RC Steam Powered Trike

[Bernd]

The project begins. June, 17, 2009. That's so I can go back and remember when I started.

Here's a C-o-C side view of what it's going to look like in general.



I've gathered some raw material to start the project. Starting from the left. !/2" thick aluminum plate for the cross members of the frame. 1.250" thick by 13.125" long plate to mill the "C" channel from. A piece of 1.250 brass for the inner rear wheel hubs. A piece of 2.125" dia. copper pipe for the front wheel and last a piece of 5" dia. copper tube to make the rear wheels.



The .5" thick plate will be used to make cross members for the frame. The 1.250" thick plate will be used to make the frame. The 2.125" pipe for the front wheel and the 5" pipe for the two rear wheels.

The two side frame pieces will end up looking like the C-o-C sketch below.



For the rear wheels I'd like to make something like Dennis (4151df) has done on his steam tractor build over at HMEM.
Here's the LINK The first two posts are of his method of making spoke wheels for Rudy Kouhoupt’s Model Steam Tractor. I'd like to get the book from Village press but am still undecided. My just use the examples from Dennis' pictures. As far as the front wheel is concerned I haven't got anything planned for that yet other than size.

So that's about it for the first installment. I'm waiting for the rain they predicted today so I don't feel so guilty playing in the shop. Next post will show how I made the frames.

Regards,
Bernd

[sbwhart]

Bernd

This is going to be a real interesting project I take it when you've got the frame done your going over to the wheels, are they going to be spoked ?, building up a spoked wheel should be fun. 

Reading the corespondence between you chaps regarding the engine design, realy braught it home to me how little I know about engines and thier valve arrangements. 


Have fun

Stew

[Brass_Machine]

Anxious to see how this goes! 

Eric

[Bernd]

Anxious to see how this goes!  

Eric

Your anxious, I'm terrified.  

I'm hoping that I can bring this project through it's stages and to a final end. It's going to be a test for me since I don't ever seem to be able to finish a project I begin. That's why I'm going for one with many different little subassemblies. Hopefully they'll keep my interest up all the way through.

Stew,

I've had an interest as long as I can remember about locomotives and any kind of steam power. Have always gotten books on the subject. I have a high curiosity index. I just know just enough about the subject to get me into trouble.  

Hope to have something by the week end to post.

Bernd

P.S. Corrected so the right person knows who I'm posting to.    Thanks Darren.

[Darren]

I think you mean Stew John.....

[Bernd]

Bernd

This is going to be a real interesting project I take it when you've got the frame done your going over to the wheels, are they going to be spoked ?, building up a spoked wheel should be fun. 

Stew

Click on the red "LINK" in the first post to see how I might do the rear wheels.

Bernd

[sbwhart]

Got it Bernd don't know how I missed it first time round  

Just read the Rudy build thread through very interesting, contrasting UK and US methods and designs of engines, both equaly effective, the Rudy build is very well documented and some real good pics thanks for pointing us in that direction


Stew

[rleete]

I remember that thread.  The wheels are a whole project in themselves!

[Bernd]

The weekend is not even here yet and I've got some of the frame done. The first part to be made was the two side rails of the rear part of the frame. They were milled out from a piece of aluminum bar 1 1/2" thick by 4 " wide by 13 1/4" long.

Since the 1 1/2" size was already what I need I decided to mill a slot down the center 1" wide by 3/8" deep. But first the top had to have skim cut taken to make sure it was level and smooth



Once smooth I changed over to a 1/2" dia. 2 flute end mill to cut the slot.



Checking for a depth of 3/8"



Next was getting the sides to a 1/8" thickness.



Here they are finished to size.



Now to separate the soon to be channel from the block. I had made a cutter holder for a small carbide saw. This didn't work out very well as the saw would pull a chip through the cut and the saw would stop cutting. I didn't like the feel as it cut…..



…..so I changed over to my 10" table saw. I use a piece of wood under the aluminum because the ally doesn't slide very well on the cast iron table of the saw. The first channel has already been cut off.



In order to keep from getting sprayed with a shower of hot chips I make a sandwich of wood, ally and wood and use my push tool. This works very good. You need to push the work into the blade very slowly and steadily. Very nerve racking the first time you do this.



And there it is the piece sawn free from the larger piece.



Next the sawn side needs to be cleaned up and brought down to size. Using a fly cutter would have worked nice, only…..



…out on the end of the part that sticks out of the vise about 3 to 4 inches it rang like a bell leaving a very bad finish. You can't see it to good but to the right you can see that it's much smoother than on the end way out over the vise.



So back to the trusty old 1/2" two flute end mill to finish the job.


And here are the two side frame rails (channels)



I then made some cross members 1" by 3/8" by 6 3/8". All I need to do now is drill and tap holes to assemble these pieces together. Here they are just laid together loosely.



That's it for now. I need to figure out the size and how many screws I'm going to use to assemble these loose pieces. In the mean time I might start getting the rims done for the rear wheels.

Till next time.

Bernd

[Stilldrillin]

Bernd,
Next time anything is protruding from the vice, support it with a screw jack.

Just a "nut & bolt" slipped under each end will stop it resonating, & trying to dodge the cutter......  

David D

[Bernd]

David,

I had thought about using a scew jack, but with only two pieces to do I said why bother. It would have taken longer to find a set of screws and bolts than it was to do the job.

Nice tid bit for the newbie though. Thanks.

Bernd