hayfield Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 (edited) Well I bit the bullet and bought one yesterday, now need to get my head around the build processes and sequences These are the whitemetal pieces with some of the smaller parts still bagged up, looks to be a bit more than an Airfix build as there are various alternative parts The etched parts for the chassis and detailing Smaller brass parts and bearings The motor and wheel pack The instructions give the body building instructions first, then the chassis. Now I think there is plenty of room for the motor and gears, but am I correct in thinking I should get the basic chassis up and running first, then check it whilst building the body to ensure a good fit and no shorts etc The next thing is, should I use sprung pickup's or wipers behind the wheels. As there seems to be no axle washers, should I get some. I will but some sprung buffers and decent screw couplings, is there anything else I am missing please I think I should buy another soldering iron, as I have an Antex 25 watt iron or at least a larger tip I have a few things to finish first, but its best if I get the required parts and tools so I can start the build in earnest Edited May 25, 2015 by hayfield 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 The instructions give the body building instructions first, then the chassis. Now I think there is plenty of room for the motor and gears, but am I correct in thinking I should get the basic chassis up and running first, then check it whilst building the body to ensure a good fit and no shorts etc Neither a right or a wrong way - really down to personal choice. The usual recommendation is chassis first and that would be my choice - but only to get the engineering bit out of the way. I use a 25W iron for most whitemetal in 4mm but the heat sink of a 7mm is a bit too much for it. I would probably have to suggest a temperature controlled unit - my 50W tends to get a little dangerous and the metal becomes a bit too plastic! Again this all depends on what you re comfortable with. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.hill64 Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 The next thing is, should I use sprung pickup's or wipers behind the wheels. As there seems to be no axle washers, should I get some. I will but some sprung buffers and decent screw couplings, is there anything else I am missing please I think I should buy another soldering iron, as I have an Antex 25 watt iron or at least a larger tip I have a few things to finish first, but its best if I get the required parts and tools so I can start the build in earnest I prefer plunger pick-ups. OzzyO always recommends using Gibson 4mm ones. These worked well for me on my J36 build. You might get away with your 25W iron if the parts are not too large. I use a bigger iron (80W) for heavy duty jobs such as thick brass chassis assembly and have a cheap 40W variable heat iron that I use for most jobs. As Kenton says a temperature controlled unit is a good buy. Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Izzy Posted May 26, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 26, 2015 Even with kits (especially with kits!?) I tend to try and do a dry run basic assembley of the chassis and body parts to ensure there are no nasty surprises waiting to catch me out, such as areas where things don't mate together well. It can occasionally happen with the best of kits and be overcome if you know about them beforehand, but be difficult if bits are already assembled. As far as soldering irons go, for 7mm I have always used a simple/crude Weller 75watt with fairly large tips - of 1/2" dia - since even thin brass in 7mm can become a bit of an heatsink and it's the resoviour of heat that you need as much as the actual temperature. Only with small detail parts are 25/40 watt irons with small tips of much use. Izzy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 David and Izzy Thanks, I do think I may struggle with my 25 watt unit, though I could get some more tips/bits for it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Izzy Posted May 26, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 26, 2015 David and Izzy Thanks, I do think I may struggle with my 25 watt unit, though I could get some more tips/bits for it Should mention my remarks concerned etched kits in the main. I rarely build whitemetal bodies and - forgive me - tend to glue them together (cryno) when I do. I also glue w/m amd brass Chimmnys and domes in place. Terrible I know....but I have never had an issue. If you want to solder then I tnink this is another case where a 25/40 watt with a small tip would be used. Izzy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 Izzy Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 I shall be following this with interest as the Beattie is plausible (if not actually prototypical) light railway motive power and is (or was last time I looked, attractively priced. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scale7JB Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Be nice seeing this come together.. Got a bit of a soft spot for the Beattie WT's after I fired one of them at the Epping Ongar last year. With regard to soldering irons, I'd be tempted to purchase a 25w and see how you get on with it. It's very definitely horses for courses with soldering irons and temperatures, preferred flux etc, but get yourself a 25w and see how you get on with it. If it's not man enough for the job, but something with a little more oomph. It's a small investment in the grand scheme of things, and it will always be handy in the future for small details and general electrical wiring too. If you need something with a little more heat (which personally on thin flat WM I'd be surprised if you do) I'd highly recommend a Weller 40w iron. Just make sure you chuck away the tip that comes with it and invest in a high quality tip. The better tips are around £10, so an extra investment, but the standard tips burn away in no time, whereas I've had a decent tip last me around 6 months of solid soldering if you look after it. JB. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scale7JB Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Just to prove you don't need big irons to build 7mm loco's, I built about 95% of this J68 with a 25w iron. Don't get me wrong, it would have been easier with my preferred 40w, but it did do the job. JB. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Dava Posted May 26, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 26, 2015 I'm no expert on soldering, believe me, but some of those irons sound a bit meaty for use on whitemetal to me. 40 watts and upward may be fine for the N/S chassis but whitemetal melts much more easily. You need to control the heat or risk disaster. I did a rebuild of a Roxey P Class and the whitemetal parts were soldered easily with Carrs lowmelt solder, red label flux and a 12 volt Weller iron as sold in tool shops which did the job quite well without melting the wrong metal. Also the fumes from this combination are apparently toxic at higher temperatures. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/65446-coney-hill-light-railway/page-4 Dava Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegr Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 (edited) Interesting that all the advice about what soldering iron to use does include what solder! Or having a clean surface on both parts being soldered for that matter. A larger watt soldering iron does not mean everything melts or acts as a heat sink, but just that you should not keep the iron there for too long! Or using the right solder helps. Then there's the question of what flux.... Nearly forgot that's not covered by postings on this thread either! Edit. Written whilst Dava posted his. Edited May 26, 2015 by stevegr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 I am looking forward to following you progress through this build. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 If I get time this morning I may pop in and get another soldering iron. Very limited on prototype information, I have Russell's Southern Locos and the Railway Modeller Sep 85 brief article, plus Google, so may need some assistance. Pea green is not so appealing, so may have to be lined black. But SR green is so nice Anyway back to the turnouts Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzyo Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 You may like to have a look at this link. http://www.antex.co.uk/soldering/soldering-stations/690d/ I've been using the 690SD for over 10 years with no problems. You may get it cheaper if you shop around. OzzyO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KalKat Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 I have one of these ......... http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/60w-professional-lcd-solder-station-with-esd-protection-a55kj , it seems to work well enough but it would appear that bits are limited to smaller sizes. Fine for me (4 mm scales) but there are bits on e-bay that I will be investigating. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzyo Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 Is this the one? http://www.maplin.co.uk/search?text=Soldering OzzyO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KalKat Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/60w-professional-lcd-solder-station-with-esd-protection-a55kj .......... extra characters in the link from somewhere....... Ozzy, your link took me to a search Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzyo Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/60w-professional-lcd-solder-station-with-esd-protection-a55kj .......... extra characters in the link from somewhere....... Ozzy, your link took me to a search It shows a soldering station as the first item, then another one about 6 down I like the look of that one with the hot air gun as well. OzzyO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 Well the work bench has been cleared of track so I can make a start I have cut out the chassis side frames, ash pan sides and frame spacers and started to do a dry run, 2 problems have arisen 1 the placement of the fire box/ash pan etch, instruction state between the driving wheels, but there are no location marks. The photos I have are inconclusive 2 the holes in the whitemetal footplate do not match up with the chassis. I will read the instructions again a couple of times, but I may differ the body building sequence so I can have the chassis fitting the footplate first, rather that attach the cab 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Well the work bench has been cleared of track so I can make a start beattie1.JPG I have cut out the chassis side frames, ash pan sides and frame spacers and started to do a dry run, 2 problems have arisen 1 the placement of the fire box/ash pan etch, instruction state between the driving wheels, but there are no location marks. The photos I have are inconclusive 2 the holes in the whitemetal footplate do not match up with the chassis. I will read the instructions again a couple of times, but I may differ the body building sequence so I can have the chassis fitting the footplate first, rather that attach the cab I expect the chassis is a new etch and slightly different from the original. It will be easy to move the holes in one or the other, or both. I would line the back of the ash pan up with an imaginary line plumbed down from the back of the firebox. It will not be far out. I have not got my Bradley here to look at the drawing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 Peter The only thing with the kit is an exploded diagram, I have the Railway Modeller article from 1985 and the plan in Russells a Pictorial History of SR locos, which is a bit more detailed but looks slightly different. This does show what you have said. I guess the top of the ashpan etch is in line with the top of the chassis, though the cut away part is strange if it is all against the rear of the chassis sides Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 (edited) Well I had another look at the parts when I got home and decided to make a start, I then had a light bulb moment about the position of the ash pan and phoned Dave at Roxey. He did not build his display model but had a look at it and its position was discovered. The cut out in the ash pan was for the designers own motor mount. Anyway problem solved So the ash pan sides were soldered to the chassis side frames, my 25 watt iron being man enough for the job. Whilst speaking with Dave I ordered a set of Markits horn block alignment jigs and some Slaters axle spacers. I have made a start on the chassis by tack soldering the chassis together, so deviating from the instructions by not soldering the axle bearings in first I have also made a start on the footplate, both buffer beams have been fitted as have the rear steps As I said earlier the holes in the footplate are in the wrong position, do I still keep the holes in the footplate in the same position and move/enlarge the holes in the chassis spacers, or do I make new holes in the footplate to match the chassis, if I do this I may need to fill in the indentations for the original holes and I guess I should use normal solder rather than low melt as I intend to solder the nuts to the footplate Edited June 9, 2015 by hayfield 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 and I guess I should use normal solder rather than low melt as I intend to solder the nuts to the footplate I would tin the nut with normal solder but solder it to the footplate with low melt. I always thread the nut onto a rusty or blackened steel screw. Helps you hold it and keep the thread clear as the solder will not stick to the screw. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 Peter Thanks for the tip I have soldered up the brass boiler at the front where both ends meet Then made a start on the cab where I have soldered both sides to the rear (bunker) end, but not to the footplate yet Started to just clean up a few bits and do a dry run Boiler and smoke box added, quite pleased with the kit. Looks like the splashers are not attached to the boiler, the rear splashers look like they will be fun to fit Will now go back to the etched fret and start to get the coupling rods and pony wheel box 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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