Benson's Vertical Steam Engine

[wagnmkr]

Hi Tom,
I found the little dental mirror and a pick set at Shopper's Drug Mart. Under $5.00.

That surprises me but well done John. The two I suggested were likely much more than that.

Tom

[kvom]

All of the version of this model I've seem videos have the pump, but I've never seen one pump water.  For myself, the innards of the pump will be empty.  Good luck.

[b.lindsey]

That is great news John, I am looking forward to seeing the video as well as what you decide as to a proper setting for this engine.

Bill

[J.L.]

Thanks Bill. The setting will be the focus for awhile.
I want to know how far the piping will come out before I start the floor. The brass valve body is seen here. The tee and the plug will be put into the steam line to admit oil to the cylinder.

[J.L.]

Hi Kirk,
Yes, I have not seen a Benson pumping water on any of the online videos either.
I am assuming it can.

In making the tank for the water, I needed to turn a very thin piece of copper for its floor. I did not have a nice  piece of 1 1/2" copper bar from which to slice off a thin biscuit.

So a piece of 16 gauge copper was sandwiched between two pieces of wood and turned.

Drilling the hole in the floor of the tank before soldering was done as well between two pieces of wood. Drilling thin sheet metal can be very dangerous if not done properly.

[J.L.]

I don't think I could have designed the base of the tank as nicely without seeing the cast aluminum ring supplied with the water tank offered by PMR.

Four feet or lugs allow the tank to be firmly attached to its pedestal. The floor the tank is elevated so that it can be lowered onto a recess in the tank's base.

[J.L.]

I am taking a diversion from cutting metal for awhile and am working on the pump room in the other thread in Germany (the cardmodelling site).

Kirk, I don't have a CNC machine to program, but here is a shot of what I guess would be old school technology by cutting a radius with a rotary table on the milling machine. This is the top of the window in the pump room.

[tvoght]

Beautiful work as always, John. Have you posted a link to the German cardmodelling site? I know I'd like to take a gander...

--Tim

[kvom]

JL,

In reality most of the uses for my CNC mill involve jobs that would have needed a rotab.  Parts with all straight sides are usually easier to do manually.  An except is where very small endmills are needed.  Being able to program feed rates <3 IPM is very useful.

[J.L.]

Hi Tim,
Okay, here's the link to the Benson on the cardmodelling site. Most of my architectural builds are in the finished segment and the gallery of the Architecture section. I have quite a large body of work there, so they let me get away with posting some metal threads since I got interested in model engineering. You can see the photos in thumbnail size only; not being a member.

http://www.die-kartonmodellbauer.de/index.php?thread/4015-benson-s-vertical-steam-engine/

The exterior of the pump room:

[tvoght]

Thanks for posting the link John. I was surprised to find your metal engine build there, and gratified to see that you had posted in English!

I'm not an accomplished cardstock modeller, but my father showed me years ago what an excellent modelling material paper could be.  I'll try to stay up on your work on the pump room over there.

--Tim

[b.lindsey]

The pump room exterior is beautiful John, very fitting for this nice engine.

Bill

[Flyboy Jim]

I really like how you bring your model engines to life John. 

I was checking out the background showing some of your shop. Have you done a workshop post by any chance.........hint hint. 

Jim

[J.L.]

Hi Jim,
Thank you for your kind words.
I took your suggestion and posted some pictures in the 'My Workshop' section of this forum. They just show the north end of the shop where the new mill/drill and metal lathe were installed.
Cheers...John

[J.L.]

Hi Bill and Tim,
Thanks. For me, building the engine is just the beginning of the fun.
John