R
romsitsa
Hello, had a “surplus” ABC handle and received a mistreated ABC head (and other things) from a very generous member here, now the time came to give it a shot and repair it.
The corner teeth were seriously bent and two already developed cracks so pulled out a small gas torch and anealed the corners. I was looking for a dull cherry color, but the plating remained intact and didn’t change color, so I heated it, tried to bend back, if it was still stiff, heated again, etc.
The cap most probably had a stripped screw and someone repaired it, but the replacement part is not compatible with any handle I own (I’d go as far as it’s not imperial or metric) and it was a pretty crude sight from the top, so it had to go.
Using a Dremel and cutting wheel grinded down the top of the screw, this wasn’t fun as one doesn’t want to cut into the cap. A drill press could be also used for this task.
After the top was grinded down, the screw was pulled out with a pair of pliers and some force. Cleaned up the hole, it’s countersunk from the top, and looked for a 32-10 screw in my box of spares.
Thinned down the diameter of the new rod, just above the threading, till it was a tight fit in the cap, anealed the end of the rod and riveted it into the cap using a small hammer. As brass work hardens, it was reheated and hammered in 10-15 cycles. The cap is pretty thin, so it can warp while heating and/or while the rivet expands in the hole, but it’s rather simple to twist it back into shape.
The top of the cap was pretty uneven, most likely caused by the previous repair, so I couldn’t fill in all the gaps with the rivet. The remaining boo-boos will be most likely filled with solder before plating.
Adam
The corner teeth were seriously bent and two already developed cracks so pulled out a small gas torch and anealed the corners. I was looking for a dull cherry color, but the plating remained intact and didn’t change color, so I heated it, tried to bend back, if it was still stiff, heated again, etc.
The cap most probably had a stripped screw and someone repaired it, but the replacement part is not compatible with any handle I own (I’d go as far as it’s not imperial or metric) and it was a pretty crude sight from the top, so it had to go.
Using a Dremel and cutting wheel grinded down the top of the screw, this wasn’t fun as one doesn’t want to cut into the cap. A drill press could be also used for this task.
After the top was grinded down, the screw was pulled out with a pair of pliers and some force. Cleaned up the hole, it’s countersunk from the top, and looked for a 32-10 screw in my box of spares.
Thinned down the diameter of the new rod, just above the threading, till it was a tight fit in the cap, anealed the end of the rod and riveted it into the cap using a small hammer. As brass work hardens, it was reheated and hammered in 10-15 cycles. The cap is pretty thin, so it can warp while heating and/or while the rivet expands in the hole, but it’s rather simple to twist it back into shape.
The top of the cap was pretty uneven, most likely caused by the previous repair, so I couldn’t fill in all the gaps with the rivet. The remaining boo-boos will be most likely filled with solder before plating.
Adam
