Building Kozo's New Shay locomotive

[crueby]

Looking quite the part crueby.  Have you build a small stand yet with tracks for it to sit on as you add things to it?

Bill

Not yet, probably will do that soon. Got to take the trucks partly apart again for painting anyway, and there are still brake systems, feedwater/lube axle pumps to add as well. I found a source for track rail, probably should put in an order soon!

[crueby]

Got a start on the brake pads - in Kozo's book he shapes them from a large diameter disc of brass, angle undercuts the inside to match the taper on the wheels, then cuts them apart. In my case, I did not 1) have a piece of round bar 2.75" in diameter or 2) have a way to turn it without putting in the riser block on the lathe, or even 3) have a riser block for the compund slide.

So, using what I do have, I came up with an alternate method that probably took a little longer but got me to the same shapes in the end. What I did was take some offcuts of brass (left over from the journal boxes, when I cut the square stock down to rectangular), and mounted them on the rotary table with the mill vise on top. The ends of the brass were set to one side so that by turning the rotary table it would mill an arc that matched the outside diameter of the wheels. This was done with the table tilted 3 degrees so that the arc on the pads would also match the taper on the wheels. The aluminum block in the photos is there to raise the brass above the vise, so I did not cut into the vise jaws. Once the arc was milled in, I lowered the tilt table down to level again and milled in the recess behind the brake pad.

Then the pad was cut from the larger block, and the back of the block milled to size, with a notch in it for where it will mount on the cross beam. The ends were also milled down to size and a 2-56 hole drilled/tapped in the corner for the brake hangers (not made yet).

A test fit of the pad against one of the wheels (the spare one left over from the wheel construction) showed that the arc and angle all matched, so then I went into mass production mode and made the other 7 pads.

Then, took a length of bar stock, and milled it down to be an I-beam shape (I think in Europe you guys call it a RSJ shape?)

Then, the pads were silver soldered onto the ends of the beams (at the right distance to match the wheel spacing - checked that about 5 times!) along with a small bracket in the middle that will hold the actuator linkage.

[b.lindsey]

Just goes to show there's more than one way to skin a cat as they say!!.  Nice result crueby. Much more brass though and I'm going to have to get out my sunglasses before checking in on your build 

Bill

[jschoenly]

Great looking shoes!  Just proves that better/bigger/more tools don't make the craftsman.  Using what you have to get the desired result is real craftsmanship.  Keep it up!  Looking awesome!

[crueby]

Just goes to show there's more than one way to skin a cat as they say!!.  Nice result crueby. Much more brass though and I'm going to have to get out my sunglasses before checking in on your build 

Bill

Thats part of the fun - got that tool and that one, how the heck can you make THAT shape with them??!?! Having ALL the right tools might be boring? Well, maybe not...  Amazing to look at stuff made long before anything electric (let alone computerized)

You should be safe without the sunglasses soon, another few bits and the trucks will get painted to match the frame.

[crueby]

Got the brake hangers made - need 16 of the little links, and the thought of making them individually made me cough up some swarf, so dug out an old small-part trick and ganged them up. Started with a couple slices of off-cut bar stock (think these are left over from the journal boxes), and drilled through holes for the links in both, laid them on thier sides and milled a slot down each side to form the center of the links, then filed the ends round.

At that point the two pieces had the proper shape in two directions, so it was just a matter of running them through the slitting saw to make the individual links. Got enough to make 9 from each before the blocks got too thin to hold for cutting.

A little deburring later, and they were ready to screw onto the brake beams. The last photo shows one propped up in position - still need to make the pivot bars (just a short length of rod notched for e-clips. Wonder how many of those little buggers will fly across the room during installation...)

[crueby]

Okay - got the brake assemblies mounted, and the trucks painted. Below are some shots of it with the trucks/frame together. Some more parts still to go on the trucks (brake actuators, and lube/feedwater pumps), but they would have been in the way to paint, so they will be painted seperate and mounted as they are made.

Farther along than I thought I'd be by now, still amazing to see that I am only up to about page 54 of Kozo's build book, only another 200 to go! 

[b.lindsey]

You are making amazing progress crueby!!  Every part looks so nice too!!  Keep after it and those 200 pages will go by in a flash

Bill

[Kim]

Hi Crueby,
I haven't commented much, but I'm following along, and enjoying your work.

Its a shame to paint all that beautiful brass black.  But I understand its the right color for it. Sill, all that gorgeous brass! 

Its looking great Crueby!  You're doing beautiful work, and really getting a lot out of your small machines!  I love to see that

Thanks for taking the time to share your build,
Kim

[crueby]

Its a shame to paint all that beautiful brass black.  But I understand its the right color for it.

I did debate a lot on whether to paint, but am going for the look of the actual engine. Its also interesting how painting changes the apparent sizes and proportions of parts. The paint does obscure the scratches and dings too...!

[Dave Otto]

I have also been quietly following along here, nice work and great progress!

The Shay is one of my favorites.

Dave

[crueby]

I have also been quietly following along here, nice work and great progress!

The Shay is one of my favorites.

Dave

Thanks!
I've always been a fan of the Shays - going down to the Cass Railway in West Virginia later this month to take a trip on theirs - they are also getting the Heisler out for a run. Hope the weather is good.

[crueby]

Got the rest of the levers/rods/etc for the brake actuators done and installed - really tricky figuring out what order to put it all in place, not much room to get nut drivers/wrenches in between all those struts.

Started out with a couple of sets of pivots for the cranks, which were milled out of some 1/4" square bar. Then went into mass production mode on the 22 clevis ends that were needed - gang drilled the cross holes for all of them on one bar, with the holes far enough apart to account for the part plus thickness of the slitting saw. Sawed in the slot in the end, one at a time, cut them apart, and drilled/tapped the hole in the end for the rod.

Made up a set of crank bars, and test assembled everything. The long crank rod and the last clevis mount on the lower bolster of the truck, and the outside cranks pivot on the I-beam holding the brake shoes. When the brakes are activated, it draws everything up tight against the wheels. When I was looking at the plans, it took a while to visualize how it all works.

A coat of paint, and a bunch of fiddling to get it all assembled, and it all looks good. I need to go back and touch up the paint in some places where I scraped it up during assembly.

Last photo - While waiting for paint to dry, I got a start on the lubricator pump housing, which is driven from one of the eccentrics on the axles, and pumps oil up to the steam chests on the engine. Some small brass screws are there to hold it all for soldering, they will be filed off after the silver soldering is done....

[b.lindsey]

Man, you are tearing this build up crueby...meaning that in a positive sense of course. The progress is amazing  and I am still enjoying the ride immensely!!

Bill

[steamer]

Oh yea Bill....volume and quality is awesome!

Dave