July, August, September 2019 production photos.

this weeks photos. just to put aside any fears that the lyka has been forgotten lately, i did post some photos of the wooden seat backs a few weeks ago. these are now with the upholsterer along with the seat bases. we also have a subcontractor working on the other wood for the seats, the same people that do all our wagon wood these days so that kit is being worked on...



the boiler cladding kit is being done, however it takes time to get the laser cut parts done and as tweaks are still being made to the design its taking longer than expected...



all the fittings for this kit are on the shelf...



the showmans dynamo kit has finally gone. there were many reasons for its delay, the details we need not go into, its done now, we can only apologize for the delay  

our big machine is free this week so i have taken the opportunity to get started on these 6inch foden front axle castings. these have been sitting around for a few months now...



the big machine is not just big in size, its big in power and is needed to blast out the large hole for the axle shaft...



from large to small and 2inch kit 10 bearing housing caps...



and making a start on 2nd shaft tubes. these are turned from solid bar on the 2inch...



i have also finished off the small batch of 4inch burrell smoke box door rings. these are used on the standard BU and the SCC



and the vast majority of parts are already packed this week. this is most of the roller kit 21...





and the BU and SCC kit 8...

Hi guys

A quick update for the Lykamobile customers. As has been pointed out some of you have been concerned by the lack of progress on kit 18 lately, this is completely understandable, and hopefully we can address this issue now. Please be assured that the work on the lykamobile hasn't actually stopped, it has just slowed down as we have been waiting for our suppliers to come up with the prototyping. As I'm sure you will all understand, Steve had a lot of the knowledge about the lykamobile in his head, as a result I have been staring at a screen for a number of months trying to get my head around the lykamobile, and understand what Steves plans were, and with Ian's help, it is starting to come together, the design is once again getting ahead again, and we have a rough plan for the rest of the kits. However, due to the amount of knowledge lost with Steve, we are slightly weary about ordering an entire batch of laser cuts without knowing that they are definitely correct. So I'm afraid we have been waiting for the laser cutters to do a batch of one off laser cuts, which they hate doing. This is why progress has been rather slow of late, as we have waited three weeks for one batch of laser cuts before then folding and welding them. Despite this progress has now been made. The prototype burner tray and cladding and smokehood has been finalized and the batch has been placed on order. The burner tray is the biggest issue, as they are made of a lot of separate parts. To show you what I mean, here are a few pictures of the burner tray prototype.







Hopefully this will be the last of the difficult kits to do as the rest is pipework and fittings. In the meantime as Craig has said, the seats are away being upholstered, and the seat spindles and hand rails are in production at our wood suppliers. So the 2 kits are now in a race against each other, and the first to finish will be the first to be sent out, and in the meantime our manual workers will be thinking of ways to do me in as they get to grips with the pipework (we hate the pipework) Laughing Laughing Laughing

Hopefully this will all be sorted soon

Thank you all for your patience

Will@STW

busy setting machines this afternoon. this weeks photos will be up in the morning

this weeks photos. i've been in the machine shop on my own this week, Mark has been on holiday and as a rule he tends to set up 99% of the turned jobs. i can do it, but im a bit slower than he is

we are making progress on the next 2inch kit with the 2nd shaft tubes on their last op...





also making progress on the 6inch foden front axle castings...



and more water pump rods, i only made some of these last month  



another main focus are kit 8's. for BU, SCC and DCC i believe !! im working on water fillers...



lids...



and just about to set up the water valve elbow...



spotted this next to the roller control model. the main diff gear seems to have its bevel gears !!



and a quick look in the welding bay would suggest they are working on fire boxes. that reminds me, i have the fire box door holes the machine   ...



and something for the lyka people. not sure if you have seen these before, the seat base and back 1st off samples...

Hi everyone

I have some good news for the lykamobile costumers, the burner tray, smokehood and cladding laser cut have just arrived from the laser cutters. One of our welders, Mark, is currently organising them into piles ready to begin welding them together. Another crucial step towards this kit going out.





Thanks all

Will

Fantastic!! However, Mark is probably now in a deep depression knowing that he has all this welding to do! Good luck Mark (and the other welders) and I look forward to receiving the finished product(s) kit!! Much appreciated.
Greg

this weeks photos.. as Will posted yesterday the laser cuts for the lyka burners are finally here and yes they are now working flat out to get this done.

sorting is finished...





parts are being bent...



others are being rolled...



and the welding has started...



probably worth saying now that we have two new welders after Harry left us some months ago and our other long term welder Lee retired almost a year ago. we did have another chap for a while but he didn't work out. We now have Mark (not to be confused with machine programmer mark) and Thomas.

with mark on the lyka parts, Thomas is on 6inch foden boilers...



a lot of work on the machines has been focused on weld prep this week, as the guys work out what they need to get their required boilers done, its partly up to us to provide them with some of the missing parts. these are showman's/road loco fire holes...



other machine work this week has been finishing off various tender accessory kits...



and im now setting up various levers for the 6inch foden kit 25. this is the regulator lever. if you look closely you can see an old stock part at the back. the front parts have had the handle turned on a lathe and the middle parts have had the first milling op done...

this weeks update more or less covers progress on last weeks items.

the 6inch foden kit 25 is coming on well with the regulator levers just waiting for the little "lugs" that go on the side of them...



and a selection of different sized clevises are bring made...



most of the kit is done...



the Lyka burners sheet work is progressing..









thomas is close to finishing his first batch of boilers...



and im also making a handful of lyka parts to make up short falls in stock...

this weeks photos...

we have another 15 DCC cylinder blocks waiting to go on the machine on monday...



the 6inch foden regulator brackets are on the new machine...



burrell ash-pan hinge pins



and brake bands...



water lifter castings arrived...



the pile of Lyka smokehoods is growing..



and the new welders first batch of boilers are being tubed...



and prepared for pressure testing next week...

thanks Craig,

can i ask why the boiler man holes are fake on the STW boilers. i use mine on my current engine every year to wash the shite from the bottom of the barrel out. way better than taking a plug in and out the tube plate with risk of stripping the threads.. just wondering what the reasoning behind it was / is

The plug on my 4.5" Foden does come out but as it is under the motion its an absolute pig to get out so I have never moved it.

Mick

BurrellSimplicity wrote: way better than taking a plug in and out the tube plate with risk of stripping the threads..

My front tube plate plug comes out every other rally to add some boiler treatment and all the plugs (inc fusible) are pulled about 6 times a year for washing out, and again for its inspection. No sign of any risk of thread damage in 5yrs on an engine thats well into its teens

Yes a manhole would be handy but I think the inclusion of one may increase the cost and design of the boiler somewhat.

no photos last week as i was on holiday. this week we have...

if you have been following the guides you may remember the 6inch Foden regulator levers. well these were finished with the small lugs attached...



our Lyka has been brought up to date for the Dorset steam fair...





and work is progressing with this kit with a lot of complex welding having to find its way through one person. i do believe he has broken the back of it now. inner trunking...



and outer...



and these will form the top of the boiler retaining straps...



also in the welding bay, BU and SCC gear guards...



also for BU and SCC, Helen is just finishing boxing up kit 10, this should go out on Tuesday...



showmans/road loco cylinders are now on the 4th axis...



im currently drilling Bu4 rear wheels...



also got foden steam manifolds on the machines to go with the recently signed off boilers...





and working through the 2inch kit 11b. this is the valve buckle...

latest photos...

DCC cylinder blocks are all finished...



im making a batch of BU4 gear change brackets from solid...



actually made in 3 separate parts...



these are a pleasure to do on the new machine. can actually blast through them at a good cutting speed...



to go with these we are also making gear change levers...





Roller gears...





and diff. kit due to leave on monday...



ive also finished drilling BU4 rear wheels...



and now working on the next BU2 kit, these are slidebars...



we now have around half of the Lyka sheet work done. these are still waiting to be welded...



but the rest are done (aprox 15 kits worth)...



and test fitted in a box, yes we are that close now that the boxes are here...



and the cladding and clamps are done...



and loads of fittings...



also for the lyka, 100's of seat spindles...



and as usual, boilers are in constant production...

there are photos this week

we finally got the first of the lyka kits out this week....



these are the boiler bands...



still a fair bit of welding to do...



and the first of the seat bases have arrived...



since dorset we have been working on around 4 full kit dispatches...



im making a few showmans/road loco parts... front spring hanger...



and im currently stretching the 4th axis to its limits to get the brake shaft key ways cut...



also have a load of 2inch castings to work on. oh how i love these . gear change arms...



water pumps...



check valves...



and lube tanks...



the lathes are working on loads of very small 2inch parts and 4inch foden diff bosses...



and this will soon be some foden smoke box door rings...



the fabricated BU4 gear change brackets are currently being silver soldered together...



and as always, boilers are being worked on. these are foden boilers being prepped for tubing...

this is going to be the last set of photos for this quarter, wow how time fly's.

Lyka Customers will be pleased to hear that the super wool has arrived and is being cut for immediate despatch. a simple thing to put together and get out to you, be warned... get your self a decent pair of gloves ready so you can work with this stuff...





our blitz on 4inch foden parts is done, diff parts..



front axle hangers...



and blow down valves being just a few of the parts made...



and a new batch of wheels have arrived...



remember those Burrell 4inch gear change brackets? Finally done...



and more parts from this week include belly tank brackets...





front spring hangers...



and gear guards...



thats it. there wont be any photos next week as im off on holiday (spending the week at home with my new Grandson ).

production priorities for next week will include roller kit 15 (steering) and BS kit 24 (water pump)