Hi

I used to do a bit o model engineering, just small steam engines and also as a lad had an interest in vintage stationary engine, having restored a Lister D type.

For my thirtieth my siblings gave me a set of castings for a twin cylinder double acting slide valve engine. I build nearly all of it but never bothered to make all the studs and steam fittings etc.

Thirty plus years on and I am now revisiting it. Sadly I no longer have the drawings, but have made up most of the studs. I drew up some gaskets in Affinity Vector and got my mate to cut them with his laser 🙂 I made some really nice bolt on unions for the steam inlet into the valve chest, only on completion realising that the bolt holes are just where the studs go through. What a muppet! RAther than wing it again I thought I’d try and find some drawings for some suitable brass fittings. I have plenty of brass stock to make them from a full(ish) set of ME taps / dies.

Are there many model engineers in the bristol/Bath area? Are there any clubs?

I’ve been doing plenty of engineering type stuff in the intervening years making bits for motorcycles for both restoration and custom building. I love the old Z900 series of bikes from the seventies. I currently can’t ride as I have a torn rotator cuff which is causing lots of pain.

A visit to a steam fair re-kindled my love of model engineering.

Quite fancy building an open crank IC engine and a compressor for it to drive so it could power the steam engines 🙂

Ralph