Another good work day was held and a lot achieved. During the week I had taken delivery of the 8 coil springs from the Lancashire Spring Co at Milnrow, in Lancashire (Yes I did have to travel to the dark side). I also collected various bit of steelwork from Jason Reeve. These are the two brake beams, the sway bar and the sway bar bracket. These together with the remaining three brake shoes were taken to Middleton. Malcolm spent the morning machining pivots for the pawls for the brake ratchets and I spent the morning drilling holes in the brake blocks. These weren't easy as they are a very awkward shape to clamp.

After lunch Malcolm made the pivot for the sway bar and I drilled the remaining holes in the sway bar. The pivot hole then needed milling to make it oval. Apparently this allows the brakes to self centre. Meanwhile I had ground some metal off the brake beams so that they fitted into the brake shoes then drilled the first beam. Here is a completed brake beam with the blocks temporarily bolted on.

The brake blocks can be seen at either side plus the angled boss that allows the push rod to apply the brakes.
Once Malcolm had finished machining the parts for the sway bar it was test assembled with the pivot fitted.

After that it was time to clear up but I couldn't resist adding two of the coil springs to the trial suspension unit. This now has both spring seats on it.
A lot of work is left but next week the wheelsets and dummy underframe are to be delivered so there should be a lot to report.

Not much to report this week. We managed to get so much machining done last week that there wasn't enough left to do to justify a working party today. In the meantime we are waiting for more items to be delivered from the fabricators. Once those arrive then there will be a lot of drilling and painting to do so the plan is to have another working day next week. In the meantime I've finished the last of the drawings.

Jamie

A very good day in the workshop with Malcolm and Mike.  I had picked the stretcher bars up yesterday and all but one of the drawings are now with Jason Reeves who is doing the fabrications.  So today Malcolm started off by setting up the cast spring seats on the copying lathe.  16 needed boring out, then the bore needed to have a taper added so that they fit over the rubber cones.  A couple of hours later and all were complete.  Here are a few of them after I'd painted them in primer.

On top of some of the piles are some sliding collars.    Mike meanwhile was machining the suspension rods then Malcolm used the lathe to cut the threads on their ends.  I had drilled the four stretcher bars and then couldn't resist making a trial assembly of a suspension unit.  This shows how the rubber cones, which act as dampers, fit over the rods.  They just need the coil springs to be delivered.

I was quite pleased with that.   Meanwhile Mike started on the pivots for the brake pawls and I started to machine cotter pins to hang the brake blocks on. Malcolm then took pity on me and finished them off in no time and this is the result.

The wheelsets are coming on well and the running gear is on track to be completed by mid March.

I'll try and keep this blog going now each week as the work progresses.   The week has been a busy one with many parts collected and a lot of work done on drawings.   The parts for the brake columns are now all at J R Englands in Cleckheaton and they are being made, two for Cambridge 7 and two for Beamish.  The steel for the brake beams has been cut and delivered to the fabricators and the rubber suspension parts have been delivered.

Today Malcolm and I along with Mike Cook worked on machining the axleboxes and suspension parts.   Malcolm spent the day milling out the slots on the front face of the axleboxes which will take the flat springs that provide the end float for the axles.  The slot can just be seen inside the box nearest the camera.

On the left can be seen the sliding collars that are put into the axleboxes that provide a seat for the coil springs and rubber cones.

Mike spent the day machining the suspension rods and I drilled out the sacrificial tubes that fit round them and also drilled the solebar plates that provide the mounting under the solebars for each of the four suspension units.

There are only four but the fifth is going to be posted to Ipswich to act as a drilling guide for the dummy underframe.

All in all a good weeks progress.   Hopefully more next week.