Reversing shaft, levers etc.

I made the reversing arc of a piece of 6 x 6 mm key stock (this get's kind of tautological, eh), by actually forging it: clamping one end of a long piece in the bench vise, and heating it to a dull red with a propane flame, I used a pre-cut aluminum gauge for comparison while bending the piece of stock to the right radius, the bend progressing forward as I moved the flame along the piece. There was little machining left to do after this operation... Here's the last step: I'm cutting the indentations for the reversing lever's locking mechanism into the already formed arc.

The finished arc and above it the reversing lever, made of two pieces of brass, silver soldered together.

The finished assembly attached to the frame - the spring mechanism and black acrylic plate are temporary. I'll replace the spring with a smaller one, and the arc will in the end be attached to the side of the cab, when it is finished.

This is the other end of the reversing rod. I made a cosmetic spring enclosure (in prototype, it contains the balancing spring for the lever and link assembly).

Below you can see the entire assembly attached to the frame:



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