflex today, from a company that was happy enough to do only 2mtrs..., and they even had the fittings to match

Koffee_Kosmo · October 2011

on 1318993650:

I ordered some unsheathed, stainless Ramflex today, from a company that was happy enough to do only 2mtrs..., and they even had the fittings to match

Excellent You have to get a win win at some stage ;D KK

borat123 · October 2011

Great service from those guys - I ordered yesterday afternoon and it arrived this morning ;D The tubing is thoughtfully covered in a nice slimy protective film of grease...... Don't know why as it's 304 stainless. I'll have a go at it with dishwashing liquid and see how it cleans up. I also picked up some 1200 emery paper yesterday, so this afternoon's job is to sand back that pointer needle on the pressure gauge. I'm thinking of visiting the local model shop for a small tin of matt black 'metal' paint. Once that's done, I'll go see the vintage watchmaker guy and try to get the pointer off and back on so it's resting at zero again.

Koffee_Kosmo · October 2011

Just in case? - Make some sort of firm but soft hand held counter balance brace This is to be placed under the needle to counteract your downward force when sanding KK

borat123 · October 2011

And here it is, the mark 1, Urania pressure guage needle pointer sanding jig :o

Koffee_Kosmo · October 2011

Now that wasn't that hard ? was it ;D I am leaning towards fluorescent paint for night time escapades KK

borat123 · October 2011

on 1319110720:

Now that wasn't that hard ? was it ;D I am leaning towards fluorescent paint for night time escapades KK

It's on my shopping list KK, along with all the 24 carat gold plating...

borat123 · October 2011

I cleaned up the grease off the stainless conduit today. Left it soaking overnight in a old 2ltr milk container full of turps, then soaked and washed in dishwashing liquid. It came out as clean as a whistle and minus the slime... I also bought some micro-surgery style paint brushes, and a pot of matt black enamel model paint from the hobby shop. Then I put the first coat on the pointer needle. It dries fast, and one more coat tomorrow should just about do it; then I just need to get it reset so it points to zero again. Also paid a visit to the machine shop. The rod from inside the 3 way valve has finally been completed, but the square section on the end where the handle screws on, was out by about 45 degrees..... Normally it wouldn't have mattered for a rounded knob, but in this case it's a mini handle that is supposed to sit vertically when in the neutral position. It will be fixed next week. The stripped thread on the valve body has been cut out, a new one made and silver soldered in place. The silver solder now needs to be cleaned up and a new flat surface turned, so the fibre washer will sit nice and flat in the recess and seal nicely. That should be finished next week too, then both items in for chrome plating. Wouldn't you know it, after a couple of months of free time, my work commitments ramp up again just as all the bits and pieces are due back from the platers. Hopefully that stuff is finished early next week so I can get at least a day or two of reassembling things before having to head off interstate for a week or two.

borat123 · October 2011

Hey guys, I'm looking for some advice please on the best way to fix a stainless conduit fitting to the frame. (a pic of the fitting is a few posts back) Heres a pic of the frame - right side low, in the corner where the vertical meets the horizontal, you can see a square plate approx 4cm x 4cm with a large hole (31mm) in the centre.

What I need to do is find a way to mount the threaded male 16mm fitting that is the end of the conduit, onto the 31mm hole provided in the frame. I want to avoid drilling any holes. I thought of two possibilities: 1/ Two large 'washers', ID 16mm, OD 37mm, one on either side of the frame hole. As far as I can see there is no standard washer size that matches these dimensions - so would have to get them made up. 2/ See below the pic of the original plastic fitting that came from the hole in the frame. Have one of these made up on the lathe, with the body threaded so it can be fixed with a nut, and the ID of the front face 16mm to match the conduit fitting. Apologies for the crap pic's. The camera battery is dead, so these were quick & dirty from the phone:

What do you think?

Koffee_Kosmo · October 2011

Option 2 is the best way However you may be able to get a suitable rubber flange to suit off the shelf

KK

borat123 · October 2011

Thanks KK, yes I didn't think of that - a rubber gromet would be the easiest if I can find one the right size. I'll check out Fitch the Rubber Man here in Adelaide: coded%20grommets.JPG

Koffee_Kosmo · October 2011

There are also products called Cable Feedthroughs But I am not sure if they come in such large sises

You can check with the place you got the flexible pipe ? KK

Muscles · October 2011

Heyco in the US have a lot of these parts and give out a lot of FREE samples. Might be worth a look http://www.heyco.com/ I got a few of what KK called the Cable Pass-through's from Heyco for free. A small one I used in my bucket cooler and a few larger ones with a 1 inch ID.

borat123 · October 2011

Hmmm, the price seems right

I'll check it out.. Thanks.

borat123 · October 2011

I went back again to the machine shop today and retrieved the fixed valve rod. It's now at the platers being chromed. The other valve body will be finished by Wednesday. The group head is now also finished so I picked that up from the plating shop and left it with the guys working on the valve body. I have to say it looks pretty damn good

I also got a sneak preview some of the aluminium trim that was originally 'gold' annodised, and has now been 'gold' chromed. Unfortunately this trim doesn't really look like the original annodised finish any longer - KK, you'll be pleased, it now looks for all the world like real gold plating! I'm not sure If I like or not. When all the bling is back together you'll get a sun tan just standing next to it.. :D Next I went to the "Rubber Man" shop looking for a solution for how to terminate the stainless conduit and power cable at the frame. Came up with a rubber grommet coupled to a plastic fitting. I roughed it in to see how it looks. It's actually mounted back the front in these pics, but you'll get the idea:

borat123 · October 2011

The lever spring arrived yesterday from NZ, but I'm still waiting on the rod to get here from the US. Once it arrives I can get busy putting the group back together. The vintage watchmaker guy that restores old Rolex

borat123 · October 2011

A big thumbs up to the guys at Rimex who have found a cutoff of the textured aluminium for me. It should arrive next week. The new screen printed glass is also ready. I'm in Melbourne for a few days so will post a pic after I pick it up next week. One last bit to finish at the machinist workshop - that should be ready any day now too.... :laugh:

borat123 · November 2011

I picked up the 10mm screen printed glass today. It's an exact copy of the original, but with some tweaking of the background colour to match how it would have looked when rolled off the factory floor.... This first pic is without a flash, and shows off the masking that only lets light through the centre circle with the Faema logo:

And a second pic this time with flash, to give a better idea of the colour:

I also picked up the repaired valve body from the machine workshop, and dropped it off at the platers. Not long now and all the parts will be done, ready for putting back together.

Cuppacoffee · November 2011

Borat, that looks absolutely fantastic! I can't wait to see the finished product.

borat123 · November 2011

Cheers Den. I can't wait to start putting it all back together

Everything costs twice as much, and takes three times longer than expected.... and I'm looking forward to the first cup :P

Koffee_Kosmo · November 2011

on 1320125427:

I picked up the 10mm screen printed glass today. It's an exact copy of the original, but with some tweaking of the background colour to match how it would have looked when rolled off the factory floor.... This first pic is without a flash, and shows off the masking that only lets light through the centre circle with the Faema logo: And a second pic this time with flash, to give a better idea of the colour: I also picked up the repaired valve body from the machine workshop, and dropped it off at the platers. Not long now and all the parts will be done, ready for putting back together.

I will say it as I know everyone is thinking it BEAUTIFUL ^-^ ^-^ KK

borat123 · November 2011

Thanks KK, it's getting there

UNM · November 2011

I am not impressed by quick and dirty paint jobs. Don't know who did this, but I want their details in case I ever do a resto. Whatever they charged, it was probably worth it. Nice!

borat123 · November 2011

AM, when it's ready you'll have to come over to Adelaide to try it out.... :coffee2: UNM, the screen printing was very expensive, but for the quality result it was worth it. I got a few quotes and they were all mostly in the same ballpark. These guys are a huge company that do custom screen printing for wine bottles etc. There are cheaper ways to do it, such as a sticker ??? , but stickers look cheap and won't last. Screen printing with masking, is I think true to the original and will last for another 50 years.

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