THe next part has to do with the attachment of the strut to the fuse. The b&w picture from Datafile 59 seems to show that strut fitting over some type of attachment bracket with a bolt through it. I want to create a brass fitting that each Al leg will fit over, such that the Al leg will bolt over it. It should be a snug fit....I think it's very important that this whole assembly does not have a lot of slop in the fit.

I found that size of brass tube that I could smash down which would fit snuggly into the streamlined AL stock. Now it's not easy to smash down brass tube. I put the tube between two piece of hardwood, flanked by spruce strips the thickness of which should limit the extent of the smashing , I then tried to squeeze with the clamps, and the bench vise, and even tried driving the truck on top of it. Eventually, I resorted to good-ol-fashion pounding with a hammer-thingy.

I cut the end of the brass aligned with the fuselage using the same jig as for the AL struts.

I turned the fuse upside down and used a bunch of blocks to align everything, basically trying to ensure the alignment of the axle perpendicular to the fuse. THen I took a spare piece of brass rod and soldered it across the front of the tin v- brackets.

In the end, I have effectively made a second set of "inner-struts" of brass,. which are fit into scraps of streamline AL which are then fit into the tin v- bracket .