john lewsey
Western Thunderer
Nice work Ian
2mm Modbury
- Thread starter Ian Smith
- Start date
Tim Watson
Western Thunderer
Gorgeous little coaches.
Tim
Tim
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
Work has restarted on the 517 class 0-4-2 Tank engine...
The Footplate and Buffer beams had been fretted and filed from 0.010" before I misplaced my mojo. Over the last couple of days, a couple of bits of 0.010" were sweated together, one edge trued up and the valance and leading step marked out. A little work with fretsaw and fine files gave me a pair of footplate valances with the front step. The step hanger was made over-long to allow me to mark and file a bend line, which then allowed the step proper to be folded at 90 degrees. This bend was then well fluxed and an iron with a small amount of solder introduced at one end edge, capillary action drawing the solder into the bend line and strengthening the joint - doing this way meant there was absolutely no excess solder to clean up.
The Buffer beams were initially tack-soldered in position on the underside of the footplate, and once happy that they were vertical and parallel to the footplate edges the joints were made good. The valances were then attached between the buffer beams, again tack-soldering at each end and in the middle before making good once satisfied with their positioning.
Because the cab steps sat on the outside face of the footplate valance on the 517 that I am trying to model, the uprights and lower step were fabricated from a strip of 0.006" nickel silver - again a scribed line, deepened with a triangular escapement file made a suitable bend line. The top step was made from a narrow strip of 0.004", scribed (deeply) lengthwise to provide a fold line to bend up an L angle strip for the step. A piece somewhat longer than required was tinned, floated into place with the aid of a sharp point and soldered in place on each step hanger. A further strip of 0.004" was cut and soldered immediately above the lower set-to simulate the upright part of the L section of the lower step. Once these pieces were secure, any excess was carefully filed back flush with the edge of the step hanger.
It was then a "simple" matter of soldering the completed step sub-assemblies in place against the footplate valance - the backs of the step hangers and area of the valance necessary were tinned, then small marks were made to indicate the correct positions of the hangers on the valance. The steps, footplate assembly, soldering iron and a sharp point were then juggled simultaneously trying to introduce sufficient heat (and extra solder) into the join while ensuring the parts stayed in the right place and didn't disintegrate back into their component parts!
Luckily, everything remained as it should! Possibly (nay probably) helped because the steps had been assembled with 188 degree solder, and 145 was used to secure them to the valance!
Todays task has been to make a start on the tanks. I decided to use 0.008" for the tank sides, so a couple of over-long strips were cut (score and bend method for these) and one long edge of each trued up with files (holding the piece against a set square up to the window allows any high or low spots to be spotted and addressed accordingly). A vernier calliper gauge was then used to scribe a parallel line from the trued edge to the height of the tanks. Further filing down to the scribe line ensued using the same locked off calliper to regularly check that the top line of the tanks were the correct height and parallel to the trued bottom (as the strips are filed they are removed from the vice and tried against the calliper jaws, any sections that won't slide between the jaws are then carefully addressed with the file (or more probably my diamond sharpening stone) until the whole length can be slid between the jaws).
Once the two strips were the correct height, one end was marked perpendicular to the long edges and further filing ensued until I had one good end. The 90 degree bend at the tank end was then made in each piece. My method of doing this is shown and described thus...
I have a piece of tufnol into which a 1.5mm hole has been drilled perpendicular to the surface. A short length of 1.5mm steel is pushed into said hole, and the thick part of one of my set squares is double-sided-taped to it against the peg such that the end of the set square is exactly at the mid-point of the peg. A fine scribe line on the part to be bent is then aligned with the end of the set square against the peg and another set square is used to form the bend around the peg while the part is held firmly against the peg with the fixed square. Obviously almost anything could be used against the peg to form the bend, but this method works for me (especially since the parts I am bending are not too tall and pretty thin).
The photo below shows the arrangement and the two tank side/ends formed today. The tank ends are significantly over-length at the moment (to aid the bending process), but will be cut to size before fitting on the footplate.
Thanks for looking.
Ian
The Footplate and Buffer beams had been fretted and filed from 0.010" before I misplaced my mojo. Over the last couple of days, a couple of bits of 0.010" were sweated together, one edge trued up and the valance and leading step marked out. A little work with fretsaw and fine files gave me a pair of footplate valances with the front step. The step hanger was made over-long to allow me to mark and file a bend line, which then allowed the step proper to be folded at 90 degrees. This bend was then well fluxed and an iron with a small amount of solder introduced at one end edge, capillary action drawing the solder into the bend line and strengthening the joint - doing this way meant there was absolutely no excess solder to clean up.
The Buffer beams were initially tack-soldered in position on the underside of the footplate, and once happy that they were vertical and parallel to the footplate edges the joints were made good. The valances were then attached between the buffer beams, again tack-soldering at each end and in the middle before making good once satisfied with their positioning.
Because the cab steps sat on the outside face of the footplate valance on the 517 that I am trying to model, the uprights and lower step were fabricated from a strip of 0.006" nickel silver - again a scribed line, deepened with a triangular escapement file made a suitable bend line. The top step was made from a narrow strip of 0.004", scribed (deeply) lengthwise to provide a fold line to bend up an L angle strip for the step. A piece somewhat longer than required was tinned, floated into place with the aid of a sharp point and soldered in place on each step hanger. A further strip of 0.004" was cut and soldered immediately above the lower set-to simulate the upright part of the L section of the lower step. Once these pieces were secure, any excess was carefully filed back flush with the edge of the step hanger.
It was then a "simple" matter of soldering the completed step sub-assemblies in place against the footplate valance - the backs of the step hangers and area of the valance necessary were tinned, then small marks were made to indicate the correct positions of the hangers on the valance. The steps, footplate assembly, soldering iron and a sharp point were then juggled simultaneously trying to introduce sufficient heat (and extra solder) into the join while ensuring the parts stayed in the right place and didn't disintegrate back into their component parts!
Luckily, everything remained as it should! Possibly (nay probably) helped because the steps had been assembled with 188 degree solder, and 145 was used to secure them to the valance!
Todays task has been to make a start on the tanks. I decided to use 0.008" for the tank sides, so a couple of over-long strips were cut (score and bend method for these) and one long edge of each trued up with files (holding the piece against a set square up to the window allows any high or low spots to be spotted and addressed accordingly). A vernier calliper gauge was then used to scribe a parallel line from the trued edge to the height of the tanks. Further filing down to the scribe line ensued using the same locked off calliper to regularly check that the top line of the tanks were the correct height and parallel to the trued bottom (as the strips are filed they are removed from the vice and tried against the calliper jaws, any sections that won't slide between the jaws are then carefully addressed with the file (or more probably my diamond sharpening stone) until the whole length can be slid between the jaws).
Once the two strips were the correct height, one end was marked perpendicular to the long edges and further filing ensued until I had one good end. The 90 degree bend at the tank end was then made in each piece. My method of doing this is shown and described thus...
I have a piece of tufnol into which a 1.5mm hole has been drilled perpendicular to the surface. A short length of 1.5mm steel is pushed into said hole, and the thick part of one of my set squares is double-sided-taped to it against the peg such that the end of the set square is exactly at the mid-point of the peg. A fine scribe line on the part to be bent is then aligned with the end of the set square against the peg and another set square is used to form the bend around the peg while the part is held firmly against the peg with the fixed square. Obviously almost anything could be used against the peg to form the bend, but this method works for me (especially since the parts I am bending are not too tall and pretty thin).
The photo below shows the arrangement and the two tank side/ends formed today. The tank ends are significantly over-length at the moment (to aid the bending process), but will be cut to size before fitting on the footplate.
Thanks for looking.
Ian
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
A little more progress with the 517 has been made of the last couple of days or so...
The tank sides have been attached to the footplate, a tank top has been fretted/filed from 0.008" nickel silver and the cab has been started today by fretting and filing from more 0.008". I intended to make the cab as a front and two sides that folded up, the fold lines being scribed and then filed with a square file. Unfortunately, I had to bend one of the cab sides back flat and when making the bend again it snapped along the fold line so one side (the further in the photos) was bent (and strengthened with a fillet of solder), while the nearer one is a butt joint.
Tank sides attached to the footplate, the tank top and the cab assembly
As above, but with the tank top and cab posed - the tank top will be fitted much closer to the tops of the sides (just a small gap between it and the top of the sides). The cab spectacles also need to be made much bigger too, but I won't do that until the firebox is in place so that I can judge whether the spectacles are in the correct relative position - I might need to drift the holes as I enlarged them!
Yesterdays project was the turning of the splasher disc. This was turned on the end of a piece of brass bar, and as can be seen includes the decorative beading around the main splasher and also the sub-splasher for the crank pins (again with its decorative beading). The depth of the beading is 0.005", the splasher disc is 11.5mm diameter for 10mm drivers (which are 11mm over the flanges). The sub-splasher is 5.5mm diameter. Once parted off, I then mounted the embryonic disc face inwards so that the rear could be faced off and bored for the wheels. This latter operation took somewhat longer than I anticipated because I couldn't find the stepped collet I'd made last time I did this for the Dean Goods, the upshot of which was I had to make a new stepped collet first!! As can be seen in the image below, the inside of the splasher disc was bored to within an inch of it's life (well 4 thousandths of an inch actually). By my calculations the face of the splasher (beading excepted) should be about 0.008" thick (but I won't know how close I was to breaking through until I cut the disc in half to make the two splashers!!!)
The splasher disc - as I only need two splashers I only needed to turn one disc. This image shows the sub-splasher for the cranks, and the decorative beading around each.
The inside of the splasher disc (clamped in a vernier calliper showing the wall thickness)
Thanks for looking
Ian
The tank sides have been attached to the footplate, a tank top has been fretted/filed from 0.008" nickel silver and the cab has been started today by fretting and filing from more 0.008". I intended to make the cab as a front and two sides that folded up, the fold lines being scribed and then filed with a square file. Unfortunately, I had to bend one of the cab sides back flat and when making the bend again it snapped along the fold line so one side (the further in the photos) was bent (and strengthened with a fillet of solder), while the nearer one is a butt joint.
Tank sides attached to the footplate, the tank top and the cab assembly
As above, but with the tank top and cab posed - the tank top will be fitted much closer to the tops of the sides (just a small gap between it and the top of the sides). The cab spectacles also need to be made much bigger too, but I won't do that until the firebox is in place so that I can judge whether the spectacles are in the correct relative position - I might need to drift the holes as I enlarged them!
Yesterdays project was the turning of the splasher disc. This was turned on the end of a piece of brass bar, and as can be seen includes the decorative beading around the main splasher and also the sub-splasher for the crank pins (again with its decorative beading). The depth of the beading is 0.005", the splasher disc is 11.5mm diameter for 10mm drivers (which are 11mm over the flanges). The sub-splasher is 5.5mm diameter. Once parted off, I then mounted the embryonic disc face inwards so that the rear could be faced off and bored for the wheels. This latter operation took somewhat longer than I anticipated because I couldn't find the stepped collet I'd made last time I did this for the Dean Goods, the upshot of which was I had to make a new stepped collet first!! As can be seen in the image below, the inside of the splasher disc was bored to within an inch of it's life (well 4 thousandths of an inch actually). By my calculations the face of the splasher (beading excepted) should be about 0.008" thick (but I won't know how close I was to breaking through until I cut the disc in half to make the two splashers!!!)
The splasher disc - as I only need two splashers I only needed to turn one disc. This image shows the sub-splasher for the cranks, and the decorative beading around each.
The inside of the splasher disc (clamped in a vernier calliper showing the wall thickness)
Thanks for looking
Ian
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
A little bit of progress with the 517...
The tank top and cab have been soldered into position, but before they were the beading around the top of the tanks and around the cab side cut-outs was added first. To represent this I simply use lengths of a single strand of copper wire from flex straightened by pulling between two pairs of pliers, in this instance 0.007" diameter.
I have also managed to "complete" the G1 Loriot and AA1 Brake Van with a bit of paint and transfers...
The transfers on the Loriot are Fox Transfers, and the chains are some lengths of brass 40 links per inch that I picked up from BH Enterprises a couple of years ago that I chemically blackened, when I get around to making a load I will fit hooks at each end and fit a turnbuckle in the middle somewhere, the hooks will be located in the holes in the side rail.
The "Exeter" branding on the AA1 is from some old Woodhead transfers, that I have strengthened with Decal film. Despite using Decal Sol and Decal Fix the transfer refuses to stick so I apply them to a bed of thin matt varnish - I managed to separate the "ER" from the "EXET" on one side but managed to float the two parts back together satisfactorily! For this wagon I was keen to fit it with cast plate "GWR" and number. I very briefly considered drawing up some artwork for these plates, but realised that I would need an awful lot of them to fill even the smallest sheet of etch (I would also want to etch them in 0.005" so couldn't even add such artwork to a bigger project). As a second choice I did try printing them on my inkjet printer on photo paper, but decided that too was a no-no. In the end I elected to paint a patch of 0.005" plasticard grey, and once dry scribed the lettering on with a sharpened gramophone needle (I thought a pin would be too flexible). Obviously several attempts were needed, and the better attempts were selected. There were fixed in place on a further bed of matt varnish and once secure the white edge of the plasticard was touched up with a fine brush and grey paint.
The brake van still needs to be glazed (easy as the roof is removable being held in place with small magnets), and obviously needs side and tail lamps.
Thanks for looking
Ian
The tank top and cab have been soldered into position, but before they were the beading around the top of the tanks and around the cab side cut-outs was added first. To represent this I simply use lengths of a single strand of copper wire from flex straightened by pulling between two pairs of pliers, in this instance 0.007" diameter.
I have also managed to "complete" the G1 Loriot and AA1 Brake Van with a bit of paint and transfers...
The transfers on the Loriot are Fox Transfers, and the chains are some lengths of brass 40 links per inch that I picked up from BH Enterprises a couple of years ago that I chemically blackened, when I get around to making a load I will fit hooks at each end and fit a turnbuckle in the middle somewhere, the hooks will be located in the holes in the side rail.
The "Exeter" branding on the AA1 is from some old Woodhead transfers, that I have strengthened with Decal film. Despite using Decal Sol and Decal Fix the transfer refuses to stick so I apply them to a bed of thin matt varnish - I managed to separate the "ER" from the "EXET" on one side but managed to float the two parts back together satisfactorily! For this wagon I was keen to fit it with cast plate "GWR" and number. I very briefly considered drawing up some artwork for these plates, but realised that I would need an awful lot of them to fill even the smallest sheet of etch (I would also want to etch them in 0.005" so couldn't even add such artwork to a bigger project). As a second choice I did try printing them on my inkjet printer on photo paper, but decided that too was a no-no. In the end I elected to paint a patch of 0.005" plasticard grey, and once dry scribed the lettering on with a sharpened gramophone needle (I thought a pin would be too flexible). Obviously several attempts were needed, and the better attempts were selected. There were fixed in place on a further bed of matt varnish and once secure the white edge of the plasticard was touched up with a fine brush and grey paint.
The brake van still needs to be glazed (easy as the roof is removable being held in place with small magnets), and obviously needs side and tail lamps.
Thanks for looking
Ian
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
Anyone who has helped operate Modbury at (those distantly fond memories called) exhibitions will almost certainly be able to recall the odd occasion when we didn't have enough space at the Newton Abbot end of the layout - the traverser had only 3 roads compared to the 5 at the Plymouth end!
It was always my intention to increase the space available on the traverser but it never really seemed to be a priority with my fairly limited stock. Also the original 2 outer curved roads on the traverser had too tight a radius to sensibly allow further curved roads outside them (the additional roads would need even tighter radii) meaning that they would also need to be replaced, which could have been a world of hurt if I hadn't completed the operation between exhibition dates.
However, as the next potential exhibition (if we're ever allowed to go out to play again) is Uckfield in the Autumn, I have over the last couple of weeks finally taken the opportunity to do deal with the problem. This decision was helped by the fact that one of the bolt sockets on one of the old roads had started to cause de-lamination between the copper it was soldered to and the PCB of its sleeper.
The first task (obviously) was to remove the two outer curved roads, but I also took the opportunity to completely remove the entry road on the traverser board and also the existing round section bolts and sockets (I have used square section bar and tube on the Plymouth traverser which I prefer).
I also decided to dispense with the existing method of transferring power to the traintable roads - originally the bolt provided continuity for one rail, but the other was fed by a wiper contact on a piece of PCB below the traintable deck - the new solution is to use two bolts, one for each rail.
The new roads (and indeed the old ones) were constructed using OO gauge copper clad sleepers with code 40 rail soldered to gauge on top. The existing straight and inner curved roads used flat-bottomed rail, the outer curved roads use bullhead for no other reason than that was what I had available.
The traverser after the outer curved roads had been removed, but with the new entry road and square alignment bolts.
The traverser after all of the roads had been constructed, and with the new bolt lever made and fitted.
A close-up of the new square bolts and levers engaged (the top lever had to be somewhat shorter to ensure that it cleared the traintable deck when the bolt was not engaged).
Finally a shot illustrating the bolts disengaged, and the position of the upper lever when in that position. I will need to excavate a little of the adjoining board to accommodate the tails of the bolts when in this position (as can be seen they extend beyond the edge of the traverser board).
In making these changes, I also took the opportunity to re-engineer the bolt lever pivots - the original was simply a brass wood screw (and can be seen in the upper photo). The new design comprises a pair of turned top hats, the lower one being tapped to take an M3 bolt, the upper one having an M3 clearance hole through it (it also has an extension on top 4mm diameter which passes through the lever against which the M3 bolt is tightened leaving the lever able to move freely).
The next job will be to re-paint the traverser and baseboard top in dark grey again - when originally built I did paint them white but they were extremely visible though the mouseholes on the scenic section especially on photos!
Thanks for looking.
Ian
It was always my intention to increase the space available on the traverser but it never really seemed to be a priority with my fairly limited stock. Also the original 2 outer curved roads on the traverser had too tight a radius to sensibly allow further curved roads outside them (the additional roads would need even tighter radii) meaning that they would also need to be replaced, which could have been a world of hurt if I hadn't completed the operation between exhibition dates.
However, as the next potential exhibition (if we're ever allowed to go out to play again) is Uckfield in the Autumn, I have over the last couple of weeks finally taken the opportunity to do deal with the problem. This decision was helped by the fact that one of the bolt sockets on one of the old roads had started to cause de-lamination between the copper it was soldered to and the PCB of its sleeper.
The first task (obviously) was to remove the two outer curved roads, but I also took the opportunity to completely remove the entry road on the traverser board and also the existing round section bolts and sockets (I have used square section bar and tube on the Plymouth traverser which I prefer).
I also decided to dispense with the existing method of transferring power to the traintable roads - originally the bolt provided continuity for one rail, but the other was fed by a wiper contact on a piece of PCB below the traintable deck - the new solution is to use two bolts, one for each rail.
The new roads (and indeed the old ones) were constructed using OO gauge copper clad sleepers with code 40 rail soldered to gauge on top. The existing straight and inner curved roads used flat-bottomed rail, the outer curved roads use bullhead for no other reason than that was what I had available.
The traverser after the outer curved roads had been removed, but with the new entry road and square alignment bolts.
The traverser after all of the roads had been constructed, and with the new bolt lever made and fitted.
A close-up of the new square bolts and levers engaged (the top lever had to be somewhat shorter to ensure that it cleared the traintable deck when the bolt was not engaged).
Finally a shot illustrating the bolts disengaged, and the position of the upper lever when in that position. I will need to excavate a little of the adjoining board to accommodate the tails of the bolts when in this position (as can be seen they extend beyond the edge of the traverser board).
In making these changes, I also took the opportunity to re-engineer the bolt lever pivots - the original was simply a brass wood screw (and can be seen in the upper photo). The new design comprises a pair of turned top hats, the lower one being tapped to take an M3 bolt, the upper one having an M3 clearance hole through it (it also has an extension on top 4mm diameter which passes through the lever against which the M3 bolt is tightened leaving the lever able to move freely).
The next job will be to re-paint the traverser and baseboard top in dark grey again - when originally built I did paint them white but they were extremely visible though the mouseholes on the scenic section especially on photos!
Thanks for looking.
Ian
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
A little progress report - the Newton Abbot end traintable has been completed, painted and installed back where it belongs :
"New" 5 road traverser reinstated on the right-hand end of Modbury.
Secondly, I was never really happy with the spectacle rings on the cab front of my Dean Goods - I felt they were far too thick. Therefore, the originals were carefully removed (they were secured with varnish), by jamming a rat-tailed needle file in the hole and gently twisting to break the varnish bond. A pair of new spectacle rings were turned up and again secured with a little varnish :
Dean Goods with her new spectacles.
For reference, this is what she looked like with her old pair of specs.
Ian
"New" 5 road traverser reinstated on the right-hand end of Modbury.
Secondly, I was never really happy with the spectacle rings on the cab front of my Dean Goods - I felt they were far too thick. Therefore, the originals were carefully removed (they were secured with varnish), by jamming a rat-tailed needle file in the hole and gently twisting to break the varnish bond. A pair of new spectacle rings were turned up and again secured with a little varnish :
Dean Goods with her new spectacles.
For reference, this is what she looked like with her old pair of specs.
Ian
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
Finally, I have made a little more progress with the 517. The first bit of progress required a complete strip down of the chassis!
Although the chassis ran fine in both directions most of the time, occasionally it would bind up solid! Removal of the motor so I could re-check the quartering and the chassis' ability to roll freely seemed to rule the quartering out as being the problem. Re-instating the motor and trying again showed the same issue - it would run fine for a few minutes then inexplicably lock up solid again. Scrutiny under magnification seemed to indicate that the worm had ridden up onto a gear tooth and jammed (although it was difficult to really tell because the wheels obscured the view somewhat). Since the gear and worm are an old design that used to be available from the Association in the 1980's, I decided that replacement with a modern gear set might be the way to go - I suspected that perhaps the worm and/or the gear wheel may not be concentric with their relative axles or one of the teeth may be damaged.
Unfortunately however, I had specifically chosen to use the old 36:1 gear set because of the centre-to-centre distance and the ratio that the set provided. Luckily I had a brand new 30:1 gear set, but of course the smaller ratio meant that the motor would sit lower - too low in my solid chassis! Therefore a 0.5mm deep trough had to be milled along the centreline of the chassis to accommodate the lower motor. Once the chassis had been rebuilt though, it ran as sweetly as it ever had but now no longer locks up solid - result!!!
The re-built chassis now fitted with a 30:1 gear set, and the motor sitting lower in the trough milled along the chassis.
With the chassis running again, I felt the motivation to progress the body a little more. I had made a splasher disk from which I would cut the pair of splashers required, however when I came to file the segments down to size I discovered that the sub-splashers (for the ends of the coupling rods) had been turned too small meaning that I didn't have anything left of them! Mk II of the splasher disks didn't fare much better, Mk III disintegrated in the stepped collet as I was boring out the inside! Mk IV was just right, and have now been attached to the footplate :
The two splashers having been cut from the disk and filed down to size. A coin of the realm to show the size of these!
Finally, a couple of photos to show the current state of play, with the new splashers soldered into position on the footplate (needless to say they took several attempts before I was happy with their position - too far forward, too far back, not vertical, slightly skew-whiff, etc!!
Thanks for looking
Ian
Although the chassis ran fine in both directions most of the time, occasionally it would bind up solid! Removal of the motor so I could re-check the quartering and the chassis' ability to roll freely seemed to rule the quartering out as being the problem. Re-instating the motor and trying again showed the same issue - it would run fine for a few minutes then inexplicably lock up solid again. Scrutiny under magnification seemed to indicate that the worm had ridden up onto a gear tooth and jammed (although it was difficult to really tell because the wheels obscured the view somewhat). Since the gear and worm are an old design that used to be available from the Association in the 1980's, I decided that replacement with a modern gear set might be the way to go - I suspected that perhaps the worm and/or the gear wheel may not be concentric with their relative axles or one of the teeth may be damaged.
Unfortunately however, I had specifically chosen to use the old 36:1 gear set because of the centre-to-centre distance and the ratio that the set provided. Luckily I had a brand new 30:1 gear set, but of course the smaller ratio meant that the motor would sit lower - too low in my solid chassis! Therefore a 0.5mm deep trough had to be milled along the centreline of the chassis to accommodate the lower motor. Once the chassis had been rebuilt though, it ran as sweetly as it ever had but now no longer locks up solid - result!!!
The re-built chassis now fitted with a 30:1 gear set, and the motor sitting lower in the trough milled along the chassis.
With the chassis running again, I felt the motivation to progress the body a little more. I had made a splasher disk from which I would cut the pair of splashers required, however when I came to file the segments down to size I discovered that the sub-splashers (for the ends of the coupling rods) had been turned too small meaning that I didn't have anything left of them! Mk II of the splasher disks didn't fare much better, Mk III disintegrated in the stepped collet as I was boring out the inside! Mk IV was just right, and have now been attached to the footplate :
The two splashers having been cut from the disk and filed down to size. A coin of the realm to show the size of these!
Finally, a couple of photos to show the current state of play, with the new splashers soldered into position on the footplate (needless to say they took several attempts before I was happy with their position - too far forward, too far back, not vertical, slightly skew-whiff, etc!!
Thanks for looking
Ian
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
A little more progress on the 517...
The Bunker has been has been formed from a strip of 0.008" nickel silver, cut over-long, bent as I did with the tanks, and then the sides cut and filed back to length before finally filing the distinctive "chair back" profile. A strip of 1mm thick brass has also been cut and filed to provide a cab floor, the bunker fits around the back of this floor, which has also been drilled and tapped 14BA to provide the fixing for the chassis/body bolt (this is the way I have built all of my tank engines - I find it a useful dodge to have the bunker as a separate component as it makes painting / lining easier and allows me access into the cab for when I decide to fir a back-head).
The Bunker and cab floor.
The Bunker and cab floor in place (albeit as a dry run - nothing has been soldered together yet).
I've also made a bit of a start on the Boiler assembly. The main boiler is a piece of brass tube that I turned down a little, a further piece of the same tube has been cut for the Smokebox, but to get it to fit around the main boiler, a slit has been cut across the bottom, allowing it to opened out as it is forced over the end of the boiler. The raised Firebox was turned down from a suitable piece of brass bar, and was bored out to the same internal diameter as the main boiler, with a 3mm section of the boring at the boiler end opened out to allow the boiler tube to seat inside. The 3 elements were then soldered together to form a Firebox/Boiler/Smokebox component.
Todays task has been a little more machining - the Smokebox Saddle was formed by fly-cutting a seating for the base of the smokebox tube in a length of 2mm thick brass bar. Once done, the saddle was separated, filed to width and a section on the end filed to shape to represent the valve chest cover. Todays other task was to turn the smokebox front/door - a piece of 0.028" nickel silver was soldered onto the end of an arbour, turned down to size so that it fitted snuggly in a rebate bored into the end of the smokebox, then gravers were employed to turn the distinctive door ring and dished profile of the door.
The Smokebox/Boiler/Firebox component after soldering the 3 elements together (the rebate for the smokebox door can clearly be seen in the end of the smokebox).
The smokebox saddle and smokebox door. The gap in the smokebox wrapper can be seen in this photo where the piece of tube was slit to allow it to fit over the boiler tube.
The boiler components combined for photographic effect. Unfortunately, I hadn't realised that the smokebox door had fallen out of place when I took the photo - it does actually fit snuggly in the rebate in the end of the smokebox!
Hopefully, I will get the smokebox door furniture fabricated and in place tomorrow, then the parts can be soldered together so that I can attack the lower half of the boiler and firebox with a saw and files to get it to fit in place over the tanks.
Thanks for looking.
Ian
The Bunker has been has been formed from a strip of 0.008" nickel silver, cut over-long, bent as I did with the tanks, and then the sides cut and filed back to length before finally filing the distinctive "chair back" profile. A strip of 1mm thick brass has also been cut and filed to provide a cab floor, the bunker fits around the back of this floor, which has also been drilled and tapped 14BA to provide the fixing for the chassis/body bolt (this is the way I have built all of my tank engines - I find it a useful dodge to have the bunker as a separate component as it makes painting / lining easier and allows me access into the cab for when I decide to fir a back-head).
The Bunker and cab floor.
The Bunker and cab floor in place (albeit as a dry run - nothing has been soldered together yet).
I've also made a bit of a start on the Boiler assembly. The main boiler is a piece of brass tube that I turned down a little, a further piece of the same tube has been cut for the Smokebox, but to get it to fit around the main boiler, a slit has been cut across the bottom, allowing it to opened out as it is forced over the end of the boiler. The raised Firebox was turned down from a suitable piece of brass bar, and was bored out to the same internal diameter as the main boiler, with a 3mm section of the boring at the boiler end opened out to allow the boiler tube to seat inside. The 3 elements were then soldered together to form a Firebox/Boiler/Smokebox component.
Todays task has been a little more machining - the Smokebox Saddle was formed by fly-cutting a seating for the base of the smokebox tube in a length of 2mm thick brass bar. Once done, the saddle was separated, filed to width and a section on the end filed to shape to represent the valve chest cover. Todays other task was to turn the smokebox front/door - a piece of 0.028" nickel silver was soldered onto the end of an arbour, turned down to size so that it fitted snuggly in a rebate bored into the end of the smokebox, then gravers were employed to turn the distinctive door ring and dished profile of the door.
The Smokebox/Boiler/Firebox component after soldering the 3 elements together (the rebate for the smokebox door can clearly be seen in the end of the smokebox).
The smokebox saddle and smokebox door. The gap in the smokebox wrapper can be seen in this photo where the piece of tube was slit to allow it to fit over the boiler tube.
The boiler components combined for photographic effect. Unfortunately, I hadn't realised that the smokebox door had fallen out of place when I took the photo - it does actually fit snuggly in the rebate in the end of the smokebox!
Hopefully, I will get the smokebox door furniture fabricated and in place tomorrow, then the parts can be soldered together so that I can attack the lower half of the boiler and firebox with a saw and files to get it to fit in place over the tanks.
Thanks for looking.
Ian
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
A little more progress on the 517 was made yesterday ...
The bottom of the firebox and boiler assembly were attacked with a piercing saw and various files to remove the area above the tanks. Similarly, the bottom of the boiler and rear of the smokebox (and saddle) were removed to clear the motor shaft and worm. Once I was happy with the fit of the boiler assembly over the tanks, I decided that since the fly-cutter was set up for the smokebox diameter (from making the saddle) it would make sense to knock up the chimney! So a happy hour or so was spent whittling away at a length of phosphor bronze bar to produce the chimney. I still need to open out the top of the chimney and file it down a little, but trying to hold it while doing that hurts the fingers so I will solder it in place and try to do it in situ.
A couple of photos with everything just plonked in place for the time being :
Now that I can see where the smokebox comes, I have taken a fine file to the back of the splashers to thin them down a fair bit because I need to put some springs in the gap between splasher and boiler/smokebox before the the boiler assembly is permanently fixed in place.
Also to be done before the boiler assembly is fixed in place will be the drilling of holes in the firebox for the washout plugs and also holes for the handrail knobs.
I feel that she is starting to look like a 517 now, hopefully eventually she will look a bit like this :
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Thanks for looking
Ian
The bottom of the firebox and boiler assembly were attacked with a piercing saw and various files to remove the area above the tanks. Similarly, the bottom of the boiler and rear of the smokebox (and saddle) were removed to clear the motor shaft and worm. Once I was happy with the fit of the boiler assembly over the tanks, I decided that since the fly-cutter was set up for the smokebox diameter (from making the saddle) it would make sense to knock up the chimney! So a happy hour or so was spent whittling away at a length of phosphor bronze bar to produce the chimney. I still need to open out the top of the chimney and file it down a little, but trying to hold it while doing that hurts the fingers so I will solder it in place and try to do it in situ.
A couple of photos with everything just plonked in place for the time being :
Now that I can see where the smokebox comes, I have taken a fine file to the back of the splashers to thin them down a fair bit because I need to put some springs in the gap between splasher and boiler/smokebox before the the boiler assembly is permanently fixed in place.
Also to be done before the boiler assembly is fixed in place will be the drilling of holes in the firebox for the washout plugs and also holes for the handrail knobs.
I feel that she is starting to look like a 517 now, hopefully eventually she will look a bit like this :
Thanks for looking
Ian
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
Progress on the 517 ...
Firstly, the washout plugs have been added to the firebox. These are simply bits of 0.4mm copper wire with about 1mm of the end squashed square in a pair of pliers, and the end made good with a fine no. 6 cut file.
0.4mm holes were drilled in the side of the firebox, and the outside face opened out to 0.8mm (leaving a 0.4mm hole in the bottom of the 0.8mm depression). The end of the wire was poked in and then drawn through from the inside until the squared off section was flush with the outside of the firebox.
Cruel enlargements of the finished washout plugs.
The plugs are tight in their holes, but have been secured with a bit of superglue - on one side I initially tried to solder them in place but the solder wicked through and filled the holes on the outside!! Oh how I laughed!! (I actually did, as I couldn't believe that I'd been so daft as to try, as I knew that it would happen!) More heat was applied, the plugs pushed out and the holes made good again with the relevant drills allowed common sense to prevail and use glue instead.
I've also been busy with the bunker, the bunker back being soldered to the cab floor, a piece of 0.010" cut for the bunker front and similarly soldered in place. Additionally, a length of 5 amp fuse wire has been soldered along the top extremities of the bunker sides and back to represent the beading. Holes for the handrail knobs have been drilled in the bunker side sheets too.
Todays task has been to address the rear of the bunker, the lamp sockets. A length of 1mm square brass bar was filed down to be 0.8mm square, this was then placed in the lathe and the end couple of mm turned down to 0.4mm diameter. The work piece was then transferred to the vice where the excess bar was sawn off, and the embryonic lamp socket filed back to leave me with a 0.8mm cube on a stalk. The cube was then cross-drilled 0.3mm (for the lamp spigot) :
A set of lamp sockets for the rear of the bunker - I only needed 4 but made a couple of spares in case the carpet monster was filing peckish.
Four holes were drilled in the rear bunker sheet for the stalks of the lamp sockets. Initially, these were drilled 0.4mm but had to be further broached until the stalks fitted snuggly. A little bit of wire was bent up to hold the sockets a consistent distance (and at the correct orientation) from the bunker sheet while they were soldered in place. The final task while I was at it was to bend up some tool brackets from narrow strips of 0.004" which were soldered in place on the rear of the bunker.
The lamp sockets and tool brackets in place on the rear of the bunker. I might give each one a wipe with a fine file to further reduce their size, and the top of the furthest tool bracket could certainly do with a wipe or two just to make it more compatible with its fellow.
A final shot with everything just plonked together on the chassis to show the current state of play.
Thanks for looking.
Ian
Firstly, the washout plugs have been added to the firebox. These are simply bits of 0.4mm copper wire with about 1mm of the end squashed square in a pair of pliers, and the end made good with a fine no. 6 cut file.
0.4mm holes were drilled in the side of the firebox, and the outside face opened out to 0.8mm (leaving a 0.4mm hole in the bottom of the 0.8mm depression). The end of the wire was poked in and then drawn through from the inside until the squared off section was flush with the outside of the firebox.
Cruel enlargements of the finished washout plugs.
The plugs are tight in their holes, but have been secured with a bit of superglue - on one side I initially tried to solder them in place but the solder wicked through and filled the holes on the outside!! Oh how I laughed!! (I actually did, as I couldn't believe that I'd been so daft as to try, as I knew that it would happen!) More heat was applied, the plugs pushed out and the holes made good again with the relevant drills allowed common sense to prevail and use glue instead.
I've also been busy with the bunker, the bunker back being soldered to the cab floor, a piece of 0.010" cut for the bunker front and similarly soldered in place. Additionally, a length of 5 amp fuse wire has been soldered along the top extremities of the bunker sides and back to represent the beading. Holes for the handrail knobs have been drilled in the bunker side sheets too.
Todays task has been to address the rear of the bunker, the lamp sockets. A length of 1mm square brass bar was filed down to be 0.8mm square, this was then placed in the lathe and the end couple of mm turned down to 0.4mm diameter. The work piece was then transferred to the vice where the excess bar was sawn off, and the embryonic lamp socket filed back to leave me with a 0.8mm cube on a stalk. The cube was then cross-drilled 0.3mm (for the lamp spigot) :
A set of lamp sockets for the rear of the bunker - I only needed 4 but made a couple of spares in case the carpet monster was filing peckish.
Four holes were drilled in the rear bunker sheet for the stalks of the lamp sockets. Initially, these were drilled 0.4mm but had to be further broached until the stalks fitted snuggly. A little bit of wire was bent up to hold the sockets a consistent distance (and at the correct orientation) from the bunker sheet while they were soldered in place. The final task while I was at it was to bend up some tool brackets from narrow strips of 0.004" which were soldered in place on the rear of the bunker.
The lamp sockets and tool brackets in place on the rear of the bunker. I might give each one a wipe with a fine file to further reduce their size, and the top of the furthest tool bracket could certainly do with a wipe or two just to make it more compatible with its fellow.
A final shot with everything just plonked together on the chassis to show the current state of play.
Thanks for looking.
Ian
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
The 517 Bunker sub-assembly has now been completed ...
The handrails are 0.009" guitar nickel plated string, and for the first time I have used the 2mm Association etched handrail knobs rather than my usual twisted wire stanchions. I must say that I will use these on all future projects!!
I have fretted/filed out a representation of the reversing lever from 0.015" brass which has also been adde to the cab floor, and the strengthening ribs for the bunker back sheet have been added from 0.006" nickel silver. To allow some form of integrity to be maintained in these (and to save my sanity), I simply filed out a squared off U shape with the gap between the legs of the U being the distance apart of the strengthening ribs. The bit of material where the legs meet the bottom was thinned with a fine 3-square file to allow the legs to be bent 90 degrees to the base more easily. It was then a fairly simple operation to manoeuvre the ribs into position as it was soldered in place. As hopefully can be seen in the photo below the ribs were made and positioned so that I could file the tops of the ribs flush with the top of the bunker once this part was secure.
The bunker assembly with the reversing lever in place (I must admit that it looks pretty crude in this blow-up, but looks acceptable in real life). Hopefully, the method of forming the bunker back sheet ribs can also be seen (obviously a lot of it will be hidden by the coal eventually).
The final items added to complete the bunker were the sand boxes and brake standard. I had made all of these a few days ago, the sandboxes being blocks of brass filed down from a bit of 3mm square brass bar. The tops were drilled to accept the pegs of some little turned lids. The brake standard is another simple turning, the handle being added from phosphor bronze wire soldered into a little trough filed across the top of the standard, once secure the wire was bent to form the upright handle and excess cut off. I elected to superglue these items in place for fear of causing damage while wielding the hot stick about - I had to re-attach the top lamp socket after fitting the strengthening ribs as that had become detached!
A couple of photos of the completed bunker assembly (well complete apart from a bit of cleaning up with a scraper!!)
Thanks for looking.
Ian
The handrails are 0.009" guitar nickel plated string, and for the first time I have used the 2mm Association etched handrail knobs rather than my usual twisted wire stanchions. I must say that I will use these on all future projects!!
I have fretted/filed out a representation of the reversing lever from 0.015" brass which has also been adde to the cab floor, and the strengthening ribs for the bunker back sheet have been added from 0.006" nickel silver. To allow some form of integrity to be maintained in these (and to save my sanity), I simply filed out a squared off U shape with the gap between the legs of the U being the distance apart of the strengthening ribs. The bit of material where the legs meet the bottom was thinned with a fine 3-square file to allow the legs to be bent 90 degrees to the base more easily. It was then a fairly simple operation to manoeuvre the ribs into position as it was soldered in place. As hopefully can be seen in the photo below the ribs were made and positioned so that I could file the tops of the ribs flush with the top of the bunker once this part was secure.
The bunker assembly with the reversing lever in place (I must admit that it looks pretty crude in this blow-up, but looks acceptable in real life). Hopefully, the method of forming the bunker back sheet ribs can also be seen (obviously a lot of it will be hidden by the coal eventually).
The final items added to complete the bunker were the sand boxes and brake standard. I had made all of these a few days ago, the sandboxes being blocks of brass filed down from a bit of 3mm square brass bar. The tops were drilled to accept the pegs of some little turned lids. The brake standard is another simple turning, the handle being added from phosphor bronze wire soldered into a little trough filed across the top of the standard, once secure the wire was bent to form the upright handle and excess cut off. I elected to superglue these items in place for fear of causing damage while wielding the hot stick about - I had to re-attach the top lamp socket after fitting the strengthening ribs as that had become detached!
A couple of photos of the completed bunker assembly (well complete apart from a bit of cleaning up with a scraper!!)
Thanks for looking.
Ian
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
517 progress ...
Todays little exercise has been turning...
A set of buffer housings have been turned from brass bar, they will be soldered onto a piece of 0.004" nickel silver which in turn will be cut and filed around the base of the turnings to represent the back plate of the casting which was bolted to the buffer beams. At the minute they look rather like the splash-down capsule of the NASA Apollo rockets !
A set of buffer housings (or NASA Apollo splash-down capsules). The wire allows them to be kept together, so that if one is lost they all are! The wire was also used to stop them from flying off into the ether when they were parted off - the wire was poked into the buffer ram hole while the parting off operation was completed.To give an idea of the size of these, the height of each is about 0.090" (2.25mm).
Similarly, I have also turned a new chimney from phosphor bronze, and a dome from more brass bar (I've still got the safety valve cover to make). The other thing I've done over the last couple of days is to make and fit the springs that lie behind the splashers. These were fretted and filed from a double thickness of 0.015" brass sheet before being separated. Once the fiddly job of soldering them in place behind the splashers was accomplished, the bit hidden by the splashers was carefully filed away so that they didn't catch on the wheels. Annoyingly, one of the ends of the springs came adrift right at the end of this operation, and once found on the floor the even more fiddly job of soldering a pretty minute piece back on ensued!!
The current state of play, showing the new chimney and the dome. The front driver spring can also be seen behind the splasher. This photo reminds me of the other thing I've done - fitted the handrails on the front of the tanks. They jury is currently out on the new chimney - having compared the model to the prototype in an earlier posting I felt that the original was a bit too squat, I think this one might be a tad too tall - I've made it a scale 4'0" tall as scaling from the photo seemed to indicate that was about how tall it was.
Earlier today, I also repainted the chassis as that was pretty scarred from handling and stripping and rebuilding a week or two ago.
Thanks for looking
Ian
Todays little exercise has been turning...
A set of buffer housings have been turned from brass bar, they will be soldered onto a piece of 0.004" nickel silver which in turn will be cut and filed around the base of the turnings to represent the back plate of the casting which was bolted to the buffer beams. At the minute they look rather like the splash-down capsule of the NASA Apollo rockets !
A set of buffer housings (or NASA Apollo splash-down capsules). The wire allows them to be kept together, so that if one is lost they all are! The wire was also used to stop them from flying off into the ether when they were parted off - the wire was poked into the buffer ram hole while the parting off operation was completed.To give an idea of the size of these, the height of each is about 0.090" (2.25mm).
Similarly, I have also turned a new chimney from phosphor bronze, and a dome from more brass bar (I've still got the safety valve cover to make). The other thing I've done over the last couple of days is to make and fit the springs that lie behind the splashers. These were fretted and filed from a double thickness of 0.015" brass sheet before being separated. Once the fiddly job of soldering them in place behind the splashers was accomplished, the bit hidden by the splashers was carefully filed away so that they didn't catch on the wheels. Annoyingly, one of the ends of the springs came adrift right at the end of this operation, and once found on the floor the even more fiddly job of soldering a pretty minute piece back on ensued!!
The current state of play, showing the new chimney and the dome. The front driver spring can also be seen behind the splasher. This photo reminds me of the other thing I've done - fitted the handrails on the front of the tanks. They jury is currently out on the new chimney - having compared the model to the prototype in an earlier posting I felt that the original was a bit too squat, I think this one might be a tad too tall - I've made it a scale 4'0" tall as scaling from the photo seemed to indicate that was about how tall it was.
Earlier today, I also repainted the chassis as that was pretty scarred from handling and stripping and rebuilding a week or two ago.
Thanks for looking
Ian
john lewsey
Western Thunderer
Beautiful Ian
SimonT
Western Thunderer
Ian,
looks lovely but you are correct and it is too tall. There is a drawing Swindon did for modelers of most of the chimneys. The drawing is in Russell's Pictorial Record of Great Western Engines at page 241. The top of the chimney should be 3'3" above the smokebox.
Simon
looks lovely but you are correct and it is too tall. There is a drawing Swindon did for modelers of most of the chimneys. The drawing is in Russell's Pictorial Record of Great Western Engines at page 241. The top of the chimney should be 3'3" above the smokebox.
Simon
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
Simon,
Thankyou, I am aware of the diagram in Russell’s book, indeed I checked it before I made the new chimney, the problem is that I believe the drawing to represent the chimneys as they were in the 1920/30’s. (The diagram is dated as drawn then). The chimneys of the Edwardian period look taller and somehow more elegant. I looked at the photo of the engine I’m trying to represent (539 - shown in my earlier posting), and comparing the height of chimney against diameter of drivers reveals something somewhat taller than 3’3”.
I will try to find a more side on view of an Edwardian period engine to see if I can get a better scaling factor for a mark 3 turning!
Ian
SimonT
Western Thunderer
Ian,
the Guy Williams approach to making it look right to you is the only way to go at this distance. Back in '96 I did a whole load of drawings of GW stock and built some of them. By luck (eg there was a photo to show the configuration) I did 539 based on Dia A and cross over information from other drawings that were in the public domain. Here is the business end of 539.
At the time it looked right but now I think the chimney is too thick and I suspect I took the information from the 1920s drawing; the top is too low compared with the dome. The chimney on the Mitchell 517 measures 23mm tall, so same 3'3"ish answer as the drawing. (I started to scratchbuild a 517 but stopped when the Mitchell kit came along).
However, the chimney in the Dia B drawing does look similar to the photo of 539. I look forward to seeing your No.3!
Simon
the Guy Williams approach to making it look right to you is the only way to go at this distance. Back in '96 I did a whole load of drawings of GW stock and built some of them. By luck (eg there was a photo to show the configuration) I did 539 based on Dia A and cross over information from other drawings that were in the public domain. Here is the business end of 539.
At the time it looked right but now I think the chimney is too thick and I suspect I took the information from the 1920s drawing; the top is too low compared with the dome. The chimney on the Mitchell 517 measures 23mm tall, so same 3'3"ish answer as the drawing. (I started to scratchbuild a 517 but stopped when the Mitchell kit came along).
However, the chimney in the Dia B drawing does look similar to the photo of 539. I look forward to seeing your No.3!
Simon
