Scalefour Forum

One thing to consider is the quality of the fit and degree of filling you need the glue to do. If you have any gap then epoxy is far better at filling than cyano. That said if you want to make cyano 'fill' then I have seen people using baking powder in the joint to make it produce a solid fill. Also...

It may seem like I've been idle for the last two weeks but I have managed to get the lifting link in place and also the drain cocks and drain cock linkage. I've also stuck the balance weights in place and built the tender chassis. IMG_8031a.jpg Dave Bradwell has kindly sent me some scans for the 'pl...

The last few days have been quite an effort. I had started making up the valve forks which consist of an etch and some 1mm nickel-silver rod. I tried to put these into the valve tube which had been soldered into the cylinder much earlier in the construction. Trouble was that the bore of the valve tu...

I made a lot more progress today thanks to Dave's pointers. I made up the return cranks and the eccentric rods and tried fitting them, I was pleased it was relatively straight-forward. After not too much fiddling I managed to get the cranks moving smoothly and much to my amazement things go round an...

Once again, thanks for that Dave. I'm aware that it is often hard to get the balance between 'teaching grandmother to suck eggs' and 'presuming the builder has made one before', please don't take my dumb questions as criticism. I'm also aware of the likelihood of unwittingly causing offense online b...

The next bit of confusion is with the eccentric rod. The instructions say:- Similarly assemble the eccentric rod as the diagram adding the fork at the front and the overlay at the rear. I can understand how the overlay at the rear fits, but don't quite understand how the front overlay should be fold...

Well I can see I royally c*£ked that up... Now that I understand the diagram and the fact that the slots in the external sides were cosmetic has been pointed out I understand. So the question I'm left with is do I take the expansion links apart again, fill and recut the slots smaller and try again o...

I've not done much over the last week as I've been driven mad by builders doing 12 hour days on the house next door for 13 days straight. It seems they have to drill large holes in concrete once ever 2 minutes all the way through lock down. Anyway I finally managed to get a few moments peace this ev...

I would not try to say my weighbridge is particularly accurate in terms of absolutes but where it did come in use was getting a feel for which axles were taking most load. IMG_8001a.jpg I just put a load of lead in the body of the B1 and came up with the following, these are not final figures just a...

I'm just reading at this point, but slightly confused by the etching for the radius rods. I'm thinking I might be having to drill a hole that didn't get etched through but wanted to check. IMG_7999a.jpg IMG_8000a.jpg Or does the hole which ends up in the middle of the expansion link get drilled afte...

I think the springing on the bogie is currently too firm. Obviously at the moment there is no weight in the front end at all. Could I suggest you get the weight in before adjusting the springing? My 2-6-0 experience suggests plenty of weight on carrying wheels is needed for reliable track holding. ...

A bit more progress on the goods shed as well over the weekend. I got the mortar filler added and couple of washes over the brickwork. I was trying to get the 'tired' look of the working goods shed rather than the sand blasted clear brick of the preserved building. IMG_7995a.jpg IMG_7996a.jpg The ro...

So over the weekend I made some pretty good progress on the B1 chassis. I managed to make up the drop links, complete with their little tiny oil fillers and fit them to the cross heads. These really were small but went on well, fastened with the rivet for the connecting rods. The cast piston valve e...

As far as software for the laser is concerned, and not knowing what laser you are using, have you looked at Lightburn? https://lightburnsoftware.com/ It is an excellent piece of software and you can trial it for 1 month after which you have to pay a nominal sum. The software that we got with our la...

I got a bit more work done on the goods shed while I was waiting for a replacement soldering iron to be delivered. This morning I cut a load of slates into postage labels and stuck them on the roof. Then this afternoon I sprayed a couple of basic base colours, brick red on the walls and a slate grey...

Thanks to Wizard of the Moor and a mail from Dave Bradwell I think I have worked out that the part 59 in the instructions actually refers to part 109 on the etch (described as the drain cock linkage). Dave suggests I don't actually fit this until later so the next task is the drop link. I've been se...

So my replacement iron arrived from Eileen, I purchased the slightly more expensive version which has silicone lead and I must admit I'm rather impressed with the difference from the cheaper PVC cable. The additional flexibility means there is considerably less drag on the iron. So, on with the buil...

I've just came across this wonderful collection through a google search. https://www.doeandhope.com/products/a-superb-c-1896-1903-set-of-five-craftsman-s-scale-illustration-plans-for-railway-cranes-prepared-by-cowans-sheldon-co I know it says 'Lagos Rly' but the 6-wheel one looks quite like my photo...

Well to be honest I do have a couple of other irons in my RASI but a 40W Weller with a bit the size spade isn't really suitable for this job!
David

The demise of my soldering iron gives me an enforced break from the B1 (and Dave Bradwell a break from my foolish questions!). The result was some more progress on the model of Clare goods shed. I got around to fitting the overlays for the buttresses and plinths and tidy up the corners. Then I drew ...

I think I'm getting there but you will have a few days peace on this topic as my soldering iron has just packed up. Order placed with Eileen for a replacement.

Thanks to Dave Bradwell for all his encouragement.

David

Yes, absolutely nothing is fastened together at the moment.

The question is whether that is necessary, whether there is a better way and whether that is enough.

David

I've worked on the other side slidebar and now have two that fit and slide well. I also replaced the plastic wire insulation with a standard crank pin nut, which as Dave says, recesses into the coupling rod once the bush is filed down a bit. I've also taken a gnats off the boss of the coupling rod a...

So I want to have a crank pin nut recessed into the rod so that there is the maximum clearance. I only have Gibson crank pin parts available and these have a bush, the running section of which is which is O/D 1.5mm, the coupling rod is currently drilled for this. The Gibson crank pin nuts are O/D 1....

Thanks for the suggestions everybody. I've persevered with the coils and made them into flange wipers. They seem to be working better so we'll see how they go. IMG_7974a.jpg Several hours this evening making the first slide bar, quite a challenge but ok I think in the end. There was a lot of cusp to...