Repairing Metalwork---the cheap way----pegs and Legs!

Pegs and legs...no I haven't taken leave of my senses!...really!

A friend of mine asked me to repair his AM, standard 64 bod job, easy you would think?
On closer inspection the Thigh connectors had totally corroded to flimsy crispy metal.
What could I repair them with? I like to pride myself on finding materials that are easy
To source in any Household...what to use?......hmmmmmm?

Then I realised.....pegs, or a least the metal that forms the spring in wooden pegs.
I set to work, tough to cut through but the Metal is the same diameter as AM metal work.

More to follow with pics....................soon as my hands heal!

We SHALL Rebuild Him!

This is how he came to me, lots of corroded metal work, elastic shot and to make matters worse
the neck pin snapped when I took him apart to clean!......going well!



Where to start? Well......the thigh connectors were useless, thin, brittle rusted heaps


I couldn't make a loop out of the remaining elastic or manipulate any part remaining so I'll have to remake them. The best thing I could find.....and luckily was a superb material was the metalwork from clothes pegs.
I left the existing metal in to give me a size guide and proceeded to reshape the Peg metal.





Having made the connectors I ripped out the old ones.......they crumbled off easily enough!

To remake the metal you'll need 2 pairs of pliers, needle nosed ones (thin) and a thickish pair to hold the
metal and some good wire cutters....this stuff is tough to cut!!!

The neck connector.



That was a punishing bit of repair.....was it worth it?



You bet!!

He stands perfectly well, I tapped over the joint Rivets to tighten him up and buffed off some of the
rust on the external rivet heads.

.....over to you Chaps!!

Will be waiting to hear more and see pics Brownboots!

Fantastic stuff Paul! Looking forward to the pics

Pictures are in.......any questions......just ask!

Fantastic !

Well done Paul excellent work, great photos well done

Great save Paul and great use of everyday things too! I've used these to make vam hooks... I work in an engineering dept abd we have an electrostatic powder paint plant for the work we do and they are hooks we hang work from as it goes round , they are copper coated mild steel and are strong but easy to cut and bend.

They look useful, wish I had some before I had to cut through that tough peg metal!

Great fix up

Fantabulous work Paul!!!

Those guys who built the Six Million Dollar Man were hacks compared to this restoration!!!

Was it worth it? I guess only you can answer that, but anytime you can get a Vintage AMan back on his feet it's a success...you don't have a lot of coinage invested in it...not sure how much blood loss you suffered...

I think I remember a guy from Canada who made a mold and was casting hands.

But seriously, great job Paul!!!