Randy V

Whatcha smokin' today, Jer?

Jerry Feather

Good question. Maybe its the exhaust from the gas heater in my shop which does not vent outside.

Jerry Feather

This is tedious work. Yesterday I spent a couple of hours milling one side of the top of most of the pawls to the narrower dimension and have only about 60 or 70 left to do. Then I'll reset the mill and do the other side. Then I'll be able to tell if these are accurate enough to go into the hole of the lock housing. I am milling these with what I think is a bit closer tolerance than the original plastic ones, but I have to take my measurements first off an original one then off or out of the hole, and some off the bottom of the lock. Then I hope there is not almost any difference in the hole in the bottom of the lock housings in various caps around the world.

Jerry Feather

We are having an inversion right now. The temperature AGL is in the twenties, but it is raining and the rain is freezing as soon as it hits the ground or whatever else it falls on. I am staying home from the office since the roads are really bad.

Instead I went out to the shop, and even that was scary, and finished up the first cut on the pawl tops. Then I reset the mill and cut one of the failed ones that I have been using to set the mill up, and cut the other side of the top. Then I test fit it in two of the lock bodies I have open and find that it fits just about perfectly. I think the only discrepancy is going to be the depth of the slot in the top. Since I used the original one as my guide I think the slot is deeper than it needs to be; and it would have been better to have the extra material there. Nevertheless, I doubt that the aluminum is ever going to break.

The pictures are making the first cut at the top, and then the last one is after the second cut and slipped into the hole. You can see that the teeth in the test piece are the ones going the wrong way.

Ninespub

Wow, what a process. You have one hell of a lot more patience (as well as motivation) than I do Jerry.
Kudus to your perseverance and I'm looking forward to getting a couple of your mini-masterpieces when they're done.
Also, please let me (us) know what to expect as cost for the parts/and or installation in our cores will be. Thanks Jerry!

Jerry Feather

Hi Paul. I learned a long time ago that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing right. JP and Alan proved that metal pawls for our gas caps were worth doing, and I became motivated to take it on. When I get closer to the end I'm going to make a list of the numerous steps in this process, and post it. I am already thinking about the next batch of these, and probably will limit it to about 150 or 160 so that each step takes a little less time. These, with about 3 hours per step, is kind of grinding on me. Thanks for your nice comments.

Bucko74

Jerry,

Whilst I am engrossed in your odd reflection of the 'ins and outs' of RHD vs LHD, and its comparison to many other inconsistencies in the world, I'm not sure we got an answer to the original question.

Jerry Feather

This is going to sound like I'm smoking something again:

The question I may not have answered was, I think, whether or not I could send the failed Pawls to Australia. Of course I could send them, but that too would be a waste, based on my explanation about LHD and RHD, up and down, and such.

The question that I don't think he was asking was "Can't you send THESE to Austraila?" The answer to that one is that when I am finished with these Pawls that are not failing, I can send them to Australia, and in fact I expect to be sending them to anywhere in the World that they might be needed.

G8RB8

I guess I should have added a smiley face in there.

Mike B

Great job Jerry!

Jerry Feather

Thanks, Mike. I have about 80 with both sides of the top cut to the narrower dimension. I didn't get to work out in the shop yesterday, but hope to get another 80 or so done today. I have some mill bits on order for the back of the top slot, but I am still thinking the best and certainly easiest thing to do is simply mill the back of the slot straight across at the correct dimension and call it good. Otherwise, the tiny bit of slight curvature that could be left there on each side of the back is simply not worth the effort to retain it.

Randy V

Jerry, Jerry, he's our man - If he can't do it no one can!

GOOOOOOO, JERRY!!

Jerry Feather

Wow, those all look wonderful; but I can't quite remember why.

Jerry Feather

Oh, good--more progress. I finished up the half jar of pawl blanks to the second side of narrowing the tops. I thought it would take me a couple of evenings, but these went a bit quicker than the other day. Now I get to set the mill up and decide how to drill the holes in the back for the little spring.

These all fit very nicely in the black key body I have been using for measurements, but the white one I have been trying a few in is a bit tighter. I think the difference is in the height of the pawls. I have finished these at 0.533 to 0.535 inches tall, but to go into the white lock body they need to be only 0.530 tall. I think I can reduce them 3 or 4 thou with a file by hand or with emery cloth on a hard surface, some of which I kind of figure I may want to do anyway just to deburr them before I send them out.

Bucko74

Hahahahahaha! Thats Gold!