Member postings for Derek Drover

I too bought a part built Simplex in 2011 which I thought would take me 6 months to finish off and get running.. First thing I did was strip it down, which is when I realised the hornblocks were mounted wrongly (1/8 too high), which caused several headaches.. & not enough clearance in the valvegear and radius rods... piston shaft rods too long... boiler leaking & needing repair.. steam glands needed remaking.. etc.. etc.. etc... I am now finaly getting there and currently working on the cladding and shall have her ready for her first run late spring. BUT I have to say that its helped me learn how NOT to build a model loco and has been considerably cheaper than starting from scratch and buying all of the bits individually.

I started out with the Clarke mini lathe, and was very pleased with it (once it was setup). It was surprisingly accurate and easy to use. I used it alot for making small bits and pieces, but found the tool post not rigid enough for larger work. Also the motor wasnt powerful enough for screwcutting, therefore I upgraded to a bigger (Chineese) lathe which allows me to do alot more.

I now have a Chester 920, which although isnt vari-speed is a more capable bit of kit.

Del.

I tend to clean mine when I get to a convenient point doing a job (which can last weeks)... so the swarf can build up to a fair old pile.. doesnt take very long to brush away.

I remember we alwasy used to say a clean desk is a sign of a dirty mind !!!!!

Yesterday got my Netta through its steam test, today curld up infront of the telly (watching Scrapheap Challenge), and full of a flippin cold (man flue!!!)

I got a roller I can use !!

A wife/girlfriend/missus/boss/er-indoors who doesnt mind you dissapearing for hours on end or even enjoys you not being around !!!

I started off buying a loco that was already built and running.. then bought a mini lathe to keep it running and do little jobs to learn.. then eventually bought a bigger lathe and got hold of a mill, and gradually built up tooling.. this way I could enjoy using a loco whilst building one. If I'd gone straight into building one I'd have probably given up due to the amount of time it takes, especially as I'm learning the whole time (I'm not a mechanical engineer).

del.

Wilkinson do a very good spray enamel, in a variety of colours. The matt black is very good for model engineering (and used on the hugger of my motorbike).

del.

Last night I finished plumbing the injector on my Simplex.. now to make the whistle then strip it down and reassemble steam tight for its maiden test.

Today I shall be rewriting my CV as I'm being laid off !!

My 3.5" Netta had a commercial lubricator fitted which used up the whole lot in under an hour (and deposited it all over me), this had a 1/8 ram, so I sleeved it and inserted a 3/32 piston which works very well. It still seals with a top nut and packing as it did previously, without having had to do much changing.

del.

I put a QCTP on my chester and it saves me an awful lot of time with tool changing, and I knocked up a centre height post out of some scraps of metal to quickly check the tools are at centre height accurately.. this saves time when I have to change tool bits in the holders (never enough holders!!).

Hate wasting time searching for those little things that have fallen on the floor and bounced under the bench.. typically they're never magnetic are they !?!?!?

I went about this differently.. I bought an already built and running loco, and learnt alot by keeping this going, then, whilst enjoying using my working loco started building my first loco (a Simplex). If I hadnt gone down this route I know that I'd have lost patience and become dispondent due to the time it can take to build. I did learn alot in maintaining an already working loco as they always need something fixing !!

For anyone interested, I've just received an email from BlackGates, who confirm that THEY now have the plans and patterns for all of Clarksons old stuff !!!

Bloody marvellous !!

Bugger !!! I used them regularly, especially for stock material. They had by far the best general range of bits & bobs for model engineering. I'll miss them !

I have a Netta in storage since last summer, so I cant comment on the above questions, but I would suggest NOT plumbing the axle pump in the tender as shown by LBSC. The gauze pickup is shown standing vertically, but once the water level drops to the top of the gauze all it sucks in is air.. plumb it laying horizontally on the bottom of the tender and you have ample water supply.

NEtta's a great loco.. very capable puller (although not the fastest).. mine runs best on smaller coal.

Well I bought a Chester 920 over a year ago (very used), and with some of the well publicised modifications its turned out to be a very good machine for general model engineering. I know it has some limitations but for the price I paid I cant complain. There are plenty of spares and lots of suggestions on modifications. As its not an electronically controlled vari-speed model, there's very little to go wrong (my workshop isnt heated), and I've managed to d osome pretty accurate work once I'd figured out the best ways of using it.

There was one of these on Fleabay last month which went unsold, starting at £200 !!

Warco also did the same machine (but no longer do it), theirs was called the 918.

well, thats my input on worthwhile "affordable" lathes.

Hi Brian.

I'm familiar with the Jubilee, but wanted to go 5 inch, which write-ups are you referring, the ME ones or is there a book on building it (like with Simplex), which details going 5" ???

thnx

del.

Be very careful using any type of combustion to generate heat, as, to generate enough heat to be effective will consume alot of oxygen, therefore you need to ensure that there is adequate fresh supply of oxygen to permit complete combustion, the alternative is a thumping headache due to the start of CO poisoning... which leads to something alot more permanent !!! Suggest using an electric heater.

Best thing.. if you have a lathe in particular you want info on from actual users, look at previous threads or post the question.

I've been meaning to clean down my lathe for months now.. but I keep getting distracted and continuing on project Simplex.. its now got a molehill of swarf under the bed.. but everything is well oiled up.