Probably the last update here, as all the "visible" stuff is now done. There is only some technical under the hood detail and mechanicing to go.
This time I thought I would show some of the process whereby solid chunks of metal become useful things. This is fairly new to me, so I apologise in advance for boring anone with a metalwork background. I am still at the wide eyed stage as stuff begins to take shape!
I'll also apologise to those I owe emails etc. Life is complicated just now and I've been racing to finish this before the really complicated stuff starts. Anyhow.....
...I have now finished the door, its associated locks and the door pier and slots for the fitting.
To start I drilled the 16mm hole in the end of the bar stock, which hole will eventually become the square hole in the guide.I did this first as last time I learned that the cut down guide is not very stable in the vice, after large portions of material have been removed. Then I began to carve away the centre of the latch guide.
You can just see the edge of the hole in the right of the picture as the cutting begins.
As material "disappears" the shape starts to look vaguely familiar.
The first (front) side finished, now time to start carving out the rear part.
(The middle swathe will be taken out last. On the front latch guide I used a 20mm cutter twice which caused some vibration etc..so this time I used a 16mm with a slower speed and that worked better..but meant three sections had to be cut instead of two. Time vs tool vs material..there is quite a bit to get your head around with this milling lark!!)
The job starts to look even more like a latch guide. (about an hour and a half to here with setting up, measuring and cutting)
Next, testing size, position and general comparison to the front guide.
Domed rear end of guide started (at this point there is still over 1mm finishing cut to be taken off one side, you can see the hole is not central) This just fit with the bar stock size and not having to trim BOTH sides of the bar (another simple thing I had to learn LAST time!!)
The small cutter machining and fine hand filing begin to convert the round 16mm hole into an 18mm x 16mm rectangular hole with squared corners.
An hour, some fine hand filing and two broken 4mm cutters later, the claw starts to get close to fitting into the (only now) "squaring" hole.
Finished, fitted and painted. The door on half lock. Just like the original the front claw fits around the door pier on half lock. The rear claw slides into the outside hole in the seat back frame and the canopy rail (I guess that is how the real one works too, from the dimensions..but I am not sure.
And full... the front claw sits inside the door pier and the rear sits in both the holes in the frame.
A very snug (MUCH to my relief!) fitting door and latch.
And the view from afar....
(if you don't mention that the is a different colour, even though from the same tin of paint, due to the main body floor seal coating fading over time, then I won't..)
