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S7 scratch building


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On 20/06/2020 at 22:13, Argos said:

 

Hi Tricky,

I find those PCB drill bits very brittle and snap at the slightest provocation, this effect is exacerbated by the fact are aggressively fluted so tend to "grab" and pull the bit into the hole.

I do use them in hand drill though.

Proxxon make some nice shanked drill bits that retail at less than £4 for a box of three (same size) but not all diameters are available, Tamiya also market some down to 0.2mm  diameter although these are more expensive for single bits.

 

 

Yes, totally agree they are brittle - one little catch and they’re gone. But I suppose at the price they are fairly ‘disposable’.

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The fine weather is with us once again so I have not done a lot modelling wise. I have fixed a children's bike and musical roundabout to keep the grandchildren happy and be in the good books at home. 

 

The body of the single bolster wagon is finished so it's down to the running gear and brake. I had a look at using one of my own castings from my brake van kit but there are the wrong shape. I could have modified one but it seems as shame to butcher a complete casting only to use half of it.,

 

So I have cut a new brake block from an old brass door plate. This was found in the shed and stored many years ago because it's 70 thou thick and lovely and flat. I have several bits of metal in stock and they always come in useful even if it's many years down the line before I use them. Are we all hoarders at heart ?

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***  WARNING*** Do not try to use a gas torch anywhere near a plastic model !

 

I was doing so well getting on with the brake gear so I thought I would use the gas torch to solder it all together. 

Perhaps the sun has got to me because I was sure I had moved the model out of the way. Clearly I was wrong. I suppose it could have been worse because if I rub the burnt bit down and replace the bolts I may get away without scrapping the whole wagon. Lesson leant I hope !

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I have managed to retrieve the situation without to much damage with just 4 bolts melted and replaced. 

The scorched side has been rubbed down and hopefully will not be to bad when painted but it could have been worse.

 

 The offending brake block has been a success after all the drama. When people say they have had a meltdown were they  refeering to me ?

 

 

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After the hiccups yesterday I have done a bit more this morning without burning anything down. I have only the brake handle and rack to do and then I can paint at last. 

 

I cut out the axleboxes retaining straps which are an unusual shape. I soldered 4 bits of nickel together and cut them out as one. I think they do make a difference to the appearance of the wagon. 

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  After all the mistakes including putting the label clip in the same location on both sides which was wrong I have finally got to the painting stage. Even having photos of both sides I failed to notice the label clip on the brake side had been moved to fit the brake rack. At least I noticed before I started painting which was a bonus.

 

So I have prepared all the parts after cleaning and blackening the metal bits. A quick 30 minutes with the rattle cans before the rain appeared was time enough to get to the stage you can see here. I borrowed some better wheels from a finished wagon which I will have replace. 

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....no sign of heat damage ? 

 

It has nearly been chucked on the fire several times these past couple of days !

 

So much for saying I have a photo of each sides so I should not have any excuse for getting things wrong.

The label clips were moved because I thought I had them both in the wrong place when only one of them was in fact wrong. I missed completely I had put the brake gear on the wrong side. 

Could I live with this stupid error ? 

Of course not it would forever eat away at me ever time I looked at it. 

So last night when our neighbors daughter and her friends were having a birthday party right outside my bedroom window, I put right the brake gear issues. My wife can sleep through anything but a dozen 23 year olds merry on Vodkas and with a healthy disco turned up loud didn't make for a good nights sleep. 

 

So so this morning when looking at where to put the chalk marks on another glaring error jumps out at at me.

I spaced the N.S.R to far apart. More work. 

I won't win any prizes for my observational skills  

I think I have got it right at last.

Onwards to the finish I hope.....

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Quote

 

 There are a couple of bits to do but it's more or less finished. I started on the 18th and now it's the 28th so 10 days work for a small wagon. Obviously I didn't work on it every day but there has to be about 60 hours in it. 

Was it worth it ?

 

What to do next ? There are still about 10 wagons that need finishing / painting in my workshop as well parts galore hanging around. I don't have a good track record using kits so the G.W.R Cooper Craft parts I have don't excite me much. 

 

I feel we have been left in limbo wating for the lockdown to ease so we can go and look at a house move. 

If we don't get a move on soon I feel it will be to late and we will end up staying here and the railway will never get built. 

Perhaps thinking that way I should order some baseboards and just get on with it !

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Was it worth it? 

 

Really only you can answer that, but in my eyes it most certainly was worth it.  You are working as fast if not faster scratch building wagons in O than I am making kits or semi scratch building in OO.

 

So was it worth it?  Oh yes.

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51 minutes ago, airnimal said:

 Was it worth it ?

I agree entirely with @Andy Hayter. A result as good as that is always worth the effort

 

55 minutes ago, airnimal said:

 Perhaps thinking that way I should order some baseboards and just get on with it !

 

Definitely! Procrastination is the enemy of progress! 

 

Jim (whose never got round to joining the Procrastination Society) 

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Funnily enough I’ve just been looking at a Cooper Craft wagon I made up some time ago, but made wider with new ends as a broad gauge job. It looks nice enough, but the tops of the sides are all banana shape in plan view, maybe they don’t like  Mekpak. Something will have to be done, keep the lower half and rebuild the top.

Your NSR bolster shows the time and care spent on it for a quality job.

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On 28/06/2020 at 14:23, airnimal said:

Was it worth it ?

Ignoring the end result*, if you enjoyed the process and can take some satisfaction in its completion then I hope so. 

 

It's certainly given plenty of joy to your many fans here, and continues to provide inspiration galore :)

 

Looking forward to whatever's next,

 

Schooner

 

*Which is, of course, a triumph. I'm completely unashamed of the long stretches of time I've spent looking at your wagon pics, finding the bolster particularly captivating.

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Schooner, thank you for the thumbs up. I am slightly embarrassed about such praise. 

 

With the the gentle prodding about single bolsters I have started a larger later version that was probably a rebuilt dumb buffer conversion. It has self contained buffers and modern brakes by my standards ( 2 brake shoes ).

 

The buffers I am using are loco buffers from my spares box that have been modified by filing the base off and filing the body parallel.  I think they could have been G.W.R tapered buffers, but how I came by them I have no idea !

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On 28/06/2020 at 20:20, Regularity said:

Very, very nice, Mike.

But didn’t these tend to run around in pairs?

 

That's being naughty. In this case it was making up a jolly threesome. You know the saying: two's company, three's a derailment.

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