Author Topic: Stuart Major Beam Engine  (Read 86971 times)

Offline propforward

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #210 on: January 23, 2020, 06:30:55 PM »
Hey Andy - that engine is superb!
Stuart

Forging ahead regardless.

Offline Chipmaster

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #211 on: January 23, 2020, 10:48:25 PM »
Thanks Stuart  :ThumbsUp:

Andy

Offline jeff l

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #212 on: January 24, 2020, 01:11:57 AM »
Beautiful !

Offline Chipswitheverything

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #213 on: January 24, 2020, 12:30:27 PM »
Hi Andy, this is a good stage to have got the Major to, starts to look like an engine and spurs one's interest on.  Impressive!   Looking at a few details, I would think that your plan is to drop a pointed rod through the hole drilled in the spring beam to ascertain where the threaded hole in the cylinder boss actually locates? That could be a good way to go, can't remember if I did it that way, but I did end up doing a bit of "remodelling" of the boss to even the shape up around the base diameter of the interconnecting strut. Built up one side of the boss just a little with epoxy keyed in with some tiny brass pins. Put some paint over it before anyone knew!
 Also, it looks as if the con rod big end is at some distance from the crank, but presumably that is just the "fer instance" assembly to see the bits move?
  As you did, I found assembly of the parallel motion and its many separate bits to be some game, and the tiny components are mostly too small to be very well marked as sets and for which way round they must go. After removing it all while the engine languishes during painting, I have kept the motion all together assembled to limit the chance of muddle and loss of bits.  Dave

Offline Chipmaster

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #214 on: January 24, 2020, 06:18:18 PM »
Thanks Dave and Jeff,

Yes Dave my interest is spurred, I now find that the hole in the centre of the Entablature is directly above the centreline of the boss on the top of the cylinder so fitting the Entablature stay should be straightforward. I found that I had assembled the central column slightly skew whiff, I slackened the base and adjusted it accordingly. In this picture you can see a 3/16" rod dropped down through the Entablature.





As you suspect the crank is still jury rigged, I have left it that way in case I need to move things about. The crank pin is just a plain 3/8" stub at the moment - yet another part waiting to be made properly. You might be able to see the crank wedged together with cigarette paper or ptfe tape in this picture.



It should look like this,



to be continued............

Andy

Offline kvom

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #215 on: January 24, 2020, 09:31:10 PM »
Nice progress.   :ThumbsUp:

Offline Chipswitheverything

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #216 on: January 26, 2020, 12:29:44 PM »
Thanks for the comment and extra pictures Andy, that all looks really nice, and the spot on central alignment of the spring beam hole and cylinder boss is an excellent testament to the alignment of the components that bring that about.
 Though I have got away with the alignments on my engine, and it does look and behave OK, with hindsight ( and perhaps a less ridiculously protracted building period, er, 30 years....! )  I would have given great attention to the alignment implications of the component tolerances and the way in which one area of the engine can interact with other bits to give a snag.  Dave

Offline Chipmaster

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #217 on: January 26, 2020, 01:27:50 PM »
Cheers Dave, yes, the slightest misalignment of the column is magnified many times over at the outboard ends of the beam. “ Building period, er 30 years”. - I bought my Stuart Major kit November 2013 but work kept being  interrupted by building Alyn Foundry engines. There are four sets of Alyn Foundry castings waiting in my workshop!
I’ve got to speed up.

Andy



Offline Chipmaster

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #218 on: February 04, 2020, 08:24:34 PM »
I have replaced temporary wedges with fitted gibs and cotters that secure the three connecting rod bearings - big end and two fork end bearings. As the cotters were lightly tapped home pulling things together and closing the split bearings things lined up rather well. I was anticipating problems but fortunately the engine turns over smoothly.





[/url]






Andy


Offline Chipmaster

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #220 on: February 25, 2020, 10:32:07 PM »
Last week a friend loaned his bending rolls to me so I was able to fabricate the crank well part 111. I used 18 swg brass as per the plan and used silver solder to hold it together. The assembly is sufficiently robust without doubling up the thickness of the curved bottom section of the well as drawn which seems unnecessary to me. 

[/url]



Crank well in position,





I spent at least an hour cleaning and polishing the brass, it will probably be painted ultimately but there's little room for paint, the clearance between the crank and the well is very small.

Andy

Offline zeeprogrammer

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #221 on: February 25, 2020, 10:39:38 PM »
Well that's just beautiful.  :D
Carl (aka Zee) Will sometimes respond to 'hey' but never 'hey you'.
"To work. To work."
Zee-Another Thread Trasher.

Offline steam guy willy

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #222 on: February 26, 2020, 02:36:41 AM »
Looking Good...... :popcorn: :popcorn:

Willy

Offline Chipswitheverything

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #223 on: February 26, 2020, 01:10:15 PM »
Like that crank well a lot!  Haven't got mine made yet, but ( don't laugh ) I made up some side pieces from plywood, well sealed with sanding sealer, on the excuse that it will end up painted later on..  May or may not proceed on that basis..
I found the configuration of the legs of the CI bracket casting for the governor and the fit intended on the bedplate was a bit unexplained, but have done the same as you have.  I wasn't aware at the time of making the governor that the design cleverly allows the balls to clobber the near bits of the engine when they swing out to more than a moderate extent.  I think that some builders have made the whole device taller to get round that, but the proportions might look a bit odd, it is quite a tall affair as it is.
 Incidentally,  after quite a lot of thought, and it dawning on me that the component is actually pretty small, ( dwgs are given X 2 as I recall )I made the "interesting" curved arm that screws on the tapered column from the solid, milled it around two sides of a bit of 1/2" thick BMS of about large matchbox size. Haven't got pictures, unfortunately, but an early operation was boring a tapered hole which formed the tapered inside curve of the foot of the lever, to match the column dia and taper …    fun!     Dave
 

 

Offline Chipmaster

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #224 on: February 26, 2020, 06:01:54 PM »
Hi Carl, Willy & Dave, thanks for looking in.

Willy I reckon governors are going to be hard work, but more so yours with those four arms with forked ends, I look forward to seeing how you tackle those.

Dave, a plywood crank well !!  I have read warnings of the governor balls hitting the flywheel. Three years ago Alan 'Steamhead' wrote about the problem in replies 47 & 49 of this build log. Alan said he was building two Majors but he hasn't posted since 2016.
The "interesting curved arm", now that must be the Bell Crank Stay part 137.

 


Oh dear, I was hoping you'd have an easier method for that part. You have sent me a picture of your completed governor which looks superb so I'll have to follow your example.

Andy
« Last Edit: February 26, 2020, 06:34:53 PM by Chipmaster »

 

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