Today I recoverd enough to spend an hour in the workshop so carried on with making the replacement large lever arm. Full details can be found on http://www.mikes-models.com/ccfowlerdiary.html

However some work was carried out on Friday 12th September 2008, in the early morning (before going fishing with my brother Stephen, see http://www.dartmouthfishing.co.uk) which is when I managed to de-stress the bow that resulted from machining in the mill. At least I think that's what happened. My method was to heat it to red hot, then letting it cool down naturally. I was very pleased to see that the arm returned to its flat state.

bow in the lever arm...

heat treated arm

After cleaning the lever arm up the reverse side was milled to leave one area higher and a start made on the handle which will be silver soldered to the lever. This was achieved by placing a square piece of stock in the 4 jaw chuck and turning a slight taper. The end was achieved by another taper then filed to shape, finished off by using 400 grit wet and dry paper, lubricated with 3 in 1 oil.

Handle end for large lever - Fowler A7 traction engine

The next task will be to mill the sides to the correct dimension and slot cut to enable it to be silver soldered together.

More to follow........