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Author Topic: Brunel Models Alpha  (Read 10707 times)

pettyofficernick

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Brunel Models Alpha
« on: September 16, 2014, 08:54:58 am »

Evenin all, The castings for the Brunel Steam Models Alpha twin cylinder marine engine arrived today. No point in wasting time so started in with the base casting, which is made from aluminium.
First job, clean up the casting....



Next, I put it in the 4 jaw and machined the bottom nice and flat....





http://youtu.be/_LE2KQBlFzY

I then turned it round and did the top surface, finishing to a thickness of 3/4" as per the drawings...

http://youtu.be/jg4tf5J6nXI

Finally, the mounting lugs had to be finished to 1/4", I did this by first mounting the job on to the vertical slide (only just managed it) and machined the lugs down with an endmill mounted in the 3 jaw. I will be getting some collets and making a drawbar as soon as funds permit.

http://youtu.be/y5uaG70nPT4

All in all an enjoyable 3 hours work ( Don't time fly when you're having fun) Next job is to mark out for the holes for the main bearing screws and make the main bearings.



The round thing is a granite worktop saver off fleabay bought for £8.50, which will serve as a surface plate for the time being. So, what did I do wrong, and what did I do right? All critique and advice welcome........
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pettyofficernick

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #1 on: September 16, 2014, 08:58:51 am »

Not a great deal of progress today, my nice shiny new height gauge arrived, so I scuttled off to the workshop to play with it, and marked out the base for drilling. I only marked one side, the other will be spotted through from the A frames etc upon assembly. Next bits to do are the main bearings, these will be made as one, and chopped off (cut precisely with a slitting saw) into 3 complete split bearings. First job is to machine the base lfat, that will be the datum for all other operations on the bearings ( I hope ). Thats it for today folks, summoned away for domestic nonsense, bah!  >:( >:( >:(

Shiny new height gauge in action.....



Base marked out and center popped ( 2 pops at either end are mistakes, please ignore)



Machining the base nice and flat....

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dpbarry

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #2 on: September 16, 2014, 10:18:50 pm »

Hi there..


Looks good so far.


What other forum are you on?


Declan
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pettyofficernick

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #3 on: September 16, 2014, 10:46:56 pm »

More work done on main bearings, cleaned up casting, drilled through 5.9mm as start for shaft and drilled mounting holes and drilled and tapped 8BA for bearing caps. Next job I found a tad scary as I had not done it before, was to use the vertical slide and a slitting saw to slice the caps off the block of bearings. I had to attack it from 3 different angles due to the boss on the slitting saw getting in the way, but got there in the end. Once all the 8BA bolts were in, the whole block was returned to the 4 jaw to be drilled to size ( 1/4 inch ). final operation was to slice off the individual bearings, again, a bit nerveracking as after the first one there was very little to hold on to, but all went off without disaster. I was going to knock off at that point, but couldn't resist finally attaching the bearings to the base, again, all went well, and they were fixed in place with 6BA bolts. The shaft was in the bearings all the time whilst fitting, so all is nicely in line, and once I have sent a long series reamer through, it should turn nicely.



Slitting the cap off
http://youtu.be/qadrC9Ukjk4



http://youtu.be/G-y8_X0ffzc

Very little to hold on to here



End result



Next job is the crankshaft , it is made from 1/4 dia silver steel with webs from 1/2 x 1/4 gauge plate, apologies for the photo quality, I forgot to charge the camera and had to use my phone.
So, first thing, marking out in the usual way, I made 1 'master' web and spotted through for the other thre, in the hope of getting 4 identical webs, it nearly worked, and luckily I was able to pass a reamer through all 4 while they were clamped together with a pin lining up the other set of 1/4 dia holes, so it worked out ok in the end. I will be assembling all the parts with Truloc 231 and pinning with 1/16th silver steel pins.

Master web marked out


All 4 spotted through from the master


The assembled webs were left overnight to cure and the rest of the shaft assembled earlier today. I set one throw in position and left for half an hour for the 'glue' to grab, then set it flat, supported on two pieces of tool steel across the crank pin and the shaft and set the other against an angle plate, again with a piece of tool steel as a spacer against the angle plate. I left it like that for an hour or so, then, (I couldn't resist it) assembled the embryo shaft onto the bed. I will cut the pieces of shaft out of the webs once all is pinned, which will be when the postman has fetched me some steel. Last thing, I turned up the flywheel, I may, however, fit a spoked one later....

2 complete throws


Assembling the crankshaft


Ta daaaaa, boom tish....


With the lathe now repaired, it is time to carry on with the Alpha Build. I mounted the crankshaft in the vertical slide, (big mistake) and commenced cutting away the pieces of shaft between the webs with the slitting saw, it was a bit springy, but with much care the first one was cut and I turned the job around and started on the second one, it was then it all went horribly wrong, the slitting saw dug in, the shaft bent, then broke, along with the slitting saw. Exit one crankshaft. Lesson learned, If in doubt don't, keep your eyes on the job, it all seemed to happen in slow motion, but what is done is done, so time to set to and make another. I decided to approach the webs a little differently this time, I was not entirely happy with mk 1 anyhow, I had shaped the webs on a linisher and made a bit of a pigs ear of it, so I decided to make a simple jig that would enable me to just turn a radius on the ends of the web, rather than having a complete semi circle. I cut 4 pieces of 1/4 x 1/2 steel, marked out and drilled the holes for the shaft and crank pins then made a fixture from a piece of 1" aluminium bar with 2 pins on which the blanks could be stacked, a slight dimple was made on the last blank for the live center to sit in and machined away the ends until there was a nice finished radius......

The destroyed crankshaft and 4 new embryo blanks..


The jig, loaded with blanks and ready to go....


Stack of nicely finished blanks...Along with mucky tea mug, tea just don't taste the same from a clean mug......


The newly assembled webs, they will sit until tomorrow to allow the glue to cure........



And finally, a short video of the proceedings.....

http://youtu.be/JHJaQg0bkXc

New crankshaft now finished, a much better job than the first effort. Now started on the steam block, This was bought to size in the vertical slide with a flycutter, ( forgot to photograph) The top and bottom (feet) were done in the 4 jaw, as trying to flycut in the vertical slide was decidedly dodgy, I could not hold it securely enough. The 4 jaw was not the ideal way either, but with care and light cuts, all was finished to a niecety.
The new webs


Setting up the Mk2 version


Done, all pinned and cleaned up....


Installed on bedplate, looks much better than the last one...


Machining the 'feet' on the central steam block....


Bringing to finished size....
.....

A bit more progress has been made, I have made the steam chest for the reversing valve, the port block and slide valve, relatively straight forward jobs, although a proper engineer would probably have me banished from the workshop for life, as I tend to work to marked lines sometimes, a bit like the woodworking fraternity, especially when I am on a lazy streak and can't be bothered with mental arithmetic. I have roughed out the two bottom cylinder covers made a start on the A framed and bored and faced the cylinders.

The roughed out cylinder covers


milling out the steam chest

Steam chest and port block


Making the little slide valve


Tha A frames were altogether a much trickier job, the machining notes say to grip them by the boss (about 5/16 long) and machine the inside face with a boring bar, taking care not to clout the tool with the feet. This did work, but I do have a little more metal to remove, so any suggestions for an alternative method would be well received. there was barely 1/4 inch clearence between the feet and the lathe bed.

The A frame casting in the chuck ready to go... ooerr missus, looks dodgy......


Phew,, done, without disaster


A short video of the proceedings.....    http://youtu.be/cyuQCmpbIbM

Finally, the cylinders were made, all went well. They came as one casting, fo I faced the portface and the bosses that take the pivot springs while the casting was in 1 piece, then parted into two separate cylinders. These were then set up in the 4 jaw chuck, drilled, bored and faced. I got some excellent tips from one of Keith Appletons videos on You Tube on boring cylinders, including taking the final facing cut with the boring bar to ensure the face was at 90 degrees to the bore. Finally, I made a mandrel to hold the job whilst it was bought to final length and faced off.

Facing the port block on the cylinders before splitting.


Initial drilling of cylinder casting, I used three different sizes of drill before the boring bar...


Final sizing on mandrel.....


An almost identical pair of cylinders The bores differ in size by about 8 thou, I had to make a minute adjustment to the mandrel to get the second cylinder to fit.


Boring.......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzuDx79M6y8

Facing...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwxslPGWxbw

Thanks for looking....... :) :)

And rest......

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pettyofficernick

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #4 on: September 16, 2014, 10:49:06 pm »

Hi Declan, I am on a couple of other forums, Wallasey Model Boat Society, Model engine Maker and Model Boats, (Not the magazine one, the other one)
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pettyofficernick

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #5 on: September 26, 2014, 08:41:13 pm »

In order to ensure the distance between the base of the feet and the cylinder pivots on the A frames were Identical, and to hold them rigidly in place on the machine, I made a jig from a piece of 1/4 x 4" plate, once the final operations were carried out on the a frames were completed, I moved on to some of the smaller parts, the screwed bushes for the cylinder pivots, the steam chest cover, valve rod, stuffing box and operating lever, and assembly of the valve chest etc...

The jig


The jig in use...




Screwed bushes


Screwed bushes in place


Steam/valve chest


Assembled on to entablature....


The pivot and fork machined on to either end of a piece of 1/4 square M/S


The lever and its associated parts


Assembled on to entablature....


Next job, big ends, piston rods and pistons.......
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muleears

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #6 on: October 19, 2014, 01:17:26 pm »

Fascinating thread Nick.  Maybe one day I'll find a steal on a milling machine and take the plunge.  I would need a LOT of training as a significant amount of the technical jargon is over my head..... %%
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Lots of building, very little steaming!

pettyofficernick

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #7 on: November 21, 2014, 12:06:07 am »

Well, after a little break to do some model boat building, I have made some progress, made the rest of the bits and have now done most of the fitting and assembly. All that is left to do is drill the steam ports in the cylinder, plug a fw drilling holes and hopefully, she will burst in to life with a whif of air from my mates compressor. I have cheated a bit and run her in with a cordless drill on slow, with plenty of oil, nice and smooth now with no tight spots. Next job will be Crosskill's Oscillating Engine...




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SailorGreg

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #8 on: November 21, 2014, 05:03:34 pm »

Gosh, that was quick - I blinked and it's nearly finished!  Nice looking job Nick  :-)) :-))

What was the boatbuilding you got diverted to?

pettyofficernick

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #9 on: November 21, 2014, 06:34:35 pm »

Here you go Greg.....A glimpse of the latest boat project, a Victorian 125ft First Class Steam Torpedo Boat. HMTB 75 was built by Yarrows on the Thames in 1885. these vessels carried 4 single tubes designed to handle the new Whitehead Locomotive Torpedo, designed by Robert Whitehead in 1866.
 
They were 125ft in length and 13 ft in the beam and only 8 ft draught, these little vessels could maintain a speed of 19 knots for up to two hours, steam being provided by a locomotive type boiler with refinements by Yarrows. total heating area was 1200 sqft with a grate area of 30 sqft, producing steam at 123psi. Engine was of the compound type, and produced top speed at 376 revolutions. they originally carried 5 torpedo guns, one in the bow and two either side, but the bow tube was eventually removed, They also carried a Hotchkiss 6pdr quick firing deck gun and 2 Nordenfeldt double barrelled machine guns, also removed. The lack of the distinctive 'turtle' fo'castle made these boats both wet and uncomfortable, their crews of 16 (mostly stokers) certainly earned their 'hard lying' money.
The model is based on a glassfibre hull, plan and some fittings from Chylds Hall Model Shipyard, 870mm long and 85mm beam, electric powered on six volts.

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pettyofficernick

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #10 on: November 22, 2014, 07:18:02 pm »

A bit more progress today. I have taken the engine apart again, after first marking everything with little center pop marks so it all go's back together the same way. The central steam block is finished now, steam ports drilled, no longer needed holes bunged up, and valve block fitted. I have also lapped the cylinder port faces to the steam block, so it can now be painted ready for final assembly. I have also knocked up a lubricator......




A quick note on jigs. I have found some photos that I had lost in the bowels of my computer, of the cylinder covers being made. I made a little jig for these out of a chunk of steel, a recess was machined to fit into the register that fits inside the cylinder, the O/D (of the jig) being the same as the O/D of the cylinder cover. I then transferred the chuck and jig to the rotary table and mounted it on the vertical slide to drill the fixing holes. It was then a simple matter of drilling and bolting each cover in turn to the jig and machining it to size without having any issues trying to hold it in the chuck  by the register. When all were done, the holes were opened out to clearance size and spotted through on to the cylinders. This has resulted in a nice accurate series of holes, I can turn the covers and the holes still line up.







[imghttp://s19.postimg.org/vgbmopqtv/Cylinder_parts_before_assembly.jpg]http://[/img]

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dave301bounty

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #11 on: November 22, 2014, 07:40:25 pm »

Nick ,is that the workshop in the fort ,Derek is kind .
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pettyofficernick

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #12 on: November 22, 2014, 07:44:45 pm »

Hullo Dave, I rent a small room in the fort all the equipment is mine. Do you mean Dougie? He is the bloke that owns the fort....
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dave301bounty

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #13 on: November 23, 2014, 07:04:41 pm »

yes Nick ,meant Dougie ,know well ,was a good friend of his Dad ,same name ,we both together with Franky Pulford attended the week long meeting at town hall to stop the flats being built in the lake ,,,little things people know nothing of ,me and Dougie  protested about a lot on the redevelopment ,and we have won on one ,,,that storms will batter the place ..small world Nick ,who I don't know ...Dave ,now redesigning solar for sailing uses ,,,long job ..take care .
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pettyofficernick

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #14 on: November 27, 2014, 05:56:35 pm »

Well, thats it, all over bar the shouting, all ready for final assembly, which will be done over the weekend...... :cartwheel: :cartwheel: :cartwheel:


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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #15 on: November 27, 2014, 08:37:58 pm »

 :-)) :-)) :-)) :-))

pettyofficernick

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #16 on: November 29, 2014, 11:57:58 pm »

That's it, job done, few minor , cosmetic errors and I have knocked a bit of paint off, which can be touched up, but all together I am quite pleased with the results. All that remains now is to arrange a supply of steam and see if she runs ( I am quietly confident)  :} :} :}









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pettyofficernick

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #17 on: December 01, 2014, 05:37:38 pm »

Had a little run of Alpha today, still a little lumpy but she will free off with more running. I will use a bigger boiler next time as I don't think the little one I was using could cope with demand.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5dGAp5g8BA&feature=youtu.be

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SailorGreg

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #18 on: December 01, 2014, 07:37:27 pm »

Well that video is certainly atmospheric Nick - all back-lit through the steam!  Well-designed cinematography  ;)

The Alpha looks great.  I can smell it from here  :-)) :-))

Greg

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #19 on: December 01, 2014, 08:14:46 pm »

'Tis quite tricky trying to coax the engine into life with one hand and handle the camera with the other, It actually ran longer than in the video but the camera went into standby while I was fiddling about with the engine, burnt fingers was the order of the day. Should  run for longer on one of my Maccsteam boilers...... >>:-( >>:-( >>:-(
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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #20 on: December 11, 2014, 03:07:04 am »

Nice work and these engines were used in full size practice,one point I have noticed is that there does not seem to be a gap between the cylinder ports as most of these I have seen and built have a gap that allows a smaller area of seal which not only decreases the amount of friction but also better steam tightness if that's the right word  :-)) .
Cheers
John
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pettyofficernick

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #21 on: December 11, 2014, 11:39:10 am »

There is actually a 1/2 inch wide, 1/64th deep relief on the cylinder portfaces.......
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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #22 on: December 11, 2014, 11:53:58 am »

Lovely job. It's quite a beast. More vids please.
Jerry.

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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #23 on: December 12, 2014, 11:46:31 am »

never commented on this before as I have been in awe of your work, Nick..........it went so fast and a superb job at the end of it all.............am amazed as to see and now know what equipment that came with my Myford 30 years ago could have been used for...............not saying that I would ever have got round to producing something in the lines that you have, and it is truly superb..........but I have enjoyed your thread immensely and thanks for giving me and all our members a taste of what can be done if you feel confident enough.

Many thanks, and again reiterate that which others have said.................a superb thread and great build. neil.
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Re: Brunel Models Alpha
« Reply #24 on: December 12, 2014, 01:47:01 pm »

Many thanks for all your kind remarks, however, the camera does lie to a certain extent, as some of the machining is as rough as a bears backside, and I don't think any of the parts are exactly to the dimensions in the drawings, there is always a few thou missing here, and a few thou oversize there. Most of the 'fun' for me is working out how to approach a particular job and setting up the machine to do that job, sometimes an hour or so setting up to do 5 minutes of machining. In the end it all fitted together and it worked, probably not as well or as efficiently as it should, but I am pleased with the result and thoroughly enjoyed myself making it ( you should see the size of the pile of failed projects!). All I can say to anyone who fancies having a go, do it, it is not an enormously steep learning curve, the basics can be found in one of the many books on the market covering the subject, and, of course we have a wonderful resource called the internet, which will tell us everything from the colour of Hitlers underpants to how to build a Saturn 5 rocket, and almost everything known to man in between. You Tube is most helpful, there is a chap called Keith Appleton who does wonderful lathework videos, he explains things  in an easy to understand way and I heartily recommend watching some of his videos. So, don't be timid, get stuck in andhave some fun..... :-)) :-)) :-))

Here is an example of Keith's work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYeFlDaxMCM

                                               https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQKwUmXLafQ
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