Member postings for Nigel Hyde

My dad built and finished a simplex about 30 years ago.

this year the boiler failed its steam test so a new boiler is being made

the ashpan not removable is a nightmare, i have the same problem with my titch!,

my dad made a removable ashpan with the use of a dump pin, but be warned the rear axle does need covering as it gets covered in ash and wears the axlebox out rapidly, My dad designed ashpan number three with a cutout to cover the back axle after the second rebuild

simplex is a monster loco, so easy to drive with plenty of power, as part of the rebuild the bore on the cylinders was reduced as we were only running at 90 psi (simplex is designed for 110 or 120 psi i think' the change was unbelievable so much steam and much faster and a happier driver!!

hope this helps

Hi Julian

thanks for the message, i think you could have a point, i will make one of the Gordon Smith types, i have a pair on my simplex and they work great

polly here i come!

thanks again

Nigel

Completed Conway's safety valve and now struggling to get a spring for it! Martin Evans states "trial and error". Any suggestions as to a source of spring,or,is it wind it myself ? From what gauge wire? Blow-off pressure is 80 PSI

here is the drawing, I have the full drawings and the articles from model engineer, please help as the loco is ready to steam !!

Hi David

There is a product on the market that seals motorcyle petrol tanks, its like a rubberised soultion available from ebay

I have spoken to people who have used it before and they say its good, but very smelly as it is a 2 part sollution, mix it and swill it around the tank.

I intend to use this as I want to put a steel tank on my sweet pea

I hope this helps

Nigel

Hi Clive

i have also built tich (with help from my dad! he wanted full walsharts valve gear on it), during the construction (when i was struggling) i wanted something easier to get me running fast, So i chose TOBY but my local club had only got a 31/2" track so i made it all to the dimensions, but slightly wider to suit the 3 1/2" gauge.

very easy, although with having tich and now dad on board we got tich running!, so TOBY never got past the rolling chassis stage, Shame really

I thought it would be better to have a more powerful loco to partner tich so now i have a rolling chassis for a sweet pea and now on the cylinders

I went to a 2 1/2 gauge rally and i was surprised how well and fast those things belt round at!!

Here is an image of what it would have looked like just by adding a front wheel, still with the solid tanks but with a slight indent to give the idea of coal on the top

it might get finished one day !! another one in the queue !!

hope this helps

Nigel

just thought you will get a lot of help and advice from the 2.5 gauge forum on yahoo groups

might be worth a look 

Nigel

Edited By Nigel Hyde on 01/02/2013 20:41:51

Edited By Nigel Hyde on 01/02/2013 20:56:56

Edited By Nigel Hyde on 01/02/2013 20:59:16

Hi

i had the same problem on my tich 2 weeks ago, but on the hand pump

i had fitted nitrile (?) balls and they had squashed themselfs and stopped me from getting water in the bolier, not ideal!

put stainless ones in and no problem

hope this helps

Nigel

I was very sorry to hear about GLR.

I used them on a regular basis not buying huge amounts as i am doing model engineering on a budget, but the owner Pete and his Son were great, i ordered most of my materials on a Friday by phone and picked them up Saturday morning.

on one occasion i popped over with my 8 year old daughter and paid for my materials and he then turned to my daughter and said " go and buy yourself a nice toy" and gave her my money back !!

we have lost a great supplier. who do we use now, as i have found no where as cheap, you could not beat there budget packs

very sad

Is this the decline of our hobby, I am 39 who will be the suppliers for castings and materials when i am 65?

food for thought

Nigel

Hi Roy

the problem i had was no matter what position the pully or chuck was in it was solid and would not dis engauge from the back gear, so it was soild,

I can see what you are thinking, if you expect to flip it over in any postion, it will not as it has to be in the right position.

I was half tempted not to give a solution but i thought if someone else is struggling in the future they could refer back to this

I did not want to spend £77 on a new backgear assembly, mind you if thats the only thing that could go wrong in 5 years ownership !! Myfords cost a lot, but are well built, I have given it enough stick over the years !! its 45 years old and still going strong !

thanks again

Nigel

Hi All

sorted it!!

just keep you all posted in case someone else has the same problem, this is what i did to sort the problem out

3 nights of spraying wd40 on the lever, then a few really heavy cutts just to get the backgear warmed up it flipped over nicely

might help someone in the future

Nigel

I have just been out to the workshop

the problem is i cant fick the lever over, the gear will move slightly from side to side. it just wont rotate, the WD40 only got my hands dirty!!

i think i should have oiled it !! so and idea on how to get the lever moving then i will oil it!!

Nigel

Hi can anyone help me!!!

I was using my Super 7 in backgear today and tried to get it out of backgear and the thing wont shift out of back gear. i have left it for a few hours and still no movement, i have sprayed it with WD40 and will leave it overnight, anybody had this problem and what can i do about it?

are you meant to oil the backgear, and if so where??

thanks

Nigel

Hi Nick

could you tell me where I can get the springs you have stated Lee LC-042C-9.

I have looked on Lee springs and they are not listed

thanks Nigel

Hi Bernard

I had the same problem when silver soldering the top bush in the barrel on my tich

afer throwing 3 rods at it. I managed to get it soldered in place, but when cold pushed out very nicely!!

it turned out to be leaded bronze found in a scrap bin (my hobby!), i guess the moral of the story is only use it if you know where it came from, an exactly what the material is. as is cost me 3 rods of silver solder

I hope this helps

Nigel

Hi All

I understand that a brass smokebox would be ideal for a 3.5" conway, but is it ok to use steel or will it rust through in no time, as i can get it all parts laser cut at a very cheap price

i know buy cheap, buy twice!!!

thanks in advance

Nigel

Hi all

I am looking at starting a new project sweet pea

My question is could the horns be fabricated out of mild steel and roll pinned together to keep them square and then brazed with brass rod (the horns are just straight and are a of a “T” section) would this be strong enough?, or am I asking for trouble doing this method, I was going to get them welded but I was told they would distort badly

Edited By Nigel Hyde on 19/01/2011 11:46:52