3" Burrell Traction Engine build.

 Tender thoughts and materials... It’s been a while since my last update, mainly due to a few car shows that I’ve attended with my classic car, but also because progress in the workshop has been slow due to health. However, in an effort to keep something moving, I did make a start on the brass angle section needed for the tender. I looked into the possibility of buying some suitable angle section and, of course, the cost involved. In the end, I decided that as I already had a length of square brass material, I’d have a go at making it myself! The advantage of doing it this way is that I can achieve whatever thickness I require, rather than being restricted to the limited sizes that are available. (Progress on angles) 8 in total were made of different lengths. Quite a bit of swarf resulted from producing these, but I feel it was worth the effort and the mess. These are the internal supports for the tender, with the idea being to have the sides and wrapper laser cut. This is somethin...

  Welland Steam Show                 2026 Report..... Welland Steam Show (Upton-upon-Severn July 24th - 26th  2026). Ross-0n-Wye Steam Engine Society Big 60th Annual Rally. Hotel : Star Inn - Where we stay since my wife doesn't camp any more :-(   [Me and my wife Nina top right]. https://youtu.be/qlsP2J_4wjY   << Link to the Dyno run with a Clayton & Shuttleworth Engine. https://youtu.be/miA-3nEdqPo    << Link to the full days filming report. The show as usual was very well attended. I'm happy to report the numbers looked fantastic and the weather was fantastic. Maybe we have inspired the next generation of Model Engineers. It certainly looked like there was no shortage of money changing hands for tools.  The show boasted 40 miniatures and 137+ full size engines, along with a huge number of commercials, cars, bikes, tanks and military vehicles and displays. This time again, like las...

Draw Bar / Cable drum guide  Recent progress has been slow and again the weather has been mostly responsible. The unprecedented hot weather has made it very difficult to spend any meaningful time in the workshop.   Below some simple bolt pins were made and welded, and thanks to my son the fabricated draw bar was formed in a press. Some additional parts for the angle drum winch guide have been started together with the roller's made from silver steel. Hopefully next month some better progress can be reported. Feel free to leave a comment !!      stephen.meredith1@gmail.com If you have any questions while reading these blog updates—I'm always happy to reply. Until Next month, stay safe, make swarf and be the best you can be.         

 Where Are We Now? We are now seven years into this build. Over that time, many parts have been started — including some of the larger components — and if you’ve been following this blog, you’ll already know it’s been a slow process. Recently the weather has also not helped being so hot in the workshop!! Looking ahead, the task can feel daunting. Even imagining the engine finished, there are still countless hours of workshop time needed to complete it. It’s easy to admit that the engine may never actually be finished, but for me that has never really been the point. The interest has always been the same: Use my father’s machines. Make use of as much of the mild steel lying around the work shop as possible. Learn new skills - such as welding, and screw-cutting, and improve machining standard. Involve my son, who incidentally is a fabricator/welder. Keep busy every Monday night, trying to make the next part. And these, more than anything, is what keeps the project mo...

  Cutting The Square Brake Rod Nut   (Final Part, Honest!).  Right, this really is the last post on this part! It’s been a long and slightly risky job, but I’m genuinely pleased with how it’s turned out. Learned a lot along the way—especially with screw cutting and case hardening mild steel—and it’s another part ticked off for the engine. Photos show the plug tap I made (top left) , the nut in progress (top right), and then the nut fitted on the brake shaft. Happy to say it all works spot on. The square thread runs really smoothly, with no slack or backlash at all, and very little friction. With the amount of thread engagement, it should be more than strong enough in use. Feel free to leave a comment !!      stephen.meredith1@gmail.com If you have any questions while reading these blog updates—I'm always happy to reply. Until Next month, stay safe, make swarf and be the best you can be.

   Cutting The Modified Square Thread-Brake (Part 4).  Me aged: 53 Software Engineer Machinist, with zero tolerance to mistakes.. Simple Idea: Making a Tap from a Threaded Rod Hello everyone—just sharing a simple idea I’ve been trying. Instead of scrapping a brake rod, I decided to practice screw cutting and then use the best threaded piece to make a tap. The goal is to create a matching internal thread for a nut. The brake rod has been completed (As above) but this has taken a few practice goes before committing to this. The results of which I am very pleased with and the square threads look the part as compared to just cutting a metric thread of say 8mm.  What I did Cut an external thread on the rod Used a 4 mm ball-end cutter to make three flutes Offset the cutter slightly to give a bit of rake Cleaned up the edges with a file Case hardened the tool The idea behind it If the external thread is correct, turning it into a tap should produce a matching internal threa...