Sunday, January 23, 2011

Repairing Hinges and Drilling Large Holes



I have filled the last of the hinges. Earlier we had repaired the hinge-pins. I then filled the backs of the wrought-iron where they had been badly corroded in contact with the original oak planks. This hinge was the worst corroded of them all and I had to put a second layer of filler on it to bring the back out so that it would press flush up against the planks. I have only to sand this back now before we can paint it.



The holes in the headstocks for the buffers are 3" diameter, and those in the cross-beams for the draw-bars are 2½" diameter. We don't have any auger bits of those diameters and the only machine capable of turning a bit of that diameter is in the shed seventy five yards away. So we used hole cutting saws, or tank-cutters as I know them and hand held power drills.



I started the holes by drilling a pilot hole first to guide the cutter's drill-bit. I used a small, portable drill-press to make sure I started the holes perpendicular to the timber face then went on to drill the hole with the drill hand held.



Ollie and Roger joined in. Ollie wielding the drill



and Roger using the chisel to hack out the timber from the hole so that Ollie could continue cutting.



Next week I shall cut out the rectangular holes for the draw-bars to pass through the headstocks.

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