Table of contents for Issue 4689 in Model Engineer

Winds of Change You may already have noticed that Model Engineer is now sailing under a new flag. From this issue, this magazine, along with its three sister titles, Radio Control Models and Electronics, Model Boats and Model Engineer’s Workshop will be published by Mortons Media Group ltd., based in Horncastle, Lincolnshire. The magazines will continue to be led by their existing editors. Owen Davies, MyTime Media’s Chief Executive, said: ‘We have owned these magazines for over 15 years but with our business focus changing within the group, we have concluded that the titles’ future plans are best served by new ownership where there is portfolio scale to benefit and add value to these titles. ‘I’m very confident that Mortons Media with their long-term approach to publishing is a good…

Continued from p.512 M.E. 4688, 8 April 2022 Polishing We all know how to polish – rub the article to be polished with an abrasive – but it is oh so easy for the task to descend into failure. One starts with enthusiasm and after a short time you spot an area with a noticeable scratch so you concentrate on that area, only to find that in removing the scratch a dimple is formed. Not to worry just rub a bit more and, oh dear, in a bright light one can see the nicely machined edges have become rounded over. More effort is applied and you begin to notice that the dimensions of the component have begun to significantly change. Never mind, just change to a finer abrasive paper and,…

Continued from p.497 M.E. 4688, 8 April 2022 Alignment, centring and run-out Accurate alignment is important when assembling machinery components such as axles and shafts. Two shafts being mis-aligned and thus not co-linear, may be because the shaft centrelines do not coincide or they are at slightly different angles or both. If the two shafts are rigidly connected then the various components must ‘give’ a little when they rotate and the forces involved will affect the bearings. These forces cause periodic changes in stress in the material, making some part of the connection liable to fatigue failure. If there is a flexible coupling joining them then this may reduce the forces affecting the bearings but the coupling itself will last longer if it does not have to compensate too much…

Continued from p.529 M.E. 4688, 8 April 2022 The sump We now need to turn our attention to the bottom face, which will have the crankshaft pockets machined into it, and will also have the sump or, as our transatlantic cousins would call it, the oil pan mounted to it. The machining capacity on my mill/drill is a bit limited and so a special set-up was required to clamp the end faces, while the previously machined faces are sitting directly on the machine table. The set-up I used can be seen in photo 14. Ensuring that all the faces were machined as square as possible in the initial stages should mean that the previously machined faces can safely be tapped down on parallels. It’s also worth checking that all the…

Continued from p.526 M.E. 4688, 8 April 2022 Create QR Codes using Microsoft Office 365 In the first part of this article, we used the smartphone to read QR Codes. Now, we will use the laptop to create them. There are many programs to generate QR Codes. Let’s start by using Office 365 – Word. The version I have installed is the official one and that’s why it’s always up to date (as long as the subscription is paid). If your version of Office is an old one, was not legally bought or does not have a valid subscription, this option may not work. First you need to check if you have the QR4Office Add-in installed. An Add-in is a piece of software that can be added to a computer…

The Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings in Bromsgrove was the host venue for the 2022 AGM of the Federation of Model Engineering Societies. Accommodated in the fine setting of the Guesten Hall it proved to be an excellent location for the meeting. The provision of Zoom Conferencing equipment enabled additional delegates to take part in the meeting without direct attendance. This is another feature that the Federation is considering using to provide an extra communication service for member clubs. The first item on the agenda was the awarding of the Federation Trophy and Polly Model Engineering prize. This was hosted by Mike Chrisp who is the Honorary Vice President and Awards Officer for the FMES who presented the candidates in the competition by describing their efforts and work. It is…

Continued from p.505 M.E. 4688, 8 April 2022 The chain drive The primary drive is quite similar to Westbury’s original design but uses a finer pitch #25 chain (photo 20). This chain is ¼ inch pitch with a roller diameter of 0.130 inch. If you are working in metric, the equivalent chain would be #04B which is 6 mm (0.236 inch) pitch with a roller diameter of 4 mm (0.157 inch). The sprockets are 16 and 32 teeth so the transmission input runs at half engine speed. The idler sprocket is also 16 teeth and is mounted on a slotted bracket to adjust the chain tension. Westbury’s design arranged for a starting crank to be connected to the primary drive idler sprocket, which meant that the idler had to be…

Accuracy Dear Martin, In WW2, the Ministry of Supply were getting reports of a shortage of the Rolls Royce Merlin engines that were used in so many aero, land and marine applications that lack of supply had become a dangerous situation. The Minister approached Ford at Dagenham who agreed to start production, only to find RR could only supply simple outline drawings as they had no other! This puzzled Ford who wanted details of limits and fits for everything before they could make a start. The Minister asked RR to explain the failure to supply detail production drawings and tables of limits. It turned out that RR didn’t operate mass production! There WERE no such drawings and tables. EVERY single engine was hand assembled by a ‘fitter’ who sat surrounded…

Continued from p.448 M.E. 4687, 25 March 2022 A pencil sketch (fig 95) preserved in the Boulton and Watt Archive confirms that the overcomplexity of Ewart's design for the boring mill had been recognised. In the new drawing, the general arrangement of the engine is unaltered although it seems to have been the intention that the sun-and-planet gearshould be replaced by a crankpin. Beyond the flywheel, the number of machines driven by the engine has been reduced to two boring machines, a larger one and a smaller one. There is also a faceplate lathe. The changespeed gears incorporated in the earlier plan have been eliminated and a simplified three-shaft spurand pinion system has replaced it. The faceplate lathe, shown with a piston attached, is driven by a gear wheel meshing…

23 April – 19 June 2022 April 23 Cardiff Model Engineering Society Steam-up and Family Day, Heath Park, Cardiff. www.cardiffmes.co.uk 23 Southport MEC Small Gauges Day, Victoria Park 10:00 – 16:00. Contact: Gwen Baguley, gwenandderrick@yahoo.co.uk 24 North Wilts MES Public Running, Coate Water Country Park, Swindon 11:00 – 17:00. Contact: Ken Parker, 07710 515507 May ½ Cardiff Model Engineering Society Public running, Heath Park, Cardiff 13:00 – 17:00. www.cardiffmes.co.uk ½ North Wilts MES Public Running, Coate Water Country Park, Swindon 11:00 – 17:00. Contact: Ken Parker, 07710 515507 4 Bradford MES May Meeting – Spring Auction, Saltaire Methodist Church 19:30. Contact: Russ Coppin, 07815 048999 7 Cardiff Model Engineering Society Steam-up and Family Day, Heath Park, Cardiff. www.cardiffmes.co.uk 7 York Model Engineers Evening Talk – 19:00. Contact: Bob Polley: 01653…

Continued from p.454 M.E. 4687, 25 March 2022 Before I climb into the smokebox I generally finish off all the steam piping to the cylinders and the lubrication system. An overwhelming number of pictures of unfinished locomotives for sale consist of a frame with the smoke box connected and that’s it; no boiler of course. Leaving the smokebox till after I’ve finished a number of other bits and pieces must be the reason why I finish my locomotives before they end up on the ‘unfinished for-sale’ pile. The snifting valve and wet header bush The snifting valve is a good valve to tackle for one of your very first. There are two fundamental requirements for a ball type valve to seal properly. Firstly, the hole or seat on which the…

Continued from p.509 M.E. 4688, 8 April 2022 Painting by Diane Carney. Facing the block Now we come to one of those jobs that I am most apprehensive about. It’s not that there’s anything particularly difficult about this but there is very little, actually probably zero, allowance for any error. We are of course talking about the middle cylinder. I knew that this would be nerve racking – the casting costs close to £500 and that’s a sum that I’d find very difficult to replace today, so I’m a little nervous to say the least, but it’s got to be done so onward we go. It isn’t the usual type of cylinder, having a number of differences to complicate matters. First it sits on a 7 degree incline, its steam…

Continued from p.501 M.E. 4688, 8 April 2022 Water tank and water system An internet search produced ‘Tanks Direct’ (usual disclaimer) and from their large range of plastic water tanks I selected a 32-litre rectangular container with a 1/2 inch BSP threaded outlet. This fits neatly inside the seat box and is located in place by wooden blocks glued to the base plate of the body. I needed four water supplies for the locomotive: two for the injectors, one for the hand pump, and one for a possible electric pump to be fitted at a later date. I therefore designed a manifold unit to accept water from the tank and deliver to four outlets, combined with a large drain plug for emptying the tank at the end of the day.…

Hi Gang! What a delicious chocolate brownie of a column we have today, from Morse keys to Ferraris. Read on… Visiting Chesterfield market for the first time this year, we glimpsed this Ferrari 488 on the A61. Debs asked, what would one of those cost? Off the cuff, I said £ 1/4 million. I was almost spot on! Other unusual vehicles were a motor cycle combination hearse (see: tinyurl.com/5n7nw4bs), a Pontiac Firebird and a Yamaha Niken (motorbike with two front wheels). (Sings “All I want for Christmas is my two front wheels…”) Several other ‘conversation pieces’ I spotted on the market were a diver’s helmet and a crown-wearing dog…. Plus, a boxed Mamod Traction Engine which was not priced but the stall-holder was absent. Further on, though, there was this…