Sneaking up on tyres

I may have been a trifle optimistic about finishing the learning phase before 20 hours are out. I’m still discovering how to hit a given diameter with a form tool. It seems to be equal parts art and science. My approach is pretty much to make each tyre individually. Sure I take note of where […]

Vaguely like wheels

I’m a little over ten hours of practice into learning to use my lathe. To tell the truth, I don’t think I will need the full twenty hours I’d planned. Already I can do most of what I need to be able to do to cut wheels. Wrecking my only Proto:87 form tool would make […]

30 inch wheels are small!

Last night’s lathe practice was about making my own tools. All 622’s wheels need a ridge at the edge of the tyre, and so, I made a little boring tool to create that. Once done, I tried it out and made the test wheel shown here. The wheel is the size of 622’s engine truck […]

The year ahead

I realized over Christmas that it’s coming on two years since I decided the best course of action for number 10 was to park it until I have the skills to repair it. As that is my only locomotive, no wheels have turned on Pembroke since then, which is a sad state of affairs for any […]

Sweet anticipation

It doesn’t matter how many times I order printed parts from Shapeways, it still feels like magic. The patterns for 622’s wheels existed only in my mind until I drew them in OnShape. Now in a few days, I will open a package, and they will spill out into my hand – no longer mere […]

Mobile Modelling

It’s hard to believe the iPhone is only a decade old, when the world has changed so much. Today, I had to wait in a parking lot for a few minutes, and as I was thinking about the look of 622’s truck wheels, and how they don’t quite match the photo, I thought I’d see […]

Pilot wheel drawing

I’m planning a two millimetre axle for the 30-inch pilot wheels. The wheel hub comes out pretty heavy with 3/4 mm walls, but I daren’t go finer. Indeed, I will have to test to see if I can even turn such a fine wall.

Driver drawing

As I’m planning to print patterns for the wheels, I could no longer be satisfied with blank discs representing the wheels, even in OnShape. They’re a bit of a challenging part to draw, but I think I’ve captured the look of this photo from the Parry Sound Public Library. Possibly the hub is too small – […]

Towards loco wheels

As the workshop project rounds up, I will soon have no reason to hold off on starting work on 622. The first major stumbling block is of course wheels. If I can’t make those, then I may as well abandon the project; and by that, I don’t just mean the engine, I mean Pembroke itself. […]

A lathe joins the workshop

I’ve wanted a lathe for about as long as I’ve been able to spell the word. Even before I got into Proto:87, I knew one would be a part of my workshop someday. Since getting into the finer scale, it’s been inevitable. My friend, Andrew Hutchinson, has more machine tools than a single person should […]