Having resolved the issue with the tender chassis (the front mounting needs to include the tender drawbar, associated bushes & washers etc) it was time to move on to the loco frames.

The first comment (& one which had been pointed out to me by MSWJR on these forums) is the flimsiness of 12 thou brass compared to its nickel-silver counterpart. That said, I thought I'd be able to cope - and I did, just about... The frames are held together by four spacers, all different sizes & folds. For a change, there is a rudimentary drawing - but some of the positions (spacer 3 for example - which has slots for wire to control the axle bushes) it is more a case of making an educated guess.

Picking up on Kenton's tip, I sodlered alternate spacers to both sides, then went to put it all together, I started at spacer 3 - that being the approximate centre of the chassis - then (2) and (4) at the back. Sounds a doddle - but for some reason the solder just did not want to stick! Each joint must have been tinned, cleaned & soldered two or three times. The solder tip was clean, but even multicore solder - whilst it melted - just would not bond...

At last, I was left with spacer (1)... More problems... By this time the frames had been subjected to so much heat a degree of warping had set in and at first I did not realise where the troulbe lay. At last, a bit of judicious tweaking, a cloths peg and a bit if BFI, it finally wen together!

By now I'd spent about eight hours on them so was looking forward to a break. However, I have a penchant for cleaning up as I go, particularly where solder is concerned. I use 'Neals Solder Paste' which has a fairly corrosive flux (its also lead-based but don't tell HSE I said so.. ) . BCNPete on one of the earlier entries was kind enough to comment on the neatness of the soldering - so here's how it's achieved. I'll use recalcitrant spacer 1 as the example!

As can be seen, there's a fair amount of solder in there! Here are the tools I use to get it out:-

The scalpel will scrape away the larger lumps, then the 'twizzle syicks' will resolve most of the rest, leaving the final burnish to the glass-fibre brush. The toothpicks are for the final stage - more anon.

Spacer 1 after the application of the scalpel blade and the 'twizzle sticks'. These are home made using 1500 grade wen' dry wrapped round coffee stirrers and tongue depressors. I use the 'Wet n' Dry' wet. USE A CONTAINER OF WATER - you do NOT want to lick it (think of all that lead!). Looking better...

Stage 3 - burnish with a glass-fibre brush. Dependent on the amount of soldering I do (obviously) I go through about thee a week (as an indication the tender used three). It might seem expensive - but not as expensive as stripping & rubbing back a new paint job!

The last stage - & where the cocktail sticks come in! Dipped in 'Hob Bright' - a cream cleaner like 'Jif' (I refuse to use it's continental name which sounds like a 'social disease'!) - this gets rid of the last traces (for now) of any flux etc. A good indicator is that it suddenly turns grey. It's fould some paste the other processes have missed!

When I said 'for now', it's amazing how often I come back to a model after a couple of weeks & find oxidation on the joints. Out with the 'Hob Bright' again!

Which leads on to a funny (?) story. Tonight we'd run out of Hob Bright - so off to Sainsbury's I went. At the checkout the cashier said ' Bit late to be cleaning the oven?'. When I said 'Thats the wifes job' she proptly responded ' Oh so you're working on your vintage car then?'. When I told her what it was really for, she suddenly became quite interested!

TTFN

Ian