Garden Railway Forum

ge_rik wrote: ↑Tue Oct 17, 2017 7:05 pm Hi Darrell
I'm finding this thread fascinating. I'm not into metalwork myself and am not really a live steam enthusiast, but your detailed report has made me really interested in the progress of your loco.

Just a quick question - as you are starting literally from scratch, did you consider incorporating a flywheel device (similar to Slomo) at some point in the design? I'm assuming it would be easier to design and fit one from the ground up rather than having to retro-fit.

Rik
PS - I'm with you completely re using the web to share information, ideas and experience. In my own small way, I have been trying to do this with my blog for the past ten years
PPS - Like you, I have BBC R4 on almost continuously during the day. A lot of the time it's just murmuring in the background but when something interesting comes on my attention switches to it. I find talk radio is great as a background when doing something practical. I also have it on via headphones when playing trains in the garden.

also Rik, if my loco works out as a good runner and looks reasonable, I can throw the drawings your way, even if you do not have the 3D program, I have each individual part printed off on A4 and can convert them to PDF for any one. Simple but it does make for a box full of drawings. (I am not a fan of multiple parts on one sheet, I like taking one sheet to the Red Room and scribbling all over it and when the part is completed, updating the master 3D part and 3D assembly and the 2D sheet ) But first I must prove the design modifications and prove the build. This may take a year or two more.

Due to constant rain interrupting the civil engineering contractors at the POR the energies were turned to the Red Room and to knock over a project that has been on the bench for a while. ER25 Collet chuck mated with a machined register on a D3 backing plate for the Myford. First time I have ever done some thing like this, the result was as good as hoped. Next will be a better slitting saw for the mill/drill, I have two commercial ones but they are rubbish and wobble all over the place. I have a blank 3MT arbor and a 3 to 4 MT sleeve so it will machined in the Myford. Keen to get back to completing the cylinders soon.

Rain all day Saturday so the civil engineering gang stayed in doors on the "POR". The Red Room saw action for most of the day.
Work on the cylinders progresses.
Mike Jack sent me these covers he cast in Silicon Bronze, they were off my drawings and these are the start of the education and processes of using many more castings from my drawings in the future.
I gave them a wee bit of attention with some 600 grit



Then a wee careful mill to get a clean face.



The lads, they look a bit rough and untrustworthy, but they have redeemed them selves from their past and they do good work. The air is bit blue with their language when things do not go quiet right but they figured out a little jiggy for the cover and chest drilling. (jiggy is a Dazza technical term)



The 7.20mm drill is align the steam chest to the cylinder and the frame mounting face. (I like using a datum) Even though I have DRO I carefully marked out the sanity lines, just be to be sure (I am glad I did)



The clamp on the jig is removed and the chest and cover removed but the clever bit is that the cylinder stays held in the vice and the location for the X= 0 and Y=0 stays undisturbed.
Done and happy. You may see that one hole for the 10BA studd to pass through is in a different location, that is give clearance for the inlet to the chest. A detail that is visible on close inspection not noted or dimensioned in the Steam Trains In Your Garden Book's drawings or text.



When the next adventure in the Red Room kicks off I will use the DRO to pick up the holes to be drilled 3.50mm deep and taped 10BA for the studs. Have I said recently how much I like DRO on the mill/drill ?

Chest stud hole drilled and taped 10BA, ports drilled. Have I mentioned lately how much I like DRO ?



Passage way drilling



nailed it to the bull's eye, tis was a happy chappy when I finished on Saturday evening

There has been a death in the family.
For 30 years this was my go to good vernier caliper. It was cared for and loved and used for many projects. Made by NSK in Japan.
Yesterday its mechanism went belly up.
It lived a good and useful life. It gave me great value.



Ebay, New Mitutoyo Dial 200mm for $75 inc inc postage. Beats $230 from the local supplier. Think of all the beer that $155 will buy

At least it was supplied with a suitable coffin.

New toy, took a bit to get all spinning true and dialed. Assemble and disassemble a few times but all clocked to .02 over 150mm spinning etc. At least till the high spots wear off in the chuck. Still not bad for under $500.









Mill the last two sides and the profile. Aimed for 26mm

Not a lot of action in the Red Room due to track laying at the Potters Orchid Railway, however rain is about, the weeds are zooming with growth, but this week with a day night second Test I will enjoy some evenings making some parts. I made a start on the cylinder drains, but first I needed a thinner blade to clean off the thread runout on BA threads to a shoulder, so I got 1/16 parting blade, a bit of grinding, rub over and I had it down to .85mm. PB and 6BA and all went well. I am modifying the drain design, I am not keen on the drains blowing directly downwards and blasting grot all over the undersides of the loco and motion , so I added a 1.00mm to the body and cross drilling so they exhaust to the side.

Making cylinder drains as per Brain Wilson's words and music but for the sideways exhaust.





Meanwhile the English batting wobbled, then the Aussie batting wobbled under lights with the new ball, but we have plenty on runs in the bag. Nathon Lyon continues to be the Aussie national folk hero. What a catch!

Whaoooo, the Aussie batting wobbled under lights with the new ball in Anderson's hand.
Calm, we will get the remaining wickets to today for the win. We have the Lyon!
All this was happening as I drilled the 1.20mm cross passages using the collet chuck for the first time. This was to hold the small drills with no measurable run out and with that I am very pleased. Of course, there are no drawings of the linkages to the cab so that I have to sort out soon. To fit the servos in etc.



I am pleased with the out come, I will give them a touch up with the files off to break the edges. The drains will now exhaust to the side so this will be handy to scare off grass hoppers and spiders etc.



As I was doing this, test cricket is on the radio and MAM was priming her Lady Ann frames.

Gave the collets a run with the small drills. Very pleased with collets and small drills. All of this is my learning curve for the master piece to come one day if I live long enough.




Making a cross drilling jig for putting 1.20mm holes into 2.40mm stainless rod and also at 90 degrees to each other.
I will see if I have success at achieving this tonight.





I am trying to skill up, tool up now for my entry into retirement in ten years time.
I want to hit retirement running with the regulator wide open, notched up and flying :-)

I am a big fan of collets when I was a setter operator on Mazak lathes and Milling machines collets were used all the time. Brilliant for drilling and milling.

Having all these machines and workshop is one, knowing how to use them is something else. Nice work!

Yes, I feel pretty useless when I read builds like this

tom_tom_go wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2017 3:23 pm Yes, I feel pretty useless when I read builds like this

READ it! I thought it was all in a foreign language.

My Russian fetish continues.
Ebay, sent from Ukraine $75 aud (42 GBP) never used 1983 made in the USSR depth mic, beautifully made. I have a few Russian tools that I have got over the years and I am impressed with the quality ! This one has Carbide tips on the rods! Just a lovely bit of kit !

Erm, what is it?

Complete success cross drilling 2.40mm 308 stainless rod with 1.20mm holes using my little jiggy. These will be for the cylinder drains.





The Man Cave (The Red Room) was infiltrated last night ! But it is OK, MAM was working on her Round House Lady Ann kit.

CSK screws, noooo!