Worklist:
Wall copings and gate
Layout fitting renovation
Tunnel lighting
Workshop renovation
A full house and a busy day.
Geoff progressed on two fronts - finishing off the copings and detailing the main gate. Now working on the last sections of coping, his pointing technique has been honed. First, a layer of Smooth-it is applied and allowed to dry. This is important as moist filler comes out very easily. Once dry, it is lightly sanded to achieve the desired effect. This process has shown up the difference between sheet manufacturers in the depth of the incised brick joints.
Gate detailing options were investigated. Brass pins to represent coach-bolt heads looked far too large and were replaced with Grandt Line plastic bolts - standard hex-head and washers, but the correct size.
Laurence primed and painted the yard crane he'd repaired on his last session. He then repaired the mine siding crane (below) that had broken away from its base. The pivot was drilled out, tapped and a new screw fitted. The crane could then be fully reassembled.
He then moved on to cleaning up some of the fittings from the workshop. Below is a floor-standing vertical drill, handmade by John from metal and plastic.
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| Peaceful progress |
Stephen checked arrangement of the LED lighting string he'd fitted last week. It still looks low, but at a scale 6-7', it's a practical height for maintenance. Although no switches were available to complete the wiring, testing was possible. The voltage was reduced to the lowest possible (2.5v) which created a good effect.
Stephen turned to the workshop, anticipating a quick make-over and a clean, but that idea soon faded away as a survey was undertaken. A group discussion took place about how to renovate the workshop building. It's an odd structure, comprising a solid, brick, back wall with four, spindly brick piers on the front. As such, the building offers virtually no protection to the equipment inside (although open views of the equipment are possible). More substantial walls, a different window arrangement, and open doors on the end were agreed. However, the peeling brick plastic and flimsy piers were not going to make life easy.
The structure was found to be bolted down, so its removal made good sense. As it was taken off, the floor started to lift, but finally came away - more work there! The plasticard was completely stripped off and the central piers removed. Additional wall panels were cut from 9mm plywood and, as the last act of the day, were glued in place. Stephen decided that rather than a full brickwork exercise, a brick quoin with rendered infill panels would be an equally acceptable (and easier) solution, which was accepted.
The final front-wall window arrangement will require some investigation, so Stephen measured up and will develop a proposal, for discussion.
After preparing this post, it was noted that last week was the 100th post. An impressive milestone!
