A 19th Century Machine Shop Diorama

[dsquire]

Here is a bit of information that I found on Wikipedia

Robertson Screwdrivers

Color     Screw       types      Fraction Range

Orange (#00)     No. 1 & 2        1/16 in.+  ??
Yellow   (#0)      No. 3 & 4        3/32 in.-           0.0696–0.071 in (1.77–1.80 mm)
Green   (#1)      No. 5, 6 & 7     7/64 in.+           0.090–0.091 in (2.3–2.3 mm)
Red      (#2)      No. 8, 9 & 10    1/8 in.+            0.111–0.1126 in (2.82–2.86 mm)
Black   (#3)       No. 12 & 1/4    3/16 in.+           0.1315–0.133 in (3.34–3.38 mm)
Brown  (#4)       5/16 and 3/8    3/16 in.+          0.1895–0.191 in (4.81–4.85 mm)

The head office is about 30 miles down the road from me in Milton, Ontario. A search thru Wikipedia
 in google will tell you why you don't see these screw heads used in the USA (Henry Ford) and why they are not used Great Britain.

Cheers 

Don

[clivel]

John,
Sorry I don't mean to hijack your very interesting thread, but I just noticed that in my haste I gave the wrong information regarding Robertson screwdriver bit sizes.

So for the sake of completeness here is the information I have on Robertson screw heads. Unfortunately I don't recall where I originally found this data, and a Google search hasn't helped, the best I could find was the same Wikipedia table that Don came across, unfortunately the Wikipedia table would seem to have an error, the final size column appears to be offset by one row.

	Colour	Screw Size			Bit Recess
#00	Orange	#1-2	1/16"	1.77-1.80 mm	?
#0	Yellow	#3-4	3/32"	2.29-2.31 mm	1.77-1.80 mm
#1	Green	#5-7	7/64"	2.82-2.86 mm	2.29-2.31 mm
#2	Red	#8-10	1/8"	3.34-3.38 mm	2.82-2.86 mm
#3	Black	#12-14	3/16"	4.81-4.85 mm	3.34-3.38 mm
#4	Black	#16+	5/16"	?	4.81-4.85 mm

Notes:

• The screw size in the table is the standard North American screw #, a nominal inch size, and a range in mm
• both #3 and #4 are shown as having a black handles on the Robertson Screw Website however some manufactures show #4 as blue and others show it as brown.
• As the Robertson recess is tapered, two dimensions are shown for the bit recess square. These are actually the recess dimensions, so the bit would probably have to be fractionally smaller. Unfortunately I don't have the dimensions for the #00

What is interesting is that it seems as if the bit recess sizes for a screw are the same as the screw sizes for the next smaller screw.
Clive

[J.L.]

Here is the completed metal sub-base housed in its platform sitting on what will be the workshop floor.

[J.L.]

The metal sub-base has now been surrounded with a cosmetic 'free floating' platform. The photos shows a pattern being built up for the planking and the planking set to be cut. The platform goes on first because the first row of bricks come right up under the planking.
 

[J.L.]

Those who have built Victoria are aware that there is no mention of drain cocks on its 1" cylinder. There is very little clearance between the cylinder and the base of the engine. This is unlike the cylinders on the Stuart beam engines that stand vertically. There, each drain cock can be mounted free and clear.
I have chosen to add the drain cocks to Victoria by providing an opening for piping in the sub-base and surrounding platform.The pipes run down from the bottom of the cylinder, turn 90 degrees and come out to the drain cocks. The photos show the set-up. A metal pan will sit in the alcove below the cocks.

[Don1966]

That's some beautiful work JL. Did you make your own bricks are you bought them? I am really interested to see this completed.

Don

[J.L.]

Hi Don,
Thanks. The bricks are made in Sussex England by Richard Stacey.
They are of the highest quality. You can buy full size miniature bricks or bricks that have been slicked into thin sections called brick slips. They are used for veneer applications like mine. Corner slips are also available if yoo go the veneer route.

http://www.richardstacey.com/welcome.html

Cheers...John

[fumopuc]

Hi John, nice brick work. Following quietly along.

[J.L.]

Thank you gentlemen.

Here's a look at the brickwork to date.

[Don1966]

That's awesome JL and the mortar, is it regular mortar or has some finer sand mixture?

Don

[b.lindsey]

Absolutely wonderful!! That is one handsome base and will surely add to the engine presentation when finished. Very nice work indeed!!

Bill

[fumopuc]

That's awesome JL and the mortar, is it regular mortar or has some finer sand mixture?

Don

Hi Don, normally a fine tile adhesive is the stuff to be used for this application.

JL, that's really a very nice brick work. It looks like, as if you building a diorama. It seems to me, there is a wall behind the engine and a possible place for a window ?

[J.L.]

Thanks Bill.
Hi Don,
The mortar/grout is a finely ground cement based powder that is supplied with the Richard Stacey products in England. A little 100 gram plastic bag will grout 100 - 200 sq. in. of brickslips, flooring or smooth stone. It goes a long way. You can see it being applied in these  photos.

[J.L.]

Hi Achim,
Thanks for asking. Yes, Victoria is part of a large diorama being built on a card modelling website in Germany. You have a keen eye. Here are those windows (photo 1). Photo two shows the whole diorama being developed. Photo three shows the roll top desk and the foreman's swivel chair in what will be his office.

In this thread, I've been just focusing on the metal sub-base of the steam engine. Victoria will power the line shafts and model machines on the floor.

Cheers...John

[fumopuc]

Hi John, looking very nice. If you need an additinal source for bricks and tiles in Europe, here a link  http://www.bloxxs.de/start.htm, under shop it is possible to switch to English language.