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Two Years at The
Workshop
2008
2010
| My dad always quotes
"nature abores a vacuum" i.e. have space will
fill it. When we arrived the
unit did not have any doors to it - a part from the
roller shutter. Initially we built an inner set using
reclaimed doors and plastic glazing panels. A year later
we built the outer door set - again from reclaimed
materials.
The resulting porch area has now been
filled with a lathe, storage shelves and a stacker truck.
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Left - The plan to have a working office has gone to
pot with the room now being used for storage. There is
still a desk to the left but I only use this
occassionally when doing soldering work.
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Right
The old porch area.
Originally I didn't think I would need the lathe at the
workshop but it has proved invaluable with some jobs,
inlcuding the great motor replacement hunt. Having looked
at a few modern lathes, I think I am better off for the
moment with my old one.
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Left As they say " I just need
to clear my desk"
- 3 more hercules bodies
- 3 raised trucks
- Hunslet no.5 (for myself)
- 2 tipper trucks
- 10 rail benders (in boxes under
the bench)
The rack on the left is for our nuts
and bolts with the colours representing different sizes -
red is 5mm , green/yellow 4mm, blue 3mm and green 6mm.
The desk to the right is the welding
bench - hence the extract hood and welding helmet.
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With help from Barry and the space of the
workshop we may eventually clear the back orders. If that ever
happens then we will go on to spec work as each year we have seen
the sales grow between 10-20% and this year hasn't dissapointed
us so far.
Products Review
Having traded for a good few years now, a
pattern of what sells and what doesn't is starting to appear.
With this in mind there are a few products we have decided to not
re stock. The first victim to fall is the bogie well wagon. I had
three sets of frames cut and it took over 5 years for them to
sell. With the increase costs of laser cut steel it just wasn't
practicable to stock them. The second item was the 3 seater kiddy
coach. This was a very labour intensive product and gave us
little return for the amount of work.
Other items under review are-
- 4 wheel coach body
- 4 wheel plywood van
- DMU
- Modern coach
- Hercules Industrial body - 1 gone out in 2
years. Currently 2 left.
- Square boxy Jasper body - 1 left with 2
doors
- Cast signs - last few in stock
Rather than stop them altogether most items
will be moved to special order. What this means is that I will
not hold them in stock but can add to a material order. This
could take up to 2-3 months. Material orders for laser cut 3 and
6mm MDF can be as much as 6 months a part.
Be assured - we are working on new projects so
we are not contracting, just tweaking a few things.
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Driving Trucks In an attempt to help people decide which truck
is for them we will be changing the lisitngs and style of
our trucks.
- 520mm long 4 wheel with or with
out brakes
- 710mm long 4 wheel with or with
out brakes + option for side skirts for raised
track
- 1080mm bogie wagon (no brakes yet)
The 710mm chassis is to replace the 4
wheel well wagon/raised truck. Having found out that some
raised tracks are only 8" above the ground the well
part becomes a bit pointless. We could also fit a full
length cushion which two younger riders could fit on.
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Clear Out
| Over the coming days I
hope to put up a page of items that I am selling to get
rid of. Past projects, experimental pieces, obsolete
tools and even bits that went wrong. Keep an eye out.
Items will be sold on first come first served.
One of the items was a test body. I
used this to see what bending a complete body using the
box pan folder would be like. It was also an experiment
for welding on the front end, spot welding and window
surrounds.
Not wanting to waste any more time it
will be up for sale. the bogies underneath are the first
bogies with the new motors. Needs someone who can give it
a bit of time. Details to follow.
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7 1/4 gauge Hercules
I was hoping to have had a picture of a
slightly stretched Hercules. For the 7 1/4" gauge version I
have ordered steel making the deck 75mm longer and 20mm higher.
The extra length on the body will be added to the rear bonnet.
Unfortunately I missed out a couple of critical
parts from the order which means once again I am behind. The
moment I get the parts and the engine completed I will post
pictures on the 7 1/4 gauge pages.
Look Out The Adverts
After relying on just the internet for sales
for nearly 10 years we have finally resorted to advertising in a
few magazines. Look out for our small add in Engineering in
Minaiture April edition + 7 1/4 Gauge Society
newsletter. We also got a good review in the Miniature Railway Magazine of
our 7 1/4" gauge Hercules.
I do hope these adverts pay off. It is a bit of
an eye opener on how much adverts cost. Still there are plenty of
potential customers who do not have internet access or feel more
secure dealing with a company they have seen in a magazine.
Middleton Garden Railway
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Open day confirmed MAY
22nd Was home to Hunslet No.1. It has now got a new
home in Kent. I am currently building No.5 with extra
detailing and it wouldn't be right to have 2. Hoping to
have it ready for the May open day.
Left
The lack of use of the inner track is
showing up with rusty rails.
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All the best
Paul
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