Following the Festive Break communications with the original firm that had shown interest, Lasermaster Ltd of Redruth, began again. They were happy that my new STEP files were satisfactory and that the DXF flat sheet files were similarly suitable. There was then some discussion about how best to do certain things, of which the hinges for the fire doors was the most important. The original design has the folded part coming down to a narrow wedge which is nearly impossible to bend successfully. Thus the hinges were re-designed. Better understandingof the CAD program by me meant that I discovered that some of the fixing holes that I had specified were mis-aligned by a few 100ths of a milimeter and so needed moving. The elephant in the room that I did not spot was that the bolts for the hinges would snag on the end panel folds when the door was closed.
The contract was agreed, as was despatch by courier rather than by pallet, and the box arrived at the door. The laser cut pieces are 'sharply' made but there are no sharp edges. It looks as if everything will fit together nicely and that the drawings have been a success. The grate is clearly an outstanding piece of work as it is exactly like the drawing shown above. I am impressed that it is possible to create such an object.
Working with LaserMaster has been a good experience as they have been very supportive thoughout and happy to listen to what I would like to achieve. Their price of £xxx was actually rather better than the only other quote that I received in which the seller had stated that a couple of the items could not be bent as drawn. Thus I feel happy to recommend Lasermaster for those who are following in my footsteps.
The chimney, inner funnel and stub to attach to the top panel of the casing were mde by SF Ltd, in Barnstaple, as they were the only company that seemed to be interested in the job. Like LaserMaster the customer service was excellent, and the product beatuifully made. However, they did not spot another key mistake that I made in the original drawings. The inner funnel is meant to be an 'easy' fit over the funnel stub. To ensure that I specified a difference in diameters of 3 mm. The flues were manufactured and on arrival it was found that the inner funnel would fit over the stub, but was then almost impossible to remove. Clearly, a much larger allowance was necessary for the 'easy' fit. Solving that problem has been delegated to a local 'maker in metal' firm, Ray Burrell Blacksmith. Hopefully that issue will soon be solved but like all craftspeople in West Wales he has a great deal of work on his books and a long lead time.
