Postby Julian Roberts » Fri Dec 27, 2013 9:13 am
Dave
Unfortunately work takes me away soon until New Year's Day. Just a few thoughts for now, this is written in haste.
I found the instructions left ambiguities all the way along for a novice like me at that time, and there was a fair amount of work to do to make some parts fit. I am now making another brass loco - a Gibson kit, LMS Compound - and have found the process easier, particularly in that he arranges a nut and screw fitting of the firebox to cab and smokebox saddle to framing, so that one can arrange to have a bit slop to give adjustment before tightening up when it looks correct, then soldering together.
However I ought to say I never thought of contacting Jim Smellie to ask his advice as I went along.
I attach a series of photos in a following post of the body as it now is from underneath in case that helps, I didn't have much idea what I was aiming for, prototype photos not being quite relevant or available at this angle in the 828 book that I also found most helpful otherwise. I attach photos with some embarrassment but I hope they help and I find the more the better when building.
I fixed the cab on to the footplate and got that all square and correct before doing the boiler. I can't quite see if you're doing that, I think I was following the instructions.
In your pic a while back, November 17th, of all the parts, there isn't any sign of the smokebox inner wrapper. As far as I recall, the boiler is 4 thicknesses at the front - inner tube, boiler wrapper, smokebox inner wrapper, smokebox outer wrapper, rather a complicated process altogether. However I was doing all this 2 years ago or more, sorry if I get anything wrong.
The outer wrapper has to curve away from the boiler and meet the inner edge of the front sandbox, following the rivets shape of the smokebox front. Once it has met the sandbox inner top edge it doesn't much matter what it does, I suggest don't solder it to the front any further down than that level - because at this point what matters is the slot for the front driving wheels - so, that outer wrapper needs to be out of the way. I seem to recall it was a bit long and had to be shortened each side to allow the boiler to sit down.
By the way any sideplay you may want in the front wheels is fairly restricted by what you can arrange here.
I see you've fixed the front sandboxes on already. Mine went on after the boiler assembly was fixed on. As you've done this there could be an argument for soldering the smokebox front piece to them in its correct vertical orientation. Then the boiler would just have to be fixed between cab (if like me you fix that on in advance) and smokebox front, but the verticals would have all been taken care of and all you have to do is get the boiler level. Getting everything square and level is the challenge as I indicated previously when suggesting getting the footplate braced.
Whatever order you do things, the firebox bottom can be soldered to the framing last, and fixing the firebox front could be left until you're at that stage. However make sure the latter will fit while the boiler is still separate, I had to do some work for that, with a saw I think to deepen the slot. As far as I recall the firebox sides fitted inside the cut outs in the framing, and after completion I filed those sides back until they were not protruding below the frames.
By the way I like the inner framing you've done for the middle splasher. But just a thought though, that I put wiper pick ups on the top of the wheel inside that splasher, I think that option you've closed off but of course there are others.
The thing I found I had to bodge the most was the rear of the smokebox saddle. The piece in the kit I found didn't seem to fit in that it seemed too small, on thinking about it I wonder if it was correct for 00 gauge. Anyway hopefully you can see from my pic what to aim for, I think to make a new part using the kit one as a template, but wider so that it meets the inner vertical from the sandbox, may be the best option, but I just got creative with large blobs of solder and files and odd bits of shim.
Anyway, best of luck. I do hope I'm not talking as if to grandma how to suck eggs, sorry to any extent that I may be, obviously if you can turn chimneys etc you are a proper engineer while I am just a musician, a lathe would be a step too far while I still work at least....
Last edited by Julian Roberts on Fri Dec 27, 2013 10:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
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