Playing with Wire

With the coming scenic modelling, I decided to pick up some florist wire and see what it was like to try to create a tree-like shape a la Gordon Gravett. Michaels didn’t have the paper-coated stuff that Gordon uses, but they did have big spools of this plastic stuff, and it wasn’t very expensive. So […]

Crank pin parts

The crank pins for 1120 are much heavier than those of 622, and as a result much easier to fabricate. Most of the time in their fabrication went to tapping them for 0-80 bolts as my tap kept binding when I tried to reverse it out of the holes. Even so, the pieces are tiny, […]

Bearings

There is a point after you’ve accumulated some hours with a tool or technique when it becomes enjoyable. I think, after five years with the lathe I am finally there. Sure, there will always be parts that will challenge me, but simple ones, like these bearings enable me to get into a rhythm of turning, […]

Finding the slots

Although, being jig-made, the slots are probably in the same place on the two axles, the question remains: where exactly are they? The right-hand (red is always right in my workshop) end is noticeably off-centre, while the left-hand looks pretty good. Our eyes are fantastic at noticing things that are not straight or centred, but […]

Slotted axles

Once the jig was made, slotting the axles took a remarkably small number of swipes with the hack saw. Percy’s 1/8″ axles, being made of 316 stainless, were much tougher than this 3mm 12L14 steel axle material from Northwest Short Line. I made a little go-no-go gauge out of a couple of pieces of wire […]

Axle Jig

Percy helped me determine that a keyed connection between axle and wheel works best for me. I don’t have a milling machine, and so a jig is the only way to make the slots in the axles reasonably precise. My thoughtful wife bought me a four-jaw chuck for the lathe for my birthday, and it […]