Presedential Candidate??

Ideally I would like little oil wicks because the wax splatters every where as they bounce when on road runs and the LEDs are a bit weak. I have seen the lamps that have a small oil burner in but they are too big. Does anyone know where they sell just the oil unit with the wick so that I could perhaps try and modify them to fit.

Came across these which may do the job. Looks like they are in kit form for fabrication. Oil burners near bottom of page.

http://www.mjeng.co.uk/mjsundries.html

After all the bloody awful weather we have been subjected to finally we had a superb weekend of sun and a glorious setting for the festival of steam at the Weald and Downland open air Museum. If you have this months issue of Old Glory then you will have seen a write up about Micheal Webbers do and it was as good or better than expected, if anything the weather was just too hot at 33 deg!!!!

Even better was the fact that I have run for about 7 hours on both days with no real issues at all. Having finally got my hands on a flywheel it has meant that the engine runs just so sweetly and this evening was barely turning over on less than 20 psi. It has loosened up so much and really this is just what it needs to bed it all in.

I need to point out that I badgered Steve into letting me take a flywheel on Friday from the factory despite the fact that this kit will leave during the coming week but so impatient am I, I nagged him till he gave in so for all those waiting it will be coming very shortly. Of course I couldnt resist actually driving it and yes it did run under its own steam but due to my impatience I still dont have the collar for the RH wheel and the axle drifted and allowed the diff to disengage which cant really be sorted until the kit arrives but there is video of it and it will be on my channel later.

Later in the day David Steel turned up and we put together a road train of STW gear, certainly with the display of mine, Davids, Andy2 and Alan Smith STW did a good job this weekend.



Andy and Alan enjoying early morning sun on Saturday, Andy used to be a bodywork man and the finish on his engine has to be seen to be believed!! He does know how dirty it will get having helped me for the last two weeks, pity really



Both of the engines and the set up for the weekend, the organ draws a huge crowd when playing and the little kids seem to love dancing about in front of it, very staisfying to have made it and just what I wanted it to do.



Davids engine with the STW road train, the ring commentator was very complimentary of the authentic look of the wagons and load.



All three from STW and we made certain everyone knew!!



The flywheel at last, the brass ring runs nice and true and it doesnt wiegh as much as expected, just slid onto the shaft with no effort at all and the key seems very easy to knock in and hopefully will set it in place without too much trouble. Will get around to painting it shortly and lining it, could be interesting!!!



An really excellent weekend and I cant wait for the miniature weekend at Amberley in September when it will spend all weekend running.

Very well done Kev, good post.
Good promotion for STW engines too.
Your "impatience" has paid off!!!
Regards,
Tony

Well done Kev,

Flywheel looks good (can not wait for mine... ). Also, I love the video...must have watched it 10 times (and forced the wife to sit through it twice... .

All the best,

Brian

well done...the first finished engine?

Not finished as there is no gear change set up yet, flywheel brake, motion covers, roof and a few other bits and pieces I have missed. Plus I need to go back and fit stuff for the final time now I know it will be moving soon such as this morning has been spent dismantling, greasing, fitting second key and reassembly of the diff. Only went a matter of a couple of hundred yards yesterday just to know it was possible, kept me "up" for the rest of the day!!!! Likely to be a few issues in the next couple of weeks to do with regulator setting for slow and fast, gear system etc. Discovered this morning for instance that the reason it is so difficult to push it about apart from the weight is the axle is really tight due to my fitting skills and lack of tools/knowledge. Makes it even more difficult for an already tight engine pulling a 100kg trailer up hill on grass!!!! No wonder it struggled!!

But I think I am the first in steam and moving. Come on people get those steam tests sorted and lets see some more!!!!

Kev,

I take it the Road Lamps are scratch built? Very nice, could you put some more photos up as and when you get a chance?

Cheers,

Tim

Kev,

I take it the Road Lamps are scratch built? Very nice, could you put some more photos up as and when you get a chance?

Cheers,

Tim

Having got all the latest stuff back from the platers and being in the fortunate position of having the next four weekends with rallies on I have been busy in the evenings reassembling everything to have a trial run this weekend. Wanted to see how the gears are and make sure it all survives. Sadly this wasnt to be as the water pump drive locked solid, broke the nylon gear and needed the whole crank out to sort out but I can report that the engine can drive comfortably with two full grown adults on a twin seat on tarmac roads with no issues at all. Also first is very low geared which as demonstrated at the last outing is fine for crowded rally fields. Second is comfortable to run steadily on a road without too many dramas and third is great, clipping along well without feeling like the motion is flailing away like mad.

Also for those that havent read about the mod on the third speed hub this repair would have been very tricky if not impossible with the crank in place. Also without The Colemans help ( Andy2 ) I would have been lying in a darkened room crying so Thanks once again Andy, invaluable experience for you also.





Gear levers and associated bracketry, black is black nickel and silver is clear nickel, shouldnt get rusty at all now.



Third gear engaged showing mod on hub in place to get acces to bearing cap, rotating 180 degrees allows crank to be lifted clear of bearing without taking second and third off, or the roadwheel and gear cluster.





Flywheel in top coat but needing to be lined, need to pluck up courage and have enough time, got a few busy weekends coming up so will need to wait for a break. Yes I need to repaint chimney due to poor prepping a zinc surface!!!!



All stuff now fitted, including modded lifter hose union and second whistle pull.



The Coleman made me a couple af very tidy brackets for the name and number plate, both been black nickel plated and the lower one will have the number plate paited on in white as it is impossible to get a stamped miniature alunimium plate which is what I would ideally want. If any one knows someone who can make a stamped black ali plate about 25mm high by 150mm long let me know.

Hi Kev

Finally back on line, we moved house eventually but Blackbeard is still in the old garage while we get the new garage wired and insulated.

I picked up a card from a numberplate stall at Dorset that had the press steel silver character plates, he told me he could do any size and did have the size on display that woud suit our engines. Web site link below.

np4u@a4pp.co.uk

Brian

I think that may be the email address? the web address is

http://np4u.co.uk/

Thanks Rob, well spotted - I just coppied the only thing on the business card that looked like a web address - Doohhh!

Now here's a dilema we are all facing to some degree... how do we want to finish our engine, paint wise I am as close to " The President " as poss but have chosen to call it "His Majesty". I wanted the stars on the covers despite not being correct and I have also added the star to the right motion cover (currently being lined already as the powder coaters were running black yesterday as I got there so was done overnight!!! ) as I dont want the name plate there. There is a crane engine which is also called "His Majesty" and it has a star on the chimney. I realise this is why no two Burrells are exactly the same, after all they are ours, we built them and can do as we damm well please.

Now I cant do the metal stuff but The Coleman, now thats a different matter. He has very kindly made a couple of copies of the stars and has bent one to fit the chimney for me. And what a stunning thing it is too!! I will consider it an early Xmas pressy!! As I have a couple of weeks without a do the engine is undergoing a few cosmetic jobs such as the chimney being stripped and powder coated so this is the ideal time to drill it for the star. The finish they have got on the powder is superb and they are confident it will go to at least 250 deg C so we shall see how it holds up to a next years dos. It can always be refinished if it fails. Here it is in the garage but as soon as the covers are done I will post some "almost but not quite complete" pictures, might even have the unpainted roof!!!. Gave the cap a quick blast on the buffing wheel as it was off, soon goes manky though with the first whiff of heat

As you can see he has mangaged to get a perfect contour with the chimney and has even taken an M6 brass bolt and turned the end down to make a dome head!! No end to his talents and his paint job is breath taking too





On the subject of the roof what are thoughts about colour and finish to try and keep it slightly clean. I'm pretty sure it should be white or antique white but the amount of crap that comes out of the chimney will cover it in seconds. Anyone considering a high gloss/laquered finish to faciltate cleaning??

Hi Kev,
Like the star a nice finishing touch.On the subject of the roof top I was considering using a fibre glass gel coat, It should fill in any inperfections (not that there will be knowing STW) and should give an easy to clean finish.


Colin

My full size is fibreglass, as are many others. Gives a hard wearing, long lasting finish.

Blimey Kev, I don't know who's quickest, you or Lynn, I've only just received my kit & opened it & you've finished it!!
Bloody good job though, look forward to seeing pics of motion covers in place.... As you said, been a wonderful experiance building these engines & they'll all be slightly different, which, is exactly the way it was with the full size engines.
I think I may resort to two pack car paint on the roof of my Showmans, so you'll have to be careful when you stand your beers on it, else they'll slide off!!
Regards,
Tony

If I had not spent the last two weeks basically in bed. I would have got the motion covers done today.

Bit pressed for time this morning so only have the right hand cover finished. Polished one of the stars yesterday which isnt a very difficult process, held in the fingers ran it round on 600 grade then 1200 grade wet and dry then zapped it on the buffing wheel with autosol, finish is like a mirror!!! As Lynn has said the accuracy of these is second to none and I am a firm believer that it is the attention to the small details such as this that will set us apart on the rally field. Even full size dont have 3D stars. I am particularly pleased with the curve at the base of this cover, I have a shot of "The President" which shows this bit clearly and I am very pleased with how close they are. I will endeavour to try and get a shot of mine in the same angle and see if we can spot the difference once the roof arrives.

If anyone is reading this forum trying to decide if they want to take up one of the kits and are concerned about construction, finish, reliability, longevity of the factory or anything else that might be holding them back then dont worry and go for it. This engine is truely superb and rivals any home brew engine for detail and accuracy. The final product is a real delight to use and as Tim will confirm is a very smooth, quiet and controllable beast with plenty of huff when called for. The standard of engineering and fit is just wonderful. I have had no issues following the instructions and havent had any problems when things have needed replacing due to slight errors when running.

And so here we are at the current point, just the left hand cover and the roof to go. Even made the belts for the govenor on Friday although the main one off the crank seems to be riding off centre of the transfer pulley but I need to be in steam to check properly. The seat is a bit too low for me, I have got used to the current position and I dont like the bit that sticks out the back, I realise this is for the options and to allow long leged ganglyans to fit at the controls so I suspect I will have a go at modding it. Thinking about cutting the section the seat attaches to off and shortenting it and raising it and then reusing the diagonal bars to rebrace it underneath. Clearly it wont work with the bowser in its current format and as the bowser is easier to transport to and from rallies it might get more use than the trailer so I would like to have the option of attaching it if I can.

Hi Kev

Looking very nice in the sunshine. I like your right hand notion cover better than the showman one. Looks more finished. Also the brass half rounds are flat ended so don't join up but only butt up against hence a square gap.

bloody hell, top draw looks the business, not even started mine yet.

Well done Kev

Gotta say Kev, your engine is spectacularly magnificent, that paint job is the "dogs" I reckon us "showmans" have a challenge on our hands here
Very well done & what a pleasure it's been (is) reading your posts.

Regards,
Tony

Thanks Tony, close up though it is covered in muck and I need to touch in quite a few chips . Mr Stationhouse has a really A class finish and the one Steve T is doing for Steve B looks very good too, could be interesting to see them all up close and compare. Sadly I am quite lazy at cleaning and not commited enough, I watched Tim at Portsmouth a few weeks ago and he spent at least two hours whilst getting steam up cleaning lots of bits with tooth brushes and all sorts, I might have to rethink in the next season to make sure I keep up appearances

Had the day off today as work is quiet and so did a bit of cleaning on the engine sorted out the roof in dry as the replacement sides have arrived, polished the other star, blew out the boiler and general bits and pieces. The Coleman came over in the afetrnoon to pick up his very spangly motion work that has been plated and we tried a few things on the roof. We both feel that the roof is just a bit too low, although being correct so he made up some extension rods of 8mm with a 10mm threaded sleeve on so we could screw them to the uprights and then see how the roof looks at various heights.

Started at a 12" raise which whilst felt cool to be able to sit under the canopy looked very odd Very Tasker and far too high and wobbly. Cut them down to 8" which is getting better, we will make two more sets at 6" and 4" to see how they all look and then select the best. Despite this I feel that I for one will not be driving the engine with the roof on at any stage, it gets in the way of the controls, make vision difficult but most of all obscures all the nice moving parts which I like to see, besides I have got so used to the position which feels natural that I want to stay that way. You may ask why we are lifting the roof at all Mainly so that if we sit stationary at a rally and have it on to look good the motion can still be seen, also with the detachable extensions it can be as prototype in seconds any way.

Fitted the second star so here we are, just needing to glue the roof and paint and decide on the signage

Simply beautiful, Kev............... Well done!!
Regards,
Tony