Donald Dawson, Author at Donald's Innovations & Repairs

Model Aluminum NASCAR Hauler

Donald Dawson — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 23:00:07 +0000

This model came from a semi-trailer kit. I converted the semi-trailer into a NASCAR hauler, adding a refrigeration unit and an interchangeable manual and electrical working ramp.

Materials

Aluminum sheet
Channels
Round tube
Brass chain
Miniature nuts and bolts
Electronic parts
Miniature reduction gear drive
Cyanoacrylate glue

Processes

Fabrication
Bending
Cutting
Drilling
Filing
Soldering electronic parts
Welding

A visit to the local lamborghini dealership

This project required in-person field research. There was a Lamborghini dealership nearby, and I'd been trying to see a NASCAR hauler up close but could never see them at the hours I passed by.

But one Saturday morning, on an early walk with my wife, we spotted a driver and hauler delivering a new car to the Lamborghini dealership.

The driver was friendly and keen about the project. He showed me around the hauler and let me take pictures. It turned out that he had to move an antique car from the top level to the bottom, so there was plenty of time to watch how the mechanisms worked, to study the structure and to ask questions.

This close-up study helped me accurately replicate the ramp.

Reefer unit and electronic ramp

To fabricate the reefer (refrigeration) unit, I drew it from a pattern and then cut it out from sheet aluminum. Then, I hammer-molded the round edges, welded the seams and screwed the reefer unit to the trailer. I also added pavement bumpers to the rear door, (which was also the ramp) and reflectors.

To create the electronic components and the drive for the ramp, I used an AA-size battery pack, a switch, a miniature gear reducer unit and extra gears.

By the end of the project, the ramp on this model could be raised and lowered by hand or by a battery-powered mechanical drive - just like the actual haulers.

After many weeks, the model's owner came to take it away. I had sent him pictures, and he'd come by weekly to see the progress. Completing this project was bittersweet, as it was not my model, and I enjoyed my client's weekly visit.

Thanks as always to @hobbiesmagicbox and Lee's Electronics.

Stages of the fabrication

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Repair of a Church’s Baptismal Ewer

Donald Dawson — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 21:17:49 +0000

This beautiful, coated copper Baptismal Ewer from the 1950s came from a church in West Vancouver. The president of the Altar Guild brought it to us, hoping we could repair it. It had a broken cross and a severely scratched front face. Though it had been repaired once before with soft-solder by a jeweller, the repair had not held.

Materials

Copper
Brass
Silver solder

Processes

Metal Fabrication
Lathe-work
Hand-work
Silver-soldering

Assessing the Damages

My objective was to design and build a base to secure the cross and eliminate the original repair's weak points. To that end, I planned to create a strengthening shoulder pad for the cross.

However, I couldn't remove the deep scratches without damaging the finish on the ewer, which had been coated. It was not worth the risk, and the scratches did not detract from the ewer's copper patina and overall look.

FABRICATION AND MODIFICATIONS

I did the fabrication on my 1939 (83-year-old!) lathe, including turning to make the contour of the base. I used a specialized slot-screw blade in the tool rest of my lathe until I had the right groove to accept the cross.

Then, I modified a tiny brass screw to attach the cross's base to the lid, drilled and threaded the base for the modified brass screw.

I silver-soldered the cross to the base and screwed the cross to the lid with a brass screw and washer.

The baptismal ewer now had a very stable cross on its lid. Once polished, it was ready to be handed back to the church.

To our surprise and great delight, we received an unsolicited review from the church. You can read it below.

“

As a volunteer at my church, I was responsible for getting a baptismal ewer repaired. A year ago, a jeweler fixed it, but the repair didn't last and the cross on the lid came off again. This ewer is very important to the church because it has been there since 1956. I searched and searched and I felt that there had to be someone in the whole of Vancouver who could do this repair and then I found Donald's Innovations and Repairs on Google.

He was very methodical in examining the baptismal ewer to see if he could do the repairs before he accepted the job. He then kept in touch via e-mail

with photos of the progress he was making and the whole job was finished in one week. We are very satisfied with the finished product - it looks great and will now continue to be of service to the church for many years.

Thank you Donald.

Elizabeth Marshall

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Traction Engine Oil Lamps Restoration for An Antique Collector

Donald Dawson — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 18:11:38 +0000

Materials

Brass
Soft solder
Glass

Processes

Sandblasting
Bending
Rolling brass
Soldering
Polishing

This restoration came from antique collectors. It was challenging to restore these traction engine lamps to the original oil lamps from their electrical adaptation.

I strongly advise collectors never to de-value antique lamps by changing how they create light. It destroys the historic integrity of a piece, and like museums, I’m committed to conservation.

The reflectors, unfortunately, had been drilled to allow wires to enter the oil pots, so I had to seal and re-silver the patches by applying a silver-plating solution to the reflectors to repair much of the surface.

Removal of black paint to brass

This porthole had a good scrub down. I had to remove the old lacquer and the discoloured brass underneath. Usually, 5 to 10 years is the limit for lacquer to keep brass bright before it needs renewal.

Silver-soldering

I silver-soldered the circular handle connected to the hinge because the hinges attached to the light fixture and glass front were attached to a lower-temperature soft solder. Had I overheated the whole surface, the fixture and glass front could have ended up on the floor. I had to anneal the brass because of copper content as it work-hardened when I bent it around a form.

Completion

A new glass, a new gasket, and a specially made size of O-rings finished this porthole, ready to return to a bathroom that looks out over the sea.

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Crow Wine Bottle-Holder: Birthday Blacksmithing Lesson

Donald Dawson — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 22:30:27 +0000

Materials

Scrap metal

Processes

Plasma-cutting
Blacksmithing
Welding

A pre-Birthday lesson conversation

People buy blacksmithing lessons for birthdays and I want to make sure they make something they will love.

We usually meet before they come for their lesson, and I get to know them and what is meaningful to them. That way, we can make something they like and will feel proud of.

choosing a meaningful project

In this case, my client, who liked crows, wondered if we could make a one-bottle wine holder shaped into a crow. I sketched one for him that would hold the bottle in the crow’s beak, and when we got the right design, we began the three-hour process using scrap metal.

Full on blacksmithing

Chris used the plasma cutter and MIG welder during the three hours and learned blacksmithing techniques, including tapering, splitting, forming and texturing metal. We ended the project with polishing.

Final Result

My client, a complete beginner, created a work of art that was both attractive and practical. We had so much fun creating it.

Once home, Chris sent me a picture of the crow in its pride-of-place spot in the warm glow of the room, ready for the family to serve a fine wine. You can see the picture at the top of the page.

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Two 7- and 9-Year-Old Brothers Make a Candleholder

Donald Dawson — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 19:45:39 +0000

I prepared a fun blacksmithing adventure for two young brothers who are enthusiastic students and back for their third artistic blacksmithing lesson. In my lessons, we do more than make nails.

Materials

Steel

Processes

Plasma cutting
Blacksmithing
Welding

SAFE and ARTISTIC PROJECTS

I designed an artistic and complex project - a candleholder with four types of leaves, a bowl-shaped base, and a cup with a candleholder. The challenge for the day was to make a candlestick holder that incorporated leaves, a bowl, and a central candle cup with a hollow stem to tie into the cupped base. Rather ambitious, you may think, but these two brothers were up to it. I wanted them engaged with something exciting and complicated that would keep their interest.

Challenging Projects keep their interest

In addition, I taught them leaf-veining and how to neck down a pipe to narrow it and create the candlestick cup.

I showed them how to weld the parts together. The boys had welded up a bi-float plane and tealight holders in previous lessons. So, welding was not new to them.

The boys were genuinely enthusiastic, full of fun and beans. I knew they were tired and sore by the end of the lesson from hammering - because I was, too.

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CPR Beaver Crest Restoration

Donald Dawson — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 22:49:37 +0000

As a train enthusiast, my wildest dreams came true when a client brought a treasured piece of history from the Canadian Pacific Railway. This cast aluminum crest was mounted on the maroon-coloured Canadian trains from 1948 to 1955. After 1955, CPR introduced stainless-steel scenic dome trains.

Materials

Cast aluminum
Enamel

Processes

Sealing
Gluing

The Damage

The damage to the crest was just under the beaver and in the mouth area, and it needed a complete restoration, including touch-ups of enamel. In addition, my client wanted the crest mounted to a board with an engraved nameplate.

Some cast aluminum alloys cannot be welded successfully because of their metallurgical makeup, and this cast aluminum crest was one of those. One solution to this problem was thoroughly cleaning and gluing the parts and sealing the hairline fractures. Then, I removed the excess glue, blended the glue lines, and coated the shield with its specific colouring.

When painting the beaver, I had to dull the shine and smooth the red coating. To protect the paint, I used a top seal coating of a clear archival spray, which protected the coloured layer of the crest.

Mounting

Later, as requested by the client, I mounted the crest and the engraved name plate I had ordered for the project on a coating-friendly plywood backboard.

I painted the rectangular backboard a stainless-steel colouring mimicking the streamlined passenger train from where the crests were removed.

I had to rethread the holes on the back of the crest because they were damaged. Originally, there were threaded holes on the back of the castings for mounting to the train, and specifically on one of four areas of the CPR “Chateau Viger” car, which started service on April 24, 1955.

Finally, to allow the backboard to be levelled and easily hung, I secured the board with four screws and two triangle clips with a coated wire rope.

This was a special repair for a crest that is close to my heart.

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