- Joined
- Jul 26, 2011
- Messages
- 4,142
Thank you all for your kind replies. I just remembered that I also had to make the lock on the box. Good ones are so hard to find these days.
I'd also like to mention that one of the problems to be solved was the way the glass is held in. I hope no one ever breaks the glass,for it will be a job replacing it.
If you click 3 times on the image showing the compass in the box,you will see a very thin molding about 3/16" wide and 1/32" thick,tapering down to a sharp edge. I made this by mounting a piece of 20 gauge brass against a hardwood covering screwed to the face plate. I made a molding(form) cutter to carefully run against the rotating brass. When the ring was parted off,it was laid on the glass. The circular casting was made with a very thin vertical section that stood just at the edge of the ring. It had to be burnished down until it was horizontal,trapping the ring in place.
This was the way the original was made. I was able to get the brass burnished down,but it was one of those moments when I hoped nothing would wrinkle or crack! The whole large ring,with the inside graduated 360º,stamped with all the numbers,and dead silvered,would have been wasted. There would have been no time to go back and make another. The upper management always waited until beyond the last moment to make their minds up. On 2 occasions I had 3 days notice to make a gift,which was terrible. One Saturday morning I was called in to rescue a gift for chairman Mao. We had THAT MORNING to get the gift fixed. I was not really a part of that gift,but had to fix the problem as I was the only one who could.
I'd also like to mention that one of the problems to be solved was the way the glass is held in. I hope no one ever breaks the glass,for it will be a job replacing it.
If you click 3 times on the image showing the compass in the box,you will see a very thin molding about 3/16" wide and 1/32" thick,tapering down to a sharp edge. I made this by mounting a piece of 20 gauge brass against a hardwood covering screwed to the face plate. I made a molding(form) cutter to carefully run against the rotating brass. When the ring was parted off,it was laid on the glass. The circular casting was made with a very thin vertical section that stood just at the edge of the ring. It had to be burnished down until it was horizontal,trapping the ring in place.
This was the way the original was made. I was able to get the brass burnished down,but it was one of those moments when I hoped nothing would wrinkle or crack! The whole large ring,with the inside graduated 360º,stamped with all the numbers,and dead silvered,would have been wasted. There would have been no time to go back and make another. The upper management always waited until beyond the last moment to make their minds up. On 2 occasions I had 3 days notice to make a gift,which was terrible. One Saturday morning I was called in to rescue a gift for chairman Mao. We had THAT MORNING to get the gift fixed. I was not really a part of that gift,but had to fix the problem as I was the only one who could.