A Cracker locomotive

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DaveH:
Arnold,

Fabulous tutorial on making a boiler, - you made it look easy. :bow: :bow: :bow: (But I don’t think it is)

The boiler is very nicely made – looks great. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Really good informative post, and well photographed. :clap: :clap: :clap:

Thanks Arnold for taking the time to show it.

:beer:
DaveH

Stilldrillin:
I really need to practice silver soldering....... :wack:

Very nicely done, and shown Arnold! :clap: :clap: :thumbup:

David D

arnoldb:
Thanks Stew :beer: I still have a lot to learn about boiler making though. There are hopefully some more complex ones in my future; this one is just practising the basics.

Cheers Dave :beer: - I hope I didn't show too much, but rather too much including the little mishaps than too little. It's not really difficult, but it does take a bit of thinking through and planning.

David, Thank you :beer:. I'm enjoying the silver soldering; it does seem to take a bit of practice. Not with heating things, but in the preparation. The hardest part for me is figuring out just how much flux to use...

This weekend I'm having to divide time between the shop and my day job... Just part of the fun of working in IT I guess; some things need to be done when other people are sleeping and having weekends :lol:

Did manage to steal a bit of time in the shop though, and started on the steam regulator - another deviation from the original Cracker plans as it's not included there.
I simply "stole" Dave Watkins's design for Idris's regulator and adapted it on the go. Not many photos, as it was all just basic lathe work with 8mm hex brass rod. One exception is the spindle, which was turned from some 4mm stainless steel rod. That was just turned down to 2mm for about 16mm, then to 3mm for another 10mm and threaded M3 with a tailstock die holder, and a taper turned toward the collet chuck to _just_ before it would part off:

That left a nice concentric spindle. The taper was then polished up slightly with some emery, and the very last bit turned off to part the spindle from the stock.

A very out-of-focus photo of the bits made today:

From left to right: 1) Regulator body with M6x0.5 nose and drilled through 2.5mm and then opened up and threaded M6x0.5, 2) the spindle, 3) M6x0.5 lock nut, 4) bush threaded M6x0.5 right through on the outside and drilled 2.1mm through on the inside and the tapped M3 for the spindle part-way through, and 5) pack nut for the spindle. The bottom 2 pieces are the steam take-off and nut - both threaded m6x0.5, with the take-off an nut designed to clamp down some 3.2mm copper pipe with a silver-soldered on ferrule.

After taking the last photo, I silver soldered the take-off to the regulator body, and dumped it in the pickle to clean up overnight. Hopefully I'll find a couple of minutes tomorrow to finish the regulator.

As an aside... I don't like gardening very much, but I do like plants and animals. The plants in my garden are mostly drought-resistant cacti and aloe species; they don't need much attention and like our weather. In fact, they are MUCH better at predicting weather than the Met office. On the way to the shop this afternoon, I spotted a welcome sight; one aloe had started pushing it's flowers, and that means we only have another one or two cold spells before our short spring and then summer is on us :D - that's good for shop time:

:beer:, Arnold

DaveH:
Arnold,
Nicely done, ideal size for your new lathe. :poke:

The photo makes them appear to float :bugeye:

Coming on, won't be long now. :clap:
:beer:
DaveH

arnoldb:
:beer:, Thanks Dave

:doh: I really must get that small lathe sorted ::) - it's just standing there doing nothing.

:lol: Hoptical disillusion; the parts are lying on my "ultra-high-precision surface plate" - aka thick sheet of safety glass... If the focus is out, things "float".

And no progress to report on the cracker; I finally got some shop time today and squandered it on this lot :doh: :

:beer:, Arnold

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