Jon Fitness

Wow. The amount of engineering that goes into your signals still astounds me Steve! Lovely work as always and all power to your methods.

Wonderful.

JF

Lovely stuff Steve. It's ages since I did any rocking shafts for signals as most of my commissions seem to be GW at the moment!

JF

Enjoyed the YouTube video Rod. Looking forward to the next one now! It's inspired me to get my RR37 numbered up and named as 37420.

JF

 Many thanks for all the suggestions and helps. As I still have my CAD stabilisers and L plates on, this is all rather confusing. If only draftsight would work properly again I could just carry on where I had to leave off!..

JF

On 09/04/2020 at 15:08, Stephen Freeman said:

If Jon justs wants it for etching DoubleCad Xt5 will do the job, it's free it's from makers of Turbocad, Turbocad will do 3D as well but you have to buy it. I have never used Solidworks in anger though they still keep trying to get me to use it!

Well, doublecad is installed but won't touch any of my previously done drawings...

My latest Loco finished and having a run round the garden train set. It's a mix of Premier Components chassis, Chowbent etches and JLTRT resin boiler/saddle unit.

More eventually..

JF

I've downloaded and installed DoubleCad XT5 thanks Stephen, so I'll give it a go over the next few days. It all looks familiar on the interface so I should be able to stumble my way round it. Hopefully it'll open some of my previously done drawings and prove possible to work on them without starting from scratch again...

Anyway, I've finished the first of a batch of early pattern GW wooden post signals..

No lamps on these but they'll be servo operated and all fitted with built up ladders. I must be mad. I blame the lockdown!

JF

On 09/04/2020 at 15:08, Stephen Freeman said:

If Jon justs wants it for etching DoubleCad Xt5 will do the job, it's free it's from makers of Turbocad, Turbocad will do 3D as well but you have to buy it. I have never used Solidworks in anger though they still keep trying to get me to use it!

Thanks Stephen, I think I'll download DoubleCad and give it a try.

JF

I was very happy with Draftsight when it was free and I was happy to pay for it once that ended. Since then it simply either hasn't worked or or has moments when it works for a while then crashes. Nanocad is broadly similar so I found it very familiar. There are functions on it which I can never rely on working properly, mainly the fill function which is very fussy and random regardless of any settings I alter. It also randomly unfills areas during moving and copying stuff. These same areas then won't refill until I pick them apart and redo them. Even when they filled perfectly before. Don't even get me started on the line extend/trim functions. Fine in the old Draftsight but not very effective in Nanocad. It just makes everything such hard work. Anyway, as all the etchers have suspended operations, I'm concentrating on building rather than designing stuff. Its quite frustrating as I have a huge list of signal related etches I'd like to produce (35 and counting in the planning stage!)

JF

I know there are a few of you out there who can construct these "built up" ladders with etched stiles and wire rungs. Using the supplied jigs and methods they just breeze together and look really good when finished. 

Me? Nope. My efforts have usually resembled badly laid narrow gauge WW1 temporary track that's been run over by an early tank. Then hit by heavy artillery. During these strange times of personal confinement my befuddled mind rashly agreed to fit a few signals with them for a customer so I've had to "get back on the horse" and have another go.

My main problem with them is keeping the stiles at something approaching parallel during the soldering process. I've now come up with the "Laddermatic 2020 mk1" to hold them under tension which actually sort of works. Hopefully the pictures explain my idea but feel free to question both the method and my sanity!

I have used Southwark Bridge etched ladders for this project which needed far more preparation than they should. The main problem is that the holes in the stiles were mostly not fully etched and needed drilling out which caused a little distortion which didn't help. The sliding spring loaded fitting did it's best to hold them straight and would have worked better if the etches were straighter in the first place!

I think the end result is a lot better than any of my previous attempts so, every cloud etc

More soon

JF

12 hours ago, mike hughes said:

I heard from my etcher yesterday and they said that they're closed whilst the lockdown is in place. A few people might be waiting longer and some might have a shorter wait.

 

Michael

Ooh, who's the etchers? I'm just about to fire some artwork off to PPD...

JF

23 hours ago, Steve Hewitt said:

That's a wonderful model Jon.

It must be very satisfying to acquire a new skill like CAD and Etch Design.

 

Keep clear of the Lurgy,

Steve.

Still very much got my stabilisers on regarding CAD! I seem to be fighting with it due to my lack of skills. It sometimes feels like computer hindered rather than aided design!

JF 

1 hour ago, jcarta said:

Signal looks fantastic as always....... Couldn't help noticing that the railway is coming along nicely.

 

When will we have a sneak preview ?

 

Jim 

Thanks Jim. Still at the track only stage at the moment but I'll post a few pix up later. Not sure if it'll be on this page as the layout has no signals on it!

JF

Finally got my GW 1942 style bracket test etch finished, fitted out and painted today.

As previously stated, all that is etched is my own work and if I can persuade Nanocad to actually do what I tell it to and not alter my work as it sees fit, I might actually get these etches into production soon. I hope to produce about 4 different configurations of this style of bracket along with a few other previously unavailable GW bracket styles.

More soon

JF

On 21/03/2020 at 16:17, Stephen Freeman said:

A lot depends not only location but also period. If you are modelling LMS you can probably safely leave them black (ground signals apart). At least that is my understanding from Mr Warburtons book.

You are right I think. Most of my signals are from the BR period where white predominated but the LMS list the doll Ironwork under the "paint it black" instruction! I presume that includes backblinders

JF

Still needing that 104!

JF

Still the most handsome passenger tank loco ever designed (my opinion and I won't be swayed!) and your job on the kit has definitely done it justice.

JF

18 minutes ago, mike knowles said:

I notice the back blinders on these signals are painted white. I always assumed they were black but some photos of prototype signals I've looked at recently also show white ones. Any idea whether white was always used or could they be either colour.

The vast majority were painted white as was most of the iron work. I have spotted one or two local variations, especially where maintenance has transferred to a different region. Don't forget, upper quadrants were used across all regions (yes even the Western inherited a few!) and all stamped their personalities on them. SR painted theirs mid grey and I think ER ones were black. Even the LMR in later years started painting bits of signal structures and fittings grey too.

JF

On 11/03/2020 at 21:49, raymw said:

never give up -here they are

Many thanks for those! All are now in the signal pictures files

Messy? My work doesn't look that good after I've spent ages cleaning it all up! That pipework looks really convincing as well. Beautiful work.

JF

3 hours ago, RailWest said:

Try this ?

 

 

Looks very thoroughly restored.

13 hours ago, Steve Hewitt said:

Jon,

Those Ground Signals are the bees knees.

 

A couple of shots I took at Swanage a year or three ago....

 

Steve.

Ah, thanks for that Steve. Good enough for me

JF

1 minute ago, The Stationmaster said:

They look beautiful Jon but how many Southern yellow arm ground discs came as half discs as opposed to the (very) miniature semaphore arm style ?    I can't readily recall seeing any as half discs (possibly once, not sure) so I suspect it was probably a later development and the miniture are style definitely lasted a long tme - into the 1980s if not a little later I would say.

Good point. I'll have to investigate that. Maybe, as you suggest, it was a later BR development. It's one of those things where I'm sure I've seen a picture of it but if I go off and look, it simply won't be there...

JF

54 minutes ago, Junctionmad said:

Yes. I Have wondered how best to represent them. 

The boards are .8mm ply strips. I stained them with a thinned wash of my usual humbrol 33/62 mix. This then had a hint of Matt green drybrushed sparingly over it.

JF

4 hours ago, Junctionmad said:

  Very nice , it’s makes me up my game in my own 7mm signals every time I see your work 

 

I would have been under the impression the landing boards would have been a dark colour , as opposed to a nearly “ new” timber colour  ?? 

I think the boards get bleached in the sun but get a bit green in the damp. They'll change as the weather changes...