Building Kozo's New Shay locomotive

[crueby]

I got the hinges made for the door in the front cover (this is a dummy door, to get into the smokebox two of the rim screws are the mounting screws). Still need to make the door clamps (they go on the 6 inner bolts).

Had to hold up the smokebox to the rest of the boiler too - after so long working on the boiler itself, this makes it look a lot larger - guess it will revert back in appearance after the cab gets made - it overlaps a bunch of the firebox area. I am not going to mount the smokebox to the rest just yet, going to wait till the front plate of the boiler is soldered in, to make sure that the stack winds up vertical.

After the clamps, going to make the headlight and the smokestack. Maybe by then it will be warm enough to work outside more and I can get the staybolts soldered up on the boiler. Was snowing all day today, tomorrow is going to be about 15F, rather be indoors than outside working with metal!

[Dave Otto]

Looking good!

Dave

[b.lindsey]

Its looking more and more like a boiler crueby, that front end adds a LOT !!

Bill

[crueby]

This morning I made up the door clamps and the number plate for the smokebox front cover. The clamps started out as a length of square bar stock, drilled a series of equally space holes for the mounting bolts (photo 1).

Then milled out a section by each hole to form the L shape of the clamp, (photo 2) and sawed them apart, ready for bolting onto the front cover. (photo 3)

The number plate was turned out of round bar, with the back turned first and tapped for the mounting bolt, then turned around to turn in the recess in the front, (photo 4), finishing up with the boring bar to give a nice square inside corner. (photo 5)

The number was printed up on a piece of self-stick transfer paper (spent quite a while looking through fonts on the computer to find one I liked). The number was stuck to a small piece of sheet brass, and cut out with a jewelers saw and filed to shape. (photo 6)

Photo 7 shows the number cut out and ready to silver solder in place, the last photo shows the clamps and number plate all assembled onto the front cover. Ready for smokestack and headlight! Given how the rivets look on the smokebox, I think when I get to making the outer boiler jacket I am going to add some rows to that as well - will use some of the photos I took in Cass W.V. of the real locos as guides - think it will add a lot to the looks.

[crueby]

More work done on the outer flange base for the smokestack - in previous post, I had the 1/4-round detail just turned in, this time I have it blended down into the lower curve. First photo shows it after the blending - used a cylinder-shaped rotary tool with a rounded end to do most of the 'carving' on it, then smoothed with a round profile file and sandpaper.

Next up was to add the bosses that take the screws from the stack assembly. Put it on the rotary table, and milled in the holes for the bosses. Kozo did not use a rotary table in his book, he made a jig to align the mill for this step - I think the table made a much quicker job of it. The mill was a center-cutting end mill, so I could just plunge cut it in.

Third photo shows the bosses turned to size, drilled, and ready to silver solder in.

Fourth photo shows it after soldering, in the process of turning the tops of the bosses down flush with the top of the base.

After that was time to make the stack ring - this goes around the bottom of the stack, and bolts the stack down to the base. With the rotary table in the same exact place as from previous steps, where the holes would line up with the bosses, I drilled a set of matching holes in the end of a piece of brass bar that I had bored out to the same inner diameter as the base.

Fifth photo shows milling the outer edge of the ring down between the bosses - plunge cut next to a boss, rotated the table to the next boss, and raised cutter. Repeat four times....

Seventh photo shows the ring after parting it off the bar, and cleaning up the shape of the protrusions with a file.

Last photo shows it test fitted together, ready for the stack - to be made next...

[crueby]

Got on a roll in the shop this morning, and knocked out the smokestack. It is tapered at both ends, and only a couple millimeters thick, so it had some carefull setups. Started out with a length of 1-1/4" brass bar - set it up in the lathe with the steady rest holding up the outer end (rest ends were greased to keep them sliding easy). Then, drilled through the length of the stack.

Second photo shows boring the center hole out to the minimum size (16mm).

Third photo shows turning the base section down - moved the steady rest back to the middle, and straight-turned the bottom to size, then got out the compound slide and turned the next section to a 3 degree flare - this forms the step that the mount ring solders to.

Fourth photo shows test fitting the base ring - all good to go.

Then, turned the stack around in the chuck (put in a piece of bar stock in the end to make sure the chuck could not crush the tube), and reset the steady rest out near the end (photo 5). Then, I put the boring bar in the compound slide at 4 degrees and bored out the upper section of the stack to that taper (taper extends down to where it goes through the base ring).

Sixth photo shows the completed taper bore...

Seventh photo shows a plug that I turned to the same taper, and drilled the end to take the live center.

Eigth photo shows the stack with the plug in the end, live center in place, and steady rest removed. At this point it was ready to turn down the outside parallel to the inside taper (done in next post....)

[crueby]

Here is the rest of the work on the smokestack - first shot shows the outer surface turned down with the compound slide to a taper matching the inside bore - leaves about a 2mm wall thickness, plus there is a thicker flange at the very top.

Second shot looking down the bore from the top... taper runs from top down to the reverse flare above the base ring.

Third photo shows the stack ready to be soldered to the mount ring - ring is removed from the base first.

Fourth photo shows turning the tapered bore on the end of the flare ring - this ring fits over the base of the stack with the taper running up to the stack itself - a set screw holds this ring in place.

Fifth photo shows the flare ring in place.

Last two photos show the stack fitted to the smokebox - the setscrew in the flare ring holds it all together.

Amazing how much it changes the look of the boiler. The weather is supposed to break soon, by monday I'll be back outside finishing up the silver soldering of the staybolts and hopefully the front plate. The last few days have been bizarre weatherwise - been very cold, and we got lake effect snow coming off lake erie - just a little west of me they got over 5 FEET of snow! This is only mid November! Going to be back up near 60F by Monday, going to get out and take advantage of it and hope to finish up boiler soldering.

[b.lindsey]

Wow...you have been busy today and lots to show for it too. Love the smokestack for sure but I think what you did on the number "2" is really a nice touch and turned out perfectly!!

Bill

[ths]

I keep watching this with great interest, and you never disappoint! As Bill said, the number is wonderful, the rest always inspiring. All the best to you.

Hugh.

[crueby]

I keep watching this with great interest, and you never disappoint! As Bill said, the number is wonderful, the rest always inspiring. All the best to you.

Hugh.

Thanks guys!

Last couple fittings on the smokebox - the mounting lugs that attach the assembly to the frame. These will get a pair of links that drop down to the frame and allow the boiler to expand/contract with heating.

Started out with a pair of square bits of sheet brass, bent to match the curve of the boiler with pliers/vise. Then mounted them in the mill vise at the proper angel, and plunge cut with a 1/4" mill.

Then took a 1/4" piece of brass rod, drilled into the ends on the lathe for the link bolts, and silver soldered them to the plates (distance betwen plates was just for the piece of rod handy, is not measured out for the boiler).

With the rod cut in half to separate the plates, they were put in the lathe and the square ends turned round. Looking at the end of the rod the plates look round, since they are at an angle they appear oval from the side.

Then put them in the mill vise with some scrap to hold them above the jaws, and drilled holes for mounting screws.

With matching holes drilled/tapped in the smokebox, next few photos show the mounts in place.

Last photo also shows the headlight bracket - simple piece made up from some sheet stock. This will hold the headlight, and also the ends of the handrails that run along the boiler. These will both be made later in the build.

That finishes up the smokebox, about all I can do till the final boiler staybolt/front plate soldering/testing is done. Still looking like it will warm up (finally) this weekend, hope to work on that stuff then. Once the boiler front plate is soldered on, I can drill the last mount holes for the smokebox to hold it to the rest of the boiler. Also, will need to do some tweaking to the boiler support braces in the main frame - Kozo has you leave them a little tall to allow for any actual variations in the boiler. In my case I need to lower the tops of the supports a few millimeters to have the boiler sit where it should relative to the frame. At that point, it should really start looking like a locomotive - can't wait!

[b.lindsey]

Still loving it crueby...thanks for the daily fix

Bill

[Roger B]

Looking good, that's a fair sized boiler (assuming your hand is normal size)    I do like the detail work on the smoke box and stack   

[crueby]

Looking good, that's a fair sized boiler (assuming your hand is normal size)    I do like the detail work on the smoke box and stack   

Should be normal size, it matches the other hand!! 
Finally warming up here, will be out soldering up the rest of the boiler tomorrow. Got the brass boiler jackets made while waiting...

[Roger B]

I know the weather problems  I have to run my IC engines outside and when there's snow out there it doesn't appeal (and certainly makes them harder to start  ) 

[b.lindsey]

Hope your warmer weather holds. Will look forward to seeing more of the boiler tomorrow!!

Bill