Member postings for Martin Botting 2

I include the very detailed email fromMr Barrett

Hi Martin,

Interesting.

In general, the diameter points to a large boilered G1 loco. The parallel sided firebox points away from G1 pacifics with Wootton style like a duchess. The tapped copper platework (without bushes) indicates early designs from LBSC, a practice that is now frowned upon. The width of the firebox would’nt fit between any G1 wheelset at 40mm back to back – ruling out all designs.

However.

Small 3 ½” gauge locos like Titch, Rob Roy, Molly may be a better bet. Or maybe a 2 ½” something – but again watch the frame spacing over the firebox.

Bottom left bushed hole for clack feed .

Watergauge was probably where you suggested, on the left. But using the upper hole for the bottom of glass. The gauge top fittings would be taken from the hex fitting on top.

Top hex plug for a takeoff manifold to feed water gauge top, pressure gauge, blower control. Blower control outlet to pass through hollow stay to smokebox and terminating with a jet up the chimney. Possibly silversoldered in place by accident if it was intended for a manifold.

Top centre would be for the regulator which then should appear top centre on smokebox tubeplate (not yet drilled ?). 5/16 ID tube could be used for a slim spearhead superheater element but is really to small diameter to be of use. A few turns of the steam main coiled in the smokebox will probably suffice.

Best of luck !

Steve Barrett

I dropped Barrett steam models a line with the same pictures, and the same question and got a very nice email from Steve Barrett

The photo I included at the start of this question may have been misleading in that the the firebox wrapper is tapered. and as Steve pointed out it would never sit between the fames of anything G1 come to that anything less than 3" gauge would not work.

Nigel.

Many thanks for that information. Lots to digest there and some day after I have stubbed my toe enough on the thing I may reconsider putting it to some use, but on looking at it the other two of more simpler design would find a home between the frames of a G1 loco.

Much appreciated comment has come from forum members and with a great wealth of knowledge. Along with its two dust collecting chums it has taken a bath in the citric acid and a good look around leaves me thinking that while it would provide plenty of adhesion weight to a loco the thing would be a poor steamer due to the small steam space above the crown.

When it comes to the inspection of boilers I am taken to the joke of the parachutist that has a failed Shute and reserve hurtling toward the earth sees a charred man coming in the opposite direction "do you know anything about parachutes?" 'NO... do you know anything about boilers?" comes the reply.

Thank you for your input, The "bubbly stuff" is some kind of sealant I think, not tasted it yet... I was thinking down the lines of LNER or LBSCR Atlantics, but the throat plate it vertical. on the left of the backhead low down near the piled up plates on the sides and copper square fore and aft of the foundation ring is a bushed hole I would guess for the clack. as you say the club boiler inspector will no doubt do his duty and suggest I turn it into a dust collector. from what I can see inside there is no scaling on the firebox crown or the tubes.

I am still mystified how the steam was regulated! anyway I will take it along to the club with the other two boilers of the Project design and have them looked at when this virus thing has passed.

Edited By Martin Botting 2 on 12/09/2020 09:02:31

Greetings fellow subscribers.

I wonder if there are any readers who could help? Being a proficient maker of swarf from perfectly good metal I like a magpie bought 3 boilers from a chap a while back and they have been collecting dust in the workshop ( next to the faceplate) I have worked out that two are designed around the Gauge1 “Project” boiler but one is slightly longer.

The third and largest is this.

A few dimensions:

Barrel length: 17cm X 5.5cm Dia

Fire box 8cm internal grate 6 X 5.7cm

7X 3/16th ID tubes 1X 5/16 id (superheater?) tube.

A wide grate firebox with an upright throat plate.

I have had a look inside as best I can with my usb down the throat camera (dont ask) and the firebox crown stays are of the girder type and are silver soldered to the top of the wrapper.

What holes there are in bushings or threaded in ME or Bsw thread forms.

There is room in the back head for a hollow stay and a corresponding hole in the front tube plate, This threaded 5/16 x40 but is partly blocked by the firebox crown plate!

There is a silver soldered hex plug on top of the barrel over the backhead plate thats drilled with a passage to the barrel.

The two 7/32x40 holes on the left of the backhead are to my mind for a water gauge but looking at how tall the inner firebox is it would only be the top 1/4” of the glass till the crowmplate becomes exposed.

There is some charing on the inside of the firebox which might indicate coal firing and the hinged firehouse door would also intimate the same

I will make up some plugs and get the club boiler inspector to have a go at them before making my mind up what should go round them.

But any help with the design and more information on what it might be for would be helpful.

Many thanks in advance.

Martin

Its simple.... just mention you left some redundant copper pipe and old bedstead in the front garden / somewhere near the moon and I can guarantee it will be gone before you blink, well it works here in south London!

My washing machine also sounded like a bucket of rocks, thats because I use the rocks on the banks of the thames to wash my overalls.

I was amazed when I decided I could have a go at repair on an old Indesit I had and the lump of cast concrete on the top of the drum. needless to say it was 12 years old and beyond hope so I invested in one of the direct drive LG washers, which is so quiet and does not take a walk on the spin cycle.

The mention of concrete lump reminds me of the Citroen owner that filled the front "boot" with poured concrete to trim the car up after the rear suspension had given way and he was not going to fork out for the repair. So how about adding more weight to the drum, another 3 CWT should do the trick.

Its's a crutch- iron made of brass.. for the pedants… I had a similar job on some for a waterman's cutter they were made from cast bronze/ admiralty bronze. The shaft was worn on the back side so the answer was to lop of the shafts and drill and tap M12 in the shank and then machine up some stainless shafts the right diameter cut a thread and then screw and braze.

My fingers get badly burned just by all the head scratching I do. When I take my boots off to get past 9 while counting the bandages get in the way doing the laces up.

Thanks Jason.

I will give it a go and when my burnt fingers heal (always do it after a session with the blow torch) i will post up some pictures.

Evening fell swarf makers!

I have a project on the go where I would like to harden a scribing edge on a height gauge, I have some water quenching gauge plate and thought about silver soldering a bit to the foot. I would have used a bit of carbide if I had some but does the brains trust think using the gauge plate and then temper it after jointing and grinding it do the trick.

Many thanks.

I built mine a tad to high but have now screwed 6" blocks of soft wood to my boots and its fine, apart from smashing my nut on the ceiling.

Finished a two day marathon of fitting an M-DRO 2 axis DRO to my Warco "economy" mill drill. Much head clunking and knuckle scraping. Grey iron dust in the pores, Drill, tap, making brackets.

It's up and running I am amazed, I never knew there were so many numbers behind the decimal point in imperial! I coughed and the numbers at the end went up, I guess if the wind changes I will have to allow for it when I do some fly cutting.

I had a private message from a fellow subscriber making the offer of having it checked out in his company's labs over in New Zealand which enforces my feelings that thanks to the WWW we have grown into a global model engineering club. Many thanks to that subscriber.

Evening posters and wise ones, I have a few questions I would like some help with.

I have been given some 1" round stock and was told it was phossy bronze, it's not brass coloured as i have owned before it's more orange/ red its pedigree is unknown so does anyone have any hints and tips how to find out what it is. before I start machining it up for some boiler fittings and find in a few years its powdered away.

Next question on a similar vein I have been given some silver solder its in flat strips about ⅜th wide and about 1/16th thick it takes a fair bit of heat from the torch before it starts to melt and flow are there ways of classifying it.

Last one I promise…. I need a new hacksaw frame as the old one that was my dad's has got to the stage of no matter how much I crank the screw up the blade is not drawn up and the cut wanders, so any recommendation for a replacement that can get the blades done up like bow strings.

Many thanks in advance.

Martin

Happy new year to all subscribers!

Flush with some cash after the festive season and doing a withdrawal job on the local bank under cover of darkness I have thought about fitting a DRO to my warco machine.

One of the things I notice is that the readers and the scales are fairly chunky which while i won't be too much bother on the long travel on the cross slide the mounting will cause all sorts of headaches to wit: gib screws, carriage lock, and room to get the tailstock in close. I see Warco themselves offer a DRO system but I was hoping any subscribers here who have one of these lathes and have fitted a DRO to one might give me some pointers of makes and models, pros and cons etc.

Latest news folks Warco sent out a van and a man and have taken the clunking oil dripping machine back to the works, The van driver told me to lighten it up so that involved a kit of parts being sent back to Surrey, I await the outcome and I hope they send a couple of mates with the van driver as I am not pulling my plumbs out again trying to get it back in the workshop.

Richard, I don't mind getting my hands dirty but I have serious worries about pulling a motor apart. i will have to get the thing unbolted from the bench so I can get to the thing. taking the wires off will require some notes and pictures. i did write to warco asking if they could send an engineer out rather than me having to do all this.