Rob Pulham

Hi Chaz, I didn't get a chance to reply earlier on the subject, due to the outage. After reading of your ceramic bladed tweezers, I sought some out (a set of 3 different shapes from Germany via eBay). I have to say a big thank you, they are fantastic. I have already wondered how I managed without them before.

Wow it's been a while since I looked at this. Well the tender is now primed along with the back head and I have been finishing the last details on the body to get that too ready for painting. Getting injectors has been a bit of a challenge and having acquired through the good graces of other and bought a couple of sets none of which are strictly correct I bit the bullet and piped a set up. I also made up the vacuum pipe that runs along under the valence which required me to make some pipe elbows. In the past I have used a square file to file a V groove in some tube and then created the bend. This time I thought that I would have a go at doing it with the mill I set a collet block at 45 degrees using a set square and then used a 3mm end mill to cut the slot.

When I had a Unimat 3 I bought an ER25 set which went up to 16mm and down to 2mm. At the time I was pointed at an ER25 Collet chuck on eBay Germany which was M14 and screwed straight onto the spindle I also bought a separate 0-1mm collet. Although I sold the Unimat last year I kept the collets and use them almost daily on my Sieg SC3 and Mill

If it's something really critical that you ideally, re use the part 'folded' (for example if the instructions are unclear as to whether fold line goes inside or outside) I have had success with annealing it first. Then slowly and carefully unfolding it, before refolding it the correct way. As you say slowly, and patiently wins the day.

Sometimes you can get away with deepening the fold line but mostly you don't realise that it will be out of line until it's folded. Nickel silver especially, is very unforgiving when trying to 'unfold' etched fold lines. You are very lucky if they don't snap off anyway.

As I mentioned in a previous post, in between working on the cylinders, I was also working on the motion bracket. There are two options in the kit depending upon whether you are building one of the first two engines, or the production batch. I am building the production batch so chose the appropriate etches. They are designed as a main fold up with addition folded sections to create both sides of the cast bracket. As etched when placed together they don’t fit, because the thickness of the metal pushes the etched slots out of alignment. The simple answer to this is to carefully break of the wo sections at the fold line. File down the edge cusps so that the pieces align properly then solder them on in two pieces. This is the bracket ready to fit after making sure that the slide bars fit in the slots.

As is usually the way in life, when making up the valve guides above I search for a photo that showed them in detail but couldn't make out anything in the gloom from the footplate. Or ones that might have showed enough detail went pixelated when enlarged. Paul Hannah kindly posted a snip from a photo that did show enough detail over o Western Thunder to make things out and politely suggested that I had the bolts a bit overscale. Having looked at the photo I had to agree so off they came. I have to admit that these look so much better.

Most definitely not, in my view at least. I am thoroughly enjoying the minor diversions into making additional, or replacing iffy parts.

Hi Chaz, I am sure that you won't regret it. The only downside is that it can become an absorbing hobby in it's own right...

Another productive session yesterday afternoon saw the parts above detailed ready to fit. Although I have the Milling machine and a rotary table for it, I kept my Proxxon mini Pillar drill and dividing head which I use for drilling out the small stuff. This is the set up when I lift it onto the bench. This is partway through drilling out the valve guides Once drilled, I did my usual trick of wire and microbore tube filed to a hex for the head. I also fitted the rather nice brass cylinder relief valves that came with the kit.

This week has mainly been more lathe work. After a suggestion elsewhere I remade the two front crank pin bearings in steel and then because I had worked out a technique to make them much finer, I remade bearings for the other wheels as well. Hopefully my first efforts will come in somewhere for something. With those done to my satisfaction I turned back to the chassis and the cylinders/motion brackets. More on the latter in another post but first the cylinders. I used the David Andrews Slidebar/cross heads for the inside motion and the LG Miniatures pair that I will use for the outside motion don't come with the cylinder back plate. Timing being perfect, just this week I acquired some assorted thickness Nickel Silver bar ends. They weren't cheap overall, because I bought quite a few. But they worked out as a one off, about half the price I would expect to pay for similar lengths/thicknesses from my regular supplier. Then I turned (if you will pardon the pun) to the fronts of the cylinders. The castings with the kit are nicely detailed but sadly both the cover plates and valve guides are oval, presumably as a result of shrinkage in the casting process. They still need a few more details adding before I solder them to the cylinders fronts but I am happy with them so far. Jazz of this parish has the tag line in his signature is, "Learning by doing" and I couldn't agree more with the statement. I have learned a great deal this week while twiddling the knobs on my lathe...

I would suggest using a bit of scrap etch from the kit, drill a 0.6mm hole at one end. Then file the end around to create the outer edge of the loop. Then cut it to length. Cutting it to length last makes it easier to hold whilst filing it.

Now that I have a proof of concept on the front crank pins, I returned to the brake linkages. The linkage that connects the cylinder with the brake pull rods is supplied as a pair of etches that are laminated together. - Parts AA/AB in the diagram below. I decided to see what I could come up with as an 3D compromise. So I butchered the etches and then laminated them together with some additional parts turned/milled from rod. Which gave me these: Next, I added strips of nickel to the two etches which support the brake linkages behind the brake cylinder. I did need to cut one of them to accommodate the motor, but I preferred to cut it after I had made them up. You can see that there is a half-etched cut line to allow for this. Next, I went to fit them and that's where life got interesting again. If I soldered them into the slots in the horizontal plate as intended, I lost access to the screws which hold the rear springs on. I am pretty sure that during the course of fitting the motor and get it running, that I will no doubt need to remove the rear springs at some point. My solution was to make a small plate from scrap etch which could be soldered in between the two frames and then drilled for a 10ba screw. I had to make a little jig from the 10 BA screw and a piece of spare rod and some washers to space the top part of the frames the right width to allow me to solder the plate in at the bottom. I made it slightly trickier for myself by electing to make it precise enough that the frames still located in the slots. Soldering the base plate on took a couple of attempts before I was happy that it sat correctly. Then it was a fairly simple matter to drill 10BA clearance (1.8mm) and solder a nut on the frame. This allows for the screw to screw in from the top of the chassis on the basis that it's less likely to drop out in motion that way. As an aside I was really surprised that the stub on the base of the brake cylinder was a really snug push fit in the hole snapping into place when I pushed it home. I was surprised because I hadn't thought to measure the hole prior to assembly of the frames and measuring it accurately was quite difficult with the tools I have. In the view from the top of the frames above you can see the screw and the tabs of the frames located in the slots tightening the screw makes them snap into place quite easily.

Steeping back slightly, I was asked by a fellow GOG member on the forum how I planned to tackle the front crank pin 'nut'. Initially I hadn't a clue how I was going to do it other than probably reversing a crankpin bush. As I was pondering on how to reply to the enquiry I had the germ of an idea. I had a go at a proof of concept this morning after my lightbulb moment when replying last night. This is what we are looking for (just in case you needed a reminder) This was my first attempt, I think that there was a slight bend in my bit of spare 8ba stud as it didn't machine each face evenly and the nut/stud portion was far too big After a coffee break I reversed the short length of stud and had another go. And yes it should have a cotter/split pin....

Thanks Richard, I must admit, buying a lathe and taking the time to teach myself how to use it has opened up another word in my modelling.

The last few days have been one step forward and two steps back... The wheels have been drilled 8BA as the guy that I am building it for prefers the thicker material. I didn't have any steel 8BA screws so I turned some rod down and threaded it 8BA. Next on auto pilot I made some 8BA crankpin nuts. Then of course I did what I should have done first and looked at photos... So far I have made a pair for the rear. I have also made some rear plates for the balance weights but I haven't taken any photos yet. While I was at the lathe, I decided to make a replacement vacuum cylinder. The casting supplied was actually one of the better castings but it was not quite the right shape and undernourished when compared to the drawing. A fun time was had turning a new one and dressing it with studs/nuts. Those who are paying attention will note the odd arrangement of studs which I took from the drawing. I had an interesting time working out all the different angles which equated to: four at 45 degrees and the other three at 56.25 degrees from those.

It looks superb Chaz. Your patience and well planned progress, is certainly paying off in the quality of the results.

After a bit of fiddling about I got the cylinder front and motion plate for the inside motion made and assembled. The fiddling about was my own fault, I initially made the motion plate too shallow and therefore it would only accept the slide bars at their very ends and I needed to mount it further along. I was also considering adding the valve guides and after spending some time fettling the rather misshapen castings, I realised that they wouldn't actually be seen so decided not to go any further. After considering them I had started to remake the cylinder front plate in order to accept them but in the end used it for the replacement motion plate so it worked out perfect in the end if a little convoluted getting there. One beauty of having a mill is that cutting out the centre section of the motion plate was so much easier than using a piercing saw and files as I have done in the past. Then I needed some pins for the cross heads, so I went the whole hog and made some castle nuts.

An Evening With... Kevin Cartwright is one of our Regional Managers, Constituency Representative for the South West (Area 13) and manager for the Gauge O Guild merchandise sales. You will often see Kevin and his wife Judy out and about with layouts and/or with a Guild promotional stand at regional and national exhibitions and he also often gets asked to demonstrate how to build O gauge road vehicles. Join Kevin to find out about bringing your layout to life with the addition of various road vehicles. Some kits are available in O gauge but Kevin can also tell you about adapting off the shelf models to meet your needs. The event is live via Zoom on 26th March 2022 at 20:00 GMT. You must register for this event as places are limited. The event is FREE to members or £2:00 for non-members.

The Gauge O Guild Spring Show in Kettering Saturday 5th March 10am - 4pm Less than a week to go! • Come and enjoy 6 layouts including a test track, 6 demonstrations, 75 traders, 11 society stands and the usual Guild stands. • Visit the front page of the Guild websbite at www.gaugeoguild.com and you will see all the information you need on the front page. • You can download the Show Guide; the overflow parking information and book advanced tckets that will give you early entry at 09:30am • There are NO Covid Restrictions in place. You DO NOT need a Covid Pass, you DO NOT have to wear a face covering but you can if you wish. The hall has a ventilation system which draws fresh air in from outside and then expels it. It does not recirculate stale air. There will be hand sanitisers around the venue. • Don't forget that if you are having difficulties with any O gauge modelling projects or DCC that the Loco and DCC Advice clinic will be there to help you and the Technical Committee can advise on O Gauge standards and anything else technical. These teams are located side by side and if one person does not have the answer, I am sure another one will. Make the most of their expertise and the expertise of our demonstrators. • See you on Saturday

The last few days have been spent assembling the chassis frames ready for detailing. I had to trim away sections of some the frame spacers to accommodate the thicker cast spring hangers, the horn guides and the gearbox. Most of this adjustment was done prior to assembling the frames but the cut out for the gear box was done afterwards. The mill came in handy for removing the bulk of the cut out, I just needed to square up the round corners of the slot with a file.

Don't forget the next "An Evening With Rob Bishop" is your chance to ask any questions about soldering brass or nickel silver. Saturday 26th February at 20:00 by Zoom Register via the front page of the Gauge O Guild website www.gaugeoguild.com Free to members and just £2.00 to non-members More and more people are moving into O gauge modelling with the increase in ready to run stock and many start to get interested in building some items of their own. If you want to attempt a kit or scratch build in brass or nickel silver please rest assured that soldering is not a dark art. It does require some basic equipment and skills but you can do it. If you are new to O gauge and want to learn about soldering or, if you are an established modeller who still has some problems with soldering, this is the session for you. Rob Bishop has been building brass and nickel silver models in O gauge for many years and does soldering demonstrations at our Guild events including how to use a resistance soldering unit. He has produced videos to help people and will be available for this 'An Evening With' to answer your specific questions. Suitable for modellers in any scale

The last week has been spent preparing the chassis for assembly. I started by adding additional strips to edges of some of the frame spacers to make them more three dimensional their appearance. The extras include some nice cast springs and hangers for the driver so the next job was to cut off the etched versions from the frames and open out the horn guide slots. The horn guides are Finney and made up without difficulty The loco is to have a basic form of inside motion animated by a pair of eccentrics to give an element of movement to the cross heads which are visible through the cut outs on the frames above the bogie. To facilitate this, I made up a motion plate and cylinder front.

1. Car Parking Arrangements Confirmed As many of you have already heard on the grapevine, the number of parking spaces at the Kettering Leisure Village has been reduced due to the presence of a Covid Testing Station. Unfortunately, this situation will exist until April. Additional off-site parking has been secured and thanks to the generosity of Maersk, we have the use of their car parks on a nearby trading estate. Although their site is only a few hundred yards from KLV, as the crow flies, the distance by road is 1.3 miles. We have therefore arranged for two courtesy mini buses to shuttle visitors to and from the Show. Obviously, the KLV car park will be available on a first come first served basis, so arriving early might guarantee you a space, however, you may prefer to aim for the overflow car park first, and travel in by bus. Disabled parking will be on site. As you can see from the attached map, the Maersk site is on the opposite side of the A14 to the KLV. We hope that those arriving by car will not be unduly inconvenienced by these arrangements, which have been compounded by the fact that the two nearby schools, whose car parks have previously been used by KLV, are both unavailable on the show date so, please do not try to use those locations. As in previous years, a courtesy bus is available to and from the railway station. The walking route is also shown on the map in case you prefer to walk. 2. Bring & Buy The Bring and Buy stand will be appearing at Kettering, two years after its last outing. Only members can price their items and put them on sale (£1 per item priced at £20 and over). All visitors can purchase at the offered price. The seller receives the purchase price less 10% commission. Please take advantage of the fact that the commission has been reduced from 15% back to 10% Unsold items to be collected before the exhibition closes. If you are planning to bring items to sell on the Bring and Buy at Kettering, please, if possible, download the form and complete it in advance. If a removable label is also attached showing member number / item no and price then that would be ideal and helps keep the input queue to a minimum. For more details see https://www.gaugeoguild.com/general/bringandbuy.aspx Any queries about bring and buy should go to Nigel Nelson via gog@nigelnelson.net 3. Covid Restriction have been lifted Please remember that there are no Covid restrictions now - The latest information is available here: https://www.gaugeoguild.com/events/Kettering2022_Covid_Restrictions_v2.pdf 4. What to expect and advance tickets With 75 traders, 6 layouts including the test track, 6 demonstrations and 11 societies, plus the Guild stands, there will be plenty for you to enjoy. Those who have been asking about a live steam special interest group can talk to Dave Robinson, Rafe Shirley, Graham Sheppard and Trevor Colegate who will be running live steam on the test track Tell them what sort of things you want to see / learn about. More details about traders and other exhibitors can be found here: https://www.gaugeoguild.com/events/guild_shows.aspx?id=4 Finally, advanced tickets are on sale here: https://www.gaugeoguild.com/onlinesales/ticketsales.aspx Any comments/queries about the show, please feel free to contact the Show manager via davesmith.gog@gmail.com

It was only after taking the photos above and preparing them for upload I realised that I hadn't fitted the guard irons. So that was a quick task this morning. As supplied the slots in the bogie were much wider than the thickness of the etch so I beefed them up with another layer and then shaped them to suit.