PhilMortimer Posted December 12, 2017 Author Share Posted December 12, 2017 Thanks Giles for the added pictures - will be very useful as the VG progresses. Cheers, P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMortimer Posted December 13, 2017 Author Share Posted December 13, 2017 Nothing spectacular, but work has started on laminating up the various rods for the valve gear, including the lift levers, the lift links and the union links. These are all smallest rods in the set, making them a bit tricky to handle to get nice smooth rods. But it progresses, abeilt slowly, since there are 8 of each to do, and most rods are ar least double laminations. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMortimer Posted December 18, 2017 Author Share Posted December 18, 2017 Just a quick picture of progress on the VG sets. As is seen in the picture below, from top to bottom, eight sets of Union Links, Lift Links and lift levers have been made up. The lift links have forked ends as per the prototype. Each of these components is formed from 2 laminations that have to be soldered together and decusped. So far, this makes a total of 48 individual parts just for the eight sets assembled so far. Holding these components for filing and decusping is tricky because of their small size and the easiest adn best way was between thumb and forefinger. I have the calluses to go with it! . by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr I am now starting the assembly of the expansion links, which are again double laminated. So far I have marked out and pilot drilled the hole for attaching the eccentric rod, as these are not marked on the etch (artwork error?). The holes will be fully drilled once laminated. I expect much of the work on this will be somewhat repetative for the next few weeks until all the VG components are made up, So progress will be somewhat quiet. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMortimer Posted December 31, 2017 Author Share Posted December 31, 2017 Firstly, Merry Christmas and Happy New year to all. My apologies for the lack of updates, but I have been sunk without trace for the past few weeks, due to contracting quite a nasty and vicious cold that knocked me on my back for a bit. Although it meant that I missed most of Christmas due to being semi-delirious, as a means of avoiding the Christmas hostilities festivities, I do not recommend it. I have developed an addiction to cough syrup! Anyhow, once started to recover, I have been slowly progressing the valve gear components. All have required considerable work and with there being 8 of each to make, this has been somewhat time consuming, not to say tedious. Still, it pays to get these right as it makes the final model far more reliable and looks a lot better. The time consuming part is making the forks for the joints and then cleaning up the rods to remove the laminated look and make it look like the rods are forged from a single piece of steel. First up was the expansion link. As designed in the kit, this consists of two etches laminated together, with fold down trunnions. The problem with this is whilst the actual expansion link looks ok, the trunnions themselves look some what weedy. And they look exactly what they are - folded down pieces of metal rather than machined forgings. . by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr This is even more obvious when the link is fitted to the hangers on the motion bracket. . by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr The whole expansion link assembly looks way too emaciated and has way too much slop on the hangers. Granted, the design of the motion bracket and hangers in the kit may not be exactly correct, but when compared to the real thing, they still look too weedy. Lifting link by Phil Parker, on Flickr Once again, I am most grateful to Phil Parker for his detail photo's of the surviving locomotive. The expansion link brackets also look a little emaciated on the model when compared to the real thing, being a single etch thickness - I will have to do something about this later. In the meantime, something needed to be done about the expansion links. Basically, the trunions attached to the link needed to be spaced out further. This was achieved by breaking off the fold down trunions from the laminated expansion link, soldering in two lamination's of 0.5mm thick NS on each side and then soldering the trunions back on to the link. The whole lot was then filed to shape. This spaces out the trunions from the actual expansion link by 1mm on each side, and gives room for the reach rod to pass up and down if required. It also looks much better and closer to the real thing IMHO. A jig was used to get consistent positioning of the various pieces. . by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr Picture above shows the various stages of modifying the expansion link. From left to right, (L) the original lamination with part folded trunions, (M) the expansion link with the trunnions removed and N/S spacer pieces, and ®, the re-assembled and modified expansion link A comparison of the unmodified (RHS) and modified (LHS) expansion brackets are seen in the photo below. . by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr The job was repeated to modify all 8 expansion links, which are shown below after final finishing and de-cusping. These have now been safely stored ready for assembly of the working valve gear. . by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr The other rods are also being assembled. Each rod consists of a double lamination, which is soldered together and the forked joints formed, before being finished and polished to remove the laminated effect. A jig (which is a posh name for two pins stuck into a bit of plywood!) is used to align the lamination's for soldering together, prior to making the forks. This is shown in the picture below, in which an eccentric rod is being laminated together. . by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr Care is taken to ensure that where forked joints are to be formed, the lamination's are not soldered together at the point where the fork is to be formed. The forks are then made by forcing the two laminated etches apart at the joint using a scalpel, and bending to shape using pliers. This is a time-consuming process. The rods are then finished and de-cusped as before. The photo below shows the completed set of eight eccentric rods. . by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr These have now been stored until needed. Currently, the combination lever and reach rods are being made up, which will just leave the return crank to be formed to complete the valve gear components. This may take a few more days. Then I have to put it all together and make it work. Oh what fun! 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 Those expansion links are infinitely better........ I was lucky enough to have some old Stelfox ones that were produced for the Garrett 30 odd years ago, but your treatment has done the trick. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMortimer Posted December 31, 2017 Author Share Posted December 31, 2017 Thank you for the kind words. Still wondering how to beef up the brackets on which the expansion links are mounted. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMortimer Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 All of the etched rods are now assembled, cleaned and polished. Current work is drilling out the valve rod guides, which is tricky as it is virtually impossible to hold the things in order to drill them. Most of the drilling is done by hand and done slowly, to ensure the drilling stays on the center line. This is time consuming as that brass is HARD and care has to be taken to avoid the drill wandering. 5 of the 8 have had the 1st set of holes drilled out, Since I have drilled the holes out oversize, i will line these with brass tube in which the valve rods will run. In addition, I am also trying to work out how to fabricate the valve rod joints. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 I made an 'eye' if I recall, and silver soldered it onto the end of the rod. But that isn't really safe if one is using soft solder. Valve rod combination lever by giles favell, on Flickr Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMortimer Posted January 4, 2018 Author Share Posted January 4, 2018 Thanks Giles, very useful. I also was considering making an eye, but am going to try and do it by flattening the end of the rod. Probably heat it up to anneal it, then squeeze it between two snooth steel jaws in a vice, and then drill. Will have to see how I get on. No work done on the loco's last night - was under orders to clean out my clothes drawers and dispose of old clothes....... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 No work done on the loco's last night - was under orders to clean out my clothes drawers and dispose of old clothes....... Is there a parallel website? Have our wives been in correspondence...? I think we should be told! Best Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMortimer Posted January 5, 2018 Author Share Posted January 5, 2018 Hi! Phil's wife here. Just a note to all. Listen to your spouses. T-shirts from the '80s not acceptable attire. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Hi Phil’s wife. This revelation does cause me some angst... I can report that I do have some from the 90’s though, so all is not lost. (I think the Wishbone Ash and Yes shirts from the 70’s bought it a few years back...) Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 I just realised that I have no idea where my '80s T shirts are - and that I have a ready supply of 'suitable' ones..... How does that happen? *Wife smiles lovingly at me* Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMortimer Posted January 5, 2018 Author Share Posted January 5, 2018 (edited) I think that it is some form of conspiracy, espescially since both Giles and I have wives with the same name....... Anyhow, i have been released from closet clearing duties for a bit and with it being a tad chilly outside (8F, -14C this morning), have no garden duties, just barn duties to do this weekend (putting hay out in the fileds). So I have been cracking on with the valve guides. The outer parts of the casting have now been drilled through on all eight units and the the first of the inner parts of each casting (which are blind and have no pilot hole) has also been drilled out. A supply of 1/16" brass tube has been proccured and slides in nicely. This will form the sliding surface in which the valve rod will slide. It will need drilling out slightly to accept the valve rod, but being tube, basically has an existing pilot hole, so should be easy to drill out to size whilst keepiong the correct alignment for a nice sliding fit with everything corectly lined up. Why go through these contortions? Well, with the tools I have to hand, I didn't think that I could drill out the awkward shaped castings with sufficient accuracy to support the sliding rod direct. Drilling the castings slightly oversize and then soldering in brass tube is an easier (though more time consuming) way for me to get everything accutately lined up to accept the sliding valve rod. Pictures to follow once I get everything done. Edited January 5, 2018 by PhilMortimer 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMortimer Posted January 10, 2018 Author Share Posted January 10, 2018 (edited) At the moment we are at the stage where a lot of time and effort is being expended on the builds, but there is little visble progress. All the rods, bar the return crank are now finished, and the cylinder rear valve guides have been completed. The valve rods are also in preperation. The valve guids as you may remember are hard brass castings that needed to be drilled out to accept the valve rods. I opted to do this by drilling them over-size, sliding in some 1/16" OD soft brass tube which was then aligned and soldered into place. The completed assembly was a then reamed out to a sliding fit of the 1mm N/S valve rods. The cruel closeup below shows one of the valve guide castings after soldering onto the brass tube (done with 227 degree solder and a flame, since the completed unit will then be soldered to the cylinder rear with lower temperature solder), but before cleaning up with a wire wizzy wheel. . by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr After all eight valve guides had the liners soldered in place, they were cleaned up with a wire brush. There is a gap between the front and rear portions of the valve guides in which the moving valve rod can be observed, so the tube liner in this gap was removed with a cutting wheel and a file to restore this aspect of the guides. The eight completed guides are seen in the photo below slid onto some N/S wire that will be used to form the valve rods. . by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr The valve guides were then safely bagged and stored until needed for assembly, as seen below. The bags contain the components for eight complete valve gear sets to the design of our favourite Belgian engineer! . by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr Finally, I have started making the valve rods, These are made of approximately 1" lengths of 1mm OD N/S rod. (Possibly overlong, but they can be cut down to size later). The rod needs a point at which it can be attached to the combination lever. I figured trying to accurately drill a pivot hole in 1mm dia rod with the tools available to me wasn't going to work and I can't use Giles' solution, as I haven't any experience in silver soldering (or the tools for it). In the end, I opted to make a thin blade at one end of the rod which can be drilled to make the pivot. This was achieved by annealing one end of the rod to glowing, then allowing to cool naturally. Once cool, the annealed end of the rod was compressed in a vice (actually my bending bars) to form a flat blade at the end of the rod. Since this has been squeezed, the blade is a bit bigger in area, but thinner than the actual rod, meaning that it should be easily drilled to form the pivot hole. This is the next task. The blank rods with the joint blades are seen below. . by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr I still need to develop a method of drilling the rods in the same place consistently. Once the rods are drilled, the blades will be dressed and assembly of the VG can commence. I expect it to be about a week before this can start, due to outside commitments. Edited January 11, 2018 by PhilMortimer 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMortimer Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 A three day weekend here in the US this past weekend. Great thinks I - should be able to get some work done on the garratts. Er, no~! The animals had other ideas and I've either spent time at the vets or spent time in the barn wrapping hooves! Thankfully all OK now. Still, I did get to drill out the valve rods and have adjusted the combination lever forks to match them, leaving a close, but not tight fit. So I am now ready to start assembling the motion! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Those valve rods look hold! And it will all be great when it's done! With the best will in the world, these things are a rarity.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMortimer Posted January 17, 2018 Author Share Posted January 17, 2018 Hooray! I finally got some time to work on the garratts late last night and have started final assembly of the valve gear. The first part has involved pinning the combination lever to the valve rod. This was accomplished by liberally coating the blade of the valve rod with marker pen (sharpie) to try and prevent unwanted solder from going places it wasn't wanted. I have in the past used tin foil between two moving parts that need to stay unsoldered, but there just wasn't enough space to get everything in and lined up. And I don't have 5 hands! Anyhow, the valve rod was inserted into the upper combination lever fork and a brass wire run through the two components to form the pivot. This was a close fit to the apertures in the combination lever, again to try and prevent unwanted migration of solder. In retrospect, I probably should have opened out the holes on the valve rod slightly more to give a looser fit. Some of the joints ended up being a little tight, though are loosening up with some waggling! The outsides of the combination rod and brass pin were polished clean, some flux applied and a quick in and out with the soldering iron on both sides of the fork made for a secure joint. After cutting off the pin from the brass rod, the pin was cut back and dressed to give the follwing;- . by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr A nice looking joint that isn't all floppy. It started off a little tight but has loosened up and probably will improve with use and a little oil. So after repeating seven additional times, we have the complete set. . by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr I will admit that I did solder one joint solid, Still, heat up the pin, withdraw, clean up and try again. Next job - add the radius rod just below the joint with the valve rod, using the same techniques. Hopefully, I won't solder everything (including these joints) solid...... 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMortimer Posted January 18, 2018 Author Share Posted January 18, 2018 A little bit more progress. I have started pinning the radius rods to the combination lever. The only real problems were that I had made the forks too small on the radius rod and these needed to be opened up and re-shaped. I managed to assemble three during an episode of Wallander, so about 1/2 hours per joint, including cleaning up. I also had to reduce in size the lubrication points on the forks, sicne these interfered with the fork for the valve rod. The three completed assemblies are shown below. I hope there is sufficient flexibility in the rods to allow unimpeded motion, but that won't be known until it is assembled on the loco. A quick look at photo's of the loco indicates that the range of motion is sufficient. . by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMortimer Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 Another three assemblies made up last night - gave a bit more clearance in the forks - probably not needed, but easier to do now. Hope to get the final two done tonight. Unfortunately, not getting a lot of time to focus on these at the moment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMortimer Posted January 24, 2018 Author Share Posted January 24, 2018 (edited) Still plodding on with this. All eight sets of the first half of the valve gear (Valve Rod, Combination Lever, Radius rod and union link) are now completed and ready for test fitting on the loco. I only gummed up 3 joints in 24 made, so quite successful. All forked joints are pinned with brass rod soldered at both sides of the fork. Fitting the union links was much quicker than the other joints, as I had already formed these to the correct dimensions and they were quite easy to fit. All eight done in 2 hrs. Whilst this part of the VG is off the loco, I may fit the lift links to the radiius rod, just to get it done, though it isn't essential at the moment. This part of the valve gear will also be used to aid installation of the valve guides and assist in ensuring that they are in the correct position as they are installed so that nothing clashes with other parts of the loco. It may be a few days before I get round to this - I have to be in the right frame of mind!! To do this, the radius rod will be temprarily pinned to the expansion link brackets in the neutral position whilst setting up. The motion is designed to be removable for wheel removal and chassis painting by having the union link attached to the crosshead drop link using a tiny screw (14BA I think). The expansion link, eccentric rod and return rod will be added later after the expansion link hangers have been removed from the motion bracket, beefed up and refitted. I have a (sort of) cunning plan for this!. . by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr BTW, I don't know if anyone is interested in my drivel. I'm just writing this as an aid to anyone else who either is building (or contemplating building) these locos, or for those who are kitbuilding loco's in general, particularly for those without vast experience. I alsways find it useful to see how others overcome the trials and pitfalls of a build and the way in which they overcome problems, so hope that I can assist others with this writeupI I'm not in anyway an expert and the way I do things isn't nessecarily the best way, just my way. If I'm boring you all, please let me know and I will shut up! Edited January 24, 2018 by PhilMortimer 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 Phil, I’m interested. The one thing that won’t happen is anyone telling you they aren’t interested! My Garratt is on pause at the moment, but I feel things may change, in maybe a month or so. I have a bit of a coaching stock challenge at the moment, as I’ve been asked to provide a couple of trains to entertain at the forthcoming Tenterden show, and as I’ve been putting off finishing them for a good ten years so far, the sudden activity has left me a bit breathless... Three toplights have been painted choccy & cream, and the bolections & droplights picked out. Next steps are gold lines, glazing, door handles, grab handles and finally, transfers. And my clerestory stock has been refurbished, and now runs reasonably, after a few years packed away. I’ve just got to dig out the rest of the toplights train, glue a bogie support back to the floor of the restaurant car, and check the couplings, etc, all work, and then make sure the King & Castle are in good order... happily the show is still four weeks away. Please keep up the progress reports, and thanks for keeping the Garratt flame burning! Best Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdb82 Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 I'm more than interested - I was up on the Welsh Highland Railway over the summer and got quite attached to the Beyer-Garrett they have there. Think I still need a few more kits behind me before I tackle this one though. I think the multiple sets of gear would tip me over the edge though - you must have the patience of a saint....... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Phil is taking The unusual step of building two of them! Extremely brave..... Are you going to setbuour valve gear in forward/reverse, or mid gear? I did put mine in gear, simply so the motion worked more... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMortimer Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 Thanks Guys, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't boring everyone! Simon, I look forward to seeing the finished coaching stock. I don't envy you painting those intricate liveries. I have never been able to achieve it satisfactorily. It will look wonderful with a King on the front! JB - I have compounded the problem of the multiple valve gear sets by building 2 garratts at the same time! That makes for 8 sets in total. Most loco's just have 2 sets at the most! Still practice makes perfect! I'm promising myself that the next loco I build will be inside cylindered. Or have caprotti VG (which indicates whats next in the queue! - actually, I have to finish my Backwoods miniatures OO9 narrow gauge K1 first. And the VoR Tank. And the Manning wardle......) Giles - I don't think its brave - more like stupid! To answer your question, yes, I will be setting the VG so that it is fully functioning. This was one of the reasons for modifying the expansion link to be closer to the real thing, and for making all the jointrs prototypically forked and pinned. I like to see the cyclical waggling motion of the gear in full motion. With a garratt, I guess this means that the front unit needs to be set in forwards gear whilst the hind unit is in reverse (or vice versa). The only reason to pin the radius rod at the neutral setting whilst setting up the valve guides is that it gives a fixed reference point, along with the crosshead in the TDC or BDC position to make it easier to get things positioned correctly. (The aperture for the valve guides in the back of the cylinders is way to big to give accurate alignment). I will admit to having flights of fantasy in making the VG on the loco destined for me (which will be DCC controlled) fully reversable using a servo, i.e. it reverses position with the change in the loco direction. The modified expansion link will allow this. I know this has been done before on another loco and I could see a way of doing it using the link lever and link rod driven by a servo, but I'm not so sure of how to set up the electronics to power the servo. I will probably just fix the gear in the appropriate positions. (Need to read up on Waschaerts VG and remember which way to set the radius rod for forward and reverse gear!) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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