Textile Mill Diorama

[J.L.]

Padauk is a beautiful wood. No wonder why it is used so widely.

I've shown this picture before, but since we were discussing padauk, I thought I'd show it again here.

[Kim]

Those are very nice turnings, John.  The wood is quite beautiful, as you say
Kim

[J.L.]

Thanks Kim. I do miss the wood lathe every now and then.

I really like working with castings! 

Casting flaws have shown up on the first facing cut. Cleaning up this side edge may throw off the casting centre completely. Perhaps there is enough meat to bring everything true later.

Maybe I will be making that shoe from scratch....

[J.L.]

I'm done with this casting 

I think I can build it up from scratch. A brass shoe and an aluminum block should do the job.

For a novice like me working with metal, bar stock of a specific size seems to be far more accurate than miling something to shape, flipping it over and milling it exactly the same again on the other side.  That seems more difficult  than building a piece lego style from the bottom up.

[Jo]

Yes I have a pair of similar Iron crosshead castings missing from my Commander and when I enquired was told it is easier to fabricate it than to machine the casting 

Other option is to machine off the two spigots, mill it square and add a steel shaft with bronze bushes.

Jo

[J.L.]

Hi Jo,

Thanks for the suggestions. It's reassring that even the supplier suggested a fabriation of this critical  part in the power train.

We are on the right track with the thoought of building the part.

Cheers...John

[J.L.]

The cladding is on.

This wood is inherently oily as many exotics are. Questions are often asked about gluing and finishing it without getting a sticky mess.

But here, in this application, it is perfect. A few drops of oil on the finger and a rub down produces quite a nice look.

The brass bands and fasteners will enhance this large cyinder furthur as we move along.

[Tennessee Whiskey]

Really nice John. The bands will look super with the drain cocks 

Cletus

[mklotz]

Wow, cladding that looks like fine furniture.  I don't know.  The Victorians were classy but were they THAT classy?

Just joking John, it looks fabulous.  Will the cladding bands be 18K or 24K?

[J.L.]

Thank you Cletus.

Hi Marv,
You make my day with your comments.

I would think the bands would be about 3" in width or 1/4" in scale, so I went looking for brass strips at K &S hobby metals. They have 1/4" x 12" lengths in .016 and .032 thicknesses. I oredered the .016.

I think brass bolts and brass washers would look nice as well to fasten them.

Hi Jason,
Your suggestion of widening the groove worked to reduce the amount of friction in the cylinder. Your analogy of allowing the 0-ring room to compress like a squished football was apt.

Cheers...John
 

[zeeprogrammer]

Hi Marv,
You make my day with your comments.

Indeed. Same here. Although I question why 'make my day' is always assumed to be positive.  (Think Eastwood.)

As always...I'm following along. Always something to learn for me.

[J.L.]

Hi Carl,
Thanks. I do remember that Clint Eastwood scene.

Marv, I've decided to not have the bands gold plated...

I find the Olfa circle cutter very helpful for cutting thin paper circles.

[J.L.]

A family shot of the cylinder parts so far...

[J.L.]

We have a functioning cylinder. I am very pleased with the firm, smooth sliding movement of the piston. The 1/4" 0-ring in the stuffing box was adjusted with the nuts bearing against the gland. What a lot of difference a little tweaking makes!!

The orignnal plans for the back cover suggested three threaded 'lifting holes' spaced at 120 degrees around the cover. I did not install them, but I can certainly see the advantage they would give if you wanted to gently remove the back cover without having to pry it off with a screwdriver blade! 

 

[ddmckee54]

You definitely need the threaded lifting holes.  The holes for the lifting eyes were not so much for the gentle removal of the cover; they are there so you can tie off the cover and not drop it on your foot when you pry the cover off with the screwdriver.  Or worse yet as far as the company was concerned, drop the cover and break it.  These things would have been about the size of a manhole cover and probably weighed about as much.

Don