Textile Mill Diorama

[zeeprogrammer]

No idea of how useful this would be for fellows using live steam.

Neat idea. After drying, I wonder how it holds up to water, steam, and/or oil.

[crueby]

Another one I have used is linen tape, used in book repair. Its white with a tight cloth weave, looks like scaled down asbestos sheets.


 

[J.L.]

The outside corner of the boiler room is complete.

The quick disconnect is located directly below the chimney.

[J.L.]

Now that the back wall of the engine room has been temporarily put in place, the location of the engine's base can be established. Foam mock-up parts are still useful.

I am so glad I had the base professionally machined. It is so long, I would have had trouble clamping it onto the bed of my mill/drill.

James told me that they had to get creative with shims to get the part clamped onto their larger mill so that they could flattened the bottom first.

I should have asked how they clamped it so that they could make long, uninterrupted passes without fouling any clamps. I do recall James telling me that they have a magnetic milling bed. Maybe they used that.

Also, I would have had troube determining the height of the elevated flats on the top of the bed. They are measured down from an imaginary line 1 1/2" above the top of the baseplate. I think a computer is needed to calculate the distances down from this datum line in the air. 

I guess you could probably figure out how high the pads should be from the bedplate bottom with a caliper.

Having this base machined for me put me way down the road.

[zeeprogrammer]

What size is that quick disconnect?

[b.lindsey]

Nice update John. The partition wall looks the part. Your planning has paid nice dividends

Bill

[J.L.]

Yes Bill, I find I'm using the mock-up now to just reassure myself that things are proportional when I cut the real parts such as partitions. The sizes may change a little bit, but I know basically where the door and the window will go in that partition you mentioned.

Hi Carl,
The quick disconnect is 1/2". Interestingly enough, its ID is just about 5/16"- the diameter of my brass piping. The fitting is epoxied on the pipe. The threads you saw in one of the pics above (page 9) just help anchor the epoxy.

[J.L.]

As s time went on, I think concrete became the norm for raised piers and pedistals for steam engines.

So this time, I'm moving away from brick. The pedistal is made of laminated particleboard. This material's edge is notorious for its rough edges unlike MDF, so it has been plastered before priming.

The little router bit was not cheap, but with its integrated bearing, it made short work of edging the wood.

[b.lindsey]

John, on that inside corner in picture 3, how did you get the "vee"  chamfer in the corner. Normally with such a bit, the chamfer will have a radius right in the corner due to the round nature of the bit. Did you stop short of the corner and finish that by hand?

Bill

[sco]

John that base just looks so special - I can only dream about doing something so good on the Lane and Bodley 

Simon.

[J.L.]

Thanks Simon.

Hi Bill. You are right, the bit does leave a rounded corner. But no, you don't stop short at the corner, you just continue on until the bearing hits and sends you off along the other edge leaving the rounded corner.

Yes, a bit of filing with a fine wood rasp and you've got a mitred corner!

The trick now will be to get a nice concrete 'look' with the sea sponge.

John

[J.L.]

I think it worked.

We'll see when its dry...

[J.L.]

While waiting for that concrete to dry, here's something that has nothing to do with model engine making, but some might find it interesting. A simple stick added to a trim router makes short work of cutting an arc in wood. Once the radius of the arc is determinged a pivot hole in the stick does the job.

I do have a metal working question. When cutting #10-32 threads with a die, is 3/16" round bar suitable?  I am thinking ahead to bolting the bedplate of the engine to the 'concrete' pedestal. The studs will have to be long enough to go all the way through the bedplate, the pedistal and the floor of the diorama. I don't have threaded rod on hand.

[crueby]

The outside diameter of 10-32 threads is 0.190", the rod you have is 0.1875, that is plenty close enough, should work fine. If its steel bar, I usually take it down several thou under the thread diameter to start it anyway.

[J.L.]

Thanks Chris,
Just what I wanted to know.
John