A few years back I got a pattern made to cast copies of the Pioneer
compass bracket used on the DUKW, Weasel, and 'armoured craft' generally.
I found that the cost of master pattern, working pattern, castings, and
finishing took the bracket to about UKP 70 each, and at that time Chris
Wilkinson in St Albans (England) sold the compasses for about UKP 40, so
the setup cost was about UKP 110 or USD 170 or so for the assembly.
(Weasel owners might like to look under the front deck, above the steering
levers, and they will see the four mounting bolts for the compass bracket
- it was standard on the M29 and optional on the M29C - probably deleted
when they fitted the handbrake to later units)
The shop with the working pattern went out of business, but I still have
the master pattern around. The brackets ( I made 15) are all gone but it
took years, and they ended up all the way from Portland to Oslo. Might
see about getting some more made sometime but I'd take a deal of
persuading, though there may be Pioneer compass owners out there with a
compass but no bracket.
By the way the third wartime quantity compass, the Sherrill, seemed to be
mounted on a simple bit of bent sheet steel with three holes in it.
The only 'fixer' of compasses I know is Brian Asbury in Canada.
Gordon, Ffalkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland
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