Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines

Hi,

I was hoping that my next post would be to say that all the base boards have been completed; alas there are still four boards to finish.  Two problems arose!  The layout is a very tight fit in the trailer as it was intended to be; this was the reduce the amount the layout would move around during transport as it was difficult to fit securing points.  I had done the sums many times so I was reasonably sure they were correct and indeed they were.  The first problem was caused because I had forgotten to incorporate the board’s securing straps there are four of them 1.5 mm thick giving a total of 6mm.  I didn’t have 6 mm and really 10 mm would be needed to give wiggle room! The cradles were a good fit in the trailer they virtually couldn’t move and the boards in them had only about 6 mm wiggle room which they needed.

The solution was simple but took a long time. Plane 1mm off the raised edges of the boards; with sixteen boards this saved 16 mm more than enough! The cradles were taken apart and their width reduced by 8 mm each.  The results allowed as can be seen in the photograph more than enough gaps between the cradles and the cradles and the side of the trailer for the straps.

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The second problem was quicker to fix but took a lot of thinking about and it is fortunate that I am small, slim, young, fit and agile!  I will cover it in my next post.


Regards

Tony.