tools, materials & knowledge for model makers
Time to make the Burrell hub caps. I made the hub caps for the front wheels some time ago. I do need to go back and change the bolts from steel to brass, but otherwise these are finished. The rear axle for the Burrell is a fixed solid piece of 1/4″ phosphor bronze. This is … Read more
The Sistotech micro butane torch is easy to use, easy to refill and perfect for the model makers bench. This little torch fits in the hand perfectly, the gas container is just the right size to grip. I’ve just been using this for some silver soldering on the fuel tank of the Enjomor Whippet engine. … Read more
The saddle and the Burrell boiler have been on the bench for a while. Most of the delay was down to me struggling with the design and location of the steam valve. The Saddle The saddle was designed to allow me to split the cylinder and ports to make it all easier to make. This … Read more
What can I use as masking tape for silver solder? Reading through a number of threads and references there are a number of options: Pencil Lead Tippex China White Yellow Ochre Jewellers Rouge Rubber Soapstone Anti-flux Commercial Products There are lots of options and I will try them and report back over time. The one … Read more
A few silver solder coupon tests to look at options for soldering copper and phosphor bronze (PB). The test parts are a representation of the PB saddle and copper boiler on the miniature traction engine. Preparing Test Parts Fundamentally a sheet of copper 1.2mm thick has a PB M4 bolt through the top and into … Read more
Why am I bolting the saddle to the boiler when I intend to silver solder it in place? Well, silver soldering can be difficult and the last thing I want is for the cylinder to shift in position. The cylinder saddle of the Burrell miniature traction engine was machined from phosphor bronze. The 12BA bolts around … Read more
Very simple work holding with a sacrificial nut and bolt. When silver soldering you don’t want your best engineers clamps in the path of a blow torch. Also, you don’t want the thermal mass of a large clamp. I often have this problem and resort to a piece of wire that wraps around and is … Read more
Making a Small Vertical Boiler to test my skills and to understand the requirements in making a boiler. This really is a case of learning how to make and assemble the boiler. Also and perhaps most importantly how to test and ensure it is safe. Then I will move on to how to operate it. … Read more
Looking at the slot in the tender I decide to make sandwich crankshaft bearings for the Burrell. Sandwich refers to the layers of the bearings. Essentially a 12mm brass square that is 1.6mm thick in the centre with larger rectangular brass sheet either side. Silver Soldering with Paste I decided to use the Cookson Gold … Read more
Can silver soldering with a kiln create better quality joints? I bought a small kiln for heat treating parts and enameling. Then I thought about what else I could do with a kiln. Initially I tried using silver solder paste from CooksonGold. This silver solder paste works really well using a blowtorch. However, in the … Read more