davet
Seasoned Member
Posts: 139
|
Post by davet on Apr 13, 2014 23:11:07 GMT
Hi Pete
Good to hear that the building is progressing. I always like thumping and shaping pieces of copper, very satisfying.
In the 40's, that is hot for Perth used to work in that temp and higher when I in the between karratha and Tom price on the hammersley iron railway.
The biggest issue I have with working in the workshop is dripping sweat over things, tools, machines, steel parts and not wiping down and oiling down to prevent a created corrosion. Sweat is a very good corrosion accelerator !!!!
One of the hazards of living in a hot and humid country.
Kind regards
Dave Tucker
Kuala Lumpur
|
|
Geoff
Hi-poster
Posts: 171 
|
Post by Geoff on Apr 14, 2014 4:56:23 GMT
Major morning in the shed today, finishing all of the boiler bushes. All up I spent 4 hours woking and the shed was 40.5C inside when I left around 12.30pm, with our hottest time of day usually around 2-3pm. Forecast today was 33C max! Glad to state that all bushes are now substantially done, will just need cleaning up the threads once silver soldered on to the relavant plates / barrel. Need a cooler day now to actually start the assmbly process Good to see you making progress Pete. I had a brainwave last summer when the temperature was in the 40s. I drilled my frames while wearing my bathers then hopped in the pool occasionally when I got too hot. BIG mistake! The next day the pool was scattered with pretty little rust spots like stars.....I'm still waiting for the left testicle to repair after that bollocking! ...... (Yeah, yeah! I know all about the PPE I should have been wearing.) |
|
davet
Seasoned Member
Posts: 139
|
Post by davet on Apr 14, 2014 6:14:12 GMT
Hi Geoff
I dress a little better, cotton sarong, rolls Royce dust coat and a pair Chinese safety boots (flip flops, thongs, take your pick) open sandles.
Do gave the sweat and accelerated corrosion issues if not cleaned up and oiled ?
Kind regards
DaveT
Kuala Lumpur
|
|
peteh
Statesman
Still making mistakes!
Posts: 760
|
Post by peteh on Apr 17, 2014 11:12:35 GMT
Well thought I would be able to get on with the boiler over the Easter break, but I only have Brass 1/16 rivets. Still hope to make more bits over the break however.
|
|
peteh
Statesman
Still making mistakes!
Posts: 760
|
Post by peteh on Apr 20, 2014 13:20:56 GMT
Busy break in the shed this weekend. I ended up making a new front tubeplate after drilling the wrong side for a bush! (did you here the scream!) Good news is that only took a day and I made a much better job of it as well - I think it took several sessions last time including drilling/filing all of the tube holes. Spent yesterday making the inner steam dome and then had a look at ball turning attachments for the outer steam dome. I have now designed and started manufacturing a ball turner that will fit my lathe (Sieg C6 sized). I am at work tomorrow so that's it for my easter weekend.
|
|
|
|
Post by doubletop on Apr 22, 2014 10:02:11 GMT
Pete
Also good to hear you are back on to your build. There must be something to be said for the heat you have been experiencing. Your boiler will be starting 20degC closer to the melting point of your silver solder than the rest of us.
I went out for a play yesterday, so here's a little something to give you a bit of inspiration to keep going.
You can't stop now.
Pete
|
|
peteh
Statesman
Still making mistakes!
Posts: 760
|
Post by peteh on Apr 22, 2014 12:57:44 GMT
Thanks for the incentive Pete. Judging by the lack of driver do I assume that you still have problems with adhesive weight?
I have actually managed an hour in the shed for the last two nights, converting a lump of 6x3x1" black mild steel into my ball turner main support - L shaped and slotted already. Marion (my wife) graciously nipped into Hare and Forbes for me today to buy a new end mill for me while I was still at work.
|
|
|
|
Post by doubletop on Apr 23, 2014 10:02:50 GMT
Pete
Glad to be of assistance.
Not wishing to put you off I don't think the adhesive weight problem could be solved without making a mess of how the loco looks. I'm now happy with the gas firing and radio control. As you can see I've now got two wagons as well as the tender. The whole thing can take just 15mins from the car to running and it gets a lot of attention. So easy to play with and a bit of a novelty.
It has probably not skipped your attention that nobody has posted a video of one of these pulling anybody, in fact as far as I can tell nobody else has posted a video of another of these running at all. When you consider that Pete Harmon told me GLR had sold in the order of 75 sets of castings and he suspected the Gauge 1 guys had their own castings, where are the rest of them? I asked who was building one over on the ME website and I think I got in the order of 7 replies.
Keep going and you could be number 4, if you could the two made by the authors of the original article.
regards
Pete
|
|
peteh
Statesman
Still making mistakes!
Posts: 760
|
Post by peteh on Apr 23, 2014 13:17:41 GMT
I have discussed the problem of adhesive weight at our club and a possible solution is to couple the ride on tender to a bracket under the driven axle and lightly springing the front end of the ride on to transfer some weight to the driven axle. To be honest however, being my first loco I'll be happy just to get it working on steam. At the end of the day it is a perfect training build in preperation of bigger and better things to come, as it covers all aspects of any locomotive build other than the more complex valve gear setting up.
|
|
|
|
Post by Shawki Shlemon on Apr 24, 2014 10:22:53 GMT
That can be done , I know one done for Stirling but it's easier said than done , it will involve a lot of changes .
|
|
|
|
Post by doubletop on Apr 25, 2014 22:28:10 GMT
That can be done , I know one done for Stirling but it's easier said than done , it will involve a lot of changes . My thoughts as well, but I'd also suggest that you may well be disappointed with the final result. Adhesive weight is only one part of the equation The other two factors are the ability for the boiler to consume the energy supplied by the fuel and covert it to heat and then the ability of the water feed to supply enough water to be converted to steam pressure. You can calculate the theoretical draw bar pull but if the boiler can't maintain the pressure the theoretical drawbar pull soon falls to zero. I've always felt that this is a modeling exercise for an Excel spreadsheet around all this. Especially when gas firing and the calorific value of the gas is known it should be possible to model draw bar pull, speed, boiler volume water feed rate, gas feed rate (pressure) jet size and, the big unknown, boiler efficiency. Pete As you suggested use this loco as a learning exercise for bigger projects and enjoy the journey. Pete |
|
philh1
Involved Member
Posts: 64
|
Post by philh1 on Apr 26, 2014 13:36:02 GMT
I'm still very slowly working on my Northumbrian. I haven't done much over the past 12 months but I made the stop collars last week for the front axle. I'll be posting progress (though not much) on my 'Another Northumbrian' thread soon.
Phil H
|
|
peteh
Statesman
Still making mistakes!
Posts: 760
|
Post by peteh on May 9, 2014 2:30:00 GMT
 Hope the above image shows as I've had to change image servers. As you can see I have been busy making the Steam Dome, and to make that - making a ball turner. The ball turner takes a little from several designs I have seen on the web, with the necessary dimensional changes to suit me lathe (AL-60 = Seig C6). Finished during a thunderstorm in a tin shed  |
|
Geoff
Hi-poster
Posts: 171
|
Post by Geoff on May 14, 2014 0:34:52 GMT
Hope the above image shows as I've had to change image servers. As you can see I have been busy making the Steam Dome, and to make that - making a ball turner. The ball turner takes a little from several designs I have seen on the web, with the necessary dimensional changes to suit me lathe (AL-60 = Seig C6). Finished during a thunderstorm in a tin shed Pete, I can't see the image.... just a red cross in a square. Cheers Geoff |
|
|
|
Post by Jim on May 14, 2014 7:33:23 GMT
Thunderstorms aside the ball turning attachment has done you proud Pete. Interestingly I can see both photos, the original and the one in Geoff's post.
Jim
|
|
Geoff
Hi-poster
Posts: 171
|
Post by Geoff on May 14, 2014 23:50:50 GMT
Thunderstorms aside the ball turning attachment has done you proud Pete. Interestingly I can see both photos, the original and the one in Geoff's post. Jim I didn't really need to see the photo 'cos I saw the real thing down at the club the other day. Very useful piece of work. |
|
peteh
Statesman
Still making mistakes!
Posts: 760
|
Post by peteh on May 24, 2014 13:07:11 GMT
I have started to silver solder the boiler ! Holding the tubes in position while s/s to the firebox front plate was fun. The throat plate is s/s to the boiler tube and the wrapper s/s to the rear firebox plate. The only real problem has been my camera is no longer being recognised by my computer so no photos until I can sort out the problem or get a new camera. Won't be any more work this week as tomorrow I am taking Northumbrian to the club ready to go to AMRA the following weekend as part of the club display.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jim on May 24, 2014 13:37:53 GMT
You've started assembling your boiler, that's great news Pete.
I don't know about you but my heart was in my mouth as I started to heat the work up for the first step in assembling Boadicea's boiler but as Shawki has said, once you start things fall into place and you're away.
Hope all goes well at the AMRA Exhibition.
Jim
|
|
peteh
Statesman
Still making mistakes!
Posts: 760
|
Post by peteh on May 25, 2014 7:47:11 GMT
I know what you mean Jim - there are several moments like that in locomotive building I am finding. Boring the cylinder castings, turning the wheel castings and as you say the first joints in the boiler!. Funny enough one of the more popular models on our stand at AMRA is my Airfix beam engine - with the cylinder cut away we use it to explain how a steam engine works.
Been quite a wet weekend here but we still had a massive turn out at our public run day this morning. 11 birthday parties plus casual visitors.
|
|
peteh
Statesman
Still making mistakes!
Posts: 760
|
Post by peteh on Jun 1, 2014 12:59:40 GMT
After stating I wouldn't be working on Northumbrian this week I spent a few hours shedding today. As the Loco and boiler are on display at AMRA for this long weekend (WA Day on Monday) I couldn't progress the boiler so spent the time starting on the smokebox. Rough cut the Smokebox front and door out of brass sheet. Stopped for lunch and ten couldn't find the door piece! The front plate was cut/filed to finished size. Also manufactured the ring which attaches the front plate to the tube. This was produced from 1/4" square brass, well annealed and then bent around a former until a ring was formed. The ring was then silver soldered together and then turned to final size on the lathe. Still have not fixed the camera issue, and for that matter still have not found the door plate!
Tomorrow I am minding the club display at AMRA for the whole day so nothing further will be done at the moment.
|
|
