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rodent279

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  1. rodent279

    Bodywork

    By rodent279,


    Progress
    Some good progress this weekend. I decided to leave the bogies for a while and do a bit more on the body. The first job was to put in the other piece of brass angle that runs inside the body, just above solebar level. This was a replacement for the original, which got distorted. It went in quite well, although about 2mm too short.

    I then turned to the cab doors. These are flat, and have to have the top and bottom folded over, and the bodyside also has to be folded over to create the recessed door aperture. The door is soldered on to the inside of the aperture.


     
    Folding the bodyside over neatly was tricky. I made a half decent job using a right angle block, a piece of angle iron, a small hammer & a pair of pliers. The result is not quite as straight and crisp as I'd like, and the doors don't fit squarely,  but it's the best I can do.
     

     
    I also fitted the lower cab front panel. This is supplied flat, so I used an old rolling pin and a piece of brass rod to get the curves as best as I could. I'm quite pleased, the end result is not too bad.
     

     



    This is the state of play with the bogies. Apart from the brake cylinders on one set of frames, both are almost complete, and just require the sideframes soldering to the chassis.
    I'm not quite sure about the Delrin chain, it seems a bit loose, so may need a rework. 
     
  2. rodent279

    More Progress

    By rodent279,


    Progress
    Phots above show the two bogies. The one on the left has the damaged bogie frames, damaged by my artless soldering. I've now managed to release the Delrin sprocket from the axle, so that I can reposition the gear wheel centrally on the axle. I need to try to solder the ends of the bogie frames back on, which will be a test of my whitemetal soldering abilities. I have a spare set of frames, so I can make them up if I make a hash of the repair. 
    Two of the bearings also came loose, so I need to solder them back in. 
  3. rodent279

    Progress

    By rodent279,


    Progress
    So I've made a bit of neutral progress this evening. A step forwards in that I fixed the gear wheel on the 2nd bogie in place, after shaving a bit off the Delrin sprocket so that the brass gear wheel would sit centrally in line with the motor shaft. I also fitted the chain, then removed it & took a link out as it was too slack. After about half an hour fiddling, I finally got it back on, & it's nice & tight. Does anyone have an easy method of connecting Delrin chain?
    But there was also a step backwards. Turning to the completed bogie, I used a bit of bearing lock to fix a loose Delrin sprocket on the driven (I.e. not the motored) axle. In doing so, I managed to glue the brass bearing to the axle, and in turn loosened it in the bogie frame. I managed to get it all free and apart, and cleaned up ready for reassembly, but with all the handling, one of the sideframes came loose, so I took it off.
    I then turned to the motored axle. The gear wheel on this axle is also not in line with themotor shaft, so I unscrewed the wheel with the intention of getting the gear wheel & sprocket off and shaving a bit off the sprocket so that the gear wheel can be centred under the motor properly. However,  I can't budge the sprocket, and if it try too hard, the frames will bend. Both wheels are off, its just the axle in the frames with gear wheel & sprocket on it. I just cant get enough purchase on the axle & sprocket to move the sprocket along the axleto get it off. That's where I stopped for the evening. 
  4. rodent279

    2nd Bogie damaged.

    By rodent279,


    2nd Bogie
    Ok, so I messed up the second bogie, and had to get some replacement where metal castings from the current manufacturers of the kit. That's fine, white metal soldering is new to me, and a bit of a black art. How I managed to get one done is a mystery.
    I've also sprayed the one I've done with some matt black paint, just as a protective measure really, it was starting to corrode.
    I've not started on the new white metal castings for the second bogie yet. I thought that is crack on with the body shell, to make a change from endless work on the bogies.
    I thought that soldering brass may be a little less tricky. And it is really, though you do need to get a lot of heat in there. My latest snag is the reinforcing strips of brass angle that run along the lower edge of the body shell. These are flat packed etchings, and have to be cut to length and folded to a right angle before soldering.
    I don't own a miniature folding machine, so I did them in a vice.
    The first turned out ok, and is now tacked onto the inner body side quite neatly. The other, however, hasn't folded over quite as neatly, and has a slight curve in it, and also has some unevenness in it.
    I'm not sure how to straighten it, so I've got it clamped into the inner corner of a piece of aluminium angle. I'll leave it overnight and see if it has straightened up.
  6. rodent279
    Well, after 10 years sitting in it's box, I finally got my Wagon & Carriage Works O gauge 25 out & made a start. This is a white metal & brass kit & I am a newcomer to kits like these. Well, not quite-I made a oo gauge Hughes Dreadnought 4-6-0 for my dad, but I glued that. I intend to use low melting point solder here.
     
    Here is the complete kit spread out:-
     

     
    I started, as the instructions suggest, on the bogies. For starters, the bogie frames aren't very square, & needed a bit of bending. Then there is quite a lot of filing required to remove flash & burrs, as can be seen below:-
     

     
    That's as far as I have got. I don't know how much time I will be able to devote to this, so progress may be slow. Anyone got any experience with these kits?
     
    cheers N
  7. rodent279

    Slow progress

    By rodent279,

    OK been a while since my first post. I have made a fair bit of progress on the first bogie, the brass chassis is now soldered together & I have started soldering the white metal sideframes & details together. Most of my time has been spent cleaning up the flash off the brass & whitemetal sections, and making sure all is square.
     
    I used some small needle files for removing most of the flash on the brass, and also a piercing saw for some of the larger pieces. There is a LOT of flash on the whitemetal! Some of it is in really fiddly places to get to, which meant buying another smaller set of needle files.
     
    The soldering so far has gone ok (I am a first timer at soldering brass & whitemetal), at least on the brass. I think I'm probably using a bit too much solder but I think I will get better as I go. I am being obsessive about getting everything clean-I have used a fibre brush, and cellulose thinners to remove any grease. I am using electrical solder for the brass, & low melt for the whitemetal, with a 25w iron. It's not temp controlled, but that's not a problem for the brass.
     
    So far I've done ok on the whitemetal too, but I think I need to rig up a dimmer switch to the iron to reduce it's temperature a bit. I've not yet melted any castings but I think I am in danger of doing! The fiddly bits are not easy, especially getting the iron tip in without melting other areas.
     
    Couple of photos below. Cheers N.
     


  9. rodent279

    8 years on

    By rodent279,

    By my reckoning, the whole fleet of 327 class 25's were built quicker than I've done this kit!
    I have one bogie complete, and the chassis of the 2nd complete. Photos to follow. Determined to finish this during quarantine. 
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