Alternatives for Dumas Cup style coupler

[Albacore 569]

IS the 'Prop Shop' in the UK still operating? Doing a search. I read long ago they had a fire and the business burned down. That true and did they decide to come back? Hope so. The made excellent props. Custom too. Their brass is harder than Raboesch props in my opinion only was a slight y bit on the soft side.

Holy S*** I guess they are back. Model Propellers, Boat Propellers, Brass Propellers, Scale Brass Propellers, Precision Castings, Drives (prop-shop.co.uk)

[Subculture]

Some years back Simon went into partnership with Swan Precision Castings. This was a larger company, as Simon was effectively a one-man band and I think he was struggling to match the demand for his props.

There was a factory fire a while back, and many thought that was the end of the business. Quite a lot of patterns and tools were lost, but not all.

Simon relaunched the business as Protean designs. I think once again a one-man band and subsequently, the Prop Shop name was restored. I believe a lot of the lost patterns were recovered by modellers lending their castings to Simon to repattern.

He's still poor at responding to emails (better to telephone) but the quality remains as good as ever. The props are usually silicone bronze, which looks like brass but is much stiffer and stronger. It's a sod to machine, so lends itself better to casting than fabrication. The Raboesch props look fabricated and are most likely brass.

Simon is best known for props, but he also offers other items, and will carry out custom work. In addition to Silicone bronze, he can also cast props in aluminium and stainless steel if requested.

[Albacore 569]

Very detailed report answers everything. Thank you