Here’s a random question.

After some aimless e-bay foolishness, I now have in my hands a high pressure fan blade from a Rolls Royce Olympus jet engine once fitted to a Vulcan Bomber. I’d like to polish it up but not sure what to use. I’m guessing a buffing / polishing mop on a bench grinder might be best, but what about compounds and where can I get some?

All I know about the material it’s made of, is that it’s made of ‘metal’

Go on – impress me

not trying to be funny but why not leave it with the same finish it had whilst ‘in service’?

It’s likely to be some fairly esoteric Ti type material as well so you’ll have your work cut out getting a mirror finish on it…

Well here’s what the rest of them do:

work out the metal:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=high+pressure+fan+blade++Rolls+Royce+Olympus+material&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=

Then type into this handy website alongside the word “polishing”

http://www.google.co.uk

HTH 😉 etc

Should buff up nicely if you use a baby robin.

You sir are to be congratulated. In all my years off drunken ebay buffoonery I have yet to come close to purchasing something so random, useless, yet strangely desirable

I doff my cap to you. We truly are in the presence of greatness 😀

I almost bought exactly the same thing! Still tempted TBH… Jet Art Designs perchance?

My Dad came home from work with a pitot tube from one these once;

One of his colleagues had dropped it whilst trying to fit it and bent the end.

psychle – yep
binners – yes utterly useless, but desireable!
cynic-al – Googling made my head hurt, too many results and someone here will know!
CFH – Tried a baby robin, but they are difficult to fit to the bench grinder without squashing them!

My uncle used was a commercial pilot and got to take some of the dashboard home when they decomissioned one of his planes, he has it on his mantelpiece.

Show us a picture of it!

Want

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sea-Harrier-Jump-Jet-Aircraft-ZD580-899-NAS-Panel-ART-/140493648988?pt=UK_CPV_Aviation_SM&hash=item20b612f45c

**** me that stuff is pricey, how much was your fan blade?

EDIT: HTS, the Fat Slags one would be my choice, though that’s nice too.

I made the now mrs panda’s engagement ring from a piece of Vulcan tubing. The ring fitted and everything!

Panda

Were you an actor on Star Trek?

Alas no, Im just a geek!

Panda

Well, it’s had a quick polish and seems to be coming along nicely

High pressure turbine blade from a Rolls Royce Olympus jet engine, once fitted to a Vulcan bomber by gary_foulger, on Flickr

Nice to see an unusual purchase (have you got certification of what it is as I would imagine one turbine blade is pretty much the same from all that family of engines).
For me a CD of the noise of said plane on take off connected to some sort of vibrating surround sound chair would beat it though 😆

Don’t tell Elfin, he’ll post up loads of pictures of nuclear bomb victims.

The Vulcan is fantastic.

Cheesy you nutter! 😆

Looks like a giant letter opener. Might be good for opening parcels from CRC, containing a couple of washers or something tiny…

I’d like to have an old wooden propeller or ship’s wheel or something like that.