Below: Meanwhile, the crankshaft is machined and the crankpin has been fitted. It is seen here on Davids lathe, for which he offers the following comment:

The lathe is a Smart and Brown toolroom machine which cost as much as my house did when both were new back in 1964! It was supplied to Parsons Mirror Works where observatory telescopes were made, although I obtained it in 1990 as a scrapper…

Below: This angle shows the view between the crank discs and hopefulle explains the method of production that I rather clumsily put on teh blog previously. THe crankpin is nearest the camera and now that it is secure, teh main shaft (necked in the photo) can be cut free between the discs in order to produce the completed crank.

Below: A view from the other side, showing where the ecentrics locate on the crankshaft. David plans to replace these also as they are extremely poor castings and are full of blow holes.

Below: Meanwhile Shaun has made a start on reparing the deck boards for the gallopers. This entails removing rotten boards and repairing others. There are twelve deck boards in total so Shaun is going to be very busy! Meanwhile we hear that the centre engine has been fully dismantled and a replacement boiler is required. The cylinders are also to be rebored whilst the block is free of the barrel.