Clean up and first run

 

No point in getting clever, the first place to start cleaning up the engine is down at the kitchen sink. 

A good scrub with soapy water and an old toothbrush removes the fur from the mazak, and a lot of the muck from the fuel pan too. I couldn't resist a quick polish with the springy metal stuff used for really stuborn muck on pans. I know it's going to get dirty again, but I find cleaning things theraputic sometimes. 

Obviously, there will be Brasso. If it's metal, I do my best to bring it up to a reasonable shine. Again, there's no logic to this other than it looks nice. I think I hope the boiler tester will be kinder to a gleaming engine than a mucky one. 

I prefer Brasso wadding, it smells a bit less, and is very handy for all sorts of quick cleaning jobs around the workbench. 

With everything cleaned and oiled, it's outside in the sunshine with a pack of solid fuel tablets. I'd forgotten the smell of these. Nothing like and nice as meths, but certainly evocative of a time spent trying to persaude a Mamod loco to find a happy medium between stationery and Mach 1. 

Anyway, a table and a half placed in the pan, and the engine dropped on top, I'm glad of my Accucraft flame/heat proof gloves for all this, and we have lift-off!