Re-Trim Complete (Nearly) & Tron Dials.....

[Mark Elvin]

Got new front carpets, need to give the rest a bloody good clean.

[Mark.T]

Very nice result!

[Mark Elvin]

Been working on a more elegant solution for the dimmer dial & the colour switch. Came up with a 3d printed housing that I designed on CAD & had printed.

Needs some hand finishing & painting, but it fits in the space occupied by two switch blanks perfectly, the front face is even profiled to match the shape of the adjacent switch.

[mikeonb4c]

Dimmer dial? I ain't got one of those

Amazing! Your talents go on and on, to adapt the line from Peter Sarstedt's song

[Mark.T]

This is the kind of tinkering I like to see. Nice one

I need start tinkering

[bongoroy63]

What did you do to change the lights behind the heater, gear selector indicator etc. I like the colour change.

[the.sasquatch]

What did you do to change the lights behind the heater, gear selector indicator etc. I like the colour change.

Was just wondering this myself, looks awesome

[Mark Elvin]

It's just a kit from visual performance

[BigPanzer]

Hi Mark,

Nice! Your upholstery looks very professional too!

In a way I am saddened to see how skills are changing. If I had to make something like that I would have to cast a block of epoxy and mill it to shape. Not difficult, but time consuming and wasteful and there would be a certain amount of hand finishing.
These days the skill is in using the CAD package.
I wonder if in 30 years time the model engineering skills that I learned many years ago - lathe, milling machine, silver soldering and the simple things such as how to file to a line accurately will have gone for ever.
I would love to have a 3D printer and to learn to master a 3D CAD package, but now I'm retired I have to justify these expenses to 'er in drawers.
Just finished the front axle & diff for a very rare 6x6 Scammell Pioneer in 1/6 scale (yes they did exist. Around 3 were built, none survive). No drawings, done from 2 small photos and a lot of back of the envelope sketches.

Peter

[Mark Elvin]

I served a proper aircraft fitters apprenticeship so I'm pleased to say I have the skill, I don't have much spare time though, so the 3d printer for something this simple saves valuable time!!

[Mark.T]

.. and I served a four year MoD apprenticeship in electronics with a 3 month mechanical part including filing and scraping to make a datum, followed by machining .. all of which provide an in depth appreciation for what may of may not work when putting things to CAD

[BigPanzer]

Hi,

What I said really started last night over a few beers with a friend who is a CDT teacher. His 6th form centre has just scrapped their last two metalworking lathes and the kids spend their time with bits of plastic instead. They are not even allowed to use an oilstone to sharpen tools these days. Many of the modern apprentice schemes are not the sort of training that you two gentlemen and myself received - a 3 or 4 year course starting with the basics and with day release and evenings at college.
I was lucky, I did one in engineering and one in electronics (long story) and my father was a professional model maker who over the years had built up a superb workshop which I was allowed to use providing I sourced my own materials.

But (not for the first time) I've gone way off thread!

Peter

[Mark Elvin]

After some easy sand body filler skims, a spot of spray filler it wss time to paint. Gave it some thick coats of satin black then just as the paint was nearly hard a couple of very light coats from about 60cm away. The spray was dry before it landed but stuck to the tacky paint that was already there.

This gave a finish with the same tecture as the standard switches.

Dead chuffed.

[Mark.T]

Dead chuffed.

.. and so you should be

[Simon Jones]

Damn: looks like I need to add 3D printer to my Christmas list . That's exactly the type of thing I would use it for.