Valentin

Hello Klaus, I am afraid I am far from being such a good modeller to have any moving parts on a Shay in the 2mm scale. Apart from the PowerMAX motor and the wheels, the only moving parts are the bogies. The 70° low-melt solder I purchased from Carr's many years ago. It's similar to this one, only it's not a wire, but a bar. It's not brittle at all, I use it by cutting with a scalpel small bits which I then attach to the joint with tweezers before soldering. As for glueing parts together with CA... I never had any success - I admire those who can put kits together by gluing them. My advantage is probably that I've been using a soldering iron sice I was 8.

Every component (mostly white metal and brass, but also a small N/S bit) on this little Shay was put together using low-melt solder (70 C).

Hi Michael, Yes, I did think about this, but, to be able to roll the metal sheet around the 4.5mm shaft I would need a somewhat soft metal, and, because of that, the screw in the coupling used to secure it to the shaft will create a small depression, a dimple, in the sheet; this may lead to axis not being concentric? I may be wrong though... Since I posted my message, I managed to have the couplings adjusted, but I still have to give them a try... I'll post how it goes. Valentin

Hello, I've been trying to convert my Proxxon MF70 mill to CNC for a while. Three of the most important components are the flexible shaft couplings - they connect the stepper motors shaft (5mm in diameter) to the lead screw shaft (4.5mm in diameter). Unfortunately, I couldn't find 5mm-to-4.5mm couplings so I purchased 5mm-to-4mm couplings, hoping I would be able to easily open the 4mm hole to 4.5mm hole using a 4.5mm drill. How wrong I was! I tried spinning the drill by hand, in a drill, but every time the result was disappointing: the 4.5mm hole was not concentric with the 5mm hole. I think a lathe will be most useful to achieve the best result, but I don't own one. I tried to contact the nearest model engineering society (Canterbury & District Model Engineering Society), but I haven't got e reply in over two weeks. Does anyone know if there are any "lathe-on-demand" service providers in Kent who could help?

Hello, Is anyone interested in a Push-Pull (SR ?), etched brass kit? I got it from Andrew Cox for a tenner, about 10 years ago.

Thank you, Bob. I will adjust my design to let only the middle axle to drop a bit (0.1 - 0.15mm). Nick, if everything goes according to the plan, you will definitely have a set of frames and the solid brass chassis sandwiched in between the frames. Currently I am waiting for new stepper motor drivers, which can supply more "oomph" than the ones I started with. And I am still learning about CAM in Fusion 360.

I am designing the frames for a chassis I want to test-build. I want to use 0.7mm P/B sheet for the frames and 6mm brass sheet for the inner chassis. Both, the frames and the chassis will be built using a CNC milling machine. I have finished the design for the frames (drawings below). The dotted lines are construction lines. I have two questions: Are three 14BA countersunk bolts overkill? Will two bolts be enough? I would use 12BA (or even 10BA) but I can't find sleeves for them. I know I could use epoxy or nylon plugs but I am not sure I could set the milled brass chassis with enough precision after fitting the plugs. Shall I repeat the slot I used for the middle drive-wheel for the front wheel? There is 0.12mm up-down play.

Tomorrow I will be all day in Bristol, so easy to go to Bath, then going back home (Faversham, Kent). I have no use for a second MF70, but if any buyer on my route is interested, I could be the a free of charge "courier". @oily If you still have the boxes for all the kit, Royal Mail now have a collection service, so you can send the machine to the buyer much easier. Also, I am happy to collect it and send it by courier on Saturday.

Hi Julia, Any chance to get these pictures back? I would like to convert my MF70 to CNC, but I must first reduce the backlash as much as possible - any other information related to the specs of the nuts will be greatly appreciated.

It's a shame that those without a Photobucket account cannot enjoy watching the pictures at a higher resolution...

Another vote for Hakko HAKKO FX-888D. I've been using a soldering tool or another (irons, guns) since I was 8 years old. Nothing compares to Hakko, apart from the Pace I briefly used when I was working for a former employer - these are from another league, though...

I'm looking forward to seeing "Modbury", 'in the flesh', for the first time.

Broken links

With a 0.5mm drill I made sure the crank-pin holes in the wheels are clear of any debris. With a cut 4 file I dressed the flanged crank-pin ends. The crank-pins are very tight fit into the holes in the wheels. It looked like there was no need for any additional glue, nor soldering. Just to be sure, I used the above-mentioned threadlock. To test the bond, I put some effort (much more than what would be in normal use) trying to remove a pin - it didn't come off, so I assume there is no need to solder them in place. Regarding the rough look of the spokes, do the wheels need any additional treatment? After the glue (EVO-STICK "Serious Glue") used to stick the counter-weights cures, I will scrub the wheels using Cif, but I don't think that would be enough to get a smoother look.

I have been using this approach to fit the crankpins since I first watched Nick Mitchell's excellent videos on the Jubilee, three years ago. Not finishing any model, that's another story

According to the manufacturer, this is "a medium strength blue threadlocking adhesive that seals and secures metal nuts and bolts to prevent loosening due to shock and vibration." I wonder if the threadlocker I already have will work. It is blue, after all Anyway, I will try it, and post back the results.

Will I be able to solder the crank pins to the mark 5 wheels in the same fashion as we’re doing with the Mark 4 wheels? Or better to use Super Glue to secure the crack pins in place?

After an hour of work in putting the bits together and less than £30, I assembled a DCC++ Wi-Fi Command Station.

Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement. As I said it before, I have no intention in giving up 2mm modelling. Since I joined the Association 10 year ago, I had far too many attempts in getting a working etched N/S chassis. Apart from the "Fence Houses Model Foundry" 0-6-0 'Universal' chassis which sits under the Class C Nick mentioned, I failed with the others. I enjoy much more trying to scratch build a solid brass milled chassis - the first results are encouraging. As a bonus, the brass bars and P/B strips are much cheaper than the etched N/S or brass chassis kits. I am repeating myself, just to be clear: I DO NOT criticise in any way the work of those who are making the etched N/S chassis available, they are just not for me. PS: the L&Y chassis has found a new home now.

Do we have a "For Sale" thread? If so, please point it to me and I will move this post over there. If anyone is interested in a partly assembled N/S etched replacement chassis designed by Nigel Hunt to fit the L&Y/LMS/BR Aspinall 0-6-0T white metal body from GEM / Lytchett Manor, please send me a private message. The two BA12 nuts mentioned in the instructions are soldered to the motor mount. The chassis, the coupling rods and the wheel are painted black. The frames are completely isolated from each other and from the spacers (on 200Mohms scale, the multimiter shows infinite resistance). I wanted to build this kit to get "hands-on" experience in using the etched N/S spacers together with very thin double-sided PCB. I manged to put the gears and the rear driving wheels in place, but I wasn't happy with the result so I gave up before ruining the chassis (I am very good with this). As I mentioned a couple of times before, these etched N/S kits are not for me! Everything in the pictures below, plus the acetal whorm, for £20.00 + P&P (approx. £3.00 if using Hermes). Included: the six 9mm Mk4 driving wheels to which I have already soldered the counter-weights (the crank pin is broken on one wheel) the two muffs - one 3-102a and one 3-102b Gearset: 100DP: 30:1 Skew Brass Gear 1/8" Bore: Acetal Worm 1.5mm Bore; this may be 3-367, but I may be wrong (the worm wheel has 30 teeth, though) Spur Gear Brass M0.3 14T 3.0mm bore 3-390 Spur Gear Brass M0.3 25T 3.0mm bore 3-395 Maybe a more experienced modeller can get something usefull from these bits.

In order for a 0-6-0 chassis to negotiate tight radii curves, it is recommended to file the middle P/B bearings flush with the N/S frames. But, what if the driving gear is fitted to the middle muff? Shall I still file the middle bearings, or choose another pair of bearings (front or rear)?

False alarm! Apparently, not having Weetabix for breakfast does negatively impacts one's strength.

Yes, I did it as explained in the instructions: How you should use ER Collets Inspecting the inside of our ER collet nuts reveals an internal flange that has been machined eccentric to the main axis of the nut. This is not a machining error but is designed that way to lock onto the groove of the collet and aid its release from the chuck body. For this feature to work properly, the collet must be mounted in the nut first before fitting the assembly into the chuck body. To mount the collet in the nut, insert it on an angle, turn slightly and push it into the nut until it clicks into place on the eccentric flange. The cutter may now be fitted and the assembly tightened hard into the chuck body. To remove the cutter, slacken and undo the nut until resistance is felt. Then, using a collet wrench, further undo the nut until the collet is released from the chuck body. Removal of the collet from the nut is the reverse of the mounting procedure. Could be a compatibility issue? ER11 mod from Isovo is not compatible with the ER11 collets from ArcEuroTrade?

Thanks, Julia, it was easy to remove the bearings. It seems I need to purchase a pair of 17mm spanners to tight the collet. I tried by hand but I couldn't get the nut nowhere near enough to even slightly grip a 1.5mm drill bit in the 1-1.5 ER11 collet. Is this expected?

I have removed the old shaft - 60 in the picture below - from the milling machine, but the "bushing" (or "distance piece" as it is named in the Usovo instructions) - 104 in the picture below - remained captive between the two bearings - 103 in picture below. I would leave them as they are and insert the new tuning spindle but, as you can see, one of the bearings is already fitted to the new shaft and I am worried I may break something. How shall I remove the old bearings and the spacer from the milling machine's body?