What did you do Today 2024

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Made the proper taper-key for the wagon’s off-side wheel.

I thought it would be relatively simple. Oh dear me no!

Cutting the 1/4″ wide keyway in the axle, which is some sort of free-cutting stainless-steel, went very well although it took a bit of wangling to set up on the mill.

Unfortunately the keyway in the wheel nave is about .02″ wider… and can’t be altered. I made the wheels, err-um-cough-politely years ago and the keyway I’d cut by some crude method, in the lathe probably, was not very square or parallel-sided.

So the key has to fit the overwidth nave keyway and have a tiny rebate along one side to fit the axle keyway.

The upshot was a few hours of very careful filing, glass-papering, milling… until eventually it will tap home with (I hope) enough friction to keep it there. I think it’s gripping by the walls, not floor and roof. I can’t put a discreet grub-screw in the nave to secure it, either, as it is not possible to dismantle the wheels.

I won’t finally install it until every thing else is complete, because repeated dismantling and refitting will probably lose its grip.

….

At least I had a very lively Proms concert on the workshop wireless set to keep my flagging spirits up.

This evening’s (Monday’s) was dedicated to music from the Dr Who shows. I can’t recall when I last saw any episode so the characters’ and actors’ names and the plot references were lost on me – but the music was all great and the audience was certainly enjoying it!

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

Spent a few, er, informative hours investigating ways of replicating eye-bolts for a gun-carriage; requiring 1.5mm material formed into a continuous ring head integral with the shank, with a 2mm central hole.

I discovered a new-found respect for those who make their own small-scale fixtures and fittings, also that I’ve reached that point in my life where I really do need a headband magnifier..

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

Yes definitely , if it looks like its 12 ins long so much the better but you then start going for unobtainable finishes hey ho.

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

Yes, there is a certain comfort in only being able to see the finish in soft focus.. ..my draw filing has become SO much better in the last couple of years..

[Chris MateParticipant @chrismate31303]

Completed and painted stop(s) for the mill Y-axis to work between two djustable stops.

3 hours were waisted on the 4 inch Vertex vice, I accidently blow swarf out of it(dum decission), only to find it had a very tight spot on reuse. I took it apart and it took a lot of WD40, oil, to work it through the embedded swarf, luckily its tough and nothing damaged, back to smooth again.

[MikeKParticipant @mikek40713]

Made a bike tool, for removing the chainring fasteners.  Didn’t want to wait for the manufactured part to be shipped.  And it’s a cheesy stamped steel tool anyway.

Mike

[Chris GunnParticipant @chrisgunn36534]

I finished a Twin Compound engine to Graeme Quayle’s recent design in the ME. I started on the first of June, and finished it on the 1st of September. I say finished, I have to add the wooden base and run it yet.

[MikeKParticipant @mikek40713]

That looks very cool, Chris.

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

If that is the steam valve beside the driving drum, it would be fun turning that as the valve rods rocked up and down.  Very nice model and look forward to a short video of it running – especially on live steam.

Bob

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

Very nice, an interesting model; if you have more pics of the construction, it’d be interesting to see them.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Good to see people are building what is in the mag. Will you paint it or leave bare?

Not read all the articles in detail but I think the “valve” is actually linked to the screw that operates the forward/reverse gear.

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Chris,

That’s very nice indeed.

Thank you for sharing.

Rod

[Chris GunnParticipant @chrisgunn36534]

Thanks for all the kind comments, Bob, Jason is correct, the wheel is the reversing gear, also not in an ideal spot, I did make parts to move this elsewhere and add another link, but could not find another suitable spot. I will run it on air at least. It does turn over freely now.

Jason, I will paint it eventually, but I need to get in the right frame of mind to undo all those 7ba nuts to clean it before painting.

Diogenes, I am not sure if you have read the original articles, there are some good pics in it. I needed something to do during the summer, so just raced on with it, and did not take many pics. It is pretty much as the construction series, apart from the flywheel which i made from a couple of large thin gears. Graeme’s design called for 2.5mm bolts instead of 7ba, but I had a lot of 7ba studding material, I bought 100 10″ long offcuts for £2 or so from Whiston’s cat (remember that?) probably 45 years ago, and finally found a project to use it up on. If anyone wants some let me know, i still have a lot left.

Chris Gunn

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Fine work, Chris!

[Anonymous]

Burrell update: the tenders are finally finished, at least mechanically. Next jobs are to seal the water tank and paint inside and out:

Talking of painting after months of experimenting and false starts I am finally getting the hang of using coach enamel:

I am pleased with the way the washout plates have turned out after two coats of etch prime and four of bright red coach enamel:

Andrew

[Chris GunnParticipant @chrisgunn36534]

Andrew, you are very wise to practice with the coach enamel. I went straight for it when i was building my 4cd, and disappointed with the results, but my fault, I did get better by making sure everything dried on the flat, so it could not run. The engines are looking good, it will be nice to see them out and about.

Chris Gunn

[Anonymous]

Chris: My initial painting didn’t go well, which is why I decided to stop and work on flat test pieces. The biggest problem was little bumps and spots that appeared as the paint dried. I usually let parts dry flat if possible, and in a plastic box to keep the dust out. For parts that cannot be laid flat, like the smokebox, I set it up so the part can be rotated as it dries. Turning through 90 degrees every five minutes for an hour seems to be enough to defeat runs. There is a fine line between not enough coach enamel and too much. Although the general advice is to use the biggest brush possible I’ve found that for the parts I am painting a smaller brush is better. It holds less paint so is less likely to lead to too much paint and consequent runs.

Andrew

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

A significant milestone once the paint starts to go on, looking good so far. Do I detect that you will be finishing each engine in a different colour?

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Andrew –

Re painting non-flat parts, cylindrical ones at least.

I forget by whom and when but a few years ago a writer in ME described modifying an electrically-driven barbeque spit to keep the work revolving slowly while the paint hardened to self-supporting stiffness.

I have used my large lathe in back-gear for the same purpose, when aerosol-spraying some tubular parts. Old newspaper protected the machine, though it is all so grubby and oily it is almost self-protecting!

[JasonB]

On JasonB Said:

…Do I detect that you will be finishing each engine in a different colour?

Correct; the engine with steel tyres will be Burrell canopy green with chocolate wheels, and no lining on the wheels, whereas the engine with rubber tyres will be Burrell crimson lake all over, including the wheels, with full lining. Colour schemes are based on pictures of full size engines received from people on the TractionTalk forum.

Nigel: Thanks for that, could come in useful when painting the wheels as they will be quite a pain to turn by hand.

Andrew

 

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

Into the workshop first thing yesterday to find that everything had gone brown overnight, so a jolly half-day cleaning off the surface rust and treating everything in prep for it being ‘that time of year’ again.

Spent a couple of hours in the evening drilling holes in my gun-carriage, meant to be a quick ‘fun’ project, but of course becoming far more involved and complex than at first imagined – 26 holes in the end, biggest 2mm by 20D deep.. ..discovering that ‘exit points’ are not quite so predictable in oak as they are in metal, but hopefully it’ll all look okay on the desk or mantelpiece..

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Tried to install TurboCAD 19 Deluxe on my main PC. It’s already on my previous, now-spare and off-line one.

All went well, copying it using a USB DVD-reader, until I tried to open it.

IMSI needed me to register the installation, using the number it had e-mailed me when I bought the software on-line.

Only, I had bought the copy on a CD from Paul (‘The CAD’) Tracy, not on-line; and some years ago. I entered the code carefully written on the CD case label. IMSI said it had expired, but it could e-post a new one. Still waiting..

Ah well. I have TC2021 already installed there. Different editions can live side-by-side on one computer.

…….

Presently confined to the house, awaiting the roofing contractor due an hour ago to estimate for repairs. It would seem they exist until you want their services, then they all run away and hide.

…..

Delaying me from working on my steam-wagon’s rear axle. One of these sagas where you aim for the bits you know need modifying (or are lost or the wrong size, so need replacing), only to find any number of extra detail problems and tasks hiding in there as well.

Oooh – I can put the spindle back in my EW lathe, which is on a trolley in the middle room. I partially dismantled the machine to try to assess how to correct headstock wear, but it’s probably good enough for making the two sets of new studs for that axle’s journal boxes!

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

Modified (remade) my headstock divider to lever operation as my fingers are now more feeble with the RA and it seems ok. The main problem is the spring is quite strong to make it hold the spindle still.

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

..a nicely-done mod – would it ease the action if you could make the radius / ‘cam angle’ a bit bigger/gentler?

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

I do get your point but if I did that the out of mesh position flat would be smaller therefore not quite so positively held out of gear, and it does operate quite smoothly. Thanks for your interest.

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