Something has been bothering me. I spent a lot of effort to get the hole in the drivers concentric with the tyre, but then who knows what happens when the axle passes through that hole? Indeed, I’m fairly certain the axles are neither concentric nor perpendicular to the tyre. So, as I have to make two more drivers anyway, I thought I would see if … Continue reading Surprising failure in wheel experiment
I mostly completed the quartering jig before our vacation. It consists of two steel bars separated by aluminum spacers and with axle holders also made of aluminum. I’ve not yet drilled the crankpin holes, but a test fit of some axle material showed it was remarkably and satisfyingly accurate for a bodger like me. Continue reading Quartering jig
While I have the excellent GW Models wheel press and used it on #10, it has two failings from my point of view. First, it assumes a press fit for the wheels; that’s one thing with a plastic centre, but another for steel centres and axles where the two parts need to be machined to within about a thousandth of an inch, and even then … Continue reading Plan for quartering jig
When you simultaneously wreck a part and break your last drill bit of that size, it’s a good time to take a little rest. Actually, I’ve now pretty much committed to mulligans on two out of four drivers, which will teach me not to celebrate finishing some parts until I’ve finished working with them. Despite the success with the proof of concept crank pin hole, … Continue reading Bad crank pin holes
To line up the crank pin holes and get them the right distance from the axle, I have created a little jig out of 1/16 x 1/2 inch brass. Using relatively heavy material like this should keep wear to a minimum, at least long enough for two or three engines. The jig is pointed at the tyre end so I can point it at the … Continue reading Crank pin holes
The M0.6 screws and nuts arrived just before the Railway Modellers’ Meet, and now that most of the dust has settled, I’ve spent a part of a glorious spring morning trying out my idea for a crank pin. When the weather’s as nice as this, progress on the locomotive has to slow down. Vancouver winters are too long to miss a beautiful day like this. … Continue reading Crank pin proof of concept
Obviously, things were going too well. Parts were literally flying off the frets and attaching themselves to the frame. I was hopeful of actually hitting my deadline. The optimism continued as I folded up the the engine truck. Even tacking the bottom chord onto the side frames worked reasonably easily, despite being a flawed design in the first place. Sure, I etched one of the … Continue reading Engine truck: two steps forward, one step back
