Eoin Murray

Hi All

I live in Co Wicklow, Ireland, I'm a semi retired architect and have a small extensive workshop- Mini lathe, Optimum drill/mill, Optimum band saw, Stepcraft CNC Router and a lot of tools....

I've been modelling since I was about 6 years old, I was lucky to have an uncle that did live steam locos and learned a lot about workshop stuff. I've built back then- boats, planes, tanks and trains, but girls and motorbikes took over in my teens and I stuck with that for many years. About 15 years ago I went back to model building, mainly live steam stationary engines and astronomy telescope bits, to learn more about machining, the processes, and get more tooling to complete projects. 5 years ago I was asked to build an Gauge OO DART (Dublin suburban EMU) for a chap which was successfully and caused a bit of a stir in the Irish Railway Model scene, and I now make these to order- see here;- **LINK**

I'm also building the Northumbrian Loco as featured on here, a Gauge O Flying Scotsman (that awful kit that came in mag form) and many Gauge OO Irish locos brass kits for me and for others- 121, Class A, Class C, J 15, and Class 800

My pet project at the moment is developing a Gauge O 'Hibernia' kit in brass, one of the first locos to run in Ireland on the Dublin & Kingstown Railway, again the first track laid in Ireland in the 1830's. The loco was build by Sharp Roberts and in England was known as the 'Experiment', though not very successfully with vertical cylinders and a mad bell-crank to send the drive horizontally to the drive wheels. The ultimate goal with this is to build a 3 n 1/2'' live steam model, building the Northumbrian kit is a preamble to this....

There is more but thats enough for my introduction

Eoin

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Afternoon Eoin and welcome.

I have spent some of my happiest Saturday nights on your emerald Isle.   - But then by default some of my most unhappy Sunday mornings.

Nick

Edited By Nick_G on 15/03/2017 15:17:11

Thanks Nick

Ah, see you got to come over a lot more and do the training for the Guinness here, this weekend coming will have a lot over in training

Eoin

Hello Eoin,

> astronomy telescope bits

Nice to welcome someone else from the dark side

Neil

Welcome Eoin.........not many "from the dark side" hereabouts but I will admit to modelling between gauge 0 to3

John

Welcome Eoin,

If you ever get up North the Locos in the Ulster transport museum in Hollywood are worth a look. Sounds like you are a very busy guy though.

Thanks Neil

I thought you might like that, I've made a number of small items for the telescopes- clamps and bits for holding kit and laptops at the scope. Before shutter control cameras came out for astronomy I hacked and built a webcam that it's shutter could be controlled, but it was rather difficult using a second laptop for shutter control and to get decent shots, it was low resolution- then the Meade DSI came out....... but now I'm up into 35mm digital.

Projects on the drawing board;-

Equatorial mount for a Meade Makustov Cassigrain scope

Motor focuser

Motor filter wheel

Not much time for astronomy at the moment, to busy building stuff....

Eoin

Hi Chris n Thanks

Yes the Ulster Transport Museum is on the cards very soon, I missed a trip up there just recently- as you say I am very busy with the 'green things' working on 18 2 car sets for the last two years, though just coming to completion

Eoin

Thanks John

I like Gauge O the best, fits nicely into the workshop as there are more machines n tools than workspace, larger stuff just takes over the place and nothing else can be worked on. And a fairly decent layout can be set-up in Gauge O in my small garden

Eoin

Sounds like fun!

My most recent experiment was 3D printing tube rings for a small reflector., I just need to make an aluminium wedge to match.

I got five and half hours of imaging done last night - the first good night for months and my PA was spot on. When I came to break down I discovered I hadn't adjusted my counterweight... and nearly every sub is spoiled by backlash. At least i finished with 102 shots of the moon at a phase I haven't imaged before.

Neil

Hi Neil

5 n 1/2 hours, thats dedication, there is a lot of variables in this game and so easy to get it wrong- I've spent many a night out there hacking away, and when reviewing my work the next day I find errors. The main problems I have is focus and light pollution- hence the Motor Focus Project. For light pollution I need a master switch for the lights of Dublin......

Printing tube rings- thats an idea, I bought a lump of round aluminium to make a few some time back for a guide scope mount off the main, but rather hard to mount in the Mini lathe, I'll print them on a friends printer instead......

Eoin

This is going to help, when I set it up, can you guess what it is;-

Eoin

2 pig arcs. Or an Anderson shelter- do you something we don't ?

A near namesake! Slightly different spelling due to being on the other side of the pond. Welcome!

Ewan Murray Edington

Hi Gordon

No, sorry not correct

I'll leave this go for a while and see if anyone can work it out

Hint;-

It's a small part of a 2.8 metre diameter structure that stood about 12 metres high!

Eoin

Thanks Ewan

'Eoin' is the old Irish for 'John', the new Irish is 'Sean'. There is about 5 ways to spell Eoin, but this is the shortest....

Eoin

I reckon its going to be a small observatory.

Colin

+1

Hi Colin & Neil

Yes, thats correct

It's sheets from a plastic factory storage silo for storing plastic pellets for injection moulding, I saw it been taken down and on enquiry the chaps gave me two layers of sheets- very nice men, when bolted together it stands 2 metres tall. I have designed a GRP dome and running gear for rotating it and hope to erect it soon

Eoin