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Ruston's Industrial locomotive and wagon workshop thread.


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I suspect, and I haven't personally done this so I don't actually know, that the best solution, assuming that Shawplan don't do something that's appropriate, is to cut windows from transparent plasticard sheet and fix them in using KK.

I wouldn't surprise me at all if there aren't loads of RMwebbers who have done precisely this.

That's a nice Ruston you have there!

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I think I'll call time on this one. It has brakes now. This may be another one that no-one else has. I'm sure other people have powered the Airfix 04, but has anyone made the small changes that make it a Drewry that was built for industry? I discovered why the Bachmann 03/04 can't pull as well as this engine - if you take the rods off the Bachmann it can't even move itself as the centre (driven) wheelset doesn't touch the rail tops, making it effectively only an 0-4-0 when the rods are on.

 

 

Just to prove that it does actually run, here's a short video. More pictures can be seen over in my Charlie Strong Metals layout thread.

 

The sound is for a Class 03 and is on a Zimo MX649. I expected it to be the same sound project, or at least use the same sounds, as is on the factory sound-fitted Bachmann 03, but happily it isn't. Not that there's anything at all wrong with the sound on the Bachman loco, but it being different is a bonus because I don't like them all to sound exactly the same. This one also has extras, such as a cold start and the engine hunting before it warms up, as heard in the video...

 

 

I think something simpler next. Probably an out of the box etched kit build.

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Work is under way on a Judith Edge kit for a 220HP Brush-Beyer Peacock.

BBP-1.jpg.7feecd878eaaeaccbbe8ef6949c4e70f.jpg

I got all of that done this afternoon. I chose to build this one out of the stash as it uses 2mm axles and the last High Level gearbox that I have in stock just happens to be made for a 2mm axle. It is a horizontal Micromiser. I think it may be 90:1 ratio but it's so long since I bought it that I can't remember. The motor is one of the same inexpensive 10/15-sized things that I've used successfully in several engines now. The problem with this gearbox is that the final drive gear is a friction fit and so I can't put on the cranks and rods and push it by hand to test it. Three cranks are soldered in place and the final one will be fixed with Loctite so it has a chance to run itself into exact quartering. At least that's how I usually do these, but with not being able to push it by hand I've only got one shot at it. I would use pieces of brass rod as crank pins and hold the rods on by soldering slivers of tube over the pins, but as I may have to sort any quartering issues by opening up the holes in the rods, I've used 14BA screws and nuts. When I know everything runs properly I'll replace the nuts with tube.

Edited by Ruston
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Want to do mine while your at it??:scratchhead:

 

I've put the Porter's Cap Compacto gearbox I got a couple of weeks ago for use in mine but I'll have to check if it will actually go in now I've seen where the front spacer is situated.

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1 hour ago, 5050 said:

Want to do mine while your at it??:scratchhead:

 

I've put the Porter's Cap Compacto gearbox I got a couple of weeks ago for use in mine but I'll have to check if it will actually go in now I've seen where the front spacer is situated.

Yes, no problem. Have you made an appointment to see your bank manager about a loan? :D

 

If the gearbox does fit, you won't be able to have the motor as low as I have as you'll need to put the compensation in. I built the previous one with compensation, but now I'm on DCC and with stay-alives, it isn't necessary, so this one is rigid. Check the axles. My other one had steel axles and Gibson wheels were a nice tight fit. This one has brass axles and the Gibson wheels that I planned to use were so sloppy on the axle that they would need glue, so I dug out whatever those in the photo are. They came with another kit that I got from @Sandhole. Perhaps @Michael Edgecan comment?

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It runs. I didn't use any form of adhesive on the final crank and simply set it by eye and soldered it on. I put the rods on and it runs. I even managed to fit some pickups and a temporary non-sound decoder. The outside frame has also started to take shape.

BBP-2.jpg.732c265429c8edf77d470ded95709e18.jpg

Edited by Ruston
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On 01/08/2021 at 19:59, Mol_PMB said:

Perhaps I have been procrastinating too long and need to JFDI?! 

inspiration- looking forward to seeing this develop. 

Yes, JFDI.

 

Bodywork.

 

BBP-3.jpg.0d18c5f629f9b105ddc29a7ece90e158.jpg

As with all JE kits, the bodywork is built around its own baseplate, which screws to the running plate. I always have trouble with satisfactorily soldering the nuts to the baseplate. I usually have them held in place, with the screw through the hole and with some grease on it, just in case any solder gets through the joint and into the screw threads. I've always ended up with at least one nut coming adrift inside the body and after it's too late to do anything about it. I suspect it happens because some grease got in the joint, but it won't happen this time.

 

I placed the screws over the hole and held them down with the end of a pointy thing (unspecified, steel, pointing holes in things for the use of), whilst I soldered the joint. Some of them were slightly out of line and a couple got flooded with solder. I had to drill and tap the flooded ones and tap those that were slightly out of line. It's all good though and at least I know none of them will come adrift now.

 

I'll probably put the window surrounds in next, just to put off the job of bending the engine casing to shape.

 

Edited by Ruston
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Try using more flux (I don't know what you use though) and a bigger iron to solder the nuts. If you use a small iron it takes longer and there's more chance of boiling the grease away. Use big iron and quickly run it all round the nut.

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I use a wooden cocktail stick from below, screwed into the nut so it can be held down in position while soldering.

 

Very useful things wooden cocktail sticks (or toothpicks if you prefer....)

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We deliberately supply steel screws and brass nuts so that they are far less likely to get soldered up - in fact many of the fluxes used will not touch the steel screw at all. Fastening the nuts on the baseplate before assembly is asking for trouble and completely unnecessary - it should be quite safe the way I do it but perhaps not if you use really aggressive fluxes such as Bakers fluid (Powerflo etc.), these have a really bad effect on steel. Phosphoric acid is fine (for everything) and resin fluxes won't usually do anything on the steel screws. Another advantage of the steel 14BA screws is that they are easily picked up with a magnetised screwdriver.

Toothpicks and cocktail sticks are tapered so the nut can easily move off centre doing it this way.

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57 minutes ago, Michael Edge said:

Toothpicks and cocktail sticks are tapered so the nut can easily move off centre doing it this way.

Not experienced that Mike.  The ones I have are considerably thicker than the screws and can be well screwed into the nut.  In fact, I sometimes have to shave one down to fit.

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20 hours ago, Michael Edge said:

Try using more flux (I don't know what you use though) and a bigger iron to solder the nuts. If you use a small iron it takes longer and there's more chance of boiling the grease away. Use big iron and quickly run it all round the nut.

No particular brand, just whatever I happen to get from Farmer John at the time, but always the stuff that looks like water and is some sort of phosphoric acid. I only have the one iron and it's 25w.

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2 hours ago, Ruston said:

No particular brand, just whatever I happen to get from Farmer John at the time, but always the stuff that looks like water and is some sort of phosphoric acid. I only have the one iron and it's 25w.

I have tried using a larger iron for soldering brass nuts following advice on here, but I found that physically the iron was too big for the workpiece. Most tank engines are small in 4mm and applying too much heat can cause distortion and even the unsoldering of existing joints. Not good.

My solution is to use a cocktail stick to hold everything together with drafting tape to make sure existing joints didn't come apart, and to use a 25W iron with a fair amount of  solder, just tacking at first and then running the tacks together taking care not to get too much heat on the work.

There is always a surplus of solder though and a lot of compulsory cleaning up afterwards.  This does entail running a tap through as well as the usual emery etc get the outside looking neat and tidy. It's OK as long as you have the tap which not everybody will have. 

Soldering together two pieces of differing mass is something which I haven't yet managed to do neatly

Edited by PenrithBeacon
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On 05/08/2021 at 17:20, Michael Edge said:

In that case you need a bigger iron....

It'll be reyt.

 

I did a bit more.

BBP-4.jpg.5010cde0a0ddf7ef13af887824cbeaf0.jpg

 

In other news, I got this from ebay and for what I think was a very reasonable sum.

BBP-5.jpg.19f6f4221fa8cc067527532918d014f1.jpg

It is a 1906 16-inch Barclay, made from the Mercian kit and some apparent scratchbuilding. It came with all the parts to finish and what has been done is to a good standard. The downside is that it's P4.

 

OO frame stretchers are in among the parts that came with it, so it wouldn't be that difficult to regauge if it wasn't for the old type of HL Lololoader gearbox, with the loctited final drive gear. It's not that much of a problem and the axle can be chopped to get it out and a new type final drive gear fitted when it is re-wheeled.

 

Or I could build a new frame and use only the cylinders/slide bar/crosshead/driving rod assemblies, then perhaps sell the running chassis to a P4'er?

Edited by Ruston
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3 minutes ago, PenrithBeacon said:

I'll buy the complete engine off you, body and chassis,  if it's too much of a hassle!

Everything's for sale - if the price is right! PM me with an offer.

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2 minutes ago, PenrithBeacon said:

I think you'll need to tell me what's your price then I can make a decision. 

I am not discussing it on an open forum. I did not post it here as an advertisement. If you want it then the ball is in your court...

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43 minutes ago, Ruston said:

I am not discussing it on an open forum. I did not post it here as an advertisement. If you want it then the ball is in your court...

I can understand why you don't' want to discuss financial issues on an open forum, but it is up to a seller to name their price. If not I'm backing out.

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13 minutes ago, PenrithBeacon said:

I can understand why you don't' want to discuss financial issues on an open forum, but it is up to a seller to name their price. If not I'm backing out.

Here's how doing a deal works:

 

When you want to buy something that the owner wouldn't otherwise be selling, it's up to you to make a serious offer in order to tempt the owner into becoming the seller. You can't back out of something that you've not yet entered into. :scratchhead:

 

 

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