Cylinder head spanner remanufacture

[GREG]

Oops , time goes by so quickly ! It was 2009 that the first batch of head spanners were announced on this forum manufactured by my contacts in the metals industry ( MD of Alcan aluminium for Northern Europe for transportation and the aircraft industry ) The water jet process is very useful and it was used a lot for making kits for ships etc -- but for hand tools !

[Tony Blythe]

All, I don't normally react within the public domain to comments made; but ...

Modern technology moves what can be achieved over time, via a specialist manufacturer, using the correct base material, i.e. Chrome Vanadium, now allows water cutting to achieve not only the correct profile but remarkably even the double hexagons for the cylinder head bolts. It's actually the microscopic slurry partials in the water that performs the cutting; in this instance using larger partials for the outside profile and finer ones for the two double hexagons ends which gives a smoother finish. The spanner is then bench tested to confirm correct torque suitability (45Lbf) and on an engine to confirm cylinder head bolt access. All current customers have been very pleased with the results.

I'm also offering 'support' to other club members in their venture down a forged route, but its very early days and they are leading on this.

Neither approach is intended to give feedback to what is already out there in the market place or offer an opinion on which gives the 'best result' / value for money.

[GREG]

Lol - I'm delighted for you

I only made the comment to point out that using the search button on this forum or most other Bristol forums will often give you the answer you are looking for -- whether it's looking for parts or how to fix something.

I know companies like ..

In Racing
Mike Robinson
ACCS
SLJ
BCL
Brabazon
Boda
Ashley Hinton
Etc etc - all invest a lot of time and money in parts production for what is a very small turnover market place. It would be a shame if they lost the incentive to do this by replicating what is already available -- so probably best to find out what is available first ? I think the above list of companies have most things covered.

[flyinghorse1]

Greg-I think you miss the point. Anthony has an original spanner & he was making them for people that could not find an original one reasonably priced on the market.

I would also dispute that there is a ready supply of spanners available at a fair price on the open market,or if there is perhaps it should be better advertised by those who supply them.

People also have posted here looking for such items and no one has suggested to contact your list of potential suppliers. I have asked 2 of the companies on the list and they both laughed at me.

The fact that Anthony has been able to fill 2 order books and is on his third suggests difficulty in finding the spanner for all those who subscribed.

I think its great that Anthony has gone to the trouble of making such spanners and what clubs and club membership is about.

Graham

[GREG]

The middle one is an actual Bristol head spanner laid on top of a replica to show exact dimensions -- fits lovely in 400 tool box :-)

[GREG]

Originally Posted by flyinghorse1

Greg-I think you miss the point. Anthony has an original spanner & he was making them for people that could not find an original one reasonably priced on the market.

I would also dispute that there is a ready supply of spanners available at a fair price on the open market,or if there is perhaps it should be better advertised by those who supply them.

People also have posted here looking for such items and no one has suggested to contact your list of potential suppliers. I have asked 2 of the companies on the list and they both laughed at me.

The fact that Anthony has been able to fill 2 order books and is on his third suggests difficulty in finding the spanner for all those who subscribed.

I think its great that Anthony has gone to the trouble of making such spanners and what clubs and club membership is about.

Graham

Actually Graham, I think it's you that missed the point -- I was only mentioning that the spanners were first mentioned as available ( with pictures ) back in 2009 and would have been found with a simple search on this forum and a couple of others ! The list I put together are some of the other companies / people that have had parts made for Bristol Cars.

So I guess it's great that both Anthony and I went to the trouble of having them made.

As I had never really had any interest in AC cars, I hadn't thought to offer them in that direction, however they were announced on all three Bristol forums of the time.

To be clear, I didn't advertise them as such ( only mentioned on Bristol forums ) or put them on eBay as I'm just a Bristol owner that happens to have the knowledge and the contacts to get things like this produced -- I'm certainly not concerned about any commercial reward and wish Tony all the best with his spanner sales, although as mentioned before, it seems silly to get the same thing re manufactured more than once in such a small market, and I agree the clubs should do more to make members aware of where parts are available at the best possible quality. -- for sure, people in the clubs do know !

Are there any pictures anywhere of the 5 axis water jet cut spanners ?

[GREG]

Background of how I picked the head spanner manufacturer !

First of all I asked my contacts in aerospace / F1,where they had small run bespoke spanners / tools made -- They HAD to be British ! ( near Blackpool )

And then I noticed the picture of the owner and thought , yes, perfect for Bristols !! :-))

Deltec Impact Sockets - Deltec Industries

Obviously they are more expensive than a Far East stack 'em high shop but it will be around forever and is absolutely top quality ! I think they were amazed that I rejected the first two or three attempts for being too pretty ! All that shiny chrome look just didn't look right. -- and yes, they work perfectly.

P.S. They only sell these through me as they need a batch quantity to make it worthwhile -- although if the new alternative available is better received I will cease production.

[Tony Blythe]

Originally Posted by GREG

Actually Graham, I think it's you that missed the point -- I was only mentioning that the spanners were first mentioned as available ( with pictures ) back in 2009 and would have been found with a simple search on this forum and a couple of others ! The list I put together are some of the other companies / people that have had parts made for Bristol Cars.

So I guess it's great that both Anthony and I went to the trouble of having them made.

As I had never really had any interest in AC cars, I hadn't thought to offer them in that direction, however they were announced on all three Bristol forums of the time.

To be clear, I didn't advertise them as such ( only mentioned on Bristol forums ) or put them on eBay as I'm just a Bristol owner that happens to have the knowledge and the contacts to get things like this produced -- I'm certainly not concerned about any commercial reward and wish Tony all the best with his spanner sales, although as mentioned before, it seems silly to get the same thing re manufactured more than once in such a small market, and I agree the clubs should do more to make members aware of where parts are available at the best possible quality. -- for sure, people in the clubs do know !

Are there any pictures anywhere of the 5 axis water jet cut spanners ?

Everyone. Just to make everything clear. I'm a member of the AC Owners' Club, not any of the Bristol associations and had no previous knowledge or interest of how I could access specific information regarding Bristols. Infact my AC Ace doesn't have a Bristol engine in it (unfortunately) and hence I was totally unaware that any replica cylinder head spanners were already in the market place. The replica cylinder head spanners that I am managing the production of look identical to the original & it would appear identical to those replicas that have been previously post on this website. Unfortunately I don't have any photos currently as all batch 1s have been posted and batch 2s are in the final stages of machining; but as I said they look and perform the same.
When I use the word perform the first prototypes were offered up to a Bristol engine to prove accessability to the cylinder bolt heads and tested to 45LBf in a rig off the engine. Lets not swoop any negativity here please - thanks. Tony B

[GREG]

Absolutely no negativity to be swooped whatsoever !

I was only pointing out that we need to be careful in such small clubs that we do not trip over each other. -- I guess I should have mentioned it to the Arnolt / A.C. Club members 5 years ago and all this maybe wouldn't have happened.

I chose a long established English professional hand tool manufacturer with all the appropriate hand tool manufacturing safety accreditation's so I wouldn't need to worry about " fit for purpose " testing.

[Tony Blythe]

All,

After I've completed the 3rd batch of these replica spanners I'm 'calling it a day'. I only started this venture to initially help out some local AC owners that didn't have one of these rare spanners in their tool tray. There are now 30+ collectors items out there across the globe.

Thank you again for all the interest that has been shown and the positive feedback received from those that placed an order for one. Tony B