Jack,
I can contribute one or two answers ...
>I think the question is whether or
>not some of these British parts were ever properly hardened or heat
> >treated.
Probably yes, for the intended loads imposed upon them at the time. British
engineering & manufacturing was pretty darn good at the time. But they
weren't designing for race use 40 years hence.
>Are we seeing failures do to age problems? Does some of this steel or iron
> >have a life expectancy that we are exceeding. Is stress and constant flex
> >causing problems that weren't seen when the parts were new?
Yes. Fatigue life is measured in cycles. The longer the part has been in
use, experiencing stress cycles, the less life it has left. "Age" has
nothing to do with years.
>Is new old stock >damaged just by shelf life?
Generally speaking, no. It is insignificant compared to stress cycles.
>Do we need to get new parts made? Can we use
>something newer that functions the same?
Sometimes yes -- Harden's Lister uprights are a good example. In other
cases, I feel that proper preventive maintenance of the original parts can
be sufficient. I have much less experience than you do, but it feels like
most (NOT ALL!) of the fatigue failures I have witnessed were parts with
unknown maintenance history -- owner "couldn't remember" last time part was
crack-checked (which probably means he never did it at all).
>Who will do all of this?
Santa Claus maybe?
Regards,
Mark
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