Canadian MeccaNotes June 2004 - Canadian Modeling Association

Transcription

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
cmamas@memeshadow.net 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
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(4 Issues Per Calendar Year)
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o within North America: Canada - $35; U.S.A.
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- US$30. Make cheque or money order payable
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to CMAMAS, mail to Treasurer, address above.
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o elsewhere: £26, US$44 or C$58; also
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available from MW Models, address on page
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27.
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© Copyright 2004
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C.M.A.M.A.S. and/or Individual
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Contributors.
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Meccano and Erector are registered trade
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names
and are used throughout Canadian
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MeccaNotes
by kind permission of Meccano
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Ltd..
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North American subscribers to Canadian
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MeccaNotes are automatically members of
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the Canadian Modeling Association for
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Meccano
and Allied Systems (CMAMAS).
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June 2004
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The “Canadian MeccaNotes” newsletter
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(ISSN 1207-2249) is published 4 times per
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year (March, June, September and De12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234
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ciation for Meccano & Allied Systems
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(CMAMAS).
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“Written and produced by Meccano enthu12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234
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siasts for Meccano enthusiasts.”
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Canadian Modeling Association for
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Meccano & Allied Systems (CMAMAS)
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130 Neptune Drive, Suite 1109
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Toronto, Ontario
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CANADA M6A 1X5
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http://www.memeshadow.net/
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cmamas/
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President ... Colin Hoare, 18 Tweedle St.,
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Glen Williams, Ontario, Canada L7G 3S5,
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tweedle@aztec-net.com, (905)873-8261
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Vice President ... Attila Szakonyi,
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10 Fendley Crt, Brampton, Ontario, Canada,
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L6Z 3H9, attila.szakonyi@sympatico.ca,
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(905)846-5287
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Treasurer ... Marsha Brandston,
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130 Neptune Drive, Suite 1109, Toronto,
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Ontario, Canada M6A 1X5,
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purplefront@sympatico.ca
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Secretary ... Colin Hinz, 148 Howland
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Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5R 3B5,
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cmamas@eol.ca, (416)516-8686
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Newsletter Editor/Webmaster ... David
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Williams, 3017 - 111A Street, Edmonton,
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Alberta,
Canada
T6J
3Y5,
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meccano@ecn.ab.ca, (780)438-1197
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Parts & Sets Order Inquiries ...
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cmamas.parts@sympatico.ca
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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
cmamas@eol.ca, 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
cmamas.parts@sympatico.ca
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: gsrahn@shaw.ca
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
102260.2432@compuserve.com
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
loujoboselli@msn.com
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,
geoffmwmodels@btinternet.com. 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