Still working away at adding details to the left hand side of the loco (although, I have added the solid blocks to the base of the firebox on either side).
After much fiddling to get the vacuum ejector pipe to sit horizontal I got there and it’s now fixed in place. As happens sometimes. I spent some time making the very visible pipe flanges that are fitted to the lower section of the vacuum pipe just above the footplate.
The best of these were soldered together in pairs and one pair fitted to the pipe. Then of course I discovered a pair of nice castings on a spru so my homemade ones are consigned to the spares box for now.
It was also kindly and discretely, pointed out that I had the dome on back to front. Which, was accompanied by a clear explanation of why it was thought to be so. As I read it, it made perfect sense and I could see clearly why it was on back to front. Life got in the way and I was unable to do anything in the workshop on Wednesday but I awoke early yesterday with my mind working on how I might safely remove the dome. I’d run elaborate scenarios of using the microflame while wrapping vulnerable bits in wet tissue ad using various items as heat sinks etc.
When I got into the workshop after breakfast I looked and realised that although I had fixed the boiler in place and removing it although not impossible would require undoing and refitting a number of parts. I could in fact get my low melt soldering iron into the base of the dome via the opening in the base of the firebox.
Then it was a relatively simple matter of starting to ease it off with my nails while heating the underside with the iron then once i had it move enough I used a pair of wooden coffee stirrers as pry bars to ease it off the rest of the way without damaging either the casting or the boiler. it was one of those situations where another couple of hands would have been helpful but I managed.
Oh what a few years of experience brings. Back when I started this build, if someone had told me then that I had the dome on the wrong way around. I would never have had the courage to remove and refit the dome and at that point the boiler was a separate entity.
As a small side note not long after the Finney7 team took over the range I bought a set of etched pipe clips (a side product from the Duchess kit) and this is the first time I’ve remembered to use them. Of course as soon as I touched the first one after thinking it was fixed in place, it pinged off, never to be seen again.
