More Gusset-Plates



After a break last Saturday I went today to carry on work on the gusset-plates.

Andy had made a new jig for bending the plates and made five, four and a spare. He's made the first 90 degree bend in them and I now had to mark them up and to drill the holes for bolting them to the sole-bars.

Ollie working here to test fit the axle-guide. That grey L-shaped steel plate on top of the frame in front of Ollie is one of the gusset-plates. The fitting process is slow, well the way I do it is. I've numbered each plate and its assigned corner and checked the measurements before marking the bolt-holes. Mistakes are potentially expensive. The ones I've made so far haven't been too bad, and I'd like to avoid making more.

Meanwhile Ollie and Andy were working to make the tie-bars and prepare the frame to fit the axle-guides.

Here the capstan lathe, with the camera-shy Andy, is cutting the threads on the ends of the tie-bars.

I've got a cold that's been coming on for a few days, so I finished marking up the gusset-plates then came home. I'll go and drill the bolt holes on Friday.