Cheers billdeserthills! Had a blitz on it and pushed it a good bit further-
made the mating lugged ring for the inside of the body in bronze. Polished up the crane hinge and base. Also fine tuned the breech-lock door into the body so it’s all working smooth. The square I’d originally filed into the hand crank had worn with use, so I made a small square sleeve in brass and soldered it in for a snug fit over the square spindle.
Open showing the lugged inner jamb
Door closed but still in unlocked position- I made 2 very fine alignment cuts on the door and the bearing plate
Door closed and cranked to fully locked position
Door open in unlocked position
Door open in locked position
Still need to sort final flush fixings for the hinges on the body ready for final brazing. Then it’s a mechanism for the back of the door with timelock plus front combo dial and spindle etc.
