Pull the Other One!

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Serjt-Dave
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Pull the Other One!

Postby Serjt-Dave » Tue Jun 16, 2020 8:22 am

Hi All. I hope you are all keeping tickety-boo.

This is my latest creation. I did the first block of five leavers at the beginning of the year and really enjoyed making them so I thought the other twenty should be four times as much fun. It doesn't take long for the luster to fade doing repetitive work. Well it's finished and working and currently stripped down and in the paintshop.

I'm not really into signaling in fact I wasn't planning on having even a leaver frame but Mr Carter can be very persuasive {that will teach me to walk pass the Scalefour Stand}. However the tactlieness is very hard to resist.

My layout Edington Junction originally had a 39 leaver frame but I wanted it to be a bit more simple {like me} and so trimmed it back a bit. I don't plan on having a mechanical interlocking but will incorporate some electrically.

Keep Safe

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Last edited by Serjt-Dave on Tue Jun 16, 2020 5:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Mike Garwood
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Mike Garwood » Tue Jun 16, 2020 9:01 am

WOW, I mean WOW!

Mike

Steve Carter
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Steve Carter » Tue Jun 16, 2020 10:16 am

Great work Dave, well done.

Hopefully, once things return to some sort of normality, the Society Stand will be out and about again and I will be there to "persuade" people again :D

See you soon :thumb

Steve
Steve Carter

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Serjt-Dave
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Serjt-Dave » Tue Jun 16, 2020 12:46 pm

Thanks Mike and Steve. Yes looking forwards to be able to go to shows again. Trouble is it will mean I'll have to go back to work again as well. I'm getting quite used to being at home modelling all day.

I'd just washed and cleaned all the bits and pieces of the frame, had them drying in the sun outside my workshop forgot about them and then kicked the box they were all in all over the garden. DOUGH! All primed and will be top coated tomorrow.

Keep Safe

martin goodall
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby martin goodall » Tue Jun 16, 2020 1:22 pm

Looks very nice indeed.

Out of curiosity, is it the Mark 1 version or the newer, Mark 2, version?

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Serjt-Dave
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Serjt-Dave » Tue Jun 16, 2020 3:09 pm

Thanks Martin. This is a MK1 SHAG version.

Keep Safe

Dave

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ChrisMitchell
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby ChrisMitchell » Tue Jun 16, 2020 3:22 pm

Looks really good Dave

A 10 lever frame is next on my lockdown activities. Any tips and tricks to help me on my way?

Regards, Chris

Tony Wilkins
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Tony Wilkins » Tue Jun 16, 2020 5:31 pm

Hi Dave.
I think you meant tactileness, another victory for the spellchecker?
Yes, very nice piece of work.
It is looking increasingly likely that I shall be building a lever frame for Brimsdown at some stage, 42 levers for that one, so 8 and a half frames. Just to add to the fun some of the levers on the real frame were short to operate electric devices, something I intend to replicate.
Regards
Tony.
Inspiration from the past. Dreams for the future.

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Serjt-Dave
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Serjt-Dave » Tue Jun 16, 2020 5:56 pm

Thanks Tony, I will do better with my spelling next time. Honest!

Hi Chris. It's all fairly straight forward. The instruction are good and easy to follow. The main areas to look out for are laminating the leavers and the drop boxes. When soldering the laminates for the leavers together get them as tight as you can and don't go mad with the solder. Otherwise when you fold up the drop boxes they will be very tight on the leavers and will require a lot of fettling to get them to side freely up and down the leavers. Fold the drop box around the leaver it is intended to be used on to get a better fit.

Just be aware if you make the hook on the lifting rod too big it may catch on the underside of the frame. I tended to make them a small as possible.

If you need any assistants when you get round to starting yours, please feel free to give me a shout. Good Luck

Keep Safe

Dave

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Paul Willis
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Paul Willis » Tue Jun 16, 2020 9:38 pm

Serjt-Dave wrote:Hi Chris. It's all fairly straight forward. The instruction are good and easy to follow. The main areas to look out for are laminating the leavers and the drop boxes. When soldering the laminates for the leavers together get them as tight as you can and don't go mad with the solder. Otherwise when you fold up the drop boxes they will be very tight on the leavers and will require a lot of fettling to get them to side freely up and down the leavers.


Dave, that's pretty much what I concluded when I built one for my article in MRJ 225. What I wrote there seems to have found its way into the current SHAG instructions:

"Align all three layers using the pins taking care to ensure that the shallow slots for the number plate are on the same edge.

Clamp firmly and solder around the edges, removing the locating pins before completing the soldering.

I find that it is unnecessary to tin the individual laminates first as capillary attraction draws sufficient solder into the joint, and in fact tinning the
faces can result in an assembled lever that is very tight in the frame slots.
"

So no solder on the laminating faces themselves, just plenty of flux on the edges of the levers, a hot iron and a wipe of solder across.

It helps to add a bit more solder at the end which is the handle, as you may well be filing the corners off the lever "square" to make them round enough to slip inside the steel handles. But that is well away from where the drop-boxes are, and the slots in the curved frame.

HTH
Paul
Beware of Trains - occasional modelling in progress!
www.5522models.co.uk

Mark Tatlow
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Mark Tatlow » Wed Jun 17, 2020 8:46 am

ChrisMitchell wrote:Looks really good Dave

Any tips and tricks to help me on my way?

Regards, Chris


The issue I found was securing the lever handles on properly; they take a good degree of stress. There were two reasons - firstly it is steel so not that easy to solder and secondly the "pip" on the etch of the lever can break off.

The first issue can be dealt with a really strong flux - Carrs Brown label. It is not perfect though, as you are trying to solder inside the cup on the handle. I wonder if it might be better if the handles were turned from nickle silver rather than steel?

I dealt with the second point by doing away with the pip altogether. Before you laminate the handle parts together, cut it away and on the centre laminate cut a slot lengthways about 5mm deep with the widest piercing saw blade you have (I have some no 1s). Solder them together as before and then drill out the hole again with 0.7mm drill. Then insert a bit of rod into the top and solder onto this.
Mark Tatlow

DougN
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby DougN » Wed Jun 17, 2020 10:09 am

Mark, when I built mine I opened the hole in the leaver up I think to 1mm and cut off the 2 outer laminates and filed down the middle to match. I found no problem with soldering the handles on.
Doug
Still not doing enough modelling

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Serjt-Dave
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Serjt-Dave » Wed Jun 17, 2020 10:22 am

Hi Paul. When I did the first block of leavers I followed your article whilst building it. I found it most useful.

Hi Mark. I agree with you regarding the little pip or spigot as I call it. I think there will be much more stress on that point {excuse the pun} if you were operating it using point rodding etc. But mine are just activating micro switches so no stress at all. You've got to remember to lift the trigger up high enough to clear the tag before you start pulling the leaver. That's when the handle will get stressed.

What I did was to whittle down the spigot just a tadge larger the the whole in the handle and sort of screwed the handle down onto the leaver. This worked really well for about 23 of the 25 leavers with other two I over did the filing on the spigot and they are more of a push fit. When I put the frame back together I will use epoxy to secure all the handles.

If I ever did another frame I would do as you say and remove the spigot entirely drill a hole into the leaver. Then silver solder a brass pin into the handle and then solder the handle and pin into the leaver.

Keep Safe

Dave

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Will L
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Will L » Wed Jun 17, 2020 11:05 am

Getting solder to run up the inside of a tube is always difficult and a blind hole is worse. It really needs to be clean in there which is harder to achieve, you are expecting the heat to travel further, and boiling flux and expanding hot air will tend to blow the solder out when you're hoping surface tension will suck it in. I'm not a great believer in pre tinning other joints but I think getting as much solder as possible on the pin that goes up the hole is necessary in this case.

As a solder first and last man, it pains me to say this, but if doing a lot at once then there is also the possibility that a quick smear of epoxy would be quicker, easier and just as effective?

As an aside, I've found the 100 degree solder that is around now, which doesn't need brass or nickel silver surfaces to be pre tinned, is very good for attaching heavy lost wax castings (boiler fittings and that sort thing), It works well and you don't need to get everything else so hot that things start dropping off. Does any body know if it works on steel. If it does it could make this job a bit easier.

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CDGFife
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby CDGFife » Thu Jun 18, 2020 8:32 pm

Echoing others that does look good Dave.

Another vote here for epoxy for the handles.

Cheers

Chris

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Serjt-Dave
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Serjt-Dave » Fri Jul 17, 2020 6:48 am

Hi All. Well it's all painted and back together and it wasn't without some issues in the process. Stripping it down into it's basic components to paint was a big mistake. When I went to put the trigger lever/drop box onto the main lever I forgot to allow for the thickness of the paint and of course the thing either jammed solid or rubbed the paint off. What I should have done is left the trigger lever/drop box on the main lever and painted them both together. Some of the levers and triggers are a little stiff but once they get used regularly they should loosen up. At least I know better for next time. The three Red and Black levers are a bit of poetic licence, they operate the trap points and their associated ground signal. I did this to save having on having to add another block of levers but in hindsight I ended up with two spare levers anyway. Bloody hindsight! The electrical gubbins need to be installed and this can be starting point for the control panel.

All Best and Keep Safe

Dave

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Proton
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Proton » Fri Jul 17, 2020 10:19 am

As the website says

"For 4mm Finescale Railway Modelling at its Very Best"

PBM

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Serjt-Dave
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Serjt-Dave » Fri Jul 17, 2020 10:50 am

Thanks PBM. I do recommend building at least one set of levers. The are very tactile and hands on and easy to build. Even if you don't need one they are a great way to ease stress.

All Best and Keep Safe

Dave

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jim s-w
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby jim s-w » Fri Jul 17, 2020 11:25 am

Hi built one for Brettell road before I decided handset control was more suitable for what I was doing. I’ve still got it though and agree, it’s a great tactile thing to fiddle with.

A long row of them looks great Dave
Jim Smith-Wright

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Over thinking often leads to under doing!

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Serjt-Dave
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Serjt-Dave » Fri Jul 17, 2020 8:31 pm

Thanks Jim. I wasn't planning to have a lever frame but was seduced by Steve Carter {probably not the way he saw it} in to getting one and it went down from there.

If my layout and stock was more advance than it is I may have done a full frame as used at Edington and had full interlocking.

All Best and Keep Safe

Dave

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Penrhos1920
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Penrhos1920 » Fri Jul 17, 2020 9:20 pm

ChrisMitchell wrote:Looks really good Dave

A 10 lever frame is next on my lockdown activities. Any tips and tricks to help me on my way?

Regards, Chris



Only 10 levers? Are you building the Origami frame in sections?

Steve Carter
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Steve Carter » Fri Jul 17, 2020 10:08 pm

Serjt-Dave wrote:but was seduced by Steve Carter {probably not the way he saw it} in to getting one and it went down from there.


:lol:
Steve Carter

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Paul Townsend
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Paul Townsend » Sat Jul 18, 2020 6:00 pm

Serjt-Dave wrote:Hi All. I hope you are all keeping tickety-boo.

This is my latest creation. I did the first block of five leavers at the beginning of the year and really enjoyed making them so I thought the other twenty should be four times as much fun. It doesn't take long for the luster to fade doing repetitive work. Well it's finished and working and currently stripped down and in the paintshop.

I'm not really into signaling


Thats a bit scary in ligjht of your dayjob!
Serjt-Dave wrote:
in fact I wasn't planning on having even a leaver frame but Mr Carter can be very persuasive {that will teach me to walk pass the Scalefour Stand}. However the tactlieness is very hard to resist.

My layout Edington Junction originally had a 39 leaver frame but I wanted it to be a bit more simple {like me} and so trimmed it back a bit. I don't plan on having a mechanical interlocking but will incorporate some electrically.

Keep Safe

20200615_180428.jpg

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Serjt-Dave
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby Serjt-Dave » Sat Jul 18, 2020 7:37 pm

Paul. I haven't the heart to tell them I'm colour blind. LOL.

Dave

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ChrisMitchell
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Re: Pull the Other One!

Postby ChrisMitchell » Wed Jul 22, 2020 4:05 pm

Penrhos1920 wrote:
ChrisMitchell wrote:Looks really good Dave

A 10 lever frame is next on my lockdown activities. Any tips and tricks to help me on my way?

Regards, Chris



Only 10 levers? Are you building the Origami frame in sections?


If I recall correctly, on Origami there are only a couple of crossovers, the rest of the pointwork will be worked by local levers. And there was only one signal. So only a 5 lever frame needed :) :) :)


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