For a while now since buying this Finney 7 Princess Coronation kit as reward for a lifetimes hard work its just been stuck on my store shelf, mainly because I've been on with the Gladiator Rebuilt Patriot and restarting the Leek station buildings. So with a spare time slot this evening I though I'd start putting the hornblocks together and this is where I'm getting confused because these Finney 7 design hornblocks do not have tension springs ... sprung hornblocks they are not. All the locos I build now have hornblocks with springs which come from Slater's so once the loco is fitted to the frames the total weight keeps the springs under tension and thus wheels remain in contact with the track if a downward dip in the rails is encountered... all ok so far. However with these Finney 7 ones the square brass bearing slides nicely in the guides and the laminated representation of the loco spring prevents the bearing from falling out but that is all and to me the hornblock appears to just float downwards taking the wheels with it when the total loco weight is released by holding the engine in your hand so to speak. Now my question is mainly asking Rob Pulham for his experienced advice here as is this normal practice with Finney 7 ? and /or should I use a different makers hornblock to fit in the Finney 7 horn guides? I'm posing this question here publicly as opposed to a PM to Rob as I feel the guidance may help others here. Finally I intend to make the laminated loco springs removable from the loco frames so as to make dropping the wheelsets possible, 14BA screws tap threaded with clearance. I've not cut out for the hornblocks as yet. All advice is gratefully received.
Hi Paul, Yes this is normal for Finney and Finney7 hornblocks. I drill and tap a hole in the top of the hornguide and fit a 12BA screw and locking nut. You can then set the ride height and add springs. It has to be said that a few eminent builders have noted that fitting the springs makes little or no difference to the performance in the loco so some leave them out. There was a recent discussion on Western Thunder about this and Mick Davies of the Finney7 reported that he'd had a poorly running sprung loco. He was advised to ditch the springs and the loco performance improved immediately. Regarding the springs, I do the same. But I confess I haven't tried to refit the etched springs after cutting them off. I have always replaced them with cast after market versions. These,I drill through the hanger and screw them to the frames from the inside. Up to now I have used 12BA csk screws but for future builds I intend getting 12BA hex heads as being easier to fit and tighten up once other chassis details are fitted.
One other tip for assembling Finney hornblocks and guides is to fold the slide around the hornblock and nip it in the vice to get it square before soldering it to the backing plate. It's much easier to get a nice sliding fit that way.
The kit uses hornblocks on all three axles and also has the option of beam compensation as well which involves cutting slots into the top of the hornblock guides to allow the beams to work in compensation. Further one has also the option of creating a rigid chassis. I think the provision for a wire spring on the front axle might put undue strain in the centre of the axle because of the inside motion cranks... assuming one decides to fit inside motion or the wire spring which would form the compensation triangle. Confusing 'int it.
Further Paul I forgot to say the Finney 7 kit comes with the option of three varying width chassis bulkheads ... depending on if you want to build your loco to either course scale, finescale or scale 7. I have a feeling we won't be seeing pictures of City of Stoke on Trent in LMS Crimson on here any time soon. My next two kits will be Gladiator offerings.
I've already started on it ...going with Rob's suggestion of screw height adjusters and no springs... just have to order in the 12BA hex head bolts.
