Author Topic: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel  (Read 573895 times)

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #3450 on: March 16, 2019, 06:26:27 PM »

I am not an alien!  I am siccing the Elves Union on you!   :Lol:

I meant no negative judgement. As it happens I have some alien DNA myself.

Flying saucer landed in the hills of south-west Scotland 5000 years ago...
So you were in those Highlander movies....   :ROFL:

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #3451 on: March 16, 2019, 06:31:45 PM »
Back in the shop this afternoon for a bit, got a start shaping down the con-rods. First screwed it to a aluminum block and centered the big end on the rotary table, and milled in the shallow circle on both sides. The sections where the bolts go through are slightly narrower than the center, and this defines the edge between them. The shelves where the bolt ends are will be taken in a little in a future step. The circle ends where it meets the arm of the con rod.


Did both sides of all six con rods. Then moved the holder so that the small end is centered on the rotary table, and started milling the small end down round, stopping where it meets that end of the arm:

A few more to get to that stage, then I'll mill the sides of the center arm down....

Offline gary.a.ayres

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Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #3452 on: March 16, 2019, 06:34:02 PM »
Nice setup with the aluminium block  :ThumbsUp:

Offline gary.a.ayres

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Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #3453 on: March 16, 2019, 06:35:21 PM »

So you were in those Highlander movies....   :ROFL:

Just as an extra. Anonymous face in the crowd. The way I like it...  8)

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #3454 on: March 16, 2019, 06:36:59 PM »
Nice setup with the aluminium block  :ThumbsUp:
Better/cheaper to chew up some scrap ali than to keep digging into the steel tooling plate with all the work to drill/tap all those holes!
 :cheers:

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #3455 on: March 16, 2019, 08:52:14 PM »
More done on the con rods, all the small ends are rounded and got the sides taken in as well. To make sure the tapers were even, I got one side adjusted to connect the dots, then locked the rotary table. After doing one side, just flipped the parts over to take the other side of the taper down.

All 6 parts have the tapers done, last will be to take the bottom caps to size (shown in blue around the bottom end of the crank pin holes) and square up the front ends of the bolt flanges.



Offline 90LX_Notch

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Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #3456 on: March 16, 2019, 08:55:06 PM »
Just checking in.  Outstanding work as usual Chris.

-Bob
Proud Member of MEM

My Engine Videos on YouTube-
http://www.youtube.com/user/Notch90usa/videos

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #3457 on: March 17, 2019, 01:23:53 PM »
Thanks Bob!
Before starting in on the big end caps this morning, just had to see how the slew engine looks in place. Its not easy to get into place with the hoist engine already there - if I was going to build another Marion 91 (which I am not!) I would make and install the slew engine before the hoist engine. Hmmm... though that would make the hoist engine tougher to get at too... Oh well, all tricky to get at! Two ways to get the engine into place - either remove the floor plate and come in under the hoist steam chest, or remove the slew winding drum/axle and lower it in from the upper front. Either way, its like putting a V8 engine/transmission into a Miata!
Here are a couple of pics, tough to get an angle to see it all.






Offline Don1966

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Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #3458 on: March 17, 2019, 03:40:07 PM »
Damn Dog a little tight but hey no step for a stepper right?   :stickpoke:



 :popcornsmall:
Don

Offline cnr6400

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Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #3459 on: March 17, 2019, 04:30:08 PM »
Sure isn't much extra space around the slew engine Chris, but the engine looks great. Maybe the Marion plant installed the slew engine first and built the hoist around it?

Or maybe they had a 12 foot crane-operated cast iron shoehorn?  :naughty:
"I've cut that stock three times, and it's still too short!"

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #3460 on: March 17, 2019, 06:05:10 PM »
When I was out there taking pictures and measurements of the real one, the only way to get from one side of the cab to the other in front of the boiler was to climb over the top of the slew engine and the backstay. Even up at the operator station there is no clear path due to the slew chains and idler wheels. Walking down the sides of the hoist engine meant putting one foot in front of the other, and balancing by putting one hand on the guards over the gears as I went. They used all possible space for the machinery, limited by the standard width of a railway car. Most of the old photos I have show a set of planks hung on the outside by home made brackets at about floor level, to make a path from front to back without getting eaten by the gears! Modern day health and safety inspectors would have their heads explode....!

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #3461 on: March 17, 2019, 06:19:27 PM »
A bunch of little stuff accomplished today, started with cutting down the big end caps like all the other bearing caps, flat at the ends, curve in the middle...

and trimmed the front of the cap screw flanges

The con rods all together around the campfire...

And time for a test fit on the engines to make sure everything clears - needed to take a couple of burs off the crank pins but they all move around okay. The bronze bearings have not been made yet, so they dont fit properly yet.

All the cranks back in place, looks like the con rod profile is fine, no contact with the crosshead bores in any position - the 3D model showed they should be fine, but always nice to verify in real world.

Closer view:

So, next up I think will be the con rod bearings - split ones at the big end, tubes at the front end.

Offline gary.a.ayres

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Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #3462 on: March 17, 2019, 09:05:16 PM »
Just... Wow!

:whoohoo:

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #3463 on: March 17, 2019, 09:27:43 PM »
Gary, by my latest count, only 44 more parts to make. For each of the three engines. So, almost done...   :insane:




 :DrinkPint:

Offline gary.a.ayres

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Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #3464 on: March 18, 2019, 12:46:12 AM »
It's just as well that you enjoy this pastime then.... :Lol:

 

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