cypherman Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 (edited) Hi all, I really must stop doing this. Buying an engine for spares and then restoring instead of dismantling it. Any way bought a spares Lima small prairie from you know where with the intention of using it to rebuild some others I have been restoring. Rebuilt the others without using it. Now I want to fix this one up. All I need now is the engine weight. Does any one know where I might get one from. Peters spare have turned off their phone lines so cannot phone them. Does the engine weight in the 0-6-0 J50/Pannier fit .I can pick one of them up very cheaply if it does. Do not really want to pay a lot for it so a second hand one is ok. But so far all I have seen are second hand engines for repair. As you can imagine if I bought another engine I would end up wanting to repair that one as well..... Edited April 1, 2020 by cypherman 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted March 30, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 30, 2020 If you can't source one, it is not difficult to make your own; Blutac with old bits of whitemetal or lead stuffed into it and jammed into the loco body clear of the motor. Get as much as you can over the driving wheels. Finescale modelling it ain't, but nobody's going to see it and if there's one thing the Lima mechs need more than anything else, it's a bit of downward pressure; your loco will run much better for it. I know what you mean about buying locos for spares. They get delivered, you take them out of the packing and put them on the layout to assess what can be saved, and then they look at you like that.. I have bought locos on no better grounds than that they looked at me like that, with those sad little faces... 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) Lima weights are zinc alloy and expansion is not unknown*.... A nice replacement from lead sheet is the answer and is also heavier which is no loss. I got a sheet of about a square foot from the usual source for a few pounds. Suppliers of roof flashing might be able to help, but usually want to sell a large roll. *Personal experience! Someone had pinched the lead flashing from our kitchen bay window between viewing and moving in! I bought some cheap bituminous stuff as a stop gap when I saw the price of the lead. It's still there ten years on.... Edited March 31, 2020 by Il Grifone Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cypherman Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 Hi all, I now have 5 Lima small prairies. The 4 with weights have shown no expansion of the weights.. I do have material to make my own weights so looks like I will do that even though I do like to keep my engines as original as possible in that department. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCB Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 Its much easier to use the correct weight as it fits the chassis nicely. However lead is heavier and I melt old car wheel balance weights and lead pipe and lead flashing with a blow lamp and drip the lead into a wooden mould to make rectangular ingots which I saw into regular shapes with a fine toothed wood saw, Metal saws clog too easily. Could be an answer but you need a standard weight to copy so the saga continues if you don't have one to hand. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nova Scotian Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 3 minutes ago, DavidCBroad said: Its much easier to use the correct weight as it fits the chassis nicely. However lead is heavier and I melt old car wheel balance weights and lead pipe and lead flashing with a blow lamp and drip the lead into a wooden mould to make rectangular ingots which I saw into regular shapes with a fine toothed wood saw, Metal saws clog too easily. Could be an answer but you need a standard weight to copy so the saga continues if you don't have one to hand. Is sawing lead weights wise? Isn't that going to cause airborne particulates? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCB Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 2 minutes ago, Nova Scotian said: Is sawing lead weights wise? Isn't that going to cause airborne particulates? Probably not, but I don't do it very often. The coarse saw blade does not produce much dust, more lead grains. If the mould is good I cut the flash off with a stanley knife. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted April 1, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 1, 2020 On 31/03/2020 at 03:21, The Johnster said: I have bought locos on no better grounds than that they looked at me like that, with those sad little faces... Stop buying Thomas stuff, with their faces upside down! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 6 hours ago, DavidCBroad said: Probably not, but I don't do it very often. The coarse saw blade does not produce much dust, more lead grains. If the mould is good I cut the flash off with a stanley knife. Another use for your coronavirus mask! I doubt once in a while will do much harm. We used to have lead water pipes - there are probably still some around. As regards originality, use the lead weight and keep the original (in that 'safe place!') for eventual refitting. Lima stock is not worth much. A nice boxed DSB coach has just here sold for 5.50€. I would have bid myself, but I forgot about it and I would have had to explain 12€ p&p to SWMBO.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cypherman Posted April 1, 2020 Author Share Posted April 1, 2020 Hi all, ok problem sorted. I remembered that I had bought some weights for a couple of GWR Siphon C wagons I had bought from that place.....:). They needed finishing off and weights putting on them. Well the weights I bought are a perfect fit when stacked. So job done. just waiting for the new motor I have bought for it to arrive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted April 2, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 2, 2020 Happy daze! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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