This post is to show you what is involved in making the over 250 basic parts I offer in my catalog, over 600 when you add up the parts also offered as kits and other variations to the basic parts.
I have selected the TT28 Periscope for the example, This was first offered in 2005 and 221 units have been sold to date. It is one of the more complicated parts I make.
My latest batch of outstanding orders needed 26 units, I started out to make 30 units and ended up with 28 due to damage during production.
To produce this functioning periscope based on the real one, detailed masters had to be made in brass. This require many hours of research using scaled drawings and pictures of the real one. Designing the parts so they would work and be cast so they could be extracted from a mold.
To produce the master was several more hours of machining, soldering and testing.
Finished brass masters.
Test fitting of masters.
To be able to cast these parts in a mold heat resistant cores also had to ne machined with a perfect fit in the brass masters.
These brass masters and cores and then vulcanized into a mold.
Once the mold is made the cores are placed in the mold for casting.
Next step is casting parts using the spin caster.
Mold is placed in the caster and top pressure plate is position.
When the caster is closed it adds pressure to the mold and spins.
Molten white metal is then poured the into hole at the top of the caster.
After a few minutes allowing the metal to cool off the mold is removed, opened and parts still on the sprue are removed.
Parts are cut from the sprue and cores removed. Cores are place back in the mold ready to cast again.
First set of parts were test fitted.
28 units cast ready for production
14 holes have to be drilled in parts, All of which require a jig to be set up on a milling machine, the milling table is then positioned for each hole to be drilled.
Drilling holes in periscope mount base. Drill one hole in all parts, repeat for other holes.
Drilling holes for periscope housing securing bolts.
Drilling holes for eye bolts.
Drilling holes for mount hinge. Here a brass guide was machined to hold the two parts of the mount together so the holes in both parts could be drilled at the same time, thereby ensuring the mount would be assemble square.
Periscope prism housing securing bolt holes are all tapped.
12 units as kits ready for packaging.
Assembling the periscope mount with steel dowels and eye bolts.
Attaching the hold open spring. Hole positions are center punched holes for the spring rivet and securing bolt are drilled. Securing bolt hole is tapped. Rivet and bolt fitted, spring attached and prism housing bolts fitted.
Periscope prism housing test fitted. Picture shows units with left and right hold open springs, these are for the Tiger 1 driver and radio op hatches.
16 units assembled ready for packaging.
Finished product.
Shown fitted to the Tiger 1 driver and radio op hatches.
Hope you enjoyed the post and have a better understanding of what all the customizer's do to make the parts for this hobby.
Regards
Mike