Author Topic: USS Monitor Steam Engine Drawings -Free  (Read 5816 times)

Offline Rich Carlstedt

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USS Monitor Steam Engine Drawings -Free
« on: February 23, 2021, 01:33:27 PM »
After Many years, I have finished the full drawings of the steam engine that powered the first Steam Powered All Steel Battleship, "the Monitor" from the US Civil War period.
Historians and authors refer to it as a "Ironclad", but it was not a wooden ship clad with iron, and in fact the engine identification by many is also incorrect. For some reason they call the engine a "Side lever" engine and it is as far from a side lever engine as can be !
Side Lever engines have vertical cylinders and are beam engines used with paddle-wheel ships , never with screw propeller ships. The Monitor is a "Vibrating Lever-Half Trunk engine " and is truly unique is design and operation. You may know that the only full size engine like this that exists is the one recovered from the ship wreck site in 2001 and is being restored at the Mariners Museum in Newport News Virginia USA.
There was very little information in the form of surviving drawings , and I have spent almost 50 years ( since 1974) researching all that was known and created not only a accurate scale model, but a full set of prototype drawings .  The gracious Editor of Home Shop Machinist magazine has agreed to hosting the drawing files for all to download at no cost. This is a 309 page download divided into about 22 packets for all historians and model builders to have free access--For their Personal Use Only!  They are not for resale  or transfer and are protected with Copyright and US Government registration. Downloading these files is acknowledgement of this requirement

Here is a pic of my model
 


To download go here
https://www.homeshopmachinist.net/resources/downloads/

There was an in-depth discussion on the model back in 2008 , go here for that info
http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/viewtopic.php?t=78299

You may also wish to visit my website for further information about this and other models and access a You tube video of it running
http://www.stationarysteam.com/

Thanks for your interest
Rich

Offline vtsteam

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Re: USS Monitor Steam Engine Drawings -Free
« Reply #1 on: February 23, 2021, 01:39:10 PM »
That's pretty amazing and impressive Rich! And the drawings also quite a gift. Thank you for posting this.  :bow: :bow: :bow:

Back in the mid-seventies when I was learning boatbuilding, I lived in Mathews VA, not too far from the Mariner's Museum. I spent many hours there in the library reading books that were otherwise unavailable. That was, of course, long before the Internet.

I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline Brass_Machine

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Re: USS Monitor Steam Engine Drawings -Free
« Reply #2 on: February 23, 2021, 04:53:48 PM »
You have shown this engine at Cabin Fever?

Eric
Science is fun.

We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.

Offline tom osselton

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Re: USS Monitor Steam Engine Drawings -Free
« Reply #3 on: February 23, 2021, 06:34:27 PM »
I can only say “WOW!

Offline Rich Carlstedt

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Re: USS Monitor Steam Engine Drawings -Free
« Reply #4 on: February 24, 2021, 03:20:18 PM »
Yes  Eric, I had it at Cabin Fever, the NAMES  show and also the Mariners Museum where I have given seminars on the engine and it's operation.
You might call it a labor of love, as I built my first model of the ship when I was 11 years old. (my older brothers started me modeling at age 5 ) and it even had a electric motor for propulsion.  I later got into steam engines and 47 years ago the Monitor bug bit me .  The real challenge was that there was virtually no published information on the engine , and the few things available conflicted with each other . The bore and stroke are 40 x 22 , and yet there were esteemed historical sources that said 36 x 24  or 32 x 26  for bore and stroke . Don't mean to be impolite, but many history books publish erroneous information because the author failed to do due diligence . My goal was to bring light to the true engine dimensions with the model and I was asked by many afterwards for the drawings , so I spent these past 4 years doing just that
Thanks for the kind words
Rich

Somewhat of a boast ..The engine is at a true 1/16 scale and all parts including internal are scaled to that exactly. My smallest parts are Keys that are .032 x .032 x .076  and both ends radius-ed  which on the real engine is 1/2" x 1/2" x 1-1/4" --making those was a nightmare

Offline Brass_Machine

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Re: USS Monitor Steam Engine Drawings -Free
« Reply #5 on: February 24, 2021, 06:31:38 PM »
Hi Rich,

I believe I have talked to you about this at Cabin Fever.

All... I have seen this in person, it is a work of art. The attention to detail and quality of work... amazing.

Eric
Science is fun.

We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.

Offline vtsteam

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Re: USS Monitor Steam Engine Drawings -Free
« Reply #6 on: February 24, 2021, 10:28:47 PM »
It's a beauty, and a fabulous story, too.   :clap:
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline Kjelle

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Re: USS Monitor Steam Engine Drawings -Free
« Reply #7 on: February 26, 2021, 03:31:15 AM »
THANK YOU RICH!

Kjelle