Member postings for Jon Lawes

Hello Bill and welcome.

I think this is one of those times that pictures would be worth a thousand words. I'm sure someone will recognise it promptly.

How to post pictures

Most of the 3.5" Atlantics I've seen are an LBSC Maisie, but that is outside cylinder. There were some 2.5" inside cylinder atlantics to the Aspinall design, but again, that doesn't fit the bill as the gauge is wrong! I'm sure we will work it out if you find some pictures. My knowledge on this subject is very patchy.

Thanks,

Jon

Edited By Jon Lawes on 10/01/2022 07:03:56

I'm a bit confused as to exactly what size you need, small enough that you could make a small oil cup or large enough that something like a myford drip oiler would fit?

http://www.lathes.co.uk/myford/index.html

This website may help, quite a good reference.

I think there will always be a perception that "driving is getting consistently worse" just like littering, vandalism and petty crime. We tend to feel things are declining, and sometimes the facts reinforce this, and sometimes they don't. I was interested to read that a Village pump here in Gillingham (Dorset) had been given its own shelter to allow people to pump their water out of the way of the elements, however this was taken down a few years later as young people had congregated in it, were hanging around intimidating local people and had vandalised the pump... this was in the late 1800s.... the bus shelter of its day.

Edited By Jon Lawes on 04/01/2022 23:44:28

I use a Sonoff TH16 which is a thermostatically or humidty controlled switch attached to the wifi network. So you can use it to switch on an off something (a 30w oven lamp under my lathe in this case) and also access it via the internet and it will give you an instantaneous reading of temp and humidty

I used Cupalloys silver solder and HT5 flux to brazenlysolder my stainless superheaters on my William and it worked fine with no sign of failure over 100 miles later (Whats that in scale miles?).

The radiant/hot end was tig welded however.

Edited By Jon Lawes on 24/12/2021 14:22:19

I'm quite glad to hear these opinions as I have thought something similar; DRO on the mill has enabled me to make better items to a greater accuracy with less wastage. However I've really ummed and ahhhed about fitting one to the lathe as its so convenient to just check my work with a vernier or mic.

The tip I got from this website with regards to measurements on the lathe is how much easier it is with a left handed digital caliper; diameters can be checked far more easily even though I am right handed!

I agree, great company to deal with. Not always the cheapest, but certainly one of the more dependable.

That looks superb Jason. Engraving like that is a capability I really wish my workshop had.

+1 for Owl

My understanding is that they are still trading. I believe the locomotives are still made by MSS, which I don't think is a part of the Mamod group but could be wrong.

I can't help but feel inferior to the brains knocking around on this forum. I'd almost certainly have had to google the technique; I am for some reason unable to retain mathematics techniques and such.

Well done to the examiner and to those who attempted an answer!

As Noel says, an arrangement like the bypass air on a modern jet engine can be used, one tube inside another (with the air being fed to the outside ring to drag the fire gases up through the centre).

Certainly until the fire is established I need an external (electric in my case) blower on my 3.5" locomotive, which obviously has a larger boiler. Usually I need the steam blower to some extent to keep the fire in when stationary, probably because I'm using anthracite.

I usually start on a single cube of a firelighter, light that and throw it in, poke in some bbq charcoal, get that going on the blower, then once I'm onto the steam blower I switch to coal. If it makes a difference I usually have 2/3 of the gauge glass full of water, which in the case of my locomotive is as much as I can get away with without priming once pressure is up. The process takes about 20 minutes I think off the top of my head.

Again I'm learning. I assumed the bigger the pilot hole the better, but what is said here makes perfect sense when subjected to scruitiny.

It sounds a bit trivial but its actually quite annoying; the M&W calipers I have don't have auto-wake, so I have to turn them on every time. I know that sounds pathetic but it makes it annoying enough that I tend to use my cheaper ones more often than not. Maybe that means they will have a better battery life but so far that hasn't proven to be the case.

My locomotive spit isn't difficult to turn despite being on two plain bearings. In the interests of controllability it could be that a bit of friction is desirable.

I'm sure you have considered this but remember the CofG of the locomotive is much higher than the buffer beam once the boiler is on; its much nicer to have it pivoting around the CofG than trying to fight gravity! I don't doubt you have already considered this of course.

Just as an aside, are you saying 3G isn't available in your area or have I misread that? Because if 3G isn't, 4G almost certainly isn't.

I realise I may have misread this...

Isopropyl Alcohol; I think its called Rubbing alcohol in the states, as for where you are I can only guess!

I don't believe you can retro fit HID lighting as it needs certain markings, I suppose you could if you transferred all of the equipment from an identical make and model (which would be correct shape reflector headlamp, headlamp washers, levelling systems etc)? Having experimented a bit with it when rallying I don't think I'd bother these days, cheaper to change a bulb than a ballast.