I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

I started with the usual block of steel and cut the end out of it.
I made a roller in the lathe, which does a really good job of putting
the hole in the middle and making the sides straight. And I got a
steel bolt to use as a spindle. Even though I'm going to rivet it in,
a rivet is too soft and may bend under the pressure I'm going to put
on it.
http://i35.tinypic.com/20i9991.jpg

I can use the lathe now since the man in charge of the lathe died of a
heart attack. Now I'm using all of his machines to make all the things
that he said were impossible!

Here is the roller assembly put together. As usual the angle grinder
made a nice job polishing it all up. I put grease inside before I
rivetted it together:
http://i33.tinypic.com/5s6qb.jpg

Next I made a cam out of another block of steel. And that's the spring
that will hold the cam against the roller:
http://i38.tinypic.com/28180zq.jpg

Note that the cam has a sharper slope near the middle. Try and make
that on your fancy milling machine! I just ground the curve on a
grinder. The curve gives the cam a bit more force to flick the rail
over from the middle. If the angle is too steep the cam doesn't work
at all. I already tried that! About 45 to 50 degrees is about all that
will work.

Here are most of the parts put together. I polished up the cam with
the angle grinder too!
http://i38.tinypic.com/28ksmrl.jpg

If a tram runs the "wrong" way through the points the movable rail
simply flips to the other side. It needs to be spring loaded so that
it stays on that side. When the tram is going the "right" way through
the points we wouldn't want the points to move across when half the
wheels have gone on one track while the second half go on another
track!

The usual type of spring points changer is too wide for the box I need
to put it in, and the design is inferior since the maximum force is
applied only at the end of its travel. A cam gives maximum force on
the movable rail for most of its travel.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember Matty F
saying something like:


If a tram runs the "wrong" way through the points the movable rail
simply flips to the other side. It needs to be spring loaded so that
it stays on that side. When the tram is going the "right" way through
the points we wouldn't want the points to move across when half the
wheels have gone on one track while the second half go on another
track!

Excellent stuff.
Would a more rounded profile on the nose of the cam not be a bit kinder
to the roller?

On Oct 1, 2:36 pm, Grimly Curmudgeon
wrote:
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember Matty F
saying something like:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

Excellent stuff.
Would a more rounded profile on the nose of the cam not be a bit kinder
to the roller?

Yes it probably would. I'll do that next week.
I need to adjust it yet since the cam is not quite in the middle of
travel.

Matty F wrote:

I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

Another fine piece of work.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.

In article ,
Matty F writes:
I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

Looks impressive.

Just wondering if you considered an over-centre toggle mechanism?
I think that would have a similar force profile, but no centre dead
spot.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On Oct 1, 7:21 pm, (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:
In article ,
Matty F writes:

I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

Looks impressive.

Just wondering if you considered an over-centre toggle mechanism?
I think that would have a similar force profile, but no centre dead
spot.

That sounds interesting. I've had a bit of a Google for one but I
can't find a decent picture.

This is another type of points mechanism. But it has almost no force
around the centre point, and definitely doesn't work as well as the
ones that I have made:
http://i36.tinypic.com/skxmpt.jpg

"Matty F" wrote in message
...
On Oct 1, 7:21 pm, (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:
In article
,
Matty F writes:

I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

Looks impressive.

Just wondering if you considered an over-centre toggle mechanism?
I think that would have a similar force profile, but no centre dead
spot.

That sounds interesting. I've had a bit of a Google for one but I
can't find a decent picture.

This is another type of points mechanism. But it has almost no force
around the centre point, and definitely doesn't work as well as the
ones that I have made:
http://i36.tinypic.com/skxmpt.jpg

Thats an over centre toggle AFAICS.
It should be almost impossible to get it to stop in the centre if the joints
are free.

On Oct 1, 8:22 pm, "dennis@home"
wrote:
"Matty F" wrote in message

...



On Oct 1, 7:21 pm, (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:
In article
,
Matty F writes:

I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

Looks impressive.

Just wondering if you considered an over-centre toggle mechanism?
I think that would have a similar force profile, but no centre dead
spot.

That sounds interesting. I've had a bit of a Google for one but I
can't find a decent picture.

This is another type of points mechanism. But it has almost no force
around the centre point, and definitely doesn't work as well as the
ones that I have made:
http://i36.tinypic.com/skxmpt.jpg

Thats an over centre toggle AFAICS.
It should be almost impossible to get it to stop in the centre if the joints
are free.

But there is a lot of friction when the rail is moved sideways. The
rail rests on a flat steel surface that gets rusty, and there are lots
of leaves and dirt and other crud all around, even though they are
cleaned out and greased every week.
So I can make that rail stop at at almost any point.

In article ,
Matty F writes:
On Oct 1, 7:21 pm, (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:
In article ,
Matty F writes:

I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

Looks impressive.

Just wondering if you considered an over-centre toggle mechanism?
I think that would have a similar force profile, but no centre dead
spot.

That sounds interesting. I've had a bit of a Google for one but I
can't find a decent picture.

It surprises me that I can't either. It's the mechanism commonly
used in fast make/break toggle switches, bi-metal thermostats, etc,
to ensure bi-stable operation -- i.e. the mechanical system has only
2 stable states. Hopefully someone will find a good picture or
moving diagram. Even Wikipedia was useless.

Surprisingly (for me at least), the search brought up lots of rail
points systems. One is this one
http://valleysignals.org.nz/track/springpoints.html
but from a very quick read, I think that's doing more than you want
in the "Snap to the reverse position when the points are trailed."

This is another type of points mechanism. But it has almost no force
around the centre point, and definitely doesn't work as well as the
ones that I have made:
http://i36.tinypic.com/skxmpt.jpg

That's kind-of one linkage short of an over-centre toggle, which
means you could get it to stay in the centre position because there's
no force applied at that point, i.e. it's tri-stable, not bi-stable.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On Oct 1, 9:43 pm, (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:
In article ,
Matty F writes:



On Oct 1, 7:21 pm, (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:
In article ,
Matty F writes:

I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

Looks impressive.

Just wondering if you considered an over-centre toggle mechanism?
I think that would have a similar force profile, but no centre dead
spot.

That sounds interesting. I've had a bit of a Google for one but I
can't find a decent picture.

It surprises me that I can't either. It's the mechanism commonly
used in fast make/break toggle switches, bi-metal thermostats, etc,
to ensure bi-stable operation -- i.e. the mechanical system has only
2 stable states. Hopefully someone will find a good picture or
moving diagram. Even Wikipedia was useless.

Surprisingly (for me at least), the search brought up lots of rail
points systems. One is this onehttp://valleysignals.org.nz/track/springpoints.html
but from a very quick read, I think that's doing more than you want
in the "Snap to the reverse position when the points are trailed."

This is another type of points mechanism. But it has almost no force
around the centre point, and definitely doesn't work as well as the
ones that I have made:
http://i36.tinypic.com/skxmpt.jpg

That's kind-of one linkage short of an over-centre toggle, which
means you could get it to stay in the centre position because there's
no force applied at that point, i.e. it's tri-stable, not bi-stable.

I reckon the force that it applies on the rail goes like this:
10 side
8
5
2
0 centre
2
5
8
10 side

while the cam method goes like this:
7 side
8
9
10
0 centre
10
9
8
7 side
.... which is the effect that I want.

The cam spring exerts more pressure near the middle position. Because
I've curved the cam it exerts more pressure near the middle also.
Any amount of spring tension will hold the rail at one side or the
other.
More force is needed near the middle point so that the rail never
stops in that position.

But a bistable system would be better.

In article ,
Matty F writes:
On Oct 1, 9:43 pm, (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:
In article ,
Matty F writes:

This is another type of points mechanism. But it has almost no force
around the centre point, and definitely doesn't work as well as the
ones that I have made:
http://i36.tinypic.com/skxmpt.jpg

That's kind-of one linkage short of an over-centre toggle, which
means you could get it to stay in the centre position because there's
no force applied at that point, i.e. it's tri-stable, not bi-stable.

I reckon the force that it applies on the rail goes like this:
10 side
8
5
2
0 centre
2
5
8
10 side

while the cam method goes like this:
7 side
8
9
10
0 centre
10
9
8
7 side
... which is the effect that I want.

The cam spring exerts more pressure near the middle position. Because
I've curved the cam it exerts more pressure near the middle also.
Any amount of spring tension will hold the rail at one side or the
other.
More force is needed near the middle point so that the rail never
stops in that position.

But a bistable system would be better.

The force profile for over-centre toggle is not static - same
position will have different force depending on the state of the
bi-stable, and therefore the next direction of state transition.

There are effectively two centre-like positions, offset equally
(in your case) from the real centre of travel. If you start from
one side, the centre point will be the further one, i.e. past the
real centre of travel. As you reach it, the centre point flips
to the one you already traveled past, so the force suddenly flips
to push towards the side you are moving towards. The force is
highest as you approach the flip point. It's never zero, and can
be made to change little throughout the travel (although not to
remain constant).

So going from side A to side B, with +ve numbers forcing to side A:

+7 side A
+8
+9
+10
+11 [centre of travel]
+12
-9
-8
-7 side B

and going back in the opposite direction (side B to A)

+7 side A
+8
+9
-12
-11 [centre of travel]
-10
-9
-8
-7 side B

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

In article ,
Matty F writes:
On Oct 1, 9:43 pm, (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:
In article ,
Matty F writes:



This is another type of points mechanism. But it has almost no force
around the centre point, and definitely doesn't work as well as the
ones that I have made:
http://i36.tinypic.com/skxmpt.jpg

That's kind-of one linkage short of an over-centre toggle, which
means you could get it to stay in the centre position because there's
no force applied at that point, i.e. it's tri-stable, not bi-stable.

I reckon the force that it applies on the rail goes like this:
10 side
8
5
2
0 centre
2
5
8
10 side

Thinking about it, this one isn't necessarily quite right.
The spring force is most at the centre, but the mechanical
force advantage is greatest at the sides and zero at the centre.
So depending on the spring characteristics, multiplying these
could result in the peak force anywhere except just around the
centre, and could even drop slightly before you hit the sides,
depending on the spring used.

while the cam method goes like this:
7 side
8
9
10
0 centre
10
9
8
7 side
... which is the effect that I want.

The cam spring exerts more pressure near the middle position. Because
I've curved the cam it exerts more pressure near the middle also.
Any amount of spring tension will hold the rail at one side or the
other.
More force is needed near the middle point so that the rail never
stops in that position.

But a bistable system would be better.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:17:59 -0700, Matty F wrote:

I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:

Keep posts like that coming! Interesting to many, I'm sure - and
personally I don't have much time to go looking at blogs for this kind of
stuff, so it's nice to see it here on the ng.

Where in NZ is this tramway, btw? (I may have asked that before, but if I
did I've gone and forgotton!)

cheers

Jules

On Oct 2, 12:11 am, (Andrew Gabriel)
wrote:
In article ,
..com,
Matty F writes:

This is another type of points mechanism. But it has almost no force
around the centre point, and definitely doesn't work as well as the
ones that I have made:
http://i36.tinypic.com/skxmpt.jpg

That's kind-of one linkage short of an over-centre toggle, which
means you could get it to stay in the centre position because there's
no force applied at that point, i.e. it's tri-stable, not bi-stable.

I reckon the force that it applies on the rail goes like this:
10 side
8
5
2
0 centre
2
5
8
10 side

Thinking about it, this one isn't necessarily quite right.
The spring force is most at the centre, but the mechanical
force advantage is greatest at the sides and zero at the centre.
So depending on the spring characteristics, multiplying these
could result in the peak force anywhere except just around the
centre, and could even drop slightly before you hit the sides,
depending on the spring used.

I based my estimates on the one in the picture and what happens when I
operate it with a track bar. The spring is much larger and heavier
than the one I've used with the cam version, and it's compressed to a
high extent. When in use it doesn't compress very much more (maybe
20%), so the force it's exerting is roughly similar over the whole
travel, except for the mechanical force advantage.
When I lever the rail with a track bar, it needs most force at the
side. As the rail approaches the middle position it needs very little
force to move it, and I can let it stop over about half the total
distance of travel because of the friction.
I am only concerned with the rail flicking right over and not stopping
just after the halfway point. With the cam version, at the middle
position the spring is compressed to about half its length, so it is
exerting much more force over the middle position.
The trams have plenty of force available to push the rail just past
the halfway point. If they go fast enough the rail flicks over very
suddenly, but they are not allowed to go fast!
The worse situation is the points with a simple spring to hold the
points to one side only. Each wheel on one side of the tram has to
push the rail over, and it flicks back after each wheel. But that is
the way it has to be. In normal use the driver does not ever have to
get out to change the points, except when deciding which trambarn to
go into at night.

On Oct 2, 12:54 am, Jules
wrote:
On Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:17:59 -0700, Matty F wrote:
I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:

Keep posts like that coming! Interesting to many, I'm sure - and
personally I don't have much time to go looking at blogs for this kind of
stuff, so it's nice to see it here on the ng.

I have lots of weird hobbies. Perhaps you have not seen the nuclear
accelerator that I'm trying to restore!

Where in NZ is this tramway, btw? (I may have asked that before, but if I
did I've gone and forgotton!)

Ah, I don't think I'm at liberty to say! But there are lots of
heritage tramways and railways here in NZ.
I've discussed making strange objects before and nobody wants to know
what they a
http://i41.tinypic.com/ea1u1s.jpg

"Matty F" wrote in message
...
On Oct 2, 12:54 am, Jules
wrote:
On Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:17:59 -0700, Matty F wrote:
I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:

Keep posts like that coming! Interesting to many, I'm sure - and
personally I don't have much time to go looking at blogs for this kind of
stuff, so it's nice to see it here on the ng.

I have lots of weird hobbies. Perhaps you have not seen the nuclear
accelerator that I'm trying to restore!

Where in NZ is this tramway, btw? (I may have asked that before, but if I
did I've gone and forgotton!)

Ah, I don't think I'm at liberty to say!

?

But there are lots of
heritage tramways and railways here in NZ.
I've discussed making strange objects before and nobody wants to know
what they a
http://i41.tinypic.com/ea1u1s.jpg

Don't they? I do, but I thought "part of the volts for a tram system" was
sufficient answer.

Chris J Dixon wrote:
Matty F wrote:

I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

Another fine piece of work.

A new Superhero is born - Angle Grinder Man!


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

The Medway Handyman
wibbled on Thursday 01 October 2009 19:55

Chris J Dixon wrote:
Matty F wrote:

I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

Another fine piece of work.

A new Superhero is born - Angle Grinder Man!



I too am deeply impressed. No silly tile trim wibblings or questions about
wiring 3 way lights. Nope - go for something proper and heavy duty like a
DIY points spring bias doobrey.

I vote Matty for the 2009 DIY'er's award

--
Tim Watts

This space intentionally left blank...

On Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:54:05 -0700, Matty F wrote:

On Oct 2, 12:54 am, Jules
wrote:
On Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:17:59 -0700, Matty F wrote:
I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:

Keep posts like that coming! Interesting to many, I'm sure - and
personally I don't have much time to go looking at blogs for this kind of
stuff, so it's nice to see it here on the ng.

I have lots of weird hobbies. Perhaps you have not seen the nuclear
accelerator that I'm trying to restore!

Now you've got me trying to remember the name of the NZ guy a few years
ago who was buying up odds and ends to make his own cruise missile...
wasn't you, was it? :-) I think he got pretty far before the gov't leaned
on him...

Where in NZ is this tramway, btw? (I may have asked that before, but if
I did I've gone and forgotton!)

Ah, I don't think I'm at liberty to say! But there are lots of heritage
tramways and railways here in NZ.

Yeah, there are. I used to bump into a few folk over there into that kind
of thing, and lots of ex-railways staff - all with all sorts of
interesting tales to tell! :-) Seemed to be a lot more people into
trolleybuses than trams, though.

cheers

Jules

On Oct 2, 8:41 am, Jules
wrote:

Now you've got me trying to remember the name of the NZ guy a few years
ago who was buying up odds and ends to make his own cruise missile...
wasn't you, was it? :-) I think he got pretty far before the gov't leaned
on him...

That would be Bruce Simpson. He's gone further ahead than I ever would
You have to see this jet powered plane he's flying!
http://www.aardvark.co.nz/pjet/

Where in NZ is this tramway, btw? (I may have asked that before, but if
I did I've gone and forgotton!)

Ah, I don't think I'm at liberty to say! But there are lots of heritage
tramways and railways here in NZ.

Yeah, there are. I used to bump into a few folk over there into that kind
of thing, and lots of ex-railways staff - all with all sorts of
interesting tales to tell! :-) Seemed to be a lot more people into
trolleybuses than trams, though.

Yes I'm interested in trolleybuses too. Hopefully we should get some
overhead up to run them. It's tricky running them off tram overhead,
but it can be done!
There's bound to be something in my volunteer contract about publicity
so I won't publicise.

On Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:17:59 -0700 (PDT), Matty F wrote:

I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

Good stuff. Who needs thousands of pounds worth of CNC machine when
you have a hacksaw and an angle grinder?

Are those bit manufactured from mild steel though? I wonder how long
they'll stay nice a shiny inside a damp box or how long before they
are a pile of brown bits?

A good all over splathering with a heavy waterproof grease should
stop that though.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Oct 2, 10:23 am, "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:
On Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:17:59 -0700 (PDT), Matty F wrote:
I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

Good stuff. Who needs thousands of pounds worth of CNC machine when
you have a hacksaw and an angle grinder?

Are those bit manufactured from mild steel though? I wonder how long
they'll stay nice a shiny inside a damp box or how long before they
are a pile of brown bits?

A good all over splathering with a heavy waterproof grease should
stop that though.

The big square bits are mild steel. My theory is that they are thick
enough to last for a while. The rubbing surfaces will clear themselves
of rust I hope! All the other parts are galvanised.

Here's the first points changer that I made, after a few months use.
The hole gets completely filled with water for hours after heavy
rain.
I painted it with some kind of maybe zinc-based paint. There's not
much in the way of rust yet.

http://i38.tinypic.com/14l4hsj.jpg

On Oct 2, 6:59 am, Tim W wrote:
The Medway Handyman
wibbled on Thursday 01 October 2009 19:55

Chris J Dixon wrote:
Matty F wrote:

I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

Another fine piece of work.

A new Superhero is born - Angle Grinder Man!

I too am deeply impressed. No silly tile trim wibblings or questions about
wiring 3 way lights. Nope - go for something proper and heavy duty like a
DIY points spring bias doobrey.

I vote Matty for the 2009 DIY'er's award

Thanks! I have not done any tiling yet so I need to learn. I can cut
tiles with my angle grinder and a diamond blade, right?
I have about a ton of tile offcuts from the job next door. The
professional tilers couldn't seem to put the tiles on straight:

http://i36.tinypic.com/64nncy.jpg

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:17:59 -0700 (PDT), Matty F wrote:

I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

Good stuff. Who needs thousands of pounds worth of CNC machine when
you have a hacksaw and an angle grinder?

Are those bit manufactured from mild steel though? I wonder how long
they'll stay nice a shiny inside a damp box or how long before they
are a pile of brown bits?

A good all over splathering with a heavy waterproof grease should
stop that though.

Nah! Quick spray with the guvnor - WD40 will sort that.


--
Dave - WD40 Liberation Front.

On Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:59:07 GMT, "The Medway Handyman"
had this to say:

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:17:59 -0700 (PDT), Matty F wrote:

I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

Good stuff. Who needs thousands of pounds worth of CNC machine when
you have a hacksaw and an angle grinder?

Are those bit manufactured from mild steel though? I wonder how long
they'll stay nice a shiny inside a damp box or how long before they
are a pile of brown bits?

A good all over splathering with a heavy waterproof grease should
stop that though.

Nah! Quick spray with the guvnor - WD40 will sort that.

Waxoyl's much better.

--
Frank Erskine

On Thu, 1 Oct 2009 15:56:47 -0700 (PDT), Matty F wrote:

I have not done any tiling yet so I need to learn. I can cut tiles with
my angle grinder and a diamond blade, right?

You can but I suspect a better job can be done with one of the
diamond bladed tile table saws.

I have about a ton of tile offcuts from the job next door. The
professional tilers couldn't seem to put the tiles on straight:

http://i36.tinypic.com/64nncy.jpg

Interesting idea but it makes me feel sick! Fancy using that after a
"good night out". B-)

--
Cheers
Dave.

"Matty F" wrote in message
...
On Oct 2, 10:23 am, "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:
On Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:17:59 -0700 (PDT), Matty F wrote:
I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

Good stuff. Who needs thousands of pounds worth of CNC machine when
you have a hacksaw and an angle grinder?

Are those bit manufactured from mild steel though? I wonder how long
they'll stay nice a shiny inside a damp box or how long before they
are a pile of brown bits?

A good all over splathering with a heavy waterproof grease should
stop that though.

The big square bits are mild steel. My theory is that they are thick
enough to last for a while. The rubbing surfaces will clear themselves
of rust I hope! All the other parts are galvanised.

Just bolt a big bit of zinc to them somewhere, the zinc corrodes in
preference to the steel (exactly how galvanising works). Bear in mind it
will corrode in preference to all the iron connected to it electrically,
rails, etc. so the bigger the better, probably. You can setup a maintenance
schedule to replace the zinc once you get an idea how long it lasts. IIRC
the Sydney opera house uses blocks of zinc bolted on to stop it corroding.

On Oct 2, 7:43 pm, "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:
On Thu, 1 Oct 2009 15:56:47 -0700 (PDT), Matty F wrote:
I have not done any tiling yet so I need to learn. I can cut tiles with
my angle grinder and a diamond blade, right?

You can but I suspect a better job can be done with one of the
diamond bladed tile table saws.

I have about a ton of tile offcuts from the job next door. The
professional tilers couldn't seem to put the tiles on straight:

http://i36.tinypic.com/64nncy.jpg

Interesting idea but it makes me feel sick! Fancy using that after a
"good night out". B-)

If you are feeling sick, the toilet is on the other side of the
bathroom!
http://i33.tinypic.com/282l73q.jpg

On 02/10/09 09:11, Matty F wrote:

If you are feeling sick, the toilet is on the other side of the
bathroom!
http://i33.tinypic.com/282l73q.jpg

They go to all that trouble to make it funky, but can't either bury the
waste pipe in the wall or fit a pedestal to hide it?

Matty F writes:
Thanks! I have not done any tiling yet so I need to learn. I can cut
tiles with my angle grinder and a diamond blade, right?
I have about a ton of tile offcuts from the job next door. The
professional tilers couldn't seem to put the tiles on straight:

http://i36.tinypic.com/64nncy.jpg

'struth! Not a shower to use if you're a bit tipsy!

--
Jón Fairbairn
http://www.chaos.org.uk/~jf/Stuff-I-dont-want.html (updated 2009-01-31)

On Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:17:38 +0100, Andy Burns wrote:

http://i33.tinypic.com/282l73q.jpg

They go to all that trouble to make it funky, but can't either bury the
waste pipe in the wall or fit a pedestal to hide it?

Agreed but it's "designer" stuff, practicalities like the required
plumbing don't enter in the red rimed glasses, pointy hair, brigades
tiny little minds.

Yes maybe the waste could have been taken back into the wall but
you'd still see the trap hanging down. Which I can't see a real
reason for either. The bowl of the basin isn't a deep as that would
infer is it? ie about 18". Messy, full stop. I wonder how long the
waste will last before it gets a hard enough whack from a
foot/mop/WHY to fracture it?

--
Cheers
Dave.

"Matty F" wrote in message
...
On Oct 2, 7:43 pm, "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:
On Thu, 1 Oct 2009 15:56:47 -0700 (PDT), Matty F wrote:
I have not done any tiling yet so I need to learn. I can cut tiles with
my angle grinder and a diamond blade, right?

You can but I suspect a better job can be done with one of the
diamond bladed tile table saws.

I have about a ton of tile offcuts from the job next door. The
professional tilers couldn't seem to put the tiles on straight:

http://i36.tinypic.com/64nncy.jpg

Interesting idea but it makes me feel sick! Fancy using that after a
"good night out". B-)

If you are feeling sick, the toilet is on the other side of the
bathroom!
http://i33.tinypic.com/282l73q.jpg

The builder wasn't called Salvador Dalí. was he?

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

On 1 Oct, 03:17, Matty F wrote:

Next I made a cam out of another block of steel. And that's the spring
that will hold the cam against the roller:http://i38.tinypic.com/28180zq.jpg

Case hardened the nose?

(Or these days, hard-face it with a welder and then grind to shape)

On Oct 2, 9:09 pm, Andy Dingley wrote:
On 1 Oct, 03:17, Matty F wrote:

Next I made a cam out of another block of steel. And that's the spring
that will hold the cam against the roller:http://i38.tinypic.com/28180zq.jpg

Case hardened the nose?

(Or these days, hard-face it with a welder and then grind to shape)

The roller does roll over the nose very well. Surely there would be no
significant wear?

On Oct 2, 8:08 pm, "dennis@home"
wrote:
"Matty F" wrote in message

...



On Oct 2, 10:23 am, "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:
On Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:17:59 -0700 (PDT), Matty F wrote:
I've been making devices to keep tram rail points to one side or the
other by means of a spring.
Here's the finished points changer:
http://i38.tinypic.com/8yf4ld.jpg

Good stuff. Who needs thousands of pounds worth of CNC machine when
you have a hacksaw and an angle grinder?

Are those bit manufactured from mild steel though? I wonder how long
they'll stay nice a shiny inside a damp box or how long before they
are a pile of brown bits?

A good all over splathering with a heavy waterproof grease should
stop that though.

The big square bits are mild steel. My theory is that they are thick
enough to last for a while. The rubbing surfaces will clear themselves
of rust I hope! All the other parts are galvanised.

Just bolt a big bit of zinc to them somewhere, the zinc corrodes in
preference to the steel (exactly how galvanising works). Bear in mind it
will corrode in preference to all the iron connected to it electrically,
rails, etc. so the bigger the better, probably.

The points mechanism is connected electrically to about 5 miles of
tram line. How big a block of zinc would I need?

On Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:11:34 -0700, Matty F wrote:

On Oct 2, 7:43 pm, "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:
On Thu, 1 Oct 2009 15:56:47 -0700 (PDT), Matty F wrote:
I have not done any tiling yet so I need to learn. I can cut tiles
with my angle grinder and a diamond blade, right?

You can but I suspect a better job can be done with one of the diamond
bladed tile table saws.

I have about a ton of tile offcuts from the job next door. The
professional tilers couldn't seem to put the tiles on straight:

http://i36.tinypic.com/64nncy.jpg

Interesting idea but it makes me feel sick! Fancy using that after a
"good night out". B-)

If you are feeling sick, the toilet is on the other side of the
bathroom!
http://i33.tinypic.com/282l73q.jpg

Just need to replace the shower outlet with a larger bore (and perhaps
add a small waste disposal unit)



--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

On 2 Oct, 10:27, Matty F wrote:
On Oct 2, 9:09 pm, Andy Dingley wrote:

Case hardened the nose?

The roller does roll over the nose very well. Surely there would be no
significant wear?

Today, when clean. How about in a year from now, when it's full of
crud? Or if the roller becomes sticky to turn?

On Oct 3, 12:02 am, Andy Dingley wrote:
On 2 Oct, 10:27, Matty F wrote:

On Oct 2, 9:09 pm, Andy Dingley wrote:
Case hardened the nose?
The roller does roll over the nose very well. Surely there would be no
significant wear?

Today, when clean. How about in a year from now, when it's full of
crud? Or if the roller becomes sticky to turn?

A man checks and cleans them every week.

"Matty F" wrote in message
...


The points mechanism is connected electrically to about 5 miles of
tram line. How big a block of zinc would I need?



Try a few kilos.
The zinc on the galvanised bit isn't going to last long.

On Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:52:54 -0700, Matty F wrote:
Here's the first points changer that I made, after a few months use.

I suspect the weak spot might actually end up being the guide plate which
the plunger sits in - there must be a bit of sideways force on the plunger
every time it operates, and eventually it'll wear through or start to
stick.

(for version 2, or 3, I suppose you could have some sort of bearing either
side of the plunger at the mouth of the guide to better take the sideways
load - but maybe that's 20 years down the road or whatnot when the current
design does finally wear out ;-)

cheers

Jules