Hello.
Ok, so this is a bit contrary to my last post where I said I was gong to focus on Highclere to get it finished but somehow things have worked out this was during the week.
In my last post I mentioned that I had upgraded the spindle on my CNC mill which now allows me to use a wider range of cutters than before. Well, one of things it has meant I could now do was to use some 0.3mm diameter milling cutters and so to try them out I produced some wheel centres as shown in my last blog post.
As you can see in the above picture I have now made some wheel rims using some free cutting steel and a wheel profile tool purchased from a guy in Germany
HERE as Graham kindly posted in a previous post. These were pressed onto the centres producing a nice set of 4mm diameter driving wheels.
Next on the list of things to make were the chassis sideframes. I previously got some etched but I really wanted to make them out of something thicker plus I needed to provide some support for the motor and gears. The logical thing to do was to draw them and CNC cut another pair out of some 0.4mm thick Brass.
These were then soldered together with spacers to make a chassis a teeny 2.5mm wide. I couldnt resist it so below is a picture of how the engine looks right now...
There is still lots to do (obviously) and I am still not sure if it will actually work or even if I can build everything for it! One thing I know for sure is that its making me think hard about how to make things but more importantly I am quite enjoying the challenge. It will probably sit in a box now for a month or so until I figure out what to do next and how to do it!
Julia :o)
If anyone can Julia, you can.
ReplyDeleteI dont know about that Paul. I think you could have a pretty good go at one of these.
DeleteIf this works out and gets finished then excellent but I honestly dont know if its within my capabilities to do something this small. I know others have managed it in the past but these people are what I call 'master builders', something I am not. This could easily end up as a wagon load for my standard gauge stuff!
J.
Looking forward to seeing the real on next year - and taking my kids to see the real "Grandpuff" along with my Dad (aka Grandpuff!). Can't wait to see how the model works out!
ReplyDeleteIts amazing how small they actually are in real life. Are you off to Wales then Kevin?
ReplyDeleteNext year - late June. Hopefully there is an Expo or Supermeet on around the 18th.
ReplyDeleteI dont know when next years expo is yet. It would be nice to meet you though.
DeleteJ.
The wheel profile tool worked out then. How close are the Z Gauge ones to 2mm FS standards?
ReplyDeleteYes, thank you Graham.
DeleteI dont know how close to 2mm standards the profile tools are. I got 2 profile tools in the end, one was a NEM standard and the other was called a 'finescale' profile. I really should take time to find out exactly what I got! I also approached him about the possibility of producing a tool to 2mm finescale standards but the reply was a definate 'NO' (after we got over the translation barrier).
J.
P.S.
DeleteThe tools themselves are really nice and cut really well. Really worth the money.
J.