Author Topic: Chris's Holly Pumping Engine Build  (Read 154174 times)

Offline Flyboy Jim

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Re: Chris's Holly Pumping Engine Build
« Reply #1680 on: November 22, 2021, 04:01:20 AM »
Thanks guys!

And for the record, here is what the shop elves did to the last guy who said my lathe was only good for woodworking...


I love it!  :lolb:

Jim
Sherline 4400 Lathe
Sherline 5400 Mill
"You can do small things on big machines, but you can do small things on small machines".

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Holly Pumping Engine Build
« Reply #1681 on: November 22, 2021, 05:16:14 PM »
Hi Jim!   :cheers:

This morning got the IP cylinder base test fit on the engine frames, and marked out/drilled for the mounting holes.

Checked the piston rod for squareness to the base, and spent some time adjusting the plunger rods to true it up - the four rods down to the pump plunger keep the piston rod and the crosshead yoke in line, so tweaking the adjusting nuts can tilt the piston rod back and forth. Thats all running true now, so its on to making the valve tubes and rods. I had a little trouble with the HP valve rods warping a bit when I milled the flats on one side, so this time am going to put flats on both sides to keep them straight - the openings in the tubes are at right angles to each other, and the throw on the valve rods is small enough so having the extra flat won't be a problem. Thought about doing that when I made the HP set, but was not sure of the angular throw at that point. These rods and tubes look just like the HP ones, just a larger diameter.

Time for lunch - where's that chef elf? !

Offline cnr6400

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Re: Chris's Holly Pumping Engine Build
« Reply #1682 on: November 22, 2021, 07:04:40 PM »
After doing all that drilling, I imagine you will want anything EXCEPT Swiss cheese on your sandwich!  :Lol:

the IP fit up looks great!  :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:
"I've cut that stock three times, and it's still too short!"

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Holly Pumping Engine Build
« Reply #1683 on: November 22, 2021, 07:10:32 PM »
After doing all that drilling, I imagine you will want anything EXCEPT Swiss cheese on your sandwich!  :Lol:

the IP fit up looks great!  :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:
More holes, AHHHHHHHHHHH!!    :paranoia:

Offline derekwarner

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Re: Chris's Holly Pumping Engine Build
« Reply #1684 on: November 23, 2021, 01:04:42 AM »
Hi Chris.......the depth of bolted engagement in the LP barrel base spigot at first appeared as questionable & had me tossed [with respect to the cross porting]

However it appears that the shiny surface reflections of the recently machined brass base disguised the actual height of the base spigot

So from the mockup image, it appears that you could have say bolt diameter x 2 engagement??

Derek
Derek L Warner - Honorary Secretary [Retired]
Illawarra Live Steamers Co-op - Australia
www.ils.org.au

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Holly Pumping Engine Build
« Reply #1685 on: November 23, 2021, 01:24:45 AM »
Hi Chris.......the depth of bolted engagement in the LP barrel base spigot at first appeared as questionable & had me tossed [with respect to the cross porting]

However it appears that the shiny surface reflections of the recently machined brass base disguised the actual height of the base spigot

So from the mockup image, it appears that you could have say bolt diameter x 2 engagement??

Derek
Hi Derek,
Yeah, fresh cut brass is tough to photograph!  The flanges are about .100 to .125 thick, and on the caps the holes go a bit deeper than the flange (except where the flanges overhang the base cap) to give room for the taps. I'm using 1/4" and 3/8" long screws, the gaskets are thin so they dont take up much.  The ports are down in the cap blocks, unlike most steam engines we do where the ports are running through the side walls these are totally in the caps - the valve rods run across the cap blocks, and have passages that come up vertically from them into the centers of the bores.  The screw holes do run into the valve tubes a bit, but not through into the valve bores, the tubes have thick walls. On the original the tubes and all the passages were part of the castings, they must have had a very complex set of moulds and patterns for all the ports and outside shapes!
Chris

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Holly Pumping Engine Build
« Reply #1686 on: November 23, 2021, 01:25:40 AM »
Oh, and looking back at the photos, the camera angle makes it appear that the bores for the valve tubes are right up to the flange bottoms, they are not, there is actually more room there.

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Holly Pumping Engine Build
« Reply #1687 on: November 23, 2021, 03:18:47 PM »
Not much to look at, but important parts - getting the valve tubes bored and turned to shape. The valve rods on this cylinder were large enough diameter that I could use a thin boring bar to take the tube out to ID.



Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Holly Pumping Engine Build
« Reply #1688 on: November 24, 2021, 03:10:07 PM »
Lotsa brass swarf flying lately, been working on the pipe flanges and valve tube bonnets...

Then started turning the ends on the valve rods. They step down at the ends to go through the bonnets and into the crank arms. I'll put an o-ring at the step to seal up the end of the tube.

After the ends are turned, the next steps will be to mill the valve flats in the center of the rods and trim the back ends of the rods to final length.

Offline cnr6400

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Re: Chris's Holly Pumping Engine Build
« Reply #1689 on: November 24, 2021, 03:16:35 PM »
 :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

Are the elves still using a bunch of wheelbarrows to deal with all the solid gold chips/swarf, or did they build a conveyor powered by the Marion engine to take it out to the Mann truck?  :Lol:
"I've cut that stock three times, and it's still too short!"

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Holly Pumping Engine Build
« Reply #1690 on: November 24, 2021, 03:45:47 PM »
:ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

Are the elves still using a bunch of wheelbarrows to deal with all the solid gold chips/swarf, or did they build a conveyor powered by the Marion engine to take it out to the Mann truck?  :Lol:
They took the shop vac out of the wood shop and made a vacuum transport tube from my workbench to their vault!   :Lol:

Online Kim

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Re: Chris's Holly Pumping Engine Build
« Reply #1691 on: November 24, 2021, 06:20:55 PM »
A beautiful flock of brass flanges there, Chris!   :ThumbsUp: :popcorn:

You just keep turning out the parts!
Kim

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Holly Pumping Engine Build
« Reply #1692 on: November 24, 2021, 07:01:41 PM »
Thanks akim, I kept stopping and looking at the assembly to see what other parts wanted the same hole patterns, wanted to make them all with the same setup.


 :cheers:

Online Kim

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Re: Chris's Holly Pumping Engine Build
« Reply #1693 on: November 24, 2021, 10:51:10 PM »
Thanks akim, I kept stopping and looking at the assembly to see what other parts wanted the same hole patterns, wanted to make them all with the same setup.

 :cheers:
Makes a lot of sense :)
Kim

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Holly Pumping Engine Build
« Reply #1694 on: November 26, 2021, 03:19:29 PM »
More work on the valve rods - got the flats milled in the middle of them, milled both sides to keep them straight. After milling one side and checking on a straight edge, there was a very small deflection, after milling the second side the same size they went back to straight. Learned that lesson on the first cylinder, when I had binding problems on the valves.
Also got the valve tubes loctited in place. After the loctite cured up I ran a little fillet of JB Weld around the joint on the side inlet/outlet openings as a belt-and-suspenders move, to ensure that no air would leak through around the tube there. Easy to do now, hard to do later if it was really needed. The flanges for the side openings are not attached yet.


Next step was to trim the valve rods to final length. I had left the back end long, and did all the measurements for the narrow end and the flats from the front. The tubes have a plug at the back end, so the rods do not stick all the way through. I pushed the rods into place, with the o-ring in place on the front end, and measured/marked each for how much needed to be trimmed off to get the o-ring flush with the fornt face. The o-ring does not need to be compressed by the front bonnet, it seals around the perimeter, but I want it to keep the rod from sliding forward and back during running.


With the length measured for each (different since they were just rough cut to length), they were chucked up in the lathe and the parting tool zeroed on the back end then moved in that distance to cut. They are all set, ready for installation with the bonnets:

Before that installation though, I want to loctite in the side pipe flanges - doing that first so I don't risk any drips getting into the rod opening and jamming it up! Once both those steps are done, the three cylinder pieces can get a coat of paint. After that, can start making the crank arms to actuate the four valve rods...

 

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