Saving an Excal….or at least an attempt

[Frmrspec]

Creating a 3D file for obscure markers is tedious.. one bad measurement, or one bad offset and a near impossible to replace body is an expensive paperweight..

with that in mind I usually try to find bodies that are already scrap..

this thing sat on EBay for a few years .. it was a diamond dust edge Excalibur that had been improperly stripped




so first thing to make and test was the FSP cut

And then I created a file removing more material than I usually would.. top tube has a wall thickness of .06”, lower tubes .07.. looks like I could actually remove more material but I’m satisfied.. plus there’s a small remnant of the original edge milling





still haven’t decided what to do with the pitting inside the top tube… I may get it anodized and fill it with some kind of epoxy and remachine it…

a picture of the inside of the upper bore

[the_matrix_guy]

I subbed to check back. I hope it turns out well.

what caused the pitting? Was it leaving the stripping chemicals inside too long? Was it supposed to get sanded or sand blasted instead? Curious

[Frmrspec]

I can’t say definitively because I wasn’t the person that stripped it or the person that had it stripped but nickel plating is usually stripped with nitric acid which isn’t as reactive as sulfuric acid… I’m betting whoever stripped it either left it in waaaaaaay too long or stripped it with sulfuric acid…. I’ve had a lot of nickel parts stripped and never had a result this bad

[Grendel]

I wonder if you could fill the pitting on the inside with Aluminum Brazing rod then re-machine after? Kind of a tight area but the brazing rod melt temperature is significantly below aluminum's melting point; might be reasonable to heat the whole body up in an heat treat oven or forge and use the brazing rod to fill in the pitting. It is made to flow well through capillary action like solder so it should be fairly self leveling without leaving a lot to be machined. You can anodize over aluminum brazing the only issue is you may get inconsistent color but if it is inside what does it matter what the color is.

[Ecapnation]

That's going to never going to bond or Anno right

[Frmrspec]

I debated machining it for a freak insert and bonding it in place

[TwonTamal]

This is further in the right direction than I thought I would ever see this body, poor thing has been to hell and back. I didn't realize you intended to make this thing functional again, that pitting in the top tube is definitely a bit of a conundrum, but pressing a tube in may be a workable solution.

[Frmrspec]

I didn’t intend on making it functional again.. but then again I’m stubborn and can’t let things die.. it however has served it’s purpose of letting me prove out code… everything else is a bonus.

[TwonTamal]

Alright, that's what I thought you had said. It will be cool if she gets a new lease on life and lives to fight another day! I'll be looking forward to updates on its progress!

[CavemaN]

In for updates on this. You’re doing great work!

[Super Nova]

yea that body sat for a long time, definitely a miracle if it ever is a working marker again.