What i've done today

[chrisb]

Finally getting my mojo back. I hadn’t done anything with my Wren overhaul since just after Christmas. After an unexpected 2 weeks contract work, I’m now back in the workshop and made a start at blasting and etch priming the frames. Hopefully I can paint these and then set them aside to harden off whilst I progress fitting tyres and reassembling the wheelsets.

[andrewtoplis]

Really positive club night yesterday, assembled the simplex reversing lever and linkage properly for the first time and found it needs a few tweaks, no problem there.

Then we got onto talking about why the motion had a tightness...and a nearby club member spotted it in seconds!

The fork on the end of the left hand valve rod is slightly oversize, so it was rubbing on the nutted pin immediately below it....

An easy fix, but I wouldn't have seen it in a month of looking.

Onwards!

[steamer5]

Today was fix the air compressor time! A couple of weeks back my compressor regulated out regulator started to leak out the adjuster knob….well the vent hole when I hadn’t touched it! My compressor has 2 out lets.
So I removed the regulator, easy enuff, taking it apart took a bit longer…. making it up as I went along, the adjuster knob is a push fit on the plastic housing didn’t want to get too rough with it, lifted out the diaphragm, checked it over & it’s fine. The next bit didn’t seen to want to move, a socket & a careful bit of undoing & out it came. The spring loaded rubber valve was in 2 bits…. Hmmmm. … me thinks it should be one piece & sure enuff it fits together.
To shorten the story I made a new one out of brass & a rubber plug, thanks to Erik-Jan & his design for an oil non-return valve idea! A quick test & it work great.

Cheers Kerrin

[chris vine]

Funnily enough, yesterday was my day for fixing a compressor!
It is one of those oil free types which have reed valves in the cylinder head.

About a year ago it ran but didn't produce any air.
Taking it apart I found that one of the reed valves had fatigued and the end had fallen off.
So, I made a new reed out of brass shim and rivetted it back into place. Hey Presto - air again.

Then a few days ago it packed up again. Taking to bits I found that the brass reed had failed, so this time I made a replacement from a bit of old feeler gauge as this is much more like the correct springy material, I think.
Back working again, until the next thing goes wrong...

All best
Chris.

[dhamblin]

Good day - saw 46100 'Royal Scot' on a charter and applied fresh graphited yarn packing to Britannia's left hand piston then started reassembling the cylinder.

Bad day - snapped a stainless steel 6BA screw while reattaching the front piston cover to the block. Will need to work on a set-up on the lathe to drill it out as the piston rod and guide bars are still attached on the other end!

Regards,

Dan

[davewoo]

Unusually I had a look at Facebook maketplace yesterday, and there was a tatty looking Meddings pillar drill on there for very little money, as it was literally five minutes away, went and had a look and ended up with it in the back of the car. Been standing over ten years, a lot of surface rust but very little use or wear, apart from a smile of shame on the table and a cracked clamp ring that goes under the head. The Meddings table does not have a centre hole, this one did, which is not a bad idea, but it was drilled off centre and decided something had to be done, fortunately the table is milled flat on the underside, so on to the mill table for some TLC.

[davewoo]

Drilled the table with slot drills, which is very thick fortunately, 5/16" deep and turned some cast iron plugs a interference fit in the holes, into the freezer then tapped in, overlapping the plugs slightly. Machined the plugs down as near the surface as I dared, filed and then oilstoned flush. Not completely invisible but much better than before, quite an enjoyable afternoons work. Next job fabricate a new table clamp. Posted this as it may demonstrate that repairs to damaged tables are not difficult and the results whilst obviouslt not perfect don't stand out too much.

[uuu]

My daughter saw a "fidget toy" online - but the cost of shipping from the US was prohibitive - so she asked me to make her one. It was just a switch mounted in a block of plastic, that you could click to keep your hands occupied in meetings etc.

Here's what I made: 20240330_124810 by Wilf, on Flickr

It's just two blocks of aluminium hollowed out and spigoted together. To dress it up, I added a band of bronze (from John at the Pumphouse) around it. It is pressed together - but with a dab of Loctite to make it more secure.

If I made it again, I might use three shorter blocks. You can see scoring on the sides where my milling cutter was a little too short and the area above the flutes (near the joint) rubbed.

Wilf

[johan]

Determining the stay pattern of my future Yarrow boiler. More stays then I like but rules are rules I guess.

[davewoo]

Today I've mostly been making lots of swarf. oh and a replacement clamping ring for the Meddings drill in the table repair post above, fortunately had an offcut of 4" dia steel in the scrapbox. Lots of swarf and a bit of welding later we have a new clamp. Tried to make it look like the original casting,not come out too bad. Not starting the full resto of the drill yet as my loco needs a bit of work for it's steam test, but looking forward to getting on with project drill.

[JonL]

I think by coincidence I found out what that type of clamp is called (while arms deep in a Pegasus Radial), the manual calls it a Maneton clamp. Anyone wish to correct me? I am not 100% sure I'm right.

[smallbrother]

Jan 22, 2024 21:56:01 GMT JonL said:

Excellent, maybe I'll see him. What colour?

Red. Sorry for late response. Moved house and still in turmoil!

Pete.

[davewoo]

Today I finished the rebuild of the Meddings drill that I posted the table repairs a couple of weeks ago. A good clean up and de rust, cleaned tons of sawdust out of the motor, and everywhere else besides. Fitted new bearings, fortunately had most of the sizes in stock, and generally cleaned and oiled everything. The original paint was a very dull hammer grey/blue, so I decided on something a little brighter, which ended up being much,much brighter than expected from the little colour swatch I chose from, its RAL Pigeon and I have to say never seen a Pigeon that bright a blue! but started to grow on me now. One thing I've never done before is dismantled a drill chuck, it has a CVA chuck which seemed in good order but was stiff and gritty, after some youtubing took it apart and cleaned and greased and am amazed at the difference, whole job was much easier than expected. The little star knob for the belt guard was missing but managed to drill out and tap a ex WD knob bought in a surplus shop in Lincoln years ago (still there!),knew it would come in handy one day. Made up a lever for the switch something like the ones pictured on the lathes website and another job completed! I re-used what I believe to be the original belt marked Pacera as it was still flexible and supple, not bad for around 50 years old. Depth stop is loosely based on on one in Ian Bradleys book The Amateurs Workshop, has a keyway and pin in the vertical shaft to keep it all pointing the right way, now for a tidy up and then back to the loco.

Top picture is as bought but after table repair.

[ettingtonliam]

I visit Lincoln from time to time, worked there for several years in fact, but where is this surplus shop of which you speak?

[davewoo]

Hi Called J Birkett, its in The Strait leading to Steep Street on the way up to the cathedral. Opening hours are limited but worth a visit. Lots of ex military and aero stuff, great for odd packets of B.A bolts and nuts. Last time I was there in february found an odd Santon rotary switch in a bin and thought it might do for areplacement for one that had burned out in a Fobco drill, turned out to be exactly the correct one same part number. you never know what you will find there. One thing they had a few of was electrical contacts on a 4 B.A stud ideal for repairing centrifugal switches in motors.

[dhamblin]

Took Britannia to the Welling and District Model Engineering Societies' first visiting clubs open day at their new Hall Place track. Great bunch of people and they've done a smashing job with building the new track. Also caught up with Roger again as he had brought his 15xx to display as part of the East Grinstead contingent.


Britannia at Hall Place by Daniel Hamblin, on Flickr

About to set off on my first lap.


Regards,

Dan

[VGC]

Added an extremely simple solution for overspeed protection in case of a failure on my calculation tool for my new extremely simple turbogenerator RPM limiter solution.

[ettingtonliam]

Ooh! If its really simple, do tell, even I might be able to understand it.

[dscott]

Got to the Club this morning to find a guy with a tree.
Yes a dug up bare rooted tree of 10 foot tall.
Then offered to do the planting. Not the sort of thing you do with it almost MAY.
Cunning plan was to dig a deeper hole and put in masses of compost.
Got the passing mowing guy to cut the long grass and I was off.
A barrow for the nice soil and a sheet of Tarp for the pile.
Did a TIME TEAM tray of bits found.
Bunged it in and popped in 2 pipes down to the roots.
Masses of water and a rest.

Ok it is beside the railway.
David and Lily.

[fleetbank]

Not exactly what I did today but recently, and continuing the drilling machine theme: About 20 years ago my Father rescued a Toyo Mini Drill discarded in a skip, I have used it occasionality but someone had used a piece of water pipe for the column and as it was a bit under size the head didn't clamp very well, other than that it worked fine. Now I'm back into loco building it was time to sort it so a new column was made from a lift piston from a scrap hand pallet truck, this only needed about 1mm off the diameter. I had decided it must have a proper table and after pricing up 6" billets of steel bought a wood turning lathe faceplate from RDG far cheaper! Made the bracket from a billet of aluminium and a pivot for the faceplate from more scrap. Finally a decent clamping screw with pivoted lever for the table bracket. More photos of construction on my Flickr. It's now seen some action on tiny parts I'm currently making for the US 0-8-0 switcher.

Toyo drill as found and used occasionaly over the last 20 years. by Carl, on Flickr
Finished by Carl, on Flickr