Author Topic: Chris's Mann Wagon Build  (Read 130061 times)

Offline Steamer5

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Re: Chris's Mann Wagon Build
« Reply #225 on: June 29, 2020, 04:23:40 AM »
Hi Chris,
 Coming along in large leaps & bounds!
Looking very nice.

Cheers Kerrin
Get excited and make something!

Offline gbritnell

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Re: Chris's Mann Wagon Build
« Reply #226 on: June 29, 2020, 06:16:06 PM »
Another amazing build Chris! The speed at which you turn out these projects is amazing! You sure like working with that 303 stainless.
gbritnell
Talent unshared is talent wasted.

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Mann Wagon Build
« Reply #227 on: June 29, 2020, 08:16:55 PM »
Thanks guys!

And this time, its not 303!  :shrug:   The side rails for the frame are mild steel, was limited by the sizes available. The thin crossbars are tool steel strips. I picked up some thin plate 304 stock for the cab and wheel spokes too. For most machined parts I like to stick with the 303 when its available - have a good selection of flat bar, and also a lot of larger round bar that I picked up as drops at a bargain price, but they dont make it in thin strips (under 1/8") very much.


Today got a start on the brackets for the rear leaf springs to hang from, took a couple of false starts to come up with a practical way to make them. Pictures of that later or tomorrow when they come together - too nice a day not to spend it outdoors!

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Mann Wagon Build
« Reply #228 on: June 29, 2020, 10:54:54 PM »
Okay, got the pieces all drilled for rivets and rough cut to length for the leaf spring brackets. These are simple rectangular brackets, but with thin/short parts so after some experimenting I settled on riveting them together to hold everything in alignment for silver soldering - these have to take all of the load from the rear axle, so they need to be sturdy.  Here are the parts, with one set assembled:

The assembled one is one of the front pair, the rear pair will have the wider risers to give room for the rear brake hangers. Leaving them rough cut for length will aid in the silver soldering, making an inside corner so I can lay in a short bit of the solder wire and do all four corners in one heat. Then they will be milled back to final size, and the rivet heads ground off.

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Mann Wagon Build
« Reply #229 on: June 30, 2020, 09:37:41 PM »
More done on some boring looking but very important brackets to hold the rear axle leaf springs. Got them silver soldered, and trimmed off the overhangs on the bars. Next will start drilling mounting holes, pivot holes, and milling in the pivot slots in the larger blocks....



Offline cnr6400

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Re: Chris's Mann Wagon Build
« Reply #230 on: July 01, 2020, 12:28:42 AM »
 :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:
"I've cut that stock three times, and it's still too short!"

Offline Don1966

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Re: Chris's Mann Wagon Build
« Reply #231 on: July 01, 2020, 01:10:41 AM »
Dog your just to much..... :Love:




 :cheers:
Don

Offline Kim

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Re: Chris's Mann Wagon Build
« Reply #232 on: July 01, 2020, 05:26:33 PM »
Nice fabrication work you do there, Chris!  Love to see all those pieces coming together.
Kim

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Mann Wagon Build
« Reply #233 on: July 01, 2020, 07:20:27 PM »
Thanks guys!  Beers are in the fridge, just push past the line of shop elves!   :Lol:

Next up is the brackets that hold the trailing arms to the rear axle as well as the pivot levers for the brake band. They are taller than the leaf spring set, to put the cross rod below the top length of drive chain, and they also extend past where the frame starts to angle in to the boiler, so one leg has to be at an angle. I bent the legs/pads from lengths of tool steel bar, and needed a way to solder them to the square steel block at the center. I set up the V-block on the lathe, and used a slitting saw to cut notches at two adjacent corners to fit the legs:

To hold them for soldering, it worked out that I could clamp the pads to a bit of bar stock, pushing against the block in the center, and it stayed in place. One leg has an angle on the end to match the bend in the frame, so that leg is not in line with the other.


Hung the part upside down on the firebrick, so the solder would run down into the joint:

Added some heat, and cleaned them up with a soak in vinegar. Here they are side by side, ready for final trimming. The legs on the left are parallel, the ones on the right are canted, so they will line up with the frames:

On to trimming/drilling....

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Mann Wagon Build
« Reply #234 on: July 01, 2020, 08:55:16 PM »
GRRRRRRRRR!!!!    :censored:
Those ungrateful little... elves!  After complaining that the Mann Wagon was taking too long (  :o ), and knowing that the trip to Maine this fall to drive the Lombards around the museum is probably canceled due to the virus, they went on their little elf-top computers and bought an old Mamod steam wagon!


and NOW they are asking ME to replace the seals on the plugs and get a new set of drive belts for it!  :censored: :censored: :censored:

Oh, and  :censored: :censored: too!

 :Jester:

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Mann Wagon Build
« Reply #235 on: July 03, 2020, 12:30:33 AM »
Once I got the elves out of their truck, got some more done on the brackets under the frame - drilled and slotted the large front ones (which will hold both the brake levers and the rear axle links). Then clamped the first set down the side, and drilled for the mounting screws. To ensure the holes in the brackets were aligned with the holes in the frame, I first drilled clearance holes in the bracket foot pads. Then, set up the small drill press (Proxxon) with the clearance drill, and clamped the brackets in position. Then used the clearance drill to peck a starter hole, using the hole in the bracket as a guide to keep the drill in position and not skating off. Then, switched to the tap drill size (for 2-56 screws), and drilled through the frame.

You can see the ends of the screws from the top crossmembers sticking through the frame - all the screws will be trimmed later.

Also, I've been in contact with the curator out at the museum in Vancouver that has one of the Mann trucks, it was videos of theirs that helped show me a lot of the details. He has kindly sent me a bunch of photos of the inside of the cab and around the controls - invaluable help since I am on the wrong side of the continent to pop over and see it in person. Also just sent the museum in a donation  to their steam train restoration fund in thanks for their help, well worth it for their help!

Offline cnr6400

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Re: Chris's Mann Wagon Build
« Reply #236 on: July 03, 2020, 01:15:44 AM »
 :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: Great progress Chris.

Re belts for the Mamod - I'd say if you get a set of belts and seal washers for the Mamod truck you may find the shop elves have steamed up and b^gg6r6d off one day. A "severe flight risk" as the actors say in the TV courtroom bail hearings.   :Lol:
"I've cut that stock three times, and it's still too short!"

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Mann Wagon Build
« Reply #237 on: July 03, 2020, 01:19:16 AM »
:ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: Great progress Chris.

Re belts for the Mamod - I'd say if you get a set of belts and seal washers for the Mamod truck you may find the shop elves have steamed up and b^gg6r6d off one day. A "severe flight risk" as the actors say in the TV courtroom bail hearings.   :Lol:
Don't tell them, but it only has a range of a hundred feet or two, so I'll get a call to go next door and push them back!   :Lol:

Offline ddmckee54

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Re: Chris's Mann Wagon Build
« Reply #238 on: July 03, 2020, 02:31:12 AM »
You already know they read the forums.  You now have proof that they are making on-line purchases...  How much of a stretch is it to think that the eleves just might have hacked your computer and read the replies before you actually send them?

Think about your cyber-security old fellow,  it's not being paranoid if they ACTUALLY are out to get you.

And yes, despite being an electrical engineer, I DO periodically campaign for a return to clay tablets, sharp sticks and abacusssesses - or is that abacii?

Don

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Mann Wagon Build
« Reply #239 on: July 03, 2020, 03:01:16 AM »
You already know they read the forums.  You now have proof that they are making on-line purchases...  How much of a stretch is it to think that the eleves just might have hacked your computer and read the replies before you actually send them?

Think about your cyber-security old fellow,  it's not being paranoid if they ACTUALLY are out to get you.

And yes, despite being an electrical engineer, I DO periodically campaign for a return to clay tablets, sharp sticks and abacusssesses - or is that abacii?

Don
I was a software engineer fir several decades, it was a looong time before I got a computer at home. Still don't have a smart phone... And I think its abacusssessesiii

 

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