MadModder
The Shop => Metal Stuff => Topic started by: Artie on March 06, 2010, 06:50:39 PM
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This project has evolved over on HMEM, apologies to the guys who frequent both sites.
Basically my project is a reversing horizontal twin loosely based on My Westburys design, an example, which I believe belongs to Don-tucker over at HMEM.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/Models008.jpg)
Mine is destined for a large side wheel paddle steamer called the PS Pevensey which still operates today out of Port Echuca, australia largest inland river port. She will be 7'6" and radio controlled which poses a few issues for a steam engine.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/Pevensey1.jpg)
And the scale plans...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/19122009551.jpg)
The changes to the design are simply making the cylinders level, mounting them on either side of the boiler cover (more on that later) and making the crank a stand alone pylon type with 4 individual pylons, 2 in close next to the throws and 2 out wide as this will a long crank shaft.
I am a caster of metal so it was decided early on to make and cast the components and this thread is my journey so far... yes it would probably have been easier to use billet... but where is the fun in that?
Ill go through this quickly with a few pics per post... to break it up... firstly I have Mr Westburys plans but really dont refer to them much, its all in my head. To make this a sloooow revving engine set Ive increased the bore size from 19mm to 25mm (3/4 to 1 inch).... on with the show!
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The cylinders, for a simple item it ended up being quite a complex (and touchy!) cast. The plugs in manufacture....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/20122009556.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/20122009558.jpg)
I hate the wood lathe...scares the hell outta me! A mate, John is doing the dangerous stuff, Ive got the camera..
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/20122009559.jpg)
This was made up of 2 pieces which were screwed together outside the machining area, so when it was parted off it fell apart...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/20122009561.jpg)
Steam chest mounts and cylinder mount added...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/23122009564.jpg)
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Brass for the cylinders.
Ive never cast brass before so this is a steep learning curve. I decided to do what I know and cast a few in aluminium first to test the casting procedure and also work out the machining steps before I cut into a lovely lump of brass.. ended up casting 4 ali cylinders. before i was happy. Had a bit of sink back due to the larger volume of metal around the steam chest area. Solved that though, used a larger core.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/23122009567.jpg)
Core mold.... simply split steel tubing...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/30122009574.jpg)
Cores already baked... these are high clay content sand... ended up using a sugar based core which set harder and darker..
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/06012010580.jpg)
The foundry.. (shes showing off... doesnt normally do this...)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/06012010589.jpg)
Packing the cope...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/06012010582.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/06012010584.jpg)
Ready to pour...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/06012010587.jpg)
You will notice that I ve fitted a reducer plate to reduce the volume of the flask (box holding the sand together..), any bigger is wasted effort..
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This is what came out of the sand... still smoking hot.....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/06012010597.jpg)
Here you can see the sinkback that I mentioned on the right cylinder but problem solved on the left one. Its simply moving the holes that the molten metal comes in and goes out (sprues and risers)...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/07012010611.jpg)
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So with the design and procedural stuff out of the way..along came the brass....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/20012010676.jpg)
It doesnt look very pretty when it emerges from the sand. In fact it looks like it was salvaged from the Titanic....
But use your imagination because this...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/20012010675.jpg)
Can become this....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/31012010802.jpg)
And it did, same cylinder a few days apart..... but Im getting ahead of myself here... casting brass.. it actually isnt a lot of fun... I much prefer working with aluminium.... Ali melts at approx 630 degrees celcius, brass at approx 950. I use steel crucibles for this and I have 2, a large volume unit which will pour about 3 litres of melt and a smaller unit of about 1.5 litres. Ive had these since I built the foundry some 26 years ago. Not any more.
The extra 300 or so degrees increases the strain on the equipment enormously, I burnt those two crucibles out in 4 pours and the new unit is looking decidedly second hand already.
I dont think I will do much brass work after this!
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Excellent thread, really nice to see the successful casting there :clap:
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I have intentions of building another twin at some stage so I ened up casting 5 brass cylinders (1 reject)...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/26022010018.jpg)
Take a look at the cylinder on the left, this is one month after polishing.... gee that was wasted effort... actually no it wasnt.. I had a blast...
To get to this level I made a mandrel to hold the cylinder, the cylinder was roughly chucked up in the 3 jay, one end faced off and the bore taken to 24.9mm and then mounted on the mandrel. It wasnt taken off the mandrel until its finished. The mandrel was simply taken from lathe to RT in the mill and back when required.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21012010695.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/31012010761.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/26022010006.jpg)
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Couldn't you drill and plug the dimple? Be a shame to loose it ..
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Hi Darren yeah its been a fun project, more to go though.....
I have one cylinder finished and have left the others in a semi finished state until I have all the components to seal them up (end plates pistons etc).
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/05022010874.jpg)
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Do you mean the sink back area? If so that was only a test piece in ali, it was always meant to go back into the pot. It didnt happen in brass which was the whole reason for doing a few test pieces in ali... casting that is really easy (in comparison..)...
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Well that was an epic few weeks to get to that point and I must say that Im a little 'over' casting brass so I decided to move onto the next piece on the list, actually it wasnt next but it was aluminium so I moved it up the list to give me a break... :)
The pedestals for the crank used my CAD system to design them up... thats Cardboard Aided Design... I actually do have Alibre but for simple 2 dimensional stuff this was just too easy..
So using 3mm MDF and building up with atimber we ended up with these....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/05032010047.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/05032010048.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/05032010049.jpg)
And straight out of the sand.. (again, still smokin)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/06032010057.jpg)
Sprues and risers trimmed off...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/06032010059.jpg)
Further triming but not yet finished, havent machined in the crank journal yet, will wait til I have the 4 of them cast and sized and do them all in 1 pass.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/06032010060.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/07032010062.jpg)
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And thats where we stand today, next is the cross head beds in brass and the cylinder end caps also in brass. Crank will be a built up unit and the boiler is a thread in itself as I wish to use this thing in public it needs to be insured against public injury and that means joining the local steam club and buiulding a boiler that conforms to the AMBSC codes (Australian Miniature Boiler Safety Committee).
These are quite onerous and I have already changed from steel to copper in the planning stage.. unfortunately I had already sourced the steel tubing...
Ill update this as I go along.. but it wont be fast due to various commitments..
Cheers all
Artie
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A short up date, had a couple of hours to spare today so I cast up the remaining 3 pedestals, actually I cast up 5 as I had a couple of failures. The first 2 had bad sinkback where the outlet sprue joins the top block, the previous 2 were perfect, its raining here and with the high humidity things change when casting. I altered the pour method and sprue locations slightly and all was well, the next 3 were great....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/07032010067.jpg)
These will have main bearing caps made and mounted and then they will be bored for the crank. I plan on using a D bit reamer to size it (thanks Blogs) and shim if necessary (im hoping not).
Once rough sized these will all be clamped together and final machining will occur as a unit.
If anyone has any questions or suggestions to help improve the process, please fire away!
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Very nice Rob :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: great to see :thumbup:
Keep it coming :D
Cheers Rob
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Thanks Rob, Ill be away working for a week so wont be able to touch it until I get back... I think I may need a tiny collapsible mill I can fit in the boot of my car. Im itching to size these things up and a week is a long time without a metal munching fix.... :(
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Artie,
Nice thread you have going here. I like the casting bit. I started a Gingery foundry many years ago. Just melted some ali and poured into ingots. That's all I've ever done.
A few questions about pouring brass. What do you use for ingots? Any old scrap brass or do you use a know alloy? Do you add tin to the melt before pouring? I hear that the tin boils out as the melt gets near pouring heat.
In quiring minds need to know. :med:
Bernd
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Oh, this is some very impressive work, Artie. Very interesting from my end, the way you are doing things here.
From the looks of things, have you been doing this for a while?
It's the last bit of voodoo that lets the home shop guy be completely independent from design and material shape requirements.
Top job! Thanks for the pictures and explanations!
Dean.
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Artie,
What do you use for ingots? Any old scrap brass or do you use a know alloy? Do you add tin to the melt before pouring? I hear that the tin boils out as the melt gets near pouring heat.
In quiring minds need to know. :med:
Bernd
Hi Bernd I use scrap items and ingot them ahead of time. Brass is really cruddy material and makes a huge amount of dross due to the tarnish which builds up quckly, therefore im not mucking around trying to remove crap during a stressfull pour, same with aluminium, its all turned into ingots before I need it.
Its zinc which burns out of the brass, but if you are gentle and dont overheat it too much it wont be an issue. Incidentally try not to breath the fumes which come out of the foundry when melting brass, you will end up with the zinc shakes...not nice im told...
Glad you have found it of interest...
Hi Dean yeah had the foundry for near on 26 years now, it was put away for many years while I raised a family...same old story. Got it out a few years ago and got back into it. Having a blast, and you are correct in that ANY size of stock I need I can have within an hour or so... as well as the casting of items such as the pedestals.
Cheers Artie
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Thanks Artie. I've heard about the fumes.
Bernd
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Just a little more, been away working for the last week so keen to at least achieve something. I need beds for the cross heads and end plates for the cylinders. I could just buy the stock for these but I doubt if anyone keeps the required size in town and if it was ordered it would cost a fair bit. So I cast them up. Nothing special, basically holes in the sand. A flat piece of pine for the beds and caps off spray cans for the end plates.
The beds were cast on end, so I put in a pour hole to allow any gases to escape without bubbling the molten metal. I also cast this just over the brass melt point, I think I have learnt something today, dont get brass too hot, if you go back and look at the finish of the first piece of brass that I cat, this is heaps better... heat may be the issue..
Cost about $3 in gas and about 1 hour, scrap brass I get for nothing from a friend who has heaps of it.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/14032010076.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/14032010071.jpg)
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A quick shop session tonight, not much to show for it, one cross head bed almost done and one plate roughly sized up.... amazes me sometimes how slow I can be in the shop.
I was discussing with a mate recently about this... he was about to cut a gear on the shaper.. but he had to build a table extension first, scratch one full day.... hadnt even began to cut the gear at that point.... ended up with an exceptional result though..
I had a fun time with my fly cutter, just wasnt happening right.... after much fussing I reground the apparently sharp cutter.. bingo.
ok ok pics... sorry about the fuzzies, picking up replacement camera tomorrow... this one stopped focussing... best I could get tonight...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/15032010010.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/15032010013.jpg)
And for those who are interested, this is Isis, shes and a Centralian Python (aussie sheila) and about 2 years old and 3 feet long. She lives in the kitchen and watches us with very hungry eyes... im glad shes not bigger... (belongs to my daughter who has just moved back home.... ah well...)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/15032010017.jpg)
Again, sorry bout the blurries.... all good tomorrow!
Rob
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Howdy guys, cameras back on line (finally) and I have a little progress to report. I did say alittle progress. Seems that work keeps getting in the way of late...
The last pics showed the crosshead beds in rough form, these are now almost finished with the studs to be drilled and fitted and the oiler cups to be made. Also have the bosses to make and silver solder to the slide plates for the piston rod and conrod little end.
Studs and nuts (4BA) where ordered last week but still havent arrived as yet. Ill put these aside til they do and move onto the cylinder end plates
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/27032010155.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/27032010154.jpg)
You may remember these being these not so long ago...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/14032010071.jpg)
You ever have one of those days? Went to the shelf to grab the strips to retain the slider. These are 10mm by 3mm strapping. Cant find it...anywhere. I dont think I used it for anything. Ok zip down to the hardware store where I bought it as the shops are still open.... nada... out of stock. Only one thing for it....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/03272010148.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/03272010150.jpg)
Damn... did that take some time....
Also got the pedestals roughed up, all critical sizes are done, now just got to 'pretty' them up :doh:
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/27032010156.jpg)
Thaz it fer now.... until the nex instalment.. Cheers Artie
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Hi Artie;
You mention "not much done" a time or two, but from someone who doesn't know casting (me), it looks like a lot!
It's become quite an impressive project already. I'm enjoying your thread, that's for sure.
Thanks for the write-up and all the pics!
Dean
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Lots of holes drilled, tapped and square with NO breakages .... pilot driver works beautifully. One part down, dozens to go.... :headbang:
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/01042010163.jpg)
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It needed oilers! So it got em....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/01042010164.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/01042010165.jpg)
Got another job, this is a little adapter set for a hoist, for higher cars like 4 wheel drives. A short set and a longer set.... a mates doing the cutting and creating LARGE swarf.... kinda cool....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/01042010166.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/01042010167.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/01042010168.jpg)
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Looks like swarf porn to me, Artie. ; )
Nice oilers you made there.
Dean
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Hi Dean yep surely is 'porn' of a type. More to add tonight, been away for work again, this doesnt look like its going to end any time soon. Damn good money though, while the sun shines a hay I will make....
Theres probably not much casting left to do and I should probably start a new thread but.... Ill keep going in here unless someone has an objection ......
Basically I am feeling my way forward as I go, Im hugely impressed with the pace of some of the builds carried out on this forum, and as I said on Kvoms thread im envious!
However, my pace is my pace and its the best I can do.....
So, tonights offerings.... part of my problem is my own need to 'prove' a part before I start production. Youve seen this with a set of ali cylinders cast up, that was worthwhile (imo) and tonight is no different. The mounts for the conrod/piston rods. Prototype and finished items (almost)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/16042010222.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/16042010210.jpg)
I tried something new (at least to me and silver soldered these 2 plates together and machined them as one unit. Worked a treat then sweated them apart.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/16042010214.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/16042010217.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/16042010225.jpg)
Ill add more when its available.
Cheers
Rob
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Those crosshead slippers turned out great, Artie. Good to see all the parts in one shot.
Dean
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Hi Dean, Im happy with them and today had a good go at making more... conrods was the main focus and Im surprised that I got as far as I did. Im waiting for a 3mm ball nose end mll which should arive mid week and this will allow me to finish the rods off.
Pics, as per usual. Any questions.... please fire away..... THE OFF CUTS i MENTION IN A PREVIOUS POST ARE PUT TO GOOD USE....damn caps....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/saw.jpg)
2 pieces 110 mm are freed from the length..... marked out and the cutting begins..
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/17042010230.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/17042010231.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/17042010236.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/17042010237.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/17042010239.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/17042010245.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/17042010232.jpg)
The rods arent finished, they have to be miled down to 6 mm in width etc but only a small amount of work required, really happy with them. My first set of conrods.. sort of a virgin... or was.... :D :) :D
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You're flying with this one now :clap:
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My first set of conrods.. sort of a virgin... or was....
Well, you sure took care of that! In good fashion, too.
Looking good, Artie.
Dean
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Yes Dean you could say that. Thanks for the feedback... I was just about to post when you beat me.
A question for you all.... due to the boiler size contraints under the Miniature Boiler Codes I am limited to a long thin boiler unit. Isnt large enough for this engine aesthetically so Im making a dummy cover for it which will mount the cross heads and the cylinders. I want this to have a scale-ish look and want lots of rivets.. BUT.. im lazy.....
Does anyone have method of reproducing hundreds of rivets without drilling holes and rivetting? In my old life in RC we used a hypodermic syringe and white glue to do th ejob. Im thinking the heat from the boiler would make this unsuitable. Perhaps drops of epoxy?
Any thoughts gentlemen?
Cheers
Rob
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I thought you might like to see where this is all going. The engine is destined for an Aussie paddle steamer, a radio controlled model of a Steamer called the P.S. Pevensey which is still alive and operating today, in fact ive ridden her many times.
A local company offers scale boat plans and I found a set for her listed and ordered them. Cost was $65 and are huge. The model is 5' long which I have scaled up 50% to accept this engine, so its now 7'6" from bow to rudder. The plans (2 sheets) laid out on a 10 seat table..
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/19122009551.jpg)
spoon for scale... sorry about the fuzzy pics..
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/19122009548.jpg)
and the grand old lady herself today....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/Pevensey1.jpg)
Acording to the specs she was 'converted' in 1911 and capable of carrying 120 tons in giant holds, the Pevensey is powered by a 20 h.p. twin high pressure steam engine. After catching fire in 1932, she was rebuilt, but later fell on hard times and became a floating museum. Brought in for Port restoration in 1973, this great Clydesdale of the river was refloated in 1976 and began carrying passengers 3 years later.
Tonnage: 136.
Length: 111'5".
Beam: 23'.
Draught: 2' (empty)
H.P.: 20 (2cyl)
Construction: Wood/Steel.
Fuel: 1 ton of wood per hour under steam fully loaded.
Speed: 4.5 - 5mph.
Here she is in 1912 towing a barge, incidentally she was originally built as a barge named the Mascot in 1909 and converted to a steamer in 1911. This wasnt an uncommon practise in those days. Unlike US steamers Aussie boats were built of steel frames and hard wood, (you guys mainly used soft woods) and this is primarily why so many of our boats a hundred years or older are still afloat today.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/18042010246.jpg)
And a hull similar to hers under construction, you can see the steel girders and upper hull steel plates with 4" thick hardwood planking on the lower hull.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/18042010247.jpg)
Cheers Artie
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And in case you are wondering, this is what these things did, apart from supplying outlying sheep propertys with goods, they carried the wool clip to market (ar at least the railhead at Port Echuca)... the boat towed one or more barges which where exactly the same as her and had steering to negotiate the tight river bends....
The boat itself was loaded like this....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/18042010248.jpg)
and towed one or more of these....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/18042010249-1.jpg)
To these enormous wharfes..this is Port Echuca and in its hey day was over 1 kilometere long, here its pictured at high river and this is something like 30 metres above it normal height...Its a big river wharf! Also you can see the temporary steering wheel placed after the barge is loaded.... this pic is in reverse btw... writing gives it away..
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/18042010250-1.jpg)
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Hi Artie,
Would it look OK if you indented little pips into strips of shim stock (brass or chopped up tin cans), then wrapped them round the boiler with the convex side of the pips outwards to imitate riveted boiler bands?
Andy
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Andy, think you may be onto something there. A mate, Tel, from another site suggested the indenting the rivets from the inside to out, but I couldnt see how I could do then inside the boiler circle. This might be the goods..Ill have a play.... thanks mate.
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Andy,
Way back I made a riveter to do rivets for HO scale models. I made it at work. It may not be what you want to make right now but will give ideas. Below are pics with a bit of explination as to what is what.
First this is what I'm talking about. The main body is made from a chunk of cast iron about 6" long X 2" inches high and 1.5" wide. The table with the slot in it is 6" X 3"
(http://www.kingstonemodeleng.com/Madmodder/tmp/riveter.jpg)
The punch and die made from tool steel (silver steel). The spring is from a pen. The parts are heat treated for hardness.
(http://www.kingstonemodeleng.com/Madmodder/tmp/riveter1.jpg)
Here are the punch and die assembled into the body.
(http://www.kingstonemodeleng.com/Madmodder/tmp/riveter2.jpg)
The whole riveter assembled. The arm on the left is set so the hammer is dropped from the same height giving consistent rivets.
(http://www.kingstonemodeleng.com/Madmodder/tmp/riveter3.jpg)
Here it is in action. Just slide along the back fence, drop hammer, move over to do next one, repeat as many times as necessary.
(http://www.kingstonemodeleng.com/Madmodder/tmp/riveter4.jpg)
And here they are, a bit blurry, but nice consistent rivets.
(http://www.kingstonemodeleng.com/Madmodder/tmp/riveter5.jpg)
Ok, time for questions. :smart:
Bernd
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Hi Bernd, thats real production line stuff.... dont suppose you want to rent it out for afew day? Of course freight to Aus would be a killer..... I think the concept of the brass strip dented and then soldered in place is the way I will try...Ill do a write up if it works ok...
Just about finished the rods. Milled 2.5 mm off each side of the rod beams to bring them down to 6mm (from 11mm), the cheeks of the big ends are still 11mm. I used a jig made from a lump of aluminium left over from a casting experiment. Drilled and tapped it for the rod length, bolted a rod down and did the milling on one side, removed it did the other rod the same and then milled a 2.5mm deep pocket where the big end sits to allow the rod beam to sit flat on the plate and then did the other sides of both rods.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/18042010251.jpg)
And the almost finished product, the gudgeon pins are a press fit into the slide mount and free within the rod, like normal car stuff. I am doing this because you can see how much clearance is avalable when the slider moves up to the oiler cups. I wont actually press anything, heating and freezing and loctite will allow hand assembally.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/20042010253.jpg)
And while I love working with the mill and lathe, I also love handworking my bits. So I do a lot of filing and sanding in the final shaping stage. Dont think for a minute that the rod beams came off the tool that smooth!
Now working on the reversing linkage... seems like Kvom has answered a few questions I had by posting his pics over in HMEM...thanks mate! Im pretty much following Edgar T.'s plans to the letter here... its an area I dont have much (any?) experience in... so Ill play on something else at another time....
Cheers Rob
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Nice looking Artie. The sign of a true craftsman, hand finishing. It looks very nice.
On the rivets: that tool was just to give you an idea of how even rows of "simulated" rivets can be made fast. I'm sure for your scale it would need to be scaled up some.
Bernd
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Artie,
More on the rivets. If their heads at full scale are (say) 20mm diameter, then working on the 111' length of Pevensey and the 7'6" length of your model, the heads scale down to about 1.5mm. I suspect that raising indentations of that size in narrow strips of thin brass might cause the strips to deform out to the edges unless you make up a jig to clamp them in a sandwich between two substantial strips of steel. The top one would need a hole for the punch to pass through and the one underneath would act as an anvil with an indentation for the brass to deform into. Further indentations in the anvil piece would accommodate the "rivets" already formed and also act to index the rivets at regular intervals.
Unclamping, moving along and re-clamping might make the procedure rather time-consuming.....
Andy
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Hi Rob :bugeye: :bugeye: :bugeye: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
Lookin great , going to be one fine engine :thumbup:
Bernd
Thats a cool gizmo , thanks for showing ,nice one :dremel:
Cheers Rob
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Very very nice Artie!
I admire you guys who do your casting. The project is very ambitious though I see you finishing it very well. :thumbup:
Eric
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Thats a cool gizmo , thanks for showing ,nice one :dremel:
Cheers Rob
Not my design Rob. Got that out of a model railroad magazine article. Had to fake the rivets some how on those HO scale models. :)
Bernd
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Good morning guys, Sunday morning here on Anzac day, back from the service, bacon and eggs with mushroom and tomatoe with my kids, nice way to begin a special day.
A very sincere thank you to all the service men and women who have sacrificed for this country. Being the 'luckiest country in the world' doesnt come about by luck alone. "lest we forget".
For you 'overseas' types you can google Anzac day, its a very very special aussie day.
Thanks to all for the comments and encouragement, it truly helps with the motivation, time is so precious in my life that finding enough to spend on the tools is difficult and I am finding that ripping metal to shreds is very theraputic. I have even resorted to taking time off work to get my hands dirty.
Bernd, while I cant see myself recreating anything like your masterpiece I am in need of something like it just for a short while. I will work something out.
Eric, thanks, I sometimes think I am to ambitious for my own good, but I have learnt so much along the way, yes I will get this to a conclusion but Im not looking forward to that, Im really enjoying the journey.... Ive also met (electronically at least) some truly nice people along the way. Ive had unsolicited PMs with resources attached on casting, plug making, boilers and general stuff. You guys know who you are... its my privilege to know you.
Cheers all
Rob
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Logically, now that the conrods almost finished its time to start the crankshaft. Im starting with the cheeks and this is bigger than you would think. Two storys here one is the crank, the other is recommissioning an old friend. More in a moment.
Firstly some 60mm stock was dragged out. No idea what steel it is... just steel. Machines and cuts ok. Trimmed the oxy end off.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/25042010270-1.jpg)
Have I mentioned that I love the old power hacksaw?
Trued up in the lathe and centre drilled, sized up and the drilled for full depth of 60mm using incrimental drill sizes 4 through to 12mm.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/25042010273-1.jpg)
Marked up and drilled the big end journal and the radius of the cheeks as well.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/25042010275.jpg)
By now the new table is covered in crap... as it should be...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/25042010274-1.jpg)
Now the second story, the horizontal mill was put into storage about 15 years ago. The apprentice was using the pallet jack and ran it into the x axis feed handle completely smashing it off the machine. This was put aside for awhile until I got round to it. Eventually the broken parts were lost and then the machine was put into storage and pretty much considered to be scrap metal.
About a year ago I dragged an old box out from under a bench...bugger me the missing broken bits. Cept for the part which bolted to the table itself. I made a plate up, machined the gearbox to suit and had teh entire machine rewired... tonight was its first start up (the electrician finished as i was finishing drilling the holes)... away we went.... a momentus day for the old girl...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/25042010281.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/25042010276.jpg)
Slices into the steel like butter...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/25042010277.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/25042010278.jpg)
Rotate the shaft and cut the slight angles...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/25042010279.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/25042010280.jpg)
Cut across the shaft to free the slices and we have.....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/25042010282.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/25042010284-2.jpg)
Final sizing in the mill tomorrow and then slice the plates off in the power hacksaw...did I mention that I love this old machine?
This has saved an absolute heap of time and agro removing this metal with the mill. The mill is a big unit but still doesnt like cutting large chunks of steel.
More tomorrow..public holiday here...
Cheers
Rob
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Very nice Rob, a good demonstration of using the horizontal mill .... I'd love to have one of those :ddb:
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Hi Rob :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
I like the way you used the H/Z mill to cut the crank webs , thanks for showing :thumbup:
Cheers Rob .W
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You made nice work of that, Rob. You and your out of date machines.. : )
Nice show with the horizontal miller.
A power hack saw would be just lovely. I keep my eye out for one all the time. Someday, I'll hit the jackpot.
Until then, my right arm will keep getting bigger than the left.
That con rod looks great, too. Thanks for all the pics.
Dean
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Nice work looks cool.
Cheers
-
Tyanks guys, careful with the out of date stuff...im only a pup...still 20 years away from retiring (I hope)...thanks for the comments gusy I hope your enjoying watching as much as I am doing.....
Ive been blessed the last few days with fairly good time in the shop. As a result Ive actually got something done.... its nice to have something to show you guys. The crank cheeks are just about finished.... heres the rest of the journey...
Back into the mill after lunch and tidied up the horizontal mill cuts. Just blended them into the previously drilled holes really... then into the old power hacksaw and cut off the four segments....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/26042010285.jpg)
Made a mandrel with a spgot the internal size of the cheeks, tapped a retaining bolt and away we go,
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/26042010287.jpg)
firstly in to the mill to do the reliefs...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/26042010288.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/26042010289.jpg)
Then changed to the big end hole to do the round off...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/26042010301.jpg)
Its starting to look like its coming together....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/26042010303.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/26042010304.jpg)
Im in my regular work away from home period shortly so not much will happen for a couple of weeks.
Cheers Rob
-
A shot to help with scale. This is a little larger than you typically see around here.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/26042010300.jpg)
Cheers
Rob
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Very nice Rob. :thumbup:
That's going to be some machine judging from the size of that crank check in your hand.
Bernd
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Yes Bend, it certainly is. I am hoping its an impressive unit whn operating. thats why its being made to easily remove and bench run. I wanna see it! Sadly its buried in the superstructure of the boat with a fairly small viewing area.
Also would be hard to display the boat indoors as its a full 7' 6" long.
Cheers
Rob t
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Yes Bend, it certainly is. I am hoping its an impressive unit whn operating. thats why its being made to easily remove and bench run. I wanna see it! Sadly its buried in the superstructure of the boat with a fairly small viewing area.
Also would be hard to display the boat indoors as its a full 7' 6" long.
Cheers
Rob t
I should have gone back and looked at the size of the boat. That would have told me the story. :doh:
I'm just follwoing to many projects to remember if I follwed everyone as it progresses. :lol:
Bernd
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Hi Rob :wave:
7' 6" long :bugeye: thats some size craft :thumbup:
Cheers Rob
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Yeah Bernd, I do know what you are saying... som much to do ...so little time... :(
Rob W.. yeah...its a little like Aus...everything is bigger..... :lol:
Im at somewhat of a crossroads right now... I need the boiler to be in place to go on. While im doing this there area few other bits I can do but most is reliant upon this.
Decision decisions... I have materials for both a steel and a copper boiler... so far I have swayed back and forth about 2475 times... each has its advantages and disadvantages....
Right now Im thinking copper...
Mainly because I can silver solder it myself, whereas a steel unit requires a certified boiler maker to weld it. The drawn (seamless) steel tubing I have is a little too large for the engine aesthetically and the codes requirements for the construction of a copper boiler are a whole lot less onerous as this size tubing falls into the subminiature category where as the steel size is in the miniature category.
The drawbacks of the copper are that it is a fairly small capacity and will require topping up for any extended periods of running unless I build the pump Edgar W, lists in his plans. I am making provision for this by building the eccentic onto the crank. It wont be accessible afterwards and I dont really want to do a split eccentic.
The capacity of teh steel boiler is what is making me keep coming back to it (therefore the simplicity....ie no pump or water reservoir in the hull).
However..copper it is... I think.....
A couple of pics of the mock up I have been fiddling with to determine the 'looks' of the unit..... ignore the timber blocks...
Copper...(verdis and all!)... the copper boiler is a little small in looks and this will allow me to put a cover over it with teh scale details added and this will also act as an insulator retaining the heat to a degree and increasing it efficiency..
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/29042010327.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/29042010325.jpg)
Steel...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/27042010319.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/27042010317.jpg)
Copper copper copper...
Just FYI, subminiature regs require the boiler to be 75mm dia or less, 1000cc capacity or less and an operating pressure of up to 75psi. The premise is that these 'little' boilers wont have the capacity to be used in trains which can tow passengers or an engineer..therefore they wont be in extremely close proximity to persons when they explode... (thats my extrapolation.. :doh: ).
Therefore they are a lot simpler to build...
Cheers Rob
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HI Rob :headbang:
I like the arangment of the engine room , with the cylinders either side of the boiler :thumbup: , any chance of a shot of that part of the drawings ,,,,,,,,thats if it ok to do that .
Will you be doing a casting for the bed plate ,to mount the cylinders and cross head guides ? :poke: :D
Cheers Rob W
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Hi Rob, sorry for the tardy reply, been away again.
Bed plate, really hadnt thought about that component yet. Have now... I was going to use the sheet in the picture to mount it all up and do the cast plate IF that wasnt satisfactory..... but..... now am thinking that the sheet has NO place in the company of so many cast or scratch built components.... cast it is... and soon.......
Cheers
Rob T
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Hi Rob :headbang:
cast bed plate would be a very nice touch , like you say you already have alot of very nice cast parts ,IMO would be a shame to mount them on a plain plate :thumbup:
So whats it to be copper or steel ? :med:
Regards Rob W
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I like the arangment of the engine room , with the cylinders either side of the boiler :thumbup: , any chance of a shot of that part of the drawings ,,,,,,,,thats if it ok to do that .
Hi Rob, back home again, mate there really isnt a lot of corellation with regards to the 'plans' and the engine Im building. I started this thing with basic dimensions from Edgar Westburys engine, an example can be seen here:
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/Models008.jpg)
So you can see Ive deviated greatly from the engine. Actually Ive vaguely replicated what the boat has and found a plan set that will supply the technical data I needed...thank you Mr Westbury.
Ive turned the configuration around, my valve gear is 'outside' the conrod. I figured that this 'needed' to be seen, why hide it away?
As before, been away for work so not much progress..... lets see if I can get some shop time this week.
Cheers
Rob T
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And its copper.... :ddb:
-
Hi Rob :wave:
Good to see you back ,,,,,real pain in the butt when work gets in the way :lol: :lol: ,,,,,,,,, So the engine is of your design :med: :thumbup: ,,,,,,, Lookin Great :clap:
Regards Rob
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Hi Rob, its all good, I count my blessings when have 'too much' work, some of our mates on here dont have work.
A little update, not too much, decided to try out Bogs (thanks John) d bit reamer design. Its my first ever attempt at such a tool so it was a learning curve and fun. The fact that it was a success is also a bonus.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/23052010367.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/23052010365.jpg)
I took the shot with the refection on purpose... that was a test piece and the finish was extraordinary. Worked a charm. reamed the brass conrods out and then did the crank cheeks. I used a product over here called bright steel, simply a slightly better quality mild steel rod. Sized it up and used a hardening compound called Hardite. This is a tin we got from the fellow who owned the workshop before I and my partner bought it. It was ancient then and that was back in 1985.
Anyway, the resultant case hardening was ok for the brass but not quite good enough fopr the steel. It did the job but I had to resharpen the tool after each hole. I call this a success and the holes are damned accurate....
Also decided to add a little more detail to the conrods and milled the centres out by 2 mm leaving a centre thickness of 2mm (overall was 6mm)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/22052010362.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/22052010361.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/24052010369.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/24052010368.jpg)
Now just got to do a little sanding and filing to remove the tool marks. I used the ball nosed cutter for the entire process but I realy should have profiled the sides then changed to an end mill to remove the centre material. It left a lot of small marks which now need removing (see pics).
I like the 'real engine' effect and its certainly only bling detail... but i enjoyed myself.....
Until next installment...
Rob
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Hi Rob;
Things are getting along well for your build. Looks like the D bit did the trick. I like those things. They'll sure get you out of
a pinch for odd sized tooling.
That case hardening product you used must work pretty well if it let you cut steel with a mild steel cutter!
Thanks for he update. Glad you've got some work!
Dean
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Hi Dean, yes Im a fan of these, I have a set of adjustable reamers so this was an experiment in 'can I do this', happily I can and now have a whole new skill set.
The product is called Hardite as I said, its very old and requires the steel to be heated cherry red and dipped into the powder which melts and boils around the bar. According to the side of the can the hardness you require is in proportion to how often you repeat the above process. I assume this is within reason.... this bar can only get so hard I am assuming.
This is a description for this steel from a supplier here in Aus, Atlas Metals... its a lot better than your average mild cold rolled.
"Bright steel bars are carbon steel which has had the surface condition improved over the hot rolled finish supplied by the steel mill. Advantages achieved include improved machinability, enhancement of physical and mechanical properties and improved dimensional tolerances and straightness."
Im on the lookout for drill rod over here but none of the suppliers I contacted knew of it. We have a Carbon steel, Silver steel and an Alloy steel available, I wonder if its any of these... anyone know?
Rob
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Rob
Drill rod as called in the US is the same stuff we call silver steel in the UK so I would imagine the silver steel you've located is drill rod this can be hardened.
Stew
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Hey all, Im alive, no..... I know..... you didnt miss me....story of my life :(
Havent had a lot of engine time for a variety of reasons. What time I have had has been making tooling and learning to operate the shaper, (love the shaper... :D).
Today I waved goodbye to lawns, painting, fence repair, car washing, travel and headed down to the shed...... its MY time......
What I have had is time to think about the parts which are next on the list.... eccentric sheaves and rods for the valve gear.
Ive decided not to use Edgar T Westburys design on this one for a couple of reasons, the main issue was the complexity. I think this thing could be made better, simpler.... remember im using the design as inspiration for my own engine.... Im not producing the engine verbatim....
Ive decided to make the valve gear rods in one piece instead of three piece as per the plans. Im splitting the eccentric sheave to allow this, as per the pics that follow.... the eccentics.... (4 of)...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21082010647.jpg)
These are one piece by the plans so Ive used a removeable side plate held in place by three screws. This allows the rod to be a one piece unit with no removeable big end cap and as this is only 4mm wide... that would make it unecessarily fiddly...(IMO)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21082010650.jpg)
Im a great believer in simplicity and I dont like complex items for complexity's sake.... not saying thats Edgar's reasoning... I just think I have found another way that suits me.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21082010649.jpg)
So, by making this item with a removeable side plate...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21082010654.jpg)
I can make this item in one piece and less complex....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21082010651.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21082010652.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21082010653.jpg)
Hopefully tomorrow is the one piece valve rods (4 of), if I can get those done Ill be more than happy....
Its nice to be back... had a ball in the shop today... By the way...its amazing how much time lil parts can take to make....... :ddb:
-
I should mention that I can do this because Ive turned the engine inside out... that is, the eccentric sheaves and valve rods are are outside the con rods, unlike the original design which has these hidden away in the centre of the engine.
In this way the one piece valve rods can be threaded onto the crankshaft and then onto the sheaves where as in the plans they MUST be the 3 piece design to allow assemby.
In my opinion, these reciprocating moving items are part of the mystique which makes these engines almost hypnotic.... why hide this detail away inside the frames?
Cheers again
Rob T :wave:
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I like the idea for the eccentrics. Its some thing that i could work in to the engine that i am building.
William
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Lookin good Rob :thumbup:
Wondered what you had been up to :)
Rob.W
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Hi all, the eccentrics are finished and pictured here mounted on a piece of the rod to be used for the crank. Some finishing required to remove fine burs and smooth/polish it all out. A 4mm grub screw locks them to the shaft. I had to make a new tap holder for the tapping tool as this size tap had a larger shaft than the first 4BA tap (see here http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=2929.0).
I didnt take pics but the first eccentric took 45 mins (make tool etc) and the rest took only 10 mins each to finish. This entailed, mill flat, change tool for drill, then change again for tap pilot. This ensured that the alignment didnt alter. So I had to do this whole process 4 times.
This required setting the eccentric to its required orientation, mill a small flat at 4mm, then drill to 3.2mm and the tap in the holder to 4mm by 0.75mm pitch.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/29082010008.jpg)
I am making the crank in two parts with a joiner in the centre. This was decided when I wasnt sure whether to use the water pump which Edgar T describes as possibly necessary for his design. This requires an eccentric sheave much the same as those for the valve gear mounted at the centre of the crank. If my crank is one piece it must be added now. If two piece I can add it later if necessary.
Therefore I need a joiner. I am also making the shaft that mounts the paddle wheels as as seperate units and these will run on bearing blocks mounted in the hull. These joiners will allow shock reduction (not necessary) but more importantly are flexible and will allow misalignment if I happen to build some in unwittingly.
You can see how these will look once done. These will be mounted to a one piece shaft as seen here, some release agent will be used to coat the shaft and then RTV silicone injected into the gaps and smoothed out. Once set this will supply a flexible one piece joiner.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/29082010006.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/29082010003.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/29082010004.jpg)
I had the RT mounted on the mill and the 4 jaw on it. A shaft is centred in this and the aluminium blanks are tapped with grub screws and mounted on this shaft. A 3mm end mill used to machine most of the material away to leave 4 'blades' which fit into corresponding blades on the mating piece.
I was going to be moving onto the rods which mount on the sheaves (eccentrics) but decided to stray... hence the joiners today.
Until next time... cheers all....
Robt T
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I finished the flexible couplings last night and a couple of pics to show how they turned out....
I used wax as a release agent and alos cleaned everything with brake cleaning chemicals. Stuff is aggressive as hell but removes all oils and greases. Then positioned everything ont he shafts and lightly nipped up the retaining screws, injected the rtv silicon and smothed over with a wet finger.. the crank webs make great holding jigs...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/31082010017.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/31082010018.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/31082010020.jpg)
And now set.. will leave in shaft for a few days to ensure its as strong as possible.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/01092010032.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/01092010034.jpg)
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Really enjoying this build Rob. :thumbup:
Love your flexi couplings. Well done! :clap:
David D
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Thanks Dave, Im really happy with the result.... and I should mention that I machined the aluminium rod up from a piece I had cast up some tiem ago. No pin holes nice and smooth to machine... this is that 6061 that I got as scrap fire extinguishers..... truly rolling my own..... :) I got the idea from the rear wheel of my Ducati when taking it off to change a tyre... cush drive? ..... mmmm.......
Tonight I had a play with the crankshaft... remember this will have one of these couplings in the centre as well so this is assembled way too wide and Ill cut it down to suit when Im ready to do so....
Progress.....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/01092010038.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/01092010039.jpg)
This is lightly pressed together, not enough to ensure it wont move though, so ...... do I drill tap and fit grub screws (leaning that way, makes it dismantleable for whatever reason)? Or do I silver solder? If I solder Im going to have to relieve the fit so the solder can penetrate....
I am after advice here folks.... thanks in advance.....
Cheers Rob T
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A brief pic...just to prove that the wax worked as a release agent.... as I had hoped.... relieved..... these seem strong and quite flexible.. Ive pulled bent twisted them.... Ive have started to think that they may well work... never in doubt.....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/02092010041.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/02092010042.jpg)
Next couple of weeks are they travel/work cycle... Ill be quiet for a while..... until I get back...
Cheers Rt
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Hey all, got some shop time today and made a start on the eccentric straps. As already detailed Ive made the sheaves so they can be dismantled and this will allow me to use one piece straps and this is todays efforts....
I bolted the four pieces togather and driledl the pilot holes in one go and then seperated them and bored the eccentric sheave holes using the boring head.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/08092010049.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/08092010050.jpg)
These have 0.1mm (4 thou) clearance and 0.2mm side play (8 thou).
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/08092010051.jpg)
These are what they look like in Edgar T Westburys plans.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21082010653.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21082010652.jpg)
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and these are what thye look like in my build....
bolted the drilled flat plate to the table and faced it off til it was 10.5mm.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/11092010060.jpg)
Then marked out the raised boss area and trimmed around it...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/11092010053.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/11092010061.jpg)
Then proceeded to reduce the body of the plate down to 4mm..
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/11092010052.jpg)
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Fitted the bull nose cutter and radiused the edge of the boss.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/11092010055.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/11092010054.jpg)
And then finished facing the plate at exactly 4mm. The bearing surface of the sheave is 4.2mm.
-
Theres one done, this will be fitted to a mandrel in the 4 jaw on the RT to radius the big end and also to trimk the unwanted material to shape the strap.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/11092010058.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/11092010059.jpg)
Lot of trimming to be done yet....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/11092010057.jpg)
And three more to do... and by the magic of photography......
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/11092010064.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/11092010063.jpg)
And thats it, these are a nice sliding fit with not discernable slop. Pretty happy with them so far...
Im back on the road tomorrow for a week, see what I can get done after I get back...
Cheers all..
-
and an idea of what the profile should look like when finished...
No oil reservoir like in Edgars, just a drilling to the journal with a countersunk opening I can jam the oil can into and pump oil through it every so often.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/12092010068.jpg)
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Howdy folks, this has been a pretty slow time. Had much happening and as a result not much time in the shop....but.... a bit for tonight....
This is what Ive got... as you can see from the above C o C I came close to the concept......
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/02102010170.jpg)
And this is how it came about......
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/02102010169.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/30092010161.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/30092010160.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/30092010159.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/30092010162.jpg)
Am I ever gonna find a jig I can use more than once??? Made a mandrel (another one!!!) to support the big end and rounded off, trimmed the sides and well, its pretty much self explanatory... no rocket science, just tedious repetitious work... fun at the same time.... hand finished with the files and emery paper..... dont forget your files! The are your friends..... :med:
I had a cock up in the machining sequence and ended up NOT drilling the end holes nearest the big ends on three of the links.... dont ask... brain fade or just tired.. I tried to do some work the other night and felt fine... but after 10 mins of serious concentration I gave up... just weary.... damn close to 50 these days.... :coffee:
And a thought on the DRO's next.....
-
DRO's......
Ive only recently installed them on my mill.......
Wow..... how the hell did I ever survive without them?
Firstly, I thought long and hard about the units available, my personal thanks to Rick (Balck85vette from HMEM) for his insight and the links he supplied.
I concluded 2 things.....
Firstly I did not want a single unit for this purpose, Im no electronic whizzz (or any whizz for that matter) and if one part of the unit failed, then all were junk....
Secondly individual units were approx half the price of a 3 axis DRO, so I wasnt about to pay that money and (see point above).
So I have them installed and I absolutely love the precision they allow (with such little effort!).
I installed the quill DRO first and imediatley fell in love with it (seriously!), I had the x and y ordered from Hafco and they took absolutely ages to arrive, but when they did, they almost bolted straight up, very little manufacturing required.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/31082010028.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/30092010158.jpg)
The down side is that the readouts are no where as large as the unitised DRO's, ok, I can live with that....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/30092010157.jpg)
But Im in no way displeased with them.... obsolute rippers!
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Artie:
Really interesting series of posts. Having got to the point of making a few ugly aluminum ingots and making a lot of scrap metal on my lathe and mill I really appreciate your work. Also very much appreciate the amount of documentation you have done - thanks.
John.
-
Looking good so far. I really like the "action" shots of machining.
Tell me a little more about the DRO.
Eric
-
A little more... its been sooo long since Ive had shop time.... and today was all hand fitting.... files and sandpaper.... last week I managed to machine the clevis grooves.... that was nice and easy with the DRO's
G'day John, mate, no ingot is ugly... its now potential BILLET STOCK...... and you have the ability to have almost ANY size billet stock you wish... MAJOR advantage.... you are now one of the chosen ones..... oh the arrogance of a caster..... :D :). Mate its my pleasure to 'show off' my stuff if you and others enjoy it....
Hi Eric, I dont know what to tell you about the items, they are sourced from an Aussie supply company and are branded with their name, however, Im pretty certain the are chinese manufacture.
What do you want to know and Ill do my best to help. These are NOT the ideal set up. They are however cost effective..... and I bloody LOVE them.... life is so much easier/precise/relaxed/ etc etc etc.
Mounting was easier than expected and it works a treat.. so much so that Ive bought another set for the lathe... seperate thread coming up...
Anyway a couple of pics for tonight....
Having cut the clevis grooves I went about hand finishing the parts, not finished as the clevis end hasnt been radiused to size or length yet, just roughly ground on the belt linisher...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/17102010203.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/17102010199.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/17102010201.jpg)
I get a real buzz from hand cranking the mill and lathe and then using files and sandpaper to finish the item.... a little old school I guess.... no apologys offered for that though :beer:
Having said that.... I would LOVE to play with a CNC as well... Ideal world? BOTH hand and CNC.....
I Look like having a couple of weeks where I can get into this a bit so, hopefully, some action on this front....
Cheers
Rob
-
Rob.
Those two little assemblies look great! :clap:
Eagerly looking forward to further action...... :thumbup:
David D
-
Hi Rob
Lookin GREAT :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: you sure have been busy :thumbup:
Rob W :D
-
Hey Roberto.... Busy? nah not really mate Ive had very little shop time of late work has kept me very busy..... :(
Thanks Dave... its really starting to become fun now..... Im achieving something!
What I do have tonight is a video of the linkages in motion... please be kind, this is my very first engine build and therefore these are my first moving parts.... Im enjoying myself....
Firstly the finished items. I machined the ends of the clevises to length and radius. Used a pin held in the Rotary table with the 4 jaw chuck attached, held the pin in place and moved the arms by hand against the cutter, no pics sorry, it took both hands to make it a safe operation....
However, the result....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/20102010206.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/20102010207.jpg)
Yes they are all polished, not so much for Bling's sake but to remove all sanding marks.... Ill let them tarnish now and stay that way....
Some movement! (sorry about the out of focus pics...used my phone cam....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/th_20102010005.jpg) (http://s293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/?action=view¤t=20102010005.mp4)
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"Bigger than War and Peace".. Maybe so, ArtieRob, but really worth the effort. They look fab, mate!
Nice to hear your voice in the video, too.
-
Rob0 :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:
crackin job ,,,,,,,,, :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: i could play with them all night :med:
Rob W :)
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Hello to the 'pair of W's' Rob and Dean.... thanks mates, loads of fun,.... Rob, updates on your casting of the RSW engine?
-
Rob,
I haven't been following this post, purely because of the heading. I drool over being able to cast things myself, but not having the room or bodily temperament, I just can't. I do cast up the odd lead hammer now and again.
So I thought I had better have a look see, because casting posts don't usually go on for this long, and what do I find, most of it isn't about casting at all, but building an engine. Now that is something I can follow.
Great post, keep it coming.
Bogs
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Hi John, thanks for your kind words, the thread simply evolved from the casting stuff. I had thought about making a dedicated engine build thread but just didnt. If anyone wants it moved, or the moderators think it should, no problem, just let me know... only too happy....
Tonight! I have one half of a crankshaft...... but first some sunny bling.... for no other reason than it looks pretty in the sunshine.....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21102010208.jpg)
Now for more serious stuff... the crank. It has been machined up for some time, just now the linkages are finished the time seemed right.... it was an exercise in jigging or more accurately just clamping, and silver soldering.....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21102010216.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21102010211.jpg)
Looking rather 'busy' now.. FINALLY!
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21102010215.jpg)
The shafts were left very long to allow easy alignment and then cut and filed afterwards. Originally I was going to press fit the thing together, after I changed my mind and decided to braise it I had to relieve the clearances a little to allow solder penetration.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21102010210.jpg)
Thats it for now, I have more shop time this weekend and hope to produce the plug for casting the entire engine room floor.. this will have raised bosses to mount everything to... its a simple thing so I might even get it cast up... we will see....
Cheers all..
Rob
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Now, with it all together, it looks like it really means business, Rob! Doing great!
-
Yes Dean, Im highly motivated... damn the lawns.....
I also have a site manager who is on my case quite regularly... Gentlemen...
Meet Vespa....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/22102010220.jpg)
Im surface grinding plate right now... she doesnt like the noise......
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/22102010221.jpg)
So I had to stop..she told me so......
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/22102010222.jpg)
I was doing this...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/22102010219.jpg)
And seriously... I think the pitch wasnt comfortbale cause she was really quite pissed off... until I turned it off...
It a flywheel grinder which I use to surface steel and cast iron...
Tonight was supposed to be finish the second crank half....but I left the crank cheeks at home.....
So I started making the reversing links... but I needed 5mm plate and only had 6mm in stock...soooo out came the grinder and the magnetic chuck....... damn useful thing...
Cheap too... she only cost just under $10,000 au, of course during the week she actually DOES grind flywheels for a living.... under sufferance of course, til the weekend arrives and I use her for useful stuff.....
So Im making the plates which the Stevenson linkage rods attach. More pics of the design later it all fits here...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/22102010225.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/22102010224.jpg)
And thats it... the shop is about 3kms from home so I cant just drop out and do stuff... it has to be planned to some degree.... it also ajoins to a mates business workshop, we have an arrangement... tonight his wife grabbed me and told me I was joining them for dinner... so not much actually happened as a result...
Vespa enjoyed the pork chop bones though..... anyway, shes tired and has clocked off, so I have to go......
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/22102010226.jpg)
Much more to come over the next few days....
Cheers all
Rob
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Ive been asked about Vespa... She is an Aussie Terrier/Silky Terrier cross..... and is a BITCH... my daughters tell me this is an acronym for a Babe In Total Control Of Herself.
As Vespa rules this barnyard, who am I to argue?
-
A little pooch makes a good shop mate, Rob. I have one too. She lays in the doorway of the shop room, (which is inside my house). At times she'll just sit up straight and watch my every move for an hour or two. She's the reason I vacuum the shop floor everyday, as sometimes when I'm in another room, she will lay under the bench. Don't want her tracking chips into my bedroom!
-
Hi Rob
:bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: dose look stunning :bugeye: great to see it start to come together :clap: :clap:
Looking forward to seeing the base casting :thumbup: looks like it will be a good size casting :ddb:
R&B engine ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, mmmmmmmmmmmmm dead stop at the moment ,,,,,,,,,, been a tad crook the past month or so :bang: :bang: :bang:
Rob
mumble mumble mumble ,,,, got shop dog envy ,, everyone's got a dog :( ,, i just got wor lass :doh:
-
,, i just got wor lass
WTF is that?
-
,, i just got wor lass
WTF is that?
Rob.
A little further south from t'other Rob, it's "ar lass". :thumbup:
Dooant yer understand plain english rahnd yower side? :scratch:
David D
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I knew it was some sort of British code stuff.... you lot are amazing... and you call this English?? :) :D :lol:
wor lass ar lass.... might as well speak aramiac.... or whatever.....
Boys, I need the Queens English.... and I need it SLOOOOWWWW..... we done here arent real bright....... remember..we are descendants of convicts.... etc....
-
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: sorry Rob ,, THE WIFE :lol: :lol: :lol:
http://www.englandsnortheast.co.uk/GeordieDictionary.html
Rob W (a Geordie ) , some one who comes from the Toon ,,, Newcastle upon Tyne ,, :D
-
Crazy lot you Poms.... :scratch:
glad you transported us now..... :beer:
The English language indeed...... :doh:
Hope you are well now mate....and not too seriously crook...
-
Uhhh... I ran the last few posts through google translator, and I still don't know what it means!
Reckon we're all brothers separated by a common language.. ; )
-
I hear ya Dean.... shear lunacy.... friendly lunacy though.... generally a nice lot.... but the things we have to put up with.
Ok tonight. The weekend was a waste of time and nights have been filled so tonight (thursday night) was it....
Sooooo, what happened to the 'roll' I was on....??
I was going to achieve BIG things last weekend....
Well, reality happened actually....
I was all set up to knock out a couple of these...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/28102010247-1.jpg)
Simple enough huh? Looked like it to me ... had the plate all sized up re: thickness.....
If you take the time to think about it, this ISNT a simple part, radiuses/pivots etc... I followed Mr Westbury's example (to a degree) and found that rigidity wouldnt allow a smooth cut...
A Jig was needed! (as bloody always....) making the jig took 2 hours, making the first part took 15 mins.... damn this hobby IS an exercise in patience....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/28102010236.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/28102010235.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/28102010237.jpg)
In this pic you can see the original 'aborted' attempt....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/28102010239.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/28102010240.jpg)
And then using the rotary table to make the raduius... worked a treat....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/28102010241.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/28102010242.jpg)
Machines turned off... time for a beer.....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/28102010244.jpg)
BUT.... even with the DRO's, I made a miscalculation and ended up with the curved 'face' only 1.5mm thick when the plans call for 3mm. Will it carry the load? Well, I think it will with the plate being 5mm wide...
So do I remake the part? Or do I make another one the same for the pair that are needed?
Im thinking that it IS strong enough and intend to make another the same... thoughts are welcome at this point... (any point for that matter...).
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/28102010249.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/28102010251.jpg)
And finally, I dont see why this needs the ends of the slot to be squared off, Ill make the slider with radiused ends to suit and it will do the same job...
Anyway, time to call it a night...
Cheers all.
Rob
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I have all good intentions and yet it seems like a long time since the last post. Anyway Have finished the slot on the second reversing plate and am now in the process of mounting holes and profiling... the pics will tell the story....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/04112010254.jpg)
Slot done and reversed in fixture for access with the file and then sandpaper..
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/04112010253.jpg)
Then flip and do the other side...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/04112010256.jpg)
Back into the jig to crop it to size. (those are office worker hands by the way... looks good!)
To ensure that all holes are located the same from plate to plate...simply spot weld them together..this area will be removed later so it was the simplest way....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/04112010257.jpg)
Drill, more filing.. and some judicial grinding...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/04112010260.jpg)
And we are ready for the filing buttons to complete the small radiuses (3 on each plate)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/04112010264.jpg)
Is this a 'lucky' fastener... or just a cock up?
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/04112010265.jpg)
Ill call it a cock up.. anyway I hope to start on casting the base plate this weekend, more later..
rob T
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Well, today I have the second part of the crank done.....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/06112010277.jpg)
However... I wasnt really happy with the construction of the first crank section..... The alignment wasnt exactly right and Im going to un braze the solder and do it again... Ive been thinking about this alignment issue all week and how I could overcome it.... today I did something about it.... Like always, the jigs and fixtures take the majority of the time...
In actual crank work, I reamed the holes a tad looser... and silver brazed them together.... this took about 5 minutes..... the fixtures took about 3 hours....... a couple of pics....
Firstly measured the width of the main and big end journals... and drilled some plate appropriatley.....
Then I parted this off so I had two plates with identical hole spacing.....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/06112010275.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/06112010274.jpg)
I had also drilled fixing holes and then tapped these and added a retaining plate... then clamped it all up....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/06112010276.jpg)
This is a self aligning jig and this turned out extremely accurately, Ill definately do the first crank again using this method, just so easy although but very time consuming to initially construct.
I also made a couple of sets/pairs of parrallels using the shaper and the surface grinder....limited pics sadly, just too busy while it was all happening. These are made of mild steel but are BLOODY accurate... not a bad alternative...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/06112010272.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/06112010273.jpg)
Again sorry about the nil pics of the missing steps but I was really hurrying today... I had stuff which I wanted to get done.... time was short....
Might have more tomorrow... sadly no casting of the base plate.....
Cheers
Rob T
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Hi Rob :clap: :clap: :clap:
That's a great idea for lining up and holding the crank for brazing ,, reaming on the loose side will give room for the silver solder to penetrate the joint ,,, I will be using your idea on my next built up crank :thumbup:
Nothing wrong with mild steel parallels ,,,, i make them up as and when i need them ,,, dose not matter if you drill or mill into them ,,, dose not break the tooling like the hardened ones do :doh:
Rob
-
Hey Rob, good to see you are still with us mate... thanks for the kind words... a little more...I did sweat the original crank apart and treated it the same as crank no.2, no pics cause it wasnt anything different from those that I have previosuly posted... I DO like the little crank jig, can recommend that one...
I also got the base plate plug made and as seen here its got one coat of paint.... I did have high hopes of casting but ran out of time (again).
Really nothing to report on it, as you can see by the following pics, its just a flat piece of board with the various features added to it. I started with 9mm flat plate and then used 3mm for the features with the rails/edges being balsa, the filler was plaster of paris, mainly because its quickly sandable and very EASILY sandable... in fact most of the dry shaping was done with my finger.....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/07112010283.jpg)
This will have the entire engine assembally mounted on it and the 6 lugs will be the points that it bolts to the hull of the steamer.....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/07112010284.jpg)
This is the seal coat and after its dry it will get a quick sand and then another coat... then we cast...... definately one night this week...
Cheers
Rob
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Hi Rob
I am still kicking :ddb: :ddb: :ddb: .
That looks a good size pattern :bugeye: ,,,,,,,,,, looking forward to seeing it cast ,,,,,,,, :ddb: :ddb: :ddb: :ddb:
Rob W
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Looking great!!! Thanks for the shaper Action Pictures!!! Pretty neat stuff there!!!
-
Yeah Rob, shes a big boat! It will take a reasonable amount of metal and Im going to add multiple rises to feed the shrinkage..
Hi PK, ahhh, the shaper..... it was doing its thing..... and a mate walked past and asked me if I was asleep.... I said "no, just mesmerised......" It can do that to you.
Im using off cuts for the steel bits n bobs and therefore have to 'size' it... lots of good times on the shaper doing this.......it is just soooo easy.... :nrocks: :)
-
A shaper in action.... :headbang:
That is a big base plate! Did you mention or show the size of the boat yet? I will have to go back and look through the thread.
Eric
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Hi Brass, yup, right at the beginning......the hull is 7.5 feet long... its a big boat.... :thumbup:
-
The basic layout.... and scissors for scale.....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/08112010287.jpg)
:wave:
-
Hi Rob
Well if your going to build one ,,, you may as well build a BIG UN :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:
Rob
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Rob (artie), a guy really gets a sense of the size of things now! Quite a bruiser.
Thanks for showing the crankshaft jig. That looks like it worked out very well. I've done quite a few
silver brazed crankshafts, and always seem to be fighting for position. No more of that for me! Thanks.
-
Thanks for the scissors Rob.
I knew it was above average.... It's gonna be a big 'un! :thumbup:
David D
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Rob,
Your clamping jig has just sparked my brain cell.
I will be remaking some tiny stirling engine cranks in the near future (2mm diameter rods) and I really struggled making the originals. Your method (modified with slightly smaller parts) will really do it for me when I silver solder them up.
(http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa102/bogstandard_photos/eggbits3.jpg)
(http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa102/bogstandard_photos/eggbits8.jpg)
(http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa102/bogstandard_photos/eggbits6.jpg)
Thanks
Bogs
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Hi Rob, Dean, David and Bogs, fellas let me say it really IS my privilege to give something back to you lot, you've unselfishly supplied so much to us...
The arrogance of Aussies makes us say that everything is bigger down here.. but conversly Bogs...that is bloody tiny.... I use glasses for all my machining work..Id need magnifying glasses for that.... but for all that it looks to be a very attractive little engine...
Im forging ahead and am taking tomorrow morning off work... I hope to trade this for a casting session... sounds like a good deal to me... Ill report back on the progress....
Incidentally, I ingotted this lot middle of last year.... Ive got enough left for this job... best get back onto that one.... time to melt some more fire extinguishers.....
Cheers
Rob T
-
(http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa102/bogstandard_photos/eggbits8.jpg)
I see a resemblance.......
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/06112010276.jpg)
NOT! :)
-
That is why I picked up on it Rob.
Normal flat sided crank plates are no problem, it is when they are shaped like these that problems occur.
If it will work on a bigg'un, a littl'un should be easy.
Bogs
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A couple of posts back I said I had "ingotted up this lot"... and then promptly forgot to put in the relevant pic... ere we go...... :worthless:
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/Ingots.jpg)
Im down to 4 sticks left.... must do another run...its all 6061 and I ahve about 150 kg in its natural state.....
Base plate tomorrow morning... I promise.... (yeah right).....
-
Got the casting done today..... turned out to be much more difficult than I imagined... due to its large surface area, In fact this is the biggest casting I have ever done in a closed mold.
The flask was my big one and relatively thin and the plate took up almost the entire surface area.
The thing had to be rammed on a base plate and this used to turn the cope over added the drag and then rammed it all up. Again using the base plate (flat board under the flask) to put the flask on its side and seperated the cope and drag and did all prep work with them on their sides.... damned awkward...
As a result I got a fair few inclusions (or bulging aluminium where cavities formed... given the difficulty and the fact that this part will be painted... Ive decided to accept what I have...
Its no Rob Wilson job.... but then neither am I.. :) :D :) :D if you havent alrady, have a look at his thread A Bit of Casting, hes doing amazing things! http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=3841.0
Anyway here it is.....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/07112010284.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21112010304.jpg)
Cheers all Rob :beer:
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Looks good to go to me. :thumbup:
Well Done
Stew
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Can't see anything wrong with that Rob...... :scratch:
Blummin well done! :clap: :clap: :thumbup:
David D
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Looks pretty good from Here. If you are like me you are your own worst critic! Take it easy on yourself!!!
On large thin sections like that a friend of mine would use "caplets" (Spelin) They are thin aluminum spacers that are placed inside the mold cavity when you reassemble the cope and drag before you pore. They help hold the cavity apart and they partially melt because they are so thin. Just an idea:o)
Thanks for sharing, Wes
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Hi Stew Davo and Wes, I guess Ive been on this project for a long time and I have remade several bits due to being my own worste critic...
This thing is due ot be painted so I can live with it.... but thanks for the encouragement... :beer:
Wes, Im certain there are ways... and even though Ive been doing this a long time I am inexperienced (in commercial terms) so Im going to research caplets..... maybe I can get a better result... ow shut up Artie and get on with it.... :doh: :bang: :zap:
More soon..
Cheers
Rob
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Nice one Rob :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: turned out great :thumbup:
looking forward to seeing all the engine parts fitted :ddb: :ddb: :ddb: :ddb:
You had a much better out come than i had today :doh: .
Rob :D
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That looks pretty darn good to me Artie/Rob. Nearly big enough to be a griddle.
You know, between you two Robs, a guy can learn a lot just from visiting this one forum.
A question from a fellow who doesn't know casting; When you pour something long and flat
like this base piece, is it more likely to cool too fast on one end before the molten metal
gets a chance to flow into the whole cavity of the mold?
Thanks again for your pics and efforts here!
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Rob, its good to see you are human as well! :) :)
Dean, that IS the main issue and to cater for that I get the pour pretty hot, almost to the point where you can see the zinc start to burn off, (white-ish smoke and residue coming off the melt...), then you get it into the flask fast and have lots of risers cause at that temp you are likley to get sink back, which I did... a pic attached...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21112010306.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/21112010308.jpg)
I was watching the big riser sink thinking "dont go all the way to the floor....dont..." ..( it didnt..)...
Rob
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Today I used the flycutter to flatten and pretty the working surfaces... firstly the back of the plate....Johns boot and all...
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/24112010312.jpg)
And the mounting surface....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/24112010313.jpg)
I added a little putty to a couple of spots.. those areas Ive already discussed as not pleasing me greatly....
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/24112010311.jpg)
and roughly how it will sit... boiler will be up so its top is just under the crank centre line.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm54/artieonedge/24112010315.jpg)
No real inclusions to speak of, a good solid cast... machining them up is always the test.. they all look good until you cut open the voids etc..
Cheers all...
Rob T
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Can it really have been so long since I posted on this project???
Just a small update, the engine is still happening, Im just taking a break for a while, its been fairly intense for a long time and I needed to concentrate on other 'stuff' for a bit and also christmas got in the way.. :beer:
Work has been hectic and the office on the coast now requires me for 2 weeks out of every month, so I only have a small window of opportunity from now on. Other projects have gotten in the way as well such as I needed to frshen up the Duke, it was last restored over 10 years ago and the paint was getting a bit tired and I came across a TT style tank for her... a coupel of pics if you are interested....no.. hell this is Madmodder... lets start a thread....
Here... http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=4318.msg45589;boardseen#new
CHeers all
Rob T
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Good god...... life seems to have taken me in many directions since I last worked on this machine. I still pick it up and fiddle with it now and then..... and suddenly its 14 months later.....wow.
Ive done a heap of things but am out of the habit of posting..... Ill get my arse into gear and get back into it....
Hello everyone... nivce to be back.... Ive had a great read tonight, good to see so many of the old names still active.... :wave:
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Hi Rob :wave: :wave: ( just noticed this post :palm:)
Good to see you back mate ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, its been a wile :) ,,,,,,,,,,,, will you be restarting work on the engine build :poke: :poke: :poke: :poke: :poke: :poke: :poke: :poke: :poke: :poke: :) ?
Rob W