I did make new axles but didn't take into account the width of the parting tool so, had to make them all again, which turns out to be three sets to date!! While I was at it, I made new crank pins as well. I cut the originals a bit short as they were fouling the axle box fixings. I also replaced the fixing nuts with some 10BA opened out to 8BA nuts and they look much neater that way.
Here we have the outer wrapper, throat plate and back head for the firebox. I did think that it was a good idea to use real rivets but after marking out, drilling and de burring both sides, I'm not quite so sure now. Also, there may be a problem with trying to rivet the wrapper in place due to space restrictions. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it but fingers crossed that it's not a very long bridge. I cut the former out of 1/2" stuff as that was all that I had but the work has improved the muscles in my arms.
I was musing over the drawings for the smoke box this morning while drinking my first cup of the day. When scaling down the dimensions, I very soon realised that there may be trouble ahead. The actual width of the smoke box scales at 2.279 and the G3 back to back measurement is 2.281. It doesn't take a genius to work out that that isn't going to work, another bridge to cross.
When thinking about the batteries et al for the loco, I thought that all was going to be dead easy as it would all fit into the boiler barrel and smoke box. In theory yes, but the doors to the box are rectangular which will make sliding in a battery pack not very easy at all in fact, impossible. At the moment, I'm thinking of leaving the fitting of the smoke box to the boiler barrel until all of the bits and pieces are in situ. I've just got to think of a reversible means of fixing in case anything goes wrong and the electrics need to be taken out. With a round door there wouldn't have been this problem. These bridges are building up
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Jon