An NSR Absolute Block instrument

Or Leek Brook Junction. As I think the test label inside post dates the 1947 closure..

unless it was tested in the stores?

 

And then the postman came..



A new Trafolite name plate for the woodwork when done..

I’ve also got the lock sorted with a new key today. So we’re good to go..

now need to find some silver solder and can get the latch side repaired.
Andy

 

Took @paul_l ’s advice with the small polishing bushes for the dremil and had a go on some more metal work.
This is a bar from behind the release plunger.




as you can see, it was a little dirty and corroded it seemed in parts.

5 mins with the hand drill and et voila.




Much more of an improvement. Not perfect, but it could well be over a 100 years old.
I will now try some other parts.. if I can get them apart. The main locking mech on the front door doesn’t seem to want to part company with its neighbouring part.

 

a little video update..

 

Wednesday AM despite being only 4deg Celcius gave me an hour or two in the father in laws shed. I was on my own this time and set too making the two new front parts for the top and bottom.. sadly I had to make a 3rd out of the remaining spares as I had a break of the tab tongue that slots in to the verticals grove due to a slight over sight with the band saw and where I was cutting..

but, I got one done. This one used the original edge so was simply a cut down one height and depth.
Marking out the cut lines. The vice was just for holding it still.

and fitted.
It still is a mm or there abouts too wide as it makes the side upright stand proud so needs to be returned to when time and tools permit.
That or try a big clamp which Yorkie had suggested, may just pull it in and squash the ends??
Now the bottom will need a step and a chamfer in it. More on this as we progress.. then it’s the similar slot in sides and we’re almost done.

 

Not sure how well this shows on this picture, I’ll try and get a better one next time it’s all disassembled.

but, what you can or should be able to make out is a chamfer to the face plate followed by a 90 deg step which forms the recess for the glazing and the beading and then the flat front.


What you may also notice is that someone in the past has butchered the sides. Some of it has been left in the slot, but it seems I have a new task of making new parts from scratch for either side. Again it’s a chamfer and step, but then it fits in to the slot (you can see the gap top left left from its deeper days before being cut down) now that bit will be totally formed from off cuts (the back end of the sides actually) and may be a case of measuring up what we have and trimming to suit.

I’ve tried to draw it on Fusion as a plan so will try and post that up to explain.

 

Attached is a PDF (I hope) of the new parts I have to make. not that complicated - more size critical - and need to slot in to the existing gap and be trimmed top and bottom on both sides to fit snugly.

andy

 

It appears it’s been a fair while since I updated the restoration, mainly as I sat the project to one side over Christmas.

returning back to the workshop last weekend it was a day of ups and downs. I began progressing the second horizontal bar for the front by adding the rebate for the glass and then moved on to the chamfer edge. All was going well till the blade on the band saw moved whist cutting the chamfer.


This part was my last spare bit of mahogany. At that moment I wanted to just pack up and leave, but the father in law just told me to wait a moment and went and found some more wood. It’s not mahogany but possibly oak, but very similar grain and colour. We then spent another hour cutting it down to size from large bit we had and then sliding it though the thinner, some kind of planer that skims a thou or so off the wood till we had the correct thickness..

we also used this same machine to add the chamfer this time.

mind your fingers moments, but it works by setting the angle at the back on that support board.

this was on a test piece first.

and here we have the new part ready for the rebate for the glass to be cut in, probably using the circular saw in the bench as we don’t have a router for something this small. You can see the marking out on the tape.


here is the other one that will sit at the top (top bar) and the one below is the original from the CR top, which is too shallow for an NSR top as needs to take the name plate as shown in previous comments. It’s also got a little damage to it.

 

I have also been fortunate in being gifted a bell box to go with it.


At first glance it looks great, but closer inspection shows some wood work attention is needed and….


The stem that holds the bell is bent. Its brass rod that’s threaded top and bottom and has a second screw thread through it at 90degs which acts as a rest for the hammer..


Plans for this will be to maybe move the bell, as an NSR one struck the outside of the bell not the inside. So some moving etc will occur after the wood has been cleaned up. Peter has a spare striker rest he is sending me so we can look if this will work. At the moment, I can’t work out if my bell is bigger than the one shown here?

 

Back on the woodwork yesterday for nearly 2 hrs.. yes that’s just how long it took to create the lip for the glass and then the two pegs to slot in to the uprights.

Anyway, here is that part dry fitted.



And at a distance.
gave it one coat of Shellac to darken it, the rest of the wood is yet to be stripped back, so not too worried about matching yet.

and fitted after the coat of shellac


Just the uprights to make. They are a bit of an L shape with the bottom of the L having the chamfer to match the top and bottom.
test with the name plate

and afterwards last night as the kids were in bed and wife out, I took some gentle sandpaper to the base and two sides of the bell box. As seen in the earlier photos it was black from either soot or having been situated near a heat source for a fair time.

with an hour of work, it’s now showing some nice colour. The ends need re gluing, which will be done when it’s all rubbed back. and there is another lock to try and fix and source a key for!

 

A little better before and after shot of the bell box (actually showing the uncleaned side and the cleaned side.

 

Talking with Peter yesterday who sent me the bell box discussing the progress posted above and he asked if I had sorted the coil mounting out…

?? pardon? What’s wrong??

go have another look. They should sit parallel but the pair that pull the hammer in are bent upwards from the same drop that bent the bell support post..

So I had a look..


Ah, I see..


They are located here..


and here you can see why they sit upwards.
Also shown is the (since broken) part of the latch for the key lock. Something else I need to either acquire or make new some how.

At least it all comes apart each. All screws.

except the two screws here you can see the sides off… won’t move. Can’t get a big enough driver in that has a thin enough blade to give me enough torque to undo them…. Yet!
More soon.

 

Thursday night I was in with the kids in bed, so had an hour and half to myself to undertake some work.

I first sought to investigate the bent support bracket.

It all came apart easily and cleaned up well.
At the fore you can see the broken latch for the lock.

the lock was removed from the wooden top, but I now cannot get in the lock, the smallest jewellers screw driver doesn’t cut it, the next one is too thick, so I’m not sure where I go with this.
Also shown are the front support/spring for the hammer ( left) lock, Hammer (top centre) and the two pivot brackets for the hammer.


this is the bent support. I have no idea if this will heat and bend back or if it’s scrap and make a new one.
and finally, the top was given a sand back and then followed with wire wool, and it’s come up nice. I can’t quite get some marks out on the surface, but, I suppose that’s the patina and some of it will be hidden by the bell when it’s moved. I’m now looking for a new hammer support bracket, the one I’ve been sent by Peter is sadly a little too short and has a L shape profile rather than a round base.

 

Friday morning was back in the shed working on the woodwork. Heavy rain and the cold delayed starting, but some progress made.



The woodwork for the bell box lid has been re glued.

noticed in the inside there is a stamp for a J Foxcroft. Wonder if this is the builder?


creating the profiles for the inserts for the side glass rests for the block instrument facia. The bottom left and bottom right corners respectively need cutting out.



A test piece before hacked at the actual parts.



That seemed to go well..
so I started on the actual part..

and subsequently split the wood!
I left it at that as put some glue in it and left it to set.

 

I’ve considered that. Just not tried it yet as parts at one house and vice etc at another..

I may also warm them up with some heat.

 

Had a smile today.. I decided to email a very local Model engineering company to me, and got the below reply..

“
Hi Andy
Straightening Brass does not tend to work. It is much more likely to crack and fail completely even with heat. You could have new parts turned up on a lathe but the cost is gong to be up around £200 which is unviable. If you're interested in doing this as a project then the cheapest way to do it is to lern how to use a lathe and turn the parts up yourself.
The Model Engineering Club at Chesterfield has a workshop you could use.”

£200 for a 4 inch brass rod with thread and a hole in it??

so I moved on to the woodwork and back to the trial part. Instead of using a chisel, i chose to use the dremel and a saw cutting disc.


It now needs to be trimmed at the end with a chamfer to fit up to the top.

I’ll then move on to the real ones in a day or two.

 

Quite pleased with how this is progressing..

I just need to make this in the correct wood.

this test panel is over deep, so doesn’t quite look right, but the fitment it there!


Now to see if I can pull this off another 2 times