I'm considering ways to replicate a broken lock knob on a very old scope. The original seems to be cast iron. Since it came to me broken I wonder if it was pig iron...brittle? I can't remember if the pieces came with the kit or not. One of these days I'll do an exhaustive (exhausting) search for remnants through my telescope debris, but until that day arrives...
I'm entertaining these solutions...
One would be to locate a farrier to pound out an end of a shoe into a general shape then I could sculpt the metal with a file.
Or make a casting of clay and find someone with a forge. I read using a cutting torch to melt iron for casting isn't recommended.
Or find a jeweler to make the casting and go with silver or gold. Hmmm, maybe not...although...
Or have it 3D printed in metal or plastic (metal preferred).
Or, and this is one I could do at home, make a mold in Fimo or Sculpey clay using a good knob and fill with JB Weld. Then finish with a file and drill for the threaded shaft.
I'm leaning towards the epoxy idea. My experience has been very good with JB Weld but perhaps there are other materials that would be better.
So I'm wondering what some of you might think would be a more elegant solution?
For some of you younger folks, that's a half dollar for scale.
TIA, keith