[bille1906]

Still cleaning up some of the storm damage this week but I did get time to make the stack and finish the smokebox.
The stack is attached with a nut which has a 40 tpi thread. I would have been better off with a 32 tpi but this worked.
The stack was turned on the lathe after the base was profiled on the mill. The through hole is 1/2" and a 1/2-40 threaded sleeve is silver soldered on. The white is whiteout which keeps the solder from wicking up into the threads

The rivets I use on my smokeboxes have a 1/16" head and 1/32" shaft. I was getting them from Micro Fasteners but they no longer carry them I had enough for the front but not enough for the barrel of the smokebox so I made a wrap which was rivet embossed and clamped it on with a thin coat of JB Weld to keep the thin sheet from ripping or pulling up when I drilled the holes.

Here you can see the stack with the curved washer and the round nut. It is knurled for installation and holes are drilled for tightening and removal if ever necessary. You can also see the bracket which holds the smokebox on place. The one screw goes in to a well nut which was silver soldered into the hole used for the arbor used to turn the front tube sheet.

The smokebox front is made from several pieces of 1/8" brass. The front is cut out to a rough shape in the 1/8" band saw and then turned on the lathe. Holes are drilled and the rivets are set in place with 680 Loctite. after 24 hours, the rivets protruding through the back are sanded down on the table belt sander. The door is cutout on the CNC mill by Dennis which eliminates the tedious chore of making all of the mounting dogs. Finally the dome is turned on the lathe.

The smokebox is painted with Duplicolor high temp cast coat iron and the front plate in high temp red

 

[tacfoley]

WOW!

 

[XBoxShutDown]

Great Bill, another build of yours to follow, I look forward to it.

 

[bille1906]

I got a few things put together since my last post
The sight glass connects to the boiler in front of the fire box and at the top to a banjo fitting. It is a 6 mm tube which works a little better than the 5 mm ones. the clamp on the firebox is to keep the bottom fitting from being forced down from the boiler pressure.

The next photo shows the green boiler wrap installed and the steam and sand domes which were turned from aluminum stock. You can see the backhead with the throttle valve, clack valve and firebox window along with thr two jet holders

In this photo, you can see how I am cutting out the boiler diameter seat for the steam manifold. The fly cutter is set to the boiler shell diameter which is the same setting I used for the dome bases

The blank is then set on the boiler and the cuts to match the photos are marked. The scratches seen are made from the digital caliper to ensure both sides are the same

The manifold is then set in the mill vice and a parallel is used to set the angle of material to be milled off. The cuts are set to the scrib marks not the lines

In order for the cab to be true, the floor must be parallel to the track. I measure how high the floor needs to be and then cut some blocks to the same height and then attach the floor to the firebox with the blocks in place
You can see the completed steam manifold and insulated piping here as well as the air pump and bell

Here is a view of the progress so far with the sand pipes and air pipe tubing

 

[tacfoley]

Astounding model engineering, sir!

 

[bille1906]

Still working in the back yard but I did get a chance to work on the cab. I got the decals on Monday and was able to finish the cab this morning
I didn't get many photos of the cab build but it was similar to my prior builds
Here is the sun visor being silver soldered. As you can see many stays are needed. The sides were tapered after soldering

Here the arm rest is being soldered on. You can see the completer visor also

And her we are with the decals applied and the window frames and glazing installed. Also you can see where the running boards and piping are added to the left side. Still more to do but it is getting there

 

[Alan in Adirondacks]

Looks great, Bill.

Alan

 

[bille1906]

Finally getting back in the shop after a long break
I am working on the tender this week.
I start with the sides. I am using 1/32" brass sheet. I do the rivet embossing prior to annealing.
Below is the tool I use for forming and spacing the rivets

Here I am using a 1/8" brass strip as a guide. The edge of the rivet tool will slide along it and the spacing will be controlled by the female part of the tool above

The side is annealed so that it can easily be bent around a bar

The two sides are lined up to make sure they are bent the same

Annealing causes the material to "oil-can" a bit so I use a spacer inside and clamps outside to solder the front sheet on

Then the sides are soldered in sections

and then the top is formed and soldered on

 

[GRCadd]

Finally getting back in the shop after a long break
I am working on the tender this week.
I start with the sides. I am using 1/32" brass sheet. I do the rivet embossing prior to annealing.
Below is the tool I use for forming and spacing the rivets

Beautiful work. Just as a point of reference, what mill and lathe are you using?

View attachment 66932

Here I am using a 1/8" brass strip as a guide. The edge of the rivet tool will slide along it and the spacing will be controlled by the female part of the tool above
View attachment 66931

View attachment 66933


The side is annealed so that it can easily be bent around a bar

View attachment 66936

The two sides are lined up to make sure they are bent the same
View attachment 66937

Annealing causes the material to "oil-can" a bit so I use a spacer inside and clamps outside to solder the front sheet on
View attachment 66938

Then the sides are soldered in sections
View attachment 66939

and then the top is formed and soldered on
View attachment 66940

 

[bille1906]

The lathe is a Micromark 7x14 which is replaced now with a 16x7 and the mill is a Weiss 25L

 

[StevenJ]

That is very well made, thanks for showing the process. Did you use a electric iron or torch to solder? I guess electric soft solder would work for a tender body.

 

[bille1906]

Thank you
I use Staybrite solder with their flux and a small tipped torch .The Staybrite is the best I have found, it flows very well. I use the 1/32" size and lay strips in the joints and then when it starts to melt, I move the torch and the solder flows like a little river towards the torch.

 

[StevenJ]

Thanks the only solder I had good luck with was the kit PM Research sells which is very similar to the Staybrite in terms of specs. Shoot it may be Staybrite just rebranded for PM.

 

[bille1906]

The top of the side has a beading that I make out of 1/16" copper tubing. I rip it on the table saw with my metal cutting blade and the zero clearance throat to about .047". this opens the center hole which is expander with the edge of a scraper which is .028 wide and then with asmall sheet of ,032 sheet. This gives me a nice press fit. I am cutting them now for installation later.

The frame scales out to ,605" high so I cut the strips out of 1/16" stock. The truck crossmembers are soldered in place where I have already drilled holes and I will reinforce them with 0-80 screws. The buffers were wood so I am doing the same

 

[Twizzleittery]

Never heard of a single one of those guys. I should probably widen my horizons.

 

[bille1906]

which guys are you talking about?

 

[bille1906]

The tender box is soldered onto the frame and holes are drilled in the front for four tubes-2 hand pump, 1 gas, and the small one for tank water heater

The deck is then soldered on

And the step is then added. Note where the beading is secured with masking tape. It is a press fit but needs to be held in place at the bends. It is set with JB Weld

Here is the strip completed

There are racks on both sides which I guess were for if a wood load was used. They are in every photo so probably were never removed. They are a signature portion of the tender so I made them from .080 brass sheeting. The posts scale out to .125 wide and just under an inch high. Rather than milling registration slots in twelve small pieced, I cut a strip 1' x 3' and mill the strips to spec.

Then on the table saw using my cutoff sled, I cut the twelve strips.

And here are the 12 posts

The slots were cut with a 3/32 end mill so I cut my strips to that width which holds things in place while assembling them. I solder the two lower ones first. The bar in the middle is just to hold them in place. Now that things are square, I can solder the top rail in place and then JB Weld the center posts in place.

The rack is set with JB Weld and clamped overnight.

 

[StevenJ]

I need to save for a lathe and mill. I cannot do that with a drill press. Very good work.

 

[bille1906]

Thanks
You do need a lathe to do a complete engine and tender scratch build but the tender work I have done so far did not require a lathe and except for the grooves no mill work was done. In fact, the grooves could have been done on the table saw. Thanks for your input.

 

[StevenJ]

You are welcome. I never made a tender from scratch. I have made a new top deck for my Roundhouse Liberty Bell tender. I also made inside frame with coal load and water hatch with sheet metal and rivets for a MSS tender. Never attempted one from scratch. I did build a coal bunker from scratch with brass and steel for my Roundhouse Sammy. I am not at the level of building from scratch. I can modify and repair a lot with riveting, soldering and installing fittings. Hardest thing I accomplished was soldering on the backhead of a Smithies boiler for a Bassett and Lowke traction engine. I did use silver bearing plumbing solder so I will have to reinforce it with bolts. It did pass a hydro test. Anyhow I digress this post is about your awesome custom made articulated steam engine and it is top notch.