Member postings for William Ayerst

Perfect - so VDH if required since BS0 is too big, otherwise bought in gears. I'll check the thread for the link also - thank you all very much.

JasonB thank you - I absolutely did not know that and certain makes that less of a pressing concern. May I ask what book I'm after which describes the construction/drawings/etc. please?

Thank you Martin - this sounds like a silly question but can I build it with just the ML7 with a vertical slide? I don't currently have a drill press (although I do have a drill pad for the ML7 tailstock and a hand clamp so can do a little drilling that way, in theory)

As per post in the TE subforum about my current setup of ... just an ML7 - and the recommendation that for things like gear cutting as well as larger machining work, a mill is very useful.

Ultimately I think a mill, linisher, and drill press are in my future. I now realise the advice on here and elsewhere to get the biggest lathe I could handle was spot on - I'm already thinking that a few extra inches of swing would be useful - and I don't want to make that mistake with my (future) mill - so it will likely be a costly purchase and one taken after serious consideration.

With that in mind, I'm considering my options in the meantime - while RDG and Chronos do small rotary tables with chucks for about £120is to fit on a vertical slide. I'd really rather not buy cheap chinese guff, and it would appear that this is entirely a tactical solution - as once I've got myself a mill there would be no reason to use it over a larger and more robust setup.

The main thing I'm looking at is a Vertex-style BS-0 which both Chronos and RDG also supply - with indexing plates, tailstock, etc. etc. for about £330. This seems like something that could be used in a mill in future, but I'm not sure if it would fit on the ML7 cross slide?

Any thoughts or opinions gladly taken,

Thank you both - I think a mill, linisher, and drill press are in my future, but I think I would really like to get more experience with model engineering before dumping more £000's into the equation. I now realise the advice to get the biggest lathe I could handle was spot on - I'm already thinking that a few extra inches of swing would be useful - and I don't want to make that mistake with my (future) mill - so it will likely be a costly purchase.

I'll ask about the dividing head/rotary table in the tools subforum, thank you.

Nigel, one of the things I'm coming to realise about ME is that there's no NEED to make things as small as humanly possilbe, which coming from small scale model railways is quite a challenge. The idea that I could make a TE (or locomotive) that COULD pull me, or a kid, around as opposed to just sitting on the shelf is something I'd not really come across. I think there are better 'shelf' models like the various Stuart beam engines, so if it's going to be a vehicle it'd better work. I had originally considered a Fowler Z7-style ploughing engine until I realised the huge radius of the cuts required

JasonB, thank you for the tip re: work on a Myford. I'm not sure if spending £150 on a rotary head to fit it is going to be money down the drain if a larger mill is in the future, but I will definitely bear that in mind. From my understanding, I have to be aware that the diameter of the boiler needs to be fly-cut off the bottom of the cylinder casting - which for a lathe means a swing of boiler dia + total height of cylinder, right? I'm not sure about the wheel construction on TE's - presumably I'd need to turn those also? i.e. on the ML7 a max of about 8.75" dia?

I'd all but decided on a G3 or 5" Gauge loco as my next project, but while I was idly browsing the internet I came across myfordboy's traction engine build - which seems like a fun medium-length project: Link removed see C of C

I wonder if this might be a fun project to get more experience before really dumping my time into a multi-year project - but I'd realised I'd not really considered the requirements for a TE build.

I currently only have my ML7 with the vertical slide and so from what I gather there is a serious equipment deficit for any size TE - i.e. the need for an dividing head for cutting gears, and more likely a mill?

While I was looking into this I saw that the Minnie comes up alot and I realise that is a much bigger project overall, but thought I'd ask anyway - is it likely to be significantly 'better' ? Neither can pull you around and both appear to have similar machining requirements?

Edited By JasonB on 16/03/2021 07:02:33

thanks JasonB - if it's half done and started in January, presumably that means it's probably a few months away? It seems that ME is only back to ~4600 so presumably MEW was started first?

Edited By William Ayerst on 02/03/2021 16:39:07

Pointed to this from my similar question in the M.E. subforum - now that Flash is completely dead, what is the solution?

Neil, you mentioned in the previous discussion in this thread that the archive wasn't likely to be migrated to HTML5, but then in my thread in the main M.E. subforum you said that it was half-way done.

Is it still in progress?

Hm, the issues I'm after 4278-4356 are still in Flash-only on the model-engineer.co.uk website - and this has now been fully disabled by Adobe, Chrome, and Mozilla

Sorry Neil, I meant HTML5 interface rather than 'reader' per se - the last time I looked it was a flash UI - but if it's in progress then that's great and I'll keep schtum.

Thank you Paul

Thank you Julian, I'm sourcing the original LBSC series and will read through that. Would you recommend looking into the Don Young modified Stephenson's Valve Gear, or the original Joy Valve gear version? I'm going to be building it as facsimile of an SECR loco that's even further away from the L1 than LBSC may have sketched.

Given an equal balance I'd go with Stephenson's, but not if it's going to introduce problems - in line with Henry Greenly's view in Model Steam Locomotives "Form must folllow function, it doesn't need to be a slavish recreation of the prototype as long as it does the work" - at least, that's what I'm telling myself!

Also thank you Jon for your kind advice and info.

ps. I'll post this in the MECH forum and move the discussion there, if that is a better place...

Thanks Dave - the bushes are only 1/16" thick which I think might be a bit difficult for me to whittle a wood to within tolerance. I can 'rent' the gear from the Rita's Ears website listed above for £40, so may just do that to get it done.

I've removed the spindle and the bearings are fine there, so there is at least that good news. Order for the bushes, belts and shaft placed with Myford.

The bushes are 1" long, 7/8" external diameter, 3/4" internal diameter - but it would appear they need to be reamed to precise size using an adjustable reamer on the specific countershaft?

Thanks for the tips on the bushes, Noel - my thoughts were to pick up a new set of belts since the machine is half dismantled anyway. Is it worth investigating the spindle bearings and spindle at the same time?

Thank you Chris - I'm at the south end of the M25 and I would be incredibly grateful!

Thanks all - I started thinking about how to manage it with a push or pulling process after I posted. It took me all evening to get the original shaft disassembled and removed - but if it needs to go back together to get the parts done, so be it.

Just so I can repeat back to you so I make sure I understand, it looks like I need

- A new shaft, woodruff keys, bushes, fibre washer, (and probably belts as mine are knackered)

- Some threaded rod, nuts and washers

- A pusher (o/d less than bearing) with an inside lip (o/d less than bush i/d),

- A cylinder (i/d more than bearing)

- A plate (dia larger than cylinder) to fit over either the cylinder end or outside of he bracket.

- An adjustable reamer to open out the bushes to the right dia for the countershaft?

I have two more questions and then I'll get going - Will I need to turn down the oilite bushes to fit the bearings, or should they shrink in? If the bearings are scored rather than worn, could I get away with fitting a new countershaft now and then replacing the bushes at my leisure (i.e. when I'm not in the middle of a house move)

Yeah, he did make some cool things but the problem is my lathe is in bits, so I can't make them

Hi all,

After posting about accidentally letting my ML7 run for 72 hours I've disassembled the countershaft and found heavy scoring on the shaft and bearing. I don't know if this was here beforehand, but now's a good a time as any to fix it:

https://i.imgur.com/6Dp1GjT.png

https://i.imgur.com/vaWKmBk.png

Is there a known-good method for replacing the bushes, without the aid of a lathe to make the tool?

My gut feeling is to use an appropriately sized piece of softwood to gently tap out the old bushes, then tap in the new ones from the outside in, the first one going all the way through to be flush with the inside face of the bearing, and the second one going in enough to be flush with the outside face - to leave the oil gap.

Is that going to work?

OK, I will do that and then report back here - thank you both!

Good afternoon gents, due to the falling through of a house purchase that would allow me to run my own 2-1/2" gauge railway and the distance to the nearest track, 2-1/2" is on the shelf in favour of my other joint-first choice of a 5" Gauge Maid of Kent.

My overall goal is to amend the platework around the cab, splashers and tender to represent an earlier SECR 4-4-0 - while the chimney is misplaced the rest of it is good enough for rock and roll for an E-class, and if I made the firebox round-topped it's good enough for a D-class.

https://i.imgur.com/T1aB64H.png

As a first step - after speaking to Nick Clarke he has advised that the stephenson valve gear version has problems, with numerous solutions proposed each with their own idiosyncrasies. Does anyone know where I should be looking for the lesser of these evils?

Many thanks,

Thank you Bazyle, PM sent. Thank you too BR - I think for choice, I'm basically sorted.

In additon to this thread I've spent a long time reading Mr. Greenly's "Model Railways" and "Model Steam Locomotives" and I am thoroughly convinced to go with 2-1/2" - and less worried about specific prototypical accuracy a long as there is a tinplate-style visual impressionism. I have found a new home to move into and the purchase is in progress. The house itself also has workshop adjacent to a flat 100' x 50' garden which is perfect for a 2-1/2" Gauge railway.

Unless something dramatic occurs to change my mind between now and when I'm moved and have the workshop set up, I will be embarking on an Sir Ironside, a 2-1/2" gauge "King Arthur"-class loco. It is what I really want! If I run into major issues, I will re-try with Ayesha II - maybe this is a benefit of 2-1/2", that I could financially sustain two part built locos!

It is worth noting that my missus would prefer me to build a 5" Gauge loco and run it at the large 5" track at Beech Hurst (5 minutes drive) rather than taking over part of the garden. The Sussex Miniature Locomotive Society appears to be mostly a group of people who come together to run 5" trains for the public, rather than a traditional MES. If this ends up coming to pass (who'd have thought!?) - then it'll be a Maid of Kent (internal stephenson's valve gear) or a King Arthur if I can find one.

Cheers,

Edited By William Ayerst on 31/01/2021 21:39:08