What happened at your workbench today?

A final hour in the workshop saw me start looking at fabricating some coupling rods. As a teenager, I bought a copy of Model Locomotive Construction in 4mm Scale by Guy Williams, who built many of the locomotives at Pendon. In it, he discusses using bullhead rail to make fluted rods, and I have a few lengths of Tenmille 32mm track, bought online in error...:oops:
So I cut a couple of lengths roughly to length,
20260520_210128.jpg
filed concave faces onto the ends, and drilled/parted off some 8mm diameter brass bar for the ends.20260520_212820.jpg
The precise length of the coupling rods should be the same as the distance between the wheel centres. I still have a little filing to do.
20260520_212828.jpg
But that can wait until tomorrow. I think I'll have to get some hard ('silver') solder; this is just balanced in position.
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Slow progress at the West Well's workshops on the Bobber caboose. Arrived as a kit of parts, all the way from the Ozark's. Started as the motive power team had downed tools on the little Mogul. Pay and vittles breaks dispute apparently. A lot of work fettling those white metal castings, looks like a bad case of being spun in tired old molds. Chassis is slightly shorter one end and needed shimming to ensure the steps will fit between buffer beam and car body. No it's not the workshop staff's fault they know how to measure. By the way meet Pete', Marshawn and Joe. Joe, you're late again ! Anyhow, bits that are ready for fitting on the right, those that need the staff to process on the left. Those big tubs have the journals a lots of itty bitty parts to be worked on and put together. Those tools on the right are pretty usefull but need the resident BFG, Max, to handle. Might have to get the welding kit out soon.
 
What to do on a hot, hot day? How about some 'silver' (aka hard) soldering? After a final fettle with a file, flood with flux, fire up the flame...and flow...

20260530_200211.jpg
Further fettling with a file to get everything flush, and...
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Both rods can be mounted on the same crankpins, so it looks like they are pretty much identical. I won't know for certain until the wheels are mounted and quartered, of course, but it doesn't look bad for a bit of bodgery.
I think that's enough alliteration for now...
 
Loco strip and chip replacement today, potential ocasional short circuit or chip fault to trace, a few hours worth of fun...

P1040641.JPGP1040645.JPGP1040646.JPG

...there is always a supervisor...

P1040647.JPG

...motor strip and check the additional pickups, no wire left unchecked...

P1040648.JPGP1040650.JPG

...sort of back together, sans rods, new chip installed, sound and running quality is much improved, so just maybe, it was the chip.
 
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A lot more work done than may appear comparing picture from last post. Everything on this kit does not quite fit or if white needs a bit of "cleaning up" and straightning, parts even if pre cut need fettling. Still loads to do, to be done on the left, minus a tub of little white metal bits. That wheel set looks way to large to produce the right "ride height" in the cover picture for my Accucraft link & pin disconnects, "short" wagons and mining tubs. But they match the size shown in the "instruction's" tiny blurred picture of the caboose underside. Amongst all that I've got a bit more assembly done. I was offered one of these by Andrew Steele, of Garden Rail Centre fame, at a knock down price years ago, he just wanted rid from his stock. I said no because it didn't "fit" with what I was doing then. Paid full price 5 years ago, with shipping and tax costs from the US. I do sometimes wonder. I'm thinking I might replicate the green livery below, but with the the WWL Co. insignia. Max


download (2).jpeg
 
Northsider said:
What to do on a hot, hot day? How about some 'silver' (aka hard) soldering? After a final fettle with a file, flood with flux, fire up the flame...and flow...

View attachment 357033
Further fettling with a file to get everything flush, and...
View attachment 357035
Both rods can be mounted on the same crankpins, so it looks like they are pretty much identical. I won't know for certain until the wheels are mounted and quartered, of course, but it doesn't look bad for a bit of bodgery.
I think that's enough alliteration for now...
Click to expand...
General consensus for making chassis is to make the rods first and then use them as a master for drilling the chassis. Quartering though an entirely different issue, have to say if I can get them prefer squared end axles with suitable holes in the wheels for those axles. Though I have done a fair bit of quartering like you are to be having to do.
 
There is much cussin' and sighin' (and even some profanities) coming from t'other room..

SW has taken it upon herself to 'massage' one or two of the RC Trains documents.

The source documents are either HTML generated, or pdf documents, with embedded 'png' graphics..
I assume it is not going well? :D :lipssealed:

I am sticking with the soldering..
:nod:

PhilP.
 
dunnyrail said:
General consensus for making chassis is to make the rods first and then use them as a master for drilling the chassis. Quartering though an entirely different issue, have to say if I can get them prefer squared end axles with suitable holes in the wheels for those axles. Though I have done a fair bit of quartering like you are to be having to do.
Click to expand...
That method rests well with those of us who are not engineers ;);)
 
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Got the roof(s) on. That was fun. Pete', Marshawn and Joe (strolling in late again Joe, your pay check is going to be docked !) were hard at it with the sawing and fitting all the timber. The resident BFG was welding the Titebond 3 laden brushes and spring loaded clamps. All those beams and bulkhead to daub. I suppose I should really start a separate thread, this one has still got a way to go. I like things to be tidy and organised, have you noticed ?:blush: Definitely going for that natty subtle two tone green D&RGW livery with bauxite couplings/undercarriage and white fittings. Now where's me mixing pallete and big box of paints ? Max
 
Just a few images of something I’m building whilst awaiting bits on another project. At the gauge 3 show I picked up a wooden kit for the body of a GER tram loco. Toby for the TtT bods.
Well amongst the loot I came away with from Llangollen was a playmobile 0-4-0T.
This seemed like an ideal opportunity for a quick build through uniting the two purchases.
The playmobile body has been put aside.
I’ve also dug out a Stainz boiler unit from when I built a GER Y4 tank loco.
This with a little modification will go inside the team engine to represent the actual internal gubbins etc.
Anyway some GER buffers are on order from Walsall models, so I guess it won’t be long before the model moves to completion.
This just leaves the cowcatchers to resolve!?!?!IMG_9970.jpegIMG_9968.jpeg
 
Flying15 said:
Just a few images of something I’m building whilst awaiting bits on another project. At the gauge 3 show I picked up a wooden kit for the body of a GER tram loco. Toby for the TtT bods.
Well amongst the loot I came away with from Llangollen was a playmobile 0-4-0T.
This seemed like an ideal opportunity for a quick build through uniting the two purchases.
The playmobile body has been put aside.
I’ve also dug out a Stainz boiler unit from when I built a GER Y4 tank loco.
This with a little modification will go inside the team engine to represent the actual internal gubbins etc.
Anyway some GER buffers are on order from Walsall models, so I guess it won’t be long before the model moves to completion.
This just leaves the cowcatchers to resolve!?!?!View attachment 357413View attachment 357414
Click to expand...
This is the front end of mine on a G3 converted LGB chassis, wirpsh I could remember where the catchers cane from but good solid metal job. Though in my 0 gauge days I soldered a few out of flat strip metal and wire.
image.jpg
 
Over the past week or so, I have managed to find the odd five minutes here and there to progress the work on the carriage shed for the Christmas Special Wagon.
The pic below belies the amount of work done. The guttering has been completed, as has the cladding for the sides and ends, except for the painting. The pic below shows the shed with the roof truss overhanging ends cut off and a 1.0mm plywood sub roof fitted. The next stage will be to cut and glue on the 1.0mm corrugated plastic roof, then spray the whole structure with white primer. The roof will remain white, and the white on the woodwork should give a good base for it to be painted red.

dig 260611001.jpg

David
 
Usually, I'm too lazy to make templates, so I often eyeball everything and get results that look OK from a metre away.

But today..... I made an actual template.

IMG_20260622_113951050.jpg

An Evergreen polystyrene offcut, with two holes at an appropriate distance. Into one hole, I inserted a Modellbau Heyn rail fastener. This template is then attached on top of a tie.

This way, I can give the tie a new hole at the desired spot. The same in every tie, thanks to the template.

IMG_20260622_114153901.jpg

Now I have a series of ties with an extra hole:

IMG_20260622_113841569.jpg

If you wondered about the ties, they are from Heyn's Feldbahn line.

I shortened them on the bandsaw, trying to preserve the random look:

IMG_20260622_120240207.jpg

The rail fasteners are inserted:

17821299655868116335613368274807.jpg

And here we have a piece of 32 mm track!

IMG_20260622_121255024.jpg


..... Except I made an error of calculation when I made the template, so the track is 31 mm. :banghead:


The reason I'm making 32 mm track is this: I have two wagons with adjustable gauge. Nominally they can be set between 30 mm and 45 mm, but in reality I can't get them any wider than 42 mm, which causes problems on pointwork. (LGB's wheelsets are 44 mm, as are, for instance, Roundhouse's.)

So I've decided to set these wagons to 32 mm permanently. At least whenever I visit Britain I can run two of my own wagons.

For testing them, I want to have a bit of track available, and that's why I (tried to) build 32 mm track.


I will make another attempt, I have already made a better template.
 
Jasper said:
Usually, I'm too lazy to make templates, so I often eyeball everything and get results that look OK from a metre away.

But today..... I made an actual template.

View attachment 357793

An Evergreen polystyrene offcut, with two holes at an appropriate distance. Into one hole, I inserted a Modellbau Heyn rail fastener. This template is then attached on top of a tie.

This way, I can give the tie a new hole at the desired spot. The same in every tie, thanks to the template.

View attachment 357792

Now I have a series of ties with an extra hole:

View attachment 357794

If you wondered about the ties, they are from Heyn's Feldbahn line.

I shortened them on the bandsaw, trying to preserve the random look:

View attachment 357791

The rail fasteners are inserted:

View attachment 357795

And here we have a piece of 32 mm track!

View attachment 357790



The reason I'm making 32 mm track is this: I have two wagons with adjustable gauge. Nominally they can be set between 30 mm and 45 mm, but in reality I can't get them any wider than 42 mm, which causes problems on pointwork. (LGB's wheelsets are 44 mm, as are, for instance, Roundhouse's.)
Click to expand...
45 mm gauge B2B are closer to 40 mm not 44 mm!!
 
Anyway, I have been busy on my bench - the small part that isn't cluttered up :oops: and I have returned to my roots, as a devout bodger, and have been doing a couple of bodges to the Yeti.

Sharrafter see if I have been successful.

No photos, we don't show off when we're bodging :shake::shake::shake:
 
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