Stationary Engines - Sourcing parts and materials
PAForbes
This is another (very) long article, so offline reading is recommended.
When your new/first engine arrives home, the first thing you do is look all
over it and note what bits are missing/mangled and will need replacing.
If you have a Lister D, you have very few problems, as even new blocks are
being peddled (at Nibley last year) and just about every part for the D can be
obtained by judicious searching at autojumbles and adverts in 'Stationary
Engine', plus, of course, David Harris that well known purveyor of things
Lister.
If you have something different, say a Wolseley, then the position is slightly
altered, as there are not the same army of suppliers with every conceivable
spare in their catalogues; you will be lucky to find two or three.
Get to something like Philip Thornton-Evisons' Ransomes Wizard, and you are on
your own with a vengeance. The numbers originally made are less than 1000, so
you have very little chance of finding a spare engine, let alone spare parts.
Even if you do, you may find, as Philip did, that engines changed in build
detail over the relatively short production run of the engine, and parts are
not always interchangeable.
Even Lister engines are not always the easiest to get parts for; the CD and CE
engines were relatively widely sold, but their spares position is not as good
as some of the older but more voluminous production types such as the CS
diesels.
All parts are available - at a cost. There is virtually nothing short of a new
block that cannot be manufactured from scratch, and if you think that is an
overstatement, remember the campaign to manufacture a new set of cylinder
blocks for the 71000 locomotive ? the originals are in the Science Museum and
the loco was in store. The job was done, at a cost admittedly but it was still
carried through, and we have a unique addition to the preserved railway
movement.
If that is not enough to convince you, consider the item in 'Old Glory'
recently, whereby the 'Mikado Society' had their first meeting to consider
manufacturing from scratch the locomotive 2001 'Cock O' the North'. This was
the largest class of mainline passenger locomotives in the UK, designed by
Nigel Gresley for the LNER at Doncaster. I have cut-away drawings of this
beasty, and it is a magnificent piece of engineering.
One of our main railway customers (EWS - English Welsh & Scottish Railway) is
based at Doncaster, and a good number of their people are aware of the project
and are supportive of this attempt to re-create these engines; note the plural,
the project is to make TWO engines !
To carry out this project will take millions of pounds of money, all to be
raised by fund-raising and donations from the public. It makes our engine
restorations look relatively easy by comparison.
Getting back to engines, the following list of bits and pieces and sources for
them may be of help to readers, and I will happily update this as time goes by
to include any bits and pieces added by you as and when appropriate.,
I have not been too specific about suppliers when I know that a reference to
Stationary Engine will enable 99% of you to look in your own back copies. If
anything is not clear, or you need something clarifying, see my fax numbers at
the end, or drop me an e-mail.
1) Nuts & Bolts
Fairly basic stuff this, but if you have an engine that is pre-second World
War, then the nuts will be different in hexagon size to those made after the
war. This was a matter of rationalisation to save resources, but any true
restorer and engineer will always want to make the engine as true to original
as possible, and will get the nuts and bolts right. Sources advertise in both
SE and OG, and I have a good CNC turning company who will make decent batches
up if required.
Looking through Parker Steels' catalogue recently, they list steel hexagons in
sizes: 0.445 0.525 0.600 0.710 0.820 0.920 1.0101.200 1.300 and 1.480
A/F which covers most sizes you are ever going to want to make. Note that steel
bar from stockholders comes in 3.05 - 3.60 metre random lengths. EN1A leaded is
the spec for the material, which is classed as free-cutting.
Beaulieu autojumble is a good source for all sorts of things in the nut and
bolt field, and they take it very seriously indeed. There are normally about
1500-2000 assorted stalls at the autojumble, and I usually manage to get in on
the trade day, which makes life a lot easier. Nuts and bolts are as much a part
of classic cars as engines, so it may be worth having a visit.
Other sources are listed in or around most restoration mags, and even the
commercial nut & bolt suppliers are starting to wake up now. There is a company
in Brighton who does correct size Whit fasteners, but I haven't bought from
them.
2) Gasket material.
Rolls of 'Hallite' and other materials are sold by Mac McGowan at rallies when
he is there. Graphited asbestos jointing is excellent for steam joints as well,
so you will also find suppliers at most steam rallies. The graphited version
doesn't stick to the flanges as you dismantle the engine like the plain stuff
does. Mac also sells gasket paper in various grades, plus cork jointing. He
used to advertise in SE, but now prefers to operate at rallies and through word
of mouth. He can be contacted most weekdays on 01527 893358.
People seen using Red Hermetite will be shot instantly ! If you need to use
that stuff then the joint is probably no good anyway. A decent (non-combustion)
joint will only need the faces to be true and bolted together properly with a
thin paper gasket. Using thicker and thicker paper only allows the joint to
distort even more. If you want to use something on the joint, either try heavy
grease, or Hylomar or one of the new silicon (Dow Corning) preparations that
Vauxhall and others are using. Don't use the bright flourescent green one
please !
3) 'O' Rings and seals.
Most early engines had very little in the way of proprietary seals, there was
little high pressure oil around, and crankcase pressure was kept down to just
below outside air pressure to stop oil leaking out at the mains etc. Where 'O'
rings are encountered, most of the Bearing dealers in Yellow pages can usually
offer to match from stock. Sizes are usually Imperial for older engines, but
supplies are very good indeed, even to making a ring from scratch as you wait !
Seals are a different kettle of plastic and leather. Villiers, bless 'em, used
the same ranges of seals and bearings for years and years, even being common
with the motor-cycle engines. Lister didn't really use much until the JP and
CD/CE engines came in, and the same goes for other makers. We are talking about
oil seals proper here, not felt rings.
Payen used to make probably 30-40% or more of the seals and gaskets used in the
British engine markets, and published a very comprehensive set of catalogues of
their products, some of which gave detailed dimensional information. Using
these catalogues it is sometimes possible to cross-reference a part to another
maker, and maybe get what you need from a different manufacturer. I have also
been able to identify old seals and gaskets by the books. Payen are part of
another group these days, and I will have to find out where they are.
Note that using modern spring loaded lip seals in early softish crankshafts can
cause severe wear grooves. I try to avoid such combinations where possible. I
remember that when I worked with Scania diesels, we had a lot of troubles with
grooves in seal faces on the rear of the crank, even to the point where we had
to re-position a seal each time it was replaced to ensure that the diameter it
worked on was big enough for it to seal properly.
Felt rings can be obtained fairly easily, as the base material is readily
available, and there are other applications for them.
4) Pistons & Rings.
This is a bit of a can of worms, as the English engine component industry was
at one time in the hands of a very few people, and the likes of Tony
Vandervell, Lucas, Automotive Products (as it became) etc controlled a huge
proportion of what was supplied to engine manufacturers. Manufacturers like
Wellworthy made their living from making rings and related accessories, but
that market dried up as cars became more reliable, and, more importantly, had
their engines manufactured in automated factories where supplies were required
in high volumes but limited range of sizes.
Pistons were made in-house for many years, but eventually became a bought-in
part after the Second World War. Listers made their own pistons for quite a
long time, but were probably one of the earliest to change over to external
supply.
The all-purpose manufacturer was unable to compete with highly adaptable
CNC-equipped european suppliers who had the whole of Europe as a market, not
just the UK. Most of Vauxhalls' engine and transmission components come from
the far east, and come into the UK as complete tested systems. The Vauxhall
site is only half the size it was, and is only a kit car assembler these days.
If you need a new piston for your XYZ engine, made in 1923, then you only have
one or two options: go round the known owners and see if someone has broken
one up for spares, advertise, see if another engine has a similar piston that
could be modified, repair the one you have got.
While in Knottingley today (Thursday 21st May) I had a chance to get inside a
GM V16 supercharged two-stroke loco engine which had holed a piston. It was
very nicely put together, and only four studs hold the piston and liner
assembly in place: undo the big-end, drain about 300 gallons of water and after
removing the four nuts, out it all comes. GM change their piston and liner as
an assembly, and you don't get them separately. Estimated cost: in the region
of £5000. The EMD division of GM has been making these engines since the Second
World War, and they were originally intended for marine use, probably
submarines.
Obviously the loco piston could not be repaired as it would have to back into
service at full rated power, but if your engine had a holed piston, you could
practically get it welded and re-machined.
If we could just fit a new piston and liner to all of our engines, there would
be no fun. The whole bit about searching, finding and buying spares and engines
is what makes it all tick !
Flashback to 1978/79 when I had a Silver Ghost engine in bits for new pistons.
The bores were machined oversize and TK Bedford liners were fitted to bring the
bores back to standard, and an aluminium set of pistons were fitted.
The top of the liner protruded into the combustion space (side valves) and left
an area which was large enough to take the top part of the piston, and we only
found that out when we pushed the pistons up the bores to refit the block/head
assemblies (2 X 3 cylinders) and found to our horror that the top ring had come
out over the top of the liner.
There we were, two blocks with three pistons stuck. No access from above as the
blocks included the heads. The valve covers gave a little bit of access, but
not much, and these pistons were about 4.4" diameter, so we couldn't get across
to the far side of the bore to push the rings back in the grooves.
In the end, we had to deliberately break out a piece of ring and piston top
land to get the job underway again. We then welded the piston land and
re-machined the top groove. This was actually done in-house at the company I
worked for, as the car was the chairmans' own property.
The point is that it is quite feasible to repair things which appear to be
totally U/S.
Rings are available from a couple of regular advertisers in SE, (one of whom I
believe is ex-Wellworthy) and the spares sales always seem to produce a few
odds and ends that are useful. Re-ringing an engine can give a new lease of
life, and as you are not going to run for extended periods, the life is
probably indefinite in real terms.
If you cannot get rings for some reason, then there are a few articles in SE,
one by Len Hopcroft in Aussie, on how to make rings out of a drain pipe !
Don't laugh, it works for him and it probably would for you too. This goes for
liners as well, see Nigel McBurneys' articles in SE.
5) Proprietary items - Injection pumps, carb's (carbies to the aussies)
ignition bits.
Where an engine manufacturer changed from an in-house design of carburettor to
a proprietary unit, then the availability can be better or worse, depending on
whether the carb was used for anything else.
Solex was one of the most popular carb manufacturers in Europe, with a huge
range of industrial and automotive products. Solex was originally based in
France, with Zenith in this country (Honeypot Lane, Stanmore, Middlesex)
operating as a wholesaler.
There are a quantity of new Solex carbs in circulation which are ex-govt
surplus, and some were on sale at the Peterborough RTS auction in September by
a chap called Ray Trigg (01782 414161) They are probably Bamford or Petter, but
they could also be the source for parts for a different model of carb on
another engine. Solex made much of the common parts basis of their production,
and looking through my copy of their handbook for the FV and FH carbs, you can
see that much is common through both designs, quite handy if you have a damaged
butterfly or shaft. The handbook goes into quite some detail about fitting a
carb to an engine from scratch, and calculating the jet sizes etc.
Those engineers amongst you will love the inscription on the front cover of the
Solex handbook:-
"With this booklet and an ordinary adjustable spanner, the
dissembling and tuning of the SOLEX will be an easy matter to anyone"
Many carbs for industrial lumps come up at Beaulieu each year, and again it is
well worth a look. Don't forget, many early carbs for cars were adapted from
those fitted to stationary engines.
Injection pumps and injectors are particularly easy, as there exists an
enormous amount of old data on pump elements and nozzles etc. CAV (C A
Vandervell - Tony again) Bosch and Bryce all made equipment for the major
companies. Ruston, Mirrlees and English Electric/Dorman made their own in the
big engines, but there is a lot of kit around for the stuff we handle. Our
local injection repairer has lots of old and obsolete pumps and injectors which
we sort through occasionally to see if we can find spares to get something
repaired.
I have bought a number of brand new Lister CS pumps for as little as £8 each,
compared with an 'official' price of over £200 (plus VAT) The CAV-BOSCH pumps
and the Bryce pumps are very repairable, contact me if you need help. Ditto
injectors.
Ignition coils, magnetos and other bits are fairly well catered for, look in SE
and OG. Magnetos seem to atrract a sort of 'collectors club' of people who play
with old mags. Alan Fairbrother (01703 846252) gets involved with car and
engine mags., and there are plenty of suppliers on the fringes.
Plugs are easily obtained, and that also goes for decent HT cable and plug top
ends for the leads.
Contact breaker sets are normally included with mags, but Villiers used the
same type for all engines for years and years, with a moving arm and threaded
stud to make a set. Industrial engines and motorcycle engines used
interchangeable parts, excepting such things as lighting coils etc on the
flywheel mags.
Companies such as Onan used proprietary Delco parts, as did a lot of the
American engine makers.
Ignition coils for stationary engines are not as common as you would expect,
but the Wisconsin V4 used a separate coil, as did Onan and a few others. Note
that ignition coils for cars are not normally suitable, as there are so many
operating voltages and you will have to make sure that you are using the right
one with the right battery.
This goes back to the days in the 1960's when cold-starting resistors were
fitted to cars. This resistor dropped the 12V battery voltage down to 9V when
running, but on starting the engine, the resistor was shorted out, thus
over-running the coil and giving a stronger spark. This was great, but in
practice this caused more trouble than it cured, as the resistors were not
really outdoor grade, and they fell apart under the bonnet. The coils objected
to being over-ran, and the points gave up the ghost sooner. As soon as a decent
electronic ignition became available, the cold-start scheme was dropped.
6) Metalwork fittings, air cleaners, shrouds/cowls etc.
Anything that was originally fabricated in sheet metal can be re-manufactured
today. It is a question of cost.
Take the Lister D chain guard for the later engines with the chain driven
magneto. It would be quite cheap to make in say batches of 100, probably as
little as £2.50 plus something for painting of powder coating. The problem is,
how do you get rid of 100 covers, and who is going to finance the original
purchase ?
Making one-off bits and pieces is 80% sorting out how you are going to make it,
and 20% actually bashing metal. The design/programming time costs have to be
added to the item price, making one-off very expensive but 100 quite cheap as
the programming costs are spread over the 100, not just one.
I could do a CAD drawing for the Lister D cover, and get a batch made, but it
would take ages to get them sold and I would end up financing the job for a
year or two. Think on that when you complain that David Harris or Mac McGowan
don't have the fuel tank or part you want, on the shelf.
We deal with lots of one-off jobs in our factory, and we have to take into
account what the job actually costs, not what we would like the customer to
pay. I think that most one-offs are probably loss-leaders for most people.
7) Castings, shafts, gears.
These are the really expensive bits, particularly the castings as they are
multi-process items requiring a pattern, moulding, cleaning, machining and
painting.
A broken part can be used as a pattern for a couple of casts, provided that it
has been put together accurately, and machined surfaces are built up so that
there is material available to be machined back to size.
On the Lister CD and CE there is a largish cast bracket on generator sets which
supports the solenoid for the compression change-over valve. Sticking out from
the side of the engine, these brackets get broken regularly, and thus you
cannot use the change-over valve. By removing the old bracket, filling holes
and building up machining surfaces, I had a one-off cast to replace the broken
one. Total cost about £90. There are other ways of repairing broken cast iron,
none of which I am particularly keen on, so a new bit is preferable to me. We
have a pattern maker in the same factory estate as our factory, and they are
very helpful, but it costs.
Shafts can be made to drawing or pattern by anyone with a decent lathe and a
bit of suitable bar. Yes, but how many have got a lathe that will take a four
foot 2.5" bar ?
Again, getting something made to pattern can be done if you approach your
machine shop in the right fashion: a few pointers:-
a) Don't automatically expect to get a warm reception when you walk
in with your rusty old bar.
b) Don't waste your time asking a CNC turning company to make a
one-off.
c) Don''t expect them to know exactly what you need, take a drawing
or sketch in addition to the old bit.
d) Try and match the job to the establishment, a small two-man
business is more likely to do something than a CNC shop.
e) If they quote a price, pay it (Assuming that you have a good
idea of what it should cost) If you want to be able to go back in the future
and get
another job done. If you think you are being ripped off, shop
around a bit.
f) Don't expect miracles, they need some time to live as well as
you do.
g) If you find a good supplier, look after him and he will look
after you.
Ditto for gears, except that there are probably more chances for gear
production than basic shafts. Gear hobbing is a specialist job, and people with
the right kit don't come cheap. Unless you have a factory drawing, there is not
much chance of doing anything without a pattern. Model engineering hobbyists
tend to be machinery freaks (in a nice way of course) and have amazing machine
shops. Cutting gears is no problem to a lot of them.
8) Trolleys - my versions, not necessarily yours.
I have been making up some large trolleys for my engines, and the following
examples may help with organising your own:-
I bought a pile of wheels at Fairford, which included four decent new Flexello
roller bearing cast iron wheels with urethane tyres (black) £30
I then drew up on the computer a half sized plan and side view of the trolley,
showing wheels etc as they would be fitted.
Next was a set of steel box sections: 100 X 100mm, 80 X 120mm, 90 X 50mm and
some 40X40 bright bar for axles. £170 (all full length stock) + VAT
A box of USAF wheels purchased at a sale produced four sets of four aluminium
wheels with rubber tyres, all new, with bearings and seals for three sets and
bearing cups only for one set (The inners had fallen out over time) £43
4 pairs of flame cut turntable blanks were ordered from Pegasus Profiles at
Thetford. £85
A short piece of 150 X 100 box was bought cash for £20
Our metalwork supplier has kindly offered to cut the material to sizes we can
handle, so we had the box sections delivered to them and they came back all cut
to size. We are personal friends as well as customer/supplier, and I help them
out with their computer etc as a reciprocal deal.
Machining of the turntable pins is being organised this week (turning by me)
and the basic trolleys are large enough to carry one ton each with no problem.
As all my engines are large, I cannot use wooden trolleys unless I get into
really large hardwoods, and that is even more expensive than steel.
I have a problem with steel tyred wheels on concrete at heavy loadings, it
breaks the workshop surface up into dust very quickly, so even though the
trolleys are not authentic 'olde english' types, they are substantial and
secure. Another item is going to be a set of four welded on lashing eyes, to
hold the trolley down to the trailer.
The 'Cub' generator that I think I mentioned elsewhere has been dismantled, and
we are building a trolley out of the generator chassis itself, which is 6" X 3"
U section RSJ. I will be using the single set of USAF wheels with the inner
bearings missing, as new cones are available by themselves without replacing
the whole bearing. I am looking out for OEC (Oil Engines (Coventry) Ltd)
spares, so if any of you have bits & pieces for sale, let me know.
The expense is quite considerable, and I don't for one minute suggest that you
should all rush out and start ordering RSJ's and bars. The main thing is to get
going and DO something. Making wooden trolleys is probably harder, as the heavy
timber is not quite as available as you would expect. I am no timber expert,
but talking to our local pattern-makers, it can be very expensive indeed to get
hold of 4" or 5" timber of decent grade and colour. I am lucky to have these
people adjacent, and we do business with them which helps to oil things, but
they are the same as any other company, spend a few bob, ask for advice and you
will rarely get turned away.
One point though - never ever default on payment on a deal for something which
is for stationary engine use, as it will reflect back on all of us that pay our
way and make it more difficult in future to get things done. I, and most of my
age group, take some pride in making sure that I can always go back somewhere,
be it years later, and ask for a favour or a job doing, and never get turned
down. It is the way to do things and I am sure that if you were to ask any of
the recognised engine collectors they would agree. I am not interested in
moralising, there is a right way and that's how it should be done. End of
sermon.
9) Exhaust pipe and bends etc.
Lister used bends a lot on their engines, and screwed gas pipe was a regular
feature of most restorers' spares boxes.
BSS stock all sizes of straights and bends up to about 4" BSP, and I bought
some for my 10/2 twin at about £2.50 per 1.5" BSP large radius bend. They come
in bright drawn steel or cast, so you have a choice. Joining sleeves etc are
also available.
Flexible piping for engines is a bit more difficult, not because you can't get
the stuff, but because it looks so out of place. Admittedly the modern asbestos
lined steel spiral tubing is quite neat and reliable, but it is an absolute pig
to terminate properly, and shakes to bits very quickly if it unwinds.
Concertina steel bends are not intended for continuous movement, although the
GM engine mentioned above had some on the exhaust collector manifold, but
probably not too much movement there though.
I cannot offer much else here, perhaps other newsgroup members can offer
something ?
10) Paint and powder coating.
We use a lot of powder coating, and a smaller amount of wet paint processing.
Neither are much good for my engines, which I hand strip and prepare before
brush painting.
Engine trolleys are ideal for both, as long as they are steel: wood doesn't
powder coat very well !
Paint supplies are very variable, and if you can find a good guy, stick with
him. We again have a small business in our factory estate who is a specialist
car paint supplier, supplying Lechler materials. He will mix colours to a
sample or will take a BS specification and produce to that.
Note that industrially, paint comes in three main standards, BS381C, BS4800 and
the European RAL standards.
BS381C is one of the most popular industrial paint standards, including
Admiralty Grey, Brunswick Green (Dark, Mid and Light versions) and other
favourites of the 1940's and 50's.
BS4800 is really a more varied version, including some pastel shades and 'in
between' colours, and thus has a larger selection to choose from.
RAL is a combination of established and new colours, and is used by German car
makers such as VW for their base solid colours.
Other shades and hues are produced by the smaller paint makers, and Valspar
paints were for years THE suppliers for brushing vehicle paints and lacquers.
There are a number of suppliers in existence, but the main choice has to be the
paint type, as modern paints and the solvents therein will rapidly lift off old
paint layers, and will ruin any original finishes. Once you have chosen the
type, you can sort out the supplier.
I usually tend to strip to bare metal, prime and repaint. Most of my engines
are devoid of paint anyway when I get them, so it is not a question of
preserving anything for posterity. Listers used a lot of lead-based fillers and
primers on their older blocks, so be careful if you are stripping and rubbing
down.
The Spanish DITER engine that I brought back from Spain last year had a pastel
blue colour, which equated to RAL Dresden Blue. This was matched to a colour
spec from Lechler, and I had a couple of litres in less than half an hour after
choosing the colour. The colour charts contain mixing quantities of the basic
BLACK/RED/BLUE/WHITE/YELLOW solids, which when mixed will give the required
colour. It looks hairy but works very well in practice, and Paul does a very
good Mid Brunswick Green, which he is able to repeat with good consistency.
Thinners are usually required in about 3:1 ratio of thinners to paint. The
extra is for paint thinning, washing brushes etc.
Lining is a matter of taste, but if the engine had it originally, then yours
should as well. Don't use instant line tape and produce a uniform thin line,
the original
was not made at Dagenham ! Buy a GOOD quality camel or other similar hair
brush, expect to pay £6 - £10 per brush, and practice painting lines. You will
be surprised what you can do, but the brush is the defining thing here: get a
crap brush and you will not achieve anything worthy of note.
Note that all paints will oxidise if left outside in the open, even if under
cover. A good quality polish should be applied before storage, applied heavily
and not wiped or polished off afterwards.
11) Springs - valve and general types.
Valve springs are not a thing that gets much thought. As long as they hold the
valves shut, that's about it.
If your valve springs do loose tension, then your valves are more prone to
leak, and burn the seats. Early engines were not high-revving, so the spring
tension was purely to seal, not as much to throw the valve back on the seat
after each opening.
New springs can be manufactured, and there are a couple of suppliers who will
make to order. Costs are relatively high, but if you need them then you haven't
got a lot of choice.
Beaulieu has various stalls with assortments of valves and springs for car
engines etc. It would be worth a scout round if you were up against a £40-£50
bill for new springs, and you may well pick up other bits as well. I know that
I have plugged the Beaulieu event quite regularly, but it is a serious source
of many parts, and a bigger collection of autojumble stalls just doesn't happen
anywhere else. Just my savings on taps and dies each year pays for the entry
ticket and the journey down, it is also a damm good day out.
Smaller springs can usually be found in the older hardware type shops who may
have quite a decent assortment, or the modern-day version who goes round
garages selling plastic boxes of assorted this and that. Terrys were the best
known maker for many years, and they were still selling assortments through
trade outlets.
Redditch is the spring centre of the UK, so a trip there may help with
something s
Peter Forbes Home Fax: 01933 355557 Work Fax 01582 416000
John Ambler
In article <199805222038...@ladder01.news.aol.com>, PAForbes
<pafo...@aol.com> writes
>2) Gasket material.
Frost AutoRestoration also a mail order supplier for these materials
(www.frostart.co.uk).
>Felt rings can be obtained fairly easily, as the base material is readily
>available,
- are you able to elaborate on sources? I need a felt oil pad for a Wico
EK magneto, and all the felt I can find is the soft "cuddly toy"
variety.
>6) Metalwork fittings, air cleaners, shrouds/cowls etc.
>Anything that was originally fabricated in sheet metal can be re-manufactured
>today. It is a question of cost.
>Take the Lister D chain guard for the later engines with the chain driven
>magneto. It would be quite cheap to make in say batches of 100, probably as
>little as £2.50 plus something for painting of powder coating. The problem is,
>how do you get rid of 100 covers, and who is going to finance the original
>purchase ?
>
>Making one-off bits and pieces is 80% sorting out how you are going to make it,
>and 20% actually bashing metal. The design/programming time costs have to be
>added to the item price, making one-off very expensive but 100 quite cheap as
>the programming costs are spread over the 100, not just one.
>
I can really relate to what you say here - needing new main bearings for
my Wolseley WD2, I got into pattern making and mould making, and
thoroughly enjoyed pouring the whitemetal, but as a financial exercise
you'd only do it for love of the work. Despite there being several
hundred (if not a thousand or so) WD2's out there, I only received two
replies to my two ads in Stationary Engine, and one of those only wanted
to pump me for information on adjusting the big end (which I willingly
gave along with a machining guide for the main bearing). I now have a
number of whitemetal castings, part finished bearings and fully finished
units which it will take until my old age to find homes for - I don't
really mind this, but its a warning to those who might think they can
cover the costs of making parts by offering the excess from a short
production run for sale. I think the Frank Gelders and McGowans have hit
the right part of the market by choosing the eminently rustable tinware
such as exhausts and fuel tanks, though I doubt that they make much
money from even that.
>Paint supplies
>BS381C is one of the most popular industrial paint standards, including
>Admiralty Grey, Brunswick Green (Dark, Mid and Light versions) and other
>favourites of the 1940's and 50's.
>
>BS4800 is really a more varied version, including some pastel shades and 'in
>between' colours, and thus has a larger selection to choose from.
>
>Anybody know a BS reference for "Lincoln Green" as used by Ruston &
Hornsby?
I'd like to add my vote of thanks to Peter for producing this series of
helpful articles - a shame they currently aren't getting a wider
readership - I'm certainly adding them all to my "kept" articles file
for future reference. If I had the time, I'd do more for the group -
perhaps in 20 years time when I retire?
Keep up the good work Peter if you have the stamina...............
--
John Ambler
Somewhere in the middle of a forest in Sussex (UK) ........
PAFPREPAIR
Richard:-
Glad you are enjoying the articles, and thanks for the supplier reference for
gasket material. We could do with more of this sort of thing from everyone so
that we can build up a library of decent and known 'good' suppliers.
Don't wait for retirement, you will be into Windows NT27 by then and won't want
to use old steam E-mail !
I have a few years to go yet before I retire, and am currently enjoying writing
the articles very much.
Regards, Peter