Foden Kit 7

the next foden kit will contain the steering parts and the water tanks (originally kits 9 and 10)

i have ordered the material for this and there are a few parts that we have started as we wait for the next showman's kit to be sorted.

these are tank mounting brackets.



more news on this one as i get it

craig

a few more parts done on this.

brake pedal and lever...



more material arriving all the time.

Craig i thought the new fodens werent coming with front brakes? the brake pedal and lever made me think of the front brake but i am maybe wrong!


Mark

i'll have to check when i get get to work. when we get the kit folders now, they are divided into 3 parts... C-type, arctic/SWB and common parts. the levers are in the common parts section so i assumed they were to operate the belt/parking brake mech.

i know Steve has done some mods to the arctic/SWB brake to compensate for lack of front brakes. mmm, this is one to look into. thanks for the heads up mark

yep, steve has modified the pedal mech to work with the parking brake. you will also be able to use the parking brake in the usual way

due to the long manufacturing time of the new water tanks, we have now prepared the horn-plate and ash-pan kits for dispatch.

back on this kit now. wielding was started on the new water tanks today and we have machined loads of the steering parts.

actually this topic is a bit short of photos i'll get some tomorrow

OK, photos...

steering shafts...



steering wheel rims...



and spokes...



steering nuts halfway through machining...



brake pedal parts...



and brake pedal mounting boss...



steering box...



and water tanks parts during preparation...





im actually kicking my self now as the first of the tanks was completed at 3.30 and we mounted it straight into the control model. yes it fits but it seems i forgot to take a photo . i'll get one for you on Thursday (day off tomorrow )

craig

PS: if you haven't fitted your boiler yet... DON'T. best to wait till you have the tank and steering on

After having my foden c type in steam all weekend i can definatly say Steve is right about the front brakes being over the top. Not once did i use the brake pedal, just shutting the regulator and a bit of planning was all that was needed.


Have you made the steering shaft plus nut any different to the c-type? the reason i ask is the foden's are a bugger to steer as you need two hands to turn the steering wheel because it is so tight maybe needs geared down a bit.


Mark

the steering is just about the same really apart from the tie bar and steering rod being shortened a bit. i wonder if the lack of weight from the brake drums will help any ????

I wouldnt of thought so it is stiff to turn but maybe i am wrong but i dont think i will be


Mark

yeah, we have noticed how stiff the steering is when we move them around the factory, but then we always "push" them around. i had kinda expected things to be a little easier when moving at speed.

EDIT: of course there's always the idea of using a larger steering wheel, as proven on the old minis

OK, here's the photos of the tank in place...









and steves looking at re-working the handle on the steering wheel to hopefully make the steering at least a little more comfortable to operate

Hi Craig,

It's starting to look something like a lorry now do you know what the next kit is ?? belly tanks or ash pan or are they the same??, you made an earlier referance to horn plates and the ask pan, well we have had the horn plates but no ask pan's.

It there a revised kit schedule as we seem to have got parts changing from one kit to another and i'm totaly confused (and before you say it, it dont take much).


Ian

I saw a Foden at Launceston rally the other day and the owner had bolted an extension bar (thereby increasing the radius) onto the steering wheel giving more leverage. There was plenty of room for this and it didn't look too bad. I guess the only other way is to have a finer gearing on the end of the shaft but that would mean more turns of the wheel to get around corners. Power steering anyone?!!

the ash-pan kit was completed last month (at the same time as the horn-plate kit) and is ready for dispatch. the next kit after that will be the steering and the water tanks (one kit). we managed to get two kits ready last month to cover any problems with the water tank laser cuts. the good news is the laser cuts arrived on schedule and the tanks will be finished very soon. we are making a few mods to the steering wheel handle. the kit should be done this month (June).

that will give us the option of two kits to send out, you can have both if you have the money it's not a bad idea for us to get ahead a bit, we are also trying to do this on the lykamobile kits. the small batches make it easier.

we have been finding odd parts in some of the kits, kit 3 parts in kit 21 etc. this is because of "production issues" in the first batch of modelworks models. any delayed parts were moved into a later kit and all the packing lists were altered to suit.its almost impossible for us to remember what was moved about and it would be very time consuming for Steve to search through the whole lot to find anything out of place, so we are basically working through to old kits as they go along BUT... on top of this the STW model is spread over less kits (two less i think) so Steve also has to compress the parts down to allow for this. thats why you have been getting parts that seem to be out of sequence. to re-number these parts would mean that Steve would basically have to start again as solidworks uses these part numbers to create all the assemblies.

you will just have to trust us that you will get all the parts needed... eventually

craig

Craig
I would be interested to see/hear how you are modifying the steering wheel? it would be an idea to smooth out the top of the steering wheel handle as the first batch went to a point nearly and me and my brother where going around with cuts on are hand after useing it the other weekend. I will have to take a file to it at some point.



Mark

the idea is to replace the "death spike" handle with a proper Knob thats free to spin, just like a fork lift truck or disabled car. the knob will be a lot larger and more comfortable to grip.

Cool will it fit exsiting foden steering wheels?


Mark

no, the new ones will have a different mounting boss

Could i get away with replacing the whole steering wheel or is the thread now a different size to?


Sorry i should really stop posting in your production pages



Mark

yeah, a new steering wheel would do it, not sure how many spares we will have

PS: these pages are here for you, of course you can post in them

I am sure you will find a spare and put my name on it for me



Mark

Craig,

Thanks for the explanation of the moving parts, I have no issues with things moving about I just like planning ahead it must be the businessman in me, I feel that if I don’t plan things have a way of coming back to bite you in the ars# at a later date.

I have no doubt that STW will supply all the parts in the end and I must say that the build so far has been very easy and very pleasurable

Ian

Ian,

Thanks for adding the the last sentence. I'll chuck you that back hander next time i see you.

Dean