It started with a buffer

[Jim]

The three chime whistle looks really great Mike.

Like you I angled the whistle up as much as I could to drain any condensate back down the pipes to drain out through the 'mouths' which I arranged, like you have, to be facing down.

I must own up to having a lot of fun sounding the whistle on air it really got the neighbourhood dogs wound up. 

Cheers

Jim

[barlowworks]

Hi everybody, to my shame I notice it has been over a year since I updated this thread. The reasons are twofold. Firstly as my workshop only has background heat it was a bit cold in there last winter. I was allowed space on the dining room table by Madam Battleship and set about building a wooden model boat, a small boat called a “scallop” made by a company in the Ukraine. I had always fancied a go at a proper wooden boat model so this was my chance. That occupied a good part of the winter and was finished in the spring. As with all these things, once you have a go you have to build something bigger so in dry dock at the minute is HMS speedy, a two masted brig.

Secondly, when I finally made it into the workshop I began to fit the rods and then began to realise that something was seriously wrong. With the rods fitted they just cleared the cross heads and were about half way inboard of the outer face of the rods. Something was not right. Looking at pictures of the prototype it was evident that the rods were behind the cross heads. It looked like I would need to make some spacers to space everything to the correct distance but I would need to do a lot of research first.

That gives a brief update of some of my progress, I will add more detail when I remember how to use my camera. 😉

All the best

Mike

[barlowworks]

After a couple of frustrating hours doing battle with the technology I finally remembered how the camera worked and how to post photos on the forum so here is a recap of the measures I had to take to bring things back to where they should be. I finally decided that the problem was that the various brackets were not wide enough. Starting with the slide bar bracket I decided that I needed a spacer to bring it out to the correct distance clear of the crank pin. This then set the thickness for the rest of the spacers to bring everything in line. The drawings state that the motion should all be on the centre line of the valve so I then made spacers for the cylinders and the expansion link brackets. This is the one for the cylinders.

IMG_6389 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

This is the spacer for the slide bar brackets. Of course with the brackets being thicker all the bolts needed to be changed for longer ones.

IMG_6379 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

Here is the spacer for the expansion link bracket.

IMG_6381 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

And this is the other side. As far as I can tell this now means that everything should line up with valve centre lines.

IMG_6390 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

I'm not sure how the errors occurred but I'm sure everything in now as it should be. As I have said before all this is new to me and I'm still not quite sure how it all goes together. Most of the motion was already made to a high standard by the previous builders but the combination levers, though laser cut were not thick enough and the eccentric rods were missing. These parts will need to be made from scratch, yet again something new for me so the combination levers will be next to be made.

If anyone has any comments about what I have done so far or has noted any errors I have made, please let me know.

All the best

Mike

[barlowworks]

The first of the two rods I had to make are the combination levers. To check the alignment of the rods I temporarily fitted the return cranks in roughly the correct position as a sanity check to make sure I didn't do something stupid (not the first time ).

IMG_6393 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

Moving on a little I have already drilled the holes and milled down one rod to roughly the correct shape ready for final filing. The wasted area I cut with a bull nose mill which took forever but I could not see a better way to do it. The one on the right is the laser cut one, if you look carefully you can see it is not quite thick enough. I am grateful for the YouTube channel of No23mk2 who covers the production of all the rods on his 9F build. 

IMG_6385 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

Here is the other rod marked out ready for milling to shape.

IMG_6387 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

Jumping on again, here are the finished rods. After milling I filed the rods down to final shape using hardened filling buttons then filed to the lines for the final shape. A lot of work went into trying to get a reasonable finish on the rods. I used a Scotch-brite wheel on my bench grinder and some Scotch-brite wheels in my mini drill to get rid of the filing marks and the marks from the ball nose cutter. They are not as good as the rods already finished by the previous builders but I am happy that they are something like and I am quite pleased considering they were a first attempt at anything like this.

IMG_6395 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

Drilling the oilways was a bit heart in mouth, not so much for the drilling of the 3/16 hole for the reservoir but the 1.2mm hole for the oil feed to the bearing pin. The long one at the top for the bottom bearing of the two definitely tested my Anglo Saxon.

IMG_6397 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

The next rods to be done will be the eccentric rods. The Perrier drawings show this to have a slight angle to the rod between the two bosses but the YouTube videos and the drawings by Les Wernett for the 9F show it to be straight. I will have to do some checking first to see who is correct.

All the best for the New Year

Mike

[don9f]

Hi Mike, if it’s of any help, the eccentric rods on the real thing are indeed “straight”, although the forked end is significantly offset to one side.

Cheers Don

[David]

It's all looking very good! Tricky shape on those rods well done.

[barlowworks]

Hi everybody, in the last update I managed to make the combination levers. The next rods to be tackled will be the eccentric rods. The blank for the next rods has been mounted in the mill and the centres have been drilled ready. The reason I chose the combination levers first is that these are the first rods I have ever made and I am quite pleased with the outcome. The eccentric rods are a whole lot more complicated.

 

IMG_6400 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the making process, these are the finished rods complete with the flutes. At the moment they are about as good as I can manage but will not stand close inspection. I had to make three anyway as I dropped a clanger right at the end of making one off them, turning my hand wheel the wrong way on the mill and ruining one end.

IMG_6402 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

This is the brass casting from Doug Hewson for the bearing cover. There are raised details at the top and bottom for the oil filler and drain. I used a 10ba steel screw with a nut  to represent the filler and a brass 10ba bolt for the drain.

IMG_6403 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

The next thing on the list will be the fixing pins and collars with taper pins to hold it all together. By the look of the drawing there looks to be about 12 altogether.

All the best

Mike

[barlowworks]

Hi Everybody, a quick update from Barlow Works about the motion. The eccentric rods that were completed last time have now been fitted. I had to source some new bearings from Sheffield Seals and Bearings as the ones provided would not fit over the pins in the return cranks. The bearing covers have now been fitted to complete that end of the rod.

IMG_6406 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

The drawings show some of the rods with a pin and a nut on the outside, not correct at all. According to the excellent photos JohnL posted of Oliver Cromwell it is obvious that most of the rods are secured with pins with a taper pin and collar. Here is my attempt at reproducing these pins and collars and I must admit I'm quite pleased with the way they came out. The taper pins will need to be shortened later but will remain like this for the time being.

IMG_6409 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

The next thing into Barlow Works were the crossheads. This is the crosshead from Oliver Cromwell showing the details.

AC30ED~1 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

This is the crosshead as completed by the previous builders, perfectly serviceable and made as per the Perrier drawings but as you know I can't leave anything alone.

IMG_6418 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

And finally this is one of the crossheads after a visit to the Barlow Works beauty parlour. All the added detail is purely cosmetic to add a finishing touch. The oil box filler has a tapered cocktail stick in it to represent the cork as a finishing touch. Also evident is the oiling point at the bottom joint, in this case a dummy but I will be fitting something similar to the other rods. The centre is a tube through an 8ba bolt fixed into the rods. As the combination levers are all drilled for the oilways it should be possible to oil down the tubes with a fine oiler. Also on show are the castellated nuts, another heart in mouth exercise with a 1.5 end mill. The pins are also drilled ready to take a split pin when the time is right.

IMG_6416 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

Next on the workbench will be the taper pin bearings for the combination links to provide the prototypical sort of connecting pin. More on this and the oiling points on the combination levers in the next update.

All the best

Mike

[Roger]

Mar 11, 2024 15:06:37 GMT barlowworks said:

Hi Everybody, a quick update from Barlow Works about the motion. The eccentric rods that were completed last time have now been fitted. I had to source some new bearings from Sheffield Seals and Bearings as the ones provided would not fit over the pins in the return cranks. The bearing covers have now been fitted to complete that end of the rod.

IMG_6406 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

The drawings show some of the rods with a pin and a nut on the outside, not correct at all. According to the excellent photos JohnL posted of Oliver Cromwell it is obvious that most of the rods are secured with pins with a taper pin and collar. Here is my attempt at reproducing these pins and collars and I must admit I'm quite pleased with the way they came out. The taper pins will need to be shortened later but will remain like this for the time being.

IMG_6409 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

The next thing into Barlow Works were the crossheads. This is the crosshead from Oliver Cromwell showing the details.

AC30ED~1 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

This is the crosshead as completed by the previous builders, perfectly serviceable and made as per the Perrier drawings but as you know I can't leave anything alone.

IMG_6418 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

And finally this is one of the crossheads after a visit to the Barlow Works beauty parlour. All the added detail is purely cosmetic to add a finishing touch. The oil box filler has a tapered cocktail stick in it to represent the cork as a finishing touch. Also evident is the oiling point at the bottom joint, in this case a dummy but I will be fitting something similar to the other rods. The centre is a tube through an 8ba bolt fixed into the rods. As the combination levers are all drilled for the oilways it should be possible to oil down the tubes with a fine oiler. Also on show are the castellated nuts, another heart in mouth exercise with a 1.5 end mill. The pins are also drilled ready to take a split pin when the time is right.

IMG_6416 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

Next on the workbench will be the taper pin bearings for the combination links to provide the prototypical sort of connecting pin. More on this and the oiling points on the combination levers in the next update.

All the best

Mike

Lovely work as always Mike, that's superb!

[barlowworks]

Thank you for the kind comment Roger. I just try and copy what you can see in a good photograph.

All the best

Mike

[barlowworks]

Hi everybody, just a quick update on my thread as there has not been a report since March. Basically I have been concentrating on my 16mm NG garden railway during the summer, getting everything that I have already done adjusted and checked and then building the remainder of the pointwork and trackwork. These are two of the five points I have built this summer, three points and associated track work have already been laid in my shed and these two and a lift out bridge are for a couple of sidings I have at the bottom of the garden.

IMG_6421 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

I just have a couple more points to make and the track work to lay and it will be finished, If these things are ever finished. Then it will be back to the Brit.

All the best

Mike

[barlowworks]

Hi everybody, after a summer of madness I have finally completed the track work on my garden railway and have actually had a couple of battery locos moving slowly round both loops of the garden. That should keep Madam Battleship happy, her design brief being to have a loco running round the garden while she does the gardening. If it gets me out of gardening then that is a winner as far as I am concerned. .

IMG_6431 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

Now that is finished, I have got back to the valve gear on the Britannia. A lot of the valve gear has been completed, just leaving the lifting links for me to make and a few other parts. I didn't take any shots of the making of these rods reasoning that they were very similar to the other rods I have covered previously. These are the lifting links made from solid made from a mixture of the Perrier drawings for the length and the Warnett drawings for the shape making sure that it all fits with the already made rods from the previous builders. I decided to detail the oiling points as before to complete the overall impression.

IMG_6434 by Michael Cawthorne, on Flickr

The other part I have had to remake is the reversing shaft. If you remember, I had to adjust the cylinders and motion bracket width previously which meant that the already completed shaft was now too short, necessitating the making of a longer one. Here it is with the lifting arms already made by the previous builders trial fitted to give an idea of what it will look like (and make me feel a bit smug) . Next on the list will be the various pins and collars drilled for taper pins to hold it all together and the drilling for the taper pins to hold the lifting arms on to the shaft.

All the best

Mike