Steamer Ben Ain - Page 12

alan2525 · 19-04-2008

I purchased a water gauge for my loco boiler as I've got to the stage of working out which steam fittings I'll need and how I'm going to route the pipework etc in the cab.

On my Boiler water level glass, the glass tube extends into the fitting each end and a short length of silicone tube slips over each end, the nut threads down and compresses the tube to make it steamtight.

3/8"x32 Water Gauge including 6mm Glass (1/8" Pipe Outlet)

Obviously I can't just thread the fittings into a threaded insert in the boiler as the end wont be able to turn the fitting to thread it on when the glass tube is fitted, I'd need a an compression joint or something. On your steam plant on the Ben Ain, how is the water gauge fitted?

**Bunkerbarge** · 20-04-2008

Alan, Mine is a bit different but they all incorporate the same principle i.e. you should be able to replace the glass in place without having to disturb the fittings.

Firstly slacken off and remove both compression nuts, then you remove the nut from the top of the top fitting and then slide the glass tube through the top fitting, slide the rubbers and compression nuts on the tube as you slide it through then drop it into the lower fitting. Assemble and tighten the glands and refit the top nut.

alan2525 · 20-04-2008

Thanks for that! It's obvious when you know how it works! I don't know why but for some reason on mine I assumed that the top fitting was machined from a piece of hex stock, I didn't realise it was a separate nut.

**Bunkerbarge** · 4 Weeks Ago

At this point in the construction the model was destined for display at a model engineering exhibition so it was decided that a more appropriate stand would be required to display it at its best. The stand used so far in the construction was simply made from the profiles supplied with the plan to produce two upright supports made from sections of teak plank. These were cut to shape, spaced with suitable dowels and attached to risers to give a slightly more appealing design as well as lifting the model a little bit higher off the base board.

The base was simply a piece of laminated pine board, varnished, with a block of teak fitted for the name plate. Felt pads were added to the tops of the profiles to protect the hull and a brass name plate was added to the teak block. This proved to be a suitable stand for working on the model and would later form the basis of a carrying box but it was not the best for display purposes.

It is often the case with model boats that the stand is not given the attention it deserves. It is the means of displaying your model to it’s best so it should enhance the model, look professional and present the model at it’s best. One of the most impressive methods of presenting a model ship, and precisely why it is used in museums the world over, is to place the model on pillars. This allows the model to be elevated to a level that allows easy views of the entire hull and presents it as an object free of it’s base. There are many ways of interpreting the pillar design but one of the most widely used and one of the most attractive is to use brass pillars on a polished wooden base.

The first piece to obtain was a suitable piece of teak to form the base. This was procured from a ships wood store, and even then required laminating to produce a piece of the required size, and was cut to size and thickness before a router was run along the edges of the base to finish it off. This base was then given three coats of a polyurethane varnish, rubbing down between coats to give an extremely durable and waterproof finish.

Next the attentions were turned to the pillars and the best method of design. The idea was to come up with a simple yet elegant design that could be easily produced on a model making lathe. The final configuration was generated from 25mm round bar stock, taken down to two smaller diameters with a tool profiled to give a similar radius at either end of the cuts. In this way a single tool could be used for the entire process, generating a simple pillar that complemented the complexity of the finished model.

Four pillars would be used, two along the keel and two across the midships section so stock brass was prepared for the machining. When all four pillars were turned, drilled and tapped to M8 in the base and parted off the top faces were machined to give exactly the correct heights to support the model evenly. The final machining process was to mill a slot across the top face of the two pillars that were to hold the keel of a suitable height and depth to locate the keel. Once the machining was completed all four pillars were sent away to a local metal finishers to be polished to a high degree.

On their return the base was marked out for the four positions and drilled, then counter bored to clear the heads of the M8 screws, before fitting the pillars in place and lining up the slots in the centre line pillars.

A final finishing touch to protect the hull detail from the pillar was to cut to size pieces of balsa wood, glue them to the tops of the pillars and paint them black with some enamel paint. This provides a degree of cushion for the weight of the model and protects the surface of the hull from abrasion and scratches.

Finally the name plate was stolen from the building stand and fitted to the display stand to finish it off.

The materials and techniques used in the stand are available to the majority of model makers with a reasonably equipped workshop however if such equipment is not available then alternatives can be sourced for the various components. The most important considerations are to make a stand, within your available resources, that will present the model at it’s best and look as good as you can make it.

**Bunkerbarge** · 4 Weeks Ago

Before progress could be made with the Ben Ain a significant decision had to be made, namely do I use the supplied fibre glass moulding for the quarterdeck superstructure or scratch build a unit.

The first part of the operation was to fit the coamings to the deck opening in exactly the same way as was done with the main hatch opening. Vertical 25mm coamings were fitted and glued to the internal opening beams, ensuring that they remained vertical during the drying process and webs were added at the corners to ensure rigidity of the structure to resist the forces involved with fitting and removing the superstructure.

The supplied moulding had a few issues that required addressing, such as the vertical sides were not straight and vertical so required pulling in with an internal frame, the lower edge was not square to the deck so it had to be dressed up to fit, the forward bulkhead was square to the top so it did not match the angle at the back of the bridge unit made with the deck, the top was flat and not cambered and the moulded detail was not as crisp as I would have preferred with the door openings and plate joints being square to the top rather than vertical as they should be. Combined with this the unit was also a bit on the heavy side so I decided to have a bit of a play around with some plywood to see how difficult it would be to manufacture a unit from scratch.

The unit looks to be a simple enough shape but the ends should be vertical when sat on the slightly angled quarterdeck. This means that the forward and aft bulkheads should also be slightly angled and all the plate detail and door openings should also be vertical when the unit is fitted. I started by making two side plates from the original moulding and marked out the openings. The forward edge was angled to butt up to the bridge unit and the aft edge was angled similarly. Two pieces of 10mm x 10mm stock wood were fitted at the aft edge with 5mm x 5mm supports glued to them to keep them square with the ply bulkhead as the aft edges are curved so will have to be carved from the solid wood. The width of the unit was determined from the moulding and the difference measured from the deck opening determined that the ply bulkheads needed to be 5mm from the coaming so an internal frame of 5mm stock was used to space the sides.

Once the dimensions were settled all the openings were cut from the sides and pieces were made for the forward and aft bulkheads, with a suitably curved top, and the box unit was glued together on the model. The separation of the side bulkheads was set by fitting transverse beams to support the boat decking as well as additional internal frame work and these were used to support half bulkheads with curved top edges which would give the support and curvature for the cambered top deck.

At this point the ply top was cut to shape and the correct position of the funnel opening was determined and cut out with a hole saw and sanded to suit the supplied plastic pipe for the funnel. Once the fit of the top was finalised the top deck was glued down and held to the curved formers until the glue had completely set. When set the unit was finally removed from the model and the quality of the fit to the model determined. From this point on there was no question that the unit was going to be a success and would produce a lighter and more accurate item than the original fibre glass moulding. Internal bracing and stiffeners were added to ensure rigidity and a weir was build around the internal funnel opening from 5mm x 5mm stock wood. The aft corners were rounded off to a 5mm radius by using a sanding block made from sandpaper glued to a piece of board. This enables an even radius along the whole length of the corner and makes for blending the radius to the flat bulkheads a lot easier.

The plastic tube of the funnel was cleaned up and roughened with emery cloth before inserting into the tight fit of the hole in the deck. Once the position was matched to the boiler flue the unit was removed and Isopon resin was poured into the weir to ensure a rigid joint and location with the plastic tube.

The funnel was progressed with the addition of the white metal fittings included with the kit with the position of the fittings being determined from the plan. The ships whistle, cast in white metal, would have to be painted to resemble brass so this was scratch built from bits of scrap brass tube glued together to give a neater unit.

The next structural item to be made was the engine room skylight which was built up from the kit parts with the openings being held open with stays and the white metal fastenings being replaced by M2 screws, nuts and washers to give a much crisper level of detail for the items. The location on the top deck was determined and an opening was cut into the deck to allow through ventilation from the boiler space below when the model is steaming. The internal surfaces were painted with a coat of primer then radiator enamel before gluing the unit to the top of the superstructure.

The bunker opening at the forward end of the superstructure was built up next similarly to the kit instructions with the difference that the transverse beams were laminated from planks, which enabled them to be formed to match the curvature of the camber. The bunker opening frame was glued in place with internal supports for the hatch boards also added. Once this was in place a semi circular plastic moulding was added around the top edge, finishing the deck edge off and following the curved aft corners and the camber of the aft bulkhead.

The final significant part of the unit was to fit the last piece of planked deck on the aft port quarter of the top deck and this was made up in exactly the same way as the other decks had been constructed from 5mm x 1mm planks of lime, spaced with 0.5mm plasticard pieces and the caulking made from white PVA mixed with black powder paint. The final surface was sanded down to reveal the planking below and the deck given three coats of polyurethane varnish.

With the planked deck finished the structure of the unit was considered as complete and the detailed fitting out of the unit could be commenced.

**Bunkerbarge** · 4 Weeks Ago

....and the second half of the pictures for the last post!

Mankster · 4 Weeks Ago

I have been following this mamoth build from when I first signed up. This is my first post on the thread but I just wanted to say this build over the years has been an inspiration and she already looks superb.

**Bunkerbarge** · 4 Weeks Ago

Thanks for the comments Mankster. I sometimes doubt my sanity for making things as difficult as I possibly can but then I have to keep telling myself it will be worth it in the end!

I am now starting the process of building the lifeboats out of 5mm x 1mm strips of pear planking. If it goes right I will add it to this thread, if it doesn't I will be spray painting the fibre glass mouldings that came with the kit!!!