NTSOG wrote:G'day WT,
It's about time for a Gecado update and have you made a spring compressor yet?
Jim
I have kept changing my mind about how to do things. I screwed and glued a couple of pieces of MDF to a 20 inch length of pine but they both have splits in them
Installing the shortened G-Clamp turned out to be the easy part. Nothing was done today as we are "Entertaining" four grandchildren
Talk about bedlam. To fix the MDF, I will glue in some pieces of dowel. Then I hope to put a brace behind the MDF part that resists the force of the spring during compression. This is complicated by the piece being at an angle to the line of force.
I got in to this spot of bother because the piece has a blind hole in it to accept the breech end of the compression tube. This hole was drilled with a spade bit and the bottom is lopsided. To accommodate this condition, the piece is turned at a slight angle to the line of force, so that both "prongs" of the breech bear evenly against the bottom of the hole.
I think this is a case of, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions".
This, "Slight angle", complicates the making of the brace.
I will try to talk my wife in to taking some pics, to try to make things clearer but tomorrow will also be devoted to the GKs, so maybe expect something by the weekend because there are chores to be done too.