The Craftmans Shop > New from Old
Steam Cleaner. Re-Birth of a Karcher MPDS
awemawson:
I then decided to give the casting a thorough de-grease, using Toluene (as I happen to have a few gallons of it)
It was at this stage I discovered two things:
A/ Toluene dissolves the paint - no big issue - happy to lose the paint.
B/ More seriously - the bores of the cylinders are not machined brass as I had thought, but are brass at the outer end with a very thick sleeve of some composite material for the majority of their length.
Quickly stopping the use of the toluene in case it affects this composite material adversely, I had intended to blow off the casting with compressed air . . .
. . . oh no chum . . .your compressor has packed up :bang:
It was at this point I decided to call it a day - I do have a reserve compressor that I can bring into service but really DIDN'T want the distraction !
philf:
--- Quote from: awemawson on December 12, 2021, 12:10:53 PM --- I had intended to blow off the casting with compressed air . . .
. . . oh no chum . . .your compressor has packed up :bang:
It was at this point I decided to call it a day - I do have a reserve compressor that I can bring into service but really DIDN'T want the distraction !
--- End quote ---
"There's a hole in my bucket dear Liza"
modeng200023:
It couldn't happen to a nicer person!! Perhaps you should use your 'spare time' to write a book about your experiences with your collection of equipment going wrong just when you need it.
John
RussellT:
--- Quote from: awemawson on December 12, 2021, 12:00:21 PM ---Now looking at the valve seats it was obvious that they need some form of re-finishing. I went through several ideas - perhaps a custom HSS cutter hand driven - maybe a spigot of suitable size with silicon carbide paper glued on - maybe a standard 'spot face cutter' ?
--- End quote ---
Tap reseating tool?
--- Quote from: modeng200023 on December 13, 2021, 03:09:51 AM ---equipment going wrong just when you need it.
--- End quote ---
Yes, I find that stuff seldom goes wrong when it's sitting on the shelf. :D
Russell
awemawson:
Your'e right there Russell!
So first thing I gave the Hydrovane another chance, but no it wasn't having it. Pumps up to about 50 PSI then struggles to get any further. So the reserve Hydrovane was brought out to play. First one is single phase, second one is 3 phase, but both have been connected previously where the compressors live (my Portakabin) so the wiring and plumbing was straightforward. Reserve plumbed in, plugged in, powered up, and brought my compressed air network rapidly to the 100 psi that it's regulated at.
OK time to go searching spot face cutters. (I knew that I had a box of them stored unused for years), and sure enough not only did I find them, but measurement show that they were tolerably flat across the cutting edges and there was one of just about exactly the right 20 mm diameter. But there were no arbors. OK have to make an arbor, but it would be an oddity, as the drive is 8 mm square with rounded corners, but I'd need to make a guide bush to ride in the 14 mm through bore of the valve to keep concentricity.
I think I've come to the conclusion that I may as well turn up an arbor to take washer shaped discs of silicon carbide paper that has a spigot smaller than the 14 mm through bore but riding is a 14 mm bush in that bore. This way the cutting isn't taking place at the edge of the paper but in the middle. Also depending on how hard the valve seats are I can make as many silicon carbide washers as I like (I have a 'washer punch' that cuts i/d and o/d simultaneously dependant on which punches you assemble)
. . . enough excitement . . coffee time . . . :coffee:
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