Bill's 6" Foden SWB Lorry

I thought that it was about time that I put pen to paper and gave details of my Foden 6” SWB lorry build. I have decided to build the SWB version of the lorry as it will be easier for me to manage although the C type lorry is going to look very impressive. I have already build the chassis and springs and I am very impressed with the quality of build. I don’t think that STW could be said to have skimped on the gauge of metal used for the chassis. The chassis is now painted and up on stands awaiting further parts to be added. I have decided to use a traditional colour scheme for my lorry, with the chassis being red. I have also chosen a dark gloss green for the body of the lorry and gloss black for such parts as the mud guards. So for the time being everything that I am painting is red. Having collected the two front wheels on Friday I have spent to-day cleaning the wheels, which are cast aluminium with thick vulcanised tyres. These castings are of very good quality and only needed minor filing. Once again these will be painted red. The next two kits should be the rear wheels which I should be able to have delivered or collected as one kit.

Bill

Those wheels really do look the business, well worth the wait for them I would say.

Great pictures.

I was just wondering how many Black and Decker Workmates are there in World. The threads on this forum alone show several hundred, I have two, one was inherited from my father and both are over twenty years old so BnD are not getting much return business.

Ian

Over 100 million......though this may also be of interest.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/technology-obituaries/8339197/Ron-Hickman.html

A quote from within "the Stanley company — famous for planes and drills — loftily informed him (in a letter which he was pleased to note later was dated April 1 1968) that sales would be “measured in dozens rather than hundreds". Oops.

Thanks for the info Rob 100 million is a lot of Workmates.

The front wheels and springs have now been painted. I am not planning to fit the wheel bearings until the time comes to fit the wheels to the axles.

One of the rear wheels arrived to-day. It looks like it’s going to take some cleaning but it will be great when painted. I have photographed it on my work bench again as it shows the size of the wheel. However this time you may notice I have not put the bench up to its full height, as the wheel is very heavy and I didn't want to lift it any higher.

They look great.

looking good bill just got rear wheel myself,good to here that someone else is getting on with there foden.

Have you thought about having it grit blasted? I had my road loco wheels blasted and it saved hours - the cost was about £25 a pair. It also leaves the wheels with something for the paint to key into.

MrStationHouse wrote:Have you thought about having it grit blasted? I had my road loco wheels blasted and it saved hours - the cost was about £25 a pair. It also leaves the wheels with something for the paint to key into.

I did too and I recently noticed another benefit in that the brake ring is very grippy on the wood brake blocks because of it

Brian

Thank you all for the advice on grit blasting. I am now going to be making some enquiries in my area to trace somebody who does grit blasting. My first rear wheel is now nearly ready to be painted. The photo does not do the wheel justice as it is now shinny all over.



I collected my second rear wheel from the Pickering Steam Rally, where it spent most of the time as an exhibit on the STW stand. So can I say that my Foden has attended it's first steam rally?

Nice. I did not make it down.. Next year yes!

Work on painting the rear wheels of my Foden has been a bit slow recently. The main reason for this is because I have taken the opportunity to enjoy, the long over due, dry weather and to take my Burrell traction engine to some steam rallies. Whilst at the Museum of East Anglian Life Steam Rally I met a number of old friends and I also had the unexpected pleasure of meeting two other 6" Foden builder. My first rear wheel is now painted and the second one is ready to be painted. I am hoping to make a start on painting this wheel next week so that I am ready for the next kit.

With the arrival of this kit it marks our first real mile stone. Not only does it weigh 41 Kg it is the first kit that will need cleaning, painting and will give us something to build. This kit includes the boiler saddle and front axle. I have only had a quick look at the instructions but it looks like we are going to have the front wheels fitted to our lorries very soon. Well done STW.

Nothing much to report at the moment except that I am enjoying having a kit to build which not only needs cleaning and painting but it will need constructing. Work is going on well but this is a big kit to work on. I have attached a picture of the front axle which is the last part of this kit that I have got to clean. I think that I left this part to last because it is a bit of a challenge to clean the castings but is does look good and I can’t wait to see it painted. As soon as I have some painted and assembled parts I will post more pictures. It is also good to see some other Foden 6” builder’s progress and pictures, well done.



When I helped my daughter build her 2” Burrell Traction engine I decided that I did not want to build another small engine. Her traction engine looks great now that it is completed but I found that my fingers and supply of spanners were too big for the job. This is one reason why I wanted to build a 6” Foden Lorry. I am now having to buy some larger spanners!

Kit 8 arrived this morning. I will not have the time to play with this kit until the weekend but I have opened the box to have a quick look inside. As you can see the brake drums are 15 inches in diameter which is really big for a miniature steam engine. I will have a read of the instructions tonight and will post more photos at the weekend.

My front hub caps arrived back from SteamPlates today after being etched and enamelled. I have to say that they look fantastic and are going to look great fitted to my Foden lorry.

Those hubs are a really nice touch, they look beautiful! You also really went to town on the front axle castings - more patience than me!

Hi Bill, they certainly do look the business. How much did it cost to get them done? Are they etched or milled out?

I thought SteamPlates used CNC milling. My name plate for Frederick was made by them. Not cheap, but beautifully done.

Tim

Hi

Your wheel and hub look wonderful. Keep up the quality and picture taking

Over last week-end I spent most of my time preparing and painting all the parts that I currently have. Next weekend I am planning to assemble all of the parts for kits 7 & 8. I am also looking forward to fitting the front wheels of my lorry with the newly engraved and enamelled hub caps. As Tim commented, Steam Plates use a CNC machine to do their engraving. Unfortunately my photo did not do the engraving justice as the edges of the letters are rounded, rather than just being flat sided. When we get to the stage when I know the size of the name plate that I will require I will be contacting Steam Plates for an estimate. It’s good to see lots of other Foden 6” builders posting pictures on the forum.





I thought that the rear wheels were heavy but that was before I fitted the brake drums. I am glad that Steve decided to have the wheels cast in aluminium to reduce the weight, as I am now having difficulty lifting the rear wheels.

Looks beautiful, keep the pictures coming. They sure are going to be mightly impressive these 6" kits. Wish I could afford to build one!!.
Regards,
Tony

You can't take it with you Tony

We can make any of the engines affordable with our no interest added, spread the term easy payment plan tailored to suit anyone who wants one......lol.....that is unless you want to do it over 30 years which is what someone recently asked us if we'd do!! (at a rate of $20 per month for 3 years, $50 per month for the next 5 years and then $100 per month for the next 22 years). As much as I would have loved to sell him an engine i was too afraid i'd be dead by the time he finished paying for it!

Dean