Buckets

A while ago I'd read a post on the Albion Yard blog about buckets so went ahead and purchased some etches thinking they would come in very useful. For some reason this evening, after a good day working in the garage, I thought I needed a little challenge and set about soldering one of the buckets together. Jumping in at the deep end I ignored the straight sided bucket and went for the, potentially more difficult, slope-sided example.

Surprisingly it was not too difficult. The handle was the hardest part but after summoning a bucket full of 'patience' I eventually had something that would 'hold water'!

For my first attempt at soldering something so small I'm well pleased... I've just started painting the 1/76 scale chap in the picture but thought including him might help with getting the comparative scale of the 1/72 bucket. The etch is in the background.

For more information go to Brengun where, on page four of their 1/72 accessories section, you should find the buckets along with a good looking tool set. On page three, of this section of their e-shop, there is also a very nice looking bike etch.

I have no connection with Brengun apart from being a very satisfied customer.

Winter Project - Gearbox

The holiday (or should I say field trip) in Cornwall and the hasty day at Scalefour North has renewed my enthusiasm for all things P4 and Grogley Junction. Over the weekend I found a couple of hours to build the High Level gearbox. The gearbox came with very comprehensive instructions, which, at first, make the construction look complicated. But when all the components were all laid out on the table and each paragraph was read a couple of times, the mist started to clear and the gearbox was very quickly assembled.

After a quick test under power it was soon installed in the chassis and it is starting to look promising... Oh and it moves!!...

I think the next task will be to create a cradle to support the motor and work out how to install the pick-ups.

Winter Project - Installing Hornblocks

I recently resumed this project by fitting the CSB tags to each of the brass bearings. I then continued with fine tuning the fit of the bearings to each hornblock, when happy with their fit, a length of 0.4mm brass wire was installed through the holes in the bottom of each hornblock to stop the bearings falling out.

I'd then reached the stage where the hornblocks needed to be fitted to the chassis.....


To help me get the get the axles square to the chassis I decided to create a simple jig. I started by drawing a diagram in Adobe Illustrator of a rectangle the width of the chassis frame and longer so that the chassis frame could be aligned over the top. Then two rectangles where drawn to match the wheel base and wider than the chassis to help with aligning the axle jigs at right angles to the chassis frame. This was sellotaped to a mirror, and two strips of plywood secured over the top to help keep the chassis frame true to the diagram.



Once I'd soldered the centre axle into position, the front was aligned using the coupling rods. The jig seems to help in the process as the axles look square to the frame. However I did use a small square to double check before and during soldering the hornblocks to the frame...

State of chassis at the end of the evening...

I feel I've had a reasonable few hours of modelling today. The next task is installing the crankpins into the wheels, then it's building the High Level gearbox before installing the wheels. Think I might take the chassis along to this week's Area Group Meeting for some constructive criticism and advice on the next couple of stages....

Winter project - Chassis awaiting hornblocks

Below is the current state of play:


I've used Alan Gibson short handrail knobs for the CSB fulcrum points. All holes were drilled for the breakgear assembly and frame spacers adapted to fit their locations. These tasks were all completed before soldering the chassis together. High Level's hornblocks were very easy to fold up. My soldering could be a little tidier but so far for my first attempt I'm feeling happy

..............

If anyone wants to follow my stumbling progress in a little more detail I'll try and illustrate below.....

Before cutting the frames out of the etch I marked the position for the CSB fulcrum points using High Level's CSB jig. A 0.4 mm drill was used to mark the centres, as this size drill seemed the best fit for the holes in the jig and I was reluctant to do any alterations to it at this early stage. The jig was then removed and a 0.7mm drill used to drill through the frames. The holes were still very tight for the handrail knobs so a 0.8mm drill was used to open them out. At this stage I also drilled though all the pre-marked locations on the frames for the brakegear hangers using a 0.5mm drill.

The frames were then carefully cut out of the etch. Then, in accordance with Comet's instruction sheet, the etched springs were removed in preparation for the fitting of the hornblocks. The handrail knobs were then soldered into position using a length of 0.4mm straight brass wire to align them. I must admit to making a bit of a mess here, accidentally soldering the brass wire to one of the handrail knobs (it was rectified at the second attempt). Where required the frame spacers were shortened as per my previous diagram. Also a couple of holes were drilled in one of the end spacers to help with threading the CSB spring wire through the handrail knobs at a later stage. The frames were then soldered together using Comet's P4 chassis jigs giving the result shown in the photo above.

Progress has stalled a little over the last couple of weeks but, when a little time has been available, I've been working on getting the bearings to be a smooth fit in the hornblocks.

With Christmas fast approaching this may well be my last posting until the New Year. So may I take this opportunity to wish you all a very enjoyable Christmas and thank you for persevering in reading this blog.

Winter Project - Test track

Thinking through what I need to do to build the 57xx chassis I suddenly realised I don't have anything to test the chassis on. My test track would have been ideal if it had not been relegated to the garage (and is currently in pieces). Earlier in the year I was treated to a Bachrus rolling road and I've found this very useful in testing some of my RTR locos, though, I don't think it gives a true picture of how a loco will travel along the track. Or is this just because I like to see the locos move....?

Anyway a random length of redundant wooden shelving was retrieved from the dark recesses of the said garage (I knew it would come in useful one day), and thoughts were put towards what I might require on this strip of wood for testing locos.

1) A length of straight OO track for setting up the Bachrus rolling road and testing RTR locos prior to conversion.
2) A length of straight P4 track for setting up the Bachrus rolling road and testing locos after conversion (also for testing any chassis I manage to build during their construction).

3) A length of P4 track with a reverse curve to test a loco's abilities to travel through a minimum radius curve.

Item three above is the tricky one as what is the minimum radius curve for P4? Or possibly more importantly, what is the minimum curve for any locos I may be building? Templot shows alarm warnings at 39.4" yet the P4 Society seems to recommend not going below 48" for large locos. I guess it must come down to the length of a loco's wheelbase as to the minimum radius curve the loco can travel through. The shorter the wheelbase the tighter the curve. For the time being I cannot see myself building anything much larger than the wheel base of a WR Pannier tank. Beyond that perhaps, if my skills will allow, a 4-6-0 'N' Class and a Manor, both of which have driving wheel wheelbases similar to a Pannier tank. So I've plumped for the 39.4" radius curve as a minimum.

It's a bit rough and I will put some ends on to stop flying locos but for the moment it's located on my bench with a wall at one end and crocodile clips at the other. It may not be the most suitable test track but for now I think it should suffice.

A winter project - Getting to grips with CSB

Understanding the principles of Continuous Springy Beam and using the spreadsheets have been the first steps of this project. In principle it all makes good sense, but the maths and the theory do get very confusing for a lesser mortal like myself. However, the spreadsheets are the tools that turn all the theory into usable figures.

Unfortunately the first spreadsheet I downloaded caused me some confusion. It was one of Will Litchfield's and with hindsight my confusion was mainly due to me not knowing what I was trying to achieve. If only I'd realised what I would be doing now I would have tried to attend Will's lecture on CSB and John Brighton's on Chassis Building at Scaleforum ...... Anyway, at first sight Alan Turner's spreadsheet seemed to make more sense to me. The only drawback that I could see with Alan's offering is how can I calculate the centre of gravity of a model that I haven't yet built? But.... working on the principle that, if I put the centre of gravity roughly around the centre axle and weight all axles as near the same as the spreadsheet will allow, I can add weight to the finished model to move the centre of gravity over the centre axle.

After a little fiddling around I ended up with the calculations below. This was using Alan Turner's spreadsheet, for a 57xx chassis.

Once I'd started to use the above spreadsheet some of the theory started to sink in. I'd also been pointed in the direction of a different spreadsheet produced by Will which was not as daunting as the first. After some further discussions with group members, and a few more reads about CSB on CLAG's web pages, I was gaining a better understanding of the principles. Especially about the reasons for reducing the weight of the centre axle. Which, if my understanding is correct, is to help with: keeping the loco level; to enhance traction/grip; and reduce/avoid waddling ('porpoising') of the loco as it progresses along the track. I'm starting to feel I as if I'm getting to grips with CSB.....

The same figures entered into Will's spreadsheet seem to confirm that I might be on the right track.....


Considerations I have tried to take into account while using the spreadsheets to calculate fulcrum positions are: position of brake hangers; position of frame spacers to avoid the CSB mounts and wire; position of the frame spacers which will be used to mount the wire pick-ups; the position of motor and gear box. The diagram below hopefully shows my thoughts......


The only bit that I'm still trying to work out is how to support the motor/gearbox.... One idea (marked in green on the above diagram) is to solder some wire to the inside of both frames around the centre axle and bend them in and under to support the motor. Then either solder them to each side of the gear box, or drill a hole in the gear box for the wires to pass through supporting the gear box but not fixed permanently. The wire supports would be like a cradle for the motor to rest on and secure the gear box vertically. Would there be enough play in the articulated part of the gear box to allow suspension on the rear axle? The wire forming the cradle might not give a solid support but one that might have some flexibility allowing the gearbox some slight vertical movement. But....is there a better method?

I don't see that not knowing how to support the motor/gear box should stop me from installing the handrail knobs (that will be used as the CSB fulcrum points). So, I'm hoping to get started on construction during the next few evenings while I'm thinking/asking questions about the support for the motor/gear box.

A winter project - What to build?

Over the last couple of years I've been steadily collecting locos, RTR and kits, for my chosen period and project location. The most recent being two Dapol Beattie Well Tanks and a Perseverance Beattie Well Tank kit. For the moment though I do realise that the latter is way beyond my current capabilities as I've never constructed a loco kit.

While adding these kits to the shelf, I have been chewing the fat as to which one to build as my first attempt at a loco chassis. Ideally I thought it would be best to have started with an 0-6-0 tender loco. Starting with the tender chassis and then progress to the loco chassis. In my alternative universe I think I could twist history enough to justify running a Class 700 (Drummond's "Black Motor") - 30697 & 30700 were allocated to Exmouth Junction in 1961. I also have a BEC kit on the shelf waiting to be built. It was very tempting to make a start on this kit until it was very kindly pointed out it would take a lot of work to produce a decent looking loco from it. The tender frames are of different lengths and other castings are of dubious quality. It would also be my first white-metal loco kit and I've had little experience of constructing white-metal kits. So this kit will have to wait until I think I have enough experience.

I have also collected High Level's 03 and 57xx chassis kits. These look superb and the instructions seem second to none. However without any previous experience of building loco chassis I have found reading though the instructions daunting. Also, the thought of ruining one of these kits half way through the build is very off putting. I feel I need to cut my teeth on a kit that I could dismantle and start again, or at worst even throw away with the least worry over costs. I need to get my hands dirty with something simple.......

Thoughts turned to purchasing some Alan Gibson side frames for a DJH 1366 and/or a NuCast 16xx. I thought the 16xx kit could be a good first kit, apart from the construction of the white-metal body. Again I've had no experience of white metal kits and would like to ruin a few white-metal wagon kits before starting on the 16xx.......I could go on with many more excuses as to why most of the kits I've collected would not be good starting projects....... and you may ask why collect all these kits if I'm going to be such a chicken?

So, to cut to the chase, I've been encouraged by members of my area group to attempt to put together a Comet 57xx chassis with a Bachmann body. Compensation will be Continuous Springy Beam and the motor and gear box will be from High Level. Over the last few weeks I've been collecting all the items needed and recently purchased, off eBay, a suitably priced Bachmann body.

I do realise I am approaching this project with some naive enthusiasm but I've been receiving much encouragement and advice from members of my local P4 area group. It is invaluable having "hands on" on their locos; seeing their projects under construction; and the different techniques they have used. Having this access does much to demystify the written word in books or magazines. Hopefully I will get something running and not be too ashamed to show the result.........