Sunday, April 6, 2014

Quarry Hunslet: Completed Motion

Getting one of the crosshead pieces the wrong way around, and the slightly misshapen cylinder bracket where only the tip of the iceberg when it came to the problems I've had trying to finish the assembly of the moving parts in this kit. I've lost track of the number of times I've fully assembled and then fully stripped down and cleaned up the parts for both cylinder assemblies, but it definitely requires two digits to write down. This isn't to say there were any specific problems with the kit, more that as the first locomotive I've assembled there were probably a few things I simply overlooked or didn't think through fully. One thing I did learn though was a simple way of attaching the cylinders to the frames.

I'd already followed Paul's suggestion and filed down the ends of the mounting screws to give a thin point onto which the bolt could be slid with ease, but with the small amounts of clearance, and podgy fingers it was still difficult to get the bolt onto the screw. I tried placing the bolt with tweezers, but the slightest change in pressure and the bolt would be pinging off in a random direction; hopefully somewhere inside the frames so I could find it without spending an hour searching the carpet. In the end the solution was simple; blutack. Simply use a long piece of blutack to gently touch the bolt and then deposit it onto the pointed screw. Simple but it works every time!


I'm not sure I have many tips for anyone else who assembles this kit, other than to take it slowly, do one step at a time and check for smooth running at every stage. The one suggestion I would make concerns glueing the cylinder connecting rod to the crosshead. The instructions suggest doing this before attaching the cylinder to the locomotive by "clamp[ing] the assembly vertically, apply a small amount of [gel super]glue to the pin head only and allow the cross head to fall onto the pin head. Set aside for at least 1 Hr before handling". This sounds like sensible advise but I found that it could lead to the pin and crosshead not being perfectly aligned which would impact on the smooth movement. In the end I left glueing the pin until the cylinder was attached to the frames and the crossheads were running smoothly. At that point I applied a small blob of gel superglue to the pin and then slid it to meet the crosshead. After a few seconds, to allow the glue to start to grab, I then ran the locomotive for about 20 seconds to ensure that the pin and crosshead were perfectly aligned for smooth running and then left the glue to dry fully.

Anyway, enough words, here is what all this has been leading up to, the wonderful little locomotive shuttling backwards and forwards (a bit too fast but I do like to see the motion at speed) with all it's motion in place and moving.

11 comments:

  1. Excellent it really is looking good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark, there used to be the Sheffield Model Engineering Society. I was building a 2 1/2" gauge live steam loco and a watchmaker turned me the oil injector pumps. They were great. Give a watchmaker a drawing and he will make one for you. Whatever the one is. Like you they enjoy a challenge.

      Delete
    2. Ah, finding a watchmaker sounds like a clever solution.

      So what happened to the 2 1/2" live steam loco, did you finish it? any photos?

      Delete
    3. Mark, I built a Black five but sold it to a bloke in Manchester. I never got round to the tin work but did get the boiler and firebox tested. The whistle was a problem. I ran a long one inside the frames. She did run and was powerful. Could pull me, thee and yours. I don't know why but I just lost interest as soon as it worked.
      I used to rebuild and re-machine every little bit of Ford crossflow engines. 12000rpm was easy, getting them to breath and suck fuel was harder. Shardlow in Sheffield used to drop forge the cranks for me. They would also forge a bit of a flywheel. They did charge but never wanted paying. Greta days I must have some snaps somewhere. I'll ask the ex,

      Delete
    4. She did have smoke box door. it's a complicated thing, the big lever shuts the latch and the little one winds it tight. When you push the wee lever in the cab it dumps steam into the smoke box and makes the coals glow red hot and you have power.
      Sometime this year I have to look at a Fowler road engine. They are simple and couldn't pull the skin of a pudding. The valve timing is critical. I love them so will look into it again. Hopefully I'll mend it.

      Delete
  2. There's nothing like seeing a loco that you've built yourself run, and yours is looking good.

    On tweezers, most modellers use ones with fine pointed ends, however I find the type with rounded ends (sometimes called '2A') to be much better suited to our work. Eileen's Emporium and Squires both stock 2As.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have to say I am really rather pleased with myself now it's running. There was the odd moment when I wasn't sure it was ever going to run smoothly enough.

      As for tweezers I have two pairs, both of which come to a point. One set is straight, where the other set has the ends at 90 degrees to the handles. I found these quite good for picking up the bolts as I would use the straight part after the bend but before the points. Of course the bend isn't always helpful, so I'll have a look at the rounded end ones next time I'm in my local model shop.

      Delete
  3. Oh dear. I've never built anything mechanical. Although I did used to take my cars apart and rebuild gearboxes and engines and the like but they are big and easy. I'm feeling very inadequate even appearing in the comments on this blog. I wish, by the way, that you'd allowed the loco to run an extra 6"!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well I'm guessing rebuilding a gearbox or engine is more complex, and certainly more dangerous if it goes wrong!

      I'll try and let it run further next time. The problem is that it's just running in each direction for a set number of seconds rather than distance, so I'll try and tweak it to run a little further along the track for the next video, just for you!

      Delete
  4. Looking fabulous, Mark. I particularly like the photo of the cylinders on their own, what a nice bit of work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Iain. They do look good, although they are pretty fragile after I'd had to file one of them down to keep the cylinder in the right orientation. When running the loco last night (just because it's so good to watch) I actually managed to break one of them. One of the slide bars snapped right where it bends to pass around the back of the cylinder. Fortunately that's a spot where I could add a blob of glue without affecting the motion and it seems to have held. I have to also add the etched brass wrappers around the cylinders which should strengthen the whole thing as well.

      Delete