8/6/2025

A reasonable start to the week, the main cover for the control box is primed with red oxide and needs a final rub down when its cured, then a coat of black.   In the meantime I worked on the switches and found a broken connection between the “start” (i.e. power on”) switch and the main supply.    I polished the engraved switch bezels ready for refitting.  I managed to straighten the bent switch lever and released the stuck slider bearing on another.  I also completed the second new brass slider, so now I have a full complement.   I next cleaned the rust off the switch mounting plate and primed it with Jenolite red oxid, then sprayed the first topcoat onto the control box main cover.   Whilst this was drying, I tested the starter button and found it unreliable, so looked out a new replacement.  Then I affixed the  switch bezels too the top panel.   I painted the steel switch plate with matt black, something of a mistake as it went on like tar,  then sprayed the final coat of gloss black on the main outer cover of the control box.   Progress then slowed as I polished the starter bezel and  blanking plug for the top panel, and also the ammeter bezel.  I fitted the blanking plug and the bezel, the latter being a bit loose, but ran some superglue around the edge so hopefully it will be ok.  The toggle switch bezels were also a bit a loose, so I glued those down too, hopefully they will stay in place now.    I then discovered that the hole in the main cover was slightly too small for the ammeter and will require enlargeing, bah!  I then changed my tack and made a press tool in Iroko to make cable clamps for the battery cables and possibly the speedo cable.  Very satisfying to produce these items neatly and quickly in steel.  I drilled these then reassembled the ammeter and the repaired toggle switch.  I also sheathed the short link battery cable with  heat shrink and started to sheath the long cable then decided to have a rest from that.    I drilled, trimmed and primed  and painted the U clamps next.  Final job of the week was to fix the batery clamp uprights to the battery trieys,  using twin-cable P-clips, rivetted to the base, to stop the uprights falling through.  So, a good week for small jobs.