My prop shaft, not including its original manufacture, has now visited specialists four times. For once, I'm not really to blame. I gave-up with the Bristol-based firm that I'd been using as their idea of customer service was very different to mine, they'd failed to follow instructions and because the quality of their painting is hilarious.
Instead I flicked through a kit car magazine and e-mailed the advertising specialists asking for a quote to carry out the modifications required. Dunning & Fairbank came back with a great quote so I sent the prop to them. It's back, sorted and painted. Sometimes using a local firm isn't the smart move. It's also now fitted. Huzzah.
The only impediment to this was the fact that I didn't have any HT bolts of the correct length. I searched EBay and found some 10.9-grade button heads in the right size. This is rather good news as a hex-head would've been likely to scuff against my leg.
Looking ahead, I had a call today to say that my cage is painted so I'm quite excited to see that.
TC