Scalefour Forum

It's very battered but it was a precision lathe once - comparison with a Boley really lifts it to potential star quality even if it can't claim "one careful owner". I have a similar situation with my precision lathe but we get by. Trouble is you might need another lathe in order to fit a n...

Books - the advantage of the Geoff Kent Wild Swan books is they have both modelling and much prototype information. I agree the Larkin books are very good but you're starting a library there.

DaveB

I'm sure you'll follow your plan, Connor and I wish you every success but there's a whole genre of layout out there which are described as "scenicked test planks" which suggests some do get attached to their plank. They raise questions like have they boxed themselves into a corner? Would t...

I've spent days getting my cab roof to fit, Doug, although the lockdown slowdown must be partly to blame. Sir Nigel seems to have set Mr Finney an almost impossible challenge with the shape of it. I couldn't get it to stay in place - it kept springing back to a skewed position. The ends of the V sha...

Just to add that when you bend rail in your fingers it's likely that it will also bend vertically - place it on a flat surface and check that it leans correctly. Sometimes you'll even find it leaning outwards. When you make the crossing, the rail here will be vertical and needs a slight twist to sit...

Module is diameter of gear (measured half-way up teeth will do for now) divided by number of teeth so a 25mm diameter gear with 50 teeth is Mod 0.5. In imperial units we use DP (diametrical pitch) which is essentially the number of teeth on a 1" diameter gear so DP gets bigger as teeth get smal...

You might follow Mick Nich's advice and use Solartrim which is used to cover model aircraft. There's an extra thin version, I think. If you can manage the base colours, perhaps just use this stuff to add the stripes. Check you get them in the right place - a large percentage of folk and some drawing...

Well, there's not a lot wrong with that and many would be pleased to achieve such smooth rotation. It stopped in different positions each time which is a good sign. Sorry I got the motor wrong - I just couldn't remember but best left alone. You've got the classic dc motor issue where as soon as it m...

I've noticed that videos from the r/c fraternity have hurried past the difficult slow speed bit. The electronic motor drive is fairly basic with no feedback (on the spec sheet referred in a link) and I suspect it's a small 3 pole motor. Try to get the wheels revolving about once in 5 secs. It's this...

Ivan, you shouldn't really swap plain for Timken axleboxes as these were larger and consequently the frames around them were a slightly different shape. Same with the tender. One day I'll etch some alternative Cartazzi and tender frames but you know how these things go...... There are extra lumps to...

Re finials, I believe John Wright used pins as the central core in his M&H type to fight off any attack. My signal in the photo goes at the back of the layout and seemed a good candidate for a first lattice attempt so operation is simplified. It will use Chris Pendlenton's technique of invisible...

I believe it's the particle size that causes concern as it's the same as asbestos. Key sentence in document is that it's not known to be carcinogenic but high levels of dust inhalation can cause lung cancer. I think this is unlikely with occasional modelling but worth bearing in mind. My scant secon...

Has anyone else been ordering Sharman wheels - his site tried to charge me £10 for Royal Mail delivery of 6 wheels. It was a "mere" £7 the day before but he doesn't seem to care. Will make my own or use the wrong ones.

DaveB

I'd better post my effort, then - NER ND: IMG_1108.JPG I believe dolls are mainline size and slightly over the probably correct 6 1/2" square at top. Small dolls at 5 1/2" (possibly) seemed a step too far at the time. Deck is D&S so pitch wrong and too thin. Next signal will have my ow...

Sorry, poor wording - my concern was misunderstanding of the construction by others and unfair comment on the MSE etch. In trying to make it clear that I wasn't criticising your models, I've inadvertently implied you were also guilty so I apologise for that. I've tried to etch these things myself bu...

I didn't say offset was much but the post can't be assembled with lattices in-line. I've found a redrawn LMS drg in Peter Squib's book and it gives the offset as 1". Elsewhere in the text is the suggested 0.5mm in 7mm scale. This dimension confirmed by scaling an M&H drg. I have an M&H ...

There just seems to be something wrong or even unethical about a frog-juicer causing a short circuit in order to avoid one so for that reason alone I prefer relays or microswitches. You're putting a spike on the power supply too, for what it's worth. I'll accept that they work very well and a friend...

Coming new to this old thread I see there is criticism of lattice front and side not lining up - I suggest this is a prototype feature. With "invisible" edge lattice, the strips were offset slightly so that the rivet heads didn't clash within the angles - it might have been 2". With f...

As no-one replied to your weight query, Doug, I weighed my Peppercorn A1, being the nearest I have to a V2. It's 460gm, although bogie and Cartazzi are weight bearing. This manages 10 coaches up 1 in 100 and that would include some metal coaches, remainder being Bachmanns at their normal weight - la...

Mitre gears are just the special case of bevel gears that give 1:1 ratio and the teeth form a 45 deg cone. The cone is drawn to the intersection point of the shafts so when any other ratio is required then the angle to give a proper mesh will not be 45 - this keeps the taper of the teeth on each gea...

Bevel gears. Just to point out that your 16 and 25t gears will not mesh together properly - the teeth on the 16 taper more sharply than those on the 25. Bevel gears come as pairs with the inclination of the teeth pointing at the shaft intersection so if ratio is other than 1:1 then angle is not 45 d...

Mike, I would hope Mike Sharman always proposed 2 universals, being a proper engineer and all that but with the appropriate compensation scheme it's possible to make one joint work but with great care and understanding and not going round a corner. I'm sorry to go on about it on your thread but it's...

You might be running into a conflict here. All flexible tubing is curved so has the potential, when used as a flexible joint to give an uneven drive. To minimise this effect you would choose the thinnest possible tube which might not be sympathetic to your intention to transmit a higher torque. This...

Chris Gibbon won't tell you where he gets his gears - he says it's his only trade secret but he'll probably sell you some, if he has the right sizes, of course. Don't you find that putting the spur gears on the highest revving shaft increases the noise significantly? In fact it looks as if they're a...

Perhaps turn to the body if you're not in an engineering mood. Surely it has to be worth sorting out the running or you'll avoid using the finished model and it's easier to do this without the valve gear. The quartering and centres are easily checked by setting the thing on its 4 centres (front, bac...