The synchronicity of this video is remarkable. Last night, I dremt that I bought a 2" scale Foster traction engine, and sent it to you Keith to check it over and make it safe to operate. You assessed it, and determined that it was too much work to be economical to repair, and instead, you sold me a Hammond organ saying that I "would get a lot more enjoyment from it than such a bad example of a traction engine". In the dream, I was very happy with this outcome as it was a very nice Hammond. I'm not sure it's an omen, but I think the moral is, it's better to have a good Hammond organ than a bad traction engine. I think that's a motto that I will live my life by.
What a shame, not only for the new owner but also for the model. The time invested in proper building and fitment is always rewarded when a project runs well.
The advice applies to many things, having recently purchased a bsa bantam and discovering the transmission oil leak not helped by a drain plug made of a stud (wrong thread) and nut 2 blobs of soft solder to secure to stud, sealing was by means of ptfe tape and rubber washer. Hopefully a previous owner didn't delve into engine but l am not hopefull.
Hi Keith, I understand that is not your duty to financially advise me what to do, however I am asking from your experience of purchasing engines or from what you have seen over the years. I am looking at purchasing a 3.5 inch gauge Titch live steam engine, It hasn't run in a while however is complete and has been stored on show in the owners house. The engine is cheap and I can't see anything inherently wrong with the engine as far as I can see, nothing looks of poor quality as in if someone hot glued railings onto the side tanks or anything similar. As a beginner in live steam who has had multiple Mamods and fixed quite a number of them too, would you recommend I buy and if not what would be your first concern. I also don't have a lot of machining tools but would probably end up purchasing a Mini lathe or and a milling cutter further down the line. p.s Its from the auction site we all know and love. Electronically yours, George.
Hello George, A 3 1/2 inch gauge Tich is a very small engine. My advice would be to spend more on a 5 inch gauge model. And in either case it is essential the the models have proper and preferably current full Boiler Certification. Without that they are worthless. I cannot recommend buying a mini lathe anything smaller than a Warco WM180.
@@keithappleton Thank you for the reply!, as I am only 16 and this is more of an entry into something bigger and more advanced engine and as a part of this money is a problem, I wont explain my finances on RU-vid but to say the least its a Christmas present from my parents. I don't think it has a current boiler certificate but the bloke said it has one that dates the engine to the 90s and given it not being fired it will presumably require a new one to run at clubs and what not. lathe wise I will speak with my engineering teachers and my father and we will figure out what is best, I'm pretty sure a mate of mine in Yorkshire has one and its a pretty big thing. Thank you for taking the time to respond I understand you are a very busy person.
I would venture to say that this is a semi=ststic model, never intended to be actually put under steam. When you discovered that the water pump was non functional, It became almost an assurity it would be static. This is why I never buy from a biding site,NEVER, ;-)
I often buy online, but I can usually tell what the model is going to be like from the photos, plus I want model steam engines that need working on for the videos .....
