Member postings for Old School

In the classified adverts in the back of Model Engieer magazine are a couple of adds for people who buy complete workshops.

You probably won’t get the best price but it solves a problem.

The tuned pipe on this car has a wall thickness of 12 thou all machine from the solid using sharp HSS tools.

What’s the problem with the wall thickness, 0.5mm is 20 thou easy to do on a lathe.

Clive

I have yet to find anything modern with the capability of these old irons for soldering brass tanks together for my tether cars.
Open to suggestions for something modern but the need to have a good size lump of copper on the end so I can just solder long seams without stopping.

That’s a very nice string making jig, is there any way of measuring the load you put on the string.

I can understand the desire to sell off the engines that are out of sight and not enjoyed by anyone.

I have been slowly re homing some of the tether cars that I have built. Most live under various beds in the house, when first built get a run to prove they will go round. A couple of my cars will be raced this year in Europe this year the Europe Championships are in Switzerland this year and I will be racing there along with trips to Poland and Germany.

If you can wait until October 27th and 28th the BMFA (British Model Flying Association) are holding an auction at their National Centre both live and online. Last years auction contained engines made by model Engineers/aero modellers, they made good prices. The auction helps the BMFA financially and the cost to put lots into the auction are not excessive. I maybe a little biased I am one of the volunteer team that helps keep the Buckminster site going plus they have a tether car track.

Some very good advice from Hopper. Enjoy your machines as they are as you use them you will fix any minor problems as you go it’s the best way with old machines.

I have one in my workshop it came from Vevor so far so good, it has been run on heating oil from day one as our central heating is oil fired.

I have been thinking about buying a World of Ward divider for ages. A month or so ago I bought the ready to go one, it’s a wonderful piece of kit should have bought it years ago.

All set up on a home built kit rotary table from my fathers workshop, he used it for engraving clock dials.

Hi

Another one from the East Midlands, I like things that are fast, model boats cars and planes, my son is currently rebuilding his drag racing original mini. I’ve done some work on it in the past, has his own workshop now.

If I had received that lathe I would not be happy and on the phone to Warco. In the past when I have had a problem with product supplied by them they have been very helpful and resolved the problem to my satisfaction.

My advice pick the phone up and talk to them politely.

Must admit to successfully hardening and tempering piano wire in the larger diameter for making “D” bits for sizing the hole in steel components.

I have just bent these clips from 0.8mm piano wire. It is good quality wire that I buy in coils for making tether car cables.

It bends no problem at all with no failures. The squares on the paper are 5mm.

Certainly makes the show a lot more interesting to see the exhibits running. Appeared to be quite a few youngsters there which can’t be bad.

JA

If you want accurate rounds for your rifle, you load your own. It’s an interesting process load development and relaxing. For a bench rest rifle you could around 100 shots to get a load that shoots tight groups.

Shot using a bench rest rifle an accurate rifle available to anyone with a FAC and the money to pay for one.

The smallest group of five shots at 500 m (546 yd) is 26.6 mm (1.048 in) by Dave Goodridge (Australia) at the SSAA Magura Range, Canberra, Australia on 29 August 1998.

Buy a custom water jet cut disc from one of the eBay suppliers and then machine the important dimensions. So much easier and probably no more expensive.

I use piano wire in quite a few applications it came from the local model shop. It can be drilled and tapped with care drilling not too fast and with lubricant and good quality sharp drills, taps also need to be sharp and lubricated.

Have successfully made “D” bits out of piano wire and hardened and tempered them with no problems.

The modern tether car engines bear no resemblance to the McCoy and Dooling 60s. Now days the fuel is supplied at the race meeting 80% methanol and 20% castor oil no nitromethane. The engines have a full tuned pipes and the rpm is around 35 to 37,000 with around 7 to 8 bhp. No ringed piston these are high silicon content aluminium running in a chrome plated brass liner. Engine life is short 3 to 4 fast runs and the liner piston is past its best.

The 10cc (60) cars are the F1 cars of the tether car world. Loud and fast.

It was interesting to see an article on tether car history in the latest issue of the magazine.

I hold the current British record for a Class 5 10cc tether car at over 200mph and I would like assure the readers that we do not run our 200+ mph cars on string. They are tethered on 2.1mm diameter piano/ music wire.

Tether car racing is going through a bit of a resurgence at the moment a track has been built at British Model Flying Association’s National Centre at Buckminster funded by voluntary contributions.

The Buckminster Tether Car Group and SAM 35 run a series of events through the racing season. Next events are

September 24th and 25th BTCG

October 15th and SAM 35

No charge for spectators, we have an open pits area you can see the cars and talk to the racers.