Jump to content
 

Modbury


Ian Smith
 Share

Recommended Posts

Nick,

All of my stock is true 2mm, the only exceptions are a couple of Mathieson  wagons and my 1854 class pannier which was converted from a Farish pannier - it's a little beefy, so one day I intend to scratch build a replacement body for that one!  I'd discounted the N Brass kit (and the Union Mills Dean Goods) because they are nominally 1:148th and I'd prefer not to mix and match.

 

Ian

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold
On 02/04/2020 at 23:25, Ian Smith said:

3666.JPG.a5836a40993b4a9ca3484639582017ac.JPG

Buffalo Saddle Tank 1601 collecting cattle wagons to add to the head of an Up cattle train

 

To quote that October 1904 issue of Railway Magazine:  "dark red, also grey". Very nice to see the red and grey together like this Ian.  The chassis for the DG looks superb! 

  • Like 1
  • Agree 4
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Ian Smith said:

Nick,

All of my stock is true 2mm, the only exceptions are a couple of Mathieson  wagons and my 1854 class pannier which was converted from a Farish pannier - it's a little beefy, so one day I intend to scratch build a replacement body for that one!  I'd discounted the N Brass kit (and the Union Mills Dean Goods) because they are nominally 1:148th and I'd prefer not to mix and match.

 

Ian

If n brass has draw the etched kit up in brass would  they rescale the cad and run you off a set of etchings, the 2mm society sell in the others for them? Union mills as white metal this approach would be a none starter.

just an idea. 
richard 

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium

I thought that the Mathieson wagons were nearer 2mm than N. Perhaps one of the reasons they didn’t get a rapturous reception in that quarter.   The N Brass castings usually have a 2mm fitting hiding in there somewhere...

 

Tim

Link to post
Share on other sites

On 07/04/2020 at 01:50, richard i said:

If n brass has draw the etched kit up in brass would  they rescale the cad and run you off a set of etchings, the 2mm society sell in the others for them? Union mills as white metal this approach would be a none starter.

just an idea. 
richard 


It’s like a third of a kit. No chassis parts and only the basics of the body. 

  • Thanks 1
  • Informative/Useful 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

A little more progress on the Dean Goods.

The footplate has been fretted and filed from 0.010" nickel silver, as have the valances and buffer beam. The four elements were soldered together and then the valances had to be adjusted outwards so that they cleared the crankpin washers when the wheels rotate!

A nylon plug has been turned, drilled and fitted in the hole for the body securing bolt / tender coupling. I will use a 14BA bolt for this.20200410_112234.jpg.4d308ae36c3e5c15d032085f3c0e99a5.jpg

 

20200410_112133.jpg.edb3d9b019a86ee51a8d4d7e1816ce77.jpg

 

The next task will be to form the splashers, I normally turn these as a a vertical sided dish from which the splashers are cut, but the Dean Goods has raised beading on the splasher face so I'm considering the best approach and can feel a bit of experimentation coming on :huh:

Thanks for looking

Ian

  • Like 8
  • Craftsmanship/clever 9
Link to post
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, Ian Smith said:

A little more progress on the Dean Goods.

 

The next task will be to form the splashers, I normally turn these as a a vertical sided dish from which the splashers are cut, but the Dean Goods has raised beading on the splasher face so I'm considering the best approach and can feel a bit of experimentation coming on.

 

As you are clearly competent at doing this, isn't that the best starting point, followed by soldering a ring of appropriately sized hard brass wire round the edge of the disc using a high-MP silver-content solder. Filing the wire down should produce just the size beading you require (and it would even polish up as brass if that were required for a Dean goods, which I am sure it isn't). Finally create the splashers by cutting up the now "beaded" disc in the normal way.

Link to post
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Ian Smith said:

The next task will be to form the splashers, I normally turn these as a a vertical sided dish from which the splashers are cut, but the Dean Goods has raised beading on the splasher face so I'm considering the best approach and can feel a bit of experimentation coming on :huh:

Thanks for looking

Ian

 

Turn both sides seems like the foremost solution to me: profile the vertical side to have a little step then turn around and do as you would normally. If the beading were polished then you could just paint it on your usual 'vertical sided dish'.

  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Thin brass and n/s (up to. 25mm) can be cut with a heavy craft knife. Start by scoring lightly and gradually deepen the cut, then flex back and forth and metal fatigue will do the rest, finally tidying up by filling along the edge. With thicker metal it is a case of cutting oversize and filling back. 

 

Jim 

Edited by Caley Jim
Spelling correction
  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Lacathedrale said:

May I ask how you get such perfectly square pieces cut? I have a fine piercing saw, but it does tend to wander a fair bit. Is it a case of giving lots of room and then filing down, or is there something more fundamental I'm missing?

 

Filing really helps. Cutting pretty straight should become easier with practice (the blades are very agile so observing what the blade is trying to do and getting it to stay on path is part of the skill to be learned) but some blades just wander about because they do. Guy Williams covers this off in 4mm Locomotive Construction saying that some blades refuse to cut properly whatever you do and suggests trying another blade. I've certainly seen some that are twisted or otherwise distorted rendering them unusable at purchase.

  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

Scoring a line rather than just marking it can help if the scoring is deep enough.  The real question is do you cut right up to the size you want or do you cut half a mill oversize to allow for wander and filing straight. Ian's workmanship is particularly neat.

 

Don

Link to post
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Donw said:

Scoring a line rather than just marking it can help if the scoring is deep enough.  The real question is do you cut right up to the size you want or do you cut half a mill oversize to allow for wander and filing straight. Ian's workmanship is particularly neat.

 

Don

 

At school I was taught to leave something left to finish after cutting. Nowadays I cut to the line as much as possible. Sometimes I still end up filing because I don't always get the line in ther right place. I almost always leave plenty around curved areas and file: it's much easier to cut straight lines by hand (angle the blade along the cut to help) than complex geometry. 

 

He's done a few locomotives already, so has an idea how to get a good result, and I agree; Ian's work is as neat as ever. 

Edited by richbrummitt
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

A link to this video was recently posted over on the Irish Railway Modeller forum.

https://irishrailwaymodeller.com/

It really covers off cutting complex shapes with a piercing saw, there are other videos in the series that include cutting straight lines and the saws themselves.

 

 

 

 

Well worth a watch if you've not seen them, I've certainly picked up a few tips.

 

  • Thanks 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Lacathedrale said:

May I ask how you get such perfectly square pieces cut? I have a fine piercing saw, but it does tend to wander a fair bit. Is it a case of giving lots of room and then filing down, or is there something more fundamental I'm missing?

Lacathedrale,

As you suggest I do I do use a piercing saw cutting a little way outside the scribed line, then filing back to said line. A large file helps here especially on longer cuts (eg outside edge of footplate). The interior cuts in the footplate are done in much the same way but using various needle files to get into the corners.

I have occasionally used the scoring and snapping off method, but again always do this oversize and finishing with the biggest file that suits the job.

Ian

  • Like 1
  • Informative/Useful 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

I built my first loco with a detachable boiler and just found it an extra complication to paint. However, it was a black loco with no lining, so I stopped making locos that way. Since then I have cursed how difficult it is to line / paint splashed tops when the boiler is fitted on lined green locos. So thinking the extra hassle might be worth the extra effort. 
I presume that is part of your thinking. 
richard

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...