Did some more assembly tonight.
First picture is a trial run to position the two bases so I can work out the spacing of the plinths. I'm using hardwood for the plinths & base but staining black, the base is only a way of presenting the engine so I don't want some outstanding grain in the timber being the focus of attention.
I've seen a couple of Victoria Twins where they've created a tiled finish for the mounting, just as it would have been in a full size setting. I'd love to have the time & dedication to do this......
Tomorrow night I'll trim the base to size, fix the plinths and finish stain. Then it needs a few coats of varnish to stop oil soaking in.
Problem 1- I need to find a better set of BA spanners, currently using a magneto spanner set ! I have a Britool 2BA spanner I use on the Series Land Rovers but I'm now working with 7BA & 5BA.
Problem 2- I need to get some tweezers. Sorting out countersunk 7BA screws 1/4" long taxes my patience......
I also need to learn to work OVER the bench so when a 7BA nut is dropped it doesn't fall to the floor !!! Luckily I've found the couple I've dropped so far.
Problem 3- I have to source some small bore copper pipe and a T-connector. Flanges are tapped 1/4" x 32 so 1/4" pipe should do with the thread directly cut on the end. I'll have to sort through the small ball valves I collected as I don't think I've seen a 1/4" one, mind you I'm thinking of machining up a brass block for the air supply so I could thread into that and put the ball valve on the inlet.
There are also a few displacement lubricators so I should fit one of them to the inlet line.
Second picture I've partly assembled the crosshead guide bars. I have to disassemble because I haven't installed any gland packing yet.
Quite a few of the steel parts I've had to attack with emery then polish with a buffing wheel on a Dremel. Machining marks would spoil the finished engine. Some of the brass parts were leveled on emery and polished as well.
Some parts seem fairly stiff but talking to the father-in-law this is fairly normal and you need to loosen everything off and run it in for some time on compressed air to get it to free off.
While doing this tonight I had on in the background a Fred Dibnah video, an English 'National Treasure'.
He was a steeplejack and in maybe the 70's a film was made of him at work, this became a series then you found that he was restoring a steam engine and had a steam powered workshop. He dropped industrial chimneys the old way, no explosives.
Over the years there were many TV programs.
Bit of a character and a self taught engineer. When he found he hadn't got long left he did a trip round the UK in his restored traction engine visiting all the places where parts of his engine had been made. I remember one of his comments "it's taken me 25 years and 3 marriages to restore this engine....".
He received an OBE and turned up at Buckingham Palace in the steam engine when he collected it (he had to wash & change first). Can you imagine a traction engine in London traffic !
Anyway, enough about Fred, I'm sure there's lots on YouTube etc. if you're interested.
Colin
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