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Canadian MeccaNotes June 2004 - Canadian Modeling Association
Canadian MeccaNotes --- Issue #34 --- June 2004 Kingston Rail-O-Rama Don Redmond's Windmill Hubert Hogle's Mechanisms Normand St.Aubin's Blocksetting Crane 2 Canadian MeccaNotes Editor’s Notes This issue contains a good variety of features. Many thanks to Larry Yates, Colin Hoare, Earl Pitts, Bill Bardutz, Marsha Brandston, Ivor Setten, Kendrik Bisset, Larry Yates, Don Morton and others for supplying items for this issue. Starting with March 2002, one contributor to each Canadian MeccaNotes issue gets a prize in appreciation of their efforts. The March 2004 winner was Frank Curry. Perhaps you’ll win for the next issue? The e-mail address [email protected] is no more; it was deleted as we were getting mostly spam email. Please e-mail directly to the club executive instead. As noted last year, part of the CMAMAS website is now password protected. For example to see the meetings of minutes you now need this id/ password: cmember/Sprocket2. As always, the newletter is only as good as the contributors. Your articles, photos, model plans, short news items, want, sales and swap ads are wanted. Items in machine readable form (e-mail, ... continued on page 3 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 (4 Issues Per Calendar Year) 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 o within North America: Canada - $35; U.S.A. 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 - US$30. Make cheque or money order payable 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 to CMAMAS, mail to Treasurer, address above. 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 o elsewhere: £26, US$44 or C$58; also 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 available from MW Models, address on page 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 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C.M.A.M.A.S. and/or Individual 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 Contributors. 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 Meccano and Erector are registered trade 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 names and are used throughout Canadian 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 MeccaNotes by kind permission of Meccano 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 Ltd.. 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 North American subscribers to Canadian 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 MeccaNotes are automatically members of 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 the Canadian Modeling Association for 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 Meccano and Allied Systems (CMAMAS). 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345 Subscriptions June 2004 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 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12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 The “Canadian MeccaNotes” newsletter 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 (ISSN 1207-2249) is published 4 times per 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 year (March, June, September and De12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 cember) by the Canadian Modeling Asso12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 ciation for Meccano & Allied Systems 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 (CMAMAS). 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 “Written and produced by Meccano enthu12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 siasts for Meccano enthusiasts.” 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 Canadian Modeling Association for 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 Meccano & Allied Systems (CMAMAS) 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 130 Neptune Drive, Suite 1109 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 Toronto, Ontario 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 CANADA M6A 1X5 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 http://www.memeshadow.net/ 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 cmamas/ 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12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 President ... Colin Hoare, 18 Tweedle St., 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 Glen Williams, Ontario, Canada L7G 3S5, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 [email protected], (905)873-8261 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 Vice President ... Attila Szakonyi, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 10 Fendley Crt, Brampton, Ontario, Canada, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 L6Z 3H9, [email protected], 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 (905)846-5287 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 Treasurer ... Marsha Brandston, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 130 Neptune Drive, Suite 1109, Toronto, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 Ontario, Canada M6A 1X5, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 [email protected] 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 Secretary ... Colin Hinz, 148 Howland 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5R 3B5, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 [email protected], (416)516-8686 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 Newsletter Editor/Webmaster ... David 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 Williams, 3017 - 111A Street, Edmonton, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 Alberta, Canada T6J 3Y5, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 [email protected], (780)438-1197 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 Parts & Sets Order Inquiries ... 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 [email protected] 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234 Canadian MeccaNotes CMAMAS Executive June 2004 Table of Contents Kingston Rail-O-Rama 1 Editor’s Notes 2 A Trip to Thailand 3 Presidential Perusings 4 Canadian Meccanoman of the Year 4 Maypole Braider - Rebuilt 5 A Model of a Schertzer Rolling Lift Bridge 6 US Meccano Bolts 7 The Kingston Rail-O-Rama 2004 8 Ottawa 2004 11 BC Meccano Club Meeting - March 6, 200411 Contrary Crankshafts 12 Price List For New 2004 Sets 13 Ocean Liner 14 Setscrews: Neglected? 18 The Inventor’s Outfit B 19 Moose Jaw Hobby Show 2004 23 Toronto One Day Show 2004 24 GF Farm Auction 26 The Peddler 27 Moose Jaw Hobby Show 28 Bill Bardutz on TV 28 diskette) are preferred but everything is acceptable. If desired, your material can also be posted on our website. If you’d like any part of your submissions returned, please say so; otherwise I will keep everything. Please note that we plan to publish the September 2004 issue around September 6, 2004; the final deadline is August 27, 2004. David Williams A Trip to Thailand I’m a big fan of asia and have visited many asian countries. A few years back, shortly after returning from a trip to Thailand, I heard about Eric Evans on “Spanner” who had recently retired to Thailand from England. I corresponded with Eric via e-mail and during my most recent asian trip in March I visited Eric in a village outside Pattaya, Thailand. Before he moved to Thailand, he sold a portion of his Meccano & train collection but he still has enought building parts to Canadian MeccaNotes 3 Eric Evans at a Pattaya Monument make very impressive models. Pictured are his Walking Dragline based upon MP87, Plate Bending Machine based upon IMM17 and Giant Blocksetting Crane based upon GMM20. David Williams See more photos on page 26. 4 Canadian MeccaNotes Presidential Perusings The first news to impart is that there is a new Canadian agent for Meccano France. R P Toys have handed over the reins to Borgfeldt (Canada) Limited, who are located in Markham, Ontario. At the risk of being accused of being negative, I cannot help but wonder if the transfer can be considered along the lines of a proverbial poisoned chalice: dealings with Meccano France have never been easy, but I sincerely wish the new agents every success. Certainly, the dealings between members of the C. M. A. M. A. S. Executive and the Borgfeldt agent, Merle Tubman, have been positive. Like most companies, Borgfeldt (Canada) have established their own Website, which can be found http://www.borgfeldt.ca/. Meccano features prominently at the top, and we have been led to believe that Meccano France may even offer spare parts through their Canadian affiliate at some time in the future. Talking of spare parts, my thanks to everyone who placed orders for parts from Exacto in Argentina and Ashok Banerjee in India. Vice-President Attila Szakonyi has undertaken the task of collating all the orders, and we thank him for so doing. The total amount is about the same as it was last year. Every year, I anticipate that there will be a drop in orders, under the mistaken belief that everyone has enough Meccano, and every year I am proved wrong. By the time this issue is published, the two-day show at the Hamilton Museum of Science and Technology will either be just days away, or will have taken place. Clearly, based on the response, this is a show that we will add to our annual calendar, always assuming that the curators at the Museum are happy with our efforts. There was an interesting series of articles in “The Toronto Star” recently that has significance to the future of Meccano. It also ties in with the debate on “Spanner,” where the question: “Has Meccano peaked?” was posed initially by Howard Somerville from England. The newspaper series was entitled “What are we doing to our kids? Rat-race childrearing and competition is stressing families and taking the magic out of growing up.” I firmly June 2004 believe that this is one reason why Meccano has lost its appeal to the younger generation. There is a delightful picture in this article of a young boy, lying on his back, holding some contraption that has been constructed from something akin to Meccano, but made of wood. The caption underneath reads: “Time and space to dream, imagine and invent are rarely part of a child’s world now. Instead, they are bombarded with technology.” Yes, this is childhood lost. The day the third article appeared, however, there was an amusing cartoon. “Adam @ home” is a regular feature in the same paper. Adam was seen calling upstairs:” Clayton, your baseball coach just phoned - your baseball game’s been cancelled. Seems some of the parents who drive those massive SUV’s can’t afford the gas it takes to get to the field.” Perhaps this is the way we’ll recapture the kids! Colin Hoare Canadian Meccanoman of the Year Every year, the Norm LaCroix Trophy is awarded to a Meccanoman (or Meccanowoman) at “The Hobby Show” in Toronto in November. The trophy is presented to someone who, in the opinion of his or her peers, has made a significant contribution to the hobby of Meccano (and, of course, to allied systems) over the past year or years. Subscribers to “Canadian MeccaNotes” are invited to submit nominations for this year’s award. What is required is not only the name of the person, but also a reasonably detailed explanation why the nominator thinks that this person is a suitable candidate. Candidates need not necessarily be Canadian, although we look for individuals who have made either a significant contribution to the hobby in Canada, or have supplied material to “Canadian MeccaNotes,” or both. The winner does not have to be in attendance at “The Hobby Show,” although it does add significance to the recipient if he or she is present. Submissions should be made to the Secretary of C. M. A. M. A. S., Colin Hinz, either by e-mail to [email protected], or in writing to 148 Howland Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5R 3B5. The deadline for submissions is August 31st, 2004. June 2004 Maypole Braider Rebuilt It is always a pleasure to read that one of the Canadian ModelPlans has been rebuilt, and further, to learn of an improvement in the original design which makes the model more efficient. In the March 2004 issue of The Meccano Newsmag,” Paul Blythe describes his experiences as follows: “I have recently completed that fascinating and ingeniously designed G. Servetti model, the Maypole Braider - which is clearly described by Keith Cameron in CMN Model No. 13. My reason for this note is to mention a rather obscure problem encountered during construction. There are 9 shuttles that meander around a circuitous path to accomplish the weaving. These are propelled by 6 rotators - 6 pronged wheels mounted on axles at 6½” centres. Each axle has, at its lower end, a 2½” Gear. The Gears are connected by 6 pairs of 1" Gears which are merely idlers. When the machine was fired up for the first time, I was disappointed when one Rotator became out of synchronisation and rapidly got hopelessly adrift, After checking all twelve 1" Gears, one was found to be a pre-1921 part with 40 teeth rather than the customary 38. So, with a current type No. 31 installed, the Braider was switched on once more. To my surprise, I found that one Rotator still became out of sync., although the error accumulated more slowly now. Since all the idlers definitely have 38 teeth, and 2½” Gears (27c) Gears are pristine shiny black parts stamped “Meccano - Made in England,” what possibly could be wrong? After checking all 2½” Gears, one was found to have 96 Teeth, rather than the 95T. With a long-established system of milling (or hobbing) the gears, it is very surprising that such a mistake could occur. I can only suppose that a considerable quantity of those 96T Gears must have been produced and the fault remained undiscovered until now! For any other modeller contemplating the construction of this excellent braider, the following tip will avoid a considerable amount of head scratching. The 6 Rotator rods referred to earlier are mounted in a frame to provide a hexagonal arrangement of the bearings at 6½” centres measured diagonally. Thus, a 14-hole spacing is required with a central aperture through which is fed the core material to be braided. To achieve this awkward requirement, Keith C’s model incorporates a network of Strips. When I built up this framework, I finished with hole centres of between Canadian MeccaNotes 5 57/8" and 67/8" - hopelessly adrift. So the Strips were removed and replaced by a central ‘hub’ using a 6-hole Circular Plate (Part No. 146E) carrying 5½” Strips as spokes attached to the slotted holes of the Circular Plate. Thus a 6½” precise spacing is easily obtained for the Rotator rods, and a large central hole is provided. The model is now finished and works brilliantly - many thanks to Guiseppe and Keith. Reprinted by permission of Ann Coles, Editor of “The Meccano Newsmag.” 6 Canadian MeccaNotes June 2004 A Model of a Schertzer Rolling Lift Bridge that I purchased many years ago from Geoff Wright. Spur gears on each side, just like the real bridge, drive ½” Pinions along the 6½” Rack Strips. Mechanical circuit breakers stop the motor when the bridge is fully open or fully closed. The mechanism for raising the bridge was one I had not seen before. Instead of the familiar pivots and counterweights of a lift bridge, the whole moving section rolled in a vertical plane along one abutment so that as the span rose the counterweight moved closer to the tracks. A gear on each side at the centre of curvature ran along a horizontal rack. Immediately, I thought what a neat model I could make using the Meccano Rack Strips. I used Angle Girders to represent the tracks, and spaced them 15/8" apart on ties of 3½” Strips. The final challenge was to design a locomotive to run along the tracks when the bridge was down, but still be short enough to minimize the parking space needed when the span is up, so that the model would not require too much table space at exhibitions. I constructed a simple shunting diesel just 7½” long, with six large Flanged Wheels driven by the little French motor through a 50-tooth Contrate, a Worm and a ½” Pinion. Underneath, I attached pre-WWII Collecting Shoes. They ran along a third rail of Axle Rods joined by steel Rod Connectors and insulated from the bridge deck with the new Plastic Rod Supports #J3151. Almost 20 years ago, while living in Ottawa, a family outing took me to Smiths Falls, about 75 km up the Rideau River. There I was surprised to find a derelict bridge that once carried trains across the canal. Years later, I found, in an old Meccano Magazine, that wonderful source of engineering information, someone who had described such a structure. (See MM for May 1936, p. 726). Using more photos obtained in 2001, I began constructing my Meccano model. The primary challenge was the pair of quarter-circle arcs on which the bridge rolled. I formed each of these from 4" Curved Strips separated by pairs of the 5mm diameter Plastic Spacers #38B on ¾” Bolts through every hole. These built-up arcs meshed with ½” Bolts projecting vertically through Flat Girders on the stationary structure. These lugs force the span to roll rather than slide when the gear moves along the rack. With the scale of about 35:1 fixed by these arcs, the remaining structural parts were straightforward, with 24½” Angle Girders forming the span, and 5½” Girders across the width. I simulated the real concrete counterweight with about 4kg of lead. The total length of the model is 55", including abutments at both ends. In the control tower on one side I found that the plastic man from the Crazy Inventors sets was close enough to scale to represent the operator. To raise and lower the span, I used a PILE motor This is the model that I demonstrated at the Toronto Hobby Show in 2003. There Don Redmond recognized it and told me that Schertzer is the technical name. Don Morton June 2004 US Meccano Bolts Everyone knows that Meccano uses 5/32 BSW bolts - right? It turns out that US Meccano used a different size: #7-32. The difference is small (can you identify which two bolts here are #7-32?) but 5/32 BSW bolts will generally not fit into #7-32 holes, even though they have the same number of threads per inch. I began to suspect that there were two sizes when I tried to fit the set screw from a 2" pulley into a ¾” flanged wheel, and found that it did not fit. I measured the pitch diameter of a number of Meccano bolts using the three-wire method, and discovered that there are indeed two sizes. The sizes are very similar, only differing by about .005", but the difference is enough that they are generally not interchangeable. The analysis required finding the distribution of the pitch diameters, which is shown on the graph. It is clear that there are two sizes which, with the tolerances, overlap slightly. For reference, the sizes of both of the Meccano threads are given below, along with the common (at least in the US) #6-32 and #8-32 threads. These last two sizes are used in Erector, the former as set screws, and the latter for nuts and bolts. In the picture, the two bolts closest to the scale (that is a one inch mark visible!) are 5/32 BSW, and the other two are #7-32. The outside diameters of the four bolts are all within about .001" of each other - and the supposedly larger 5/32 BSW bolts are actually smaller than the #7-32! The more rounded threads of the 5/32 BSW bolts are visible. The nut closest to the scale fits on a near-maximum 5/32 BSW bolt, and is most likely a 5/32 BSW nut. The nut farthest from the scale is #7-32. The one in the middle is probably a #7-32 nut. It is apparent how difficult it is to distinguish these by visual inspection. It appears that the #7-32 threads were used from around 1920 (or perhaps a bit before) and continued throughout the production at Elizabeth, NJ, until production was moved to New Haven in 1930. After 1930, Gilbert used #8-32 Canadian MeccaNotes 7 bolts in Meccano (Gilbert-Meccano) outfits, and parts were tapped #6-32 for the set screws. More detail (excruciating detail?) is available at www.usmeccano.com, in the “parts” page. A further interesting discovery: the current Meccano production also uses #7-32 nuts and bolts. I admit that this is rather esoteric. With this information, though, it is now possible to identify tapped Meccano parts which were made in the USA. Kendrick Bisset 8 Canadian MeccaNotes June 2004 The Kingston Rail-ORama 2004 Every spring, the Portsmouth Olympic Harbor facility sponsors the Kingston Rail-o-Rama train show, at which is also presented a sizable Meccano display. Don Redmond is the person responsible for the Meccano aspect of this interesting event, and is joined by both local enthusiasts as well as a few outsiders who make the trip to Kingston. As its name implies, the facility is right on the east end of Lake Ontario, and (so long as you don’t mind the wind) it’s a beautiful place situated in the historic part of town. The main display area has a ceiling of at least 20 feet, with a large skylight in the centre, so the lighting is good and the atmo- sphere airy. Leslie Roberts of Kingston was showing several models amongst which was an aerostat from the Crazy Inventors series, called “The Spirit of Meccano”. Apparently the tricky part is inflating the balloon. Leslie also had a hockey table of good proportions, 20" x 33" in red and green, the playing surface is made up from #197 strip plates, with spaces every 4 ½” to permit the hockey players to move up and down the red ice. Assembly is from modelplan #75, to which Leslie had brought about some modifications, no doubt to improve the model’s ability to score points for the game or for the show, pick and choose. Leslie also had a blue and gold lift bridge, a Stokys excavator, a model illustrating Keplers’ law on orbiting celestial bodies and last but not least was Leslie’s Gravity Escapement Clock, a most interesting modelplan #79 by Alan Partridge. Hubert Hogle came in from Napanee Ontario with his Mobius Strip and his robot Martha. As he was demonstrating the Mobius Strip, Martha’s head would follow the movement of the trolley as it went around the Strip, a bit of fun which hurt no one. Hubert was also showing 17 instructive models of various mechanisms illustrating the transmission of movement. Hubert’s blocksetter crane built according to the famous Pinyon illustration appearing on the covers of early 1950 instruction manuals, although not completed, was coming along nicely. Yet to complete is the lifting gear and base locomotion when time permits. Aside of his warehouse elevator, which was 12" x 12" x 45" high, Don Redmond had a whole bunch of smaller models spread about the table. His Meccano motor display featuring 12 electric motors from 1915 to 1951 was quite impressive, as well as a Ferris wheel featuring cabs from the Army and Highway Multikits of 1972 to 1974. This time around Don went all out with his windmill display! 26 in all, no two alike, with each one having been built from a different construction system. It becomes very obvious that some Larry Yates and his Railway Crane June 2004 Canadian MeccaNotes 9 and raising and lowering of left and Leslie Roberts' model right sides. illustrating Kepler's Law The other five motors operate the grader articulation, front wheel tilt, blade rotation, blade lateral movement and blade angular tilt. Steering is mechanical. All axles have individual suspension to accomodate terrain irregularities. To come are the cab, a mock diesel engine and the final cosmetics to dress the model up. I was showing two previous models - my railway breakdown crane based on Supermodel #30 and an Andreas Konkoly stationary rocking cylinder steam engine as de- construction systems offered more possibilities than others. Finally, Don was again showing his Corliss Stationary Steam Engine in 1935 blue and gold, always very captivating. Hubert Hogle & "Marsha" Attila Szakonyi was showing an intriging optical illusion device, while his daughter Erika was displaying a Centenary Locomotive which she assembled from the half plastic half metal black and gold parts that comprise the kit for this model Although it looks good, it has too many plastic parts in my opinion. Normand St-Aubin from St-Bruno near Montreal was demonstrating his unfinished model of a road grader. His model uses 6" ashtray type tyres and the movements are powered by six motors, one that supplies locomotion plus mechanical operations to the blade carriage for right and left swing scribed by Alan Partridge in CQ #13 of Sept. 1991. I was also exhibiting a tower crane as outlined in the Meccano Magazine for July 1957. The model represents the type of tower crane from the 1950’s with the whole tower and protruding boom swivelling from the base as compared with current versions in which the horizontal boom only swivels at the top of the structure. As with many Meccano models, I had to completely redesign the mechanics for reliable showtime demonstration. 10 Canadian MeccaNotes On the Sunday, Mike Shaw brought up from Ottawa his London & North Eastern Railway class W1 4-6-4 locomotive in yellow with blue wheels. With a total length of 61" it is a very imposing visual presentation. Doug Armstrong also came in from North Gower on Sunday to display his lofty tower crane (modern design), eleven feet high all told. I believe the model operates via wireless remote control. Doug was also showing a helicopter from the Crazy Inventors series. Jim Bobyn from Montreal was displaying some of the newer Meccano sets, very colorfully packaged to catch the eye and entice the hand to reach for the wallet. However, I don’t know if he sold any sets. All told a pleasant two day show with the opportunity of meeting new friends within the Meccano community. Bye for now. Digital photos courtesy of Leslie Roberts of Kingston Text by Larry Yates, les Méccanautes du Québec June 2004 June 2004 Ottawa 2004 March 6 and 7, 2004, time once more for the first show of the year, at least in the east (I didn’t check out the provinces further west). As last year, this was again an initiative by Don Redmond and Hubert Hogle in rounding up the interested enthousiasts. Hubert Hogle brought a tableful of plastic Meccano as a hands-on experience for all the kids coming to the show. Hubert was also showing a plastic Meccano Ferris Wheel, his ever-popular Mobius Strip, his robot Martha, and 17 mechanisms of all kinds. Don Redmond also had a handful of mechanisms, as well as his Corliss Steam Engine and a unusual Ferris wheel with 8 carriages made from the cabs contained in the Highway and Army Multikits. Don also brought along his windmill collection from 16 different metal construction sets, as well as some food for thought - a Meccano lobster using spanners for the legs and a crawfish I believe. Sitting on a corner of a table, Don’s warehouse elevator was quite an impressive model. Charles Shrubsole brought along two previously shown models, these being an electric tramcar and a level luffing crane. Attila Szakonyi came along with his daughter Erika, and displayed several models, including his galloping Don Quixote mounted on a revolving base, a Meccanograph tracing out some pretty steady designs, and a fairground flyplane model, all in blue and yellow. Mike Shaw came in Saturday afternoon and displayed a mechanical elephant, one which had an impressive gait in forward motion, but with a downright dangerous backstep. I guess elephants were designed one way - forward only! Normand St-Aubin brought along the various components of his road grader, a model in progress, one which will no doubt be world class once finished, which is believed to be sometime in the autumn of 2004. I was presenting two models - a railway breakdown crane, based on supermodel #30, which was previously shown in Ottawa, and a model of a tower crane as presented in the Meccano Magazine of July 1957 (with building instructions kindly supplied by Ron Kurtz). As is usual with many Meccano models, the suggested gearbox was interesting and clever, but not made to work Canadian MeccaNotes 11 under load. I had to completely redesign the mechanics in order to come up with a reliable mechanism. The Nepean Sportsplex Meccano exhibit has always been part of the train show at this location but sadly the curtain has fallen for the last time. Apparently, there are not enough visitors to cover the cost, so the train show will be moved to Smith Falls this coming autumn. What effect this will have on the Meccano portion of the exhibit we will have to wait and see. Larry Yates BC Meccano Club Meeting - March 6, 2004 We had a spring Meccano meet at my house. Approximately 12 members showed up. Trevor Hennessy brought the renault Racing car made especially for Renault dealers. A relative in Europe sent it to him. Fred Bird built a three wheel sports car like the MOG but it was actually another vehicle. I (Samuel) am in the process of building supermodel 35, a level luffing crane. The boom and base is almost complete but the model has a quite a ways to go yet. It is being built in 1978 blue and yellow but the GRB is a grey reproduction. I showed a marklin 1012, 1032, 1033 and a 1034 set which is basically a 1035 set, the largest Marklin set which is approximately 75% of a no. 10 set. Mettalus is selling complete 1035 (or equivalent to the set at approximately 600 euros.) That is a bargain price. The orders for the 44 inch girders are being added up. So far we are short for an order we would appreciate more support the these girders. They will be stainless steel again whenever we have enough for an order. Reg Partridge found a no. 9a set recently, we are all anxious to see it, hopefully at Neil Dulsons house in May. I just received a large box of Stokys parts that I purchased from a lady back east. Jack Parrisson’s parts arrived; these parts are amazing especially the channel rings at A$21.00 each - a bargain. In May I will enter a report on our activites again. Thank you. Samuel Chow 12 Canadian MeccaNotes June 2004 Contrary Crankshafts that if cranks (62) are used, the mechanism must be held in one hand while the crank is turned with the other, because the side assembles are not deep enough. contrivance n. act of contriving; deceitful practice; invention; mechanical-device (Concise Oxford Dictionary) Occasionally a crankshaft will be found in which the two ends are not absolutely in line with each other. Test the crankshafts with a straightedge. Catchy Contrivances: Not-SoStandard Mechanisms Very few uses for the Meccano crankshaft (p/ n 134) have turned up, but this mechanism uses two of them — apparently at cross purposes, for turning one makes the other one turn in the opposite direction. The center connecting rod must be made first, and mounted on two crankshafts as it is made. Two 11-hole strips (p/ n 2) are extended one hole at each end by stacks of four 4-hole strips (6), slipped onto the crankshafts. Two double-arm cranks (62b) are attached, one on each side, at the center hole of this assembly, bolting them through the 11-hole strips with washers between the strips. A 3in. rod is gripped in the double-arm cranks. Two side assemblies are each made of two 5-hole flat girders (103f) joined across their end round holes by two Steel-Tec 3in. slotted strips, and bolted to a 2-flange (old style) baseplate (p/n 52), flanges upward, extending one hole past the baseplate at each end, with the long Steel-Tec slots free above the middle three holes of the baseplate Attach one side assembly to the baseplate, then thread in the rod and two crankshafts, adding collars to each to keep the mechanism straight. Finish by adding the second side assembly, and add a crank and handle at each end. The two crankshafts must lie in identical positions, parallel to the baseplate, when they are flat, and the center rod will be at one end of the long slots. When one crank is turned, the crankshaft at the other end will turn at the same speed but in the opposite direction. Notes: Meccano slotted strips (p/n 55) can be used, arranging them so one slot lies above the center three holes of the baseplate. The Meccano strip will overhang one hole at one end. Meccano 3x6-hole flat plates (73) could be used rather than flat girders; they will also overhang the baseplate one hole at each end. If p/n 73 sideplates are used, a Meccano 4-flanged baseplate can be used. Note Parts required: 2 x 2, 5 x 8, 16b x 1, 52 x 1, 55 x 2 (or Steel Tec slotted strips), 59 x 6, 62 x 2, 62b x 2, 103f x 2 (or 73 x 2), 134 x 2, 147g x 2, washers Don Redmond Mechanism by Hubert Hogle June 2004 Canadian MeccaNotes Price List For New 2004 Sets Canada now has a new Meccano France agent. With a new supplier, however, there are new prices. The following is the new price list for the new arrivals . . . Available now . . . New Arrivals . . . #717101 Motorized Coast Guard $82.00 #717102 Garbage Truck $70.00 #717104 Bulldozer $80.00 #718104 Motorized Mixer Truck $115.00 #844700 Design 1 $40.00 #847700 Design 4 (motorized) $105.00 The following sets will be released for sale and delivered in September . . . We will have them beginning early October . . . Perfect . . . Just in time for the Hobby Show . . . get your orders in as soon as possible! #717105 Fire Engine $68.00 #38257 Ferris Wheel (motorized, in cardboard box) $82.00 #38258 Ferris Wheel (motorized, in metal carry case) $92.00 #830508 Renault Formula Car $260.00 #842700 Design Starter Sets (6 different sets) $12.00 each set #848700 Design 4 X 4 RC (radio control) $135.00 #827651 Crazy Inventors Time Clock (motorized) $125.00 #830511 Empire State Building set $105.00 #830512 Big Ben set $105.00 #830513 Eiffel Tower set $105.00 #830609 Landmarks of the World set $175.00 Note: there is a new e-mail address for Parts and Sets Order Inquiries [email protected] 13 14 Canadian MeccaNotes Ocean Liner Original model designed by Earl Pitts. Instructions prepared by Colin Hoare. It is highly unlikely that there is a Meccano model anywhere in the world that has traveled more extensively than the ocean liner that Earl Pitts originally designed and created in 1998. It was first built for the presentation of the George Kaufman play “You Can’t Take it With You,” when it was performed at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the Lake, Ontario, for both that and the following summer. Subsequently, it has been loaned to several theatre groups all over North America, notably Georgetown, Texas; Goshen, Indiana; Louisville, Kentucky; and, most recently, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Such a model deserves being written up, so that others might build it, be it for the same purpose, or just to enjoy. Construction of the model itself is fairly straightforward, although it does require some Exacto Flat Plates & Flat Sector Plates, plus three Ship’s Funnels. Other than that, all the parts should be readily available. The Hull Start by constructing a rectangular framework consisting of two compound 24" Angle Girders, built from pairs of 12½” Angle Girders overlapped two holes, to which are bolted three 4½” x ½” Double Angle Strips at holes 1, 23 and 47 from the front. The Double Angle Strips are preferred to the seemingly more logical 4½” Strips because the compound Girders are positioned inside the Double Angle Strips, and bolted by their elongated holes to the lugs of said Double Angle Strips. In this fashion, no boltheads protrude below the base of the model. This way, the model will not scratch any furniture when set down. Plating along the sides should be done at the same time, and consists of three 12½” x 2½” Strip Plates at the front, June 2004 Scene from the play and one 9½” x 2½” Strip Plate: only the longer three Plates need to be fixed at this point. The foremost Strip Plates that will form the sides of the prow are attached to the front five holes of the framework, and overlap the second pair of Strip Plates by two holes, and similarly the second pair overlaps the third pair by two holes. These latter Strip Plates therefore extend beyond the framework by three holes. An additional 4½” x ½” Double Angle Strip is also fixed in place on the top in line with hole 1 of the Angle Girders at this point. To the front pair of Strip Plates, a pair of Angle Brackets are fixed by their round holes at hole 13 (free lugs up and inside) that are in turn linked by a 2½” Strip, and the two Plates are also bolted together at the first and second holes in the front. Two 3½” Strips are also bolted in place at hole 1 on either side. To complete the side of the ship, 9½” x 2½” Strip Plates overlapping the rear 12½” x 2½” Strip Plates by two holes are fixed in place, and have reinforcing 9½” Angle Girders bolted to them that extend one hole beyond the Strip Plates. These Girders are joined at the end hole by a 2½” x ½” Double Angle Strip in the same fashion as described above. The stern is made by a 5½” x 2½” Flexible Plate, curved to shape, that is bolted to the Strip Plates, and overlaps them both by two holes. The Strip Plates are all reinforced along the top, either by Strips or by Flat Girders. Starting at the prow, the front Strip Plates each have a 12½” Strip bolted to them. Note that the Strips will not be bolted together at the prow: instead, they will be clamped in position by a pair of 2" Flat Girders, which will June 2004 Canadian MeccaNotes 15 Strip. Finally, a 3½” x ½” Double Angle Strip, with lugs slightly opened out, is bolted in place as shown. It joins the two sides at the end holes of the 5½” Flat Girders, with Washers separating the Flat Girders from the lugs of the Double Angle Strip. This forms the rear wall of the poop deck. The Decks be described later on. They are, however, bolted to the Strip Plates at holes 8 and 13 from the prow, and carry Fishplates that will support the forecastle. 12½” Flat Girders overlap these leading 12½” Strips by three holes, but then the next two pairs of Flat Girders, one 9½” long, and one 7½” long are bolted in place adjacent to each other, with no overlap (all have their elongated holes above the round holes). 12½” Angle Girders and 9½” Angle Girders are bolted in place over the equivalent Flat Girders, such that they cover the elongated holes of the Flat Girders with the round holes of the Angle Girders. The 12½” Angle Girders are joined at the front by a 4½” Strip in the front hole, and by a 4½” Angle Girder, elongated flange pointing upwards and forwards, at the second hole. 1" x ½” Angle Brackets should also be fixed in place when the 4½” Strip is attached, free lugs pointing forwards and down, and two more 4½” Strips bolted to them. Finally, a pair of 9½” Angle Girders, buttjoined, overlay the 12½” Angle Girders and 9½” Angle Girders such that the front two holes of the longer girder, and the rear four holes of the shorter girder are left exposed. These girders have their elongated holes horizontal, and the round hole flanges pointing upwards and inwards. Underneath the 7½” Flat Girders, 5½” Strips are bolted to the top of the 9½” x 2½” Strip Plate, overlapping the Flat Girders by two holes. They are curved to shape towards the stern, in order to follow the contour of the 5½” x 2½” Flexible Plate, and are joined by a Formed Slotted Strip, also curved to shape. Angle Brackets should be bolted in place at the fourth hole from the front of each Strip, as well as the middle hole of the Formed Slotted The decks on the model are as follows: the forecastle, the foredeck, the promenade deck (of which the bridge forms a part), the small deck amidships, the poop and the afterdeck. Construction of the decks will be described in that sequence. Note, however, that the best method of building the model without having to try and position Bolts in awkward corners is to build the Promenade Deck separately, and set it aside until everything else has been installed. Construction of the forecastle is begun by extending the sides of the hull upwards at the prow, using 7½” Flat Girders (elongated holes down), curved to follow the contour of the hull, and joined to the Fishplates previously mentioned, at holes 8 and 13 from the front. It is important to note that the Fishplates are angled, so that the two Flat Girders can be bolted together at the prow to a pair of 2" Flat Girders that in turn are bolted to the 3½” Strips mentioned earlier on. As can be seen, Nuts & Bolts are used in all but one of the holes of the 3½” Strips to ensure rigidity. Angle Brackets are fixed in place to round holes of the Flat Girder at the 8th and 15th holes from the front. Anchors are made from pairs of 1" Corner Brackets bolted as shown at 45° to the vertical, attached by a Set Screw to a Rod & Strip Connector, which carries a 1½” Axle Rod: spacing Washers will be necessary to fit the inner Corner Bracket in place. A Bolt is passed through the 9th elongated hole from the front of the 7½” Flat Girder i.e. from the inside, and a Hexagonal Nut screwed on to it. A 1" x ½” Angle Bracket is placed on the Bolt by its elongated h o l e , 16 Canadian MeccaNotes and a Collar is used to clamp it in place - note that the Collar needs to be horizontal as shown. The Axle Rod is then passed through the lug of the Angle Bracket, and is held in position by the Collar using a Short Grub Screw. The plating of the forecastle is constructed from four 2½” x 2" Triangular Flexible Plates at the front and two 3½” x 1½” Triangular Flexible Plates at the rear, overlapped to form what can best be described as a tapering triangle. To hold them in position, a pair of 4½” Narrow Strips and a pair of 3" Narrow Strips are bolted in place (with the longer Narrow Strips being joined to the shorter ones at the formers’ penultimate holes). They are attached to the hull by the Angle Brackets. A 1" x ½” Angle Bracket is bolted to the centre of the 3½” x 1½” Triangular Flexible Plates, and to this is bolted a 3½” Flat Girder by its elongated hole. The foredeck is built from an Exacto 3½” x 4½” Flat Plate to which a pair of 4" Curved Strips are attached. The Curved Strips are each bolted at their fourth holes to one (front) corner i.e. the Strips extend forward of the Plate by three holes. This forward extension is hidden from view by the forecastle. Angle Brackets are also bolted in place that are fixed to the 3½” Flat Girder cited above. Note that the Flat Plate is positioned longitudinally, and is also bolted to the 4½” x ½” Double Angle Strip described previously, (although it extends beyond the Strip by one hole). The Curved Strips are carefully adjusted to follow the contour of the sides of the ship. The cargo cranes are constructed next. The bases are built from Single Arm Cranks that are bolted in place in the outermost holes at the sixth hole from the front of the Flat Plate, and are angled inwards as shown (they also served to clamp the Curved Strips in position). The Sampson post is a 2½” Axle Rod that is clamped in the boss of the Crank, with a Collar fixed at the top. The cargo boom is a Swivel Bearing fixed to this Rod by its spider and has a 1½” Rod that is fixed to it. A Spring Clip is placed on the 1½” Rod. The cargo hold hatch cover is constructed from a 2½” x 1½” Flanged Plate edged by a pair of 2½” x ½” Double Angle Strips, and fixed to the Flat Plate using ¾” Bolts. The Bridge, which will later be attached to the promenade deck, should first be constructed as a June 2004 separate assembly. Start by taking two 3½” Strips, and curving them slightly in a Strip bender, and then bolting ½” x ½” Angle Brackets (opened out slightly) to the ends. Attach 1½” Flat Girders (elongated holes upwards) to the other lugs of the Angle Brackets and, at the same time, bolt two more ½” x ½” Angle Brackets to the upper holes of the Flat Girders. Bolt a 3½” x 1½” Exacto Flat Plate, fitted with two Chimney Adaptors held in place by ¾” Bolts, to the free lugs of these latter Angle Brackets: this forms the front half of the roof of the bridge. Note that the curved Strip assembly is tilted slightly away from the vertical. The rear of the bridge is constructed from a second 3½” x 1½” Flat Plate, to which are bolted two 1" x ½” Double Angle Strips. This section of the bridge will be bolted in place later on. To complete the bridge, a Fishplate is bolted to the free upper end hole of each Flat Girder, angled as shown, and finally two more 1½” Flat Girders are fixed to the original Flat Girders, displaced one hole down and across from each other. They are also slightly out of alignment because of the tilting of the front of the bridge. Before constructing the Promenade deck, the three Ship’s Funnels are first mounted in place, each one being attached centrally to a 3½” x 2½” Flanged Plate edged with 3½” x ½” Double Angle Strips. These units are then bolted to 5½” x 3½” Flat Plates using pairs of ¾” Bolts, and positioned as shown i.e. one with one line of holes free in front, and three at the rear (for the rearmost Funnel), and centrally for the two front Funnels. The three Flat Plates are then bolted end to end to 18½” Angle Girders to form the main part of the Promenade Deck, leaving four holes of the Angle Girder free at the front. A 3½” x ½” Double Angle Strip joins the two Angle Girders at the rear, and Fishplates are bolted in place as well, pointing downwards. Also bolted to the flanges of the Angle Girders are a 12½” Flat Girder and a 5½” Flat Girder, butt joined, on each side, with the latter adjacent to the Fishplate. June 2004 Air vents - four in total - are constructed from two 2½” Stepped Curved Strips joined to a Formed Slotted Strip at one end by a Double Bracket, and fixed to the deck by Angle Brackets. Rearwards facing air vents (2) are constructed from a ¾” Flanged Wheel through the threaded bore of which is screwed a 1½” Threaded Rod. The Rod carries a standard and a Short Coupling, and is bolted in place to the underside of the rearmost Flat Plate. The back four holes of the 9½” Angle Girders are covered by a 4½” x 1½” Exacto Flat Plate and a 4½” Angle Girder, again with the elongated holes pointing upwards and forwards. This forms the small deck amidships. A capstan is fixed centrally to the latter, and is constructed from a Double Angle Bracket that carries a 1" Axle Rod, to which is fixed a 19-tooth Pinion on one side and a Collar on the other, to which a Short Threaded Pin is attached. Two 1½” Angle Girders are also bolted by their round holes at the rear of the Plate. These will form the front wall of the poop deck. The poop deck is built from 7½” Strip on each side, joined at the front one end by a 4½” Angle Girder, and at the other by a 3½” Strip at the fourth hole from the rear. Angled 5½” x 2½” Flexible Plates are also bolted in place at this point, attached to the 3½” Strip, and seven 1½” x ½” Double Angle Strips are attached on each side in alternate evennumbered holes. A windlass, made from a 1" Double Angle Bracket, bolted centrally to the 3½” Strip, and carrying a pair of ½” Plastic Pulleys held in place by a locknutted ¾” Bolt, is now fixed in place. Next, the helicopter launch pad is built. ½” Reversed Angle Brackets are bolted to the sixth holes from the rear of the 7½” Strip, and two 1" x 1" Angle Brackets are bolted to the 4½” Angle Girder at holes 4 and 6. An Exacto 2½” x 1½” Flat Plate is edged by 2½” and 1½” Angle Girders, and a 1" x ½” Angle Bracket fixed to the central hole. A small Flanged Wheel is bolted in place as shown to represent an air vent. This unit is now bolted by one of the 1½” Angle Girders to a 3½” Angle Girder using ½” Bolts carrying Collars. The longer girder is now joined to a second 3½” Angle Girder by a pair of Fishplates, and the entire assembly is fixed to the 1" x 1" Angle Brackets and the ½” Reverse Angle Brackets. To complete the poop deck, a red stern light is made by bolting Angle Brackets to the end hole of Canadian MeccaNotes 17 the 7½” Strip, attaching 2" Slotted Strips to the free lugs, joining them together in the middle, angled as shown, with a Fishplate to which a red Plastic ½” Pulley is bolted using a 3/8" Bolt. The deck can now be attached to the hull of the ship by means of the 1½” x ½” Double Angle Strips, with appropriate use of spacing Washers to avoid any distortion. The afterdeck is now built. Starting at the rear, it consists of a Semicircular Plate, two Exacto Flat Sector Plates, and two 5½” Curved Strips. The entire assembly is bolted to the hull by means of the three Angle Brackets referred to previously, and is tucked under the 3½” x ½” Double Angle Strip. A 1½” Strip is also bolted in place on the other side of the 3½” x ½” Double Angle Strip to keep the Flat Sector Plates in position, to which is bolted a 1" Reversed Angle Bracket which will serve as an anchoring point to the poop deck. Finally, a Channel Bearing is bolted in place as show to represent a hold. All that remains now is to join the Bridge to the Promenade Deck, and the latter to the Hull. First, however, the front section of the Promenade Deck, located forward of the bridge, can be constructed. It consists of an Exacto 3½” x 1½” Flat Plate, edged at the front by a 3½” Angle Girder, elongated holes pointing forward and down, and attached on the sides to two 2" Flat Girders by Angle Brackets. These Flat Girders are bolted to, and overlap the forward side 9½” Angle Girders by three holes. Next, the Promenade Deck is bolted in place to the side butt-joined 9½” Angle Girders, with the flanges of the Angle Girders attached to the Promenade Deck overlaying those of the 9½” Angle Girders. The Fishplate referred to above should also be attached to the rear Angle Girder. The front half of the bridge is bolted in place using the 1½” Flat Girders, and the rear half by bolting the 1" x ½” Double Angle Strips to the front holes of the foremost 5½” x 3½” Flat Plate. Some adjustment may be necessary to align some of the holes correctly - but you now have yourself a ship! Colin Hoare 18 Canadian MeccaNotes Setscrews: Neglected? Meccano part 69 may be the one most neglected by modelbuilders. How often are pulleys, wheels and gears picked out of the box to be used, and found to be lacking a setscrew! Or perhaps furnished with some oversized bolt, even a long bolt! And if this problem happens, how often is the search for a setscrew unsuccessful! This handy little part seems never handy when needed. Several rejoinders clamour at me: - Don’t use setscrews; use grubscrews; they’re neater. - Keep every wheel and gear fitted with a setscrew! - Keep setscrews in a separate container. - Who worries about setscrews; what difference do they make? All true; but there are things which make life (well, modeling) easier. Finding setscrews: A handy nut-snd-bolt sorter, made of two #52 flanged plates (the old twoflanged style) hinged together by a rod and two collars at one end, is also a setscrew sorter. You drop the n&b mix into the V between the plates, and shake over a tray, so the nuts drop out. The small heads of setscrews slip through along with the nuts; standard bolts remain behind. Using setscrews: A feature which detracts from many small Meccano models is the relative over- June 2004 size of the bolt heads, especially when each bolt head carries a washer. Meccano washers are clumsy things. Often they don’t even protect the finish of underlying parts, because Meccano washers are slightly conical. The resulting sharp outer or inner edge damages the finish as much as would the bolt head. One solution often mentioned is to use M4 (metric size) washers, and even smaller washers are available. But setscrews can also be used, provided they go through not more than about three layers of parts. Mini-models need mini-screw heads for best visual effect. Setscrews sometime cause problems. Obviously, when clearances are tight in a mechanism, a grubscrew must be substituted. But a setscrew can cause other problems. In a belt reduction from a motor pulley (the 3/8-inch, lOmm kind) I found that a persistent buzzing vibration was caused by a setscrew with a large head acting as an unbalanced weight. Substituting a grubs crew stopped the buzz. Another noisy gear drive turned out to be caused by an oversized bore in the gear. A single setscrew threw the gear out of trim, causing gear clash once every revolution. Putting a second setscrew in the other side of the gear boss trimmed the gear and stopped the noise. Don Redmond June 2004 The Inventor’s Outfit B I have always had a fondness for the Inventor’s Outfits as one of my earliest introductions to early Meccano was through the Prize Models Book of 1914/15. The book belonged to my father and although his Meccano was long gone he did retain the manuals and on cold evenings he would bring them out and I would pour over them. He always had a story about when he received his Inventor’s Outfit as a Christmas present in 1915 and how it contained the new Braced Girders, sprockets and chain etc. I still have his Prize Model book along with a couple of Inventor’s outfits, one of 1915 vintage in near mint condition. I also have, complete and unused, the much rarer Inventor’s Outfit B in a very dilapidated box. This is really a wonderful set as it contained a variety of newly introduced parts which really augmented any set you might have. Before continuing it would be helpful to list the contents of the Inventor’s Outfit B. There were two versions which differed little from each other: Note: There could be a third version between the two which would include part 31 with 40 teeth but would not include part 112. Table 2 is an examination of the parts in my set which is the first version and probably dates Canadian MeccaNotes 19 from mid to late 1921. Most parts are standard for the time period but what about those double tapped versions? This set is from about 1921, a number of years before double tapping was standard. The Threaded Boss was probably double tapped from its introduction as there are details in the September 1922 MM for constructing a lathe chuck and it clearly uses double tapped Threaded Bosses. The introduction of double tapping has long been a source of debate but were Threaded Cranks double tapped right from their introduction in 1919? I have three other nickel plate versions in my collection, one with a 20 Canadian MeccaNotes wide surround and the others with the regular surround and all are double tapped. One doesn’t have an abundant supply of these parts for full examination so here we must leave this poser. The final double tapped part is the Octagonal Strip Coupling, the only one in my collection, so and the same comments must apply. Illustrated on the inner box lid are the mythical parts, the Architrave with the centre round hole and Train Coupling with a large disc. Also illustrated is the very rare 2-1/2" Triangular Plate with perimeter holes only. Sadly my set contains 2-1/2" Triangular Plates with a central hole, but the rare version does exist, I’ve seen it. Exactly when was the Inventor’s Outfit B first introduced. This is a bit of a problem and requires a deal of research. First of all the very best reference is the Bert Love/Jim Gamble New Cavendish Book No. 6 The Meccano System as this is as near fact as possible. In the introduction Bert states “guesswork and supposition are avoided June 2004 in an attempt to present an honest and reliable account to the reader.” If an actual date is not stated in the text then it is a waste of time looking through the book trying to establish an accurate date. Bert would have already done this and failing to find a date he would not have guessed and simply entered a date. The text would read something like “introduced by, or was in production by” thus avoiding an exact date. With a work as vast as the New Cavendish Book No. 6 The Meccano System errors are bound to creep in, but they are few and far between in this work. Unfortunately the introductory date of the Inventor’s Outfit B is one of these unknowns. Bert cleverly works around the problem by illustrating the set with the caption “— Meccano Inventor’s Outfit, 1920, comprising the new parts of 1919 and 1920 —.” The text mentions “— most of the post-war additions were marketed, exclusively, in the Inventor’s Outfit B shown above —.” Notice, no clear date of introduction mentioned, just that it was available in 1920. June 2004 Another good source of information is the Meccanoman’s club publications issued by G. Maurice Morris, especially the Development of the Meccano System by Bob Hauton and Alf Hindmash. The problem with GMM publications is that he is apt to make suppositions, speculations and in some cases downright guesses. This would be acceptable if he had noted where these suppositions were made, but unfortunately this is not the case and everything is laid out as cold hard facts, so all dates must be treated with suspicion. The publications are an excellent starting point but that’s as far as it goes. One really has to perform a lot of extra research. For example the Meccanoman’s Guide Supplement 3 of August 1969 would lead one to believe that the Inventor’s Outfit B was introduced in 1921. This is also the case in The Development of the Meccano System of 1972 but in Supplement 1 dated September 1975 this date is amended to 1920. So our quest begins in 1920. I have a single Canadian price list issued around this time which lists both Inventor’s Outfits A and B at $3.00 and $7.00 respectively but, infuriatingly, the list is undated. In order to establish the introduction date for the Inventor’s Outfit B we must accurately date this price list. There are four other dated sources of reference which we can use, these being a U.S. edition of the 1918 manual which has a complete listing of parts and Meccano Magazines 10 for September/October 1919, 11 for November/December 1919 and 12 for March/April 1920 which have either supplements announcing new parts or, in the case of MM11 references to new parts. From these references to certain parts we can deduce, not when they were first produced, but that they were in existence at that time. An announcement in the MM is not necessarily the introduction date, often far from it as we shall soon see. So a particular part could have, and often did, exist for some time prior to its actual announcement. This is probably the case for part 69A 7/32" Grub Screw which is fitted to the octagonal portion of parts 63A and 63B in my set. Part 69A was announced in MM 26 of September 1922, but the part was most likely available long before then. From the above table it can be seen that the undated Canadian list which includes the Inventor’s Outfit B also lists most of the parts it contained; the exceptions being parts 30, 31, 52A, 53A, 76, 113, 114, 120 and 121. The first mention of parts 31, 76 and 113 is in the Meccano Magazine of November/December 1919 but these parts are not included in the Canadian list, so it is logical to assume that the Canadian list is prior to November Canadian MeccaNotes 21 1919. Parts 114, 120 and 121 were first mentioned in MM12 of March/April 1920 but this is probably another case of a late announcement and that these parts were available in 1919. The Canadian list shows all the parts introduced in the MM supplement of September/October 1919 with the exception of parts 52A and 53A (why these two parts are missing is still a mystery to be solved). On the strength of the tables and known information I would date the Canadian list between MM’s 10 and 11, i.e. as October/November 1919. Allowing for time to set and print a list one can assume that the Inventor’s Outfit B first saw the light of day around October 1919. As a side note, upon examining the table 3 one can see how late announcements of new parts are in the Meccano Magazine. Take parts 7 and 7A, but scan the list for many others. If one believes the Meccano Magazine these parts were newly introduced in September 1919 as announced in the supplement but they were clearly listed in the 1918 manual which was printed in July. This would mean that the parts must have been ready in the first quarter of 1918, a full 15 months prior to their announcement in the MM. So we now have an introduction date of September 1919. The first version of the set lasted until the end of 1921 for in MM 21 of November/ December 1921 is an announcement noting that the number of teeth in parts 26 was changed from 20 to 19, for part 27A from 56 to 57 and for part 31 from 40 to 38. The notice mentioned that production was in progress and that the modifications should be ready by the end of the year or early 1922. About the same time as the change in part 31 the 2 1/2" x 1 1/2" Double Angle Strip was eliminated from the outfit; why is anyone’s guess. The only reference I have to this change is from articles by Tony McCullum in Newsmag 57 of July 1990 and by inference by Al Sternagle in CMN32 Fall 1989. Tony dates the change in 1921 while Al lists the parts in his set but by omitting part 112 dates his set as the latter version. The last reference I have to the Inventor’s Outfits is late 1922 but Tony dates their final withdrawal around May 1923. It just leaves us to speculate upon the reason. Poor sales is the most likely. The dating is then for the Inventor’s Outfit B would be: Version 1 October 1919 to Late 1921 Version 2 Late 1921 to May 1923 Ivor Setten 22 Canadian MeccaNotes June 2004 June 2004 Canadian MeccaNotes Moose Jaw Hobby Show 2004 March 26-27, 2004 I am a bit tardy in writing up this years hobby show in Moose Jaw however we were a bit slow in getting the pictures. The show took place March 26 & 27. John and Judith Overeem were present with their large display of Mecantrix parts and sets. Ed Finch brought back after an absence of quite a few years his most impressive model, the Meccano Revenge, modeled after the Montezuma Revenge from Knots Berry Farm in California built about 17 years ago. It took over six months to build and has a separate insulated track using nylon nuts and screws which carries a separate set of cars around the whole model. The main model with the loop has its own set of cars running on flanged wheels which have been, shall I say “modified”, that is to say the flanges have been narrowed so that they may clear the bolts as they fly down the track and make the loop to go half way up the other side. They are then pulled up to the high point at either side and released to make the loop again and travel halfway up the opposite side. If I may borrow a phrase that Keith Cameron made of a model in the long distant past, “it is not a model for the weak hearted”. To make the track so that the flanged wheels would travel smoothly every strip in the track had a half inch length snipped off at both ends so that the ends butted together perfectly and the flanged wheels ran smoothly. He also had his Meccano model of the early Massey Harris self propelled combine. For my part I brought the model of Chris Shute, Persephone’s Ping Pong performance, in the December issue of the Constructor Quarterly. It is a delight to watch as the ping pong ball flies into the air to be caught and directed down a spiral, however timing of all movements is critical and any slippage can result in a catastrophe. The bubble blower of course is an eternal favorite. An enjoyable time was held by all. Bill Bardutz See more photos on the back cover (page 28). Above: Bill Bardutz Below: Ed Finch’s “Meccano Revenge” 23 24 Canadian MeccaNotes Toronto One Day Show 2004 June 2004 CMAMAS Saturday, May 15, 2004 Colin Hoare June 2004 Canadian MeccaNotes Don Redmond 25 26 Canadian MeccaNotes June 2004 GF Farm Auction On June 23, 2004 there was a farm auction at Gordon Frank’s former farm. Among all the farm equipment, one of the lots was a partial Meccano set 10. The lucky winner: Bill Cook of Calgary. (Most of Gordon’s Meccano was sold earlier in a private sale.) Bill Cook A Trip to Thailand cont. June 2004 Canadian MeccaNotes 27 The Peddler FOR SALE: Very large meccano collection. Greg Rahn Historical collection. Buyers must come to view collection as it is too large to list and must be seen. Accepting offers over US$50,000. Serious collectors only need apply. Contact: Greg Rahn, 211 Riverview Green, Cochrane, Alberta T4C 1K3. Email: [email protected] FOR SALE: 1. Meccanoids Motorised Set complete – very little used. $60.00. 2. One complete 5½ Erector Set in a metal box. Contact Emile Amirault, Box 362, Edam, SK S0M 0V0. MECCANO & ERECT OR ERECTOR Parts, Sets & Literature Old, New, Used, Restored Send $2.00 (U.S. or CDN) New Parts List w/Prices *** SPECIAL TO MEMBERS *** Remote Control Units with 2 Motors: US $50.00 ALSO Master Builder Sets: US $100.00 (Shipping Extra) Discounts on 1990's sets; Call or e-mail for details. FOR SALE: Meccano parts: yellow/blue, Red/green, gears, motors and windups, manuals and complete sets l973 vintage, sets 3 to 6. Send for price lists or your wants. Earl Pitts, 26 Dyer Court, Cambridge, ON N3C 4B8. (519) 658-2086 or e-mail [email protected] Model Plans and Canadian MeccaNotes Back Issues Can be obtained from: o Colin Hoare (address on page 2), via Money Order or Cheque. o outside North America: MW Mailorder (address below) sells 2002 and earlier issues. LOU BOSELLI 19 Payson Rd. Cornwall-on-Hudson N.Y. 12520 U.S.A. (845) 534-2863 [email protected] http://www.memeshadow.net/cmamas/ meccano/Lou_Boselli/ MW Mailorder Mail Order: PO Box 4650, Henley-on-Thames, England RG9 1YP, phone/fax: +44 01491 572436, http://www.meccanomailorder.co.uk, [email protected]. Credit cards are accepted! 28 Canadian MeccaNotes June 2004 Moose Jaw Hobby Show March 26-27, 2004 Above: Don Bardutz & John Overeem Below: Bill & Don Bardutz, Ed Finch, John & Judith Overeem Bill Bardutz on TV If you have higher speed internet access then you may be interested in a video of Bill Bardutz on TV a few years ago. See the CMAMAS website under Special Features. Below: Bill Bardutz
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