Welcome to the "Production guides" area.

welcome to the new section of the forum.

We hope that this area will give us the chance to allow customers to get a little closer to the production process at Steam Traction World.

the construction of your live steam kit takes you one one step further in the relationship between you and your "pride and joy" but do you ever feel like you miss out when it comes to the actual manufacturing of the parts. well now you have the opportunity to peer over our shoulders as we work.

hopefully you will also gain an appreciation of the amount of work involved and the skills of our production team, even when things don't always go to plan.

we feel that this will generate a closer relationship between our customers and the shop floor and also give you something interesting to look at.

we plan to post topics that will follow various parts and sub assemblies through their production process, using photos and videos to get you right into the machine shop. obviously we won't be covering every part as we need to concentrate on getting the work done but we will try to feature at one interesting part from each model each month.

unlike the other production section, this area is not locked and we welcome your comments, questions and suggestions. if there is a particular process or just anything in general that you would like to see, just post your requests in this topic. i will do my best to get you some photos and information.

over the weekend i will post the first topic, which will feature the 2" Burrell Governors, and then early next week we will have something of interest for the 4" Burrell owners.

Craig

a couple of "teaser" photos for you





Craig

Thanks for the photo's Craig,gears and govenor looking good

Please tell us,are those second shaft gears being cut?

thanks,Tony

the large gears are the 4" Burrell right hand final drive gears, i actually have some video of the gear gutting process to post, once I've edited it

Hi thanks for the pics ...Looks good

my pleasure

i have just posted the first part of the 4inch Burrell final drive gear topic, this has jumped the queue and been posted ahead of the planned 2inch governor topic which will follow once the video clip has uploaded to you tube (flipping heck, didn't realise how long they took to upload ).

i should have it on by tomorrow

one thing i may add, it's worth noting that I am NOT a steam enthusiast like you guys, although i will try my best to be as accurate as possible with the information, there may be times when Steve or Dean will need to be called upon to answer some questions

don't forget, we welcome your comments in the topics and i would like your suggestions on other topics you would like to see.

Craig

A NICE 'AREA' CRAIG, THANKS FOR YOUR EFFERTS, GOOD TO SEE/WATCH.

REGARDS
BUNGLE

YES good luck

the production guides area has been a bit quiet for the last couple of weeks, not because we have been sitting around doing nothing (honest Steve and Dean ) but because we have been working on the same parts for both the 2 inch and 4 inch Burrell and as the processes are just about the same, there is no point doubling up on things. (plus I've been on holiday as well )

the 2 inch gear change mech kit is just about done now, as is the differential and I've just started work on the wooden tool box parts today (kit-23 i believe) so I'll post pics of that soon

Craig

just a quick photo of our new control model area.

as part of our on going clean up, we have decided to move all future control models right into the middle of the work shop so we can try bits for size as and when we make them without having to walk around the factory.

the control models are very important as not only do they give us the chance to make sure the parts fit, they also allow us to follow the kit process along side you guys. if it's in this area, you guys should have it (or soon be getting it)

Keep up the good work Craig, is that my boiler cradle i see
Ian

that's the one and only boiler cradle in the factory, it was made for the prototype foden. still no word on the castings yet.

good news is the next kits are getting very close, i'll post a proper up-date tomorrow

Hi
In the font is that the wheals for the wagon or the 2" engine ???

2 inch wagon, i think i posted a photo of them in the relevant topic

right then, I'm on (a well earned ) holiday next week, half term and all that, so there wont be much in the way of "current" production up-dates.
i'll get things up to date early the following week.

however i will have a few thing to show you.. 2inch burrell boiler on CNC and sub assemblies, all the wood for 4inch burrell tool box and 2inch burrell driving truck, up-date on 4inch burrell kit from last week and a quick look at how our production "T-card" board works.

current production priorities are: dispatch of foden kit 3, completion burrell 4inch, burrell 2inch driving truck kit 2, showmans kit 2, foden kits 4 and 5, burrell driving truck kit 3, showmans kit 3, lyka kit 1 !!!!

Craig

just a quick look at what we are doing over the next few weeks...

currently working on the manual fabrication for lyka kit 1. the machine shop has completed all work on this and is now working on the final parts for the 4inch Burrell and the last of the 2inch driving truck kits.

due to the delay in castings we are currently planing production of parts for lyka Kits 2 and 3 after that.

foden customers will probably be getting boilers followed by steering parts.

work on 4 inch driving truck will start as soon as hubs arrive.

Steve is working on creating the next Showmans kit.

just to let you know that im moving house at the end of the month so things may be a bit "short but sweet" over the next couple of weeks but i'll do what i can to keep you informed and as always... don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions.

craig

Craig,

You asked for comments & suggestions have you/STW ever considered a web cam or two around the works?? then we can see when Dean is slacking or working on his PJ's

Ian,

I think it's me who pays Craig's wages and not the other way round ........Can't stop and type too long got a part to make on a 6" Burrell and the gym to get too before lunch!! ....and after lunch need to go and have a practise on my pool table i've had installed upstairs! lol

Dean

Your a bad man Dean

bit of a funny time at the moment. we are working away on various kits, making parts from material we have in stock, and waiting for other material to arrive so we can complete things.

working on the lyka kits 2 and 3 plus the wheel hubs and the material order has gone in for kit 6 so we can start work on this (lots of fabrication to be done).

2 inch wagon kit 3 should be going out tomorrow and hopefully the final parts for the 4 inch burrell (waiting for fasteners on this)

still waiting for the showman's horn-plate kit folder to be issued and this will contain some interesting laser cuts

funny thing is, once we get all the outstanding castings, the next showman's kits should flow quite quickly, just hang in there people.

anyway, off for the weekend now to move house so have a good one everybody and i'll update things again on Tuesday

craig

right then, full service has been resumed

new house, new Internet account and new e-mail address so... new user account. this time letting you know exactly who i am.

quick up date...

currently working on lyka kit 2 and 3 plus the foden batch one drop down side kit, also started work on the foden steering and water tank kit, but waiting for material on that one.

material arrived today for lyka kit 6 as there is lots to do on that one. lyka wheel hubs are now being milled (photos tomorrow)

still waiting for castings for showman's kit 3 so started ordering parts for the horn-plate kit.

insurance documents for the 4 inch burrell are now at STW (all 500 sheets) and are being sorted for posting next week.

we are expecting the showman's boiler design to be signed off any time and will probably order the barrel tube as soon as thats done.

Steve is working hard on the 4inch water tank/seat cart (someone tell me whats its called ) and i tried to get a sneaky image for you but hes not having it

still no word on the foden boiler cradles, sorry. they should be here with the showman's castings.

not had many photos this week so i'll get some for tomorrow

craig

another "quick" update...

the boiler design for the showman's engine has been approved Steve has already started ordering material

the laser cuts for the showman's horn-plates kit should be with us on Friday. we are going to do everything we can to get this kit out in May

we have a casting delivery scheduled for Thursday morning, not sure whats going to be in it but hopefully the foden boiler cradles will be there

lyka kits 2 and 3 are nearly done and will go out in May

foden drop down side kit will be ready soon, we are going to send out the iron work and drawings for the wooden parts and give customers the option to contact us if they need help in finding the wood. only when we have an idea of quantities will we be able to quote a price.

foden kit seven is going to take a long time to produce so we are currently looking at the stock to see if we can supply an alternative kit this month to avoid any further delays

Craig

a quick "general" update...

preparation is underway for the next foden kits. next one out should be the smoke box/chimney and hopefully the cylinder blocks soon after that.

Lyka will be getting (or have available)the spring kit and the body kit in July. next kits will probably be the boilers and/or the brakes.

Showman's should be getting the belly tank soon and the rear wheels are in production.

4inch driving truck/wagon will be getting kit one soon and kit two is being prepared.

just a reminder that the models that are getting two kits a month are on very limited numbers and the work involved is (usually) much less than the large quantity models.

just to let you all know, I'm on my hols this week so there wont be any production up dates. but ill still be looking in if you need to ask or PM me with anything

it has been a busy couple of weeks even though progress has been slow. mark has been flat out drilling showman's rear wheels and now all the kit 5's are ready to go.

i've been working through the foden and lyka parts and ordering materials for the bowser kit. 4inch wagon leaf springs are all done and need sending away for heat treating.

the manual section has been busy on the lyka tanks including a few modifications based on minor issues with the first batch of cars.

we have also made good progress on the stock items that needed doing to allow us to sell "complete" kits. If anyone is waiting for "out of stock items". we are getting there.