Alan's Workbench

[Mayner]

O-16.5 Peckett after completing D2 and No29 what can I possibly say!

I need to get my act together and finish at least one of the unfinished projects on my work-bench, but which one?

[Mike 84C]

Also my problem John!  Which one to start next?  And how to choose the next one to finish?  I have been diverted from the Irish straight and not so narrow by an L&Y Dreadnought which is proving hard to make a silk purse of!

Mrs 84C has just shown me Station Road Steam's facebook page if you fancy a bit of steam envy have a peek, there will be no disapointment.

[Mayner]

Where do I start:

1. Replace damaged rear coupling G gauge 1:20.3 scale DRGW K27 so I can resume playing trains in the garden.

2. Garden railway track maintenance, weed and scrub clearing.

3. Assemble and complete OO Gauge MGWR 2-4-0 for client

4.. Complete final assembly of 2X52 Class locos in storage since 2022 including ordering wheelsets for 1 loco.

5. Final assembly Tin Vans and GSWR coaches.

6. Complete buildings for OO gauge dock layout.

7-100

 

 

Edited July 22, 2023 by Mayner

[Tullygrainey]

27 minutes ago, Mayner said:

Where do I start:

1. Replace damaged rear coupling G gauge 1:20.3 scale DRGW K27 so I can resume playing trains in the garden.

2. Garden railway track maintenance, weed and scrub clearing.

3. Assemble and complete OO Gauge MGWR 2-4-0 for client

4.. Complete final assembly of 2X52 Class locos in storage since 2022 including ordering wheelsets for 1 loco.

5. Final assembly Tin Vans and GSWR coaches.

6. Complete buildings for OO gauge dock layout.

7-100

 

 

And I thought my project list was long!

Suggest you do the weeding whilst you think about arranging the rest in order of priority

[Tullygrainey]

So far, so good. Cylinders will be a whole other story!

 

 

[Tullygrainey]

Weather has been exceedingly wet all week so some progress on the narrow gauge Peckett chassis with a few fiddly bits made after a struggle or two. Cylinders cut from 12mm o.d. brass tube and slide bars from 1x1mm square brass bar.

The 10BA bolts are for attaching the cylinders to the chassis frames. Usual practice would be to mount the cylinders on a saddle that straddles the chassis. I wasn't confident I could calculate how far apart the cylinders would need to be to get clearance behind the crossheads so I did it this way to allow me to adjust each one individually. Bit of a fiddle.

 

I made crossheads following a method described by Guy Williams ("The 4mm Engine, A Scratchbuilder's Guide", Wild Swan, 1988). He made it sound easy. Ha!

(Image courtesy Wild Swan Publications Ltd)

 

It took me two+ attempts and a number of disasters to get something that worked...

 

.. but eventually there emerged a kit of parts...

 

... and the bones of a working chassis. The rubber band is by way of a temporary restraining order on the motor.

Well, that was more fun than gardening in the rain

Alan

 

 

 

 

Edited July 27, 2023 by Tullygrainey

[KMCE]

Superb work Alan, and very well executed.

For my Peckett project (495) I used the cylinders and gear from a shop bought version which I will now need to modify as the model is getting Alan Gibson spoke wheels which have a much smaller crankpin than the original - I'm sure I'll come up with something, but I rather like your idea.

Ken

[Tullygrainey]

Thanks Ken. I like the sound of your Peckett. Have you posted anything on it? Regarding the wheels, I'm assuming the Gibson crankpin bushes don't have a large enough outside diameter to fill the holes in the rods? 

Alan

 

PS Found your Peckett. Lovely, lovely stuff!

Edited July 28, 2023 by Tullygrainey

[David Holman]

Another jewel in the making.

[Tullygrainey]

More dodgy weather so more Peckettry.

The running plate is made from 0.015" brass with double thicknesses for the buffer beams. The valances are 1.5mm brass angle. A small plate locates the front of the chassis and a 10BA bolt secures it at the back.

 

The boiler is rolled from 0.010" brass with extra layers overlaid at each end for smokebox and firebox. Made the saddles too tall on the first pass, making the boiler sit too high, (where have I heard this story before )  requiring some messy hacking to lower it and get the captive nuts back into their allotted places. 

 

All a bit of a fudge but it came out ok in the end.

 

Boiler bottom cut away to clear the motor and gearbox.

 

Now, rain or no rain, there's an overgrown lawn needing my attention.

Temporarily exchanging soldering iron for scythe,

Alan

 

[David Holman]

Nice, very nice - though if it keeps on raining, we may yet need to seek out a good source of gopher wood...

[Tullygrainey]

11 minutes ago, David Holman said:

Nice, very nice - though if it keeps on raining, we may yet need to seek out a good source of gopher wood...

Boat building! Now that would be a new challenge. Could be ok though. No outside cylinders...

[Tullygrainey]

Pecketttanks

[Galteemore]

Instantly recognisable. Nice beading too.

[Tullygrainey]

A nice simple shape for the Peckett's cab front with window frames made using slices of brass tube from a bag of assorted offcuts I bought at the Bangor show a while ago.

 

With the boiler and tanks bolted to the running plate, the cab front could be soldered in and trimmed to size. 

 

A brace across the tanks and the roof on. It's beginning to have a bit of structural strength at last.

 

It'a an odd little beast but the further I get with it the more I like it 

Pecketting away merrily

Alan

Edited August 5, 2023 by Tullygrainey

[GSR 800]

Absolutely fantastic. The little Peckett is a favourite of mine.

Can't wait for more!

[David Holman]

Shades of Roland Emmet, methinks. And none the worse for it.

[Tullygrainey]

Wet Sunday so more indoor activity down the Peckett Works. The cab is no longer defying gravity at the back. The job was quite tricky - it felt as if I was soldering fresh air to fresh air a lot of the time. The various handrails slot into holes drilled in the running plate and it's quite strong once it's bolted down. 

 

Peckett now has a bunker too though it hardly qualifies as one. More coal scuttle than coal bunker. The coal it can hold might have got a BCDR Baltic as far as the end of the platform at Queen's Quay.

 

Need to think about cobbling together a backhead for this one. No hiding place in such an open cab 

Alan

[Tullygrainey]

Some small Peckettbits - cab controls and a pair of tank fillers.

 

The boiler also gained a few fittings this week. Don't look too closely at all that plumbing. It doesn't really make a lot of sense but I was aiming for something that looks reasonably steam-enginey. By the time it's buried inside the cab and the driver gets in there with his shovel, flask, lunch tin and paper, it may be hard to see anyway. With a bit of luck.

 

The chimney has so far defied me. It's tall and slim and some nested brass tube would have done the job except that it tapers from top to bottom. Mine may well not do that.

Alan

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by Tullygrainey
typo

[GSR 800]

Simply wonderful stuff. Detail on the backhead is excellent.

[J-Mo Arts]

That's coming together beautifully. Could the chimney be 3d printed? 

[Tullygrainey]

10 hours ago, GSR 800 said:

Simply wonderful stuff. Detail on the backhead is excellent.

Thank you very much. It’s a bit of a fudge but I think it will look ok once it’s in place

[Tullygrainey]

1 hour ago, J-Mo Arts said:

That's coming together beautifully. Could the chimney be 3d printed? 

Thanks J-Mo. That’s probably the best solution but I don’t have the tools or skills to do that yet

[Galteemore]

Have you tried Laurie Griffin or ScaleFactor, Alan ? They may have a pattern part. Smallbrook Studios do similar chimneys on their NG kits, and may be able to help. 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Galteemore

[Tullygrainey]

3 hours ago, Galteemore said:

Have you tried Laurie Griffin or ScaleFactor, Alan ? They may have a pattern part. Smallbrook Studios do similar chimneys on their NG kits, and may be able to help. 

 

Thanks David. I'd completely forgotten about Smallbrook, despite having this sitting at my elbow every time I use this computer   That chimney looks pretty close to what I need.

 

I've had a look at the Smallbrook website and it seems they may have discontinued selling single bits from their kits. I'll try an email anyway and see what transpires.

Some of the Laurie Griffin chimneys come close but the problem is likely to be size as much as shape. Peckett is a 7mm/foot model but its dimensions are closer to a 4mm model. The original really is tiny.

 

I'm not familiar with ScaleFactor and couldn't find anything on-line. Do you have a weblink for them?

Regards

Alan

[Galteemore]

27 minutes ago, Tullygrainey said:

 

Thanks David. I'd completely forgotten about Smallbrook, despite having this sitting at my elbow every time I use this computer   That chimney looks pretty close to what I need.

 

I've had a look at the Smallbrook website and it seems they may have discontinued selling single bits from their kits. I'll try an email anyway and see what transpires.

Some of the Laurie Griffin chimneys come close but the problem is likely to be size as much as shape. Peckett is a 7mm/foot model but its dimensions are closer to a 4mm model. The original really is tiny.

 

I'm not familiar with ScaleFactor and couldn't find anything on-line. Do you have a weblink for them?

Regards

Alan

I’ll PM you details  Alan 

[Tullygrainey]

On 13/8/2023 at 2:59 PM, Tullygrainey said:

I've had a look at the Smallbrook website and it seems they may have discontinued selling single bits from their kits. I'll try an email anyway and see what transpires.

To clarify what I posted on 13.08, Smallbrook Studio does indeed sell individual parts from its ranges of kits. An email specifying your needs is all that's required to initiate an order.

Alan

[Tullygrainey]

Impatience got the better of me (again) and I had another go at a chimney for Peckett using a big brass wood screw, two sizes of brass tube and a suitable washer.

It took a fair bit of grinding in the trusty Black & Decker but I've managed to get a bit of a taper on it and I now have something useable if nothing better turns up.

Knee deep in brass filings,

Alan

[Patrick Davey]

Ingenius!!

[Galteemore]

Sometimes, as Lady Macbeth says, you have to screw your courage to the sticking place…..has really paid off here: excellent result and very J H Ahern. 

[David Holman]

Love it when ordinary things are repurposed into something truly elegant. Love the vision to see the possibility in the first place too. It was said that Michaelangelo saw a statue waiting to emerge from every block of stone, but bet he never saw a chimney in a brass woodscrew!

[Tullygrainey]

For my next trick... The statue of David holding an NCE PowerCab, from a chair leg.

Thanks everyone 

Edited August 18, 2023 by Tullygrainey

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

Proper fabrication crossed with fine artwork, fair dues lad.

[the Bandon tank]

A lovely little bit of engineering.

[leslie10646]

On 17/8/2023 at 10:42 PM, Tullygrainey said:

To clarify what I posted on 13.08, Smallbrook Studio does indeed sell individual parts from its ranges of kits. An email specifying your needs is all that's required to initiate an order.

Alan

Like Alan, I've had this from the Horse's Mouth, as I pointed Michael at this thread. Alas, Michael has just spent a weekend (at least) in hospital hence the delay to me posting this.

He will be especially forthcoming if you're modelling something out of the ordinary - he is a great fan of Rowland Emett, so the zanier the better.