Jim Woods
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Post by Jim Woods on Jul 19, 2015 20:28:56 GMT
Hi Ross,
I have burnt all sort of stuff in my Isle of Man loco. I took it to the UK in 2000 when it was just finished, I lined it out a few days before IMLEC, and ran on the welsh coal and came 6th. Back in NZ it has run on Char, Raycarbo, local hard and soft coal, even wood pallets (which was a waste of time). now we are on the welsh, I have made a new grate. 3mm bars, 5.6mm space, so about a 60% air gap. The old grate was 4mm bar, 4mm space and tended to clinker with the welsh. The original drawing showed the 5.6 space. it allows the ash to fall more freely and stops the clinkering. As it was a design came from the UK and they have been burning the stuff in little and large loco's for about 100 years I guess they know a thing or two. You need to keep the fire bright, so a touch of blower all the time is helpful and a sharper blast to lift the fire helps too. It is a balancing act as no two loco's are the same. Fire little and often and be prepared to rake out the ashpan from time to time. I find the Welsh Coal nice to use.
Jim
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Post by Jim Woods on Jul 18, 2015 8:23:10 GMT
It was good cold fun. ? -2'C here now ?
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Post by Jim Woods on Apr 14, 2015 20:50:17 GMT
yes, keep going Michael, sorry if I put you off.
I was talking about the evolution of our loco's. When I started out as an apprentice tool maker,32 years ago, all the stuff we did was segmented inserts. Now with CNC, wire cutting and spark erosion EDM machining, the whole game has changed. We can build bigger and better tooling today, faster with such a huge range of different materials. Like the slide valves/piston valves on my loco's are now aluminium bronze which we used on tooling to fold repainted sheet steel for a dishwasher outer wrapper without scratching. Ali-bronze is hard and slippery and has good wearing in a sliding motion, some grades are not so good in a rotary situation. I use P20+Si tool steel for the coupling rods because is very stable while machining and can resist rust. we use it for plastic injection tooling because it retains a high polish. I now do most design work by CAD and feed NC code to my mill. the modern idea now is to rough out the tooling to within say 0.25mm harden it then finish machine with a high speed (40,000+ rpm) mill using amazing carbide endmills. So I guess I look at the evolution of my trade in the short time I have been involved but seen where it came from. Where it is going too, who knows, but what a journey so far, and so be it for our wee loco's
Jim
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Post by Jim Woods on Apr 14, 2015 1:41:53 GMT
Hi Guys,
I would like to stick up for LBSC and the time he was designing. To compare his designs to what is being done today is like comparing a model A Ford to the latest Range Rover. When he started out most 2 1/2 loco's had a meths fired "smithies" boiler that couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. With LBSC and a couple of others fiddling around in their workshops they got them to burn coal and haul real people. If you look at the evolution of LBSC designs over the time he was writing, you can see a huge leap forward and laid the platform for others to take on the way forward. so really, we should have loco's that are vastly better today than in the 1920's or 1950's. I have 3 LBSC designed loco's and one (P.V.Baker)was built in 1952 and still does a good days haulage because the design was good and it's builder was skilled enough to reproduce what LBSC intended. It almost won the NZ version of IMLEC back in the 80's. a beautiful 2 1/2 Fayette did win the NZ trials in the late 70's. I believe that what LBSC did was to design and build himself, something a novice model engineer with a treadle lathe, few files and a drill could build and make go. To each their own, that what I think makes model engineering a great thing.
The Isle of Man Loco I built is a much better design, but that was done in the 1980's and I used modern and traditional methods to build it 15 years ago. It is a better loco than my first one which is a Simplex, It still goes well even though it is nearly worn out. she has at least 3/16 of lost motion at the valve rod.
Hind sight is a wonderful thing. What do we see looking forward? ceramic's for the cylinders? that would be interesting.
My tuppence worth :-)
Jim
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Post by Jim Woods on Feb 11, 2015 23:43:09 GMT
so each to their own?
My Manx loco I built has it's two injectors mounted on top of the tanks like her full sized sisters. she has 1/4 turn water plug valves with the leavers going back into the cab, same as her sisters and scale globe steam valves. Now she first steamed in 2000, nearly 15 years ago (1500+ kms ago)and as yet to let me down for putting water in the boiler. the injectors are to the Wilson (?) design and will lift water out of a bucket about 4 feet. My Simplex has one injector and one steam pump, again work fine and tend to be ignored as far as maintenance is concerned. All three 3 1/2 loco's have both injectors and axle driven pumps. P V Baker's injector doesn't go that well, but I know the water valve is at fault, the Bantam Cock and Heilan Lassie injectors are really good as are the pumps. As the others with experience have said, the injector needs to be done well. As for the bypass, we have been putting the valve after the pump for over 100 years and seems to work OK. So why re-invent the wheelbarrow? but then, why not :-) it's all good fun.
Jim
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Lbsc
Oct 15, 2014 21:40:00 GMT
Post by Jim Woods on Oct 15, 2014 21:40:00 GMT
I find LBSC writing quite good and still very useful today. in South Africa this Guy has put LBSC stuff on line www.john-tom.com/html/LBSCEngines.htmlHave a look. It is very easy for us to look backwards and criticize what was done. I think you need to remember most guys at that time had a old lathe (treadle even) and a file and drill press if they where lucky. No flash measuring gear with digital readouts. It is a failing of modern times to say that what was done is not correct, hindsight being a wonderful thing. I have 3 LBSC loco's, built to his words and Music, a P V Baker, Bantam Cock and Heilan Lassie, all go very well and placed highly in the NZ steam trials over the years. It is like being an apprentice toolmaker, you look at all the info you can find, and make up your own mind on what suits your need best. learn from LBSC, Greenly, Evans, Young, Rich or anyone else you can find. Old guys have heaps of info, just how to extract it is the tricky bit. Jim
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Post by Jim Woods on Oct 7, 2014 23:19:18 GMT
I think the breaking Mallard's record would be this one, www.5at.co.uk/bit of a still born project I think.
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Post by Jim Woods on Dec 4, 2013 19:25:51 GMT
being bought up in the trade, toolmaker/fitter/turner here in NZ and keeping, sort of, up to date with modern methords, my opinion is, doesn't matter how you do it, as long as you've had fun, built most of it and the model/miniature gives you satisfaction in what you have done. My best loco was done mostly on conventional machines and hand work. I now have a CNC mill at home with CAD/CAM back up as this is what I became use to in my work hours and enjoy finding ways to use it for the more complex bits I make as my models become closer to full size in construction. I have created CAD models and had 3D printed pattern's done and castings done by a foundry. I don't make the rivets and BA screws, nuts and bolts or washers/spli pins unless they are specials. every model built by us lot at home is a personal work of art, I've not yet made up my mind on the kit one's but they have thier place in our modelling community. If the traditional modellers are is spurn modern technology and ideas, I then hope to see thier efforts done only on treadle lathes and with files. that my opnion anyway :-)
Jim
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Jim Woods
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Post by Jim Woods on Oct 18, 2012 21:05:55 GMT
hello there, my old Lassie (40 yrs) has that regulator and is a great sealer. will hold dead tight when doing a hydro test ever 3 years. Can I suggest that you might like to try lapping the slide in or even make a teflon slide. Jim
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Post by Jim Woods on Sept 18, 2012 20:14:47 GMT
Hello folks,
has anyone got a set of drawings for a 5" gauge LNER A4 they would like to part with. One of the guys in our club here in NZ is keen to build one.
Ta Jim
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Jim Woods
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Post by Jim Woods on Mar 22, 2012 22:44:36 GMT
hello there,
next time you steam your loco, disconnect the water supply at the injector and run a bit of tight fitting plactic hose from the injector into a bucket or tray of water on the ground or just under the injector. a good injector will lift water about 4 feet no trouble. can I ask, are the cones in the right way?
regards
Jim
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Post by Jim Woods on Feb 20, 2012 23:24:08 GMT
Hi Taff and Don, thanks again for that. That is what I needed to hear. Having built one close scale loco, that being my Isle of Man loco and half way through a 7 1/4 New Zealand Railways Ww class 4-6-4 tankie to full size drawings, I would like to build a GWR loco. I like big wheels The NZ Dolalr is high at present, so that makes getting drawings from the UK an economical thing to do. Also having seen GWR loco's at IMLEC when I have had a go, I know they go really well. Thanks again Jim
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Jim Woods
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Post by Jim Woods on Feb 15, 2012 19:00:11 GMT
thanks guys,
I have been in touch with the usual suppliers. there is someone in Auckland NZ building one. anyone built a Peter Rich Castle? I think Polly sell the drawings for these.
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Jim Woods
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Post by Jim Woods on Feb 8, 2012 23:08:16 GMT
Hi Guys
opinions on the best 5" King drawings please, Wilson or Perrier ?
Jim
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Jim Woods
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Post by Jim Woods on Sept 6, 2011 3:48:36 GMT
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Post by Jim Woods on Aug 11, 2011 1:00:47 GMT
what i did was this, machine it "roughly" so there is plenty of surface area, so machining marks are good or a rub with a father-less file . Tin it where you want it to stick with solder. I then filled the cavity left with white metal, make sure the part is hot. let it cool down slow. machine it up with about .004 clearance all round and put in your oil holes. being a soft metal it will run quite quiet and soon find it beds in nicely. hope this was of interest to you
Jim
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Post by Jim Woods on Aug 9, 2011 20:12:12 GMT
Hello there,
why not just machine it a little bigger in the slideways, say .020 to .040 thou and line it with white metal as they do in full size. I've done this and it works a treat. my engines now 11 years old and only now showing signs of wear, still get another 3 years running yet before I need to re-metal
regards
Jim
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Jim Woods
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Post by Jim Woods on Dec 12, 2010 23:39:59 GMT
so it's not a structural thing then. I make my own rivets. abit time consuming but that's what model building is about I think. I have a simple jig and forge heads on with a small air hammer
Jim
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Post by Jim Woods on Dec 10, 2010 1:04:18 GMT
Hi Folks, why is monel not "in favour" for stays these days. my first boiler has them, and they silver soldered up really well. the next one was copper stays and was not as easy. Jim
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