ANECDOTES WE DON'T NEED, 1
This began in the early years, when dedication to
truth, completeness and accuracy were paramount and following the
instructions was a way of life - not that it isn't now; there was just more
oaths offered up.
We come to the challenging section on the doors, the
internal mechanism and the finished product. It took a few days for the
overall concept to trickle into the consciousness so that the final assembly
would meld into the door as an integral part. It became obvious fairly
quickly that the door lock crank required special attention in that it
incorporated a double bend to pass through a make-up panel. This latter was
the result of hacking a great hole in the door surround in order to install
the various ingenious devices which ensured accurate locking of the door.
That's where the carefully sworn oaths began to come
apart. Bend the lever too much in one direction and it wouldn't provide for
a travel slot in the panel; too much in the other direction would embroil
the intricate mechanism in a jambing exercise farther along the bottom. I
spent many a late night ensuring that both ends of the lever came out
parallel to each other - and the bending thereof was a ballet of millimetres
and partial degrees.
When it came to a later phase of actually choosing
and inserting the lever knob, I cheerfully chose from a local of a
nationwide high-end hardware catalogue in my chosen theme of 'homey'
atmosphere - render the otherwise frightening aspect of the first flight
unto a small taste of an up-to-date kitchen for easing of tension. I chose
blue flowers on a white ceramic knob. It had to be big enough for easy
activation yet small enough to avoid inadvertent selection in flight.
That's when I noted the knob goes on the outside of
the lever, next to the window pane. Visions of diamond wedding rings
scribing my precious window in their anxiety to acquire familiarity with the
machinery absorbed my attention - the result was a small amendment to attach
the knob in the inside of the lever, guessing the process to be safe as the
site was essentially out of passenger activity areas enroute.
My error was confirmed when the modification came
through to fashion a cover plate which ensured full extension of the locked
lever in flight. Suddenly there was a knob in the way - mine. I cursed my
exceptional ingenuity - the genius un-demanded.
Fortunately, the same creativity gave rise to the
solution. I would simply produce a cover plate incorporating the width of
the knob thus ensuring the lever itself was hidden behind the plate. Of
course having bent the lever into a zigzag as previously described thus
ensured it was now too proud of the intended plate. Another dilemma.
Ah, the solution meant simply compressing the zigzag
out of the lever length, employing some form of power press to straighten it
- in situ. Not so easy... That meant finding 1./4 inch alu plate for one
side of this press, and narrow steel plate for the other side (the space for
a threaded clamp underneath being crucial).
Eventually success came into sight as I slowly
compressed the zig and the zag into a fairly flat lever - thus skinning off
lots of the impeccable finished paint and the wrenching responsibility of
the adjacent window ever vital. The cover plates as promulgated evolved, and
in perhaps no more than two days I had undone several weeks brilliant work.
Don't tell anybody. Only now have I realised the wedding ring is on the LEFT
hand.
Ferg
Europa A064
Celebrating 13 years of progress.
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