All you need to do penetrant testing is a black light, a can of penetrant
dye, cleaner and rags, a can of developer, a good pair of reading glasses
(to read the F&^%& instructions and look for the cracks) and somebody to
flip the light switch. Takes about ten minutes.
-----Original Message-----
From: BillDentin@aol.com [mailto:BillDentin@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2003 6:15 AM
To: jerryvv@alltel.net; jrherrera90@hotmail.com; fot@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: hub removal TR3A-6
In a message dated 06/04/2003 5:58:33 AM Central Daylight Time,
jerryvv@alltel.net writes:
> Years ago when I worked for the Navy Nuclear Program I was trained in
> various Nondestructive Testing methods and Penetrate Testing was one
> of them. It is true that improper cleaning will mask a small crack and
> therefore invalidate the test. He was not pulling your leg. It should
> also be noted that Mag Particle testing can only be done on materials
> that can be magnetized. Since aluminum can not be magnetized it won't
> work and Penetrant Testing is your only economical choice.
>
Amici:
My two cents....as arguably the owner of the worlds largest collection of
original ARW Silverstone MAG wheels, I too have been doing Penetrate
Testing for
years. I use a local nondestructive testing outfit that specializes in
testing wheels for the airlines. They told me they did my wheels as a
sort of
'favor' to me, but their invoices suggested it was rather a high end
Pension Plan
for top management. When I saw the area in their shop that was dedicated
to
this procedure, I was less than impressed. Sure didn't seem very High
Tech.
Looked like something one could set up in your garage, with a black light
and
some canvas tarps. Most of their shop was dedicated to XRAY testing.
Isn't
that another option open to us?
About the only thing I proved with my testing was that original ARW
Silverstones WILL NOT stand up to modern power and rubber. Accent on the
latter. I
have almost three dozen wheels, but only three of them are still crack
free. I
just put four on my current daily driver, a freshly restored TR4. They
sure
look neat.
Bill Dentinger
|