8_10 Brass Cleaner

It also buggered the transmission in the tank. I understand the squaddies in the tank took a bit of a reaming over it.

If anyone fancies a period dynamo, I have such a thing http://www.tractiontalkforum.com/showthread.php?t=27610&highlight=p%26amp%3BH+generator

Agreed. Fab stuff.

Wouldnt it be easier to butter it up with weld, file it approx round and ream it to finish?

I don't think so

Thats outside John Warburtons house!. On that basis I assume he sold it to Mike Sutcliffe?

like this?

Tom do you have any more pictures of british 4 wheel trailers used during WW1? I have a 'Eagle' trailer of the correct period, and it has WD style hooks on the rear of the chassis. Just like a subsidy lorry.

Strikes me the simplest way of sorting the job is to remachine the existing (pre petrol soaked - and thus pre - expanded) PTFE to the same dimension you started with. Presumably it would seal just as well as it did when new, and it should be unlikely to grow any further causing more problems with binding.

The common make up of a steering wheel of this age is a cast spider, usually in Ali, with a hollow tubular steel rim. Usually formed in two pressed halfs, usually a plain top and a bottom incorporating the hand grips. Quite often there is a mechanical connection between the rim and the spider (screw or rivet). Sometimes the rim only is coated, often the rim and the spider is coated, but usually leaving the centre boss free. The scrap yard picture is missing its steel rim because it is likely rusted out. The coating has a nasty habit of cracking and debonding, and when it does so the best thing to do it to take it off, you can peel it off like pealing an orange. Its basically an early form of plastic. The standard 'repair' was to wrap in tape, a bare metal steering wheel gets proper cold with no windscreen (and I hazard a guess probably why earlier vehicles have wooden rims to the wheel). Guys, how are you going to coat the rim and spokes?, I have an Austin 7 steering wheel needing the same treatment.

With a square axle like that, they are certainly off a 4 wheel trailer like my 'Eagle' or Carrimore. Ive a set off a Dyson here currently sat under my steam roller that would match, but they were a long way from here and I'm skint so didnt bother.

The X type at Milestones is the one restored and owned for many years by George Bowkley at Tenbury Wells. It used to regualry go to the Bishops Castle Steam rally in south Shropshire along with his Burrell Traction Engine. I've had lots of rides on it when growing up, father was always very interested it as it was similar to the J type.

Steve, before trying remetalling using the male thread as the pattern I would have a look at the male, if it is worn anywhere (and I would expect it to be so in the middle), then if you did cast it, you wouldn't be able to unscrew it even if it hadnt stuck to the metal. The boring bar method I described does work, the clearance and accuracy depends on the machinist! I get the impression you and your dad are pretty good. I would certainly try to straighten the shaft, but check the harndess of the material before heating it to make sure you do not loose any temper with heating. I would be tempted to make a clamp that holts the bearings true, whilst also giving support to the worm, then having a go with your press cold. Once it is within 20thou or so, you could easily clock it up to find the new centre and turn the shaft down round, or grind if it is hard. (A bench grinder on the toolpost is ace if it is not your lathe!). I cant see a little bit of lost section will hurt. The other option is to butter up the bent side of the shaft with weld oversize then turn true.

Alternatively, and a method I have used to make a new brake 'nut' for my steam roller which is also either an ACME thread or square thread is to bore the material out to the core diameter plus some clearance, work out the TPI, and grind up a tool to the thread profile, then fit it to an ajustable boring bar, taking out 2-3 thou of the 'thread' a time, turning it all backwards, and taking another cut etc untill you are there. I did a practice piece first and noted the settings before tackling the job. I have also seen special taps made for the purpose. I expect this is how Thornycroft will have done it.

The wheels are by Brown & May of Devizes. Steam era, could be off a steam portable engine, or a thrashing box or something like that. The chassis is much later. Obviously a home made trailer

Gents Please ring my father Mike Jones on 01824 702674. He has a Tasker pole trailer that has been converted to a flatbed, but would convert back very easily It is on blow up tyres, and has ackerman steering. £550

Gents, a friend of mine has these They look to me like Dennis front wheels. Do you know of anyone who would give them a home? They are located in Stonehouse (Glos), with a steamy owner.

Steve, you will not be risking anything, considering there are other cracks in the cylinder casting. Just fill the bugger with K seal and run it.

Steve, I'll send my mate Mike to see you, he has a Reliant engined petrol/electric 7 1/4 deltic. Mainly using fork truck electrics. Its ace

Looks like Morris Commercial to me too

In an engineering recipe book I have, dated 1890, is the following for 'Steam Cement', a paste to repair cast iron castings Iron filings, free from rust, 50 parts; flowers of sulphur, 2; pulverised hydrochlorate of ammonia,1; These ingredients are mixed with water or urine, so as to make a solid and homogenous paste, which is used in the joints of steam boilers or flaws in castings. The cement swells and perfectly closes the joints. There you are then.

Frankly cast iron is best left as it is. You often get a harder skin formed as the outer metal cools in the form, and this skin gives better protection and is less porus. I expect those of you who have machined raw castings have found this hard skin in iron. Grit blasting removes some of the skin. All you really need to do with cast iron is to clean thoroughly, degrease, perhaps a light emery for a key and paint. Any surface oxidation present will not progress once painted. The covering of oxide actually protects the iron in a simlar way to the rust on weathering steel. Steel is different kettle of fish however!

Steve Slinden services come highly recommended, they repaired the cylinder casting for a friends traction engine by fusion welding, similarly Cast Iron Welding services in Coalville, a bit closer to you were also very good at the same process on another friends cylinder casting. The guy who had his cylinder done at Coalville initially tried stitching in situ, (we are talking 200psi steam), it leaked. Then he tried arc welding in situ (also leaked and cracked more), eventually he had to take it off the boiler and it was sucessfully fusion welded, the trouble is the earlier attempted repairs made the final bill more!, it actually got to the point that he may as well have had a pattern made and cast a new one the amount of money he spent on the job. My advice is to say to Slinden that you do not want them to attempt anything unless they are 100% confident it will work. That is you would rather they didn't just 'have a go' or 'try something'. Tell them you want it done once, or not at all. The fusion welded option will work, but costs a lot of money, and you will need to remachine most of it afterwards. I've seen the metalock stitching process in action, whilst it seems to work, I cannot see how making the crack bigger, belting in a bit of tapered metal in that is trying to split the casting in two, and making new and similar flaws in the casting perpendicular to the crack is ever going to make a strong and permanent job. Frankly I'd prefer to affix a sheet of copper over the external crack with some goo and some tapped holes and cheese headed screws to hold it all down, a thouroughly period repair. The good thing about your cracks is that the pressure of the water is likely to be small. Are they actually leaking? small cracks often rust up? Another old remedy is salamoniac and cast iron dust in the water.

Notice the scrapman has gassed a slot in the diff casing to see if it had a bronze wheel. Presumably it didn't, but the slot will have not done the innards the world of good.

The 2 wheeled trolleys, one with a muddy wheel to the right of the photograph are trolleys for the larger size of Merryweather Valiant Steam pump. We are looking for the smaller version of this for our 1941 Valiant