Whats on your 2mm Work bench

[Izzy]

A shot of 3 Dapol 20T grain wagons which I have finally been able to re-build onto the etched chassis that Chris Higgs produced a while back. I say re-build because I discovered that while the bodies are the correct length - for 1-148 - they are too wide by just over 1mm for the correct width chassis (Chris provided two widths depending on what you wanted to do), so I ended up slicing them down the middles, removing the excess, and then re-making all the body detail that had to come off. I'm glad I only had three to do......

 

 

Bob

[DavidLong]

Nice work, Bob. It looks like you perseverance was worth it.

 

Are you teasing again. This looks like another layout. Where has this one popped up from?

 

David

[DavidLong]

On 26/07/2022 at 20:59, Yorkshire Square said:

On one of my 2mm workbenches, 9.25km of Code 40 rail. Yep, 18,500 0.5m lengths...

That should keep Shop 1 happy for a while!

 

David

[Izzy]

1 hour ago, DavidLong said:

Nice work, Bob. It looks like you perseverance was worth it.

 

Are you teasing again. This looks like another layout. Where has this one popped up from?

 

David

Thanks David. It was the layout I originally returned to 2mm in 2010 to build. But it has turned out nothing like it was meant to be. This is the sixth - and final - attempt ( the previous five efforts all reached the up and running stage before being shelved), and has been developed over the last six months. Perhaps I’ll post a few shots when it’s finished, but it’s nothing special, quite simple and basic, small and minimal in size and weight.

 

Bob

[Chris Higgs]

1 hour ago, Izzy said:

A shot of 3 Dapol 20T grain wagons which I have finally been able to re-build onto the etched chassis that Chris Higgs produced a while back. I say re-build because I discovered that while the bodies are the correct length - for 1-148 - they are too wide by just over 1mm for the correct width chassis (Chris provided two widths depending on what you wanted to do), so I ended up slicing them down the middles, removing the excess, and then re-making all the body detail that had to come off. I'm glad I only had three to do......

 

 

Bob

 

I think Dapol inherited the idea of making wagons over-width from Peco. Although of course Lima were the true kings of that.

 

Chris

[nick_bastable]

On 26/07/2022 at 20:59, Yorkshire Square said:

On one of my 2mm workbenches, 9.25km of Code 40 rail. Yep, 18,500 0.5m lengths...

did you steal the network rail track expansion during the recent hot weather 🤣

[Caley Jim]

Better progress now!  The boiler/firebox/smokebox has been cut and drilled, the firebox opened out and trimmed to fit the footplate and had the smokebox wrapper soldered on.  Also fitted are the handrail knobs, washout plugs and the spigots for locating the injector valves and the clacks.

 

 

It's now ready to be soldered to the footplate unit, onto which it fits quite well.

 

Jim

[Caley Jim]

Boiler and footplate units now united and the cab completed, apart from the lamp brackets which will go on later to avoid damage when handling.

 

The reversing lever and the counterweight (on the RHS) have also been fitted along with some strips of scrap etch under the front end of the boiler to fill the void there and fool the eye into thinking they are the motion.

 

Jim

Edited August 2, 2022 by Caley Jim
typo

[Caley Jim]

Smokebox door and hinge added along with the front buffer beam, valences and steps.

 

 

I've also tuned the decoder (thanks to Nigel for his article on the Association website), including exponential acceleration and deceleration, so, along with a few tweaks to the quartering it is running quite nicely.  There is still a slight stiff spot in reverse, but I'm hopeful that will 'run-in'.

 

On to the brake gear next, methinks!

 

Jim

[Caley Jim]

The tender brake blocks were fitted first, along with p/b wire cross rods.  A thin strip of etch surround was then attached along the underside of the rods, inboard of the frames, to both add rigidity and simulate the inside pull rods.  A small section was then snipped from the middle of each cross rod to provide insulation and a short length of decoder wire insulation slipped across the gap in the rear rod as that will be visible from the back.

 

On the loco the brake gear is carried on thin cosmetic frames which sit outside the functional frames and are attached to a piece of pcb which sits on top of the front frame spacer and is bolted to it from below.  The rear ends have little lugs which clip over the frames just behind the gearbox.  These can be seen at the left in the photo.

 

 

The cut-out at the front of the pcb is to accommodate the AJ coupling which will be attached behind the front buffer beam.  Again the cross rods are cut in the middle and pieces of insulation slid over the ends.  These are then coated with cyano to secure and stiffen them.   The guard irons are etched as part of the cosmetic frames.

 

The idea behind doing this is that, should any work need to be done on the chassis, the brake gear can be removed, avoiding any damage to it.

 

Both sets of brakes were blackened with Birchwood Casey Aluminium Black and it was my intention to eventually paint them, however the the very matt, slightly brownish colour produced looks more appropriate for the these parts than black paint, at least to my eye, so I will be leaving them as they are.

 

 

Time to get the trusty Black and Decker out to turn some boiler fittings!  😀

 

Jim

[Caley Jim]

Before I started on the boiler fittings I concluded the debate I was having with myself as to whether or not to model the injectors, which lie either side of the firebox between the driving and rear coupled wheels.  They are pretty much hidden behind the brake pull rods and the coupling rods, however I decided that the area looked a bit barren without them.

 

 

Two pieces of .25mm copper wire were soldered together to form a 'T', some fine copper wire wrapped around the junction and this then flooded with solder to make a representation of the injector.  The steam admission pipe is soldered to the top of the cosmetic frame just in front of the brake hanger and the supply and feed pipes soldered to it behind the wheels.  The whole thing was then treated to a generous application of the metal blackening, which seems to work just as well on copper and solder as it does on n/s.

 

Jim

[Caley Jim]

Boiler 'furniture' turned and fitted along with the lamp irons.  It's beginning to look a lot wee bit like a Jumbo now!

 

The tender has also acquired its brake standard, tank fillers and lamp iron, although the other cab door has come adrift!  It's actually been like this for a few days, but after filling the boiler with strips of lead and putting some chunks into the sandboxes and cab splashers, I discovered that I had a short, which took me some time to find and resolve.  It wasn't where I thought it was!

Buffers next along with the support for the coal load over the motor, then it will be for the paint shop

 

Jim.

[martin580120]

Rather than enjoying the sunshine this weekend, and after considerable dithering, I have taken the plunge and started on my first 2mm steam loco. I've gone for a J94 with the white metal body from P&D Marsh, and the etched chassis from the Association.

 

So far the build going okay. I'm not a fan of the P&D Marsh body. it came with bits broken and missing, it's also taken a lot of filling with green stuff and filing back. There was some suggestion of using it as a base to cut and solder my own cab from NS sheet, but I feel that's a little beyond my skills at the moment. I've got a Farish body on my ebay wishlist until payday as a replacement until I build up the skills/courage to try making my own. I know there's an argument for just buying some NS Sheet, having a go and learning as I do, but, I'm trying to take baby steps so as not to overwhelm myself.

 

 

After getting the frame built and adding the frame spacers (hint, easier to file the insulating gaps in the PCB *before* soldering it into the body...) I put the wheels in loosely to see how they turned, and posed it next to an N Gauge version that's older than I am.

 

 

I also put the finishing touches on my first Easitrac turnout. I bought this about two years ago when I first joined the Association and had no end of bother trying to put it together- turns out it helps considerably if you read the instructions... it's not perfect, I'm having issues with the tiebar and keeping the blades engaged, but a wagon will run through without derailing, so as a first attempt I'm reasonably happy.

 

I have four turnouts to build for my planned shunting plank/distillery/first layout, and I'm tending towards the new FineTrax ones for speed and ease - I built one in about 45 minutes at an Area Group meeting earlier in the year - but I've got half a dozen of the Easitrac ones stashed, and now I (think I) know what I'm doing, I might build these up and find a home fot them.

 

 

[Caley Jim]

Buffers have been fitted and a further few tweaks and after a final clean up 337 will be ready for the paint shop.

 

https://youtu.be/5L-296f-0WI

 

Some of the blackening needs touch up and there is  still a bit of stiffness when it starts.

 

Jim

Edited August 17, 2022 by Caley Jim

[martin580120]

My workbench has become a Permanent Way workshop over the last few weeks as I try to get to grips with turnouts. Four new easitrac and two FiNetrax completed since my last post.

 

Or, at least completed in the sense that all the bits have been put together, vaguely correctly and without swearing. Well. Much swearing...

 

I'm still struggling with the Easitrac turnouts, particularly the switchblades. I suspect I'm doing something ever so slightly wrong, that I can't quite work out, which is meaning the switchblade don't rest against the stock rail, and so, when I try to run a test wagon through it tends to jump. My plan is to take them to the next Area Group Meeting and let my betters have a poke and see if they can figure out what I've done, or indeed, not done...

 

The FiNetrax offerings have gone together beautifully (if I do say so myself) and seem to work fine under test.

 

I think I'm going to commit fully to FiNetrax turnouts for my planned layout/shunting plank, I'd need two B6 LH turnouts for the proposed plan, and I'm sure the easitrac ones, once fixed, will be useful for a grander plan. I might have to think about a baseboard next. Or, maybe finishing the J94 I haven't touched for nearly a fortnight...

Edited August 30, 2022 by martin580120
Missing words

[Donw]

Martin 

 

I cannot see the issue from the photographs. Is it on both blades?

 

The planed side of the blade should be flat and match the stock rail i.e  it lies flat along the planed length if it is slightly convex the blade tip will be held out slightly.

The curved stock blade should have a set ( a bend) then be straight for the planed length of the blades before curving away if the set is not there and the stock rail curves too quickly it will again push the blade tip out.

 

The blades tips should be dead level with the stock rails. I have been known to just round off the top of the blades tip very slightly mostly on the side away from the stock rail.  Full size this became an undercut tip.

 

Don

[Caley Jim]

Lest anyone should think that the Jumbo has been abandoned, it's going through the paint shop at the moment.  As I mentioned in my thread on the 2-4-0, lining is a lengthy process as only a little can be done at a time to allow the varnish to dry.  Added to that I was not happy with the first lot of lining I drew out, so that was scrapped and re-done.  Drawing it up involves three evenings as the paint has to dry between each stage.

 

This is the present state of play, with both loco and tender bodies just sitting on their chassis and not bolted.

 

 

Very much incomplete, around the tender frame cut-outs to be completed; loco valences still to do and then the rounded corners to be touched in.  the lining is a bit inconsistent, especially the white too thick in places, but it is what it is.  I might try and reduce that with some black paint.  As always the photos make it look much worse than it looks 'in the flesh'!

 

Most of the 'bright' fittings are made ready to glue in place after lettering and before varnishing;  injector steam valves, clack valves (both with their piping), whistle and smokebox door handle.  A rudimentary firebox backplate is also ready.

 

Jim

[martin580120]

Don,

 

I can't see anything obvious in the actual turnouts themselves, other than the jump when stock runs over.  On some of them, the blades don't seem to sit exactly flushly against the stockrail, sometimes on one side, sometimes on both.  I've gone back in with a fine file and taken more of the switchrail, and a bit of the stockrail away, and on some this has helped, but others not.

I'd originally bought a FiNetrax turnout to see how "sharp" the point blade was - my theory had been that I wasn't filing enough of the switchrail away, but by filing a couple of practice blades down and comparing visually (and with callipers) the FiNetrax pre-ground blade and my own effort, I had thought I'd solved this issue.  One one of the Easitrac turnouts, I (think) I have, and to my eye/mind I've not done anything differently to that one!  I should probably also note, I'm using the Association blade filing jig, and I'm reasonably confident I'm using it correctly(!).

I'll take some more photos of the worst offender when I get home to post and see if anything jumps at anyone.

 

[Izzy]

I've often had this problem with odd points and certain items of rolling stock. What I usually find is that the blade at the extreme tip isn't absolutely tight up against the stock rail even if it is along most of the planing length. So I tend to bend it inward so it makes contact before the rest of the blade. The other fault I often build in (!) is that the switch rail has twisted vertically along it's length, so the foot hits the stock but leaves a gap at the top. I try now to twist them so the opposite happens which does seem to work. The other thing I do is run a file along the blade to thin the top of the head down to the absolute minimum, which often also tends to round off the top of the tip.

 

Bob

[Laurie2mil]

I would endorse all the points that Don and Bob/Izzy have made.  On many of my points where the top of the switch won't quite close up to the stock rail because of the slight vertical twist ( a common problem for me) I get 2 small pairs of flat/fine nosed pliers, grip the switch rail vertically just in front (i.e. toe-side) of the last chair which holds it with one pair, grip the rail c.1+cm further towards the toe with the other, and gently twist the end of the switch rail until its planing does come to sit hard against the top of the stock rail.  I do this before fitting the tie bar.

 

Other finishing "touches"  involve the 0.5mm file: running through both sides of the crossing and the check rail gaps to ensure they're smooth, aligned and the correct gaps (better fractionally wide than too tight - final test is with the most demanding pieces of stock you have), and rubbing it flat across the lot (after fitting the tiebar).  Finally, a couple of strokes to slightly round/chamfer the top of the switch rail whilst it is closed against its stock rail, as Don suggests.

 

Stick at it - the more you do, the more familiar you'll get with the little nuances and tricks, and you'll develop your own way of dealing with them.  It all looks pretty encouraging to me. 

[Ian Morgan]

I gave up with the old Easitrac points, even the ones with the pins and holes. The gauging, when measured with the vernier callipers, was all over the place. Note that a narrowing of the gauge will make a wagon rise up and derail, looking like it hit something.

 

The new Finetrax 2mmFS points seem far better. The one I have made so far is very accurate, and was so simple to assemble.

 

[Jan W]

I had similar problems with my easitrac point blades that were caused by remains of the inside of the chair on the slide chairs that I had not cut away properly.

You could try to clean up the top of the slide chairs under the stock rails

 

Jan

[martin580120]

Thanks all for the tips and suggestions. I am continually amazed by just how willing to help this community is, especially when compared to other hobbies I've been involved with in the past.

 

I'll certainly try the suggestions on my next turnout - whilst the Easitrac ones have been down at £10, I have been picking up the kits in the hope they'll one day be useful and have built up a fair stash.

 

A bit delayed, but here's some photographs of the worst offenders. If anyone can see anything, please let me know.

 

 

Edited September 1, 2022 by martin580120

[Donw]

Martin these are just impressions from the photos and may not be correct.

Photos 1 and 2 the blade does not look flush against the stock rail really just meeting at the tip. 

Photo 3 I cannot make out where the set is it looks possible that the blade tip is slightly forward of the set in the curved stock rail which would cause a slight gap at the tip.

Picture 4 loooks like it could be held flush by the point operating mechanism.

 

These are just ideas the turnouts look pretty good. I would take the most problematic and work on it to see if you can resolve it. Perhaps make new blades if necessary.  I am sure you are close to getting them roght.

 

 

Don

 

[Izzy]

Have you removed the inside jaw on all the slide chairs Martin? These need doing, all of them, and filing completely flat before putting on the timbers. Perhaps I’m wrong but looking at the right hand side of the third shot it looks like they haven’t been. This would of course prevent the blade seating properly all the way along the stock rail.

 

Another aspect to watch out for is to ensure the blade is fully down on the tie-bar so it doesn’t sit above the stock rail, and no solder has crept under it to the other side also preventing proper seating. Just trying to think of odd things that might have happened. 
 

Bob