Member postings for Dave Powell 2

Thank you for your replies, Gentlemen. I had looked at the Polly catalogue but did not find it in there. I will give them a ring today and get some in. The reason the last one broke is that at full heat the drain cock went really tight. On trying to open it the bottom fitting turned and cracked the glass. I think I am very lucky that disaster did not ensue. We aborted the steam test at that point and I came home rather sadder than I was an hour previously, when it had passed it's hydraulic test. Oh well, that's life

Hi folks, I stupidly managed to break my gauge glass during a boiler test yesterday and am struggling to find a replacement. It's 7mm diameter, it had a thin red line down it which made it really easy to see the water level. All the usual suppliers only seem to do the clear stuff. Anybody know where I can get some? Thanks in advance.

I just had a start capacitor fail on my pillar drill. It was rated at 150 micro farad but when I measured it the value had fallen to just 26 micro. I borrowed the cap from my bandsaw to get me going, it was only 100 uf but it did the job. They do dry out with age and the value will fall until the point where the motor won't start any more.

Not much use to the op but as the thread had drifted a bit I thought I would add my 2p.

Thanks for the information , gentlemen, looks like I have some extra work to do....

I should have said - I compared it with another loco, which is where I got the measurement reference points from. With the bit of test rail that I have there is a good 3/16 or more between the inner edge of the rail and the flanges on the wheels. I also have a 040 Romulus and the distance between flanges on that is a generous 7 1/4. For interest the distance between the inside edges of the flanges is approx. 6 5/8 inches.

Hi folks, after a bit of advice here - I am currently rebuilding a 7 1/4 inch model locomotive. I thought things were going along nicely until I measured the distance between the wheels. Being a 7 1/4 inch gauge I expected the distance between the outsides of the flanges to be a tad over 7 1/4 inches. It's actually quite a lot less than that at about 6 7/8. The wheels are wide enough so that it's not going to fall through the track but is this likely to cause me any problems? It's a pretty big job to make new axles and to sort the quartering, which I would rather avoid as the loco is now well progressed. I wish I had checked it earlier but took it for granted that it would be ok as it is a very well run loco. Thanks in advance.

I have had my workshop indoors, in a shed, in a garage and in a barn. My preferred location is a garage. They are usually away from the living space and have a very solid floor. They are large enough for most people's needs but small enough to keep warm without costing a fortune. They are easy to insulate, which keeps in the heat and the noise. The smell of hot cutting fluid or whatever stays where it is, if you use a lot of paints and solvents an extractor hood can be a useful addition, it's usually much easier and more convenient to fit one in a garage than a spare bedroom. A garage is less likely to attract thieves than a garden shed, it is also easier to secure. I would certainly go for a garage if I had the choice.

Ooops, I forgot to say - there are some low res photos of the finished Scotsman in my album. Here is one of the photos:

Hi Bob, sorry for late response, I have only just seen your post. I am in the same boat as you in that I know the lathe can do screw cutting but I have never attempted it. I have always used taps and dies thus far as most work I do is very small. I do need to make a faceplate so I am going to have to learn how to go about it. I understand the basics but just have to get on and give it a try.

Diane, I have now done the lining and am quite pleased with the result. I don't have any decent photos at the moment but my Wife has a decent camera so I will get some done at some point. I don't know how old it was, it had been started many years ago and then been passed through various owners before coming to me. It could date back as far as the 1950's but dating it would be pure guess work. I bought it last year as a part built model and set about making the remaining parts and getting it running and painted. I have had it running on air but the valve gear could do with setting up a bit better.

Dave.

One thing you may find useful is to buy a few syringes - they are graduated in ml's. Once you have found your favourite paint to thinners ratio it is then very easy to repeat it accurately.

I have just learnt how to do airbrushing so I could paint my 2 1/2 inch Flying Scotsman, I am delighted with the result. If you get it right no further cutting or polishing is required. What I found worked for me is to thoroughly degrease first, use aerosol primer then flat it back with 1200 grade wet and dry. I used Craftsmaster enamel thinned at about twice as much thinner as paint. I did a fairly thin coat first followed fairly soon after by a good coat that left a wet look to the paint. I let that dry quite well then put on another coat. I practiced on scrap first and had to try several times before I got a finish that I was happy with. After lining I applied 3 coats of clear varnish from the same company and the finish is the best I have ever achieved. The airbrush set was about 20 quid, I used my standard compressor set to about 45 psi. You can get a very good finish from rattle cans, as other posters have stated it's the preparation that really matters. Always use a good primer and rub it down to a glassy smooth finish before putting the top colour on - at least that is what worked best for me.

Best of luck

Dave.

Thanks for posting that, Robbo, I have not seen that before.

Hi John, yes mine has a raised centre height, it will turn a very large diameter with the gap in the bed. Does yours have a method for locking the spindle to enable chuck removal?

Yours is in much better condition than mine, I really would like to repaint mine when time allows.

Dave.

You should buy it from me then

It will be put up for sale very soon. I would love to keep it but other projects need to be financed.

Thought I would put up a few photos of my latest project - a 2 1/2 inch gauge Flying Scotsman to the Bassett Lowke design. I bought this as a part built project, totally stripped it, built the rest of the bits then put it back together and painted it. Hopefully the photos come out ok, although I only have a very old and basic camera.

Mainly for Ralph, here are a couple of photos of my old Henry Milnes lathe. This was purchased from Lincolnshire fire service, I bought it from the guy that got it from them. It came with a mountain of tooling including 3 jaw and 4 jaw chucks, keyless tailstock chuck, live and dead centres, travelling and fixed steadies, faceplate, change wheels and loads of tools / drills etc. It is a full screw cutting capable machine although I have yet to use it for that purpose. It has power feed and cross feed with reverse on both. The built in gearbox gives me quite a good speed range.

I am lead to believe that this was also marketed by Denham with the model number DF4.

Ralph, I have put a couple of photos of my lathe up in the Workshop tools section, as that looked like the most appropriate place to put them.

What a fascinating project, can't wait to see the next bit!

Thanks for all the replies, gentlemen. I am definitely going to have a play with one but will also have a look at what is commercially available.

Sir, I salute you, that is absolutely brilliant. Like the poem too.