Found! Obi-Wan Kenobi ANH Lightsaber Emitter

[Gigatron]

Originally posted by Serafino+Sep 29 2005, 05:56 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Serafino @ Sep 29 2005, 05:56 PM)</div>

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@Sep 29 2005, 09:35 AM
If the gear is part of the shaft, my theory is that they cut just enough of the shaft so that it would be held in place by the graflex clamp. 

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If the right part is found there will be plenty of opportunity to theorize about how it was attached. The thing is, it doesn't even matter right now, so long as the 'gear' aspect is the same.

And remember it looks very much as though the prop 'gear' was shortened from a longer length--i.e. longer than 1.5 "

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That's true. If the gear looks like the starter disengage shaft, where the splines are carved out of the shaft, then that would make total sense. Cut off the gear, cut it down to size, grind off some of the teeth to get down to round stock and voila.

-Fred

P.S. here's a page with som really great pics of the RR nene turbo engine. There's some really good cutaway drawing as well as a really good pic og the IG88 head http://www.gasturbineowners.com/nene_jet.htm

 

[Serafino]

I continue to use Chris as a clearing house for leads. ItÂ’s VERY important that we not duplicate our work here people. All it takes is one extra person contacting the same place and red flags go up. Please donÂ’t be the person who screws this up for everyone.

I just talked to the Museum engineer at Edwards AFB in CA, they have a Meteor on display but he has no idea about places to get parts, and of course a displayed plane ain’t gonna be disassembled. This plane was donated about 7 years ago by a guy who used to FLY it, and he’s given me some leads also. I haven’t heard back from my ‘confirming engineer’ yet.

 

[Prop Runner]

Originally posted by Gigatron@Sep 29 2005, 05:15 PM
Gabe,
In your post #139, you're looking at the second pic of the wheelcase housing from the wrong angle.  The top pic is from the rear, the bottom from the front. 

I think the gear is connected to the impeller drive shaft, not under that plate.  The plate is on the front tof the engine.  The female spline is what connects the wheelcase to the impeller via the drive shaft.  The end of the drive shaft will have a 16 tooth male spline gear on it.  In the diagram where you drew in the gear, move it to the end of the impeller drive shaft.  There it will sit in the female spline.

If we can find a pic of the impeller drive shaft, we'll be able to confirm this.

Very exciting.

-Fred

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Fred,

Thanks for pointing out my error - I don't have to tell you how late I stayed up manipulating 50 year old diagrams - my mind was already gone... :lol

And no, haven't received a response yet from Ian, but it's only been a day, so keep your fingers crossed. I've also put out e-mails to sources in other countries, so hopefully something will fall into the net...

Pouring over the diagrams yet again, and following the suggestions posed by TK171 and Gigatron, I thought about the starter motor drive shaft as another possible candidate with rounded edges on the teeth, but I have a feeling it's got more than 16 teeth and the scale and length could be wrong. Still, it might resemble what we're looking for, since it serves a similar purpose - to couple with a gear or drive shaft.
Unfortunately, I can't see anything resembling our gear in the Welland photo of the main drive shaft. Could you point it out?

On a side note, I recommend that whoever e-mails a source, add the following paragraph:

*****************************************

Please be aware that when an exciting potential discovery of this nature is made in our hobby, it doesn't stay secret for long, and a source with a presence on the Internet can find himself innundated with e-mails and requests from well-meaning, but uncoordinated and sometimes overly enthusiastic prop collectors. For all I know, my note may be one of several, and in order to spare you aggrevation, by all means do not feel compelled to work with more than one of us (i.e., the first person to contact you) and let the others know who that person is so they will not duplicate each other's efforts. We all know one another and will respect your wishes. If you would like to see how we found you and what led to this potential discovery, please visit us at this link:

http://www.therpf.com/index.php?showtopic=96585

*****************************************

It's inevitable that some of us will e-mail the same source and mention Star Wars, so at least this way we can provide a dose of preventative medicine and soften the blow...

Good luck to everybody in their efforts.

- Gabe

 

[Gigatron]

On this page, http://members.lycos.co.uk/pwgrieve/newpage5.html , 4th picture down, pic of the aluminium compressor. It shows the impeller drive shaft which would connect to the wheelcase. The gear should be at the top of the shaft, but it's too small for me to see, and won't have access to my photoshop until later this evening.

Like I said, this is a picture of the welland, so this is only an idea. Plus, the picture of the derwent wheelcase is only a drawing. I count 16 teeth in that pic, but it could just be the illustrator didn't see fit to draw everything exactly.

But let's still keep our fingers crossed.

-Fred

 

[Serafino]

Gabe, what kind of experience have you had with the results of being up front about what we want a part for?

In some arenas it hasn't been helpful, but perhaps I am being overly cautious in avoiding the subject in this case. It would be fun to let people in on our excitement actually, while acting suitably embarassed at being so geeky.

 

[Bowelrock]

I guess this should be added to the parts of Star Wars page ya think?> Oh and this is realy exiting great job guys

 

[Darkknight0667]

Originally posted by Serafino@Sep 29 2005, 02:03 AM
Well, there is one little itty bitty problem.  I'm not "in the area".  But I've written back and will look into the options.

I need an emergency RPF research grant  :lol

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Have you thought about seeing if someone else here might be "in the area" that could go there in your stead? Might be worth looking into, in case that "Emergency Research Grant" doesn't come through. :lol

BTW guys, great work. 3-4 years from now, we'll all sit around and laugh at how long we all looked for that elusive "sink drain".

 

[Prop Runner]

Originally posted by Serafino@Sep 29 2005, 08:29 PM
Gabe, what kind of experience have you had with the results of being up front about what we want a part for?

In some arenas it hasn't been helpful, but perhaps I am being overly cautious in avoiding the subject in this case.  It would be fun to let people in on our excitement actually, while acting suitably embarassed at being so geeky. 

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Keep in mind that collectors and preservationists like us are kindered spirits - we will probably geek out over each other's stuff and have a healthy respect for each other's passions. I'm counting on that when I correspond with a source. In the past, it helped me get proprietary 1:1 scale drawings of the Hellboy Samaritan from the conceptual artist who designed it for the film, as well as 10 signed & numbered Blade Runner origami chickens from the British paper folder whose hands were actually seen in the movie posing it on Captain Bryant's table (Ridley Scott cut out the scene in which his hands were actually shown folding it out of a crumpled cigarette box liner he picked out of an ashtray). He sent me 10 origami reproductions all the way from the UK to California for free, because he respected our passion for his work.

I suggest that a courtious and honest, yet restrained approach will make the Dewert and Meteor sources "friendly to our cause." And since they're all aviation buffs to begin with, it's not a stretch to think that they love sci-fi too.

My key points when writing:

• express gratitude in advance for their time and efforts
• honest about my aims, share what I know to earn trust and spare time
• express understanding that the scarcity of the item makes it invaluable and rare if it is in good condition
• start by requesting photos and measurements, but state how indebted & grateful I'll be if only I could have the actual part in hand to document and safely reverse-engineer it
• offer a replica or two as a token of gratitude if it directly results from their assistance
• state that the help would serve many other collectors who share my passion
• ask to have my e-mail forwarded to other enthusiasts, researchers, historians, and collectors who may be able to help

- Gabe

 

[acerocket]

Not sure if anybody has thought of this, but what about checking with colleges that offer aviation related programs (or even aircraft powerplant and airframe training centers). When I was in college getting my degree in Aerospace Engineering, I had a class where I sat next to a cut away of an early jet engine. I don't know if you would find one in the US, but maybe in England. Schools don't usually throw stuff like that away. Perhaps some group of students cut away an old Derwent for a class project.

 

[Serafino]

Originally posted by Darkknight0667@Sep 29 2005, 12:40 PM
Have you thought about seeing if someone else here might be "in the area" that could go there in your stead?  Might be worth looking into, in case that "Emergency Research Grant" doesn't come through.  :lol

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Absolutely, am looking into various options right now. Can't do much until I hear back from my 2nd email.

Gabe--Sounds good to me. Thanks for the tips, I will keep them in mind, along with the dictum "less is more". People don't like reading long emails.

Whoa Blaxmyth--gear 'discovered'? Not quite confirmed I think?

 

[Blaxmyth]

Whoa Blaxmyth--gear 'discovered'?  Not quite confirmed I think? 

Edited to reflect the 'almost but not quite there yet' aspect.

Cheers, Phil

 

[Reaper57]

so in this pic from a while back when we thought it was a wheel hub...

the piece in the middle that looked like a grease fitting must be a coupling to attach a pipe or line too.

john :cool

 

[Serafino]

Originally posted by Reaper57@Sep 29 2005, 08:44 PM
so in this pic from a while back when we thought it was a wheel hub...

the piece in the middle that looked like a grease fitting must be a coupling to attach a pipe or line too.

john :cool

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Whatever it is, when you compare it closely to the drawing we're all so excited about, it becomes more and more clear that it's NOT the illustrated Derwent combustion interchange. So hopefully we can stop wasting our time on it.

ALL: I have just received additional information from another engineer, who is in the process of rebuilding a Derwent engine. He says, regarding a picture of the prop emitter: "the picture you have is of a Derwent mk 8 or 9 but most likely a mk 9 interconnect. There are a few different sizes of inner bore diameter depending on your mod status and there is also two per combustion chamber with different flange diameters each. The picture you have looks like the left hand side as you look at the balance pipe."

So keep that in mind as you search.

 

[franz bolo]

This is to damn cool. Great job so far..

FB

 

[Prop Runner]

Honestly, I don't know what to make of this photo... The length of the connector is definitely too short, though it may be constructed and designed for a similar fuction as the Dewert combustion chamber interconnector.

After 2 glasses of Shiraz, I thought I saw a circular hole pattern around that protrusion which bears a resemlence to a grease fitting. Don't know if I'm just seeing shapes through the alchoholic haze or whatever, but maybe someone could use one of those CIA or NSA image enhancing software like from "No Way Out."

- Gabe

 

[Reaper57]

Originally posted by Serafino+Sep 30 2005, 04:55 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Serafino @ Sep 30 2005, 04:55 AM)</div>

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@Sep 29 2005, 08:44 PM
so in this pic from a while back when we thought it was a wheel hub...

the piece in the middle that looked like a grease fitting must be a coupling to attach a pipe or line too.

john :cool

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Whatever it is, when you compare it closely to the drawing we're all so excited about, it becomes more and more clear that it's NOT the illustrated Derwent combustion interchange. So hopefully we can stop wasting our time on it.

ALL: I have just received additional information from another engineer, who is in the process of rebuilding a Derwent engine. He says, regarding a picture of the prop emitter: "the picture you have is of a Derwent mk 8 or 9 but most likely a mk 9 interconnect. There are a few different sizes of inner bore diameter depending on your mod status and there is also two per combustion chamber with different flange diameters each. The picture you have looks like the left hand side as you look at the balance pipe."





So keep that in mind as you search.

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i believe we will find that they are all the same piece but there may be a lot of small differences due to model / parts manufactures / year / upgrades / refits etc.

and being military these parts , who do the same job but look slightly different could have been scavaged off of other type engines during parts shortages and custom fit to the engine to keep it flying. :unsure

a lot of the parts in these older jet engines are almost hand made.

john :cool

 

[Hermes]

Gabe, I am working on the photo in Photoshop, and it is too blurry to be very visible, BUT you are right, there definitely IS a circle of rings around a central protrusion or something like that. I´m no mechanic, so I don´t know what to make of it, but if your theory is correct and it is a grease fitting, where does that leave us?

I mean - being an interconnector, would it be expected to have any kind of grease in it at all? Being a bike/motorbike hub, it would be expected, yes, and that would shoot down, (IF the interconnectors don´t use grease, IF it is a grease fitting) this part once and for all from our list, considering that people here measured it and they´ve shot it down already, but it could be a TYPE of part to be shot down, as in All Bike Hubs are NOT Obi-Wan´s Emitter.

I hope that makes sense.

 

[Sporak]

I wonder if there's a patent drawing somewhere for these...Not U.S. though I guess...
My thinking is that if we could get a blueprint somehow we could check the exact measurements and variances...

Now, how we go about aquiring that, I don't know yet.
Airline collectables show?
Tech manuals?

Do any of these guys you're contacting have any blueprints or plans?

 

[synasp]

Incredible progress guys. Hopefully these items can be nailed down. I'm going to go ahead and stick this for about a week along with the recently found Solo flash hider thread.

These have been extremely exciting threads that I've really enjoyed reading as the mysteries unfold. Thanks and keep at it.. :thumbsup


David

 

[Serafino]

Sporak--I'm going to contact Rolls-Royce archive about blueprints. I just found out a friend of mine knows someone who works at Rolls aeronautics in UK.

John--all valid points, but the fact is the two objects do not share the same essential design. They're not just different in the details, they are differently arranged objects. The assembly we are looking for has one pair of 'emitters' mated in the center, the one in the photo has two pairs of 'emitters'--a pair at either end.