I am at the stage of fitting the plunger pickups to the chassis of the first Streamlined Coronation now that Warren has painted it. Those of you that have fitted them before will recall the fiddle that tightening the two nuts is trying to stop the tab and things disappearing into space when lost inside the chassis. After struggling with the first one and it still not being tight enough I hit upon the idea to make a couple of spanners from some thickish scrap etch - Toto it was from the MOK 8F kit To make them I measured the distance across the flats of the nut. drilled a hole in each piece slightly less than the distance and the used the edge of a small file to break through from the end before finally squaring it up. Much use was made of the new files for shaping the outsides of the spanners. They are never going to get much stick but they are substantial enough to tighten the nuts enough to make them secure.
What a great idea Rob, it is a nightmare trying to lock the nutage on the tiny tabs in very often such confined spaces.
maybe at some point .... I am flooded with projects in progress although I would imagine they could be done in a day or an evening ....... correct me if I am wrong. A very good tool to have in a traveling tool kit if I were taking kits away to work on when working away from home. these little tools are invaluable. toto
I made a box spanner for the Hornby crankpin hex screws out of some 'panel-beaten' brass tube. I had to ream out one end slightly, then bell it a bit, before hammering the flats into it. It worked!
I made a 'screwdriver' to fit the Romford crankpins from a suitable diameter bit of brass tubing. Easy to file an angle on each of two sides to create the 'split point' blade! (From a 'Not tight', but just 'cautious' Derbyshire lad!) Keith.
You are right, I probably spent an hour tops on the pair. A travelling tool kit is a great idea I know a couple of guys who spend a lot of time in hotels who take soldering kit along and get a lot done - saves them a fortune on beer etc. Perfect for building up your skills and since most hotels these days have wifi we are here to help along the way. - Win Win