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[boatmadman]

Well, I spent the morning fiddling, fettling and polishing, and now I have one crank complete, except for eccentrics, and it even rotates! Need a little bedding in, but it will be ok.

Ian

[benjaml1]

Great thread... Thanks for the updates... 

[Greggy1964]

Don't yer just hate it when yer lathe bits don't spin true!

My 1930's lathe has just this problem with its 10" dia 3 jaw chuck

The snag is that a new chuck will cost me more than the whole lathe cost! Grrr

But I forgive the old girl as she was part of the effort to win the last war!

Excellent work there Boatmadman, I'm just too envious!

Just what us armatures need for guidance on the path to excellence

[boatmadman]

And then there were two.

(only loose assembled at the moment)

[pipercub1772]

great looking pictures of what i am sure will be a great looking engine did not know you were making more than one ,maybe its fore me is it! regards allan

[boatmadman]

Today I made the con rods, top end pins, crosshead guides and one set of stands.

I then drilled and tapped one block for the glands and engine plate and assembled the lot.

The pics show the current status of one top half, waiting for a material delivery to get to the same position with the second engine.

So far, things look promising, both cranks rotate, and, in today's assembly, the pistons and crossheads move ok, a little stiff, but they havent been fully adjusted yet, so they should be ok. ( I hope!!)

Ian

[ironman]

Ian, a beautiful job so far.  Machine work looks superb.  Keep it coming.  Ironman

[benjaml1]

Good stuff for sure..... 

[boatmadman]

Today I made the eccentrics, well, I made 6 before I had 4 useable! Must check my dimensions more often!

Ian

[SteamboatPhil]

Coming along well Ian, don't worry I end up with a bin full of rejects (why do I keep them ?) before  I get to one I'm happy with.


Yup I should go to specsavers

 

Keep up the fine work

(isn't a milling machine a great piece of kit)

[boatmadman]

the mill is the best toy I have bought for ages!

[boatmadman]

And then there were two

Closely followed by steam chests, not quite finished, waiting for a 2mm slot drill and 6mm machine reamer to arrive.

Ian

[boatmadman]

Managed to finish the steam chests, then went on to make the steam spindle couplings, the steam chest blanks and the eccentric webs.

[benjaml1]

Jewelry... 

[Corposant]

Every update is awesome!

Mike

[boatmadman]

Update!

I set out to make the steam valve spools and had problems. The first one came out ok, but no2 somehow came out off centre , as did no 3, no4, no5 and no 6.

So, I left them for a while and tried again, this time with success, all 4 are ok, I think!

So, next job was to drill and tap the base of the steam chests to take the spool gland, first chest drilled ok, then first tap (m2) snapped in the hole grrrrr   there is no way that is coming out, or so I thought. Then I found out that taps can be dissolved without harm to brass using a solution of aluminium potassium sulphate (alum), now awaiting delivery of the magic powder, I will update on results later.

I then thought I would do a simple job, so made the flanges for connection to the steam chests.

Having succeeded with those, I thought I would tackle the steam control valves next, that went well, although time consuming getting them right.

Ian

[benjaml1]

Then I found out that taps can be dissolved without harm to brass using a solution of aluminium potassium sulphate (alum)

I learn something new every day... Thanks. 

[MONAHAN STEAM MODELS]

Ian,

The parts are really looking awesome. Top quality work.

Thanks for mentioning the magic powder. I've never heard of using that stuff to remove broken taps from brass before and can't count how many times it would have come in handy. Please let us know how well the stuff works when you get a chance to try it.

Have you ever tried using high helix fluted taps before? They work great for pulling the chips out of the hole, reducing the chance of breaking taps. In the past I was always unsure of trying them myself until recently when I had a part I was making and kept snapping taps, one right after another. The hole that I was tapping was a blind hole and I was using a bottoming "hand style" tap. The chips that were getting stuck in the bottom of the hole were causing the tap to snag and almost immediately leading to breakage. Once I made the switch to helix fluted taps I haven't broken once since. And yes I just knocked on wood after writing that. 

Nick

[boatmadman]

Nick,

I broke the tap when it passed across a previously drilled hole. Since then I have gone for tin coated taps, here: http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Cutting-Tools/Taps

Although you need to use all 3 taps in sequence, I find them very good with no snatching.

Next time I need to buy any, I will try the high helix fluted type.


Thanks

Ian

[Corposant]

Ian,
     I think you may have to be patient with the alum treatment. I came across it as an old watchmaker/watchrepairer's trick for removing steel winding stems from brass/stainless steel crown wheels. It is just a corrosive process and the amount of steel involved and access to the surface is very different compared with that of a jammed tap. I would brush the exposed surface of the broken tap as often as possible. Having said that, bearing in mind the amount of time and effort you have put into the piece, I think it's well worth the try. As Nick says, let us know how well it works, we are all waiting with bated breath!

Mike

[boatmadman]

Mike,

I was told it could take a few days to dissolve, a little gentle heat being helpful as is agitation. Also, every so often try and pick out softened surfaces to expose new steel.

Ian

[Circlip]

Just beaten me to the agitation and heat Ian. Another way, if you've access to it or want to make a miniature version is spark errosion. Commercial erroders are available, but one can be made using a sparking circuit(Battery powered NOT mains).

  Another thing to be aware of Ian is the "Bling" factor. Highly buffed surfaces are not necesserely flat and while you may be using a gasket to seal things like the valve chest or cylinder caps to the block, a matt flat surface is better.

  Regards  Ian.

[boatmadman]

Ian,

More details on the spark erosion would be appreciated if you have them, please.

Regarding the 'bling' factor and sealing surfaces, my pics dont show it, but the mating surfaces that require sealing have all been flatted on a glass plate with wet and dry and left matt for the very reasons you stated. Only external and visible faces have been 'blinged'.

Ian

[Circlip]

Didn't think Boggy would have let you ruin "Sealing" surfaces 

  The erroder is basically like an electric bell circuit. If you look at the contact area in a mechanical as opposed to an electronic bell, to get the best most reliable ringing, you adjusted a screw on a make and break circuit which showed an electrical arc between the "Points". By using the broken tap in the brass block as one side of the "points" and the coil and battery as the other side, the arc, together with Parraffin as a flushing agent, "Disintegrates" the broken tap. As its doing it, you have to keep feeding the power side into it, but you can set this up as a gravity fed operation and do summat else while this is going on.

  I'll bet PMK's mates can make a small electronic version of this.

  Regards  Ian

[boatmadman]

Ian,

Thanks for that. However, I dont think I could make that work in this case, as the tap is broken deep within the hole, there is no where I could make an electrical connection to it.

If the magic powder doesn't work, I think I will just have to make a new steam chest.

Ian