7mm Jan's 7mm Workbench

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
:)



Hurrah for Hattons and Plastruct!

Great work, Jan.

Bestest,

Jonte

Hi Chum,
Thank you. It’s not Premier League modelling, but this late in the season, any win brings relief.

I’d like to take this moment to thank you (and others) who’ve supported me in my journeyman journeying this past year. It’s been an odd time in - and around - my head, and has given little to draw comfort from of late. But tiny trains gives me a reason to make it through the waking day. Even if it is raining all the time now.

I appreciate your support and humanity. Each and every one of you. Peace to you and yours.

Cheers


Jan
 

AJC

Western Thunderer
Keep on going Jan and all best wishes for you and yours, as Jonte has said more eloquently.

As for the bolster, that's probably the best solution and a good application of Ockham's Razor in a modelling context; I've made very similar fittings in 4mm scale from strip (for a Bogie Bolster D conversion - I have a notion that these bolsters were highly standardised; they certainly look the same).

Adam
 

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
And I yours, my old friend.

May the New Year lighten your load, and your enthusiasm for tiny trains endure.

Bestest,

Jonte
Keep on going Jan and all best wishes for you and yours, as Jonte has said more eloquently.

As for the bolster, that's probably the best solution and a good application of Ockham's Razor in a modelling context; I've made very similar fittings in 4mm scale from strip (for a Bogie Bolster D conversion - I have a notion that these bolsters were highly standardised; they certainly look the same).

Adam

Thanks, both. I'm very grateful for your encouragement. And your artistry, which serves to drag mine forwards.

@AJC Oddly enough, reading Tatlow's 4B, one thing that struck me was how varied the bolsters are (not to mention how lacking in availability decent dimensioned drawings are :) ). Tatlow has pictures of singles whose bolsters lurk purely within the sides of the wagon - ashamed of their lightweight suitability no doubt. Whereas these bolsters are steroidal by comparison, and thus more closely related to their bogied brethren - particularily the fixed variety.

Cue Jon Bon Jovi...
IMG_8115.jpg

These aren't economic stanchions, it's just that I've only made one (they're triple-layered, so fiddlyfaff to the max!). But you can (hopefully) get an impression ("spoon, jar; jar, spoon - ahahaha... just like that") ;)

Cheers

Jan
 

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
Beam Me Up
Well, barring the stitchwork of chains and shackles, the replacement Bolster is finished.
57B494DF-46D6-402F-9C19-F985D76D367F.jpeg
The final work today (the first day of my Christmad holiday) was the bending and positioning of the D shackles, and the second stanchion. I had to make two attempts for the hole for the pivot, as I drilled them too far down the beam initially. Don’t ask.... it was a real ‘out of my mind’ moment. I managed to salvage the Fox Pox with a piece of 1mm Plastruct (hallowed be thy Brand) rod glued in the holes and trimmed with a sharp scalpel (only one puncture wound in the finger to report on). I left the rod across the gap, as it seemed like it was meant to be there!
Anyway, here it is plonked roughly (but tenderly) in place.
75EE4E04-AFBA-428E-968F-C841E978BF5A.jpeg
Next job is the curved swivel guides with endstops that support the ends (and limit the rotation of the Bolster to a few degrees either side of centre). More sleuthing for dimensions, then... They’ll probably be Plasticard, if I can master my Olfa cutter... or brass, if I’m feeling confident...

Cheers

Jan
 
Last edited:

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
Happy Christmas
EE39112F-BA28-4E19-B012-C2725AC54567.jpeg

I’ve made some supports for the beam ends; arcs of plasticard made by scoring parallel lines with some dividers. The length of these things is open to interpretation and debate - the older NE wagons seem to have almost a 90 degree quadrant, whereas the later types seem seriously curtailed by comparison. I’ve erred towards the latter here, but I feel this set are too short. So I might make some more between Christmas and New Year.

Anyway. I wish you all a Happy Christmas (unless you’re in the Antipodes, in which case I’m late, and you’re just about to eat your lunch ). Thank you for your kindness and support.
See you on the other side.

Cheers

Jan
 

jonte

Western Thunderer
Happy Christmas
View attachment 96195

I’ve made some supports for the beam ends; arcs of plasticard made by scoring parallel lines with some dividers. The length of these things is open to interpretation and debate - the older NE wagons seem to have almost a 90 degree quadrant, whereas the later types seem seriously curtailed by comparison. I’ve erred towards the latter here, but I feel this set are too short. So I might make some more between Christmas and New Year.

Anyway. I wish you all a Happy Christmas (unless you’re in the Antipodes, in which case I’m late, and you’re just about to eat your lunch ). Thank you for your kindness and support.
See you on the other side.

Cheers

Jan

That looks the business, Jan.

So much detail in such a relatively small part; commendable stuff.

Hats off to your perseverance and jeweller-esque skill.

Merry Christmas, Jan.

Jonte
 

Rob Pulham

Western Thunderer
I do like what you have come up with Jan, I have a pair of these in the stash somewhere so all I need to when I get to them is remember your thread....That's where the best laid plans fall apart.
 

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
I do like what you have come up with Jan, I have a pair of these in the stash somewhere so all I need to when I get to them is remember your thread....That's where the best laid plans fall apart.

Hi @Rob Pulham
Thank you. It’s an interesting - to me, anyway! - path.

I do like a healthy slab of R&RR (Research & Replication of Reality) in my modelling moments, so this little moment - while not equating to a hillock of beans (never mind the geophysical immensity of a fully-formed hill) - ticks the odd-shaped boxes that constitute the Individual I.

Of course, there’s another one to free from the fret, but I may make that one up sans bolster - as a runner or match truck, perhaps.

Thanks again

Cheers

Jan
 

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
Opening Up
A6E5F62F-24CC-4A5A-A3C6-83B35A00C05F.jpeg
I’ve reached that stage (there’ll be another along in a minute) where I’m fitting that buffer housing. It’s not a big deal, but I thought I’d offer a tad of experience...

The fitting of the buffer housings occurs on Page 3 of Jim’s instructions (between Part 14 and Part 15). The fitting of the bufferbeam to the floor tray occurs in Part 3, (not long after the start of construction). As you’re going to have to open up the holes in the buffer beam for the castings (from 3.5mm (RHS above) to 4.3mm (LHS above) in this instance), it would be better done while the bufferbeam is still on the fret. This will not only make it easier, but also ensure that the solebars will not get in the way of the increased diameter.
3D2DA995-71AA-4DA4-BCE7-495909F92808.jpeg

Cheers

Jan
 

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
Percentages
2B5036EB-7027-40D1-9094-80EFA000ABB3.jpeg

I’ve revisited the supporting arcs.
As I said earlier, I wasn’t happy with the original versions, so - in the continued absence of anything resembling authoritative dimensions - I’ve utilised Jim’s photograph of the kit components, and used it to provide a comparitor of the length of the arc compared to the length of the bolster. The arcs are 30.4% the length of the bolster, making them 16.5mm (now where have I seen that measurement before? ) in length. Again, it was a matter of scoring through Plasticard with dividers.

They look a bit better, but still make me fidgety. Oh well... I’ll blame the L&NER!

Cheers

Jan
 

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
Short Stuff
Forgive me. Please. I’m not used to having so much free time. I’ll be back to work next week, and all modelling will be seriously curtailed as a result. So you can have your Forum back then

Anyway, thanks to Tatlow’s 4B of LNER Wagons, I’ve learned that the original (NE) 13T unfitted Bolsters - as with the previous 12T designs of 1935/6 - were given a short middle link, to reduce movement when single Bolsters were coupled together.

Red rag to a bull, this stuff!

“BANG! There goes the starters pistol. Out of the blocks and into Google he goes, he’s out in front, going through Bartlett like a dose of salts. He slows down on the back straight when no pics can be found that show this arrangement in BR days (it’s all screw and instanter by then . Undeterred, he cunningly navigates the water jump and lands in That Other Place, where he finds this courtesy of the mighty craigwelsh:

upload_2018-12-28_21-46-7.png
Chain Link Coupling for 00 - Modelling Questions, Help and Tips

End of the first lap, and he’s back to Tatlow 4B, ruler in hand, scaling up from the photographs with a loupe and a wink (in the Other Eye!).
Then it’s back off to pencil and paper (ah.. nostalgia....) for some basic math. Then off to Google for a conversion from decimal inches to fraction... With no one in sight (and having lost everybody on the way... ) he breasts the tape clutching the vital statistic of 9 and 15/16th inches for the loop length.He turns and waves to those troopers who have stayed to the end."


Allowing for 1 1/2 inches for material diameter, this numeric kneading gives an internal dimension of 6 15/16 ins... some 3 5/16ths shorter than its neighbours (everybody needs good neighbours)...
656C89D9-C020-41FA-AE3F-1EA18BC68870.jpeg

.... I think....

Cheers

Jan
 

Steph Dale

Western Thunderer
Close....

6+15/16" scales to 4.046875mm. Like this:

6+15/16 = 6.9375inches (or just very nearly 7 inches!)

6.9375 x 7/12 = 4.046875mm (converting from 12"/ft to 7mm/ft)

So, I reckon 4mm is probably good enough for government work... ;)

I should also probably note that for simple stand-alone components, having any key dimension in any smaller unit than a 1/4" would be pretty unusual and 1/2" much more normal. I'd therefore suggest that if your answer is in 1/16ths", you may not be asking quite the right question? :confused:

This is one of those questions that's easier to solve in fractions, it's just that fractional millimetres are to all intents and purposes meaningless:
(6+15/16 x 7/12 = 111/16 x 7/12 = 777/192 = 4+3/64mm = 4.046875mm) :rolleyes:

Steph
 

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
Hi @Steph Dale
Thanks for showing your workings ;)
As I was doing this from an photograph (admittedly with good DPI resolution) in Tatlow, and via a 59-year old eyeball, while using a steel rule in a room of more than 20 deg C (the uncalibrated horror!), then I’m happy with my 3.671 mm. Especially as it is:

1. Close to your 4.0 mm. I’d call that a score draw (but then, as an Argyle fan, any point is a good point)

2. Just a bit of self-parody :) I had fun doing it, which is the main thing.​

Given such things as minimum radius (currently virtual, as I have nothing to plonk this on!), this close coupling calumny may well not float in the final incarnation. But I’ll put this here, for posteriors sake (I’m used to making an arse of myself :thumbs:)
8987A63B-F418-42F0-B022-0555FB8732B4.jpeg
Freehand. Just to stop me biting my nails while I wait for text updates from Burton Albion :)

Thanks again

Cheers

Jan
 

Steph Dale

Western Thunderer
Hehe, you're welcome Jan, with any luck your minimum radii will be kind to your endeavours. The easy way of converting full-size inches to model mm may also prove useful to yourself or another in due course... :)

Steph
 
Top