Buck Jumping on Mass

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Jol Wilkinson
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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby Jol Wilkinson » Wed Sep 07, 2016 9:13 pm

Will,

thanks for sorting the link to the LRM website. I had copied the address from the header which usually works.

I've tried again with the etch outline.

HBA PR dwg.pdf


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billbedford

Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby billbedford » Thu Sep 08, 2016 7:04 am

You can also use handrail knobs of the anchors on the horn blocks.

But a much better solution is to use hooks for fixed anchors and a fulcrum point, for instance a piece of thickish wire, fixed to the top of the bearings, and parallel to the axles. If you arrange the relative height of the hooks and the the tops of the horn guides correctly the spring wires will just clip into place, instead of having to be threaded through a series of impossible find small holes.

Of course this arrangement will need working keepers, but that should not be a problem.

CSB anchor arrangement.gif
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Will L
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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby Will L » Thu Sep 08, 2016 3:51 pm

billbedford wrote:Of course this arrangement will need working keepers, but that should not be a problem.


I agree this is a perfectly good arrangement that some may well prefer. I happen to like the handrail knobs rout because, ones you have everything is properly lined up I don't find it difficult to thread the wire. I rather like the fact that the wheel are always captive with no keeper plate is required and I don't think you need to thread the wire all that often anyway, but it's a personal preference sort of thing. If I was building one of Bills chassis that work as he suggest, I certainly wouldn't modify it.

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Buck Jumping on Mass - The Build Phase

Postby Will L » Thu Feb 15, 2018 11:34 pm

Part 8 Two rolling chassis

To get to the rolling chassis, all that is left is fitting the frames around the frame spacers, but of course nothing is quite that strait forward. Both chassis kits came with 00 and EM spacers but nothing for P4. I suppose I could have gone with the EM spacers, but these were a full 1mm narrower than I felt I wanted so I had no choice but to make my own. The frame width of the prototypes, as far as I can tell, is a whisper under 4’0” so I decide to go with 15.5mm over the frames so I have a little clearance behind the wheels. This had knock on implication when we consider the footplate. Given the material the frames were etched out of, I was going to need frame spacers with a width in the region of 14.2mm. So taking some stock brass sheet (15 thou as that is what I’d got) I cut a strip about 14.5mm wide and filed it down until it was strait edged and was just 14.2mm wide. The necessary spacers were marked out on this in order down the strip just in case it isn’t perfectly parallel.
The spacers I used are shown in the next illustration, the picture is the J65 frames, the position of the spaces is shown in the drawing.
Buck Frame space.jpg

The end spacers is as the kit designer intended, but I’ve went my own way with the middle one. Both kits provided frame spacers that had tabs which fitted into slots in the frames. Generating the taps on the edge of my hand cut frame spacers was much too much like hard work so I didn’t bother, but at least the slots in the frames gave you a good clue as to where the fame spacers should go. Both kits had L spacers at both ends which I reproduced more or less exactly. The rear spacer on the J65 and the front spacer on the J69 had a hole on the centre line through which the bolt that attached chassis to body should go. I drilled this small so I could open it out to match the exact location of the captive nut on the body, when I knew where that was.

On both chassis I was planning to fit pickups bearing on the top of the wheels. This, taken together with the increased width of the frames, had consequences for the footplate which we shall go into when we get there, shortly. It also meant I wanted a horizontal spacer at the top of chassis above the centre axle to which I could bolt the pick up assembly. At this stage the design of this was yet to come so two holes tapped 12BA were provided on the centre line of this horizontal spacer so I had choices when it comes to deciding where to put the bolt. The centre spacer on the J65 is just this horizontal plate. On the J69 it is part of an L shaped spacer and I can’t now remember why there was this difference, beyond that was how the original chassis kits were designed, although I have moved the location of this frame spacer in both cases.

The Chassis Pro jig has the short axle pins removed and the long ones substituted so the chassis can now be built up in the jig. There is also a “fence” fitting for the jig which gives you a vertical surface to build the chassis against to keep it square. One frame side is put in the jig, fit the frame spacers, then put on the second frame solder up the spacers and there you are. Unfortunately I failed to photo this process but I have got a shot of the Chassis Pro set up for the job.
buck jig 4.jpg


Time now to assemble and quarter the wheels with the axle bearing blocks and the gearbox in place. I’ve done the wheel assembly bit to death further back up this thread here and here so I won’t labour it any further beyond reminding you that these are Exactoscale wheels and thus just a bit different. Nor will I bother you with the gearbox assembly which is well decried in the instructions that Highlevel provide, beyond recapping that both locos have Highlevel 54:1 Simliners with a Drivestecher extension, so I can drive the rear axle under the cab floor and not intrude into the cab.

Once the chassis is all wheeled up it’s time to do the traditional plate glass test. By standing the chassis on a sheet of plate glass you can see in an instant if any of the wheels isn’t in contact with the floor. That is the chassis side frame aren’t perfectly square to each other, which, with horn blocks fitted all round, is perfectly possible to achieve even with the jig. There is another alternative, that you got the fixed fulcrum points in the wrong place on one or both chassis side but you had plenty of opportunity to check that earlier and you really can’t legislate for total incompetence. It is true that a sprung chassis is at least a little tolerant of mini alignment errors and you might wonder why, given the springs, it is even detectable in this way. Remember that I fitted very stiff CSB wires and the chassis is, at this stage, very light, so the wire should not deflect and any significant error should show.

After that it is on with the coupling rods and see how well it runs. With a modicum of easing of the crankpin holes in the rods you should have a decent running chassis. The following picture shows the two chassis built to this stage and attached to the footplates to prove the fit, the J65 above and the J69 below.. The next instalment will begin the body construction, starting with these footplates
buck B+S 1.jpg

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Buck Jumping on Mass - Rekindled

Postby Will L » Wed Apr 08, 2020 1:25 pm

I did seriously think about joining in with the Wizards “Socially-Distanced Challenge”, there is, after all, plenty enough in my unbuilt kits pile to keep me going through several pandemics. However, after mature consideration, I thought perhaps I would be better engaged in finishing off things which I had already started. Which brings us back to this thread.

Ho hum, it would seem I’ve been letting things slip a bit (again). My last post here was nearly 2 years ago, so, given the circumstances, perhaps this is the right time to get things going again. Actually, quite a bit of what will follow was already written but not “proof read”*, before I last posted, and the Loco’s were well in front of the writing. The J65 has appeared, unpainted but otherwise fully functional and very nearly complete, at the last 2, possibly 3, Scaleforums. *(Proof reading, or more accurately “proof listening” as I use read back software, is a very important and time consuming step for an ageing dyslexic like me).

For those who don’t remember, or have never read through this thread, I’ve generated it in sections over the last two and a half forum pages and (gulp) 7½ years. This link will take you to a sort of index which will help you, and me, to find the bits off interest.


RC 30232
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Buck Jumping on Mass - The Build Phase

Postby Will L » Wed Apr 08, 2020 1:35 pm

Part 9 - The body is a foot... plate

Having got a rolling chassis or two, the time has come to check that my design for the power chain will fit inside their respective bodies. To do this we need to produce the basic body box.

Starting from the bottom up

The beginnings and the basis of the body is the footplate. For both J65 and J69 this is made up of two layers, the upper layer is the visible footplate, the lower layer contains fold down elements for the footplate valance, buffer beams inner layers, and the back plate for the footsteps, plus fold up lamp irons. The J65 also has a fold up cradle piece on which the boiler will sit and cab “step” up-stands to support the cab floor.

The implications of building in P4.

By making the frames wider than the original design intended, on neither loco would they now fit through the hole in the centre of the footplate. The reasons for this were different but the effect was the same.

On the J65, the footplate was intended to sit on the frames front and back, with an upward frame extension over the horn blocks standing ever so slightly higher than the footplate.

On the J69, the chassis kit was originally designed to fit the Wills cast J69 kit, with its thick white metal footplate, and as a replacement for the original Hornby(?) chassis the Wills kit was designed to sit on. As a result, most of the chassis stops a millimetre and a bit below the etched footplate. At the front the footplate has a pad constructed behind the buffer beam that the chassis is supposed to sit on but now fitted neatly between the frames. Under the cab, however, the profile of that long lost Hornby Chassis extends upward through footplate level.

On both locos there were wider cut outs in both layers to clear each wheel. They also had a section right across under the tank fronts for which there is no prototypical justification. At the front where the footplate up to the frames is visible, the under layer had a cut out over the front axles, and the upper layer was half etched above the wheels to give the maximum clearance.

A way through

Under the cab and tanks, having footplate up to the frames all seemed a bit unnecessary and was certainly invisible, so to fit in the wider frames, the simple answer, which worked for both, was to cut that section of the footplate back to the full width of the wheels. The section of footplate above the front wheels which was left in place was just filed back a touch so that it was clear of the frames. That unprototypical bit across the footplate under the tank fronts was left in place, for now. I did the major surgery by the score and bend technique while the etches was still flat. The results show in the pictures at the end of part 8 above and below.

Taking Steps

Before you start bending up the etches, you also need to consider the footsteps, as at some point you are going to have to fit the steps proper, and once bent down the footstep assembly becomes vulnerable to damage. Master Rice’s instructions says don’t bend them down too early because of that vulnerability, but as I want to fit the chassis quite early on, unbent down steps would have been very much in the way, so the bend down step cannot be long delayed. I chose to attach the steps proper to the backing plate while the etch was still flat because it was going to be much easier and less fiddly to do then.

Once the modifications had been made to the original etches, the two parts were bent up, or down as appropriate, including the now completed steps, and the two layers were then soldered together. The buffer beams proper were added at this stage too. The bent down steps and the valance now have a fairly narrow gap between them so, to reinforce the steps, I filled this gap with bits of bras scrap and soldered it up solid. This didn’t entirely stop the steps being vulnerable to getting bent but did mean they didn’t get broken off. If I was to go round again I think I would have reinforced the step backing plate with another layer of scrap etch before fitting the steps, just to toughen it up a bit. But with the steps attached it is a bit late to attempt that now, without being in danger of unsoldering them.

Forming an attachment

All that is left to complete the basic footplate is to arrange the attachment points for the chassis. These locos follow the Rice-ian dictate of only having one bolt holding body to Chassis, but this single bolt is at opposite ends. One 10BA captive nut was fitted to both where the designer intended. Under the bunker on the J65 and under the smoke box on the J69. When I do this I hold the nut in place over the hole provided in the footplate with a cocktail stick, solder down the nut with plentiful solder and run a 10BA tap through the lot to clear the thread.

The other mounting points are unique to each loco.

On the J69 the back of the chassis which comes up through the footplate has rear facing “fingers” on each side that fit through pockets in an up-stand from the footplate. This ends up out of sight under the cab floor, but is visible in the photos above and below. Strangely, given the surgery required to suit a P4 width chassis, the slots to suit EM gauge fitted P4 frames without any adjustments. These fingers also set the height of the body above the chassis at the back of the loco, so the fact that the footplate and the top of the frames don’t meet doesn’t matter. But it does at the front and, as reported above, the pad behind the buffer beam isn’t wide enough to support our P4 chassis. Thus the original, that folds down from the buffer beam, was replaced with a wider bit of scrap brass.

On the J65, there is a similar fold down shelf from the front buffer beam, in this case the leading frame spacer fits under it not on top of it. As the frames do meet the footplate in this kit there are no level problems but the fit between body and chassis is at best very sloppy. So I added scrap brass to the underside of the front edge of the frame spacer so it was a comfortable, but not tight, fit under the “shelf”. Said shelf isn’t wide enough to ensure the P4 chassis is central under the body, but as the upward extension of the frames over the leading axle passes through the footplate, they serve to locate the chassis accurately under the body.

Finally the frame spacer body mounting holes, drilled undersize originally, are opened out so that they match the position of the captive nut on the footplate. Bolt chassis to footplates and take the photograph. As we haven’t had a picture recently here is another one of the two locos at this stage from a different angle. J69 left, J65 right..
buck B+S 2.jpg

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Paul Willis
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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass - Rekindled

Postby Paul Willis » Thu Apr 09, 2020 5:25 am

Will L wrote:I did seriously think about joining in with the Wizards “Socially-Distanced Challenge”, there is, after all, plenty enough in my unbuilt kits pile to keep me going through several pandemics. However, after mature consideration, I thought perhaps I would be better engaged in finishing off things which I had already started. Which brings us back to this thread.

Ho hum, it would seem I’ve been letting things slip a bit (again). My last post here was nearly 2 years ago, so, given the circumstances, perhaps this is the right time to get things going again.

As a thread it began with a bit of introspection about my modelling motives. in which I decide to build not one but two GER Buckjumpers.


Will,

It must be something about Buckjumpers - mine took almost as long to finish, and I still haven't updated my own thread with the final outcome ;-)

You're not alone in this...

Looking forward to reading more,
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Paul Townsend
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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby Paul Townsend » Thu Apr 09, 2020 6:51 am

Ah, but you had beer with yours so it should have gone better than Will's, unless you had too much ;)

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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby Paul Willis » Thu Apr 09, 2020 8:26 pm

Paul Townsend wrote:Ah, but you had beer with yours so it should have gone better than Will's, unless you had too much ;)


Well Paul, I finally took the time to take a couple of photos of it. Out in the garden - I must build myself a photographic plank one of these days...

IMG_3717.JPG


IMG_3724.JPG


I'm pleased with how it turned out. It runs surprisingly well, for something built by me.

Now I must get back to updating that thread of mine from Missenden...

Cheers
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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby Daddyman » Sat Apr 11, 2020 6:11 am

This is a fantastically useful account of building a chassis with CSBs, Will, and a nice read too, so thank you for posting it.

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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby Paul Townsend » Sat Apr 11, 2020 6:31 am

Flymo's taste in ale seems do have done the trick.

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Will L
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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby Will L » Sat Apr 11, 2020 9:17 am

Daddyman wrote:This is a fantastically useful account of building a chassis with CSBs, Will, and a nice read too, so thank you for posting it.

Thank you, that's what I was trying to achieve and it is good to know it worked for at least one person.

The right choice ale is of course critical Paul, if a bit hard to come by at the moment.

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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby Daddyman » Sat Apr 11, 2020 3:02 pm

A question to you and Paul, Will: I gather from Paul's thread that his E-twenty-something is built from a Connoisseur kit. I have one of their J67s to build as a Lauder engine, and had a quick look at the dome last night after seeing Paul's, and it is awful. Surely there are other options for domes for this class? I don't know much about Great Easternry, so this question may be silly: can one use the Gibson (or indeed the Hornby) J15 or E4 dome? Even if not 100% it would be miles better (round at least) than what is supplied in the PMK kit - but it may be that it (the Hornby dome) is in fact 100%? Any thoughts? With Hornby J15s down to £60 I'm tempted to get one to make resin castings of the dome and smokebox door then flog it on.

Actually, looking at Hornby's J15 a bit more closely, I think the dome is a non-starter (too tall), but the Bachmann J72 dome, which is detachable and which I cast last night, is spot-on against the Connoisseur drawing - though that is "only approximately to scale", and I suspect doesn't have enough taper. I need to get Ricey's magnum opus in the MRJ out from hiding.

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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby Winander » Sat Apr 11, 2020 8:04 pm

Will L wrote:Thank you, that's what I was trying to achieve and it is good to know it worked for at least one person.


Two, I've been lurking for years.... adjectives that spring to mind - useful, helpful, thorough, inspiring and practical. I do like the kitchen table approach.
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Will L
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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby Will L » Sat Apr 11, 2020 11:58 pm

Daddyman wrote:...I gather from Paul's thread that his E-twenty-something is built from a Connoisseur kit. I have one of their J67s to build as a Lauder engine, and had a quick look at the dome last night after seeing Paul's, and it is awful. Surely there are other options for domes for this class? I don't know much about Great Easternry, so this question may be silly: can one use the Gibson (or indeed the Hornby) J15 or E4 dome?


The GER was actually quite good at using standardised components, and the same boilers would turn up on different loco classes. Even different boiler sizes had a consistent family look. So that seems like a reasonable question. However, while I haven't had time to do the basic resarch to work out what size the domes really were on J65 to 9, J15 and E4's (not to mention Fs 3 to 7), I have had a quick check through the outstanding kits pile which contains all the above, and the strait answer is no. The Gibson E4 and J15 domes were different from each other (which is a worry, as these locos used the same boilers) but both were significantly bigger in diameter than the dome on my buckjumpers. As hopefully you will find out in due course when I get to boiler fittings, the ex Riceworks now London Road Models Buckjumper kits have rather nice lost wax cast domes. I would suggest you have word with John Redrup to see if he can provide spares. See the LRM website.

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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby Daddyman » Sun Apr 12, 2020 7:16 am

Thanks, Will. That's a good idea.

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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby PeteT » Sun Apr 12, 2020 8:17 am

Winander wrote:
Will L wrote:Thank you, that's what I was trying to achieve and it is good to know it worked for at least one person.


Two, I've been lurking for years.... adjectives that spring to mind - useful, helpful, thorough, inspiring and practical. I do like the kitchen table approach.


Three, I need to remember to refer back more - but it is definitely useful to see the step by step processes, and thought processes. So thanks for taking the time to share.

billbedford

Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby billbedford » Sun Apr 12, 2020 8:23 am

The GER Society has a whole list of drawings that might help with your buckjumpers

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Will L
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Buck Jumping on Mass - The Build Phase

Postby Will L » Sat Apr 18, 2020 6:57 pm

Part 10 - Toward the body beautiful

Before going on to finish the chassis, I wanted to complete the rest of the basic cab and tank assembly so I could see how (if) the motor and gear box fitted in. This meant fitting the tank and cab assembly, made up of the cab/tank side, the bunker back, the tank front and the cab interior. If you're accustomed to my style by now, you should realise that having decided what the next step should be, I’m likely to spend some time preparing to take it. Therefore, before I assembled the basic body, I thought it a good idea to add some of the details to the flat etches before putting them together. What follows was the same for both locos.

We’ll Start with the Cab sides

The cab and tank sides are the biggest bits. They need the works plates to be fixed to the bunker side, and beading strips soldering around the top part of the cab door hole. These were both done first with 212 degree solder so they should be more inclined to stay on through later soldering operations. Both were done with the cab side sheet still in the etch. The beading strips come in two parts per door, giving 4 identical strips, with a hole for the handrail at one end and a half etched slot along their length to fit onto the cab side sheet. The idea is that you fit half at a time and trim them to the right length where they meet in the middle. To make sure the cab handrails were going to be held the right distance from the cab sheet I used a couple of little jigs. These were soldered temporarily to the cab sides across the cab door, as shown in this picture.
buck body 1.jpg

The photograph shows the J65 cab etch, the J69 was dealt with in the same way. Starting with the handrail hole end and working round, a beading strip was bend roughly to shape and the shape refined as it is soldered in place. Being rather more than half the length required to fit round the door key hole, when the top centre was reached, the rest of the strip was trimmed off. Then a second strip was applied from the other end and trimmed where it meets the first. You can do that without my little jigs, its just easier with them.

As there was only a very narrow bit of metal across the top of the door hole holding the tank and bunker sides together, the jigs were left in place to add strength to the sides until they were firmly soldered to the footplate etc. For anybody tempted to reinforce the sides by fitting the cab doors provided in both kits, I can find no evidence J65s were ever equipped with such a thing. The J69s were also built without them. Only J68s seemed to have been built by the GER with cab doors to go with the updated cab these last examples of the Buckjumper kind had. A few J69s found their way to Scotland in LNER days and did acquire them, along with a variety of other odd bits and pieces which the kit doesn’t provide. The doors so fitted by Cowlairs were able to fold in the middle, not a single flat plate as provided in the kits. A few J69s which passed in to BR ownership may also have eventually acquired them, but not as far as I can tell, the well known Liverpool Street east side pilot 68633 (preserved under it GER no 87).

In addition to these details I fitted an extra layer on the inside of the tank and bunker sides to form rebates on the edges that the tank front, bunker back and tank tops would eventually fit against. The J69 kit came with some etched bits for exactly this purpose. The J65 didn’t, so I used scrap etch. Not totally necessary but a particularly useful aid along the top of the J69 tanks, given the signature step up part way along tank sides to cover the condensing chambers on top of the tanks.

The bunker back

The bit requiring the most attention was the bunker back plate, which requires both destination board holders and lamp irons to be added, to say nothing of a flare to be bent into the top to match the sides. I know I said I would do all the detailing in the flat, but I reckoned that doing the flair first was still within the spirit of the thing. I annealed the top edge before bending it round a conveniently sized brass rod. I don’t usually bother to anneal thin brass sheet before bending, but this was right on the sheet edge, where it is most difficult to do the bend nicely. Beyond the rear view drawing in the instructions, the kits give you no help with locating the destination board holders. These are bent up from small etched parts which then need fixing to the surface of the bunker back, somewhere. So you have to measure out where they are supposed to go, and then attempt to solder them there. Use as high a temperature solder as you can get to work. This was fiddly stuff, you just have to persevere until you’ve got them in the right place and clean up well afterwards. It's possible the resistance soldering unit I don’t have could well have been an advantage doing this job.

Then there were those 3 lamp irons. Just in case you’re wondering, the fourth is on the coal rails and will go on later. I have a bit to say about these so I will come back to them shortly. For now, here is a picture of one of the detailed bunker backs. As I’m writing this well after the event I can’t tell which one.

buck body lb 2.jpg


From back to front

The last bit of the outside of the tank cab assembly is the tank fronts. On both locos what was actually provided was a single piece which fits right across the front of both tanks and which had an arch shaped hole through which the boiler will fit.
Buck J65 Tank Front.jpg

The picture is of the J65 part, the J69 was similar. In truth, although the tank tops were extended in to meet the boiler cladding, the fronts of the tanks were not connected in any way. Therefore, the bit inside the white line is entirely fictitious. That said it was going to make putting the basic cab/tanks/bunker assembly together a lot easier. So I went with it as it was, and modified it later to form separate fronts for each tank, once the whole assembly was firmly attached to the footplate. I also put another bit of scrap etch along the top edge so the tank tops will have something to sit on when we get to them.

Which leaves us with the cab interior and fitting of the whole lot to the footplate. But before we go there, back to those lamp irons.

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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby Terry Bendall » Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:10 am

Will L wrote: It's possible the resistance soldering unit I don’t have could well have been an advantage doing this job.


Interesting to see that you don't have a resistance soldering unit Will. I have managed without one up to now but I am sure you have built many more etched kits than I have done.

Terry Bendall

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Buck Jumping on Mass - The Build Phase

Postby Will L » Sun Apr 19, 2020 1:25 pm

Part 11 - A diversion around lamp irons.

I must admit I have, in the past, struggled with lamp irons, particularly where they surface mount onto something like the bunker back sheet. The average lamp iron bent up from a single strip of brass, as provided in both kits, can only ever be an inaccurate approximation to the real thing. That’s to say nothing of being overly susceptible to handling damage if applied to early. I suppose I could have waited until near the end of construction to fit them, but applying such things to a near complete body is such a fiddle, I wanted another way.

The following diagram shows how the real thing looks and how I have tackled them on these models.

Buck lamp iron diag.jpg


I think this gives a good representation of the real thing and yet they are tough enough to survive the building process. Made from three strips of 10thou brass, they are quite simple to bend up and assemble with 212 degree solder.

buck body lb 1.jpg


The bunker backs were provided with small etched slots through which the single strip of etch style representation was supposed to be inserted. The three-strip stem needs a rather larger hole, so these slots were widened upwards to form a square hole. Easy to say, but doing this really needs a seconds file. They were solidly soldered in place with the 145 degree stuff. Keeping the stem long enough to grip while they are being soldered in ensures there was no danger of them falling apart while the job was done. So yes, there is a bit of un-prototypical metal behind the lamp iron, but I doubt many will notice, and if mishandled they are as likely to damage you as to be damaged.

The really picky among you would also drill two holes through the downward extension which is hard against the bunker back sheet, and solder in a couple of wire pins to represent the rivets which held them on. I was feeling please with myself for having got this far and didn’t bother. Perhaps one day. For a photo of the finished bunker back, complete with lamp irons, see the previous post.

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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby PeteT » Sun Apr 19, 2020 2:43 pm

Thanks Will. For my 1P I modified some Masokits ones to anchor via 0.4mm wire. I'm pleased with the result but was/am not 100% sure on how robust they really are - so will keep this option in mind.

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Paul Willis
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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass - The Build Phase

Postby Paul Willis » Sun Apr 19, 2020 8:22 pm

Will L wrote:Part 11 A diversion around lamp irons.


The really picky among you would also drill two holes through the downward extension which is hard against the bunker back sheet, and solder in a couple of wire pins to represent the rivets which held them on. I was feeling please with myself for having got this far and didn’t bother. Perhaps one day. For a photo of the finished bunker back, complete with lamp irons, see the previous post.



Will...!

You've now got me thinking about whether I go back to the artwork and put in a couple of half-etched holes on the reverse side of these to push through rivets...

GER lamp irons.JPG


On balance, I think I'll leave them off. I suspect there will already be far too many of these sacrificed to the GCG in the course of construction. That's why there are multiples on the etch, rather than just the number required for a locomotive ;-)

Cheers
Flymo
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Will L
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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby Will L » Mon Apr 20, 2020 12:09 am

Terry Bendall wrote:
Will L wrote: It's possible the resistance soldering unit I don’t have could well have been an advantage doing this job.


Interesting to see that you don't have a resistance soldering unit Will. I have managed without one up to now but I am sure you have built many more etched kits than I have done.


Terry, having taught myself how to use a standard iron effectivly, I find I can do everything I need the traditional way. I accept there may be jobs that would work out easier/cleaner with a resistance unit but I'm not convinced they turn up often enough to make the faff of getting out another bit of kit worth while for me. Space is at a premium on my work bench/kitchen table as it is.

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Re: Buck Jumping on Mass

Postby Paul Willis » Mon Apr 20, 2020 5:00 am

Will L wrote:
Terry Bendall wrote:
Will L wrote: It's possible the resistance soldering unit I don’t have could well have been an advantage doing this job.


Interesting to see that you don't have a resistance soldering unit Will. I have managed without one up to now but I am sure you have built many more etched kits than I have done.


Terry, having taught myself how to use a standard iron effectivly, I find I can do everything I need the traditional way. I accept there may be jobs that would work out easier/cleaner with a resistance unit but I'm not convinced they turn up often enough to make the faff of getting out another bit of kit worth while for me. Space is at a premium on my work bench/kitchen table as it is.


Will,

The key thing to using an RSU is you have to have it out permanently. It's a complementary tool to a conventional soldering iron, and one that should be just as easy to reach for.

You've both probably seen my bureau/workbench in the News. The RSU literally sits alongside the other iron. The only thing I need to do is bring forward the earth plate (the equivalent of getting out the piece of Tufnol I solder normally on) and plugging in the leads (which I disconnect after use for safety).

Soldering irons.jpg


The two main functions the RSU serves are:

(i) Lots of heat - like cast lost-wax sandboxes

(ii) Where it becomes a third hand - for fiddly things like lampirons ;-)

It's possible to model perfectly well without an RSU. I just find it's an extra trick up my sleeve.

Cheers
Flymo
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