Lane and Bodley 400hp Corliss

[sco]

Below is a better picture of the crank web key and the second picture also shows better what Jason was talking about with a plate possibly covering a reservoir.

Simon.

[Ramon Wilson]

Well it's in the shaft but not by much - all the info in books I have on the subject show keys fitted at least by a third of section. Could be the shaft is reduced at that point as Jason suggests but a reservoir?  Nothing I can find in that info suggests any form of removable crank either - either shrunk or hydraulically pressed on with keys usually in the latter so I'd certainly be interested to know what this plate would reveal when removed Maybe Willy might have something in his vast collection of info

I take it the make up of 'glass bodied' oilers isn't of much interest

Tug

[sco]

Hi Tug,

Yes would love to know what's behind that plate - thinking at the moment is to groove the face and add some screw heads to give the illusion of a plate.  I think the reservoir that Jason is referring to is on the top of bearing cap underneath the plate the oilers are fitted to.  Speafking of the oilers, they are likely a year or more away at my pace so was not really thinking too much about them - I guess you are saying the 'glass' can be cut from a thin plastic tube and retained with some sort of glue - JB or something? :-)

Simon.

[Ramon Wilson]

Ah, misunderstood you on the reservoir - yes I would think that likely. 

Doing as you suggest would be a good way of replicating the feature - I've just done similar on the eccentrics to simulate a split component.

For the oilers I use the very clear and thin walled plastic protective tube that is usually found on new artists round paint brushes to simulate the glass. Much easier to work than glass, and has this very thin wall. I just use a dab of cyano to keep them together which is oil resistant for this purpose. Another source is the enclosures that small cutting tools come in - worth checking at work? Art shops sometimes keep a box of surplus tubes under the counter - worth an ask there too.


Cutting is dead easy  - the more rigid tube can be held conventionally but the thin walled is best done over a quickly turned ali mandrel, slightly tapered at the chuck end to provide a drive. The 'parting' tool is ground at a sharp angle like a screw cutting tool for best results. It gives a nice clean cut off with a slight taper for the glue to form. Major diameter on these is around 9mm - 'glass' is about 6.5


Just been told last night that the last chance for a boiler test this year is tomorrow so the Wide a Wake will be taking over the bench today 

Tug

[sco]

Thanks Tug - I'll 'file' that idea of the brush tubes away for future reference 

Here's the finished parts of the bearing housing and fitted together with a piece of silver steel that will become the crankshaft.

Simon.

[vcutajar]

The bearing pedestal turned out really well.

Vince

[Ramon Wilson]

Now you're really making me wish I'd gone to that effort    That looks bloody perfect  .

Have you done both bearings or is that the first?

Personally I would use En1a for the crankshaft as with cast iron (or cast bronze) that makes for a very good running combination. Silver steel isn't always 'round' either, tends to be three lobed due to the grinding process - perhaps something to bear in mind too. Besides, En1a is so much nicer to machine 

Nice work Simon - Tug

 

[Dennis]

Good Morning Simon,

Just saw the work you have done on the main journal and bearings.  Excellent as always.  I certainly hope I have an opportunity to see the finish model in person, it is going to be one of the best for this model.

If I understand some of the comments correctly, there is confusion as to what is behind the disk on the crank face on the original engine.  I was not allowed to take the disk off but if this engine is like others, there is a two piece clamp ring with an inner and outer ring. both rings are tapered front to back on the mating surfaces and slotted.  There are bolts running through the taper sections from front to back such that when the bolts are tightened, the ring can expand and clamp onto both the crank shaft and the crank arm resulting in a concentric clamp.  I found drawings for this type of crank arm clamp in the archives at Henry Ford Museum.  I am sure there are also some keys in both the shaft and crank arm that hold part of the rotation forces.  When I had a good look at the design, I decided the parts would be too thin for me and most model builders so decided to leave it out and use a simple key and set screw to attach the crank arm. 

If anyone is interested, I will try to find my notes from that research trip to the museum (it has been a while) and make a sketch of the locking ring to post here.

Hope this helps.
Dennis

[Ramon Wilson]

Hello Dennis,

As one of the guys interested in this crank web arrangement your description is very clear to understand. I have never been aware of a removable crank web before but this cover plate did seem to suggest that something like that was afoot! I would be most interested to see any information you have on the full size arrangement - would you know if other American design Corliss engines had the same feature?

I would agree it would be a fine (as in thin) thing to replicate in working form (and unseen of course) so I think Simon has the right approach in giving an illusion of it but it would be interesting to see any drawing of such a set up.

Thanks for the heads up - Tug

[J.L.]

Hi Tug,

Brilliant idea of using the clear plastic tubes to protect the ends of fine paint brushes and the clear round tubes that hold cuttting bits.

It's little tips like that that make this site a great learning environment.

Cheers...John

Note:
Sorry Simon, this is your thread! I jumped in too fast when I saw Tug's photos.

[sco]

Now you're really making me wish I'd gone to that effort    That looks bloody perfect  .

Have you done both bearings or is that the first?

Personally I would use En1a for the crankshaft as with cast iron (or cast bronze) that makes for a very good running combination. Silver steel isn't always 'round' either, tends to be three lobed due to the grinding process - perhaps something to bear in mind too. Besides, En1a is so much nicer to machine 

Nice work Simon - Tug

Thanks for the thumbs up Tug!  This is just the first bearing and I hear the recommendation for En1a for the crank shaft, did take the supplier of the silver steel two attempts to get one of suitable surface finish.  I know about the three lobed problem and will check for it but it turns pretty smoothly so I'm hoping it is ok.  Apart from some slots for the drive keys and grooves for the set screws there isn't that much machining required on the shaft.

Simon.

[sco]

Good Morning Simon,

Just saw the work you have done on the main journal and bearings.  Excellent as always.  I certainly hope I have an opportunity to see the finish model in person, it is going to be one of the best for this model.

If I understand some of the comments correctly, there is confusion as to what is behind the disk on the crank face on the original engine.  I was not allowed to take the disk off but if this engine is like others, there is a two piece clamp ring with an inner and outer ring. both rings are tapered front to back on the mating surfaces and slotted.  There are bolts running through the taper sections from front to back such that when the bolts are tightened, the ring can expand and clamp onto both the crank shaft and the crank arm resulting in a concentric clamp.  I found drawings for this type of crank arm clamp in the archives at Henry Ford Museum.  I am sure there are also some keys in both the shaft and crank arm that hold part of the rotation forces.  When I had a good look at the design, I decided the parts would be too thin for me and most model builders so decided to leave it out and use a simple key and set screw to attach the crank arm. 

If anyone is interested, I will try to find my notes from that research trip to the museum (it has been a while) and make a sketch of the locking ring to post here.

Hope this helps.
Dennis

Hi Dennis,

Thanks for the comments and the words about the crank disk - sort of sounds like a taper lock bush?  if you could post any sketches or pictures of this detail they would be of most interest to me,

Best wishes,

Simon.

[Jasonb]

Simon the other option is precision ground mild steel (PGMS) has the ground finish of silver steel but machines like EN1A, I use it quite often for built up cranks and ones like this with the throw on one end.

[sco]

Thanks for the reminder about PGMS Jason but doesn't seem to be available in the diameter I need (21mm).  I've previously machined silver steel so not too worried about cutting the grooves - time will tell if I'm being over optimistic!

Simon.

[sco]

Been working on the opposite side main bearing - forgot to take the camera to the workshop about three nights in a row so a bit light on photos.  The plans show a plain split bearing housing with relatively large bronze bearing inserts but the engine in the museum has a stepped split and no obvious bearing insert so am trying to reproduce that by running the crank shaft directly in the cap material.

Next step will be to bolt the two halves together and finish machine the bore.

Simon.