RMweb Gold Steve Hewitt Posted April 7, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 7, 2017 Ah, I've used Michaels 4mm scale crank etches for my 7mm signals a few times and they are very finely etched. I would imagine the posts will be superb. I wonder if I could persuade him to do it in 7mm? JF Interested to see how you get on with this, the LNWR LQ signals I have to make for Buckingham are also tapered wooden posts and I have Michael Clark's Masokits etched brass tapered post kits which look very similar to do this with in 4mm. David Hi Jon, David, I find the Masokits etched post make up a very good strong post. Unlike the ones you used Jon, the two halves are made up into two interlocking channel sections before these are soldered together. However, they are a devil to finish off at the corners. I spend ages with filler trying to hide the etch/fold/tab remains, and I'm not sure I'm fully successful. That's the reason I've persuaded Les to produce the 3D printed posts for me. Steve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted April 7, 2017 Author Share Posted April 7, 2017 Hi Jon, David, I find the Masokits etched post make up a very good strong post. Unlike the ones you used Jon, the two halves are made up into two interlocking channel sections before these are soldered together. However, they are a devil to finish off at the corners. I spend ages with filler trying to hide the etch/fold/tab remains, and I'm not sure I'm fully successful. That's the reason I've persuaded Les to produce the 3D printed posts for me. Steve. Hi Steve, I suppose the tidying up process is not too different to doing the lattice ones. I just like the thought of nice hollow metal posts I can solder everything to, use as an earth and run wires through. Further to my comments on straightness of construction, some of my wooden posts were none too straight after my attempts with the plane! Anyway, as I say in my signature text, a coat of paint will hide a multitude of tins... JF 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Freeman Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Hi, I thought some of your readers might like a little bit of history. The etched posts sold by Lochgorm, in both 4mm and 7mm scale were originally designed and sold by Alastair Wright. The Highland Railway parts of his business that he sold went to Lochgorm and quite a lot, including the other signalling parts went to Alan Gibson. As to how easy or difficult they are to put together, for the 7mm scale ones, I found I needed a 100 watt iron, the bends were not a problem for me as some years ago I invested in a largish Metalsmiths metal bending press, which made it rather easy, though I am thinking of buying a smaller hold and fold sooner or later, as it can be a bit cumbersome on very small parts. As it seems unlikely that Andy Copp (Lochgorm) will be doing any more any time soon (he tells me they are part of another etch design) I am experimenting with CAD at the moment, since whilst I might have enough 4mm ones left to meet my immediate needs there are of course no 7mms left. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 Hi, I thought some of your readers might like a little bit of history. The etched posts sold by Lochgorm, in both 4mm and 7mm scale were originally designed and sold by Alastair Wright. The Highland Railway parts of his business that he sold went to Lochgorm and quite a lot, including the other signalling parts went to Alan Gibson. As to how easy or difficult they are to put together, for the 7mm scale ones, I found I needed a 100 watt iron, the bends were not a problem for me as some years ago I invested in a largish Metalsmiths metal bending press, which made it rather easy, though I am thinking of buying a smaller hold and fold sooner or later, as it can be a bit cumbersome on very small parts. As it seems unlikely that Andy Copp (Lochgorm) will be doing any more any time soon (he tells me they are part of another etch design) I am experimenting with CAD at the moment, since whilst I might have enough 4mm ones left to meet my immediate needs there are of course no 7mms left. Hi Stephen, I always find the "lineage" of kits fascinating, with all sorts of bits changing hands over the years and appearing in different ranges under different names. The reason that Andy's unlikely to do any more etched posts sounds similar to my efforts to persuade Colin at Alan Gibson to upscale his signals to 7mm. Each signal has bits that are on other etches and each bit of artwork has it's own problems. Some of them are with an etching company, some have been lost or damaged etc. I have managed to solder the 2 halves of the post together with my 60w soldering station. As expected I did the usual 90% of it OK but got one little bit slightly mis-aligned so there's a bit of rectification to be done. It has responded to a bit of bending and twisting to straighten it out but there's a lot of cleaning up to do. (No pix yet!!) Not convinced it's any easier or better than a wooden one, but I'm not giving up.....yet! JF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 Half an hours scraping, filing, picking and burnishing has left me with this... Probably rivals a melted Curly Wurly* for straightness and texture but there we go. It seems to have a "good side" which I can work with and may not be used full length... More soon JF *Other weirdly shaped choc bars were available several years ago Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 Well it's been a little while! I've had a few problems with Microsoft's crappy updates my computer but I think it's getting slightly better now. I decided there was enough useable post to go ahead and make my Ex L&Y signal. I've studied a few pictures and there may be a few fictional bits here and there but I think it'll end up presentable. I've prepared some later pattern L&Y arms using a mix of modified MSE and SSS parts. The arms and spec plates are MSE and the extra overlays are SSS with the lens apertures opened out slightl. I would have liked to really thin the frames much more but I think they would have ended up too weak. The inner frames were left slightly thicker and lens material was cut to fit in the apertures and rest against the inner "ledge". I took anout 3/4inch off the top of the post and about 3inches off the base to get the height I wanted and scratched up some suitable L&Y ish fittings. Once topped with a nice brass finial it started to look OK! Now ready for a final clean up and a visit to the paint shop* (must remember to mask off the holes in the lamps!) More soon JF *Edit...paint now drying on the post and arms! 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Steve Hewitt Posted April 21, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 21, 2017 That's another beauty Jon, SH. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 (edited) That's another beauty Jon, SH. Cheers Steve! I've assembled the worky parts but my test driver board has thrown a wobbly and tied the link wires in knots so no pics or vids tonight. I'll be having a word with Mr Fenton tomorrow!! JF Edit. No problem with the Megapoints board!! Signal Builder/operator error. A part of my linkage had fouled the wire for the LEDs and the thrashing about was a jammed servo shouting for help Edited April 23, 2017 by Jon Fitness Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted April 23, 2017 Author Share Posted April 23, 2017 A good session with the paints and the Ex L&Y signal is looking shiny and new....way too shiny and new! The distant arms were finished by a mixture of masking and spraying on the fronts and a cut vinyl chevron on the back. I think a good product/idea from someone with the know-how would be some ready cut painting masks from tape for chevrons! Here's a few pictures of it out in the sunshine before I "tone it back a bit" May be a day or 2 before a video test as:- An ill advised Windows update has disabled (amongs other things) my Movie Maker program, My test board/stand thingy fell apart and has been scrapped pending a more useable one being built! More soon JF 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted May 1, 2017 Author Share Posted May 1, 2017 Finally got round to rebuilding the test board for my signals. The old one was built from foamex and regularly came unglued at the seams. In an attempt to hide some of the switches and connections I ended up making it very awkward to use too. The "Megapoint-o-matic version 2" has now finally coughed into life and has allowed me to test the L&Y signal..Like the old one, it runs from a 12 volt power unit at the moment but once Hobbyking deliver my battery and charger it will have an independant life all of it's own and will be able to travel conveniently to a sunnier spot (the garden) when required. The new unit is still a monument to poor design and crappy workmanship but is much easier to use and features such luxuries as "on-off switches" and "power indicator LEDs" Anyway here is yet another one of my rather unexciting videos showing the now weathered L&Y signal.... More soon JF 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted May 31, 2017 Author Share Posted May 31, 2017 Ooh, it's been a while! Many distractions abound including retirement, holidays, vintage bus running days and now, a planned house move to the IOW which is being brought forward! So, these are the latest signals. Nothing I haven't done before so no "in build" pics.. A tubular post BR(W) distant built to represent a fairly recent installation in the early 1960's.. and the opposite..a dilapidated GWR wooden post signal on its last legs, work stained and minus its finial.. Both are LED lit and servo operated. Video to follow as soon as it's processed.. More soon as I have a lot of signals to build before I have to disrupt the workbench for a while! JF 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve fay Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 (edited) Good To see you back Jon, Signal are superb as usual Edited May 31, 2017 by steve fay Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Western Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Fantastic ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted May 31, 2017 Author Share Posted May 31, 2017 A nice short video test! Still not got the hang of this "Filmora" program yet. MS movie maker was much easier! JF 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 (edited) Back on to the LMS upper quadrants again! This one uses an etched brass tapered post and Scale Signal Supply etched arms. It will be LED lit and servo operated. I usually use by own cast arms for U/Cs but I was very kindly gifted some SSS etched ones. They are made from a two piece spec plate and separate blade. I bashed a bit of rivet detail where necessary to give them a bit more texture. The blades are half etched with a fine ridge on the back edges to represent the flanged edge. Much finer than my cast ones but extra work to construct! The extra pins you can see on the back are arm stops but they clashed with my lamp castings so were removed. Had to resort to the old method of a small pin in the post acting on the arm tails! The post is a privately etched example which folds up a treat as long as you run a scrawker along the half etched fold line before bending. So much easier than a wooden one and I can solder everything to it instead of pinning and glueing things and of course the wire for the LEDs is fed down through it. Now ready for the paint shop and should be finished by the end of today More Soon JF Edited June 4, 2017 by Jon Fitness 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 Painted and weathered.... More soon JF 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted July 2, 2017 Author Share Posted July 2, 2017 Ooh nearly a month since the last update! Lots going on at the moment Anyway, couple of bog standard GW tubular lower quadrants (I think I'm finally getting the handrail supports the right shape!) An LMS ground signal, a single and a triple shunt signal, all LED lit and servo operated.. Lots more to come as I'm trying to crack all my current orders off before my house move! JF 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted July 2, 2017 Author Share Posted July 2, 2017 Thanks Brian! Hopefully here's another tedious test video! JF 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Steve Hewitt Posted July 2, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 2, 2017 Inspirational as ever Jon. Steve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 Jeez, page 2 on my own followed threads pages! It's taken rather longer than I thought to get sorted in the new house but I'm back "on it" again at last. There's still a few things (including a large box of signal bits!) that have yet to surface but I'm getting thereHere's the first Isle of Wight constructed signal, a rather stumpy BR(W) 3 doll bracket based on one that was at Coleford Junction.. and another rather dull test video.. More soon (hopefully!)Jon F 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Steve Hewitt Posted August 31, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 31, 2017 Jon, Your first IOW product is a beauty. Truly inspirational as always. Enjoy Telford this weekend, if you get there. It clashes with my Club's show, so I can't make it. Steve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzyo Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 Jeez, page 2 on my own followed threads pages! It's taken rather longer than I thought to get sorted in the new house but I'm back "on it" again at last. There's still a few things (including a large box of signal bits!) that have yet to surface but I'm getting there Here's the first Isle of Wight constructed signal, a rather stumpy BR(W) 3 doll bracket based on one that was at Coleford Junction.. DSC_0408 (960x1280).jpg More soon (hopefully!) Jon F Hello Jon, glad that you got moved OK. looking at the above photo is the signal arm on the right post correct in that it looks to have the bends to the front face of the arm and all of the rest have them to the rear. See you at the weekend, OzzyO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted September 1, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 1, 2017 Hello Jon, glad that you got moved OK. looking at the above photo is the signal arm on the right post correct in that it looks to have the bends to the front face of the arm and all of the rest have them to the rear. See you at the weekend, OzzyO. Not at all unusual to find signals with a mix of arms like that - adds to the overall feel of the signal I reckon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted September 3, 2017 Author Share Posted September 3, 2017 Jon, Your first IOW product is a beauty. Truly inspirational as always. Enjoy Telford this weekend, if you get there. It clashes with my Club's show, so I can't make it. Steve. Thanks Steve! Went for the 2 days and had an excellent time! JF 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted September 3, 2017 Author Share Posted September 3, 2017 Hello Jon, glad that you got moved OK. looking at the above photo is the signal arm on the right post correct in that it looks to have the bends to the front face of the arm and all of the rest have them to the rear. See you at the weekend, OzzyO. Cheers OzzyO , had a blast this weekend but never saw you on the Sunday. Would you have possibly returned to 'spoons by any chance? Looking forward to the next meetup JF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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