Brit Progress: Grate & Ashpan

[Deleted]

Ashpan

More tinbashing: the ashpan is specified as 16g MS, but I just happened to have a nice bit of 19g 316 stainless handy.....

AUTOCAD template, sheet centre popped at key points and scored on the appropriate side to be bent. As the material was slightly thinner than specified the distances were increased to compensate.


Hacking out to shape using a DRY 24tpi flexible blade: I had to give back the bench shear! Clamp it tightly, as vibration and chatter must be supressed or you will be there all day!


The Axminster bending gadget does a fine job here: first time around I forgot to do the OUTER bends first so I had to make another one!



A snug fit in the frame. I'm slightly concerned that the ashpan doesn't drop or tilt, the ash is just poked out of the front all over the pony truck!


All the brake gear is completed, but I managed to crack the brake shoe sticks whilst clamping them, so I'll leave posting that until I find a proper cast ring, or make them myself out of alloy!
BTW that acrylic paint has not worn well, I'll have to investigate the Hardnutt epoxy!
Getting there......
JB

[spamcanman]

on my 5" Brit neither the grates or the ash pan drop so I use a rake type tool for raking out the cinders after steaming and your right ash dust goes everywhere underneath

[Deleted]

This afternoon was spent clearing the cobwebs from the workshop after an absence of some five months. Curiously enough, I had to clear a few personal ones as well 'cos I'd forgotten where everything was!

I'm putting the paint job to one side and finishing the rolling chassis. I started the grate and ashpan yonks ago, so this job was chosen as a nice easy return to the Brit.

I bought a stainless grate which is in three parts but it needed a bit of fettling. It has to fit snugly in the bottom of the firebox.



Here fettled, squared up on the linisher and rubbed with a bit of emery:



The pivot holes at one end drilled using the Proxxon. The grate bars are tapered so a deep countersink was required to start the drill. The drill ran off a little but the error was acceptable when spread over three grates. Tough material, requiring a slowish speed, plenty of pressure to prevent surface hardening, and lots of coolant. You can also see that a little tidying up is needed in my workshop.....



Finished grate with bars, pivot bar and spacing washers all in stainless steel. I will make the Z brackets tomorrow which raise the grate into the correct position.

Question: LBSC didn't come up with a drop mechanism until the end of the series: does that mean there is a better way......?

[Deleted]

Great to see you progressing with the brit again JB, great stuff.
Regarding the drop mech, your grate looks very, very close to LBSC's grate on the Heilan Lassie. For Lassie Curly drills a hole through the backhead part of the foundation ring that has a push/pull pin to hold the centre section of the grate in place. Personally I don't like the idea of doing this so plan something a little different, first of I planned to fix a suitable pivotted bar that's mounted on the cab floor. The bar holding the grate up until turned 90 degrees which would drop it. However I have now decided on another method, I plan to have the centre section of the floor removable. This removable section will have a fixed tongue that protrudes forwards holding the grate up. The tongue will need to be a chunky piece of steel to put up with the heat but shouldn't get cooked to much being at the open end of the ashtray. My thinking is that not only will this allow the fire to be dropped quickly but also in having a part of the floor removed will make getting the the dropped grate easier.
Well at least that's how I see it..

Pete

[Shawki Shlemon]

It is good to see JB back . I don't know about others , I always ignore the plans for the ash pan and grate and make my own , I overcome any restrictions by modifications that are not visible , I like a simple ash pan and grate that drops by pulling one pin , safe for emergency , easy operation and maintenance , I have built a few engines and used this strategy from day one in the hobby over 30 years and it works for me , I have sold a few engines over time and buyers have been happy with my way of doing this . I believe , in models there should be some compromise to make the model work , after all the designs that we get are not exactly replica of the original full size , the designer has already made changes that he/she see fit so what we get is not a bible . I have seen people criticizing a free lance engine . for minor changes to the plans . I just told you a lie , 30 years ago I did built one engine Jersey Lily and it had the grate in three pieces and they were removed through the fire door , what a hassle , that was the reason to adopt the easy drop design .
May be I am a lazy person ! ;D

[Deleted]

Thanks for the inputs (and the welcome, it's nice to be back)

Finished Grate on its nice little feet!
The very slight drill deflection caused by drilling tapered faces has caused the corner of one of the castings to drop by a mm or so, but the error's inside the firebox below the fire hole and I can't see it there!



Those 'Z' shaped brackets were not difficult on this occasion because I was able to use a toolmakers clamp to obtain the right height. I just bashed both sides and out they came! I can't position the grate until I'm certain where the boiler base will sit.
JB



The grate dumping arrangement is shown thus and in my ignorance I might just go along with it ! I can't see how the catch is retained in the shut position: perhaps a slot in the shaft at the 'Knob End' into a keyhole?
JB

[Smifffy]

This afternoon was spent clearing the cobwebs from the workshop after an absence of some five months. Curiously enough, I had to clear a few personal ones as well 'cos I'd forgotten where everything was!

This happens to me every time I enter the workshop - I don't need to wait 5 months :-)

Welcome back JB.

[stubee]

Ah marvelous!, one of my inspirations returns ;D

Welcome back ...

Stu