7mm Mickoo's Commercial Workbench

[mickoo]

Mick,
you know the chamfered balance weight you printed for the 72 driven wheel? You might want to do similar for the Hall. Yorkshire Lad will probably want a set
Simon

Considered and currently discarded, there's very little clearance for a raised balance weight, there wasn't on the 72xx or the 47xx I did but these seem tighter, partially due to Slaters wheels being too thick at the rim and partially down to the etched coupling rod short falls. I can't pack the coupling rods out any further or else the connecting rod centres become pigeon toed.

I usually keep the wheels and motion here when the model goes for paint so I'll let it stew for a while, I may be able to print a thin sliver or chamfered weight to stick onto the brass etch.

If we were to be more technically correct, we should add the fillet between the spokes next to the pin and the webs on the adjacent spokes either side.

 

[SimonT]

there wasn't on the 72xx

Sorry, being dim. Do you mean there was no clearance on the 72? I only ask as I've got them on 4219. Strangely I was working on the Hall rods for the new chassis this morning. We have the Swindon manufacturing drawing for the rods. Unfortunately it was badly scanned but it's good enough. The Hall rods are incredably assymetric and a bugga to layer up. On Plan 5 at the moment.

Oddly my wheels from Slater's came with the fillet.

 

[mickoo]

There wasn't a lot of clearance on the Warren Shephard 72xx, but just enough. On the Hall there is less, primarily due to the restrictions on the Hall and less wriggle room for side play, I can't spread it over three axles like I could on the 72xx.

I think you're also working in S7 which gives you thinner rims and more clearance on the leading axle with respect to the inside face of the splasher which I think is at scale width. It's a fold up part of the footplate so I know I didn't cock up its position, it's set by the half etch bend lines.

Ironically I've yards of space on the outside between the leading crank pin nut and coupling rod so the side play restriction is not where it normally is with respect to the motion.

The GA on the Hall shows the rods to be a bit of a mare, at least three lamination's I would have thought, even then, given the thickness of the Slaters rims, you may still have issues.

The wheels came in the box so that's what got fitted, Given that they could have been put in there in the last 30 years then who knows why they put the plain ones in, maybe the -GWH wheels were not available, I will speak with the customer.

 

[Simon]

Scaling to 1/32 is no problem, just space in the machine volume wise to print it, let me do a test scaling and trial upload to the printer to see if it'll fit.

The walls can probably all stay on as it makes life easier. I'll have to extend them a fraction as the current module is suited to the thick resin walls in the Finney7 casing, I think yours will be metal skinned. You'd need to extend the floor at the front to close the gab up or if you give me a measurement from the inside face of your front plate to the middle of the chimney then I can extend the print accordingly.

Hi Mick

Sorry for the late response, if this proves possible then I would definitely like to purchase a 1/32 print from you.

I don't have the top of the boiler casing, so for a measurement could you deduce a scale dimension from a drawing? The thickness of the casing front face on my Aster body is 1mm, so if you deducted that from chimney centre to casing smokebox front face then I think that is the dimension you would need.

Sorry it isn't simpler!

Simon

 

[mickoo]

Hi Mick

Sorry for the late response, if this proves possible then I would definitely like to purchase a 1/32 print from you.

I don't have the top of the boiler casing, so for a measurement could you deduce a scale dimension from a drawing? The thickness of the casing front face on my Aster body is 1mm, so if you deducted that from chimney centre to casing smokebox front face then I think that is the dimension you would need.

Sorry it isn't simpler!

Simon

Simon, easiest thing for me to do is extend the front floor, side pieces and rear wall, then you trim to fit your shell.

It's been a long day with the Garratt can some one confirm the scaling factor from 1:43.5 to 1:32 is 1.36.....ish

Then I'll run a print off tonight and get it to you.

MD

 

[Simon]

Hi Mick

Using the two ratios I make it 1.347, using 7 and 9.5 mm/foot scales it comes to 1.357, so I'd go for times 1.35.

Thank you very much Mick, that is very decent of you!

Simon

 

[mickoo]

Hi Mick

Using the two ratios I make it 1.347, using 7 and 9.5 mm/foot scales it comes to 1.357, so I'd go for times 1.35.

Thank you very much Mick, that is very decent of you!

Simon

Okay, its in, expected print run is 14 hours

Due to the increased volume it'll be a bit more expensive I'm afraid.

MD

 

[Simon]

No problem Mick, I expected that to be the case. Let me know how much and I'll settle up whenever you need me to.

It is a lovely bit of work on your part and it will give me pleasure to build it into my model. It is also a detail that it wouldn't have occurred to me to fit, but I think it will actually add a lot to the overall "believability".

In G1 I have tons of space left to fit decoders and speakers etc.

It is one of the projects I really must progress, I already have beautiful turned and insulated wheels from Mark Wood, complete with crank pins and bushed Aster motion to match, a motor and gearbox and most of the Aster body and tender with attendant details etc

Thank you again for agreeing to scale up your creation for me.

Simon

 

[mickoo]

Just a quick update on the Garratt, what normally takes a couple of hours is so far to date nigh on two solid days work, namely connecting and coupling rods.

I needed to get these done in case new etches were needed, thankfully....so far....the etches are just about usable. The problem lies in the hand drawn aspect, the flutes on the inside and outside do not match, nor line up accurately with the pin holes. If you're not careful then you can file away the flange of a flute on one side whilst taking the cusp off.

The trick is to look at the flutes and try to line them up as best you can so that when the cusp is removed it comes off evenly, of course your pin holes will be offset in most cases. You then need to clamp the rod to a firm base and drill with a drill press to make sure your holes are perpendicular and not dragged off line by the offset holes.

The corrected motion centre lines does mean getting creative with the leading crankpin fixing, in my case I chamfered the outer face of the pin hole in the rod and the inner face of the top hat bearing flange. Two small 0.6 mm holes in the top hat bearing allow it to be tightened with thin nosed pliers. That'll just give enough room to clear the crosshead, whose rear was also skimmed as a double measure. Those familare with Garratts will know that the leading pin bearing is a marine bearing, not supplied in the kit

Just balance weights, drain cock pipes and the rest of the wiggly bits and the front engine will be finished.

 

[mickoo]

No problem Mick, I expected that to be the case. Let me know how much and I'll settle up whenever you need me to.

It is a lovely bit of work on your part and it will give me pleasure to build it into my model. It is also a detail that it wouldn't have occurred to me to fit, but I think it will actually add a lot to the overall "believability".

In G1 I have tons of space left to fit decoders and speakers etc.

It is one of the projects I really must progress, I already have beautiful turned and insulated wheels from Mark Wood, complete with crank pins and bushed Aster motion to match, a motor and gearbox and most of the Aster body and tender with attendant details etc

Thank you again for agreeing to scale up your creation for me.

Simon

Looks good to me.

I've over extended the side shelves and front face which will allow you to trim them back for a snug fit and line up with the chimney.

Mick D

 

[Simon]

Thank you very much Mick, that looks great!

I have pm'd you re £s etc

Simon

 

[Pencarrow]

An update on the Bulleid Light Pacific (BLP) smoke box chamber.

A couple of points that need clarifying first;

1: This is a stand alone project, currently only available from myself, not Finney7, more later on that though.
2: Cost per unit is £35 inc P&P

Right, down to the nitty gritty, the petticoat unit has a revision and now has two securing ears to take self tapping screws. The reason for this is that the BLP casing resin is a witch to secure things to and the last thing you want is the petticoat rattling around in the chamber. Sods law will say that the module will stick fast, but the petticoat will come adrift and be inaccessible, the self tappers will eliminate that risk.

The revised (first four printing now for shipping this week) chamber module does not have the forward steam pipes or the recessed side wall they sit in; once the petticoat is added these features cannot be seen. Thus the two modules shown here are surplus, as are two further modules with plain pipes. If someone want's to make a sensible offer then they can have them, on the understanding that they are different from the production run and that the pipes will not be seen.

The Finney7 link, whilst I am part of Finney7 we don't not have sole rights to members activities, hence these initially being a solo venture.
However, there comes a point where it is sensible to consider longer (more economical) production runs if demand warrants it (BLP cab interior and wheel overlays being two previous examples). With that in mind we had a huddle at Chateau Finney this morning and we are going to explore getting these cast in the same resin as the casing.

There are several caveats with that, the design might have to be adjusted to suit the mould process rather than the print process. Typically the side cranked steam pipes might have to come off and be fitted post casting by the modeller, I suspect they will be supplied as stand alone resin parts and they will just need gluing into holes in the middle cylinder casting.

The other factor is time, it will take some time to work up these up for sale from Finney7, possible several months so until then the printed ones will be the only source.

Cost, the cost of the current printed ones is exactly the same as the future cast ones, it would be folly to contradict each other. It was the future casting avenue which defined the final cost, not the printed version which worked out slightly more.

P&P may not be included on Finney7 sales, that will be decided closer to the time and by others in darkened dungeons under the Chateau.

View attachment 156269

View attachment 156270

Absolutely superb Mick!

 

[Deano747]

Hi Mick (or anyone), I was just wondering if you use a specific cleaner, like Sea clean2 in the ultrasonic cleaner?
I always seem to get a lot of water staining which is a shame when you spend time cleaning as you go, not that it matters as it's going to get painted anyway!

Regards, Rob

ps Superb builds as always!!

 

[mickoo]

Hi Mick (or anyone), I was just wondering if you use a specific cleaner, like Sea clean2 in the ultrasonic cleaner?
I always seem to get a lot of water staining which is a shame when you spend time cleaning as you go, not that it matters as it's going to get painted anyway!

Regards, Rob

ps Superb builds as always!!

Rob,

I did initially use some cleaner from the sellers designed to clean models and not tarnish them, first model came out nearly black so frankly just gave up. My machine is a big 20 litre unit which I need occasionally to do coaches or maybe G1 engines in the future, which makes it a bit of a faff for small parts like the Duke tender for example.

Rather than fill 20 litres with any form of cleaner I plagiarised a tip posted here a few months back, I put a smaller plastic tub in the main tank which just holds tap water, in that tub I might add a dash of washing up liquid or diluted Limelite, a dash of baking soda often goes in as we have hard water around here and that acts as a flux inhibitor so I'm told. Sometimes I'll use filtered water or water from our de-humidifier as I've found the tap water can stain easily.

Generally speaking at the end of the build shiny is not the main criteria, it's to degrease and clean all the crud from the corners so I'll heat the tank to 55° and set it off for about 40-60 mins depending on how detailed the part is. About every 10 minutes I turn the parts around or over, you often find that the crud has been nicely moved only to form at the next lowest point on the model.

Once done I use nitrile gloves to remove the parts and dry with a hot hair dryer straight away and then stick it in a zip lock bag, that way it gets to the painter spangly clean.

 

[mickoo]

Another week, another model, with the Hall all split down for paint and new motion drawn up for the Garratt awaiting the etches to action and deliver it was time to start the next one in the pile.

In this case a David Andrews Peppercorn A1, no hidden disasters here so far so it doesn't take long to get a rolling chassis up and running, one set of rods used for alignment are temporarily fitted for show.

Rear axle is driven and fixed, intermediate and front are sprung etched units cut down to the bare minimum so that the 3D printed cosmetic part can fit over the top.

One thing to be wary of is the frames appear too deep at the bottom so you end up with a sizable gap below the horn guides and frame base. This requires some skulduggery to fudge the gap, not good cricket I know, but, when you consider every stay from the inside motion bracket (passable shape) to the rear drag beam is 100% wrong then it's not really worth loosing sleep over

Despite all that, the most important thing is that it all fits where it should.

 

[Deano747]

Rob,

I did initially use some cleaner from the sellers designed to clean models and not tarnish them, first model came out nearly black so frankly just gave up. My machine is a big 20 litre unit which I need occasionally to do coaches or maybe G1 engines in the future, which makes it a bit of a faff for small parts like the Duke tender for example.

Rather than fill 20 litres with any form of cleaner I plagiarised a tip posted here a few months back, I put a smaller plastic tub in the main tank which just holds tap water, in that tub I might add a dash of washing up liquid or diluted Limelite, a dash of baking soda often goes in as we have hard water around here and that acts as a flux inhibitor so I'm told. Sometimes I'll use filtered water or water from our de-humidifier as I've found the tap water can stain easily.

Generally speaking at the end of the build shiny is not the main criteria, it's to degrease and clean all the crud from the corners so I'll heat the tank to 55° and set it off for about 40-60 mins depending on how detailed the part is. About every 10 minutes I turn the parts around or over, you often find that the crud has been nicely moved only to form at the next lowest point on the model.

Once done I use nitrile gloves to remove the parts and dry with a hot hair dryer straight away and then stick it in a zip lock bag, that way it gets to the painter spangly clean.

Thanks Mick, very useful.

Regards, Rob.

 

[Tim Watson]

Those Alan Harris wheels really are beautiful. Remember them well from my Finney A4.

Tim

 

[mickoo]

Those Alan Harris wheels really are beautiful. Remember them well from my Finney A4.

Tim

They are indeed, but wait until you see the Mark Wood ones for an A4 upgrade I have coming down the pipeline shortly

 

[freelance7]

I have a set of Mark Wood wheels on my ongoing A4 build, they are a work of art and exquisite...

Paul

 

[mickoo]

More progress on the DA A1, pretty much there with the chassis, cylinder block, slide bars, a couple of straps over the Cartazzi spring fixings and the grate rocking lever on the RH side to complete. The bogie needs the AWS receiver and conduit fitting to finish.

The bogie has be fitted with a Gladiator Models side control unit, nice simple design but needs a tweak to get smooth side control. The top plate encases the block but it sits too tight/low on the base unit and just catches to tops of the side control springs, you just need to tweak up the thin cross pieces into a hump over the spring, not much, maybe 1.0 mm or so. The other option would be to skim 1 mm off the base of the sliding block to give clearance.
I do also hold my hands up in that I may have misunderstood the instructions, I've never been very good with the text biased format and a simple hand drawn 3D sketch would have made life much easier....for me at least.

The Cartazzi radial etch was another altogether wriggly tin of eels, I didn't have any problem with the A2 but the A1 was a real fight, most of that was down to whoever turned the trailing wheels and made them too large with an OD 1.0 mm greater than it should be. Consequently there was virtually no travel upward in the guide, removing a bit of the etch allowed some vertical travel but then the rims touched the underside of the large flat stay back there (hence the two holes).

Even with the correct sized wheels your vertical travel would still have been very limited and I think the opening out of the etch and adding guide face extensions would still have been required. Other than that there were no further issues.

One thing to watch for is the aforementioned frame depth, the base is too low by about 1.0 mm, this means your 3rd party cast springs are also too low. Consequently the brake rigging pull rods will not settle in a nice flat line as they foul the spring snubber securing nuts. The answer is to flip the whole rigging over and have the tie rods below the cross beams, not above as the instructions lead you toward.

The other thing to watch for is the motion bracket securing, it screws to a stay fitted into slots in the frame, those slots are too low by 2.55 mm. When you tighten the screws then the middle section of the motion bracket gets pulled down and bows, this then causes the brackets on the outside to twist up out of alignment. The fix is to solder some 6BA nuts on top of the stay and solder a washer to suit the final gap to the base of the motion bracket. On the A2 model it's all perfect and gives a nice flat joining surface right out of the box.

I didn't mess around with the triple laminate etched brake hangers and shoes, just trimmed the hanger to remove the small part of the shoe attached and fitted 3D printed shoes. Much neater, more accurate and very much faster; thereby gaining back a lot of the time lost on the Cartazzi radial resolutions.