Peter Insole
Western Thunderer
It would be easy, while sitting here now, to wish that I had started this project a few years earlier. But all things considered; if I had, I probably would not have got this far?!
Here is a little bit more from the recent past:
I have had an offcut of aluminium tube knocking around for a while and crying out a purpose. According to the various Horwich drawings, the size of my tube and the scale of the originals happily coincided. Frustratingly, there was not quite enough of the stuff to cut into 54 complete lengths though! My only option was to cut each one slightly short, then carefully install them only part way through the tubeplate, leaving an even lap protruding at the front.
That called for couple of jolly jigs...
To be sure...
Cut, file, turn over and file the other end. 53 times too many!
It would have been much easier in a lathe wouldn't it?
At least the aluminium is nice, soft and fairly easy to work with, although the constant clagging of the file teeth was troublesome by a tad.
For some reason that I cannot fathom, although one that I am not going to complain about as it turned out to be perfectly fortuitous, the outside diameter of the tube was a tiny fraction over the measured drill size for the holes. With the MDF being even softer than the metal, installing them needed a firm, but not too forceful drive for a very snug fit.
Failing to keep the strikes level or applying one tap too many, and they would have been the devil to draw back out without leaving any unsightly marks though?
Simple jig two more or less ensured a visibly even lip over all...
Once again I forgot to take more pictures, so jumping several stages of cutting, shaping, filling and priming forward...
The whole shebang was coming together quite nicely until:
Oh ratbags! One waft of rattle can primer, and look what happened...
Lovely and silky smooth on the inside!
The 3mm MDF used for the smokebox front had well and truly "gone off" - as the wretched material is wont to do after too long in storage. Nice if you don't mind your toys being fluffy I suppose?
Very disappointed, to put it rather mildly, I reasoned that several coats of "hard" enamel, allowed to fully set before rubbing down between each coat might just about rescue it?
Here it is after the first "undercoat" mix was slapped on:
Would you Adam and Eve it?!
If I had tried my damnedest to get a "rust bubbling up under the paint in an area that would have been prone" effect - I doubt very much whether I could have got anywhere near as close..?
Subsequent coats that were unfortunately necessary for adequate protection of the material have proved to be far too successful, even without the application of abrasives, the wonderful effect has now been almost completely lost.
Well I will be damned?!
Pete.
Here is a little bit more from the recent past:
I have had an offcut of aluminium tube knocking around for a while and crying out a purpose. According to the various Horwich drawings, the size of my tube and the scale of the originals happily coincided. Frustratingly, there was not quite enough of the stuff to cut into 54 complete lengths though! My only option was to cut each one slightly short, then carefully install them only part way through the tubeplate, leaving an even lap protruding at the front.
That called for couple of jolly jigs...
To be sure...
Cut, file, turn over and file the other end. 53 times too many!
It would have been much easier in a lathe wouldn't it?
At least the aluminium is nice, soft and fairly easy to work with, although the constant clagging of the file teeth was troublesome by a tad.
For some reason that I cannot fathom, although one that I am not going to complain about as it turned out to be perfectly fortuitous, the outside diameter of the tube was a tiny fraction over the measured drill size for the holes. With the MDF being even softer than the metal, installing them needed a firm, but not too forceful drive for a very snug fit.
Failing to keep the strikes level or applying one tap too many, and they would have been the devil to draw back out without leaving any unsightly marks though?
Simple jig two more or less ensured a visibly even lip over all...
Once again I forgot to take more pictures, so jumping several stages of cutting, shaping, filling and priming forward...
The whole shebang was coming together quite nicely until:
Oh ratbags! One waft of rattle can primer, and look what happened...
Lovely and silky smooth on the inside!
The 3mm MDF used for the smokebox front had well and truly "gone off" - as the wretched material is wont to do after too long in storage. Nice if you don't mind your toys being fluffy I suppose?
Very disappointed, to put it rather mildly, I reasoned that several coats of "hard" enamel, allowed to fully set before rubbing down between each coat might just about rescue it?
Here it is after the first "undercoat" mix was slapped on:
Would you Adam and Eve it?!
If I had tried my damnedest to get a "rust bubbling up under the paint in an area that would have been prone" effect - I doubt very much whether I could have got anywhere near as close..?
Subsequent coats that were unfortunately necessary for adequate protection of the material have proved to be far too successful, even without the application of abrasives, the wonderful effect has now been almost completely lost.
Well I will be damned?!
Pete.
At least there are now talks of rolling out some kind of half decent vaccine so "play time" may hopefully commence within a mildly reasonable timeframe. 
