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Coombe Barton

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  1. Coombe Barton
    Right. Return to action after a heavy cold, family matters and cleaning up weekends which have stolen the time.
     
    Now I’ve completely cream crackered the drilling of holes in the cab rear it’s a matter of cutting out a new set from 10thou brass – or shall I use nickel-silver?
     
    This is just like Brian Williams had to do as reported in MRJ Compendium 3.
     
    I consider myself in good company.
     
    Be back when I can actually show some progress. And it’s a good job I have a squad of piercing saw blades.
  2. Coombe Barton
    Cab Rear
     
    The cab rear windows have had their etched bars cut and filed out and the whole thing filed smooth. Now it’s time to mark out the positions of the holes where I’m going to fit the replacements. Marking out that accurately will be a problem unless I employ some subterfuge. So a scan of the GA drawing cab rear, a printing out and then measuring to find out how much to reduce the image, then doing that, then reversing the image so we get the other cab side then you get this. And then I consulted some photos. In this build there was added a horizontal bar across the windows – presumably to give strength. This is not represented on either the GA drawing or the kit etch.
     
    Printing this out on paper will get the markup for the holes and again on card for the former for the bars. The plan, once all the holes are drilled, is to form up all the bars for one side of the cab using the cardboard former then solder the lot (12 wire ends) at once. The theory is that there will be less chance of damage this way of doing things. We’ll wait and see.
     
    At least that’s the plan – I’ve written this before starting, so we’ll see how it all goes.
     
    Rehearsal
     
    Bit of scrap brass, secured to a block of hardwood, marked out and then drilled after marking with a sharp (and I mean sharp – got the scars) scriber. Have to be very careful not to deform the brass in drilling as I’m using 36SWG (0.193mm) hard brass wire from Eileen’s. I was going to use 5A fuse wire as Brian Mitchell had done with (MRJ Compendium no 3) as and had bought some from Maplin’s (amazingly expensive compared with how I remember fuse wire when I was a lad) but John Darch (Killybegs) advised hard brass wire and advised me to look in the right place in the Eileen’s catalogue. You do get some darned good advice on RMweb!
     
    Secure to a block of hardwood, I said. How is the next question. Tape seems to be the answer. That, or solder on some brass and screw that down. But then there’s the extra cleaning up after you’ve unsoldered it with the consequent potential for damage. Then use a Dremel in a drill press with some cutting compound on the metal and see how many 0.2mm drills you can break in the process.
     
    Again – that’s the theory.
     
    Practice
     
    Tape, I said. Now in my extravagant planning I’ve carefully boxed all similar materials together. There’s a box called “metals” that contains all metals and their materials, such as brasso and cutting compound, there a box called “soldering”, a box called “carborundum paper”, a couple of boxes called “paints” – you get the picture. There’s also a box called “tape”, which has taken itself off on its holidays.
     
    The box marked “tape” was eventually found at the bottom of the pile. So some insulating tape secured brass to block. Incidentally I’m lucky enough to have acquired some beech window frames that were taken out of use and destined for scrap, and sawn up they have a lot of uses.
     
    But need to stop there. Last week I couldn’t see straight, witness the wrong holes (I blame the heavy cold, I was sneezing and generally making a mess of things) and this week I’ve been rediscovering the layout and workbench. It’s amazing how long it takes to clear up and classify my carp.
     
    So now it’s correcting the holes I’ve misdrilled. It may mean cutting out a new cab back. Time to ponder.
     
    But the tidying up has had a benefit. I’ve discovered the slides I took at Ashburton back in 1967 of the Members’ Day at the launch of the Dart Valley Railway. 4555 in steam, plus some of 4555 at Buckfastleigh a bit more than 25 years ago. Have to find a way of cleaning them up and scanning them.
  3. Coombe Barton
    Cab
     
    Right, so it’s the cab. Enquiries on a thread have produced answers that help. What the people answering didn’t know was that I can quite successfully bu99er up their suggestions and delay delivery of the necessary wire to complete the cab rear. So now I’m going to cut out the necessary bits to dry fit them on to what’s already built. Or may be to cut out another set from brass. We’ll see.
     

    The inside of the back of the cab, Seats and coal door in place.
     
    A bit of thought first how the task of getting bars soldered on place and straight. First thoughts are bit of card marked with lined at the correct spacing and then shaped to the window outline, then the bars bent across this, then the whole thing soldered up. Removal of the card by soaking in water until it can be pulled out. That’s the first thought – but see how it goes first.
     
    First, fix the cab front. Making sure it was well mated and not showing gaps was interesting, but it got done. However there are two modifications I need to make to the rear of the cab – first is removing the etched bunker doors as I want to model them in the open position, and second the removal of the existing grating bars. Think piercing saw, files and invective and you’ve got it. Then sweat two layers together and then work out how you’re going to mark out for drilling 0.2mm holes when your smallest drill is 0.3mm. Never fear – look for the box of numbered drills – and find that they’re bigger. So it’s eBay. They’ll be here next week, Wednesday or Thursday. So having laminated the two bits of the cab back together, we’ll move to the next stage. This was the end of the two paragraphs we started in part five. This is, if a reminder is needed, part seven.
     
    Next we’ll bend up the tank sides. The instructions say that you bend “using a piece of silver steel or a drill shank of the appropriate diameter.” This is pretty carp (anag.) for a kit of this quality and price. The kit comes in two (only two) varieties – 4mm and 7mm scales, and presumably the instructions do for each, so it really would not have hurt to say what diameters are indeed appropriate. Also it is very hard to prevent the sides from bending in the area of the cab doorway, so holding them in a couple of pieces of straight wood is an advantage whilst cleaning up the fret attachments.
     
    But that’s all for this session – working out how to do the bends without cocking up has taken time. Body again in alkaline bath.
  4. Coombe Barton
    The Cab
     
    This week’s purchase was an A4 cutting mat from The Works for three quid. This may seem a little unnecessary as I’ve already got a couple of A2 size, one atop the workbench and one for extra space. I did notice that as I was cutting small items off the frets and cutting up solder that one small area was getting significantly more wear then the rest, so an A4 mat chopped into an A5 and two A6 portions will allow me to chop and discard when necessary. OK, I could just buy another A2 but they’re quite a bit costlier and not as readily available.
     
    Cutting it was interesting – as it self-heals it grabs the knife blade, so it was a score-and-bend.
     
    So back to the kit. Part 22 is the cab floor. It resides within one of the parts already used and was put into one of the small glass jars, I think during part one of this blog.. The jars were labelled, but the manufacturers of the new labels we bought for the purpose had been economical with the glue, so the labels had fallen off. Luckily they’re all in the project box and I’d numbered the parts as I cut them out, so a little time had to be spent with a permanent marker re-labelling the jars. So much for being careful and methodical – the stationers let you down!
     
    The cab floor is a drop in, clamp and solder job. Clamp by bent sprung hairclip (sourced from a hairdresser and beauty suppliers – if you can stand the funny looks when you go in – ‘cos they’re a darned sight cheaper than buying them from the model trade.)
     
    And now we’ve reached the end of the first paragraph, all four lines of it, of the two we started out on in the previous blog entry.
     
    “Fit cab seats and bunker sliding door in place”, it says. Bit of guesswork here as the drawing has suffered, it appears, repeated photocopying. Would it be too much to ask that manufacturers put PDFs of their instructions on their websites? It would be much clearer. Some do, I know, but most don’t. And as the Churchward range has passed to Phoenix Precision I don’t think that we’ll be seeing that option anytime soon.
     
    Bunker sliding door proved interesting in clamping – it wouldn’t as there wasn’t much form round the back – so a sharp pointy stick was employed. And then a scraper when the solder flowed where it shouldn’t have. I should mention I tinned the rear of the bunker door first. Cab seats are a bit of a puzzle – should they be up or down. The drawing has them up, but the fixing slot mates up with them in the down position. I also consulted the assembly instructions from the 44xx Mitchell kit hoping for more enlightenment – there was none. So off to search for photos.
     
    But there are none – but I did find some GWR Journals (16 and 17) and two MRJ Compendia (1 and 3) which helped considerably. There’s also some other MRJ stuff. Reading Brian Williams’ article in MRJ Compendium 3 I find he had the same difficulties I’m having. I’m also looking at his modifications, which include the window protection for the bunker. The etches on the kit are for six bars, but prototype pix of 4555 in BR days and the GA drawing of November 1923 all show 5. I’m not happy with the flat nature of the etch anyway. As 4555 was one of the twenty locos built in 1924 I think I’m fairly confident in assuming that all of this batch had five bars to protect the glass. The best pic I have available for this is that from GWRJ no 17 Page 60, which was taken in 1967. From what I can see the 4575 and 55xx series had six bars, but given the quality of some of the pix anything’s possible. Anyone know the diameter of those bars?
     
    As I don’t trust myself to refashion the back of the cab without having a lot of time, the sum of today’s work was to fix the cab floor, bunker door in closed position, seats and inner tanks, all in the cab. I bought some dinky sized clothes pegs, only an inch long, for clamps and only managed to set fire to two. That lot takes some cleaning up and so it’s currently sitting in a nice warm alkaline bath awaiting the attention of a toothbrush. And getting into the crooks and nannies of the cab to clean it out will be interesting.
     
    I have also referred to the previous workbench by Rich Pedder (The Fatadder) http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/47117-building-a-modelex-gwr-45xx/ who build the same kit. The last comment on that was by Ivan (Horsetan), who I had the pleasure of meeting at Scaleforum last year, about the use of V-blocks for bending. Good job I read stuff from Guy Williams and got some a while ago.
     
    Back to the loco – I’m going to model the bunker doors open and maybe also the roof. (cover of GWRJ no 16 shows both open) so that the incredible detail (I wish!) that’s going in the cab remains somewhat visible. The cab roof will be removable – don’t know how yet, have to work on that. The cab front has two options, one with spectacles and one without. In the last days of service they were absent, but interestingly the latest rebuild of the preserved 4566 appears to show them. Mine will be without.
     
    So next it’s bashing the cab.
  5. Coombe Barton
    Nuts
     
    I said – “The next bits are the 8BA nuts to secure the body to the chassis. Must remember to open out the holes to take the bolts BEFORE soldering on the nuts.”
     
    Then I changed my mind. Instead of opening out the hole to clearance I opened the holes to the tapping size approximately with a broach – this way you can centre up the nut more closely and then run a tap through it to allow the bolt to go through. I have been equipping with tools over the past few years – blame Guy Williams and Iain Rice, or at least their books, for the guidance. A set of even numbered BA taps found its way into the collection.
     
    Storage
     
    Which brings me to another aside – all the drills, taps, burrs, piercing saw blades and various other things were either getting into a mess in the drawer and/or were getting mixed up, and the plastic bags holding them were quickly getting tatty. So storage was the answer. Conventional tool storage is both expensive and takes up space – and is meant for tools with a load more meat on them than we commonly employ. So it was a case of searching for something – and we came up with plastic test tubes with stoppers – four inch for the drills and taps, six inch for piercing saw blades. Lab quality test tubes aren’t necessary – the ones used for shots are quite good enough – and I was surprised to find some of them in the wedding sections. I’ve heard of shotgun weddings but ...
     

    Cheap test tubes, definitely not laboratory quality - plastic with stoppers. Drills, taps, piercing saw blades, Dremel burrs and that sort of thing. All in a handy storage rack
     
    So the nuts are soldered on – held in position whilst soldering with a cocktail stick. The 25w iron was taking a bit of time so it was a cast of zapping with the torch rather than waiting for a larger iron. There’s a fair bit of brass round where the nut goes and it needed to heat up quickly. One charred cocktail stick later (the stick having two ends) and then run a tap through the nut and footplate and you have somewhere to bolt the body to the chassis. The nut needs to be well soldered as it becomes covered with the body bits and is inaccessible later, hence the zapping with heat not risking a dry joint.
     
    Now flux and steel don’t go together very well, so cleaning and oiling the tap afterwards is a must. A wash in the usual alkaline cleaning fluid completes this part of the job.
     
    Strengthening the bufferbeams
     
    And then, after reading the comments by Buffalo in the previous blog about strengthening the joint between the bufferbeams and the footplate with angle behind them, thought I would. K&S 1/16 inch square tube, the equivalent angle not being available from the model shop I tried second, the first being in a “never open” phase when I drove past on the way to or from work.
     
    So a couple of 30mm long bits of said square tube, tinned on two adjacent faces, front buffer beam first. That took two and a half hours because I cocked up the clamping and things started springing apart. The back buffer beam reinforcing tube went on first time.
     
    Then it’s back in the alkali kitchen cleaner to get rid of the acid.
     
    Above the footplate
     
    Now we’re off the first page of the instructions. The next two paragraphs cover the first stage of making it look like a 45xx, a total of eleven parts and as many bends that are necessary which I’ll total as they’re done. It does tell you to solder down all joints for strength as they’re bent.
     
    The body is has a framework and an overlay, the overlays carrying the detail. Tank framework – folds 4 – tank sides and into the cab. Bunker – folds 5. Oops, wait a minute – the last two aren’t fold lines – they’re cut lines if you’re modelling one of the short bunker versions, so should have been folds – 3. Some 45xx did retain a shorter bunker through to the end, but this isn’t one of them. So when your fold that you shouldn’t have done breaks off and you have to patch it, you’ll know just how I feel.
     
    And while you’re doing all this, the bends made where bends shouldn’t be made appear. Having a School of Jewellery in the University leads to Jewellery Tool Suppliers, so a small anvil and soft faced and planishing hammers have become part of the armoury.
     

    Gentle tapping with the correct tools hides a lot of cock-ups.
     
    After these two parts are folded and soldered they’re fixed to the footplate. However looking forward the tank overlays do just that, overlay, so a tinning of the relevant surfaces is in order before fixing to the footplate, because after joining bits of brass together the heat sink is so much larger and so the thing heats up more slowly.
     
    In all this the amount of heat required is quite large so the blowtorch is put to good use. Firing up the 40W iron is also quite a good plan. And in all this the most time consuming aspect is clamping the work together so that it doesn’t move. That and making sure the clamps are heatproof and you don’t solder them to the kit. (Again, ask me how I know!)
     
    So after a number of attempts both the tank and bunker formers are in place.
     
    And we’re not even at the end of the first paragraph of this page yet – so far for the tank and bunker it’s been three and a quarter lines of instructions.
     
    And back in the cleaner.
     
    One thing I don’t have at the moment is an ultrasonic cleaner. Maybe that should be the next thing I invest in.
     

    So this is where we are for the moment. The cab interior is next. Fortunately photos from the web give a clue how it should look.
     
    Cab floor next, which will end this instruction paragraph. And that’ll be for the next blog entry.
  6. Coombe Barton
    Buffer Beams
     
    I’m glad I’m keeping this blog – saves me having to remember which bit comes next. However finding the right place in the instructions and the correct bits is another matter ...
     
    So buffer beams. This model is of one of those built with full length frames, so there’s no fiddling with the appearance of modifications. However the instructions tell you how to bend things for the shorter frames, but does not tell you what do for the longer frames. Studying a pic of 4564 suggests that you cut the wings off the buffer beam backing (number 3 on the fret). So a trim was done and hope that’s right.
     
    Laminating the buffer beams – tried tinning one of the two halves – very thin layer of solder with the iron – then clamping together and using the blowtorch to make the solder flash through the join. Two things here – the clamps take longer to cool then you might think (ask me how I know) and the application of the small amount of solder needed for the tinning. This was shown me at ExpoEM North, the first Manchester one, by a guy who was making track. This involved cutting very small bits of solder from the reel using a craft knife and putting the solid solder up against the joint, then applying the iron. Here I put the small amount of solder on the fluxed up work (9% phosphoric acid) and using the iron to spread the solder over the surface, then mate, then clamp, then torch, success.
     
    Attachment to the footplate is a little bit of a challenge. You have to clamp it vertical with very little to support it. An iron needs to be held there for a long time (tried it!), so we’ll try with the blowtorch again. Clamping and getting the thing at right angles worked at the fourth fifth sixth attempt. And that’s only for the rear buffer beam – still the front one to go. Tinning the edge of the beam sandwich and the edge of the under-footplate with the iron was necessary then making sure there were no lumps and bumps in the solder. Flux, minimal solder then it worked. Phew!
     
    However the swear box got topped up. Frequently.
     
    The front buffer beam only took three four attempts.
     
    Next it’s the front lamp irons which pass through holes in the footplate. Cleaning them up from the etch is a little bit of a challenge to the ham handed such as me, dropping them several times in the process. Praise be for the apron. Soldering them in place is not as difficult as I thought it might be – drop them in from underneath the footplate and a quick dab with the iron and there they are. The photo shows them in their non cleaned state – the centre iron especially needs a little more attention from a file. It may or may not be easier than smoothing them off before soldering, we’ll see. The photo is before cleaning. The footplate now resides in a mildly alkaline cleaning fluid and wil be attacked with a toothbrush when I’ve finished posting this blog entry.
     

    The uncleaned up front footplate and buffer beam, with the lamp irons in place. The rear buffer beam is similar.
     
    During the rest of the build we’ll have to be careful of the lamp irons so as not to snag them.
     
    The next bits are the 8BA nuts to secure the body to the chassis. Must remember to open out the holes to take the bolts BEFORE soldering on the nuts.
     
    On a thread, Paul from north Devon asked why the problem detail was not yet on the blog – my reply "The next blog entry is being written now - the trials are ongoing. Suffice to say it's been four working hours to get to bufferbeams laminated and set onto the footplate. And I've not yet finished for the night - lamp irons, if I can see the ***** things."
     
    So this is not a short job.
  7. Coombe Barton
    More on the footplate
     
    Right, so the cleanup.
     
    The brass is usually attacked with a glass fibre brush and that’s quite quick. For excess solder I use gravers. First found out about them from Eileen’s but bought from somewhere else when I was buying other tools (where they cost less) and mounted them in a couple of Axminster file handles. I use the ones made from 1.5mm and 2.5mm square section. A graver is simply a scraper with which you can get into the right angle and get the excess solder out. As with anything it’s gently, gently as the gravers are hard tool steel and can dig into brass quite effectively. Here I am using them to gradually pare off lumps of solder – just taking it off in layers and not quite down to brass as if you start carving into brass you affect the look of the final product. Fortunately most of the solder overflow was on the underside or where further overlays are going to be placed.
     


    Cleaned up footplate, glass fibre brush and gravers did the trick.
     
    Working on the footplate you have to be careful – there’s a couple of almost invisible lamp irons you folded up from the original sub-footplate and passed through holes in the footplate cladding – don’t want to bug mess those up. And there’s the reversing lever you’ve carefully folded up from the cab floor, which similarly you don’t need to mess with. So as a resting place I use a bench hook I’ve made which withstands the pressures I’m putting on it.
     
    Bench Hook
     
    Most jewellers’ bench hooks are a bit of flat hardwood with a taper to the front, and maybe a V cut and maybe a hole to take the piercing saw blade they’re made for. It’s clamped to the bench with a G clamp made from flat section. Now being heavy handed I decided that these may be OK for jewellery but bend a bit for my sort of use. So having a conventional cast G clamp and some suitable hardwood, beech, from an old window frame, I’d make one. Dimensions are not critical, just that everything fits. I work at my bench at jewellers’ height – the top of the bench is at chest level when I’m sitting at it – so I’m looking for a clamp-on rather than screw on device. I have a mitre saw my son bought me for a birthday, so a few chops with that and a drill or two with a flat wood bit we have a bench hook. Didn’t need much sanding, being good hardwood. The front is angled so that anything that overlaps to the back misses the projection of the clamp. A bit of finishing work with a chisel and that’s it.
     

    Bench hook components - grid is 1cm squares
     
    The completed article sits clamped to the end of the bench – I’ve found that putting it ‘away’ defeats the object of having it as I never seem to be able to find it again.
    Why am I going on about this? Well, the bench hook is the convenient surface to support the work whilst cleaning, the important sticky-up bits being able to work round the holes.
     

    Bench hook in place.
     
    Watchmaker's Apron
    The second item I’ve found invaluable is an adapted butcher’s apron used as a watchmaker’s apron. Now I’ve not seen one of these commercially despite searching, and I first saw one nearly fifty years ago being used by, of all people, a watchmaker. In modelling terms it prevents a whole load of escapes to the carpet because you drop things. What it doesn't prevent is ‘over the shoulder’ pings, but these are much, much less frequent than simple drops.
     
    You have to look at what you’re doing to realise an effective design, so let’s look at some of the activities carried out on the workbench.
    Cutting – various sharp devices in various materials.
    Drilling – hand or power.
    Shaping – some requiring a bit of welly.
    Joining – hot (some very hot) and cold.
    Holding – we don’t have the multiplicity of hands often required.
    Finishing – some requiring a bit of welly.
    Colouring – paints and weathering mainly.
    Testing – maybe powered.
    Assembly/disassembly – small part abundance.

    From this list I developed a set of criteria. Some years ago I wrote about this on RMweb and several people offered suggestions. One I remember from Pannier Tank (David) of this parish is that I should make it escapable from in case of fire.
     
    Looking at the set of working conditions above that’s extremely sensible. At one time there was on the web an illustration of a watchmaker’s apron attached to a guy (said I couldn’t find a decent illustration just now) but he had the waist straps tied. This would not let him escape if things got rather hot. Sainbury’s at one time had a butcher’s apron for a fiver. It’s now on their website at six quid but it’s unavailable. Useful. So here’s the criteria, mostly adapted to suit the said apron.
    Cotton. Not polyester, as it won’t resist any solder spatter or hot objects dropped on it. Sorry, EMGS, for this reason your aprons won’t work (and it’s fifteen quid!).
    Heavy cotton. A flowery pinny won’t work.
    Fairly plain in colour so that the bits you drop show up. Amazon are currently selling blood spattered butcher’s aprons. Not sure if that’s a good idea in any circumstances.
    Open to modification.

    By the way the sewing is not, nowhere near, seamstress standard – but it works.
     
    So let’s take a standard butcher’s apron with a bib and adapt it. Apart from the apron you need four cup hooks, four key rings or curtain rings and a (very) small amount of Velcro – both halves, hook and loop. You’ll also need somewhere to screw the cup hooks and this is where my workbench design comes in. A previous blog entry details the workbench construction.
     
    Adaptation (assuming that you have a standard butcher’s apron):
    Remove the waist straps – cut them off close to where they join the apron.
    Remove the pocket – carefully unstitch it as you need to leave the main fabric as undamaged as possible. The pocket will hide things when you drop them - that's why it goes.
    Remove the neckband adjustment mechanism – the two metal rings. You may have to cut them off.
    Here’s the safety critical bit. You need to be able to stand up and move away from the workbench and have the apron detach itself from your body. So you need two small bits of Velcro, one stitched from where you took the rings and the other to the other end of the neck strap. It’s only to prevent it falling, not hold it on in a gale. My loop side is only 10mm wide and I used a Velcro button for the hook side. The loop is sewn with some black thread (did I mention you need some of this and a needle?), black so that you can see what you’re doing ‘cos you’re not out for dressmaker of the year.


    The neckstrap Velcro attachment - grid is 1cm sqiare
    Now put the apron on – you can only hang it round you neck and pull. It should drop off easily. If it doesn’t you’ve used too big a bit of Velcro. The purpose of this is that if you have to get away from the workbench sharpish you can.
    When this is done to your satisfaction we can start on the bottom. Have a look at the section of my workbench where there’s a length of 2x1 (measurements in old money here) that stops the bench being pushed backwards over the table you have it on. You need to screw the cup hooks into this bit. [WARNING – do not try this unless you have a purpose built workbench such as mine or a workshop with a bench – cuphooks into the edge of the kitchen or dining table are not going to go down too well with SWMBO and you may well find yourself banished to the shed. And that’s to sleep and eat (if she allows) as well!]



    The finished (i.e. bent) cuphook and their position under the workbench. The 2x1 batten must be far enough back so that you can clamp vice and other attachments and that any dropped items can be caught by the apron.
    The measurements are now up to you. The hooks need to spread the apron fairly tight under the lip of the workbench. So do that, and about an inch in from each edge of the apron screw a cup hook. In my case the batten was shorter, so screw a cup hook at the end of the batten. Then divide that length into thirds and screw another cup hook at these intervals.
    The next task is to establish the place where on the apron you’re going to sew on the curtain/key rings to mate with the cuphooks. It’s unlikely to be at the bottom hem, because what you’re trying to do is create a bowl into which bits drop so that you can recover them. So sit at your workbench, put the neckstrap on and fold the bottom of the apron, holding it against the cuphook bar at the ends until there’s a nice curve. It shouldn’t have volumes of material round your thighs otherwise it won’t be a catch bowl, it’ll all spill out again. Mine has the edge rings stitched nine inches (23cm) from the bottom and the centre ring 6-7 inches (c.16-17cm) to form a bowl shape, but you must try this against your own bench height and work practice.


    Attachment of curtain rings - or in this case keyrings.
    Now stitch the rings and try the whole thing on for fit. Then try getting up. You’ll probably find that instead of the neck strap coming away that the whole apron will come off the cup hooks. I’d initially designed it to do this as an extra safety measure, but in working the darned thing came off the cup hooks too easily, as I eventually closed up the cuphooks nearly all the way, still leaving a little bit of a gap so that apron could be removed if necessary. The precision instrument for this was a large pair of pliers. Safety isn’t compromised because the neck detachment works.
    You haven’t finished yet. What you have is a hammock between your neck and the workbench. The final bit is to make the hammock more of a bowl to prevent spillage of bits onto the floor. From where you cut the waist straps fold a couple of inches and stitch the point where the waist straps were attacked to the edge of the bib. You then have an area where bits you drop can be collected.


    Illustration of the bit where the waistband was stitched onto the side of the bib.
    Now the watchmaker where I first saw this kept a load of tools there as well. I don’t think that this is a very good idea for us as first you won’t be able to find the bits you drop and second the extra weight is going to pull the neck strap Velcro apart and everything will descend to the floor where you’re trying to prevent it going. To be fair the watchmaker didn’t have solder and blowlamps going so didn’t need to have the safety escape.
    Putting on and taking off is simply slipping the neck strap over your head. Don’t undo the Velcro every time – it won’t last as long. The Velcro’s only the safety device. And I park mine by hanging the neckstrap over the vice.
    Occasionally unhook the apron and shake off the detritus – the advantage being that all those ‘nasty little bits of metal’ haven’t descended to carpet level. You need a clear bowl to detect the important little bit that’s fallen without having to wade through a load of solder scrap and filings. And some of the little important bits aren’t much larger than the solder scrap or filings, anyway.
    If there is an insistence that ‘it needs washing’ make sure that before it’s used again it’s ironed – crinkly bottoms are where bits hide.
    I reckon I've spent a lot, and I mean a lot, less time crawling round the floor trying and mainly failing to find bits of model over the past few years. I made this three, maybe four years ago. And the purpose of this is not really to protect your clothes – which it does – but to starve the carpet monster.


    The finished apron in use. Normally I don't sit this far back but the bowl shape can be seen.
     
    Back to the Build
     
    So where were we – ah yes, building a 45xx.
     
    Drop footplate bits are next. The instructions make it sound simple but a dry run or two will be necessary so that cock-up opportunity is minimised. Reference to the diagram and preferably a photo is also a must.
     

    5542 on the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway this summer.
     
    The next task is to anneal the front footplate overlay and make the bend. Annealing is much easier, I've discovered, with a precision blowtorch rather than holding a delicate piece of brass with a pair of pliers over the burner flame of the cooker. So anneal, bend round a former (I used a small drill and round end pliers) and clean prior to soldering. And probably re-anneal because it wasn't right the first time and your bending will have hardened it again. Solder – there’s a convenient hole to bolt it together. And use clamps - metal. Then de-acidify and clean again.
     
    In this soldering process the first solder joints made in this project (the valance to buffer beam rear) are inevitably going to come apart so a little dexterity and good clamping should be employed. However the use of a swear box is not recommended unless what goes in is going to be diverted to modelling purchases, in which case employ as much invective as you can.
     
    You don’t need part 23 if you’re building a curved drop – only need that if it’s a square drop. Says he having re-read the instructions for the umpteenth time wondering where the darned part fits!
     

    Bent, soldered and prior to cleaning.
     

    Bent, soldered and cleaned
     
    Buffer beams next. How they look depends on the prototype and up to 4554 frames and beams altered. This engine is between 4555 and 4547, the 1924 Swindon build.
     
    You may think I'm taking this rather slow – agreed, but I'm trying to write it up at the same time and occasionally work and family take priority. I'm also documenting the ancillary bits, which are the tools and equipment I've made. This will diminish as we go forward.
     
    In other news this week saw the arrival of the sprung hornblocks from Alan Gibson Workshop, so the chassis build can now go ahead.
  8. Coombe Barton
    Soldering the footplate laminates.
     
    Flux
     
    Now there’s a lot written about fluxes. A lot of people swear by this, that or the other flux, all with secret recipes. Some of the most respected people in the field say phosphoric acid, 9% or 12% for more challenging metals, going to as low as 7% or lower for whitemetal. Iain Rice has information on this in Rice, I. (1990). Etched Loco Construction. Didcot: Wild Swan Publications. p. 31.
     
    Now fluxes are hard to post and running out on a Sunday morning is not good for the temper. And they’re relatively expensive, and according to the same book some of the commercial ones are to darned strong, as all you need is that metal will clean enough for solder to flow to join the bits together. So I’ve made my own flux using food grade phosphoric acid (75%) from Brupaks. It’s used for washing yeast in brewing and winemaking.
     
    Making up the flux is as simple as measuring out and mixing. However the accuracy required, whilst not being the same as clinical accuracy, is important, so I’ve been collecting a set of stuff to help me, all of which were internet sourced except as mentioned.
     
    Measuring and ingredients
     
    · Set of cheap plastic measuring cylinders. (10, 25, 50 and 100ml)
    · Set of 100ml plastic bottles.
    · Set of funnels (Halfords)
    · Aromatherapy pipettes (3ml). These are the same as those sold at exhibitions for a lot for a small quantity but a lot less expensive bought in 100s.
    · 10ml syringes with blunt needles, intended for refilling printer ink cartridges. Brushes disintegrate.
    · Deionised water (Sainsbury’s). Other supermarkets and motor factors are available.
    · Brupaks Phosphoric Acid (250ml – 75%). This was posted to me – maybe it’s a food not an industrial product.
     

    Mixing the flux - the bits I have.
     
    Mix quantities.
     
    If you want to follow this path, to make 100ml of the following strength phosphoric acid (nearest ml) you need to mix:
     
    · 5% Strength 7ml 75% Phosphoric Acid plus 93ml De-ionised water
    · 6% Strength 8ml 75% Phosphoric Acid plus 92ml De-ionised water
    · 7% Strength 9.5ml 75% Phosphoric Acid plus 90.5ml De-ionised water
    · 9% Strength 12ml 75% Phosphoric Acid plus 88ml De-ionised water
    · 12% Strength 16ml 75% Phosphoric Acid plus 84ml De-ionised water
    · 15% Strength 20ml 75% Phosphoric Acid plus 80ml De-ionised water
     
    Soldering
     
    Being in a university where we have a School of Jewellery got me thinking about Jewellery equipment suppliers, and so I’ve bought some soldering blocks. They should prevent me from setting the place on fire too frequently.
     
    Blowtorch
     
    I have several irons – 18W, 25W, 40W and 80W. But when a large area of metal’s to be laminated it’s not so much the heat you want as the spread. Dremel (other brands are available) supplied mine. The advantage (I am told) of blowtorches is that heat can get to a larger area – and we’re laminating two bits of brass. The theory is that if you get an area that’s above the melting point of the solder that the solder will flash through under capillary action and make the joint. This also presupposes that you’ve clamped the bits together well enough. So an arrangement of bolts (the instructions suggest 10BA), clips and potentially wooden clothespegs will do. The arsenal was assembled and the footplate assembly aligned with the help of the bolts. Then clips (clothespegs were too big) held the layers together.
     

    The soldering blocks preventing the place catching fire.
     
    The process of aiming and timing the blowlamp needs to be managed (I've learned) so that it’s hot enough for the solder to flash into the joint but not hot enough to anneal the brass. Bit of softly, softly catchee monkey to start off with, and I was too cautious at first, but a reclean and restart soon got the right temperature for the process to work. Flux was applied using the syringe – sometimes it was a case of requiring more hands.
     
    So the soldering proceeded apace. Nearly forgot that metals, having been in a blowlamp flame, remain hot, but no burning flesh resulted. Reactions, although not quite as fast as they were, were fast enough that time. But it got together, and is now resting in a tub of water to dilute any remaining acid. The water will soon be joined by some mildly alkaline cream cleaner to neutralise any remaining stray hydrogen ions.
     
    So now it needs cleaning and scraping.
     
    These are the ‘before’ photos. The ‘after’ will appear in the next blog post.
     
     

    Before cleaning - topside of footplate
     

    Before cleaning - underside of footplate.
  9. Coombe Barton
    Churchward 45xx
     
    It’s about time. I’ve had this kit for about a year. And seeing threads such as A Nod To Brent, Wencombe, Mayhill, Salcombe and, just yesterday, Western Diversion have all prompted me to get up off my ars backside and start.
     
    So what is it? One of the last, if not THE last, 45xx 4mm Churchward 45xx kit sold by Modelex, just before the range went to Phoenix Precision. At the time of writing no 4mm kits and just one 7mm 45xx kits are listed on the Phoenix Precision website. This is a Malcolm Mitchell design from 1986. It will be a companion to the 44xx I’ve still got in the box, also by Malcolm Mitchell via David Geen. Both will be built to 18.83mm gauge.
     
    This loco will be numbered between 4555 and 4574, the 1924 Swindon build. I’ll have to research precisely which one and the decision will be made when I see what pix I can get of the locos in that series so that the model will be accurate as much as I can. Don’t know about the location – as I’m bending history with the layouts would be nice but not essential to have something local.
     
    Components
     
    · Churchward 45xx body and chassis kit
    · Gibson wheels
    · Gibson sprung hornblocks
    · High Level Roadrunner+ 54:1 gearbox
    · Mashima 1424 motor
    · Branchlines flywheel
     
    Instructions
     
    As we all know, reading the instructions completely before starting on any kit is vital. Whether the instructions bear any resemblance to the kit they’re joined to is sometimes another matter. However these are Malcolm Mitchell instructions, so they’re probably OK. Rather more of an issue is the repeated photocopying of the photocopy of the photocopy of the ... . They’re less than clear, unfortunately. This contrasts markedly with the High Level instructions for the gearbox, which are a model of process clarity and reproduction quality. It’s unfortunate that the 44xx instructions for the other kit have similarly suffered similar generational reproduction.
     
    The Build

    The body frets
     
    Most people start with the chassis. I had intended to but the hornblocks aren’t here yet and the body and chassis are two independent bits of kit. So the body first (which may change as we progress).
    Now the instructions say that you cut out from the fret only when you need the part. Sound advice. But when the parts are included within the holes of the parts you need to assemble then this becomes a little difficult. Now I’ve tried plastic bags, attaching things to paper/card by sellotape, but none have been very successful until I looked at those little jars that hotel jam comes in. Now I don’t frequent that many hotels, so a freebie source of those is not enough, so I bought a hundred last year. I’ve been using and reusing them as they’re cleanable and being airtight they can also hold paints. They take up a little more room than plastic bags but for me they’re good. At sixteen quid a hundred they’ll do me. So the extra bits are stored and labelled safely, and they all pack into the project box and the little bits of brass are safe from my clumsiness.
     

    The jars (labelled) so that I can find things again.
     
    So cutting out and cleaning up the two bits of footplate, then bending them up prior to soldering together took a little time. A “thank you” here. A few years ago at the Derby RMweb gathering I first met Paul (Halfwit of this parish) who introduced me to the Hold and Fold bending tool. Invaluable. Thanks, Paul.
     
    Bending the footplate edges exactly at right angles needed a little persuasion from a block of hardwood and a hammer. I have the feeling that bending bars would be a little more difficult to use and keep things flat. I bought my Hold and Folds from Eileen’s but have discovered that now they’re available at far lower costs from ScaleModelShop. Don’t think they were available from them when I bought mine.
     
    Now the kit is multipurpose – any type from the original 2161 to 4574 can be built with a variety of bunker and footplate types. I want the latest (1924) Swindon build so none of the trims to accommodate reduced lengths are required. So it’s a case of cutting, fettling, bending prior to soldering to set the footplate up. And in this, keeping the darned thing flat and unkinked.
     
    And that’s where we are at the moment. Next is to solder laminate the two halves of the footplate, and learn how to use the Dremel blowtorch.
     

    Bent footplate bits waiting for cleaning and soldering.
  13. Coombe Barton
    Buckland Hard - Frames
     
    The frames that I've managed to rescue appear to be beech - but they're quite light, but well seasoned and strong. The layout is divided into two 3ft by 15inch boards, each with integral backscene, sidewall and top.
     

     
    This is a schematic of the left hand frame, the right hand one being nearly a mirror image. Because of the nature of the wood and the position in the house, on permanent display, the framing wood will be waxed and polished rather than painted. Lighting will be behind the front of the frame at the top.
     
    There will be a front on to keep the dust off when not in use, acrylic glazed, so that it should look like a cabinet. Ply baseboard top, ply backscene patternmakers dowels for alignment and I should have somewhere to run. Control is planned to be beneath the bridge at the right hand end.
     
    I have yet to determine the mechanical linkages necessary between the two boards for the wire in tube to cross to control the release and double slip, but electrics will all be taken across the join via plug and socket rather than trying to rely on sprung contacts.
     
    On top of the ply I’m using Depron foam secured with Copydex and then the track with double sided tape. As the track is all inset there will be no visible ballast, just carefully cut cobbles from Scalescenes.
     
    The exact layout of the track will be after I’ve built it, but the full sized plan I’ve drawn makes this less of a problem – just now to build it.
     
  14. Coombe Barton

    Buckland Hard

    By Coombe Barton,

    Buckland Hard
     
    I want a test track – I want to try out building styles and materials – Scalescenes stuff needs experimentation – but above all I need to have somewhere to run something without mounting the whole layout while I get the stock built.
     
    But I also want to have somewhere to play.
     
    Buckland Hard is part of the fiction of the passing of the Buckland Regis and Coombe Barton Railway Act in 1853. Both lie along the River Sether (look up a Cornish dictionary if you’re still in any doubt where it’s based). The line from Buckland to Coombe passes through Bishops Compton which used to boast an abbey before the Dissolution. Buckland Regis at the tidal limit of the River Sether. The hard was built before the Railway, having existed as an import point for all manner of materials. Deforestation, agriculture and mining resulting in silting of the river have all taken their toll of the efficacy of sea and river borne trade.
     
    The railway serves Buckland Hard via a small branch from the main line. There is one engine in steam regulation and traffic consists of coal, timber (for the furniture factory) seed, fertiliser (it’s an . agricultural community) and previously limestone and lime, as there are now disused limekilns.
     
    There is a six foot long windowsill beside my desk and workbench – type on the laptop on the desk, swivel the chair and there’s the workbench – and quite conveniently have had to scrap items that have yielded some 3ft by 18 in hardwood frames. Quite convenient. From the end of the windowsill there’s an area over my desk that can serve as a fiddle yard. The track is all inset (cobbled surface) and built using copperclad sleepers. Turnout control is by wire in tube controlled by a Scalefour Society lever frame. Electrics are DC, gauge of 18.83mm. Couplings are Alex Jackson.
     
    The track plan incorporates complexity – it’s a test track – and with it I hope to prove what I’m doing before putting Coombe Barton together.
     
    Rough plan
     

     
    Buildngs from left to right
     

    Black – disused limekilns and coal merchant with stables (Totnes Plains and Lostwithiel Brunel Quays for the idea) Light Grey – Furniture Factory (Staverton for the idea) Black and Dark Grey – Warehouses – Totnes Quays and Sutton harbour for the idea (or maybe a dock office) Light Grey fading to backscene - Pub - Sutton Harbour for the ideaand Padstow for the road behind the building fronting the harbor Light grey Island Building – Seed/Fertilizer merchants Brown – Turnpike Bridge – Totnes for the idea
  16. Coombe Barton
    Conservation Area Character Appraisals and Management Plans
     
    In the links below many more areas are designated as conservation areas - but those listed are the only ones with character appraisals.
     
    Appraisals look at:
     

    The history of the buildings Topography and landscape setting Settlement form Important views and vistas Locally distinctive features and vernacular building styles Past and present activities and uses Streetscape and the public realm Green spaces and trees Penwith
     
    Penzance, Marazion, Bojewyan, Botallack and Truthwall, Boscaswell, Carnyorth, Nancherrow and Tregeseal, Pendeen and Trewellard.
     
    Kerrier
     
    Breage, Camborne Town Centre, Helston, Plain-an-Gwarry, Redruth, Porthleven, Redruth, St Day, Tuckingmill and Roskear
     
    Carrick
     
    Chacewater, Devoran, Penryn, St Agnes, Truro, Falmouth
     
    Restormel
     
    St Columb Major, Tywardreath, Polkerris, Crantock, Fowey, Grampound, Pentewan
     
    North Cornwall
     
    Launceston, Altarnun, Blisland, Boscastle, Camelford, Port Isaac, St Kew, St Teath, Bude, Poughill, Stratton
     
    Caradon
     
    Looe
  17. Coombe Barton
    These documents are recent and give plenty of detail about the coonservation area. More importantly they usually give plenty of high quality photographs.
     
    I've linked to the man websites where I can, but some of the detail is proving elusive. I will update as and when I can.
     
    Each is arranged by the authority carrying out the appraisal. After each authority is the list of areas covered.
     
    Dartmoor National Park Authority
     
    Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Chagford, Crockernwell, Drewsteignton, Dunsford, Horrabridge, Lustleigh, Lydford, Manaton, Mary Tavy, Meavy, Moretonhampstead, Murchington, North Bovey, North Brentor, Princetown, South Brent, South Tawton, South Zeal, Sticklepath, Throwleigh, Widecombe-in-the-Moor
     

     
    East Devon
     
    Beer, Brampford Speke, Broadclyst, Broadhembury, Budleigh Salterton, Chardstock, Dunkeswell, East Budleigh, Kilmington, Otterton, Seaton, Sidmouth
     

     
    Exeter
     
    Alphin Brook, Alphington, Belmont, Central Exeter, Cowick Street, Exwick, Heavitree, Longbrook, Midway Terrace and Ide Lane, Mont Le Grande, Pennsylvania, Princes Square, Riverside, Southernhay and The Friars, St. David's, St. Leonard's, St. Sidwells, Taddyforde, Topsham
     

     
    Mid Devon
     
    Bampton, Bradninch, Crediton, Cullompton, Cullompton, Halberton , Tiverton, Upton Hellions, Willand , Yeoford, Sampford Peverell
     

     
    North Devon
     
    Barnstaple - Ebberly Lawn, Barnstaple Town Centre, Bickington, Croyde, Fremington, Fremington Quay, Georgeham, Ilfracombe, Lake, Mortehoe, Newport, Pilton, Rumsam, Putsborough, South Molton, Woolacombe
     

     
    Plymouth
     
    Adelaide Street/Clarence Place, Barbican, Devonport, Ebrington Street, The Hoe, Mannamead, North Stonehouse, Plympton St Maurice, Royal Naval Hospital/Millfields, Stoke, Stonehouse Peninsula, Tamerton Foliot, Turnchapel, Union Street
     

     
    South Hams
     
    Ashprington, Berry Pomeroy, Cornworthy, Ermington, Modbury, Newton Ferrers, Noss Mayo, Salcombe, Stoke Fleming, Stoke Gabriel, Strete, Totnes, Tuckenhay, Yealmpton
     

     
    Teignbridge
     
    Bovey Tracey, Chudleigh, Dawlish, Forde Park, Newton Abbot, Ringmore, Teignmouth, Wolborough
     

     
    Torbay
     
    Abbey Road, Babbacombe Downs, Barton, Belgravia, Cary Park, Cockington, Chelston, Maidencombe, Old Paignton, Polsham, Roundham and Paignton harbour, Shorton, St Marychurch, Torre, Tormohun, Torquay Harbour, Upton, Warberries, Watcombe Park
     

     
    Torridge
     
    This is a list of the conservatiuon areas - I have yet to find much on the sources of the appraisals.
     
    Appledore, Ashreigney, Beaford, Bideford, Bideford Clovelly Road, Bideford East, Bradworthy, Buckland Brewer, Bucks Mills, Clovelly, Dolton, Great Torrington, Hartland, High Bickington, Holsworthy, Kingscott, Merton, Northam, Sheepwash, Winkleigh
     

     
    West Devon (from this source)
     
    The reports are part of council minutes and do not appear to be collected.
    Bere Alston, Bere Ferrers, Bratton Clovelly, Bridestowe, Broadwoodkelly, Buckland Monachorum, Exbourne, Eworthy and Germansweek, Hatherleigh, Lamerton, Lifton, Milton Abbot, Milton Combe, Northlew, North Tawton, Okehampton, Sampford Courtenay, South Tawton, Stowford, Tavistock x3, Tavistock/Bere Alston Railway, Whitchurch and Weir Quay
     
    These are the ones I can find
     
    Tavistock
     
     
  18. Coombe Barton
    I've been collecting resources for years about Devon and Cornwall for purposes other than modelling. I've been using them for modelling research so sharing them seems the natural thing to do. Many of them in Cornwall may suffer webdeath because of the new Unitary Authority - these are based on the post 1974 districts.
     
    All links are to the CISI or CSUS (Cornwall & Scilly Urban Survey) sites.
     
    Main CISI map
    Main CSUS Map
    Penwith
     

    St Just Nancherrow-Tregeseal Botallack Carnyorth Trewellard Pendeen Bojewyan-Stennack Hayle 1 Hayle 2 Penzance St Ives Newlyn Scilly

    Hugh Town Kerrier
     

    Porthleven Praze an Beeble Portreath St Day Troon Beacon Camborne 1 Camborne 2 Tuckingmill Pool Illogan Highway Redruth 1 Redruth 2
    Helston Carrick
    St Agnes Newlyn East Chasewater Devoran Perranaworthal Truro Falmouth Penryn Restormel
     

    Pentewen Polgooth St Austell
    St Blazey Luxulyan Foxhole Nanpean St Dennis Bugle Roche Stenalees Newquay Caradon

    Looe Liskeard
    St Cleer Tremar Coombe Crow’s Nest Darite Pensilva Minions Upton Cross
    Henwood Kelly Bray Callington Drakewalls - Albaston
    Calstock Gunnislake Torpoint Saltash Launceston
    North Cornwall

    St Breward Delabole Treknow and Tregatta Camelford Bodmin
  19. Coombe Barton
    Control Panels
     
    At some recent exhibitions I’ve been looking at the control panels people have been using. Some are almost as large as the layout they control. Others are a tad smaller. Most are maps of the system. So in my perverse way what better to start designing the layout than with the control panel.
     
    The design of Coombe Barton requires that the control panel is incorporated within the layout, hence why I’m starting with it. And the room taken up by said control panel will determine what track is laid where, to some extent. At least it determines how much . The point and signal control is entirely manual and will be using the Scalefour Society’s lever frames. The train control is DC – via a Morley Vector using the supplied remote. Uncoupling is via electromagnets for the Alex Jacksons. I’ve been trying to combine the signal box and control diagrams with little success, so separated them.
     
    Signal Box Diagram and Control Panel – yellow circles are where section switches, red circles where uncoupling magnet pushbuttons will be.

     
    The lever frame is about 6†wide.

     
    Putting the whole lot together will be interesting, but should look a bit like this.

  20. Coombe Barton
    The Bunds
     
    So the anti spill in plastic caused problems. Especially with plastic solvents. To be expected, wasn’t it?
     
    Yes, well ...
     
    So this time a visit to Pets at Home (the dogs sent me, actually, to get them some treats) to get a couple of £1.59 stainless steel dog bowls. Small ones will do – you only need to use them as a bund in the most extreme circumstances so the volume needs be over twice that of the largest bottle/tin you’re going to put in them. They’re for stability, And you only need a couple - I tried to think of a situation when I'd need more constructional fluids open at once and found it difficult to imagine.
     
    Tools and materials:
    Stripwood Saw (a compound mitre model helps – but you can do all this by hand with a lot less noise and less chance of covering the dog in sawdust as she lies in the deposit) Clamps Glue
    Constructional details:
    Put the bottle/tin in the middle Cut some stripwood to fit the sides and chamfer ends - I set the saw to 30 degrees mitre having looked at what was needed by eye and it seems to work.
    Cut some stripwood to space the longer bits Glue and clamp Label, as what can be an effective fit for one bottle can be seriously large for one only a couple of millimetres smaller. Use That’s all – dimensions will depend on the dog bowls and bottles in use. And, as before, a couple of thousand more words.

     
    And the collection showing the constructional method.

     
  21. Coombe Barton
    Coombe Barton Workbench
     
    For the past twenty five years I've been using half of an old church notice board as a modelling workbench. However age as taken its toll and the ply is seriously delaminating. So this is the construction of a replacement. I can now incorporate features that will make life easier that I'd neglected to do for the past quarter century.
     
    I've been using the modelling workbench for a whole variety of things, sometimes including railway modelling. However from the modelling perspective I looked at what the processes were that I had to follow and try to separate them, then looked at the tools and materials needed for each process so that I could accommodate them.
     
    Processes for the workbench (not an exhaustive list) with the general tool types needed.
    Trackmaking - cutting, drilling, fettling, soldering, solvents
    Control mechanism construction (panels, lever frame) - cutting, drilling, fettling, soldering, swearing
    Loco building - cutting, drilling, fettling, soldering, electrics, clamps
    Rolling stock building - cutting, drilling, fettling, soldering, solvents, clamps
    Building construction - drilling, scalpels, straightedges, adhesives, clamps
    Treemaking - soldering, cutting, messy painting, clay, scenic materials
    Detail construction - anything
    Painting, spray and brush - paints, airbrushes, fume extraction, brushes, thinners, drying time

    The purpose of this decision process is to have the common tools to hand and then move specialist kitsets in when I need them.
     
    I'm particularly good at spilling liquids, so have decided that all pots of liquids will live in a deep container, and then when I'm using them (which will usually be one or two at a time - flux and solvent are not normally part of the same operation) I'll put them into an Ikea food container - having tested the reaction of the fluid on the base first. The bottle is held upright and centred by a stripwood frame that's a push fit inside the container. More on this later.
     
    The bench dimensions are to suit me and my workshop site.
     
    Parts list:
    4ft x 2ft 3/4" ply. (or if in new money, 1220mm x 605mm 18mm ply)
    2 off 8ft lengths of 3/4" x ¼" hardwood strip for edges (2 off 2420mm of 18mm x 6mm)
    2ft of 2†x 1†(600mm of something that's deep enough to hold the board on the table to stop it being pushed backwards - see later for construction)
    Depron 3mm foam to stick on underside to protect surface it’s lying on. (I’m also using this for tracklaying). You could also use cork – I did for the original version and that lasted 25 years.
    8ft of 1 3/8†x ¼ “ hardwood (2420mm of 35mm x 6mm) for tool rack
    Brackets for tool rack – I used some 35mm sq beech I had lying around
    Copydex, screws, panel pins, matt varnish.

    The total cost was less than £35, sourcing the timber and glues from Wickes.
     
    This is a view of the finished article in use, finally starting the High Level Pannier chassis I bought to do over Christmas!
     

     
    I decided that my available space was 2’8†wide. Funnily enough this was about the width of the previous version. It can be picked up by one person without too much danger to doors and other furniture. And it also gives a 1’4†remainder that slices neatly in half to form the back and side boards.
     
    Rough cutting diagram
     

     
    Please note that the dimensions are approximate. Lengths have to be judged at time of construction because the back is slightly longer than the base. After cutting sanding the edges (I used a belt sander) reduces the splinter count markedly.
     
    Construction
     
    Screw and glue back to base making sure that the total length of the back including the stripwood trim is the length of the base plus twice the thickness of the ply. I built it this way round, to screw the back into the sides, but equally I could have screwed the sides to the back. After fitting the back the stripwood edging went on round the back.
     
    For the sides I cut a chamfer at the top front of the sides to save the knuckles when reaching for the tools (believe me, it’s necessary if you’re me), then edge with the ¾†x ¼†hardwood all round strip, glueing (PVA or Copydex) and pinning (panel pins). The edging is to prevent splinters.
     

     
    Then comes the fixing of the retaining piece. This is the lump of 2 by 1 that is screwed to the bottom of the base to hold it against the edge of the table. It needs to be fitted sufficiently far back from the front edge of the board to take the clamps of the vices and clamps I employ. Precise measurement is not required (about 3†will do and it needs to be well fixed (I used six screws) because you’re pushing against this a lot of the time. Photograph and diagram of this:
     

     

     
    It’s important that it’s parallel to the front edge of the base, otherwise you’ll find it difficult to visualise right angles as when you push it back on the table you’re supporting it on it’ll not be square. It may not seem important but if it’s wrong you’ll soon know. A friend made of these following my original pattern and it wasn’t quite square. It was disorienting to work at.
    In this diagram I also show the foam/cork, but this is not fitted yet – it comes after the toolholders have been built.
     
    Toolholders
     
    I looked at the price of jewellers bench toolholders and coughed. They do the job, but ...
     
    So it was back to Wickes for 8ft of stripwoood, 1 3/8†x ¼†this time. A toolholder must fit the tools in use. I also had the remains of the ¾†x ¼†strip left, and some 1 ½†square beech from which I could fashion brackets. I wanted racks for pliers, screwdrivers and needle files and somewhere to put clips, solders and the small stuff that doesn’t fit in racks. As a picture is worth a thousand words, here's 4000 words.
     

     

     

     

     
    After cutting the wider stripwood to fit between the cheeks of the board, and determining the size and shape of the brackets it then came to making the toolholder. 8mm holes seem to be about right, so marking out a suitable spacing to fit both the board and the tool so that they can be grabbed easily is a matter of experiment. I came up with staggered holes at 30mm centres 12mm from each edge of the strip, laying two strips in parallel. The diagram and photographs show it far better than any description. The boxes for solders and clips are glued together.
     

     

     
    When allocating tool space I think it's important to separate the sharps from the rest, hence knives and drills are in plastic containers at the back of the board - handy but somewhat protected against stray hands and crys of 'Ouch!'
     
    Then the whole thing is turned upside down and Depron glued to the bottom with Copydex.
     
    To seal a coat of quick drying Ronseal matt varnish (dried in 20 minutes) sealed the dust in.
     

     
    This is the basic board with the common tools for the processes identified at the start. Then there’s the anti spill trays and the adaptations for the various tasks. These are all extras and will get built when I need them.
     
    The Anti Spill Tray
     
    This is some sort of tray with wooden inserts to hold the bottle of fluid. There's a large base - less easy (but not impossible) to knock over. Construction is a matter of cutting wood to length and screwing together. neither the frame nor the bottle need be a perfect fit - it just needs to be able to hold it upright reasonably securely.
     

  22. Coombe Barton
    Measure twice, cut once, they say.
     
    This one fell at the 'measure once' stage.
     
    The layout was designed to have four boards 3' 6" long, 2ft wide and one 2' square. It's portable and would have to be stored, and the design takes care of this. It also has to fit in the back of the car, a Focus estate. That's where the problems come in - I made an assumption (which is the mother of all cocks ups). So now there are four boards 4' x 1'9", two mainly station, one mainly river and one fiddle.
     
    The disdvantage is that I lose 3" off the scenery the length of the layout. The railway is unaffected. A decided advantage is that I simplify the cross-baseboard point and signal controls. I can still run trains 3ft long plus loco, I can still give myself problems shunting, all I wanted to do. I want to store all boards in their 'proper' orientation, i.e. right way up, so that things have less of a chance of dropping off (who am I kidding)
     
    I was at the stage of about to start to buy wood - but fortunately hadn't placed any orders. So now back to the drawing board to replan.
  23. Coombe Barton

    Signalling

    By Coombe Barton,

    Following a great deal of help from RMWeb members here http://www.rmweb.co....al-box-diagram/ and here http://www.rmweb.co....ease-crossover/, the signal box diagram is now finalised.
     

     
    Levers
    1 - Home
    2 - FPL
    3 - Main to loop and trap
    4 - Main to goods
    5 - Dummy main to goods
    6 - Dummy main to loop
    7 - Dummy loop to main
    8 - Starter
    9 - Adv starter
    10 - Shunt
    11 - Dummy from goods to main
    12 - Spare
    13 - Engine release
    14 - Dummy for engine release
     
    Lever 12 will control the Loco shed point - it should be lineside but with this lever arrangement it's just too darned convenient.
  25. Coombe Barton
    Stock Building
     
    Well, I've been buying, now all I have to do is build it.
     
    Partially completed, left over from the last time I was modelling, are a Churchward 45xx, and a 14xx on a Perseverance chassis, and complete (00) Mainline 57xx and 2251 Collett goods. eBay has provided me with another 14xx body and bits, eBay also provided me with another Airfix autocoach. I can now build both an A30 and an A28 version. At Warley from Dart Castings I collected a Frogmore AA3 brake van.
     
    The 57xx has a acquired a chassis, 54:1 gearbox and motor from High Level and wheels and bits from Alan Gibson, who has also provided stuff that I can use to complete the partially completeds. I'm also using the re-engineered Dart Castings Autocoach Detailing kits,
     
    From both Chris at High Level and Colin and Chris of Alan Gibson I ordered by phone in the afternoon and got the bits, complete and well packaged, the morning of the next day but one - and this was in the busy Christmas period.
     
    First Impressions - instructions
     
    Now this is out of the box stuff, and based on reading the instructions only.
    The High Level instructions are comprehensive and very well detailed, and uses real language. Seven A4 pages of how to, a parts list and etch identifying diagram and three pages of exploded diagrams of the build. By following the instructions I'm confident I can build this up.
    The Alan Gibson bits don't need much in the way of instructions, but what is provided is very sensible and straightforward. However a magnifying glass proved useful to read them.
    The Dart Castings material for the autocoach is three pages of instructions, a kit list and four pages of exploded diagrams. Reference is made to publications. The Frogmore kit of the AA3 brake van proves just how good the other instruction sets are by providing a contrast. Whilst all the basic assembly sequence is there the part identification and exploded diagram are not, There are photographs, but on my copy the ink was running out on the inkjet printer. An example of the basic nature of the instructions: "7) Fix end upright angle irons". I'm going to have some fun with this one!
    First Impressions - Engineering
    High Level - I'm going to enjoy building this one. The thing about good engineering is that it's immediately recognisable. The etch is clean and I have no doubt it'll do what is says on the tin. Alan Gibson stuff is also well engineered. It will also do what is says on the tin. Dart Castings detailing kit is a vast improvement over the previous version that was not very well receive in MRJ9. It's going to be more of a challenge as I;m not sre like the Airfix underframe that much I may play with some alternatives. The Frogmore A3 van is etched from a single sheet of 0.3mm brass and is clean. It will be something more of a challenge because as I've mentioned the parts are not identified. So to start
     
    The instructions and other materials have been photocopied to A3 so that my ageing eyesight is not too stressed. And there's a week before I have get back to work.
     
    And to continue
     
    I'm using this blog as a record. I've decided that (because I can) I'll document and photograph the builds so that I'll be able to ask for help with stuff I find difficult and have a history to relate. This will be mistakes and all. Chris at High Level will be getting an order for his 14xx chassis and (when the tender's available) another for the Collett goods. He tells me that he's engineering the chassis to suit a Dean Gods as well. Bogies and underframes on the autocoaches are going to be interesting. I'm tempted with Hubert Carr's MRD offerings. I talked with him at ExpoEM (this was before I'd made concrete plans) and am interested in his coach construction philosophy. I'll be talking to him again when he's at Watford Finescale (why is their website for 2007?). Otherwise I'll use the Dart Castings bogies. I'll use their sideframe castings anyway.
     
     

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