Old Engineer having a look round

Hello there chaps

I`ve been thinking about introducing myself for some time and at last, I`ve finally got round to sorting out my Password etc......Which happens to be the same as the Model Boat Forum?

The next obstacle, will be the Avatar.......But that can wait for the time being

My name is Bob Abell, Design Engineer in the old days from Craven Bros, Manchester, manufacturers of very chunky machine tools.

Sadly, there are not many of us about these days

At the moment, I`m messing about in boats......The model type......And just about coming to the end, after about 18 years

Previous to that, I did 20 years model aircraft, 15 years live steam and I wasted the rest

Had an ML7 lathe for about 40 years, till I was tempted and dazzled by a modern toy lathe.........Which is ok for model boats etc, but can`t see it being any good for Loco`s?

Have built the Bassett Lowke Tank engine, in the 60`s and LBSC`S Britannia......Both built on an EW Lathe!

Followed by Martin Evans Princess of Wales

In those far off day`s, photographs were a rare commodity, but have got a few somewhere and will post shortly

Think that`ll do for the time being?

Bob

Found my first loco picture taken in 1968

I can remember wandering into the Bassett Lowke shop on Corporation Street, Manchester and buying the castings in small batches

They were carefree days

Bob

Edited By Bob Abell 2 on 01/09/2016 11:51:54

There you go micron chasers - it's the man, not the machine.

Cheers,

Rod

Obviously not a man distracted from the workshop by having as many as 3 TV channels, and one of them in colour too.

Do you still have and run the locos?

Thank you, Rod and Baz

The EW lathe was a real workhorse at the time

Making 18 cast iron axle boxes from round bar took some doing.....I used to grip a lathe tool across the jaws of a 3-Jaw chuck and fly cut the faces.......Quite dangerous at the time, but it worked

Have I still got the loco's?......They went years ago.....but for a good cause

The tank sale bought a complete camping set up and the Britannia got us a small new caravan several years later

The big wheeler went for a song!.........Martin Evans had made a serious mistake on the cylinder mounting holes and put paid to my enthusiasm

No pictures were taken of this model for some reason, probably because I started with 8mm cine

Britannia pictures to follow......When I can find them

All for one, chaps

Bob

Found a Britannia picture

This looks about two and a half years into the build.......The lad is son Phil.......He`s now 51

The 70 ft track was in the garden for quite a few years

Getting steam up, used to annoy the lady next door neighbour, because of the smoke

I realise, pictures like this are pretty common on the Forum, but I`m posting for personal reasons mainly

Bob

Nice 1.............mmmmmm a 70ft track in the garden.......not any more.......just enough room for swinging the cat.......spose the people next door would moan about that an'all.......hahaha........

welcome aboard.....Clogs

Thanks Clogs

I would have thought many members would have been delighted with a 70 ft test track in their garden?

Just the job for a budding engine driver

Another photo of the BL Tank

Bob

Welcome to the forum Bob. The grin in your first picture tells the whole story.

Anything but the smallest Chinese lathes should knock spots off the EW in terms of capabilities, and if properly set up it will be as accurate - I guess you have the skills to do that!

Neil

Thank you Neil

The main reason why I am on the Forum, came about when I spotted your easy to build Southam Shunter!

I fancy a bit of Ironfighting as a change from wooden boats

I also fancy a loco that didn`t need a boiler

I`ve studied your drawings, spotted a couple of little errors, of no importance really

Don`t like to see dimensions like 14 1/64 ".........And screws like 10BA though

I would use 6BA in general throughout

Now comes the crunch.........I`ve never milled on my Chester DF7VS Lathe and can`t see how a milling slide would fit on.........Even though Chester sell a milling slide that will "Fit any lathe"

Any comments on this, please?

Will the drawings be corrected and become a saleable item, soon?

Regards.......Bob

Here`s my final photo, with the writer on the right

For interest only and possible amusement, I`ve found an old sketch of the lounge in 1978, showing my Princess of Wales loco on the bookcase

Another reason for scrapping the project, was that other builders were reporting serious wheel slip and can recall Martin Evans offering Sand Boxes as a solution!

Bob

Great old photos, Bob. Thanks for posting. Those were the days, when model engine drivers wore collar and tie to the track.

And Craven machine tools "rather chunky" would be the understatement of the month! Chunky enough to comfortably park a truck on the table more like it.

Welcome to the forum.

Thank you, Hopper

Pleased you liked the photo`s

Here`s a chunky Craven Boring Mill, I was talking about

This machine was being built, the day I started work there........In August 1953

Wage for 44 hours.......37/6d = £1.42.5p

The factory employed 1250 apprentices at the time.......ie.......Cheap labour

The story goes.....On completion of one`s apprenticeship, no documentation was issued, all we got was.....

"Just tell `em where yer from, Lad"

Bob

How`s this for a chunky Planner?

As a matter of fact, Craven`s didn`t build this machine, even though it bears a Craven nameplate!

The machine was built by Scheiss and it came from Germany just after WW2 as War Salvage

Bob

Edited By Bob Abell 2 on 02/09/2016 15:21:59

Edited By Bob Abell 2 on 02/09/2016 15:22:35