Portchullin Tatty Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 I found that the levers wobbled sideways significantly on the MSE lever frame that I made, because the slot is far to wide. You may need to make those "ahem" modifications again to stop the slopping about. The other thing I found was that because of the slop (even after containing the movement a bit as suggested) the end of the lever still moved a fair degree, so the use of microswitches was not that reliable. I therefore used toggle switches with a hole drilled through them and a rod then inserted through this with some washers to control the movement. My Glenmutchkins thread has a different lever frame with the same solution. On the plus side though, they are wonderfully robust so they are very reliable once you overcome their foibles! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted September 20, 2013 Author Share Posted September 20, 2013 I found that the levers wobbled sideways significantly on the MSE lever frame that I made, because the slot is far to wide. You may need to make those "ahem" modifications again to stop the slopping about. The other thing I found was that because of the slop (even after containing the movement a bit as suggested) the end of the lever still moved a fair degree, so the use of microswitches was not that reliable. I therefore used toggle switches with a hole drilled through them and a rod then inserted through this with some washers to control the movement. My Glenmutchkins thread has a different lever frame with the same solution. On the plus side though, they are wonderfully robust so they are very reliable once you overcome their foibles! Oh yes, they really are wobblier than a wobbly thing with extra wobbly bits designed in ! As on the first one I re-built I will be fitting bits of tube to act as spacers on the main axle between the levers. Those bits of twisted bent strip which were on the quadrants were there for the catch blocks to latch on to (in theory!). I may, as you suggest, have to put them back but to narrow the gaps a bit! On the plus side, I have had no problems with microswitches as I used ones with fairly large switch levers on them and added wider contact pads for the signal lever tails to press on. I'll elaborate further as I build this frame up. More soon once I've taken some more pics JF 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted September 21, 2013 Author Share Posted September 21, 2013 Finally worked out a better size for the stirrups. This how I bent them to some sort of shape. As usual with anything I handmake, they're all slightly different but at least I managed to find enough of the same size/thickness of scrap etch to bend them up from! The pivots in the lever for the catch handle/stirrup are 1.5 brass rod and soldered in position. The stirrups are then opened up and sprung over the pin. The catch rod is then looped over a 14BA bolt through the ends of the stirrup and a nut used to squeeze everything a bit tighter and keep it all together. A trial fitting to one lever.. and the first three being tested. 3 down 11 to go. Everything has to be filed/fitted/measured/cut as I go and when it's all assembled, it's all coming apart again for painting. Yawn .... A bit of a tedious job as everything has to be assembled and pulled apart many times. More soon JF 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold beast66606 Posted September 21, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 21, 2013 Lovely work ! - Makes a change to see a miniature LNWR frame. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlandman Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 Smashing job. Even now what a difference from the starting product. Ditto Beast above. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micknich2003 Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 Jon, I hope after all your effort, you are going to fit your frame with full mechanical locking.Mick. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonME46 Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 What Mick said.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micknich2003 Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 What Mick said.... Please tell me "What I said" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted September 21, 2013 Author Share Posted September 21, 2013 Jon, I hope after all your effort, you are going to fit your frame with full mechanical locking.Mick. LOL! It'll take all of my ability simply to re-build the frame and get it working with microswitches....... JF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted September 21, 2013 Author Share Posted September 21, 2013 Lovely work ! - Makes a change to see a miniature LNWR frame. Smashing job. Even now what a difference from the starting product. Ditto Beast above. Thanks both!, Amazing how a simple change of catch handle style can define a lever frame. I could have done a GC style one with the front facing catch handles or a Duttons one with those distinctive curled top ones. The whole plot still seems a little "sloppy" though and if I had to start from scratch, buying bits to make a lever frame I'd go for the SSS Stevens frame, much better engineered. JF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micknich2003 Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 I would start from a plain sheet of paper and metal strip etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted September 21, 2013 Author Share Posted September 21, 2013 I would start from a plain sheet of paper and metal strip etc. Ideally yes, but I'm more of a bodger than an modeller/engineer so in my case it would probably be a bit of a disaster! JF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micknich2003 Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 Jon, I doubt it, looking at your models, I'm sure you would make a good job of designing a lever frame, and also the locking. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted September 21, 2013 Author Share Posted September 21, 2013 (edited) Jon, I doubt it, looking at your models, I'm sure you would make a good job of designing a lever frame, and also the locking. I usually make a lovely neat job of getting something slightly wrong or amaze myself by bodging a job up and it actually turning out well! Covering all the mistakes up with a nice coat of paint helps too! (hoping this works on the bus too!) The chassis of my IOW 02 is a good example. I built it very carefully to get it all square, fitted wheels and axles and it looked really well. Wouldn't run properly at all. Re-checked and it had gone out of square somewhere in the process. After undoing and re-doing various bits it sat no better so I just picked it up and in frustration, rather brutally twisted it, sat it back down on the track and it ran and still runs like a swiss watch since then. As I said, more of a bodger really!!! JF Edited September 22, 2013 by Jon Fitness 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micknich2003 Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 A couple of pictures of part of the locking on my home brewed 16 lever frame. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted September 22, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2013 Do Mick's pics mean you've got an offer Jon - don't forget to include mechanical sequential and a few conditional locks, Mick likes an 'interesting' job with a bit of a challenge Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micknich2003 Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 Do the "Full Monty" and also include Full Rotation Locking, for One Pull Only. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted September 22, 2013 Author Share Posted September 22, 2013 Jeez! just looking at that brought me out in a sweat! Nice workmanship though... My frame's a bit of a copout really; it'll only be working signals as the points are all done on the mimic board. It would have to be electro mechanical locking if anything (phew..think I got out of that one!) JF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micknich2003 Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 I'm sure you could make a good job of a "Proper Locking Frame", Electro/Mechanical locking can soon be sorted. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted September 23, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 23, 2013 Jeez! just looking at that brought me out in a sweat! Nice workmanship though... My frame's a bit of a copout really; it'll only be working signals as the points are all done on the mimic board. It would have to be electro mechanical locking if anything (phew..think I got out of that one!) JF I'm sure you could make a good job of a "Proper Locking Frame", Electro/Mechanical locking can soon be sorted. Mick's reply would seem to suggest that you didn't get out of it Jon - BTW his locking works as well as it looks as anyone else who has 'tested' it will know. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted September 23, 2013 Author Share Posted September 23, 2013 (edited) I remember visiting Drigg box on the Cumbrian coast in about 1976. The locking in that place defied belief, even to a 14 yr old! The crossover wasn't interlocked with the main line signals and the homes simply had a plate fastened across the distant lever to stop you pulling the distant first. That's about the extent of any locking I'd be capable of fitting! JF Edited September 23, 2013 by Jon Fitness Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNERGE Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 (edited) I remember visiting Drigg box on the Cumbrian coast in about 1976. The locking in that place defied belief, even to a 14 yr old! The crossover wasn't interlocked with the main line signals and the homes simply had a plate fastened across the distant lever to stop you pulling the distant first. That's about the extent of any locking I'd be capable of fitting! JF Edited September 23, 2013 by LNERGE Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 That's all the levers assembled into the frame. There's some adjustments to do to get the stirrups to line up a bit better and some of the catches need a little more lift to clear the quadrants. Next job is a good clean up to remove the last of the paint and decide how to paint it. Being a lazy sod I'don't really want to dismantle it all again so I'll probably mask the lever tops off and spray the lot with grey etch primer. I'll then mask off the levers and spray the frame satin black, and handpaint the levers red and mount the whole thing within a nice piece of wood. I've also just ordered the microswitches from Rapid... More soon JF 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted September 29, 2013 Author Share Posted September 29, 2013 Something Big & Something Small Looks like I'll have to put the frame to one side for a week or two as a few orders have come in. One of these was someone wanting a signal as a surprise present for his uncle who's building an "O scale" garden railway. Although the gent has no knowledge or interest in model railways, during the conversation he mentioned that his uncles "other double signal" was 420mm tall and the loco worked on steam. Sounded like the railway might be O gauge but 16mm scale. As the uncle lives many miles from him and the signal is meant to be a surprise present, I couldn't get any more info without spoiling the surprise. Soooo... either Uncle's going to have a rather nice 16mm scale Stevens pattern lower quadrant stop signal with servo and lamp,...or a rather "big" surprise working ornament!! The kit of parts is simply the MSE Big 16 kit with a few mods here and there. Heres the bits from the kit... The arm is meant to be soldered together and bits of wire used to represent the bolts holding the blade on. I decided to bolt it together (for now) with 14 BA bolts and use a 10 BA bolt for the axle. Quite a bit of jiggling of the 3 layers was required and some holes re-drilled to get best fit. The lenses are meant to be "sandwiched" between 2 layers of the spectacle plate and held with a bent over tab, but I may eventually solder it all up and fit them in the recesses created by the different sized layers And something small? How about this servo; it's at least a third smaller than the SG92s I now use. This will allow me to pack more under a big signal or simply reduce the size of my baseplates where clearances are tight. When I can find me batteries I'll test one out..... More soon JF 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted September 29, 2013 Author Share Posted September 29, 2013 The 10BA bolt was a little short for the job as the lamp supplied is huge. The axle of course has to be long enough to get the back blind on behind the lamp. I have swapped the bolt for a length of tube that will run in a slightly larger diameter tube soldered into the bearing plate. Lengths will be amended as required. I may solder a small length of 10BA bolt in the end of the axle tube so I can assemble the mechanism rather than solder it up permanently. If I make the axle tube very slightly longer than the bearing tube I should be able to tighten the nut up on the back without it seizing. More soon JF 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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