Nick Baines wrote up his solution in the May 2011 Gazette but I felt his method might prove rather difficult with the narrower shank of the Turton buffer. It also required the use of a slitting saw and I don’t have one.

First, file a flat on the shaft of the buffer head about halfway across the shaft and 2.8 – 3mm wide. Then drill a hole in the buffer housing to take some brass wire. I used 0.8mm wire. Put the buffer head together with the spring into the housing, so the flat is under the hole you have drilled. Then feed the wire into the hole until you can feel the end of the wire touching the surface of the flat you have filed. Withdraw the wire very slightly to allow free movement, check that the buffer head is still retained and then solder the wire into the hole in the buffer housing.

Clip off the protruding wire, file and generally clean up. Then cut off the excess of the buffer head’s shank, at the back of the assembly, and you have a neat buffer which does not show behind the buffer beam. Just leave enough of the casting behind the buffer housing mounting plate to assist in locating the completed buffer assembly into the buffer beam.