Author Topic: Steam Tractor 3/4" (Rudy K)  (Read 242081 times)

Offline 90LX_Notch

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Re: Steam Tractor 3/4" (Rudy K)
« Reply #540 on: February 14, 2017, 12:12:02 AM »
Kim-

It looks really good.  I would love to build one but it would take me ten years or more to complete.  Keep up the great work.

-Bob
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Offline Dave Otto

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Re: Steam Tractor 3/4" (Rudy K)
« Reply #541 on: February 14, 2017, 12:12:52 AM »
Hi Kim

Isn't sheet metal fun?  :lolb: Nice looking little part; I assume by the name that it supports the upper end of the steering shaft?

Dave

Online Kim

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Re: Steam Tractor 3/4" (Rudy K)
« Reply #542 on: February 14, 2017, 05:24:11 AM »
Thanks Bob and Dave!

I would love to build one but it would take me ten years or more to complete.
Bob, what if you did it at 1/4 size? You could have it done in 2.5 years then!  :Lol:

Isn't sheet metal fun?  :lolb:
Yeah, Dave, I'm kinda enjoying the sheet metal work (in small doses, that is! :))

Nice looking little part; I assume by the name that it supports the upper end of the steering shaft?
Yes, that is correct!  And if I ever get this thread up to date, you could actually see it supporting the steering column!  :cartwheel:

Kim

Offline 90LX_Notch

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Re: Steam Tractor 3/4" (Rudy K)
« Reply #543 on: February 14, 2017, 04:38:49 PM »
That is funny Kim. Unfortunately, when you go really small, time is a multiple.  Therefore, it would take me fourty years.

-Bob
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Online Kim

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Re: Steam Tractor 3/4" (Rudy K)
« Reply #544 on: February 18, 2017, 06:34:49 PM »
Next, I started on the lower steering brackets.  These were more complicated, especially the left side, which has to hold the worm and spur gears in the right orientation.

Here’s the bracket laid out on the 1/16” brass sheet.


Frist, I roughed it out on the scroll saw.


Then I used a combination of files & disk sander to finish up the shape, and drilled the hole for the Steering Chain Roller.  After that, it was time for bending:


I left the square end of the bracket long since I didn’t know how much metal would get ‘used up’ by bending the 1/16” metal.  It was easier to just measure the side being bent, and cut the other side to length later. Which is what I did here on the mill:


Then I drilled the mounting holes.


Next, I needed to make the post that will hold the steering column. This is a piece of 1/4" brass bar stock, with the end rounded.

To round off the end, I made a little fixture; it was just a scrap piece of 1/4" aluminum bar that I cut a shallow 1/4” wide slot, to hold the brass bar.  And I put a threaded hole in it to use for a hold-down.  Here I’m finishing up threading the hole in the holder:


And here’s my fixture in action.  You can see the 1/4" brass stock, and I’m just rotating it around a 3/32” pivot to round the end.

I’ve seen many other people on this forum use a technique similar to this. And while it worked fine, if I decided to try this again, I will definitely make the fixture longer.  It was about 6” long, but that still got my fingers a little close for my comfort.  It didn’t feel as ‘secure’ as I would have liked when shaping the end.

With the steering column post completed, it was time to solder it to the bracket.  The angle of the post is important, so I took care in setting that up accurately.  Here’s the part, just before soldering, with flux and solder applied:


And after. You can see I got the top of the post a little hot, but not too bad. It cleaned up quite well.


And here’s the completed right steering bracket.


And here are the two brackets. The steering roller chain will be suspended between these two, and the steering column will be held by the post on the on the left.

« Last Edit: July 08, 2017, 06:59:54 PM by Kim »

Online Kim

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Re: Steam Tractor 3/4" (Rudy K)
« Reply #545 on: February 18, 2017, 06:50:51 PM »
Next is mounting all the steering brackets.

I started with the two lower brackets; the ones that will hold the Steering Chain Roller.  Here’s the one on the left side bolted in place:


And the one on the right:


Now I can position the upper steering column bracket.  I did this by using the 3/32” brass rod that will become the steering column.  By running this through the lower bracket, I can find the best place to mount the upper bracket while keeping the column able to rotate freely.


I used a piece of double-sided-sticky-tape to hold the bracket in place.


Then I took the horn plate off the tractor and drilled matching rivet holes in the horn plate.


Here’s the Upper Steering Column Bracket after being riveted in place.


And, after reassembling the horn plate, and adding the steering worm, and spur gears, we have this!  :cartwheel:


As it turns out, while my bracket here held the worm and spur together, it was quite tight.  It required excessive force to turn the worm, and just seemed like things would wear excessively.  So after a lot of hemming & hawing, I finally unsoldered and re-soldered the post, moving it just a fraction higher (maybe, 1/64” or so.  It took me two tries to get it right). But it was worth it, it really helped a lot!   Now it turns freely and the spacing of the worm & spur seem quite goodl.


And this, my friends, brings you up to real-time with my build!
So, it is NOW time for me to go play in my shop for a while  ;D
Talk to you all in a bit,
Kim
« Last Edit: July 08, 2017, 07:00:24 PM by Kim »

Offline zeeprogrammer

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Re: Steam Tractor 3/4" (Rudy K)
« Reply #546 on: February 18, 2017, 07:17:07 PM »
 :ThumbsUp: Looking good Kim.  :popcorn:
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Offline Dave Otto

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Re: Steam Tractor 3/4" (Rudy K)
« Reply #547 on: February 18, 2017, 07:35:12 PM »
Nicely done Kim!
Thanks for the update.


Dave

Offline Don1966

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Re: Steam Tractor 3/4" (Rudy K)
« Reply #548 on: February 18, 2017, 07:39:56 PM »
More great progress and looking good Kim..... :ThumbsUp:

Don

Online Kim

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Re: Steam Tractor 3/4" (Rudy K)
« Reply #549 on: February 19, 2017, 02:05:07 AM »
Zee, Dave, and Don,
Thanks for stopping by and for leaving the comments!
Much appreciated!
Kim

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Steam Tractor 3/4" (Rudy K)
« Reply #550 on: February 19, 2017, 02:29:20 AM »
Nice work on a very tricky part Kim....well done!!

Bill

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Re: Steam Tractor 3/4" (Rudy K)
« Reply #551 on: February 20, 2017, 03:42:48 AM »
Thanks Bill!  Yeah, I'm still trying to get the hang of these fabricated parts, as you can see in this post too!

-----

One detail I hadn’t done yet was to finish up the Steering Chain Roller. I needed to drill and tap a couple of 2-56 holes in the roller to provide a way to attach the steering chain.  While doing this, I also milled a couple of flats for the spur gear and the collar.  (you really can see the flats if you look closely on the right side)


Then, it’s time for the steering wheel. I started that by bending a piece of 3/32” round brass into a circle of ~1 1/8” in diameter.  Then I scribed the steering wheel web on a piece of 1/32” brass and roughed it out with the nibbler.


After cutting the steering wheel web on the scroll saw, cleaned it up with files, then bent the five spider legs to shape it, like so:


Then I setup the steering wheel for soldering.  I forgot to get my usual ‘before’ picture, but it looked a LOT better than the after shot; it looks more like a burnt offering to the metal gods!  Too much flux, too much heat, and too much solder.  I did it all wrong here. But I kept working at it till I thought it might pass.


And after a good scrubbing to get rid of the black gunk, and a lot of filing to remove the excess solder, here’s out it turned out:


Not the most consistent solder job in the world.  But since this is my learning engine (aren’t they all? :)) I decided I was happy with it!

To compete the steering wheel, I needed to make the steering knob.  I did this by putting a piece of 3/32” brass rod on the lathe and attacking it with some files.  Here’s out it turned out:


The next challenge was to drill a little hole in the steering wheel to mount it. The thing I should have done would have been to drill the steering wheel ring BEFORE I soldered it onto the 6” long steering column.  There was no way to fit this all in my mill.  Just too tall.  So I ended up figuring out a way to hold the steering wheel & column assembly under my bigger, bench drill press.  I was a little worried due to the tiny drill size, (this drill press isn't so accurate) but it worked out just fine!


To attach the steering knob I used a little bit of red Loctite.  I didn’t want to heat that part up again for fear of everything falling apart! :o


With that complete, I filed a flat for the worm gear on the end of the steering column, and assembled all parts of the steering column.  And here’s out it looks:




Now, to add the steering chains!

Thanks for stopping by,
Kim
« Last Edit: July 08, 2017, 07:00:45 PM by Kim »

Offline Flyboy Jim

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Re: Steam Tractor 3/4" (Rudy K)
« Reply #552 on: February 20, 2017, 04:40:02 AM »
Good looking steering wheel Kim. I like the steering knob.............except it needs a picture of Betty Grable's famous picture in it!  :naughty:

I always look forward to your updates.

Jim
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Offline 10KPete

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Re: Steam Tractor 3/4" (Rudy K)
« Reply #553 on: February 20, 2017, 05:25:08 AM »
Wow, that steering wheel came out great! I was wondering how you were going to do it.

Keep it going, I love watching how you figure things out!!   :praise2:

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Offline zeeprogrammer

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Re: Steam Tractor 3/4" (Rudy K)
« Reply #554 on: February 20, 2017, 11:27:22 AM »
Nice job. And you've got to be proud of that knob! Filed! Wow.  :ThumbsUp:
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