Scalefour Forum

Chris Mitton wrote:Thanks for the advice, gents....
Will - I hadn't thought of a crew, but now you mention it whitemetal is mostly lead (isn't it? I stand to be corrected) so that's a good idea.

Used to be, it now mostly lead free.

Terry Bendall wrote:

Hardwick wrote:It was a 00 wheel I think but has worked out quite well.

It certainly looks OK from the picture but the proof of course will be when it is tried out in the track

Terry Bendall

…and, of course, getting the whole set the same size.

…but also this one, though not really for locos.

Just a reminder that the next CLAG meeting will be on Friday 11 January at 8:00 pm

The usual place 745b High Road, Leytonstone, E11 4QS.

E-mail me if you want directions.

There is a step missing. The silver steel rods should be heated until they are bright red and dropped into a cup of cold water. This will harden them enough so that when the tube is sawn there is no possibility of cutting into the central rod. Also I would suggest that one gap would be preferable as...

The easiest way of doing 6 wheeled underframes is here, providing, of course, that C&L have the Exoctoscale axles

Photos of trackwork often show the same bodging and irregularity suggested for buildings. Maybe Templot needs a Jerry-built option? I'm not sure that this is true. There are photos, of pre- grouping track, where the sleepers are parallel but the ends of said sleepers are not square, or of even leng...

My impression is that CLAG contains some very skilled precision engineers. Their view of such matters may perhaps be coloured by their general approach to model-making, with much greater emphasis on dimensional accuracy (particularly in the engineering) than the average model-maker. None of us are ...

The clerestory is/was MR Bain 54' corridor stock. Which one is anyone's guess. These sorts of conversions seem relatively common. The lefthand one is a staff van built by Derby on redundant underframes. See p 431 of Lacey and Dow for a similar one. The middle one is a six wheeled brake with centre l...

All Sharman wheels (including the 'P4' ones) were 2.3 mm wide instead of a scale 1.8 mm. Clearly the width of Mike Sharman's wheels has not been a problem for people working in P4, or we would have heard about it - they were very widely used at one stage, and it is only their non-availability in mo...

All Sharman wheels (including the 'P4' ones) were 2.3 mm wide instead of a scale 1.8 mm.

I think I would use the Alan Gibson LowMac wheels and ignore the extra half millimetre on the diameter.

Perhaps you should build one and show us………...

John's specific point about the seating of domes and chimneys is quite valid; his examples were Bachmann and having looked through the pictures of all the engines I've converted over the years, it is true that the Hornby ones are much better in this regard. We now have technology (and the inclinati...

I can't see much point in putting a CSB into an 0-4-0T: pitch stability will be more manageable with 4 separate twin-support springs. I think you are heading for a metaphorical beating up on Friday……………….. lookyou 'ere If anyone is contemplating this, easy way of placing the anchors is:- Centre anc...

After a modicum of discussion it was decided that the next CLAG meeting will be on the 16th of November. Thereafter meetings will be on the second Friday of the month. Unless, that is, someone has something really exciting to tell/show us and then extra dates can be arranged. The meetings take place...

Loctite is not a glue. It is a retainer. Meaning it reacts with steel in the absence of air and expands slightly, making a tighter force fit. It does not react in anyway with plastic.
But apart from that. If a wheel bore is less than the axle diameter just how thick will a glue film be?

Quite right, Bill, a few microns either way is not the issue. What is of issue is a value a hundred or a thousand times that. Generally, anything 0.1235" or less will be useless IMO. It might suit a tight Sharman wheel bore, but an Ultrascale bore will not grip that sufficiently. And let's rem...

paultownsend wrote:only the drawn stuff which is not accurate eneough for axles.

Really??????
Given the way that most frames are designed and built I would think a few micron +- on the axles were the least of people's problems. But then, P4 builders do like their hair shirts.

I am pleased to hear that you managed to get these materials to work together, Paul. Can I ask, when using the tube and rod from Eileen's, how you cut the tube after assembling it onto the rod? It's best to cut the tube before assembling the axles. Also it is a good idea to make the inner rod sligh...