gordon s

Thanks Jim, we’ve all been there and in the moment, we miss the blindingly obvious. I know I shouldn’t laugh after all those hours you spent stripping things down, but your post should be framed and hung in every garage/workshop to remind us all, not to automatically go for the most obscure things and check the basics first. Really glad you got it going and hope your lad enjoys his freedom, albeit in a car rather than on a bike. I passed my test in 1964 on a 500cc AJS twin and would love another bike, but my wife is convinced it’s far to dangerous for a 72 year old......

Wow, Tony I didn’t expect so much to happen so quickly... I’m chuckling to myself on several fronts with beginner errors. I originally had the buffer beams inboard and butting up the the footplate raised step underneath, but thought it looked wrong so moved them out..... Had no idea the bumps down the footplate were feed nibs. Doh! Yes, I did use fluxite. My father gave it to me when I was a youngster, so I guess it must be 60 years old, but I did spend ages washing it clean to remove traces of flux......Must have missed some..... Great to see how you’ve done the pickups, as the DJH instructions had them fitted above the wheels, which to me was asking for trouble with shorts. Very happy to hear it runs smoothly as it was run in for hours once I’d changed to plain crankpins and fitted a new set of rods. Judging by the weight of it, I would hope it will pull really well. Edit: I had soldered the body screws in and just fitted the nuts for safekeeping. I now realise the circular cut out in the back of the chassis is to accommodate a lock nut on the back of the screw and strengthen it. I must have missed that in the instructions, but guess years of experience mean you can almost forget the instruction sheet and just do it. I guess I’m the same making turnouts......

As a builder of my own track and user of Templot, my personal view is those two should be together and kit built track should have their own section. Are there any other kit produced pointwork suppliers other than the excellent product from Wayne? I know you could buy turnout kits from SMP a while back, but they were very basic and miles away from Wayne’s product in the various gauges, so he may have the field to himself, but in numerous gauges. My hunch is that guys who buy Wayne’s product will be looking for a better looking product than Peco and will use them as is. As someone who solders their own track, the attraction for me is moving to chaired track without the hang ups of choosing the right type of chair and having to glue them in the right place. The chance to buy a finished turnout base and just sliding the rail into place is something that really appeals to me and it may well be the next stage will be to try and modify Wayne’s turnouts into the free flowing track style that Templot makes so easy. I suspect I would be an exception to the general user as I’m a Templot user and possibly retired track builder..... Personally, I think it would be a mistake to add kits into the Templot/scratch built track section as I have seen so many disagreements on track standards and the smallest prototype detail, it would totally distract from the very easy assembly of Wayne’s product and actually put possible customers off. Take the question of ‘set’ in pointwork. I would always include that in my own track, but if Wayne can produce a kit that doesn’t require it and it proves 100% reliable, then why confuse others or complicate a simple process? I would keep it away from the detail of scratch track building and allow the designer the freedom to make something that works and focus on just how easy it is build a kit and get a huge gain in appearance on anything currently available. Just my tuppence......

Waited months to hear restrictions being eased and this happens.... Beggars belief..... https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2021-03-29/vandalism-means-golf-club-cant-reopen

Here’s another variation on a theme using a gate section, rather than a lift....

Thanks for all your input on the dark art of soldering white metal. I did manage to get some improvement whilst practicing, but having spent several hours yesterday fettling bits and bobs, I came to the conclusion that kit building is really not for me. I enjoyed building the chassis as those were brass components and the challenge of getting a smooth running chassis was a mechanical skill that I could relate to. The body however was something where I realised it was becoming a chore and not a pleasure. Bear in mind I’ve only soldered the large major parts and there are a whole stack of small items that will require a disproportionate amount of time, so I made a decision. Tony Wright has rebuilt numerous loco’s that have found their way into his workshop and once in great shape, they have been auctioned off with the proceeds going to Cancer Research, a cause dear to my heart, so I dropped a line to Tony and I’m delighted he is very happy to use his undoubted skills to make this pile of bits into a J50. I think the chassis is OK as it all moves smoothly, but my soldering with low temp solder has fallen short of my own expectations. Rather than put it back in the box never to be seen again, I really hope it goes to a modeller who will be able enjoy a heavy kit built loco and if we raise a few bob for Cancer Research, then it’s a win win for all. This is as far as I got, so I really will look forward to seeing Tony weave his magic once again.

Quick question as I'm thinking ahead..... I don't know enough about 3D printing materials, but wondered how well do 3D printing resins accept paint? Do you need a special primer/paint to ensure it adheres to the resin basin sleepers?

Thanks John, that looks like a very useful reference video. I shall sit down after breakfast and watch it through. Having started my working life in electronic components and pcb’s, soldering holds no fear for me under normal circumstances. The girls on our assembly lines were absolute experts and I learned at lot as a 20 year old about this dark art......and a few others... White metal kits are taking me into the unknown, so I’d like to really understand more about low temp soldering and the best combination of solder and flux. I will probably take the body apart again this morning as there are a couple of areas I’m unhappy about and they can certainly be improved. They may well be distortion from the camera, but certainly require further investigation. I enjoyed building the chassis as that was in my comfort zone, but now I find myself in unknown territory.... Thanks for all your input, guys. As always much appreciated.

Just out if curiosity, I’m using 70 degree solder on white metal, but read the melting point of white metal is around 300 degrees. Should I be using 143 degree solder or stay with the 70 degree? Only reason for asking is that the 143 degree is a solder wire, whereas the 70 degree stuff is a 2-3mm diameter rod and not the easiest to place accurately, particularly when soldering externally when it’s impossible to access internally. How do you fabricate the spectacle lenses and how are they fixed in place without getting glue on the clear surface? I’m sure all you professionals can do it with your eyes closed, but I can’t see a foolproof method with sausage fingers....

Afternoon all.... Sadly I've been back in hospital again with stent and infection issues, but after eight days they managed to get on top of things, and deep joy, I'm home again. I now have a couple of weeks before major liver surgery which could go either way. The surgeons are really upbeat about things, but then it won't be them laid out on the table..... Not a lot that can be done before S Day, so out came the 70 degree solder, an assortment of tools and the DJH J50. I managed to get another set of rods from DJH and they literally just dropped onto the crankpins and rotated perfectly with no binding whatsoever. Result! So a pile of white metal bits that need fettling and off we go. This really took me back to school metalwork 60 years ago, but in reality you never forget the fundamentals that were part of the curriculum all those years ago. Still loads to do and hoping to get it assembled and painted before surgery. Fingers crossed on all fronts.... This is what I want to be when I grow up....

That is certainly a quality build, Bill. Just two things. Will you be running steam locos? If so at 1:50 you may find limitations on the length of trains a steam loco will pull up that level of gradient on a curve. Diesel loco’s are far less of an issue, but traction with steam locos drops considerably. The second issue Is one of track cleaning and derailments. With five tracks across and what appears to be quite tight headroom, are you able to access all tracks to deal with those issues? I probably sound like a party pooper, but having had problems with gradients and clearances before, I’d hate to see your good work pose problems for the future.

Yes, it is part of the suppression circuitry and can be removed and replaced with a wire link to connect both pads. Personally I agree with Ray, take the whole lot out and wire a decoder in directly. I’ve never had a problem RF wise with removing all the chokes and capacitors, so don’t worry. You say it is a Bachmann 2-6-0. Is this a split chassis model from several years back, as they require a fair bit of work to convert to DCC. Pick ups from the track are via the metal wheels into two halves of a chassis. Small springs between the motor and the metal chassis then connect them both together. Thinking about it the split chassis models wouldn’t have had a circuit board with an 8 pin socket, so you should be OK. All you need are the four connections. Red and black on the decoder got to the left and right track and then the orange and grey wires go to the motor. Thoroughly check all the wiring to make sure there are no shorts and then use a programming track, not the main track to set it up.

Andy, you want to take a look at this thread, as they got fed up with threading nuts up and down, so replaced the nuts with brass collars from eBay.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, it just did. In all my 63 years of following Tottenham, I really cannot recall a more pathetic performance. Somebody take Mourinho away.......

I don’t ballast the usual way, preferring to paint the gaps between the sleepers with PVA and then sprinkling on ballast afterwards. It means there is no rework involved of the type you describe. Not to everyone’s liking but you should be able to mix and match methods by painting on neat PVA on to the chamfer, sprinkling ballast on top and then almost immediately, hoovering up the excess into a cotton rag.

Not the same loco, but I had a similar experience recently where Nigel came to the rescue and pointed me in the right direction. Loco ran perfectly on DC, but dead short on DCC. Whatever you do, always use the programming track as that in itself limits the possibility of blowing a decoder.

Thanks Andy, much appreciated. Sounds like a great work in progress and 32 x 32 is a space to die for.......

Thanks for letting me know, Paul. What a shame as my interest lies in woodwork, baseboard construction and track laying, all of which were getting great reviews......

Just stumbled across your thread, but all the pics are missing, so it’s hard to follow without visual clues. Is it just me or have they been removed?

What a shock, surely not. I hadn’t realised she had been fighting cancer for three years. One fabulous driver who made the ‘Ring her own. Lapped faster in a Ford Transit than many would do in a high performance car. RIP Sabine........

Is that price real? £111,111? Can’t believe what appears to be a rusting hulk is over £100k......

That’s really strange.....I wonder if it’s the link? This is what comes up for me. I tried changing the 60km radius to 500km but got the same result.

Item has gone or been withdrawn.....

I’m using SMP bullhead which is closer to Code 75 with thin sleepers and 3mm cork. The platforms are mounted straight onto the baseboard using Peco edging covered in plastic brick sheet. You should be able to measure the height of the rail and the height of the platform to calculate the optimum cork thickness.

There are two sets of polarity change contacts in a Tortoise motor, so worth swapping the wires across to the other set of contacts. If you are using 2, 3 & 4, try 5, 6 & 7 as a starting point. They are pretty well bullet proof and I have fifty plus working on my layout without a problem. If you don’t mind invalidating the warranty, they are easily taken apart. http://www.circuitron.com/index_files/INS/800-6000ins.pdf