Garden Railway Forum

Posted: **Tue Jan 20, 2026 9:57 pm**

Plod is just doing stuff while I listen to RN on the ABC to the crazy politics going on in the UK and the USA
"your anguish is the fault of the others, it is them to blame..."
and to think some fools are trying to do the same here, sigh.

[font size="3"][font face="georgia"]I would like to have the CNC love here, but alas...[/font][/font]

Posted: **Wed Jan 21, 2026 10:44 pm**

Plod did a wee bit of Garratting yesterday. The cranks are a sliding fit, to be Loctite and pinned later.

Posted: **Thu Jan 22, 2026 1:49 pm**

Brilliant progress, really shaping up. What do you use to make filing buttons?

Posted: **Thu Jan 22, 2026 9:37 pm**

Dr. Bond of the DVLR wrote: Thu Jan 22, 2026 1:49 pm Brilliant progress, really shaping up. What do you use to make filing buttons?

Thanks.
The time honoured method of making filing buttons is to use Silver Steel (High carbon) and is not hard to do. Available at most Model engineering suppliers.
One can machine, file and mill the material, but it is tougher.
Then heat to orange in low light conditions
quench in water to harden it full.
No annealing steps, use them as fully hard.
If making D bits or such like tooling one has to anneal or it will be much too brittle to use.
Many including Captain Plod use untreated Silver Steel as axles and motion pins.
I think the USA call it Drill Rod.

Handy book to have in the workshop. Copies abound second hand for a few gold coins.

Posted: **Mon Jan 26, 2026 12:07 am**

Thanks for the info! I'll keep an eye out for that book.

Posted: **Mon Jan 26, 2026 10:01 pm**

Captain Plod's Garratting continues, the pony trucks progress. He fitted a DRO to the Myford and that took all day and half the night.

Posted: **Tue Jan 27, 2026 8:14 am**

DRO?

Rik

Posted: **Tue Jan 27, 2026 10:00 am**

Beautifully machined

DRO is a digital readout.

Posted: **Tue Jan 27, 2026 11:17 am**

Durley wrote: Tue Jan 27, 2026 10:00 am Beautifully machined

DRO is a digital readout.

Aha! That makes sense

Rik

Posted: **Mon Feb 09, 2026 9:36 pm**

Pony trucks with Cannon Boxes. Why? = "Kicks and Giggles"

Posted: **Mon Feb 09, 2026 9:40 pm**

Some years ago Plod made up this thingies after inspirational article in Model Engineer magazine. Trim to length with a complete absence of burrs and finishes with a domed end.

Posted: **Mon Feb 09, 2026 9:43 pm**

Wilson Slomo will not fit, so Plod is going to make 2 mechs to fit. It must be said that this is with reluctance.

Posted: **Mon Feb 09, 2026 9:47 pm**

The bogies have the wheel sets temporarily fitted. It will be a beast at over 600mm long.
And the water pump eccentric what will use a sealed ball bearing and work the ram via a scotch yoke vertically into the pump mounted in the front tank.

Posted: **Mon Feb 09, 2026 9:49 pm**

Garratting continues after time in the bike workshop . Plod commences on the boiler frame, the precision riser blocks he inherited are yet again Crikey Marvellous.

Posted: **Tue Feb 10, 2026 7:39 am**

I love watching your builds come together....

Rik

Posted: **Tue Feb 10, 2026 9:24 pm**

Plod uses a straight edge clocked on top of the sub table for drilling the boiler frame parts
Nick Cave's idiot Prayer is playing.
Garratting continues

Posted: **Sat Feb 14, 2026 9:19 am**

Just out of interest, Dazza, how are you going to get the steam to, and exhaust from each bogie?

I was describing your build to a couple of mates I go walking with each week. One was a mechanical engineer and the other a mining engineer but both have an interest in railways. The mining engineer's dad was station master on one of the two foot narrow gauge lines in South Africa and the mechanical engineer was a keen train spotter in his youth.

We were discussing the various ways the problem could be solved. We decided you would probably use flexible hoses rather than ball and socket type joints. Or do you have a cunning plan?

Rik

Posted: **Mon Feb 16, 2026 11:15 pm**

ge_rik wrote: Sat Feb 14, 2026 9:19 am Just out of interest, Dazza, how are you going to get the steam to, and exhaust from each bogie?

I was describing your build to a couple of mates I go walking with each week. One was a mechanical engineer and the other a mining engineer but both have an interest in railways. The mining engineer's dad was station master on one of the two foot narrow gauge lines in South Africa and the mechanical engineer was a keen train spotter in his youth.

We were discussing the various ways the problem could be solved. We decided you would probably use flexible hoses rather than ball and socket type joints. Or do you have a cunning plan?

Rik

Flexible Teflon hoses and fittings, purchased from Roundhouse. They use them on their on the Double and Single Fairlie and the Darj Garratt.
Easy to adjust and swap out if required. Also much less heat loss with these as well.
Beyer type ball sockets in this size and amount of articulation for 760mm radius is a challenge too far for me in this life.

Posted: **Mon Feb 16, 2026 11:20 pm**

Garratting has ceased for a spell while Captain Plod unsuccessfully gave birth to a Kidney stone. However this birthing process has more to episodes to go in the near future.
The boiler frame got to this stage before the Opiates were called upon and hospital visits.
Normal programming will return soon.

Posted: **Tue Feb 17, 2026 11:09 am**

Hydrostatic Dazza wrote: Mon Feb 16, 2026 11:15 pm
ge_rik wrote: Sat Feb 14, 2026 9:19 am Just out of interest, Dazza, how are you going to get the steam to, and exhaust from each bogie?

I was describing your build to a couple of mates I go walking with each week. One was a mechanical engineer and the other a mining engineer but both have an interest in railways. The mining engineer's dad was station master on one of the two foot narrow gauge lines in South Africa and the mechanical engineer was a keen train spotter in his youth.

We were discussing the various ways the problem could be solved. We decided you would probably use flexible hoses rather than ball and socket type joints. Or do you have a cunning plan?

Rik
Flexible Teflon hoses and fittings, purchased from Roundhouse. They use them on their on the Double and Single Fairlie and the Darj Garratt.
Easy to adjust and swap out if required. Also much less heat loss with these as well.
Beyer type ball sockets in this size and amount of articulation for 760mm radius is a challenge too far for me in this life.

Of course, sorry, you mentioned this previously.

Rik

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