Bill's 6" Foden SWB Lorry

burrell1 wrote: He also said that the engine will be relatively high revving, at between 400 and 500 rpm.

 
Your not kidding, have you been on a full size one because they are the same? Short motion equals fast engine.
 
The DCC road loco cranks are manufactured as a solid piece and I think your Foden one is too, some if not all of the scratch built 6" Foden wagons use built up cranks and it can go wrong and things move - you will have no such problem.

This afternoon I have spent some time working my way through the instructions for the crankshaft and eccentrics.  In the end I decided to test fit everything, which turned out to be a very good idea.  I had very few problems and it helped me to really understand what we will need to achieve when the time comes for up to setup the crankshaft.

Bill

A thing of beauty & a joy to behold!!
Regards,
tony

There is something strangely satisfying about a freshly machined lump of metal!

There is something strangely satisfying about a freshly machined lump of metal!

highpressure wrote:The stuff these guys produce is first rate!! The quality and attention to detail is really excellent, no wonder I get really angry when punters knock ....... kit builds in general!!     

To be fair, in some cases it is warranted!  

Although not an STW customer yet, I joined the forum to get a feel for what was produced, as I hope to become a customer in the not too distant future - garage rebuild needed first!  Building my Manning Wardle has taken such a length of time I've come to the conclusion its highly unlikely I'll have time to do all the machining work for a 4" road loco as well!  I think STW certainly deserve credit for their efforts!

My kit 22 arrived this morning.  I had to delay the dispatch of this kit as I have been travelling abroad with my Burrell traction engine.  This is probably the smallest box we have received to date but it was very heavy because it contained the fly wheel (21kg in total)  This kit also contains the con rods, big end assembly and fittings.  Also included were the pistons and rings from kit 17.  In the instructions introduction for this kit Steve said that he had hoped to also include the water pump drive sprocket, so that the fly wheel could be permanently fitted to the crank shaft but having received the sprockets he didn’t like them and is going to re-design them.  It is nice to see that Steve will not except second best for our lorries and if necessary will scrap parts he doesn’t like.  As is it raining today I am going to have the time to look at the parts and to have a good read of the instructions.

Bill

Excellent pictures of your latest kit there Bill   So good to see this "stuff", particularly now that STW don't have the time to put as many pictures up on the production part of the forum. I suppose that most parts of production have been shown in the past for previous engines,
but, in my humble opinion, tis always fascinating & interesting to see what's being produced currently. If nothing else, it's very good publicity for their machining skills.

Have fun with you latest kit!!
Regards,
Tony

Like the look of a kit that doesnt have much painting! I'm getting behind but decided once the boiler arrives I'll start building the "power unit" and then get back into it.

ooooo lots of shiny bits, look forward to seeing it all assembled

As we were supplied with the pistons and rings from kit 17 with our latest kit I decided to work on these first.  The trimming of the rings and fitting of them turned out to be a much easier task than I had anticipated.  I have now dry fitted everything but have decided not to fit the pistons or trunk guides until after the cylinder block can be fitted onto the boiler.

Bill

Kit 23 for the Foden lorry has now arrived, in three boxes.  In one of these boxes is the drive chain which looks like it’s going to be a real handful to fit as it weighs 11kg.  The other two boxes contain gears and fittings.  I have only had the time to open the boxes so far and to have a quick read at the instructions but it looks like quite a bit of work is going to be needed to fit all these parts onto thee lorry.

Bill







I have now got the boiler and cylinder block fitted to my lorry although I have had to remove the crankshaft and fittings for the time being in order to remove the gate valves, as these will have to be returned to STW for replacement.

Hi Bill.
love the look of your engine, good size too.
Just a quick question. what type of red paint are you using (name and number).
It looks really good and i quite like to use the same colour on my Foden too.
Can you help.
P.S.
Any more pictures? Always like seeing what people are up to.

Thanks.

Phil.

Phil
I am using Phoenix Precision paints. The Red is code P8 GWR Signal Red (1881 – 1945) I am sorry for the lack of recent pictures but I have been travelling abroad for the last two months. I am hoping to collect my next kit from the factory next week and to make a start on building again. As soon as I have made some more progress I will post further photo's.

Bill

Thanks Bill.
Wasnt sure about signal red but it works very well on your machine.
I look forward seeing the progress of your wagon in the future.
Phil.

Yesterday I travelled to the factory to collect Kit 24 for my 6” scale Foden lorry.  This kit contains the valve gear and weighshaft assemble.  It also contains some parts from Kit 23 that were not available when that kit was dispatched.  It was good to see everybody again, including Dean’s new puppy.  It was also good news that we will be receiving Kit 25 before Christmas and they are already talking about Kit 26.  The majority of Kit 25 is already on the packing table and they are just waiting for some extra parts before they are able to dispatch it.  When I built my 4” Burrell traction engine I had a number of the parts nickel plated and I had already decided to do the same with my lorry.  This morning I spent some time cleaning the motion assemble ready to be nickel plating.

Bill

is it a matt nickel plating you are having done? (or doing yourself?) something I have thought about and want to have a go with in the new year. As much as i would love to say i'll keep everything bright, assistance would go down well. The only other thing I can think of is some for of clear coat after cleaning everything up.

Hi Iain

I am having mat nickel plating done for me.  When I was building my Burrell I purchased a kit but never used it as I then found a small local company which is reliable and does the work well and at a reasonable price.  If you are thinking about doing the work yourself I have still got the kit which you are welcome to, as it is only taking up space in my workshop.  The fly wheel of my Burrell is not nickel plated and I find that it rusts overnight at steam rallies if it is outside damp.  

Bill

How do you find it terms of causing fitment issues in the holes etc? Just a quick ream out?

I'll have to see if there is a local place to me but if not I might be interested in buying the kit from you

Hi Iain

When I said that you could have the kit I meant that it was free, the only problem would be getting it to you.  As the nickel plating coats all the parts it does mean that holes some times need reaming and threads need re-cutting but the advantages of having them nickel plated out weighs this as they will never rust in the future and will continue to look good.  As I have never used the kit I am not certain how easy the task is, I can only say that I am happy with the work that I have had done.  When I collect the parts next week that are being nickel plated now I will post a photo.

Bill

Kit 25 for my Foden Lorry arrived this afternoon.  This kit contained the water pump, regulator lever and starting valve.  The box was probably the smallest we have had so far but it contained a large number of parts.  I have decided to paint the water pump body gloss black, as it will not be seen.  I am also considering having the regulator lever and parts nickel plated.  Only five more kits to go.

Bill

As I have been travelling abroad for a long period of time since September, I have fallen behind with the build for my Foden lorry.  I have this week however fitted the second shaft and the three attached gears.  The first challenged in fitting the second shaft and gears is their weight and the comparatively narrow location that they have to be fitted into, between the horn plates and the chassis.  I was very thankful that I still had the loan of an engine crane as I was able to use this to lift the shaft and to install it on my own.  The second challenge was to bolt the second shaft plate (which the shaft and gears are attached to) to the horn plates.  The problem is that when fitted the second shaft plate it is behind the gears and cannot be easily reached or seen.  I decided to make a tool up which I could use through the spokes of the gears to reach the bolts in this plate.  Thankfully this work well, otherwise this task would have been a bit fiddly!!  For the time being I have removed the crankshaft from my lorry as we had to return the globe valves for replacement and it will be easier to fit the replacements without the crankshaft in place.

Bill

I decided yesterday to have some light entertainment by building the water pump for my Foden.  It was a change to be working on light weight fittings and being able to complete a project in an evening.

Bill

Kit 26 for my Foden lorry arrived today.  This kit contained the cab and the roof.  This doesn’t sound much but the two boxes in total weighed 44kg.  On the original built schedule for the lorry it showed the cab as one kit and for the SWB lorry the roof as another kit, so we have received the best part of two kits at once.  So far I have only opened the boxes and then found a place in my workshop to store them until I start building.  The instructions for this kit are 21 pages long and include 3 pages of parts, so I have first got a bit of reading to do.  I expect that I will be building this kit in two parts, as the roof appears to be mainly woodwork.
Two things that I have noticed whilst counting the pages of the instructions are that with the next kit we will be getting the replacement globe valves, which will come with a special Foden style hand wheel, which will add that something extra to the lorry.  Also on the first page of the plans there is a note to say that windows will be supplied for the lorries at an extra cost, which I am very pleased to hear and I will be ordering them.

As Kit 27 arrived today I decided to make a start on cleaning some of the parts ready for fitting.  I have cleaned and constructed the globe valves and cleaned the front of the water gauge.  I have put part of the water gauge together just to show the proper reflex gauge glass.  I think that this water gauge is going to look really special when fitted and I don’t think that there will be many other Foden lorry’s on the rally fields with one.

Bill