Llwyndrissi Halt.

[Mountain]

Had it for years. Think I bought it around 25-30 years ago? Trying to remember where as I think it came with other modelling tools in a set with a mini anvil? The anvil is blue, and I don't think the set cost much.
It has certainly had a fair bit of use over the years!

Back to the H frame chassis and the miller etc...

Well, I found the wood glue is strong enough for glueing the long chassis bits but not strong enough for the smaller middle parts so I ended up with superglued fingers trying to sort it out!
Found the issue with the miller. The bit was staying still and the rest of the machine was turning when pressure was being applied. It took a while to work out what was going on! (Should have had my reading glasses on, but to be honest, I don't think I would have seen it visually as the milling bit was turning normally until I put the H framed chassis onto it sort of from above and then sideways).
Anyway. I just got it all to work and then the chassis fell apart while sanding. Also realized by then that I had set the milling bit a slight bit higher than I wanted for the first U shaped cut, so I glued the chassis back together using superglue, and ensured it was flat, then had to sand square the ends again on my little sander, and then I started milling out a pair of U shaped slots which finally work!

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I found a pair of wheels for it and everything seems ok. I will add the paperclip wire to hold the wheels on soon, but I will fill the U shaped grove that I got wrong with tiny bits of wood and sawdust but it is not going to be that visible with a body over it).

BUT at least it works!

[Mountain]

Ok. So I mentioned the U shaped bits that needed to be filled as I turned the chassis upsidown and I was considering glueing sawdust and bits of wood into the gap, but there is an easier method which is actually easier than using filler hence why I thought I would experiment.

Here is the area that needs to be filled.

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I started by adding a drop of superglue into the areas needing to be filled. I then took some toilet tissue from my pocket and tore a bit off, and placed it in the holes as can be seen...

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I added more superglue to the tissue, waited for the glue to set (This gets very hot while it sets so be aware of this, and don't breath the smoke vapour that rises! (Not sure if it is hot enough to catch fire. be on guard just incase!)).
I then trimmed off the excess...

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[Mountain]

And then I filed it flush with the chassis...

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And there it is ready for painting! A rock solid repair!

(Also can be seen the 'V grove' filed into the centre of the H using a hand file ready for the wire to fit across which will hold the wheels in place).

[Mountain]

Though I am only balancing the bodies in place to show the basic look of the waggons...

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[aleopardstail]

Though I am only balancing the bodies in place to show the basic look of the waggons...

IMG_20241006_203332_kindlephoto-2589572077.jpg

you really have nailed the look, and I think in the true spirit of a typical narrow gauge mineral line, i.e. "nice, now do it for half that cost"

[Phred]

Mountain wrote:
I then took some toilet tissue from my pocket

I dare not ask why you have toilet tissue in your pocket but I think the superglue trick is a really good idea (despite the risk of spontaneous combustion).

[Mountain]

Thank you both. I was glad to have made those rusty bodies a few years back. I used one as a template for making more. I might make a template out of plasticard instead so I can fold up the rusty tin used as the template to make another one! I can always use tin without rust and make a few more!

Toilet tissue I have always had some with me for several reasons. I always come well prepared!

[Phred]

Mountain wrote:
I always come well prepared!

When I come to think of it, I never go anywhere without a hanky in my pocket and my wife always has a little sewing kit in her handbag. Both things have proved invaluable on numerous occasions.

[Mountain]

Template of waggon body (To be used to draw round on tinplate for making waggon bodies).

Dotted lines are folds. Solid lines are to be cut.

Dimentions may not be clear, but the inner rectangle which forms the floor are 35 x 45.
The height is 15mm so the other dimentions are 15. (One may need to trim a little off the tin on some of the outer pieces if they don't fold the way one planned).

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Be aware that the camera angles and the light glare (And the scale of the photo) will be way out, and if making ones own template to make bodies, they don't need to be perfect. The idea is that all edges have folds so that the folds prevent one from cutting oneself on sharp tin after the bodies have been made. (If working with tin so one is storing flat tin, always cut the edges of the corners round as this prevents one from cutting oneself).
There is no soldering needed to make these bodies if one uses biscuit tin or a similar thickness of tin. I found a large pair of sharp scissors works best when cutting this type of tin. I do have various more substancial tin snips but I prefer using scissors as this type of tin cuts easily.
___________________________________________________________________________________

Just to add. The dimentions to the main H frame chassis are 40mm long at the two lenths that make the H, and the two U shaped slots for the wheels are mounted 10mm in (If that makes sense). The width... Easiest measurement to use is two lollypop sticks wide per length and overall width at the centre of the H is six lollypop sticks wide! (Thought you would like that measurement!)
Then comes the bufferbeams which so far are half the width of a lollypop stick by the thickness of two lollypop sticks and 35mm long! I have not finished them yet as for my own couplings to be used I will deepen the centre of the bufferbeam to the width of one standard lollypop stick, or SLS for short. (SPS for our American friends whose measurement will be in popsicle sticks!)
If using tension lock, the half the width of a lollypop stick deep will be about right.

I hope all this makes sense?

[Mountain]

Another "Clothes peg" style H chassis in the making. (The wheel slots remind me of clothes pegs).

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And a few trials to see if the tanks I made ages earlier from an old Jouef Playcraft bogie tanker would work. Looks promising! Though as the tanks are heavy, I may try and shape the chassis so the tanks will fit lower.

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Also will add some strapping to hold the tanks on. I think these two tankers will form waggons number 01 and 02, with numbers 03, 04 and 05 allocated to H chassis rusty metal bodied waggons with wooden frames, and I have already made waggons 06, 07 and 08, though 07 needs finishing with buffers and couplings. (06, 07 and 08 run on old Triang metal bogies as chassis and run surprizingly well with their Romford wheels).

[Mountain]

Building Tanker Waggons (Trying An Idea To Hold The Tank To The Chassis).

While I could just glue the tanks in place, I ideally wanted to sit the tank in place with wire straps.

So first I cut and filed a shallow U shape into the chassis to help thw tank sit nicely in place as can hopefully be seen in the photo.

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I had added the wheels by fixing them in place using the gold colour paperclip wire.
Next I drilled holes into the chassis using my hand operated drill (It was the quickest drill to grab).

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I then feed the thinner uncoated gardening wire round the tank filler and through the slots BUT pulled the ends of the wires out towards where the bufferbeams will be as can be seen in the photo. These will be pulled tight and twisted once all wires are in place. (I think I will also glue the tank on just incase, but I do want the wire to be the main support holding the tank to the chassis).
I hope the photos give an idea of what I am trying to achieve. It will all come clear as things progress.

[Mountain]

Wires are loose and sagging at the moment but it gives an idea of how it will look. It will look better when everything is tight. I may not use the central hole for more wire as these should hold everything in place. The tank actually sits squarely in the chassis. It is the angle of the photograph that makes it look out of place.

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The tank wires will be tightened, twisted to hold the tension and cut before bufferbeams will be made and glued in place, this being a different chassis from the bufferbeamed chassis I had tried a tank with earlier. (Far easier to form the right curved tank shape into the chassis using a H-frame chassis that has not yet had bufferbeams fitted. I was going paint things before assembly but due to the wires adding complexity and I would rather not undo things such as the wire holding on the wheels or these wires now they have been threaded in place, I will paint after).

[Mountain]

So now I am tightening the wires and I added glue to the tank.

I pulled and twisted the wires...

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And snipped off the excess twisted wire underneath...

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The pictures are not the best as are at funny angles, but they do show that the wires have been tightened.

(I could have made cradle supports at the upper ends of the tanks and taken wires to opposite sides of the chassis, but in true narrow gauge "Anything goes" approach, this is a "That will do" solution).

[fourtytwo]

Great pictures, now I know what to do with my wife's used cosmetic bottles!
What do you do with the pointy axle ends, grind them flat ?

[Mountain]

Great pictures, now I know what to do with my wife's used cosmetic bottles!
What do you do with the pointy axle ends, grind them flat ?

Yes. Take a file to them. I have not done this as yet on a few of my waggons because I was not sure which wheels they would end up with, but yes, grinding the axle ends flat is the normal proceedure and it does not take long to do. (I may have used a stone wheel in the minidrill when I did it before).