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May 24, 2011 22:17:38 GMT
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iv'e been looking at old gauges to use in the car for a bit of fun. i got an old 50's Mach gauge and an old WW2 compass to restore. mmm. stuck the old geiger counter near the compass and it lit up like a christmas tree  . i knew there would be a bit of radium present but it seems the military went berzerk with the stuff  . it doesn't glow anymore but it is as radioactive as the day it was painted. Radium has a half life of 1,600 years. silly really but i googled how to restore them after i bought it and the general consensus is don't pull them apart. it is because the radium breaks down the paint into dust and you don't want to injest or breath the stuff. needless to say it is now in the back of the garage boxed up. luckily i hadn't taken it apart. still at least the Mach gauge is ok so iv'e pulled it apart and just now looking for the right clock to use the internals to use the hour hand to move the Mach needle. it'll be close enough to work out the time just using the hour hand and be a comedy speedo  it was only £5  radium painted gauges will have grey looking numbers and dials where the paint has broken down. white dials on a pre 1950's gauge means it's probably been restored and the radium removed. apparently radium breaks down into Radon gas which in itself is radio active so if you collect gauges make sure the room is very well ventilated. |
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Good to know! I've always had that idea of a car of some sort stuffed with russian soviet military gauges and switches. There's just something archaic cool about them I can't realy put into words. |
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Slightly surprised you could detect anything with a Geiger counter. Radium is an alpha emitter. Maybe there's something else hot in there or stuck to the outside. As you say, probably best just to keep as an ornament rather than recommission. It's easy enough to make convincing looking faces for more modern dials using toner transfer. Basically, you print out a mirror image of what you want on a laser printer and use an iron to transfer it onto your metal blank. It's best to use the thin slightly glossy paper that junk mail and cheap catalogues use. Here's a trim ring for a modded headlight switch I made from a penny washer.   |
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Last Edit: May 25, 2011 8:53:55 GMT by Clamity
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If the gauges are sealed you don't have a problem, and don't need to worry too much about ventilation. WW2 stuff tends to be worse than the later 1950's gauges, as all the court cases in America with the factory girls brought the dangers to light. This is also the reason why a lot of air museums won't give access to the cockpits of some older aircraft.
On another note, I have seen the WW2 style RPM counter (with twin needles) and boost gauges (nice red rimmed dial marked in inches of mercury rather than PSI!) used in cars before. A mate of mine has an engine start button from a Lancaster fittd to his MGB.
Regards
Rich
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"You're about as likely to come across a fully functioning old Jag, as you are a taxicab that smells agreeable." - James May
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I'll just leave these here:   ....in this:  |
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May 25, 2011 19:51:05 GMT
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Slightly surprised you could detect anything with a Geiger counter. Radium is an alpha emitter. Maybe there's something else hot in there or stuck to the outside. there are several stages of disintigrations from radium which eventually ends up as lead. the half life of some of these daughter elements can be just days. so yes it starts off spitting out an Alpha partical then they go on from there. decay chaineven some switches were tipped with Radium so you are in direct contact with it. a collector in Holland had his collection confiscated because it is illegal to own anything radioactive there. problem with radiation is that it wont affect some people at all and others it could not take much to set off a problem. it's just a lottery with the odds creeping up the more gauges you have and the amout of time you spend in front of them. |
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May 25, 2011 20:02:50 GMT
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It's easy enough to make convincing looking faces for more modern dials using toner transfer. Do you know where you can find the correct fonts such as what would have been used on vintage aircraft? |
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ruffgeezer
Posted a lot
Attracts french tat.
Posts: 1,252
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May 25, 2011 20:40:05 GMT
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May 25, 2011 21:03:57 GMT
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I've used that before; I'll find some clear pics of dial faces to use. |
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Always felt the need for a bomb release switch for something on the car.
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craig
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,029
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Always felt the need for a bomb release switch for something on the car. My grandad broke planes after the war and gave me one of these once from a Lancaster for my birthday. It had flow over 30 missions. Greatest present i've ever had but i wont sell it so useless to you. |
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"You're about as likely to come across a fully functioning old Jag, as you are a taxicab that smells agreeable." - James May
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May 26, 2011 10:02:11 GMT
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 That ^^^^ website is epic |
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May 26, 2011 10:10:50 GMT
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Do you know where you can find the correct fonts such as what would have been used on vintage aircraft? I use www.identifont.com/identify.html. Their data is a bit limited to older stuff but it will narrow down the possibilities through a 20 questions style search. Dunno about aircraft though. Wasn't a lot of it hand drawn? For anything foreign from the 70s, 'Eurostile' is a good bet and usually fits right in. there are several stages of disintigrations from radium which eventually ends up as lead. the half life of some of these daughter elements can be just days. so yes it starts off spitting out an Alpha partical then they go on from there. Ah, ok then. When I was a trainee there was a problem with the number of 50's era wall clocks all over the site. (They couldn't dispose of the all at once due to some material quota being exceeded or something.) Anyway, playing with one we found that a geiger counter wouldn't register anything, but a particle detector would see it a bit. Not much though IIRC. Different era though I guess. |
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May 26, 2011 12:28:17 GMT
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I used to have some Lancaster bomber release switches but sold them on eBay ages ago. I got them when I was a kid.
Meh.
I went to a nuclear plant once years ago and they geiger counter'd my wrist watch (glow in the dark hands and numbers wind up watch) and that seemed to make the counter go crazy.
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1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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old aircraft gaugesBenzBoy
@benzboy
Club Retro Rides Member 7
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May 26, 2011 12:58:05 GMT
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Hmm, I have a twin needle boost gauge from a 1950's aircraft, with a broken glass face. I've had it apart at least once and it did cross my mind afterwards that it may contain Radium...  I haven't developed any super powers yet, but surely it can't be long! Seriously though I'm going to have to locate the gauge and box it up. |
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it's now a working clock  |
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Jun 14, 2011 21:46:02 GMT
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Jun 14, 2011 22:00:50 GMT
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oh and it's gamma rays it's giving off as well as the counter i have will still flash quite a bit with metal placed over the face. iv'e got some glow in the dark paint coming for the next clock i'll make. only a couple of quid for a bottle and they also do a child safe water based paint glow paint |
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i have seen some cheap aircraft EGT gauges on ebay , thought about using one in my car but the PITA sellers won't reply to my emails asking for photo of rear of gauge, dimensions, or if it has built in illumination .
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75 Range Rover 2 door 82 Range Rover 4 door
84 Range Rover 4 door 78 Datsun 120Y 2 door
78 Datsun 620 Pickup 81 Datsun Urvan E23 86 Datsun Vanette van
98 Electric Citroen Berlingo 00 Electric Peugeot Partner 02 Electric Citroen Berlingo
04 Berlingo Multispace petrol 07 Land Rover 130 15 Nissan E-NV200 15 Fiat Ducato
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. i knew there would be a bit of radium present but it seems the military went berzerk with the stuff 
. it doesn't glow anymore but it is as radioactive as the day it was painted. Radium has a half life of 1,600 years.
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