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Post by Cro on Jan 4, 2022 21:50:29 GMT
I may have added another loco to my stable. A little 3 1/2" Don Young "Lucky 7" I go to look at it/pick it up next wenesday Little?? Friend went to pick up a ‘little’ Lucky 7 last summer, took 3 of us to get it out of the car!
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Post by keith1500 on Jan 5, 2022 8:53:38 GMT
Having made that instrument for our signal box, the that works on a train being present, the next step is to detect the train. Our ground level track is basic bar stock welded on to sleepers mounted on wooden sleepers. It’s a convenient robust construction but doesn’t lend itself to traditional track circuits. So that meant an alternative method must be used. The initial thoughts are a treadle with a microswitch which would detect a wheel flange passing over the top. One of our guys had a rough idea so we roughed out a sketch and started with making the treadle itself. The initial idea is the treadle would be pressed down and in doing so move forward and nudge the switch. Signalling track treadle by GL5Keith1500, on Flickr However this would not work on bidirectional track and the design was modified. The treadle now simply moves downwards and the wedge shape brass block nudges the switch. Below is shown the prototype mock-up which is looking promising. There is a few more boxes to tick yet. Hope this is of some interest. Signalling track treadle by GL5Keith1500, on Flickr Keith
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dscott
Elder Statesman
Posts: 2,438
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Post by dscott on Jan 5, 2022 23:49:18 GMT
On the OLD FORUM it was called YAK, when someone chatted away from Railway stuff. Last night almost 4 hours of phone calls which mostly contained Railway stuff. It is not my fault that I meet someone a a track who is into this hobby, building a Big prairie tank and also has a Chinese Wife from the same cooking region!!! All great fun.
Yes the 4th of January went well and the noise over very quickly. The afternoon being chosen by our newest neighbours for preference. We have new neighbours both sides on our right we have Fred, Gareth and then before Tomaz both moving out. Gaerth removing 36 tons of driveway so Both making far more noise than us. I may add.
Today if I can type that fast was at the club for Helping out... But mostly chatting.
David and Lily.
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uuu
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Post by uuu on Jan 6, 2022 8:29:19 GMT
I had to read that twice to realise it wasn't the chap moving out taking his driveway with him....which would be a bit much.
Wilf
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Post by RGR 60130 on Jan 6, 2022 17:46:26 GMT
Having made the decision to fit steel tyres to my Peppercorn A1 I took the plunge today. Firstly I needed to machine the flanges off and take a bit off the front of the wheel. DSC00086 by reg.rossiter, on Flickr In an age of digital this and computer that, a pair of good old fashioned calipers is still my go-to tool when roughing out. DSC00087 by reg.rossiter, on Flickr The wheel ready to receive the tyre DSC00077 by reg.rossiter, on Flickr The tyre heating up in the oven - 1 hour at maximum temperature DSC00076 by reg.rossiter, on Flickr And the tyre in place with an interference fit of 0.007" DSC00080 by reg.rossiter, on Flickr Once I have all 6 done I will profile them. Reg
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Post by coniston on Jan 6, 2022 22:56:42 GMT
I managed to get a couple of workshop projects ticked off the list over the Christmas break: First up I bought one of these neat little 24vDC linishers, I saw someone else here had one and thought it a useful tool to have on the bench. I have used it at 12vDC as that is all I had in the workshop so a few months ago I bought a 10A 24vDC power supply off ebay which has sat under the bench until now. The power supply is the bare unit so needed a suitable housing and associated power input and output connectors. I had in my box of useful bits some aluminium extrusions I recovered from a larger similar type of enclosure and with some aluminium sheet recovered from something else I had the basis of the enclosure. I also had recovered a mains input socket which has built in fuse protection and a pair of 4mm DC sockets. The only thing I had to buy extra were a couple of 40mm fans to add a bit of cooling. Here are the bits before final assembly. I milled the plates to size and still on the mill I created the aperture for the mains socket and cooling fan vents etc. The sides slide into the extrusions and the end plates are screwed on with M5 screws into the ends of the extrusions holding it all together. A couple of printed labels finishes it off and reminds me of the power capacity And all plugged together it is now a much more useful tool. Second project was to fit a DRO to my Sieg Super X3 Mill. Again I had bought this early last year off ebay as a complete kit with optical slides at a reasonable price IIRC less than £250. but is had been stored away waiting time to fit it. Having got fed up making the sides and end panels for the above enclosure counting dial turns, calculating inch to mm etc. I bit the bullet and fitted the DRO. The Y axis was more difficult than the X one so that was tackled first, some spacers and a piece of aluminium bar were prepared and the machine drilled and tapped to suit to attach the slide. The encoder was also fitted onto a spacer plate to align with the slide and again holes drilled and tapped. Finally the supplied cover was fixed with 3 x M3 screws. The X slide fitted very neatly at the back of the table as there is sufficient clearance to the column when wound fully in. As the table and the Y carriage line up with each other at the back of the table it only required 10mm spacers for both parts making, disassembling the table and Y carriage to drill and tap the holes and reassemble. The cover is held in place with self adhesive (double sided) foam tape. Finally a few P clips were screwed into the base to keep the cabling tidy. I haven't fitted the Z slide yet as I have a digital depth gauge on the quill feed but it will get fitted in due course. I decided to mount the display bracket direct to the workshop wall rather than the machine as that would have entailed removing the rear cover and all the electrics to ensure a safe location could be used. It works for me but I can always change the display location in the future, probably when I mount the Z slide for the head movement. I'm pleased to say it all worked when plugged in Chris
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Post by Roger on Jan 7, 2022 7:50:07 GMT
My dear friend Bill sent me a link to this fascinating film about life on board a Sailing Ship. It's a silent Black & White film, but it's narrated by the film maker who also appears in a few of the scenes.
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jem
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,065
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Post by jem on Jan 7, 2022 16:19:24 GMT
Your DRO looks good, and mounting on the wall has the benefit that it will not get any vibrations from the machine. If your lathe is nearby, you could fit slides to that, and use the same DRO to run them, just unplugging from the Mill slides, or maybe with a multi switch.
best wishes
Jem
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Post by andyhigham on Jan 7, 2022 20:36:13 GMT
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JonL
Elder Statesman
WWSME (Wiltshire)
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Post by JonL on Jan 8, 2022 0:15:20 GMT
Will you take the high road? Will take a long time to get there even with the best Welsh steam coal!
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dscott
Elder Statesman
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Post by dscott on Jan 8, 2022 1:04:51 GMT
I had to read that twice to realise it wasn't the chap moving out taking his driveway with him....which would be a bit much. Wilf Gareth having just completed the project (And me having lent him an angle grinder which was returned with worn out brushes) We thought they were staying long term... Then again he always did practical stuff strangely. As Ian our next along neighbour said the only guy to have his drive dug up get all the hardcore removed only to pay for more to fill in the gap. Then not to replace the 60 year old steel water pipe while it was just inches below the mud!!! Yes I was expecting the NEW stones to be bagged up but no. We spent the day bagging mined stones from under the kitchen... half of them match our stones in the drive. The other half can go in the concrete covering our water pipe replacement which is coiled and ready for the project. Digging up that bit of drive on Monday to fill the last £5.00 worth of skip. David and Lily.
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oldnorton
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5" gauge LMS enthusiast
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Post by oldnorton on Jan 8, 2022 10:23:07 GMT
Chris (coniston),
Interested to see your fitting of DROs to your Sieg SX3. I have the earlier X3 that had some cheap scales fitted a few years ago and I wanted to upgrade. I realised I was going to have to do exactly the same as you in mounting the Y scale on extended pillars. I used to be able to get reduced height scales of around 40mm and these would have fitted in up-close to the slide, but the more common 65mm items have to stick out. It seems to be harder to get scales now. The firm I used to use was EMS-i in Leicester, but found that they went bust a few years ago. There is a limited range of 65mm cheap scales direct from China on eBay but I went to Allendale DRO and paid more to get something that was actually in stock. I am wondering if the supply of DROs to hobbyists and the upgrade of old machinery is slowing down.
I am also replacing the Sieg 600w DC motor with a 3-phase VFD drive mounted above, and directly driving the spindle through a two pulley stack and a belt. I should show some pictures of that, if successful !, when its done in a month or two.
Norm
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Post by andyhigham on Jan 8, 2022 10:38:00 GMT
Will you take the high road? Will take a long time to get there even with the best Welsh steam coal! David, I have a couple of days work around Glasgow next week. I will do Bolton-Glasgow followed by a days work in one day. Then overnight in hotel. The next day I will do the Glasgow-Lairg-Glasgow trip, hotel in Glasgow. The next day working in Clydebank and drive home to Bolton
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Post by RGR 60130 on Jan 8, 2022 16:32:33 GMT
My dear friend Bill sent me a link to this fascinating film about life on board a Sailing Ship. It's a silent Black & White film, but it's narrated by the film maker who also appears in a few of the scenes. I finally got round to watching this. What a fantastic film. Thanks for posting the link Roger. Reg
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Post by coniston on Jan 8, 2022 19:41:56 GMT
Chris (coniston), Interested to see your fitting of DROs to your Sieg SX3. I have the earlier X3 that had some cheap scales fitted a few years ago and I wanted to upgrade. I realised I was going to have to do exactly the same as you in mounting the Y scale on extended pillars. I used to be able to get reduced height scales of around 40mm and these would have fitted in up-close to the slide, but the more common 65mm items have to stick out. It seems to be harder to get scales now. The firm I used to use was EMS-i in Leicester, but found that they went bust a few years ago. There is a limited range of 65mm cheap scales direct from China on eBay but I went to Allendale DRO and paid more to get something that was actually in stock. I am wondering if the supply of DROs to hobbyists and the upgrade of old machinery is slowing down. I am also replacing the Sieg 600w DC motor with a 3-phase VFD drive mounted above, and directly driving the spindle through a two pulley stack and a belt. I should show some pictures of that, if successful !, when its done in a month or two. Norm Hi Norm, I looked around and bought these as a complete set from Ebay www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393623162771?hash=item5ba5c4cf93:g:SaoAAOSwPadfkVLw although bought as individual pieces so you can buy just the scales to any length up to 1000mm in 50mm increments. They show a dimension of 53mm for the height so yes too high to fit directly against the Y carriage. I notice the prices have increased about 30% since I bought mine last year , my total came to £210 for three slides and the display Be interesting to see your motor conversion, although mine has the 1000W DC motor and seems to be ok so far. Chris
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Post by keith1500 on Jan 8, 2022 20:06:01 GMT
I completed the treadle and hope to take it to the club tomorrow for testing and comment. This is the treadle ( prototype) with the cover in place. Through the opening can be seen the “mudguard “ which helps keep water and dirt off the sliding mechanism and springs, and moves up and down with the treadle hence the opening. This shows that the mudguard needs to be longer. The other problem is how to secure the cover. Signalling track treadle by GL5Keith1500, on Flickr With the forecast of rain the treadle has been outside. Securing the cover is done by using a long 6mm coach boot. Tightening the nut simply clamps the cover to the base. This makes for quick easy removal and avoids losing nuts/ bolts in the grass as once slackened the bolt stays with the cover. Also the “mudguard “ has been modified. Note the over hang of the cover keep the water away from the cable entry. Signalling track treadle by GL5Keith1500, on Flickr Cover removed shows it to be working okay. A bead of mastic along the join between the mudguard and treadle will ensure the water is kept out. Signalling track treadle by GL5Keith1500, on Flickr
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Post by steamer5 on Jan 8, 2022 21:22:41 GMT
Hi Keith, Nice work on the treadle! Have you given any thought to prevent the cover being “removed” by the idiots? One of the tracks I visit has a proximity switch to activate a barrier arm & signals, works fine for 7 1/4” locos with deeper flanges not so well for 5”, putting a metal object between loco & trolley has to be done with care! Next time I visit I’ll have a chat with there track boys & suggest a sprung plate above the switch might cure the problem
Cheers Kerrin
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Post by delaplume on Jan 8, 2022 21:37:21 GMT
My dear friend Bill sent me a link to this fascinating film about life on board a Sailing Ship. It's a silent Black & White film, but it's narrated by the film maker who also appears in a few of the scenes. I finally got round to watching this. What a fantastic film. Thanks for posting the link Roger. Reg I watched this on full screen and absolutely spell-bound......My time in the RN was nothing like this !!.....as he said}---- "all done by human hand".....Glad to see the Peking is preserved in Hambourg...that dog looked tougher than they were !!....LoL ....Well done Roger
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Post by keith1500 on Jan 8, 2022 22:25:41 GMT
Yes I have to say that was some amazing film. If you met that guy in a pub and he narrated his story you wouldn’t have believed half of what he said but to see it for real was incredible. To move up and down ropes using just their arms so as to preserve their trousers and footwear made for some powerful men. I never appreciated how much weight was in a sail and it was interesting to see how the foot ropes moved as the sailors hauled up the sail. It makes sense that they should but never occurred to me when studying Cutty Sark.
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Post by keith1500 on Jan 8, 2022 22:54:05 GMT
Hi Keith, Nice work on the treadle! Have you given any thought to prevent the cover being “removed” by the idiots? One of the tracks I visit has a proximity switch to activate a barrier arm & signals, works fine for 7 1/4” locos with deeper flanges not so well for 5”, putting a metal object between loco & trolley has to be done with care! Next time I visit I’ll have a chat with there track boys & suggest a sprung plate above the switch might cure the problem Cheers Kerrin Thanks Kerrin, So far so good. It’s the dirt and muck that worries me. Hence the cover access is easy. The cover should need a 10mm spanner to release it but it might come off if kicked just right. The intention is to have a hard wood ramp either side, typical railway protection. The treadle, by luck, happens to satisfy both GL5 wheel profile and will operate with some 500grams passing over it as well as a heavy 71/4 inch narrow gauge loco. To explain how that works I have done a sketch. The initial design was for the treadle to move down and operate the microswitch ( top sketch) However I discovered that the treadle would also pivot and thereby push the microswitch ( bottom sketch) this feature is ideal for detecting 5inch gauge wheels. The idea is the treadle sits 2mm below the rail so anything less than 500g will roll over without derailing. The inclusion of a check rail would ensure the wheel doesn’t ride up. Anything heavier will cause the treadle to pivot and thereby operate the microswitch. This only requires about 1mm, so it’s quite sensitive. While a heavy loco with a deep wheel flange will simply push the treadle down and out if the way. The micro switch kindly accommodates this movement. Part of getting this to work so well is in using a good quality IP54 microswitch which is really sensitive. Signalling track treadle by GL5Keith1500, on Flickr I am going to look at detection using infrared LED. I figure one each side of the rail pointing upwards at angle of say 30 degrees inclined inwards to bounce off a shiny wheel as it passes through. The principle is bounce the light off the tyre wheel which is normally bright ( or becomes clean once running). Watch this space.
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