Day 289-292 - Nothing. Deliveing parcels and was so knackered when finished I was hardly able to lift my wine glass.
Day 293 - Woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep. Lying in bed with my mind wandering I had a Eureka moment.
I have been looking for M10 x 110mm titanium bolts. My preferred supplier (who I have managed to extract a 5% discount from - not much but he is the cheapest around already) isn't doing this size yet. Pro-Bolt wants £23.50 each for these - way too much.
However, as these bolts are for the top damper mount and are in double shear, I suddenly realised I could make them out of 10mm bar by threading each end. Looked on eBay this morning and a guy was selling a 300mm length of 10mm and 2 approx 200mm lengths of 5mm as a lot. I won them for £7.50 plus £3 P&P.
Result
Looking to do the same with the bottom mount, but this is 1/2". Can only find 12.7mm but this is imperial converted to metric so should be OK. Seller wants £25 for 250mm. I have offered £17.50 and am awaiting response.
I celebrated by removing 15gms from 4 bolts before taking the dog for a walk and cooking dinner. I know, 15gms is bu**er all, but if I did this every day for a year I would remove nearly 5.5kg
I have been watching videos of people machining titanium on small CNC mills without any problems...........Hmmmmmmmmm