January/February/march 2018 production photos

hello and welcome to 2018, there was no production pics at the end of last year because we all finished early on the friday and as we were having a factory xmas clean-up, i didn't even have time to think.

so this is where we are at at the end of this week. i know i said we had seen the last of the Lyka kits for a bit but due to the nature of the water tanks, the manual guys have already started bending the sheet work...



and a new addition to the water tanks are internal baffles...



on the machines, we now have the six inch foden smoke-boxes as complete units...



and the final holes have been drilled...



i have also been working on the foden 6inch boiler cradle...



and the front axle assembly...





and swivel hubs...



BU roller 2nd shaft tubes are done...





i have now managed to finish the small batch of showmans rear axle tubes for the couple of customers who had these outstanding. these will be ready to send out next week. sorry for the delay but due to the accuracy and power needed on the bore holes we had to wait for our big machine to be available to finish these...



on one of the lathes, roadloco smoke-box door rings...



and work has started on 100's of showmans rear wheel spokes. we counter sink these on the machines as it takes about 40 seconds to do 4 spokes...



and waiting to go on the large machine next week, 3 pallets of showmans rear wheels to have the spoke holes drilled...

Hi Craig
Any update on last 2 showmans kits?
Thanks

all i can tell you on the last two showmans kits is that the one motor that was checked was unsuitable and another has been ordered and is on the way.

well this weeks photos do seem to be very much like last weeks, its just that things have moved on a bit or the model has changed.

the showmans rear wheels are on the machine and being drilled...



and with all the spokes for them countersunk we are now working on the spokes for the new batch of wagons (this is just a very small selection of the 100's of spokes we have had to do)...



and whilst on the subject of the wagons, this material if waiting to be turned into the hubs and inner and outer covers...



having finished the 6inch foden smoke-boxes, we are now working on a batch for the road-locos...



and the smoke-box rings...



the 6inch foden front cradle is on its last opp...



the manual section are working on the Lyka water tanks now...



and most of the lathes are working on the various bushes that go into them. one part thats a little more interesting is the filler cap, this should look even better next week when i mill the outer edge...

this weeks photos  

to carry on from exactly where we left off last week, here is the finished lyka water tank filler cap after final milling...





all the showmans rear wheels are drilled and as usual we always put one together to make sure everything fits...



the other wheels we are working on are the smaller traction wagon wheels...



the spokes...



the hubs...



and inner hub covers...



in this photo you can see the various stages of the hub machining process, from solid to (almost) finished...



on the big machine... heavy machining cutting a 6inch foden chassis bracket from soild...



also this week some valve glands...





and as usual, i have tried to include something from the welding bay.

most of this weeks work has been on the lyka water tanks and Harry is now back on boilers, but i did manage to find something a little different. showmans roof stays having some short lengths of studding welded onto them...

this weeks photos...

firstly, news on the showmans generator kit. Ian is currently investigating the modification of a car alternator. seems like a good plan to me, if its good enough for a car then i would think it would work on a model, but what do i know ???



in the machine shop, we are still cutting those large 6inch foden chassis brackets from solid. these things are big (if you compare them to the scrap cylinder blocks in the background) and most of the billet is cut away to be honest. the first side alone takes 18 mins to cut.



nearly done now...



we are also working on the second showmans rear hub/wheel kit...



and with the wagon hubs and inner and outer covers done we are now onto the hub caps...





and the rims arrived today, and will be on the machine on monday for drilling
(there are more than these as they are being un-wrapped as i type   )...



where you have hubs you need an axle, among this lot we have wagon and water cart axles...





and not everything we do is complicated. here we are simply machining a radius on a ready made bush...



and in the welding bay... the Lyka water tanks are still being welded !!! most are now done and have been leak tested. And after having the extractor system serviced Harry can now concentrate on the latest batch of boilers...

Car alternator is a good idea they can make lots of power but require 12volts to kick them into life

Mark the spark wrote:Car alternator is a good idea they can make lots of power but require 12volts to kick them into life

That was my thought, they often will start generating on their own but without a 12v battery for a base line it can kill the regulator off pretty quick. Although they do have to go round a fair few lick and I'm not sure the showmans will be able run at the speed it needs to ?
I might be tempted to investigate generators that wind power folks use ?

If your are looking at alternators then I would surgest looking at ones fitted to diesels as they often have a shaft or output to drive a vacuum pump for the brakes and you should be able to use that for the exciter drive
Mark

LiveSteam wrote:

Mark the spark wrote:Car alternator is a good idea they can make lots of power but require 12volts to kick them into life

That was my thought, they often will start generating on their own but without a 12v battery for a base line it can kill the regulator off pretty quick. Although they do have to go round a fair few lick and I'm not sure the showmans will be able run at the speed it needs to ?
I might be tempted to investigate generators that wind power folks use ?

That's the avenue I am currently investigating firstly 24V alternator so we can go slower to get 12V and a rare earth permanent magnet rotor so we don't need to excite it with a battery, just like the wind power people but without a regulator, output will be governed load and by RPM.
The diameter of the flywheel and the diameter the generator drive pulley will push up the RPM at the generator rotor.

Ian wrote:

LiveSteam wrote:

Mark the spark wrote:Car alternator is a good idea they can make lots of power but require 12volts to kick them into life

That was my thought, they often will start generating on their own but without a 12v battery for a base line it can kill the regulator off pretty quick. Although they do have to go round a fair few lick and I'm not sure the showmans will be able run at the speed it needs to ?
I might be tempted to investigate generators that wind power folks use ?

That's the avenue I am currently investigating firstly 24V alternator so we can go slower to get 12V and a rare earth permanent magnet rotor so we don't need to excite it with a battery, just like the wind power people but without a regulator, output will be governed load and by RPM.
The diameter of the flywheel and the diameter the generator drive pulley will push up the RPM at the generator rotor.

Sounds very much like my Hornet wind generator, which is basically a regular vehicle alternator stripped out with a rare earth rotor fitted.

Its one of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wind-Generator-PMA-G-Generator-alternator-UK-supply-for-serious-wind-turbines/371642671583 although I didnt pay that for mine but then I bought mine 10yrs ago now, puts out crazy amounts of juice

photos from this week...

the big machine has finished blocking out the first 6inch foden bracket...



and is now onto the second...



with the traction trailer hubs done we are now on the ones for the normal driving wagon...





the roadloco smoke-boxes have had their rings welded in and are ready for machining...



in the welding bay, fire boxes are under construction...



and the welded boilers are having their tubes fitted...

this weeks photos. we seem to be stuck on the same few jobs at the moment but its really because of quantity and size of parts that things are taking time.

the second of the 6inch foden chassis brackets are just about done...



wagon hubs are done...



but now we are on the inner and outer covers and hub caps...





the roadloco smoke boxes are now on for drilling...



next on the machines will be these small 2inch water fillers, they just need the mounting holes drilling...



on the live-tooling Hass machine we have lyka fuel tank filler caps...





and the fuel tanks are being welded now. note the extra sump area for any unwanted bits of dirt...



the outer tubes for the lyka boilers have arrived...



these photos show the general arrangement of the water tanks and boiler...





and our weekly look in the welding area... well to me this looks exactly like a photo we had about 3 weeks back but Harry assures me it is a completely different boiler near to completion       ...

this weeks photos.

the wagon hubs, and inner and outer hub covers are done and we now just need to finish drilling the hub caps...



and just when you think you are coming to the end of the wagon wheels... the rims for the rear arrive !!!



so after simple drilling...



and a test fitting, they are ready to go...



road-loco smoke boxes are finished on the 4th axis, but then we pop out the door rings and drill the hinge mounting holes and mill the dart bar slot...



and the smoke-box to boiler flange is milled to size...



the large machine is drilling Showman's horn-plates...



and the 6inch foden rear axles are coming together...





in the welding area its all hands on deck to get the lyka tanks finished, this is the fixing of the mounting brackets...



and the three tanks in position in the chassis...

this weeks photos...

last week we had a photo of the showmans horn-plate on the large machine. well this week we are onto the opposite hand...



having just finished kit 3 of the showmans/road loco we are actually now working on kit 2 !!! this was down to a delay in the front axle castings. these are now in and done, with just the wheel retaining collar/pin hole to drill...





also from kit 2, perch brackets...





and front forks...



and the early part of this week was just spent finishing parts you have already seen. loads of wagon wheels and another eight showmans rear wheels...





and those Lyka tanks are finally done.







with a couple of people off on holiday (Harry the welder and myself for the first half of the week) its been a quiet week overall

Are you any further on with showmans dyno kits?
Mark

All looking good but any bits for the roller?

sorry for the lack of photos on friday. Daventry was cut off by the snow, and anyone who lives outside the town, including me could not get in.

anyway, these are the photos...

these are the wheel retaining collars for the 6inch foden rear axle. as you can see the left and right are different. being round, this one is a turned part...



and the opposite one is a 100% milled part !!!



these are the roadloco/showmans kit 3 chimney bases...





whistle bases...





and more parts for the 6inch foden kit1. we are slowly working through these to replenish stock...



the showmans horn-plates that we drilled over the last couple of weeks are in the welding bay having the off-set section attached. once done, these will go back on the machine for final milling...



and also from the welding bay... well its another boiler shot. tried to get something a little different this week. with the end plate still to be attached this gives a nice view of the water jacket...

Nice to see shots like that showing the general build up.

Some time ago there was some videos posted showing the mill in action.
Would also be good to see a CNC machine in action.
It's good to see these as it gives us a better insight into the process.

Jimbo

Since Craig is off sick at the moment. Just a few pictures from the floor.
Lots in production and packaging.

What has happened to the latest production guides - I am missing them, they are the highlight of my week! Thanks
Greg

Goliewogs wrote:What has happened to the latest production guides - I am missing them, they are the highlight of my week! Thanks
Greg

We're only missing this weeks one really and Lynn does say Craig was off sick on the last one so maybe he's still not a well bunny.

Hi

Yes Craig was still off last Friday and I was busy. So no pictures. Hopefully some tomorrow.

yes, we have photos today glad to hear that your missing the guides. we have been hit with the lurgy at STW recently. I was the latest to come down with the flu and our machine loader has been off this week.

i'm back now and thanks to Lynn for providing a few photos for you too look at.

the main task for the machines this week was to do the final operation on the showman/road loco horn plates. Lynn posted a photo of the plate after welding and now the final holes for the bearing housing have been done...



i'm also halfway through a couple of batches of boiler barrels. the new roller barrel is based on the normal Burrel one but is 30mm shorter and has a different hole pattern for the smokebox mount...



and with them done i'm now onto the normal Burrel ones. nice to have two jobs follow one another with no real change to the set up...



and my final main job this week is the main 6inch foden chassis rails for the kit 1 that we have been picking away at over the last month or so. these are the small sections at the ends of the rail that provide the "kick in" towards the boiler cradle..





and waiting out the back are the main rails. I'll hopefully get on to these by Monday (and then probably be off again with a bad back )



looks like another batch of Burrel/roller cylinder block castings have arrived...



and Mark has just started turning some rear cylinder covers...



some of the parts that are waiting to be packed this week include Burrel tender top plates...



showmans boiler bands...



6inch foden rear radius arms...



and the perch and pivots for the 4inch burrels....



into the welding/boiler making area and... well no surprise really, its another boiler    this is a 6inch foden boiler at the very first stage of construction. here Harry is literally tacking the plates into place. this is actually the most critical part of the build, as getting the dimensions wrong here will lead to a lot of problems further on...

I didn't miss the request for more Videos. there is no problem with making any more, it just takes a bit more time and not all the jobs are that interesting, plus it can be hard to film things with coolant and swarf flying around.

all the old clips are still available. they are stored on my own personal you tube account and will not be deleted, however the links to them are spread all over the forum in the years of posts that have sadly lost their photo links

i think the first thing to do is to create a new "pinned" topic at the top of the guide area that brings all the old videos together in one place. Then i can look at creating a few more

Thanks for the update Craig
Is there any news on the last 2 showmans kits
Thanks Mark