Sat Oct 27, 2007 8:35 pm
Bryan,
Did you have any trouble turning down the stainless alloy? I am guessing it to be a 300 series part. I had thoughts of turning down my original one in my chromed version, until I found that the retaining pin was frozen solid, and the seat/disc assembly had to be cut for removal. I will measure my two new ones to determine what the tolerance range is. My guess is that a used one could easily be reduced in length by 0.010-0.015" without any functioning problems. The clear nylon seat material should be chemically stable over the last 50 years.
Let our enquiring minds know how it works...
BTW, any luck in finding compatible gaskets for the seat assembly? The originals in mine where surprisingly able to maintain an air tight seal. Given the low amount of torque necessary for a seal, an O-ring might possibly also work well. Given the thickness of two phenolic gaskets, the O-ring wouldn't be much thicker (a 0.070" O-ring). There wouldn't be any ID surface, but the pressure will be trying to extrude the O-ring outward rather than inward. If this works, along with your resurfacing efforts, the 50 Fathoms will have a long life ahead of them.
Greg Barlow
Greg Barlow
PADI Assistant Instructor
TDI Adv. EAN
TDI Decompression Procedures
IANTD Full Cave
NSS/CDS Full Cave