He's not quite up to date but getting there. As you can see, the main dome framework is built and sits on it's provided stand. There's a nice roller bearing in the top, and more for the wheels it appears. One leg is half built and we have the bits for the second.
Generally, things are going well. The biggest problem is that the correct number of nuts, bolts and screws are provided with no spares. Since they are tiny, we now need replacements and I'm not sure where to get them from. Eileens etc. don't sell them, I think I need to check Maplins. In the meantime, the publishers helpful customer service people have promised to send an extra issue out with more attached.
The most exciting bit involve flashing lights and a small projector. I'll show you these another day once I've worked out how to display them to thier best advantage.
Do you know what size these nuts and bolts are?
ReplyDeleteIf you visit any of the model engineering shows, I'm sure you'd be able to find some suppliers there.
Saying that, I suspect there might also be some more specialist suppliers (who probably don't do shows) who could supply hundreds / thousands of the things for not much more than some electronics or model shops would charge for a dozen.
What size and standard are the bolts?
ReplyDeleteNo idea what size these bolts are. Not a BA size as far as I can tell. I'll post a picture to see if anyone can identify them.
ReplyDeleteIf they're small metric sizes then I've found EBay to be as good as anywhere, even if the price per screw/nut can be higher than buying in bulk elsewhere - the little box of small metric screws that Maplin offer really are poor quality, the heads aren't very well defined.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure a picture would tell anyone much about the bolt sizes - unless it also shows a micrometer or digital caliper being used to measure the outer diameter (and the reading, of course!).
ReplyDeleteA thread gauge might also help - this is a plastic plate (often about A6 size), with tapped holes to a range of standard thread sizes, arranged in a labelled grid. To use one of these, you test fit the bolt into one or more holes - with any luck, you'll find one that the bolt goes into smoothly (you don't use force!), without crossthreading. Read off the thread size and you're done!
I'm sure other people have their own methods - but this one often seems to work.
Failing that, I suspect that somebody at the company publishing the partworks would have some record of what size bolts they're using. These days - especially with a lot of partworks being published by an EU company - I'd be very surprised if the bolts turned out to be anything other than standard metric types.