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Alan's Workbench

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Posted
29 minutes ago, Tullygrainey said:

Thanks David. After marking it out, I drill a few strategic holes and roughly cut out the unwanted bits with a piercing saw, a little way inside the lines. Then I file the edges back to the lines. This is where those Valorbe Swiss files earn their keep!

That’s great. Many thanks Alan. Always trying to up my game ! 

Posted
53 minutes ago, Galteemore said:

That’s great. Many thanks Alan. Always trying to up my game ! 

I make my own sanding sticks with abrasive paper, strips of wood and double-sided tape. They can be made to any width, thickness and grit grade and I find them more controllable than files especially for the final finishing to a perfectly straight edge. 
But then perhaps I’m being a cheapskate without proper Swiss files!

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Posted
7 minutes ago, David Holman said:

Love it, though am ashamed to say my own solution to cutting rectangular holes in things involves a slotting disc in as Dremel. Crude, but effective.

A Dremel is a most useful tool, especially with a full set of collets. 
Though I tend to do most of my fine drilling work with a collection of pin vices. 

Posted
15 minutes ago, David Holman said:

Love it, though am ashamed to say my own solution to cutting rectangular holes in things involves a slotting disc in as Dremel. Crude, but effective.

Can't hold a drill steady myself but a slitting disc in a Dremel seems to have been the preferred cutting tool of the guy that scratchbuilt many of the locos on the OO9 County Gate layout. Scratchbuit OO9 locos were watchmaking compared to OO or the so-called finer scales.

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Posted

The ultimate sort of Dremel-like tool is an air-powered one, much safer because if it jams in the job it just stops, rather than trying to rip your wrist off and/or destroy the work. 
I don’t have one in my home workshop but I have used them elsewhere. 

Posted

I bottled out of buying a Dremel years ago and bought a cheaper alternative. Bad move. Its minimum speed is still too fast for delicate work and I've done more damage than enough with it. A reminder that it's always best to avoid cheap tools. I knew that but it didn't stop me! 

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Posted

In the cold hard light of day this morning, I could see the boiler was too long (still!)

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More butchery careful fettling dispensed with an unnecessary 6 scale inches of boiler. Still a bit long but then, so's the chassis but it looks better now, to my eye at least.

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Alan

School of 'measure once, cut as many times as necessary'

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Posted

The majority of the fiddly bits are now done. Buffers, safety valves and vacuum pipes from Alan Gibson. The footplate steps are a Mainly Trains etch from Wizard Models. I made the chimney in the now traditional manner with brass tube, a washer and lots of solder. The dome is wooden dowel with a plasticard flange and filler to blend the two together. Still a bit of work to do on this before I cut away the surplus plastic and glue it on.

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Alan

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  • 3 weeks later...
Posted

 A few progress pics of the BCDR bogie tank. Managed to get through the painting process without any major disasters. A first? I think I'm learning, albeit at a glacial pace.

Halfords grey etch primer from the rattle can then Tamiya acrylics. X18 semi-gloss black followed by XF70 dark green, both airbrushed.

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I've started the line dancing now. Fox transfers. This bit always takes a while.

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Alan

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

The BCDR bogie tank is almost done. At last. The bit that should’ve been no trouble, the ready-to-run chassis , fought me every inch (25.4mm) of the way. Part of that was my own fault for hacking and filing bits off without protecting the motor and gears from metal filings. It still makes odd noises going backwards. However there was also an intermittent short circuit which took days to track down and fix. The big hammer was close to deployment more than once. Seems ok now.

I settled in the end for Number 12. One of the of the first batch of 5 bogies tanks (“Series A”), it was built by Beyer Peacock in 1904.

Still needs a coal load and maybe some more weathering. After taking the pics I managed to destroy one of the tank side number plates so a new one is getting made.

Body bits bolted together after painting and lining ...

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... and chassis fitted. Crew hide the lack of inside cab detail, as usual.

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Alan

 

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Posted
1 hour ago, Galteemore said:

Looks great Alan. Well worth the effort ! Any chance of posing it with version 1?

 Thanks David. Yes, I took these pics a couple days ago. Version 1 with adapted Adams Radial bodywork and unmodified chassis on the left

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Posted

The differences are fairly subtle but I think scratch building the body on version 2 got it a bit closer to the look of the prototype. I wish now I'd just scratch built a chassis while I was at it. Wouldn't have been that much more work in the end!😄

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Posted (edited)

Thanks everyone. Number 12 brings the County Down roster to 7 locomotives. The fitters are saying they've lined out enough locos to do them for a while. Me too.

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Back in September 2024 I started out to build a small exhibition layout for this lot to run on but got distracted. I probably should get back to that. In the meantime,  new arrival No.12 is stretching its legs.

Alan

 

Edited by Tullygrainey
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