The build just had a week off whilst I fixed my lathe.
Parting off almost needed ear plugs. Using a dial indicator, I narrowed this down to play in the lead screw nut. It was obviously time to make a new one, which of course I did......right?
No, I compromised and tightened up the jib strip to stop it chattering. This has the effect of stiffening the whole cross slide action, further stressing the worn out threads. The next day, the whole tool post jumped back about 1mm......a whole thread pitch.
I now had to make a new lead screw nut without a functioning cross slide! I managed to make up a mini screw jack which could advance the tool post by a few thou', then lock the cross slide with the jib locking lever. What should have taken two hours to make, took all week.
What's that old adage? A stitch in time, saves.....trauma?
Anyway, we're up and running again.
The hull is now painted and lacquered. The name lettering is laser cut vinyl lettering, courtesy of the Leeds Model Shop, whose mail order service is a life line at the moment.
The reason that I needed the lathe running again, is that I am remaking most of the kit fittings. Where a part should be round in section, they are flattened so badly that the mould lines are like knife edges. If you file them back to shape, they are about half the diameter they should be. I am machining them from Delrin, so my fittings weigh approximately 25% of the white metal originals. As all the fittings are above the deck, I should be reducing the rolling moment of the finished model considerably.
Next step is to redaw the super structure and deck houses to look more like Lyttelton. Again, as I'm not using the kit components, I'm going light and using 0.8mm and 1.5mm ply.