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Ok guys - back on the con rods As mentioned they machined up okay despite being a tad narrower than the bronze originals across the fork. As they've turned out they are lighter but probably much stronger than the originals. I realise now that what George thought was the webs the wrong way was just excess material for holding with and this was left on as long as possible. The crankpin holes were done first followed by the slot for the yoke. This followed by roughing the ends in the chuck then turning between centres to give an accurate spigot to hold in the collet. The tapers were then turned using the top slideThe holes were drilled and reamed in one web and the other tapped 5BA then the palm was reduced to width. A couple of filing buttons were turned from silver steel to fit either hole with an 8BA bolt through and the end bosses filed to shape. This went much better than anticipated and it was at this stage that it looked obvious there was sufficient material width for the task in hand without the need to solder on pads.With Sue on holiday this week and the weather fine for gardening, workshop time has been a bit limited but the rods are finished, the crossheads made from EN1a freecutting mild steel - a great combination with cast iron - and hardened and tempered pins (the thread portion is an insert of 5BA threaded rod - allows the pin to pull up tight with maximum thread engagement) the parts are now ready for assembly next sessionHaving looked at the colour off and on for a few days I finally came to the conclusion I didn't like it so re-masked and over sprayed all the parts with a lighter grey which seems far more agreeable to the eye - well my eye at least As you can see the gears arrived today - the single most expensive part on this project so far I think . Your link to Andrews post came about an hour too late to save the day Jason - by then the money was spent Obviously there are 'for(s)' and against(s) in this area but I will stick to Georges recommendation now. I have counter-bored the end of the worm to sit on the reduced portion of the shaft and turned a small boss (6mm dia) for the other end in which the 4BA cap head locates(the head of which was reduced to 4.5mm dia). Run out is negligible and it should sit in a bronze bearing nicely. Once the design is sorted out the worm will be reduced in bulk to look more in keeping.Well that's it for another night - I must admit I'm tiring of this - when I look at all the photos in the album as they come up on Picasa it reminds me that it's been a long haulRegards - TugHi Ramon,I have just started to look back at things, I have been laid up with a very back attack of Sciatica on my left leg, the pain of which I would not wish upon my worst enemy, I now think that I will live.I see that you had enough material on the Con rods to make the Eye at 90 deg to the main shaft, on your pic it looked as if there wasn't enough and you could have ended up like my first attempt.I like the idea of making the cross head out of M/S, something that had never crossed my mind but I shall keep that in mind for the future.Your machining is an inspiration and drives me to get better , thanks for your postings and pics.George