Restoration of heritage rolling stock requires many diverse skills, and the 3801 Limited team called on the wood turning expertise of Michael from the Men’s Shed at Engadine. Michael used his workshop lathe to turn up several timber discs which will form the bases for the light fittings prepared previously (refer “Lights and Vents” blog update). As the car ceiling is curved, Steve ran the discs through the band saw to cut the angle to match the pitch of the ceiling.
We under coated the discs ready for installation.
Todd kept things moving along inside the car, cutting the holes through the metal sheets for the vents.
Before test fitting 2 of the vents to check that they fit and see how they will look.
We use a flexible gap filler to ensure a smooth transition between the joints in the metal sheets. At times, it’s a tedious job, but the results are worthwhile.
After the BBQ lunch, the work group got busy manufacturing a batch of rubber washers to replace life expired ones. These go between the glass light shades and the metal light fittings. We use two different sized Wad punches, one to cut the outer edge of the washer, and the smaller cuts out the inner hole.
To put that another way, here is step 1:
Followed by step 2:
At the end of another successful work day, we can cross more jobs off the to‐do list. It is amazing what a dedicated team of young and old volunteers can achieve in their spare time.
Can’t wait for next weekend. More updates soon.