7mm Scale Gladiator J6

Discussion in 'Loco Builds' started by Rob Pulham, Feb 19, 2018.

  1. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Thanks Pete,

    I managed to get the last one fettled last night so it's onto the remaining rods etc. While I await delivery of some Bakers fluid to ease the soldering of the crank axle.
     
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  2. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Today has been a brilliant day on quite a few fronts but the main one being that I successfully soldered the crank axle up without any issues.

    I followed advice given to me by fellow modeller Nick Dunhill, which was to use Bakers Fluid as the flux to solder to the steel axle, to replace the piece of steel rod provided to line up the cranks and eccentric with a length of similar diameter brass rod which being more flexible allows the cranks and eccentrics to be squashed tighter together and positioned better. And finally, to wrap wet tissue around the eccentric sheaves to stop the soldered end coming adrift with the heat.

    It couldn't have gone any smoother, I spent some time making sure they were all lined up correctly and orientated against one of the flat edges of the axle end. I grip the other end in a biggish pin vice applied the Bakers fluids from a bulb type dropper and some short lengths of 180 solder curled slightly around the axle either side of the cranks then gently applied heat with the microflame until the solder flashed. While it was cooling I couldn't resist moving the eccentrics slightly to make sure that they hadn't become solid.

    All was well Phew!!!

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    Next job is clean them up and then before cutting out the section of axle I think that I am going to drill and pin the cranks. I know that Nick doesn't bother as they aren't under any real load but I think that I will be belt and braces for this my first go.
     
  3. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    I'm starting to think that you don't have a modelling bench but a foundry ! :scratchchin: :avatar: That is some very nice scale engineering Rob ! :thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:

    Cheers, Gary.
     
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  4. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Thanks Gary
     
  5. jakesdad13

    jakesdad13 Staff Member Moderator

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    Amazing :tophat::tophat::tophat::tophat:
     
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  6. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    In between adding bits to the GCR Tank, After drilling and pinning the cranks which was thankfully uneventful. I cut out the axle in between the crank webs and refitted the connecting rods. I had to file a little of the sides of one one the connecting rods but very quickly all was rotating smoothly. So much so that I made a short video. Sadly my camera didn't focus too well on my hands but you get the idea.
     
  7. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Modelling time has been in a bit short supply so far this week but I have managed a few bits and pieces. The key one being, on the back of a delivery of a second set of globe lubricator castings for the J6, I got them fitted. I had to order some more because I have misplaced the first lot but I am sure that they will turn up in due course...

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    Still a bit of cleaning up to do under there.

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  8. Mark4mm

    Mark4mm Guest

    Rob nice work on the crank axle.:thumbs:
     
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  9. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Thanks Mark.
     
  10. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    One of the few remaining details to add to the body are the injectors which sit under the footplate tucked away behind the cab steps. From all the photos that I have of J6's seeing what they actually look like is a real problem. Then I remembered that I had taken a few photos of the Injectors on the side of the preserved J52 while it lived at Shildon.

    While I have a couple of good side views they don't show the pipes and how they fit.

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    Then by pure chance I was looking through some photos that I took in the dark hall at York and found that I had indeed taken photos of each end

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    By cross referencing these with the end that's visible on some better lit J6 photos I was able to confirm to my satisfaction that these are the same type of injector fitted to the J6 Now all I need to do is work out how to scale them to size - Despite taking quite a few shots at both locations none of them are side on allowing scaling from a known dimension.
     
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  11. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Modelling time this last week has seen me back on the J6. I have been making progress with the inside motion starting with soldering the front of the slide bars to the cylinder front and then removing the motion bracket and moving it backwards to match the drawing in order that it would then clear the front horn guides.


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    Getting them square to each other was a little challenging so I cut a couple of rectangles of 10thou sheet to set both the distance between the cylinder front and the rear of the motion bracket and keep them square at the same time. I used a couple of aluminium hair grips to hold them in place while I soldered the ends of the slide bars to the motion bracket.

    I still need to plot out and drill holes for the support rods for the expansion links in the cylinder front.


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    I have temporarily assembled most of the motion but I still need to add the parts to the motion bracket which support and operate the valves.

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    Having extended the clearance between the cylinder front and the motion bracket so that the cylinder front sits in front of the horn guides, I found that the slide bars still fouled the horn guides. T next task was to reduce the depth of the front horn block in the lathe so my four-jaw chuck got a turn. Because I only wanted to effectively face them off. I cheated a little and fitted a short length of 3/16” silver steel into the tailstock, slipped a bearing on and used that to quickly centre the four jaw.

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    The next task is to remove a section of the horn guides to clear the slide bars.

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    As soon as funds allow, I plan to buy a mill to compliment the lathe and boy would a mill make this task easier. I can see now why Nick plans his inside motion fitting as he builds the frames. A lesson learned for the future! Onwards and upwards as they say.
     
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  12. Mark4mm

    Mark4mm Guest

    Nice build work Rob.:thumbs:
     
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  13. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Thanks Mark.
     
  14. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    While I am distracted with outside jobs during the good weather, I have been working on another of the key outstanding jobs that is simple to pick up and put down. The back head/plate, is as I mentioned earlier in the build, a GNR Boiler Back Plate set from LG Miniatures. It wasn’t quite deep enough so I added a strip of thick brass along the bottom. Also missing from the set as delivered, were the injectors. Laurie includes a layout drawing in the set and it showed the missing injectors. An enquiry to Laurie had an apology and a pair of injectors in the post.

    I am not sure if they were from the GNR set or another more generic pair but a little bit of scratch building had them looking the part. I had to fabricate one of the levers for the right hand injector from a .9mm rod with one end squashed and drilled out for the pin and then tapered with a file in the mini drill (too small to old securely in the lathe).

    In the end I only used one of the hand wheels from the set because they came with cast stems on them and I wanted to fit them to the stem already present on the castings so I used some cast hand wheels from the spares box which had holes in the centres. Had I not had them to hand I would have cut the stems of the castings and drilled them for the ones with the cast stems but it would have been a bit tedious.

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    The GA showed some kind of inline valve down the right hand side of the cab at the side of the back plate so I knocked one up from a couple of bits of tube and a cast handwheel from the set.

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    My apologies for the greenish tinge it’s reflections from the green storage box that I propped it against for the photos.
     
  15. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Yesterday saw more progress on the motion for the J6, with the valves almost complete.
    I still have the arms to make that connect the valve rockers with the expansion link etc. But I am pleased that I have got this far as I had hit a bit of a mental brick wall with concern that attempts at soldering on the valve rocker supports would result in them dissolving into individual parts again.

    As happens often when procrastinating, I worried for nothing.

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  16. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    After spending a week teaching myself 3D drawing, I was back at the workbench today. I had originally planned to just turn a couple of appropriately sized top hat bushes, file some flats on them where they come together and job done. My recently acquired mill offered more possibilities to make something that at least looks like the original even if it doesn’t attach in the same way. This will be soldered to the cylinder front in between the slide bars, instead of being suspended from a substantial bracket between the frames.

    This is my first real item produced with the mill and I am happy with how it turned out.

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    This is where it will sit in between the slide bars on the cylinder front. I have added some fastenings to make it look as if it should be there, when it’s ultimately lost in the gloom between the frames.
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  17. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Although I dressed the backhead a couple of weeks or so ago, I hadn’t managed to get it to fit into the cab before now because the stub of the whistle protruding through the cab roof stopped it from sliding in. One of those little few minute jobs that seem to take forever to get around to…. I finally got to it and the backhead now fits in place as if it was made for it.

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  18. Kimbo

    Kimbo Staff Member Moderator

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    Some Loverly castings there Rob.
     
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  19. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Although I still need to finish of the chassis, the body and tender are pretty much complete, so I took the opportunity to return to this build and pipe up the injectors, and fit the vacuum pipe down the right hand side valence.

    I had drilled the holes for the pipes and cut lengths of copper wire some time ago, then they were put aside.

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    The vacuum pipe was surprisingly difficult to photograph with it being so long.

    J6 Vacuum Pipe.jpg
     
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  20. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Next I fitted the vacuum pipe and the injectors. This is where I fell flat on my face.

    I carefully bent the injector pipes and ensure that they didn't interfere with the fit of the chassis.

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    I also noticed that the hand wheels on the lubricators had gone walk about during one of the scrub down sessions so they had to be replaced. As luck would have it I found a pair of cast wheels in my spares box.
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    What I completely forgot to account for was the wheels DOH! The wheels wouldn't fit due to the pipes... More bending in order.
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