Several years ago I was given a rather
nice 1911 Number 4 set with parts
making it up near to a number 5. These
were short lived sets with the 1911
patent tunnel fixings, by 1912 bossed
parts were introduced with set screws
although some sets lingered on with a
mixture as did the manuals.
This is the third model I have built with
the set I choose it because it was a
working model that was not a crane!
This model of a Drilling Machine is
taken from the 1911 instruction manual
shown below.
Unlike many other models in the
manual that were continued this was
deleted during 1916. It was probably
short lived because of its many failings.
The drill drive shaft is not very practical
in theory it should work but even
replacing the horizontal cord belt with a
rubber driving band it failed to move.
The very heavy chuck head easily falls
off. The table moves up and down, to
meeet the chuck, this is activated by
using a worm gear as a ratchet.The
early 1916 manual shows only one
revised (re-touched) illustration with the
clips removed and a p/n 63 coupling
instead of the chuck.
It was a good exercise in how the
Meccano system worked in 1911 but
the short comings of the spring clip
tunnel fixing were all too obvious.
Another problem was the long screws
described as "Machine Screws" in the
instructions this meant that corner
fixings could not have both nuts on the
inside. It is a mystery as to why there
are no washers in the set they were
introduced in 1909 but were not in the
standard sets set until 1922! There are
places where they are essential on this
model. To sum up, it was a very
disappointing model that looks
attractive but does not really work.
Other models I have built from 1911 set
are shown on the right click on images
for pictures and information about
these historic Meccano models.
Page created October 12 2020
Revised April 10 2019
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