Okay, here are some albums with high res photos of the rod heads. So far I have done two, but my assistant has fallen asleep....
For both, I cleaned them thoroughly. For the intermediate shroud, I left it bare. For the lower shroud, I colored it with sharpie, then wiped it aggressively with a clean dry cloth. The sharpie does seem to highlight the imperfections and pitting. Let me know if it is helpful or distracting.
The heads have some pitting, but no cracks that I can see. There are some marks that I assume are from the heading process. The screws also have pitting.
I guess the rust I now get is from the pitting. I don't know if this is problematic or simply cosmetic. Let me know what you think.
On reassembly, do I screw the screw in as far as it will go, or measure it to be the same distance as before (about 7/8" on all of them)?
As for the forestay, removing and rescrewing the bronze "nose" doesn't damage it, right?
Screws:
https://picasaweb.google.com/fflanne...6Iw&feat=email
Starboard Lower:
https://picasaweb.google.com/fflanne...-Zg&feat=email
Starboard intermediate:
https://picasaweb.google.com/fflanne...tcQ&feat=email
Frank