sudomod

Well, I bent my hinge arm trying to close a new build. The printed back plate for the screen never smoothed out. So, in addition to ordering a new hinge arm I decided to try making a metal replacement. This is a work in progress.

It is totally hand made with two sheets of copper laminated together with solder and a brass tube soldered on the end. Everything has been carefully shaped with files.

Awesome. I'm gonna move this to the mintyPi area.

Whoops. I got exited and posted in the wrong spot.

Here is an updated completed image. Works great! I beveled inner edge of the pivot hole with a countersink bit, then I slipped the arm over the existing capture/pivot part, heated up a flat steel lag bolt with a torch and pressed that against the plastic post. This gave it a melted “head” to capture the copper arm like a rivet. Now it won’t slip off.

Lookin' good!!!

That is really nice.

Thanks. Honestly, it was not that hard to do if you have the materials. It looks like a solid piece of copper, but that is a thickness I don’t have lying around. With two thin plates soldered together it gains a lot of strength from the solder. Just take your time filing and use the existing arm as a reference as you go. I suppose a thick gauge wire would have worked too. It could be bent into a loop at pivot point and hammering flat would also work-harden the metal.