Thank you all for the kind words.
I have had a few questions as to how the nib fits and lines up. Apologies for not answering individually
The coupler made from aluminum has M9x0.75 on the hood side and M10x0.75 on the barrel side. It is also threaded internally to accept the Schmidt nib unit M6.4x0.5. The hood is made and threaded to accept the coupler with a rebate for the shoulder of the coupler to sit in.
The hood is turned as far as I dare go to a conical shape on the lathe.
I then screw the nib into the coupler and mark on the coupler the centre line of the top of the nib. Remove the nib and replace with the hood and transfer the centre line to the hood but offset it a few degrees to the right looking at it from the coupler end.
I then use a belt sander to create the point of the hood in line with the mark. Then it's a case of filing and sanding to shape the end of the hood.
Put the nib back in the coupler than screw on the hood. Hopefully the point of the hood will be very slightly to the right of the centre line of the nib. The perfect alignment is achieved by chucking the coupler, removing the hood and taking tiny passes on the hood side of the shoulder until it aligns correctly. You'll see on mine that there is quite a gap between the threads and the shoulder as I had to take off enough for just under one complete turn of the hood.
After making this I thought there had to be an easier way....and I think there is. The Schmidt #5 feed and rousing are round internally. There is a very small keyway in the rear of the feed that aligns with a lug in the base of the feed. As the nib feed fit is very snug, I think this lug could be removed allowing the nib and feed to be rotated to fit in any position in the feed. I can see no other purpose for the lug.
I'm sorry this is so long winded, but hope it helps some.
Cheers
John
