Quite wheelish

My puttering with the form tool is starting to result in things that could be mistaken for wheels. These ones approximate the 30″ wheels for 622’s pilot truck, but with the gross flange of my homemade form tool. I faced them down to the correct 1.63 mm wide, and cut the spoke recess in the […]

Wheel masters

A rather large box of air arrived from Shapeways today. Safely suspended inside were the masters for 622’s wheels. Seriously, the box is over 4000 cubic centimetres of air, and contained perhaps 2 cubic centimetres of plastic! The castings were well protected! No box from Shapeways has ever lasted more than a few minutes after […]

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 […]

Merry Christmas one and all!

For Christmas, both kids made something for the workshop. The Girl made a lovely scrap bowl. The Boy made some stock-keeping boards. There are hours of work in each of them. Thanks to both of them!

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.