Disney American

[jbodenmann]

The tender half round beading was made and fitted up. Here it is being clamped in place with vise grip pliers. The teeth have been ground off the jaws so as not to scar the half round. Then the half round was held in place with #00-90 screws.

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[jbodenmann]

Here the beading is being drilled with a cordless dremel fitted with a small three jaw chuck.

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After drilling, the beading is removed and clear drilled and the tender body is tapped as shown here. Then it is re assembled and the fitting up process proceeds.

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[jbodenmann]

The beading is only annealed where it is to be bent. And then carefully fitted around the curved flare clamping, and drilling and tapping as we go.

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[jbodenmann]

Now we have reached the front of the tender where the beading curves down and follows the edge of the flare. On most tenders the beading stops where the flare meets the side sheet, but on this engine which is a model of Central Pacific #173 the bead proceeds down the side sheet a bit. The bead has two marks on it. One mark shows where the bend will begin and the other is a little arrow showing which way the bend will go. That way once the beading is off the tender I won't bend it the wrong way.

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[jbodenmann]

Here is the set up for bending the bead. The bead was bent around a round disc bolted to the steel table. A stop was clamped to the table and the bend starts here mark was centered on the disc.

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[jbodenmann]

And here the bead has been formed around the disc. The bead was well annealed so that it could just be formed around the disc by hand.

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[jbodenmann]

And here is the bead and curve stuck to the tender. Now it will be trimmed and rounded on the end.

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[jbodenmann]

Here the bead has been fastened in place with #00-90 screws in preparation for soldering.

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[jbodenmann]

The beading was removed, cleaned and fluxed replaced along with the tiny screws and then small pieces of solder were placed on the flare next to the beading. The tender was propped up on pieces of fire brick so that gravity would hold the solder in place and help it to flow where we want. Small diameter rosin core electronic grade solder was used because it has great flow characteristics and a low melting point. Heat was applied as evenly as possible with a propane torch and the solder slurped under the beading. Very little solder was needed.

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[jbodenmann]

Here the solder has melted and joined the parts. After one section was soldered, the tender was re positioned, more tiny pieces of solder were set in place and more heat applied.

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[jbodenmann]

After all soldering is completed the screw heads are filed off.

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[jbodenmann]

After a good scrub with metal prep and red Scotch Brite, and then filing the screw heads off things are looking pretty good.

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[jbodenmann]

All that shiny brass sure looks good. Next up, the headlamp.
No shortage of things to do!
Jack

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[jbodenmann]

Hello My Friends
Here are some photos of the headlamp for the American. This was a delightful little puzzle requiring quite an assortment of model building skills from my old bag of tricks. Here we have an aluminum, or perhaps here I should say aluminium die that was used to form the sheets. Also visible is a wood block that was used to hold the .020" brass sheets in place.

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[jbodenmann]

Here we have the sides nicely flanged where they will meet the front and back sheets. The workpieces have been well annealed and then gently flanged utilizing the rawhide mallet. Then they went for a swim in the acid pot to zoom away all the nasty oxides as a result of annealing. Only the two side sheets were flanged.

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[jbodenmann]

Here the process of joining the sides to the front and back has begun. Tiny brass screws will hold things together for fit up and then later soft soldering. #00-90 fillister (cheese head) screws were used. These screws require a .041" tap drill and .052" clear drill so you can get an idea how small they are. After soldering the heads will be filed off. Fillister head screws are used because the cylindrical heads allow them to be gripped in a pin vise for easy starting. Masking tape is used to help hold things tightly on the forming die during drilling. Then things are taken apart, the front and back are clear drilled, and the sides are tapped. Then back together for a look and more drilling and tapping. This seems to be a frequently recurring ordeal when model building is concerned, put it together, take it apart, put it apart, take it together......

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[jbodenmann]

Now we have things off of the die and stuck together for a look. Stepping back once in a while and just looking for a bit is very important. Sometimes I get on a tear (get er' done) and forget to do this. Look....think....look...how to make the door, door hinge, and latch. Also how will the reflector and burner slide in and out. Now this tiny headlamp will not actually have an oil lamp inside, it will have two AAA batteries and a Mag Light bulb. Like I said earlier, a delightful little puzzle.

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[jbodenmann]

Here one of the panels with bevelled edges is being made. On the prototype headlamp these were pressed into the sheet metal but here they are being made of solid brass and will be soldered on.

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[jbodenmann]

Here our little puzzle has had the bottom piece fitted and is sitting with the brackets that will hold it to the locomotive smoke box.

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