Nearly finished another of the many very small
jobs that take so much time to complete, but also are really good fun to do! In
this case I had a go at remanufacturing the finisher/ferrule that sits in the
top of the gear lever gaiter. The reason for this little project was the fact
that this is how my best spare item looked, when I retrieved it from the parts
stock; it just fell apart at the lightest touch!
And this is a part that hasn’t been available
through the normal TR7 specialists for some time. Luckily the remains were
large enough to provide me with all the measurements, necessary to reproduce a
dimensional drawing of this finisher. Including some small personal touches of
course!
The (AutoCAD) file was then used to produce a three
dimensional model of the part, which in its final version looks like this on
the computer screen:
This digital 3D model was then converted into a STL-file which
in turn was used to produce the eventual finished product, using a friends
3D-printer. But before that we did a “standard plastic” test print, which
turned out to be not entirely what I had expected. But that was my own fault. I
had set the file’s resolution (FACETRES command in AutoCAD) at its lowest
setting, were I thought I had it at its highest resolution setting. So very
easy to rectify.
The final product was than printed using black ABS
filament. The printed item already looks pretty good in real life. But it still
needs additional treatment to give it a smooth and polished finish. Sadly getting the
correct products is a bit of a problem with the current corona measures. But so
far quite pleased with the result!
p.s. after I received the test print I found out that this part is still available (and rather cheap!), under its Spitfire part number (ZKC301). Though that looks like a remanufactured part, so probably poor rubber quality!?
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