Hello again guys, a little progress report.
Trying to figure out just how the crane itself works has been frustrating, one version seems to use a
bar of some sort to lift and lower the boom, others use what I assume to be steel cables.
Finding photographs of just what those cables attach to and how is proving awkward as most images
of truck or crane show it from low angles, nothing much from above so you can see into the crane cab
and the area around it.
This rough diagram is how I think things work, there appears to be a set of cables at the rear of the
boom that attach to cable drums on the floor of the crane equipment compartment that raise and lower
the actual boom, anther cable winch of sorts is at the side of the main winch drum and that works a cable
that moves up to the cable pivot, over a wheel there and forward to another wheel that I think keeps it
tight before it goes over the wheel at the end to attach to the hook assembly.
The hook assembly has another wheel as part of it and I think one end of the cable is fixed in position on
the boom with the cable then running through the wheel all the way back to the cab end, by moving the
cable I think the wheel for the hook just rolls along the cable thus raising and lowering it, I might be wrong
so if any of you know for sure please put a reply here to see how much of my speculating is actually any
good or not as the case might be.
Anyway, on to building what I can actually see in my images, the rear three wheels at the back of the
boom with one at the boom pivot and then on along the boom:
A rough estimation of the cable drums on the floor of the crane cab:
Many of the wheels look to be a casting with holes in them and I tried various ways to replicate this
using some shaped blocks to Boolean cut out the holes:
First try left a lot of oddly cut holes probably due to the complex shape of the wheel so I cut it in two
and tried again:
I gave up on that and started again in a different way, Blue wheel as just a ring including the shaping:
Adding the separate parts to build up the look:
This box is half way along the boom and would appear to tension the cable as it runs along the length
of the boom to the end, the wheel is attached to that on a bracket and to the boom with another:
Still not happy with the way the wheel holes looked I made a shape that used a curve at the end, the
ends will be hidden inside the other parts:
Coming together now with the spindle and parts of the bracket:
Here it all is, some parts will be replicated for the other side and a few other bits and pieces added:
The wheel shape is as near as my ability allows to what I see in photographs and will be cloned once
mapped to make a few of varying sizes for the other wheels, the rear ones though will be as you saw in
the early image as what appears to be three solid wheels, all have groves running through them for the
cables whatever design.
I will have to place cables as near to where they should be, however, without actual images to show me
exactly where you will have to accept a little artistic licence on those.
Take care.
Wishing you all the very best, Pete.
Author
Topic: Thorneycroft Amazon WF/AC6/1/Coles Mk VII, series 2. (Read 58077 times)
