A simple Vertical Steam Engine.

[Jo]

The bearings have been drilled for the big end bolts and two of them turned round. One to go...

Jo

[Flyboy Jim]

It has just started raining, guess where I am off to 

Jo

I think Model Machinists are one of the few groups of folks who don't mind rainy days.  I get some strange looks around here when I mention that I don't think the winter is going to be long enough to get everything done that I'd like.

Jim

PS: The bearings and rods came out nice, Jo.

[Jo]

Thanks Jim,

I must not go in the workshop on a Thursday evening  I must not go in the workshop on a Thursday evening 

I successfully drilled the first rod to take the bolts then  forgot to check the alignment to the second and it was out by a nat's whisker  holes bunged up..... try again tomorrow  .

Jo

[Admiral_dk]

Nice work from you as usual Jo  .... But why :

I must not go in the workshop on a Thursday evening  I must not go in the workshop on a Thursday evening 

or is this one of these question where I shouldn't ask 

[zeeprogrammer]

Nice work from you as usual Jo  .... But why :

I must not go in the workshop on a Thursday evening  I must not go in the workshop on a Thursday evening 

or is this one of these question where I shouldn't ask 

Yeah. I might've been afraid to ask. I'm glad you did.

[Jo]

Its an age thing as the work week proceeds I get tired... if I am tired I make mistakes   

By Thursday evening I normally ban myself from the workshop because of the risk of mistakes. Two holes drilled correctly... two wrong  Try again this afternoon.....

Jo

[Bluechip]

Ah! Holes ......     Teacherous things, holes.

In the process of cladding my shed I'm fitting ally strips along the bottom of the cladding.

These have screw-holes carefully drilled to coincide with some existing wall plugs in concrete blocks.

Didn't line up .... 

During a brief lull in the profanities I noticed an upside down 'R'  on the L.H. end of the strip ......  ( Did drill them last October )

Turned strip around and now fits fine ... 

  

Way, way past it .... poor old scrote ..

Dave

[Jo]

Over the last what seems couple of weeks  I hacksawed down one of the sides of that piece of cast Iron    someone kindly said "what are you doing wasting your time doing that, you need a metal cutting band saw"  "or why don't you just machine it off" 

So for the other three sides I used my "does not leave a very nice finish but boy does it shift metal" carbide tipped tool in H... It made short order of the other side and having checked all was square the two ends were faced down.. 

The original No 5A valve chest is to size the other two and all the parts are still waiting to be taken down to size.... a bit of measuring is now needed  .

Jo

[Jasonb]

That's not like you Jo, turning usefull offcuts into swarf ratrher than trying to save them.

Could you not have held the part in your power hacksaw vice and cut the sides off?

[Jo]

The first clue that things were not to drawing was when I checked one of the over sized valve chests and found it was already too short for the cylinder    So find out where we are: All the Cylinders are over length, one valve chest is to length (if under) and the other two are going to be shorter than the cylinders  . 


Casting fondling time   


The Swan cylinders need to both be the same length, so choose a length and go for it = that steam chest which is to length. This gives the lengths of the various engine cylinders. Now I just need to know how much comes off each face.... Choice of face to take it off may seem obvious, you just looks at the flanges on the outside  but that is all going to be covered over so really we should be looking to locate the steam ports centrally. The result is that the offset on one cylinder is nearly 0.8mm

So now I know how much needs to come off each face (or not  ) I can at least take the steam chests to lengths..

Jo

[Jo]

That's not like you Jo, turning usefull offcuts into swarf ratrher than trying to save them.

Could you not have held the part in your power hacksaw vice and cut the sides off?

No it has a habit of snapping blades. What I really need is a metal cutting band saw 

Jo

[Jasonb]

So thats why you have just got a woodcutting bandsaw, watch that snap the blades

I will have to show you how to fold up the blades when I next visit, there is a nack to it.

[Jo]

So thats why you have just got a woodcutting bandsaw, watch that snap the blades

I have not got it yet  I am still waiting. I think Ollie know I want to watch qualifying so has just phoned up to tell me he is an hour away 

Jo

[Flyboy Jim]

So thats why you have just got a woodcutting bandsaw, watch that snap the blades

I will have to show you how to fold up the blades when I next visit, there is a nack to it.

Folding blades is the easy part. Unfolding blades is where things can get out of hand..............literally! 

Jo..........I enjoy seeing how you take these pieces and figure out what needs to be done for what seems to be "best compromise". 

Jim

[Jo]

So the wood band saw has been allowed in, the WOOD lathe and WOOD planer had to stay outside  thankfully my friend who I was buying them off of came to his senses and kept the pillar drill as I told him to. (No one should have a shed without a pillar drill  )

The band saw has been allowed in the main part of the garage, sounds from the workshop have informed me that it is not allowed through into the main workshop, staying out there with Smelly is "acceptable". 

Sadly my shaper is going to have to go to make space for it    And I have tried to sell on the old shaper so many times and got no where and it is worth more in scrap metal than as a machine tool, that I should admit I am scrapping it 

Jo..........I enjoy seeing how you take these pieces and figure out what needs to be done for what seems to be "best compromise". 

Thanks Jim,

While it may seem long winded it is only by explaining every step that we can overcome the fear of castings some people suffer from  .

Jo