I know they are not as powerful as some but I just love the look and how unique they are. I have studied lots of De Winton models that have been built and they all have individualities which gives them some flexible elements during the build.
…… I am planning to scratch build a 7 ¼ model that will sit on a 40” x 14” chassis. I won’t be using castings so the cylinders and valve chests will be machined from stock lumps of cast iron. I plan to build a vertical silver soldered copper boiler.
I am starting by using some CAD software to draw up all the parts, starting with the chassis and wheels. I have broken the complete project down into subassemblies and once I am happy with the design of each subassembly, I will then take that subassembly to the workshop for machining and building.
So I am finally happy with the chassis and wheels I have drawn up and I am planning to make a start on building this 1st subassembly.
All of these parts are going to be made from Mild Steel.
I have based the chassis around some existing chassis plates I acquired, they are made from tick steel plate and are quite heavy, but they are ideal for a strong and rigid chassis.
I have finally made a start by cutting down some large angle steel to make the “L” brackets. I then machined some standard 25mm x 12mm steel and drilled and tap the holes.
I now need to finish the sides so that I can then start on the buffer plates. So I decided to print a 1:1 scale drawing of the shape I want. I am making these from 3mm sheet steel and plan on milling out 3mm of the main side chassis so that these parts fit flush.
