Whats on your 2mm Work bench

[Caley Jim]

What's going to happen if they start to breed? 

 

Jim

 

[Pixie]

These look great Julia - there’s something very appealing about not-the-norm point work and I have to keep reminding myself the narrow gauge is only 4mm! I hope they spawn a layout in time.

 

Are there any examples of a double divergence point? In other words where both the standard and narrow gauge go in both directions. That could be a interesting next step.
 

Steve

Edited September 6, 2020 by Pixie

[Sithlord75]

18 hours ago, -missy- said:

Evolution of a point....

 

 

Julia.

What are you planning on building?  Or is it just a theoretical exercise? 

[-missy-]

18 hours ago, Argos said:

I'm really intrigued to see what this turns into Julia, I think you're keeping us in suspense on purpose!

 

3 hours ago, Pixie said:

 I hope they spawn a layout in time.

Steve

 

44 minutes ago, Sithlord75 said:

What are you planning on building?  Or is it just a theoretical exercise? 

 

Hi Guys.

 

The honest answer right now is I don't know where its going, I'm sort of enjoying just playing with things right now. It all started with me wanting somewhere for my NG stuff to run and has evolved a bit since then. I am very concious of over reaching myself though and loosing enthusiasm as I did on my previous layout (Highclere). One thing for sure though, if this does develop into something, it will be significantly smaller than Highclere!

 

Julia.

[-missy-]

3 hours ago, Pixie said:

Are there any examples of a double divergence point? In other words where both the standard and narrow gauge go in both directions. That could be a interesting next step.
 

Steve

 

Hi PS.

I'm sure there will be examples around although I haven't seen any to date. The point nearest the camera was the hardest one I have done so far. So many dimensions needed to be right at the same time.

Thank you

Julia.

[Robert Shrives]

Wow on the soldering iron front !  Try a stub point next - I moved a 3 way stub from Boston lodge and rebuilt in Minfordd yard in 12" to the foot , at "2 foot gauge" and that was fun enough - one drawing only and an exacting PW engineer to watch over.   In 2mmfs it would be exciting as well. 

 

Good luck on Crewe North interchange anyway !

Robert     

[Sithlord75]

48 minutes ago, -missy- said:

 

Hi PS.

I'm sure there will be examples around although I haven't seen any to date. The point nearest the camera was the hardest one I have done so far. So many dimensions needed to be right at the same time.

Thank you

Julia.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tapatalk.com%2Fgroups%2Frailbastard%2Ftriple-gauge-in-sa-yards-t2627.html&psig=AOvVaw1aIZrvp--C-42hQbh-BaDU&ust=1599477816471000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCPjBua211OsCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

 

You could give the South Australian experience a go...

[Sithlord75]

I am familiar with the gun bluing process for colouring brass etc so it is dark, not shiny, but not painted.  Has anyone tried gun browning? - a result which gives a brown finish apparently.  I'm thinking about things like check rails which often get cleaned with the track, but if somehow could be made chemically brown, this may solve that problem.

[£1.38]

3 hours ago, Sithlord75 said:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tapatalk.com%2Fgroups%2Frailbastard%2Ftriple-gauge-in-sa-yards-t2627.html&psig=AOvVaw1aIZrvp--C-42hQbh-BaDU&ust=1599477816471000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCPjBua211OsCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

 

You could give the South Australian experience a go...

or this from America

[mike morley]

I don't even know how you'd describe that!

[garethashenden]

20 hours ago, mike morley said:

I don't even know how you'd describe that!

 

Its a great description of why standardization and regulation are a good thing.

[Donw]

On 06/09/2020 at 12:24, Sithlord75 said:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tapatalk.com%2Fgroups%2Frailbastard%2Ftriple-gauge-in-sa-yards-t2627.html&psig=AOvVaw1aIZrvp--C-42hQbh-BaDU&ust=1599477816471000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCPjBua211OsCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

 

You could give the South Australian experience a go...

 

I wouldn't want to try that with C&L chairs  you might have a chance with copperclad

 

Don

[Coal Tank]

Steps fitted .If it's ok I'll post progress just in case someone notices something that I have missed .The boiler and coal rails aren't fixed yet .Sand boxes splashers and handrails next .

john

Edited September 9, 2020 by Coal Tank

[-missy-]

That was quite fiddly....

 

 

J.

[2mmMark]

On 13/09/2020 at 14:16, -missy- said:

That was quite fiddly....

 

 

J.

 

That's looking very good Julia. I've definitely seen similar formations with timbering like that.

 

[Peter1947]

On 13/09/2020 at 23:16, -missy- said:

That was quite fiddly....

 

 

J.

 

Hi,

 

Maybe inspiration can be found in the document Multi Gauge Muddle from:

http://nrm.org.au/assets/pdfdocs/collections/multi-gauge-muddle.pdf

 

Regards,

Peter

 

 

[Coal Tank]

A bit more on the Princes boiler .Thenk you to Nigel and Nick for their help in getting this far .The boiler seems to be sitting in place quite well ,I'm putting these photos on just in case either Nigel or Nick see a mistake I have also included the various parts in the photos it's not soldered yet .

 

Additional note. This is the first time when I have put the boiler together with the tubes inside. Again thanks to Nigel and Nick

 

John 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Coal Tank

[Nick Mitchell]

4 hours ago, Coal Tank said:

A bit more on the Princes boiler .Thenk you to Nigel and Nick for their help in getting this far .The boiler seems to be sitting in place quite well ,I'm putting these photos on just in case either Nigel or Nick see a mistake I have also included the various parts in the photos it's not soldered yet .

 

Additional note. This is the first time when I have put the boiler together with the tubes inside. Again thanks to Nigel and Nick

 

John 

 

That looks alright to me, John. You've done the really difficult bit, which is the firebox.

 

When you come to solder the wrappers, do the smokebox on its own first, then add the boiler wrapper. You'll need something to hold them in place while you melt the solder with a flame. I use a twist of soft iron florists wire for this, but you have to be really careful not to tighten the wire, or else it will leave indentations in the wrapper.

 

After soldering on the wrappers, you will need to fit the smokebox saddle to the footplate before you can know for sure that the boiler is sitting correctly.

Once it is perfect, fit the splashers, and file them away as necessary so the boiler once again sits down correctly.

 

In the two photos below, I have assembled the boiler/smokebox and firebox, but the two are not fixed permanently - just plugged together.

 

 

The front of the cab has a round hole, and the back of the smokebox has a square hole a bit lower down.

I made a plug from a length of 6mm brass rod to align the back end horizontally and vertically while I was doing all this fitting, and when it came to finally soldering the firebox in place.

This is the plug:

 

In the photo below, the boiler/firebox (still just plugged together) is resting on the footplate. I've added the splashers and also removed material from the bottom of the boiler (to clear the footplate cross-members) by this stage.

You can see the aperture inside the cab where the alignment plug fits.

 

 

In this last photo, I had soldered the firebox to the footplate and cab front, but the boiler/smokebox is still not soldered to the firebox yet - it is just held in place at the front end by the steam pipes

 

 

 

[Coal Tank]

Hi Nick thank you for the tips and encouragement. I wouldn't be able to make the plug for the fire box as I don't have a lathe. My tools are very Very basic. 

John 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Coal Tank

[Caley Jim]

33 minutes ago, Coal Tank said:

My tools are very Very basic. 

That makes two of us, John.  (not that anything as big as a Princess is ever going to be on my 'to do' list!  )

 

Jim

[Coal Tank]

32 minutes ago, Caley Jim said:

That makes two of us, John.  (not that anything as big as a Princess is ever going to be on my 'to do' list!  )

 

Jim

Hi Jim 

.   I'm (hopefully) making this loco as they are a bit of a favourite of mine,plus when I was a boy Triangle used to do one asCKD (completely knocked down) ..It was supplied as a kit of parts it cost  47 shillings &6d if my memory serves me correctly .A loco complete was about £5 which was a lot of money for my parents ,so it was a cheaper way of getting a BIG engine good times

I just hope that I have the skills to finish it 

John

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Coal Tank

[65179]

3 hours ago, Nick Mitchell said:

 

That looks alright to me, John. You've done the really difficult bit, which is the firebox.

 

When you come to solder the wrappers, do the smokebox on its own first, then add the boiler wrapper. You'll need something to hold them in place while you melt the solder with a flame. I use a twist of soft iron florists wire for this, but you have to be really careful not to tighten the wire, or else it will leave indentations in the wrapper.

 

Been there, done that Nick!  I soldered the thin brass wrapper of my B16 boiler to a tube to get it round and provide adequate strength.  Well I chose over-stiff wire and the resulting dents needed careful fillng with solder.  What 'flame' did you use?

 

Simon 

[Nick Mitchell]

2 hours ago, Coal Tank said:

Hi Nick thank you for the tips and encouragement. I wouldn't be able to make the plug for the fire box as I don't have a lathe. My tools are very Very basic. 

John 

 

You don't need a lathe to make a plug like that, just a file.

 

The reason mine looks like it has been turned is because I started off with 1/4" rod, not 6mm rod, and turned off the extra approx. 0.4mm at the end of the rod.

I already had the lathe, so it was quickest to use the brass I had in stock.

It would be quicker and cheaper to buy a bit of 6mm rod off eBay for a few pence than to buy a lathe and learn how to use it (unless you want to).

If having it tomorrow is more important than how much it costs, your local B&Q will sell you a long piece of 6mm rod in brass or aluminium.

 

Like all Nigel's kits, this one makes into a lovely model. When it comes to having the skills necessary to complete it, you take your time and practice them up as you go along.

I bought my Princess kit in about 2008 when I had no lathe and few skills.

I plucked up the courage to start building it in 2012, and I now have nearly all the skills I need to finish it!

 

I'll admit the lathe has been used to make several of the parts: Chimney (the first one I successfully made); smokebox door (prior to this one I'd used drawing pins); cylinder and valve covers ; anti-vacuum valves; steam pipe flanges; flywheel. Most of these could be made with various sizes of telescoping tube or slices of rod.

 

[Nick Mitchell]

5 minutes ago, 65179 said:

 

Been there, done that Nick!  I soldered the thin brass wrapper of my B16 boiler to a tube to get it round and provide adequate strength.  Well I chose over-stiff wire and the resulting dents needed careful fillng with solder.  What 'flame' did you use?

 

Simon 

 

Hi Simon,

I used a kitchen blow torch. The solder was Carr's solder paint.

 

My previous attempt had been an etched overlay to a brass tube for a Raithby 4F, which had dented very badly.

I was terrified about ruining the Princess boiler, especially as the overlay for the coned section is not directly supported along most of its length.

I took it along to a Missenden Abbey weekend, and Bob Alderman supervised the operation.

Although I didn't tighten the wires anything like as much for this one, Bob told me afterwards that he had sneakily slackened them further while I was looking the other way.

 

I have done a few others since without problems, but I still get nervous. The most recent was a 2-layer wrapper for one of Nigel's Fowler 2-6-4Ts.

I took the following photos while I was doing it for the kit instructions:

 

First layer wrapper sprung into position

 

Immediately after soldering. The solder paint makes a real mess:

 

 

Second layer soldered on and cleaned up with a Garryflex abrasive block:

 

 

Firebox attached:

 

 

A good chunk of the rear end subsequently needs cutting away to accommodate the motor and gears:

 

 

[Coal Tank]

Hi Nick 

  I used the same process on the Beames Tank that I'm building. Your Pacific is beautiful as are all of your models 

John 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Coal Tank