Peckett Body Build - First Attempt - NOW FINISHED Pictures page 6

[-steves-]

I had a Garden Railway 32mm chassis and a Peckett body for it which I picked up from Facebook. I am not overly impressed with the body which appears to be 3D printed and not in a good way at all.

I have decided to bite the bullet and build the body in brass, never tried that before, only every put a Roundhouse body together (which was easy) and built out of plasticard, which is also very easy to work with.

I thought I would start with the saddle tank and see how it went. It's all in very rough cut, my cutting isn't straight, my filing seems to be even worse, but it you look beyond that, (like a couple of miles away), then it might not end up looking too bad in the end, lol. Please note nothing has been cleaned or tidied up, it's all in pure raw form at the moment, that's my excuse and I am sticking to it. The holes underneath and and at the cab end are for getting to the batteries and wires to and from the underneath, they will also be tidied up as they are just rough cut and not finished.

Here are some bits that I have done so far. Still trying to work out how to do the cab and make the corners join up straight, still putting thought into that one before cutting anything, unlike the saddle tank which I just launched straight into without a thought.

[-steves-]

A bit of time on this today, not much, but a bit.

Got the cab sides, front and back cut out, along with the holes cut. Managed to get on the lathe and turn some spectacles. Made some corner brackets which I intend to bolt into the corners with small nuts and bolts, rather than trying to solder it up as I struggle to keep it straight and when soldering one end another end tends to pop open. I could bolt it, then solder it all, then remove the bolts, I am not 100% sure of which direction I will take as I am still waiting for the nuts and bolts to turn up in the post so can not go any further for the time being. There will be lots and lots of little bits to make at some point and these are likely to take quite a few weeks / months to get them all together.

It is only placed together for the photos for now, but it gives an idea of the direction it's heading.

[ge_rik]

Looking good to me, Steve. Your metal working skills are a lot more accomplished than mine - or maybe you're more accomplished at disguising your mistakes - or maybe that's part of the skill set for an accomplished metal worker

Rik

[-steves-]

Looking good to me, Steve. Your metal working skills are a lot more accomplished than mine - or maybe you're more accomplished at disguising your mistakes - or maybe that's part of the skill set for an accomplished metal worker

Rik

Thanks Rik

My sheet metal working skills require a lot of work, this is my first ever attempt and I wish I knew where to start most of the time. My lathe work isn't too bad for simple things. I am fairly handy with car body filler which will hopefully hide all the imperfections that are most definitely there at the moment, but after spraying there shouldn't be too many on show. Maybe the camera angle covers most of them at the moment lol

[tom_tom_go]

That's starting to come together Steve.

You could also make a brass cab version of a diesel with the design you are following as minus the curved boiler it could be a small 0-4-0 shunter.

[-steves-]

That's starting to come together Steve.

You could also make a brass cab version of a diesel with the design you are following as minus the curved boiler it could be a small 0-4-0 shunter.

Indeed it could and the thought crossed my mind as I was cutting the cab out for this, I still have the plans I drew up, so I am sure it can be duplicated in the future. Not sure how to do the cab roof yet as I would like it hinged or at least removable in some way to get to the electrics that will be housed in there. In hindsight I should have started with a more simple diesel build in brass before jumping straight into this, but needs must and this was on the cards so I just gave it a go and will see how it pans out

[tom_tom_go]

Make the roof magnetic, hinges look ugly!

[-steves-]

Make the roof magnetic, hinges look ugly!

Great idea, I might even make the roof out of sheet steel to make it easy for magnets

[-steves-]

Well a little bit more time on the lathe today, again attempting things I have never done before or ever been taught to do. Maybe I should point out I bought a lathe and just started trying to use it and it's been a lot of trial and error along the way. These are not 100% how I would like them and if I did them again, I would know where to make changes to make things look better and easier to do. Anyway, here are the 5 bits I made along with them kinda placed together on top of the loco to see how they may look later on.

[Peter Butler]

I have never used a metalworking lathe myself but if that is a first attempt for one who is self taught I think you have done a great job. You should be well pleased!

[-steves-]

I have never used a metalworking lathe myself but if that is a first attempt for one who is self taught I think you have done a great job. You should be well pleased!

I have used the lathe before, I bought it a few years ago, I have not made that much with it, but I have found it very useful for doing air filters and exhausts in aluminium for little diesel shunters that I have made out of plasticard. All my work on the lathe is self taught and can be very confusing at times when you see what others can produce, the mind boggles. This is my first attempt at building a complete body including all fittings in brass, bit of a steep learning curve at times, but lots of fun

Never made a chimney before that's for sure, a very steep learning curve for me.

[-steves-]

The bits made so far, just pushed together to see how things might look later down the road. The cab is still just 4 separate sheets and all the new brass parts are just placed there for the picture.

[tom_tom_go]

I would be pleased with myself if I could produce what you have done with no guidance other than YouTube videos!

Almost looks like a Roundhouse Katie body kit

[IanC]

Another "Well Done" from me. Great work.

[-steves-]

Thank for everyone's kind words.

Well the hard bits have started now, took me a couple of hours to knock up one imitation safety valve / whistle and mount. It ended up as 5 small pieces, including a 3mm allen bolt as a fake spring and turning 3 other parts and just filing a cut of piece for the top. There are obviously no plans for any of this, so it's mainly done from eye and some overall dimension plans that really don't cover much except for overall size of the cab and water tank.

Anyway, here is one of the pesky parts made today and some pictures of it just placed on top of the other parts, as I say, not much is actually attached at this stage. The part made today still needs tidying up a bit as the solder run in places, but that's for another day. Progress is slow but it was never meant to be a race

The more observant will notice the start of the buffer beams in the final picture, these are way oversized at this time and need a fair bit of work, but it's all in the grand plan

[-steves-]

Managed a little more time today, didn't manage to make much as I had to strip all the lathe down as I had quite a bad wobble going on, it's all tight again now, but unfortunately I think the poor little thing will need replacing at some point with a better quality one, cheap is not always cost effective.

Anyway, I managed to make part of the smoke box door and a couple of sand boxes, but with the lathe rebuild, time on the lathe and mill were limited. I still have to solder the sand box bases to the tops as yet.

The final picture is the 14ba bolts that I am putting the cab together with, they might not look tiny, but that drill bit next to it is 0.98 mm.

[ge_rik]

Your fittings look a lot more workmanlike than my equivalents in plasticard.
I'm impressed. I'd love to be able to justify the expense of a lathe, but I think I'd probably not get sufficient use out of it. A shame there's not a Men's Shed near here.

Rik

[-steves-]

Your fittings look a lot more workmanlike than my equivalents in plasticard.
I'm impressed. I'd love to be able to justify the expense of a lathe, but I think I'd probably not get sufficient use out of it. A shame there's not a Men's Shed near here.

Rik

Thanks Rik

It's amazing just how long it takes to make these fittings out of brass rather than plasticard, a lot of work for a beginner I must admit. All the fittings shown still need final fettling so more time and effort will be required. There are loads and loads of fittings to make, I am beginning to realize the size of the project I have undertaken here. Thank goodness that I didn't take on building a steamer from scratch like I thought about, lol A project that will save for another few years I think

Mini lathes are cheap enough at around £500 from somewhere like Amadeal and once you have one, it's amazing what you start using it for, same goes for a mill. They will work brass, bronze and ali without too much effort, but steel is another ball game, especially when you want to make another over about an inch round. If I could afford one I would have a reconditioned Myford 7, but that will always remain a dream for me as finances will never allow it I am happy with my little mini lathe and it's little wobbles as it still gets all the jobs done that I need to I did try to make a wheel once and failed miserably I wish the was a men's Shed near here too!

[FWLR]

Impressive work Steve, take it easy and don't rush on finishing it. It looks like a masterpiece already...

[GTB]

Managed a little more time today, didn't manage to make much as I had to strip all the lathe down as I had quite a bad wobble going on, it's all tight again now, but unfortunately I think the poor little thing will need replacing at some point with a better quality one, cheap is not always cost effective.

Your parts look OK for someone who claims to be self taught......

What lathe do you have?

I build steam locos on a Seig C2 lathe and an X2 mill without much problem and the lathe has turned over 350 wheels in steel by now. It's a bit slower to make a part than larger lathes, as you can't take very heavy cuts, but once set up the accuracy is adequate for the task. Parting off can be an adventure though if the gibs aren't adjusted right and I don't attempt to part off brass over 1/2" or steel over 1/4". I have a bandsaw and use that for cutting wheel blanks.

I've never had the lathe wobble except when turning large parts mounted off centre in the 4 jaw chuck. Do you mean 'chatter', where the lathe vibrates and screeches, while the tool bounces around so the surface finish has strange patterns? Chatter is often a problem with a mini lathe, as the mounting of the top slide isn't very rigid.

I've got into the habit before I start a new project of going over the lathe cleaning, lubricating and adjusting everything, then sharpen the tools and check the tool holders are at the right height. The variable speed control also helps minimise chatter, as it is speed dependant.

I'm a scientist, not an engineer, so also largely self taught, mostly from books and many years of making small parts on a Unimat SL.

Graeme