Long time since the last update! New addition to the family has seen attention focused elsewhere. That said, I think I must be quite unique in that not many people can say that they telephoned from a labour ward in between contractions in early labour to order a rivet embosser tool!! Funny what you remember to do when you are sitting through a 3-day labour!
Additional pair of hands is now with us, mother and baby doing well, mum, dad, grandad, grandma and great-grandma all very happy and proud!!
On the Britannia front, early May I took delivery of the boiler and gas tank. Mike at Maccsteam did a super job. I will post pictures soon.
I gave up on ideas of using the Chester lathe for milling. The vertical slide that Chester supply for the DB7 lathe is not fit for purpose and the support from Chester was sadly woeful! That said, the lathe itself was great value for money so perhaps I should not expect too much! I ordered a Sieg micro mill from Axminster (arrived next day) which I have used to make a new start on the axle boxes for the front bogie. I have also procured further parts for the cylinders from Malcolm at Model Engineers Laser, and some crankpins from Walsall engineering. Not to mention numerous taps, dies, etc.
My priorities over the summer will be something along the lines of:
2. Finish front bogie
3. Finish trailing truck
4. Complete tender chassis
5. Add rivet detail to tender sides and complete tender
Number 1. will of course be the baby!
