Finney 7 Adam's T3 4-4-0

P A D

Western Thunderer
Bollards! :headbang: Looks like I'll be doing battle with captain cock up tomorrow.

Many thanks Andrew.
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
The dimples you have pushed out on the cylinder block are actually for the valve rods and glands to attach to!

Looking at the "rivets" it will be quite simple to rectify as and when. I doubt if there will even be a slight altercation with the captain, never mind a battle. :thumbs:

Today, it was all filing and fettling of castings and laminates, so not a lot to show for my efforts. First the other crosshead had the top piece soldered in place and the slide bars were fettled to allow a nice free sliding fit. Afterwards, the connecting rods were laminated and then pinned to the crosshead wit the cast nut and bolt.
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As this image of 563 shows, the rear vertical edges of the connecting rods are rounded. I have curved the ends as best I can to match, but with the outer big end overlays in place it was not easy to get the curve just right. For anyone doing one of these in the future it would be easier to leave the big end overlays off until the curve is made.
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To align the slidebars and piston gland for soldering, I found that an 8BA bolt could be inserted in the gland and then held against the cylinder block with a nut and washer on the inside. First I needed to file the flange on the gland so it was flush or slightly recessed on the inside of the cylinder. Here they are lined up ready for soldering.
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And fixed in place. I added a blob of solder with the iron, then refluxed and ran it around the casting with the Solderpro flame.20190627_184651.jpg

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And with the crossheads inserted.
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A quick trial in the frames shows that clearances are very tight between the rear of the crosshead and the rear bogie "mudguard". Why on earth did the Victorian engineers put on these embuggerances? (stole that word from Heather K, but she stole it from Terry Pratchet).
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These are the crankpin "nuts" on 563. It's clear that the Slaters nuts and washers won't pass muster. I've got some Slaters bushes on order and I've got an idea how I can emulate the crankpin fixings. The other option would be to replace with Derek Mundy crankpins as suggested by Funtleyworks. We'll see.
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Cheers,
Peter
 
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John Baker

Western Thunderer
And fixed in place. I added a blob of solder with the iron, then refluxed and ran it around the casting with the Solderpro flame.

Just out of interest, what metal are the castings? I guess they aren't white-metal as surely these would just melt as soon as the flame went anywhere near them. Yet the castings look very.....well....silvery! Can't think of a better way to describe them :confused:
Cracking work by the way - very rarely comment but have followed your work in awe for quite a while now.
 

Dikitriki

Flying Squad
Just out of interest, what metal are the castings? I guess they aren't white-metal as surely these would just melt as soon as the flame went anywhere near them.

John,

The slidebars/piston gland casting is nickel/silver.

As an aside, it is quite possible to solder white-metal castings with a microflame. For larger castings, you just need to keep the (low) flame moving, heat up the casting uniformly, and remove the heat the moment to solder wicks in to the joint. For smaller castings, flux, cut a sliver of low melt (or my preference 100 degree solder), place it on the join and heat up the brass adjacent to the casting, watching the solder sliver all the time.

Richard
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
It's clear that the Slaters nuts and washers won't pass muster.

Laurie Griffin and CPL can provide cast crankpin nuts. They simulate the cotter pin nicely.

I have to say I have some of the Mundy crankpin nuts and to me they look nothing like any crankpin nut I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure what they’re supposed to represent.
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Thanks Heather,
I'll bear that in mind.

Looked on the CPL website but can't find the crank pin nuts. If you have any, please could you post a picture. I'll check out LG's website as well.

Cheers,
Peter
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
LG's crank pin nuts look promising.
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John,

The slidebars/piston gland casting is nickel/silver.

As an aside, it is quite possible to solder white-metal castings with a microflame. For larger castings, you just need to keep the (low) flame moving, heat up the casting uniformly, and remove the heat the moment to solder wicks in to the joint. For smaller castings, flux, cut a sliver of low melt (or my preference 100 degree solder), place it on the join and heat up the brass adjacent to the casting, watching the solder sliver all the time.

Richard

You're brave man Richard. When soldering white metal to brass I usually use 145 solder, but have never tried the micro flame. I recall that Cliff William's used one to good effect in soldering the white metal coal pusher castings to the brass bunker on his Finney Duchess builds. I'll bear it in mind for future use.
Cheers,
Peter
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
The CPL site isn’t quite as user friendly as it might be, but these things take time to sort out.

According to the catalogue, there are two kinds supplied, for Slater's 12BA (cat no 94 I think) or Alan Harris 10BA (cat no 93) crankpins. The sets are cast with threads which just need running through with a suitable tap. The CPL sets include sufficient plain nuts for an 8-coupled loco, plus the recessed leading nut and a large nut for the connecting rod suitable for most outside cylinder locos. They’re intended for GWR types but they suit most company styles.

Laurie's sets only have the plain coupled wheel nuts. I found that while they’re cast with a thread, they are tighter than the CPL ones when it comes to running through with the tap and proved somewhat frustrating as they’re hard to grip while working on!

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I used Laurie's on the 2-4-2T. I need to trim the crank pins down flush, really.
 

mickoo

Western Thunderer
I'm slowly getting used to micro flaming white metal....With a corresponding pile of scrap white metal components! I use 145 solder all the time as I've found 100 to have as much sticking power as soap.

The larger the casting the easier it is to be honest and I usually tin the rear of the brass component first.

Nice clean work on the T9 :thumbs:
 
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P A D

Western Thunderer
Today I removed the 12BA crankpin bolts, drilled the holes 1.4mm and tapped them 10BA. At the back of the wheel the holes were counter sunk to ensure no issues with catching the rivet detail on the frames. An extra 4 Slaters bushes were required to accommodate the connecting rods being inside the coupling rods and all 8 were drilled 1.4 mm and tapped 10 BA. The drilling was done in the lathe to ensure the holes were central and perpendicular, as was the tapping at the start, turning the chuck by hand. Once I got the thread started, I removed the chuck and inserted the tap into the pin vice to complete. The 1 inch bolts were all I had available.20190628_214239.jpg

To keep the coupling rods parallel to the frames, a bush the same thickness as the connecting rod big end was knocked up in the lathe from brass rod. Here's one of them in place on the inner bush, with the outer bush screwed on.
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The outer bushes needed filing to take up the excess play. Here are the wheel sets ready for cutting the bolts and fitting to the frames.
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This view clearly shows the need for the spacing bush.
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With the wheels back in the frames the rods now clear the running plate support bracket and spin freely again, as the counter sunk crank pin bolts don't foul the rivet detail.
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I've left the bolts a little long to accommodate the Griffin crank pin nuts. These will give something close to prototypical appearance and when soldered to the outer bush, will also provide a means to tighten the crank pins via a simple tool made from a suitable diameter tube with two cuts in the end to locate on the split pins. I'll need to check the clearance with the running plate first though.
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I'm not happy with having 7 or 8 washers on the bogie retaining bolt to set the ridd height, so I'll either solder them together of make a replacement from tube.

Cheers,
Peter
 

Ressaldar

Western Thunderer
T3 or T9? What difference does six make.

Hi Peter,

when reading any of your build threads it is obvious that even 0.6mm makes a great deal of difference to you.

Please keep posting, I do enjoy reading about builds that are way above my capabilities and that there we are fortunate to have so many members here on WT that are capable of such craftsmanship.

kind regards

Mike
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Hi Mike,
The locos of the LSWR are a complete mystery to me, so I only know it's a T3 because that's what it says on the box.

Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you are enjoying the build.

Larry,
The wheels were specified in the instructions and supplied with the kit. The Slaters range is very extensive, but sometimes kit manufacturers have to compromise and specify the nearest available option. Therefore you can see models with non bevelled rims where they should be bevelled, but in all other respects, size, crank throw and number of spokes, are correct.

Cheers,
Peter
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
Larry,
The wheels were specified in the instructions and supplied with the kit. The Slaters range is very extensive, but sometimes kit manufacturers have to compromise and specify the nearest available option. Therefore you can see models with non bevelled rims where they should be bevelled, but in all other respects, size, crank throw and number of spokes, are correct.

Cheers,
Peter
I appreciate that Peter. It is just that to me it is the rim that is first noticeable while all the other permutations come second. Friend Alan Harris took the hobby away from one-size-fits-all.

You don't just build locomotives; you build works of art. I probably have a controversial view of locomotives, especially for a professional model painter, in that I prefer them in the raw metal or plain unlined black so that I can appreciate the detail. Highly decorated paintwork is an art in its own right and so it takes the eye away the builders workmanship.

Of course, this is part of the game. I have painted the best and also the worst of locomotives (especially in O gauge) and my services were often enlisted by retail outlets to turn a dogs breakfast into a saleable item. On the shelf above my PC is a Heljan GW Large Prairie in plain black, its driving wheel profile and large and small rivets on perfect platework are a feast to the eye.
 
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