Saving Old Seagulls

Thanks for any help locating one.

Have a good one.

I'll look closer at mine, maybe somebody like Nudge will be able to cast one?

Thanks Oyster/Nudge - if someone's willing and able.

I had a closer look last night. The V strut could be made I suspect from some brass plate, with some assistance from a milling machine. The original is cast however, so it would not be easy to create a perfect match by machining. However a replacement could be made by a skilled miller.

A drawing and 3d printed pattern for a casting may work... the cost of shipping?

This is where it starts to get difficult, as the demand is possibly only for one or two parts at best. I suspect making one out of brass plate by hand on a mill might be the quickest and easiest option?

I came across this when making new bayonet caps, I made some and the demand evaporated when it came to parting with the cash...I have a couple left and still have not quite recovered the costs, not that I'm particularly bothered.

As the A-strut is a sand cast item, what would seem the most obvious answer, is that we provide a 3D printer suitable drawing, that could be downloaded anywhere in the world, where there is a brass/bronze sand/casting foundry & a 3D printer.

Oyster are you still in the UK & do you have access to an XRF at work? if the answer is yes to both, could you let us know what this strut is made from, so we can get the clones looking the same color, & I can calculate, the shrinkage allowance for the drawing/pattern.

We can hardly stitch up the Nudges of this world, with a weekends worth of work, for something he doesn't need!

Manually milling one from a bronze billet, would require probably £40 for material (guesstimate) & 4 to 5 hours machine time on a Bridgeport with a DRO & a rotary table, all for a 225 gram item.

Sorry about the dreadful picture!

That would be extremely helpful, if the 3D drawing to be printed & cast turns out not to be too much trouble - thanks fellas.

Yes. I'll second that.

Charles, sorry, no and not sure to your questions We do have a small lab that do analysis of engine oil system findings. I’m not sure what equipment they have there, and most stuff has to go off site to a university lab for analysis.

I think the part is bronze alloy of some sort.

I've never seen a Seagull drawing for anything that early so have no idea of what sort of bronze they were using in the late 40's.

Nowadays I don't know anyone who has access to an XRF, so I'll just have to visit my local bronze foundry, they do giant bronze planters & the BAFTA awards & see what they recommend for the shrinkage allowance.

The shrinkage of bronze is anywhere from 1.05 to 2.1 %
The main area that will need to be correct will be accross the pins. The last thing you need is to spend all day making a part only to find out it is too big and you cant fit it inbetween the bracket or too small and it drops out!

So a cast basic shape with a little machining to size?

A basic cast shape, finished with a sanding disc & a hand file!

Yes, either way would be good, as long as you don’t overdo it.

Interesting stuff, when you get into remanufacturing