**UPDATE**
Hi Everyone.
Apologies for the delay in getting these pictures out to you all! The Easter holidays pushed back the delivery of the parts that I was expecting, and they finally arrived yesterday!
I’ve spent some time since then checking everything over and trying out how everything fits together. I still need to check every single piece over individually and check quantities, etc.
I was conscious that you would appreciate some pictures though, so I’ve spent today taking some beauty shots of the parts that have arrived so far.
I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but I would just like to thank you all for your incredible patience and understanding once again! It is not lost on me that it has been a long time to wait for something for which you have made a considerable up-front payment. This really does weigh heavily on me. This particular run just could not have happened any other way though, and I thank each and every one of you for helping to make it happen!
I'm determined to make it worth the wait!
Going forward, it’s my hope that future runs will be done without the need for upfront payments. It’s a lot to ask of you, and it’s a huge responsibility for me.
This run has had a number of hurdles to overcome sinse I announced it nearly one year ago, but I am VERY happy to say that the first set of parts have now arrived, and they are BEAUTIFUL!
The first part that I unpacked was the wind vane, and I was just ecstatic! There was a part of me that was worried the machinist would ignore the small tab part, and the geometry of the actual vanes is surprisingly complex. I was worried that they might take it upon themselves to simplify this. Very happy to say that this was not the case:
Miraculously, the T1 samples for the injection moulded parts arrived on the same day! These are from a completely different manufacturing partner, so this is a staggering coincidence.
In these shots, the replica injection moulded parts (on the right) are actually threaded on to a vintage metal shoulder part (They arrived before the CNCd parts did).
It was an awesome feeling threading it together and snapping on the cap. Great to know that everything is interchangeable and fits perfectly.
Here is the full replica threaded on to the booster (the brass part will be chrome plated next week):
These are the T1 samples for the injection moulded parts. I have requested that they improve them slightly by removing some of the ejector pin marks prior to plating (these are visible still on close inspection), so they are currently running a couple of T2 samples off based on my feedback. Once these are approved, which I’m sure they will be, they can go in to full production.
It was my hope that the CNC’d parts would all arrive separately to give me chance to process things, and to drop smaller, incremental updates as things arrive.
Instead I received the vast majority of the parts all at once. So it'll take a couple of days to go check everything over.
Here is the assembled emitter:
I was very excited to finally see this. So much research went into this part alone behind the scenes so to finally see it in person is a real joy!
I’m looking forward to testing the chemical bath on the emitter parts too. I’ll obviously share the results of that as soon as It’s done.
I am still waiting on some parts, but like I say, the vest majority are now with me. Importantly, the steel parts are here, so I can get moving on blackening them as soon as I’m finished with QC.
I’ll be taking the handwheel shoulders and the clamp levers for chrome plating early next week whilst I get to work on stamping the wind vane rings and blackening the steel parts for the un-weathered orders.
Here are the Lever parts for the clamp:
I threw on a Folmer style dome head rivet to try it out. Note the rounded top to the lever bar too.
It’s only a small detail, but I’m really very happy to share the replica transistor/washer set:
They turned out great and as soon as I get chance, I’ll get a set installed on to a spare clamp to see how they look.
I’m not able to put a full hilt together just yet unfortunately, as one of the parts I’m waiting on is the central coach bolt! As soon as I receive this I'll obviously get a full hilt assembled and share how it's looking!
For now, I’m going to get my head down and go through all of these parts to ensure that there are none missing, and that none of them are damaged or incorrect.
I realise that it sounds like a lot of work to do still before these start to go out, but I will be working methodically, and in batches over the next week or two, focussing on getting the un-weathered parts ready for when the remaining parts arrive, and chrome plating is finished.
I will continue to keep you all updated as the remainder of the parts turn up, and as I make some progress on what's left to do.
Thank you again for your patience everyone, and for your continued support! It's been a long wait but we're VERY nearly there! Based on the parts that have arrived so far, I think it's going to be worth the wait! I hope you'll all agree.
All the best and MTFBWY!
Dave
