Lock Down 2"

Hi folks
Any of you that have followed my recent rebuild titled Lock Down 1, will know that I had just about finished it when This Little lot arrived.
Part way through The rebuild I came to the realisation that I was too old to chase an engine around on foot, especially a 2" requiring me to bend down every time it needed steering.
If that is not a bad enough thought then how about stoking the fire or seeing the gauge glass.
Attach a trailer and get towed around sat on a comfy cushion, now that works for this old fart.
A quick call to STW revealed that a trailer was in stock but I would need to wait for the wheels to be vulcanised.
It didn't take long and arrived before "Patricia" was finished, cracking service once again.



Ok its off and running then !
The usual start point the wheels.
First off there are 2 different sized wheels and each size uses the same hub with different length spokes.
As all the spokes used in each individual wheel are the same size, mixing them up is not a problem.



Start by deburring the holes in the spokes then loosely fitting half of them onto the hub leaving the csk screws a turn or so loose.
At this point I should mention that the reason I have not cleaned the scale off the spokes is they will get sandblasted once assembled.



After mounting the half spoked hub in the rims, again leaving the rivet bolts a turn or so loose the rest of the spokes can be fitted.
Several passes round tightening the screws and rivets a little each visit and all 4 wheels came out perfect with very little runout.
They have had a blasting now and are ready for paint.



On to the next batch of metal parts.
Springs, spring hangers, footrest, axles and towbar parts.
Another sesion at the sandblaster after deburring this lot.



I was well pleased to find that the leaves in the spring set already had rounded edges.
6 leaves in a spring each has 4 edges and 4 ends to round off its a ton of work if they hadn't been supplied like that.



Might as well put the color on them now they are clean.
Satin black powder coat.



A little assembly time later, Happy with that !



Did the hinges and latches at the same time to fill up the oven.



That will do for this instalment as most of the metal parts are now finished.
Happy building !
Simon C

Very impressive - your lockdown build - I am enjoying it, and looking at the pictures - thanks !

milford59 wrote:Very impressive - your lockdown build - I am enjoying it, and looking at the pictures - thanks !

Thanks milford59
Lock down 3 "Stuck at home" after this episode.

Ok time for round 2.
Woodworking time now that the metalwork is all ready to be fitted.
The woodwork has 3 main parts to it:- front steering frame, the chassis and the body.
Starting with the front steering, doesn't look like much, but time spent fitting the joints up will save any potential pain later on in the build.
Absolutely fantastic looking grain structure with ash, almost a shame to stick this underneath out of sight.



A day for the glue to setup fully and after removing all the clamps, a screw or two is put in each of the joints before a quick test fit of the turning ring.



The outer chassis rails next, clamped to the bench to hold it square and flat.



Another day drying out the glue and the rest of the long rails get put in.



With the cross rails now fitted all the new joints get screws and the fixed turntable ring put on.
Pilot drilling for the screws is essential in wood as hard as ash, I added a little bees wax to each screw for good measure.
The long black strap running down the middle rail ties together the rear tow hitch and the steering pivot at the front , this stops the rear hitch load being taken by the wooden chassis rails.
A nice touch that says "someone has thought about this"



Last one for today.
Fitting the steering pivot pin and its associated support plates.
One of the 4 support plates can be seen in the picture.
The screws are very close to the edge of the timber so again pilot drilling for the screws is essential to stop them splitting the sides out.



Sorry this one is a little short !
Keep building folks !
Simon C

On with the build.
After setting the pivot support plates and testing the operation of the steering it is time for the rest of the front end parts.
I turned the pivot ring so that the 4 fixing holes came as close to the centreline of each bearer as possible.



Rear springs next, not much to say about them apart from don't forget to pilot drill for the coach screws that hold the hangers to the bearers.



The rear axle was next.
I drilled and countersunk a single hole in the middle of the steel axle as it was able to move about in the wooden housing.
I don't think it would be able to move once the U bolts are tight, but belt and braces as they say.



Right way up and wellies on, not going to put the bushes in the wheels until they are painted.



Back to the woodworking again.
The head and tail boards first.
The planks are tong and groove and fit together leaving a smooth joint if left as supplied, the instructions say to bevel the edges to give definition to the joints.
Bring on the router and a bevel edge cutter.



The outside gets the uprights fitted with a coach bolt in each plank.
I put a tiny dab of glue in each board groove to prevent any chance of them racking over and gave them a good sanding before fitting the uprights.



The tail board brackets.
I mounted these before putting the uprights on the tail board so that I could use them to centre the planking to the chassis.
I then made the headboard using the same brackets, this is so that both head and tail boards are identical.
Using the headboard then to place the brackets at the front end.
That might all sound like a palava but it does allow the boards to be interchangeable, I use a similar technique on the sides.



A quick test fit before fitting the rest of the bolts.



Sides next.
Build the first one completely then build the second one on its hinge pins so that again they will fit both sides.



Another test fit before taking them apart for varnishing.
You might also notice that I have used stainless fasteners in all the furniture, this was to match with "Patricia".



A good rub down and a couple of coats of varnish to finish off this part of the build.



The screws sticking out of some of the parts are so I can varnish both sides at once then stand the parts on the screws to dry.
That will do for now.
Simon C

Nearly finished with this one now !
If you have been following this one from "Lock Down 1" you will know that I don't enjoy painting wheels, hence I have put it off until absolutely necessary.
Starting with 2 coats of primer followed by 2 of undercoat, then its the joyful job of flatting them off before top coating them.



Whilst waiting for the 4th top coat to dry it was time for the tank/seat.
Not a great deal of work needed with this part as it comes made of stainless steel and fully welded, so just needs a color.
As the cap is made of brass and covered by the seat I decided to leave it unpainted.



A quick test fit of the pipe from the bottom of the tank and the isolation valve.



Back to the wheels and after a couple of weeks to dry fully it's time for the pinstripes.
1mm lines to match those on Patricia's wellies.



Really fiddly but satisfying all the same.
One Shot paint in emerald green for the lines.



About an hour for the paint to go tackey and the masking can come off.
I think that the green looks real crisp on the satin black, but I am biased.



Don't know why I didn't take pictures of the hubcaps getting polishes, just slack I think !
The caps got a good polish and a hot dip in oil the same as Patricia's wheels.



A little play on words.



Just to break up that plain green square at the back.



For the finarley on this one, it was on to the introduction to each other.
I think they make a lovely couple, but again I am biased.



Thanks for reading folks and I hope that I have covered everything in my ramblings.
With the end of this build It was on to  "Lock Down 3 Still Stuck at home"  but again that will be a different part of the forum.
Happy Jubilee and Happy building.
Simon C