Member postings for Trevor Crossman 1

No I'm afraid not Michael, the diesel heater kit of parts from which this plate is taken actually comes with a very simple and easy to follow instruction book, which to be fair does seem to be more common than it was years ago. It's the label on the register or mounting plate that amused me as soon as I checked through the contents.

I've seen many examples of peculiar instructions for mechanical and electronic machinery that's made in RoC, but this example of Chinglish is the weirdest that I have seen !

The function of the item is quite straightforward because it's simply a register plate for mounting a heater, but whatever has rabbits got to do with it😀

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 16/01/2021 12:15:14

Make that +3, these foam linked squares have proved to be a great covering over my concrete floor for the past few years and have saved several carefully machined parts from damage when they've slipped through oily fingers! The only downside that I've noticed is that if I drop a small item, my less than perfect hearing doesn't detect where it fell and the said item will tend to bounce away into some hidden corner.

Trevor

Yes, but surely the new bit is that after Jan1 2021 the foreign seller will be required to be a tax collector for HMRC, so many suppliers especially the small ones will not do so, especially as they'll have to pay for the "privilege"! This will affect our access to many specialist items which certainly aren't made in UK.

While idly looking at my browser news pages I saw the link below and don't know if this has been mentioned in any previous thread, but it looks like many of the items that we buy for our swarf generating hobby are set up for an increase in price and probably choice in 2021!

https://yorkshirebylines.co.uk/brexit-to-boldly-go-where-no-vat-inspector-has-gone-before/

Trevor

I'm guessing that as it's only single acting it's an "older" style front loader and possibly an old tractor? Most of these tended to have the hydraulic pump immersed in the gearbox oil and which nearly always immulsified . Our old Fordson and Massey tractors always had milky hydraulic oil.

Years ago when I fitted new seals to our old mucking out Dexta, the rams were primed on the bench and then fitted. With a ram removed from the front loader fully collapse it and pour oil through the connection hole and when you're sure that the chamber is totally full and with the hole uppermost connect its already primed hose. Do the same with the other ram and then fit them. There should not be any significant air to affect the seal. The difficult part might be collapsing the ram, maybe with a big sash cramp or just push it against a wall or other solid surface.

Thanks for your thoughts guys!

Peter​​ I've downloaded & printed out the pages that you mentioned and will work to those.

Nigel I'm impressed! Your last three locomotives!! I'll be lucky to get just my first one up and running and I'm not sure that I would be able to produce rolled and welded steel tyres with sufficient accuracy from steel strip and suitably large steel tube might be difficult to find for this size of wheel. Regarding the traction, or perhaps the lack of, I don't suppose that this loco is particularly powerful anyway with a 90psi boiler and a pair of 1 9/16th bore cylinders. I have been unable to find any reference or pictures of any examples of this Adams 4-4-0 other than the picture shown on the Kennions website, so I've no idea how it will perform.

Brian H​​​​​​ It is indeed very attractive and was chosen because the class of locomotive that the model is based on would have been familiar to my ancestors in the New Forest, Wiltshire, Dorset region .it was a choice between this and Combpyne.

Speedy, thanks for your caution but I never paint any model until all the building is done and I'm sure that I won't have to rework anything. I think that my one exception to my rule has been with unproven self designed flying models because if I didn't fuel proof them before test flying, an oily airframe was impossible to paint. With this loco though I do however spray every iron and steel component with acid etch primer as soon as it passes inspection to prevent rusting.

Thanks again one and all for your contribution, I'll get back to work on the wheels.

Trevor

A final go at interrogating our mutual friend Google actually yeilded a result and I have been read that although it's really only relevant to much more modern locomotives and rolling stock than 19century items. It is British Railways RDDS MT288 and tyre thickness is, depending on the size and class of wheel, somewhere between 36-41mm . So for 5" g approximately a 1/10 of that I guess.

Norm , I see that SoD has posted a picture of the model in question, thanks for that Dave.

As Norm suggested I'll follow the Gl5 guide.

Thanks for your reply IanT, I don't have any problem with turning the cone/flange just a bit unsure of the best choice of angle. Apparently and unbeknown to this locomotive noobie, according to the document mentioned, more modern locomotives generally do not have separate tyres but are fitted with monobloc wheels.

Thank you for your replies.

I have started to machine the wheel castings for my Salisbury and now seek the advice of our expert builders on two details.

1/ The drawings show the tyre tread to be parallel to the axle and the rim flange to be at 15deg. On other drawings and in the Martin Evans books I have seen a coning angle of 2 deg. and a flange angle of 20 Deg. called for. I understand the benefits of the coning and the need for relief between the rail and flange, but is there a great difference in the effect of the two sets of dimensions, and what do you do?

2/ Once again referencing the Evans books, it's suggested that a narrow line is turned on the front face of the wheel to simulate the distinction between the wheel and the tyre, but nowhere have I been able to find any sort of dimension as to how far in from the edge (which also has a small bevel) this groove should be formed. The wheels in question is 7 5/16" and the rims are 7" diameter with the face of the rim 3/8" wide. Would 7/64" be about right? I suppose that tyres are probably a little over an inch thick in real life and 5" gauge is roughly 1/10 I believe. It's a minor detail but one that I'd like to add and I definitely don't want to make these expensive castings look *wrong* when the beady eyes of the knowledgeable see it!!

Trevor

Just received an email all dressed up as if from PayPal, all the right colour and logo, with case number and so on, it's new to me because I don't have an account , though it may be well known to others who do.

It runs along the lines that a dispute has been opened to repay me money, in this case usd650. Quite strange that, considering that I haven't sold or bought anything for this sum nor through this organisation, and it invites me to "View the Details". I expect that would want me to be dim enough to list some bank details, I don't know and have no intention of finding out,!

Scammers don't seem to be getting any brighter 😄 Maybe Darwinism works in reverse order for this species, and the dimmest proliferate while the smart ones give up?

T

Well Robin, thanks for your good wishes, but I'd better careful or I'll get the pointy end of a Mods pencil in my ear, but I am not making any political point, simply that I think that insufficient resources are provided for those folk who need more help both financial and psychological to be able to get through this colossal disruption of normality. The adjective that I used for our rulers is, I feel, valid because they are well funded and have better access to health services than a laid-off short contract family in poor housing where many are becoming very worried about their future.

Social histories confirm that your comparison with 1940/41 is valid, the wealthy and well connected had a much jollier time of it than the common man both in city and county and indeed many reports of less concern for Hitler's bombs than for where the next meal was and if they'd have a job to go to the next day.. The current threat from this virus is not as well proven a danger as several hundred kilos of high explosive landing in your garden and many folks are more confused about the mixed messages and ever changing rules. We won't return to what was before and many others will need help with the readjustment, and that will need both state and community help. There are (barely) working families terrified of what the future holds for them and their children, a normally stout friend has started having panic attacks such that she was admitted to hospital , now recovering. The virus may not be directly causing mental health issues but the conditions it's created do seem to be.

Hello Bill, is your home like one that is pictured in the Eastern Daily Press pages showing the aftermath of the storm? If so you have my sympathy that's one hell of a lot of sand to shift! That was quite a blow even down here on South Norfolk border.

A Bobcat type of machine would do the job, is relatively cheap to hire and quite easy to operate, most hire companies have them. The bigger problem though is that skid-steer loaders like this will likely rip up your lawns/brickweave or other loose surface and won't be able to get into small corners. Are there any electric power augers to hire locally that could move sand?

I guess that the local and county council will say that it's not their problem in your garden.

Trevor

Since we sold our small farm over 20 years ago, we've not had a dog, cat, budgerigar, or any other living creature inhabiting our house, though we do have a great assortment of wild birds and animals that roarm around our rural plot to watch and get to know, even individual crows for example. Despite having been in almost constant lockdown since the beginning of the Covid event due to my wife's continuing hospital visits which have been the only times that she's been anywhere near other people and personal contact has only been across the garden hedges with passing neighbours. Having been cleared of one cancer, some weeks ago another was detected. Does all this affect our mental health? Too damned right it does! But surely good mental health is not just being happy all the time, but an ability to make it through the darker times by facing them and balancing with the good? We both have a great store of good memories and we're well blessed living in a pleasant rural location, sufficient money, both brought up to be self sufficient and have a wide range of interests to occupy our minds, a good garden, greenhouse and workshop to keep our fingers bodies busy.

There are more people though crammed into poor housing, in rushed immature relationships, and many are only used to socialising for their entertainment, unable to satisfyingly occupy themselves, often on very limited resources. From what I read and hear many of these are suffering and are quite likely to continue to do so long after our well heeled rulers have allowed people to return to normal human existence. I fear that there will be nowhere near enough resources allocated to helping those who are badly affected get back to normal, despite our national wealth which will continue to flow to more prestigious projects . Some of us are tough nuts hard to crack, others need more support, every single one of us no matter how strong and independent we consider ourselves to be , relies on dozens of other people, usually unseen, to live in the modern world, so if you come across someone suffering, do as Lee Rodgers said, let us all be kind and generous with our thoughts and where possible our deeds.

Trevor

Chris H, is the iPad pro significantly different in its construction from earlier models? I've personally dismantled mk 2 and 3 models to replace a cracked screen, a battery and other components. It's quite easy provided you use the easily obtainable and cheap tools and you'll save an awful lot of money.!

Trevor

Hi Chris,

Well I cannot offer you a solution but if it's any consolation at all, I too have an FB2 mill and the quill has become incredibly stiff for the first 15mm or so of stroke, after which it is quite free and will retract by the return spring. There's no scoring, rusting, dents or dings nor have I thumped it heavily to remove a taper shaft. In fact I got so fed up with it sticking that I made up a 16mm thick split collar that is clamped to the quill, okay I loose a bit of stroke but rarely use the quill feed anyway. This is a second (third? perhaps) hand machine so I have no idea how it had been treated before I bought it, and was slightly sticky then but has got worse over the past year.

If you discover the cause and an effective solution I'd like you to share!!

Trevor

Free running eh? Probably not on any of my benches, they tend to magically accrue 'stuff' !!. However, to make sure that such a disaster as a part built locomotive rolling off the edge and onto the concrete, I'll now fix a bead edge on the 3 open sides of my supposedly clear and clean assembly bench!!

Thank you John for the lubrication system tip, so far I've only obtained the bogie bearings, these are without seals but I'll look for sealed ones for the main axles. Failing that I could try fitting a teflon ring into both ends of the axleboxes.

Trevor

Thanks to you all for your replies, even the allegorical culinary tales!

Phil H......I tend to follow the specs and dimensions that are called for on the drawings because it's a habit of a lifetime of aircraft engineering. Although in this instance I have already departed from that by fabricating the axleboxes from steel seeing little rationale in using expensive gunmetal castings and then fitting a bearing, these steel items have cost 1/10 of the castings.

Dave Wooton....... The locomotive is indeed the KS Moodie design and I've had a good read of the Helen Longish build, and particularly note the testing recorded on page 11. Judging by those results, I'll certainly not bother myself with the hastle of trying to heat treat and produce a distortion free set of axles, I very much doubt that I'll get it to run 1000 miles let alone 3000+!!! In fact there'll be a good celebration after the first mile.

As this is the first and will almost certainly be the only locomotive that I shall ever build my inclination is to follow 'expert' advice and so when I read in the well known Martin Evans loco building book where he stated that ' there's no advantage to be gained by using Silver Steel', I thought that I'd ask what others think. Assuming equally accurately ground samples of mild steel and silver steel I am of the opinion that the latter has the harder surface in the normal, untreated condition.

Regarding oilite bushes why would these be more prone to ash damage than the common solid gunmetal casting, indeed, a needle roller will require a dust shield to prevent grit getting in. As an example, the BMW K75 bike has a common seizure of the clutch operating shaft which is mounted on needle rollers and gets exposure to water grit and crud thrown out from the resr tyre. I've owned 3 and they all needed replacing, a simple but time consuming job.

Once again thanks to all.

Trevor.

I'd like to tap the wisdom of experienced locomotive builders . I'm building the Adams 4-4-0 to the Salisbury design from Kennions where the drawings call for silver steel axles running in needle roller bearings. I've read that this is not advisable unless the axle is hardened because of the likelihood of brinelling , and quenching in water, even vertically would likely cause distortion, or maybe not, what are the chances? Can those with experience comment on the other options?

1/ Unhardened silver steel axles running in bronze/oilite bushes

2/ Try quenching silver steel in proper quench oil followed by appropriate tempering.

3/ Use a different steel altogether such as EN 19 with no further hardening and with what bearing style/ material.

Although it's quite unlikely that I would ever run this loco enough to cause such wear ( assuming that I finish it! ) I see little point in building-in a potential problem.

What do those who know think?

Trevor

Dead right Paul 👍 When I started model making around age 8/9, I was shown how sharp Dad's used razorblades were and given a brand new Hobbies fretsaw and some blades and shown how to use it properly so as to avoid injury. In the following 60 odd years I've made dozens of model aircraft, boats, dolls houses, farmyards, forts and so on for my kids and others (and myself of course!) and despite this little handsaw being used to cut stuff far beyond its capacity, I still have it and use it frequently. The used razorblades have long been replaced by proper modelling knives!! I've taught our own 4 children how to use tools safely, but I'm not sure that they all have passed the knowledge to their own kids. Sad really.

I have a collection of 1684 of the TV Licence agencies 'reminder' letters which are sent out on a regular twice monthly basis since I last bought a licence back in 1987, and they will continue to send them whatever you do until you a actually complete one declaring that you do not watch/use/download TV programmes. By signing one you agree to a 'visit to check'. There is no legal obligation for anyone to respond or do anything with their aggressive reminders, and unlike the utility providers have no legal authority to enter your property on grounds of safety/public interest. Unlike the utility providers, they have no legal authority to enter your property without your consent or have a court order for which they would have needed reasonable grounds or evidence of lawbreaking. As a Government agency they have access to all of your phone and computer internet address to look for evidence of illegal TV viewing. The mere ownership of a tv set is not illegal and so it's presence or absence is irrelevant, I've not had one since 1986 nor do I miss it's largely trival output, or our increasingly authoritarian government announcements which seem to apply more to the ruled than the rulers 🤬