Author Topic: Coles C-611  (Read 16527 times)

Online Jo

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Coles C-611
« on: April 23, 2021, 01:09:41 PM »
About this time last year I posted my build of the monster Coles C-612 engine: https://www.modelenginemaker.com/index.php/topic,9686.html this is its little brother the C-611 horizontal Steam Engine . It is a really simple horizontal engine and I intend on making this thread a real back to basics thread that is applicable to building any steam engine from castings.

As this is a rare model Steam engine I will be building it to drawing (or rather not to drawings as I do not have any  :facepalm: ). This is the only picture of one of these engines we can find:



The other information we have to go by is the original advertisement from the Coles Catalogue:




As you can see size wise it is about the same as a Stuart No 9 that I built about 5 years ago: https://www.modelenginemaker.com/index.php/topic,5962.0.html This engine however is even more basic and it is going to stay that way because of its rarity.

Someone acquired it as a partial set of castings from Station Road Steam who priced them according to the lack of drawings (I don't think they realised some were missing, I think they knew one was damaged but hid it in their online photos  :cussing: ) :



The castings have been repaired https://www.modelenginemaker.com/index.php/topic,9914.0.html so we are ready to start  :pinkelephant:

Jo


« Last Edit: July 28, 2021, 02:49:57 PM by Jo »
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Offline crueby

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Re: Coles C-611
« Reply #1 on: April 23, 2021, 01:14:15 PM »
Should be a fun build, getting the comfy chair and popcorn ready to watch along!

Offline ShopShoe

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Re: Coles C-611
« Reply #2 on: April 23, 2021, 01:22:29 PM »
Jo,

It's nice to see you posting an engine project again. I'm looking forward to seeing you do this.

ShopShoe

Online Jo

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Re: Coles C-611
« Reply #3 on: April 23, 2021, 01:48:30 PM »
Welcome along Chris & SS :)

We are going to start with the Cylinder and for this we are going to need a square:



Why the Cylinder? Because a lot of the parts mount on the cylinder and if we machine (or the casting is) undersized then we can make the other parts to fit  ;) Of course neither end on the cylinder is flat so we must start by providing a flat datum:

We are now going to mount the cylinder in a four jaw chuck, ignoring the rim of the cylinder but trying to keep it in the centre so everything is balanced. We are not mounting the cylinder hard against the chuck face  :hellno: Instead we are going to use the square on the sides of the cylinder to mount the casting so that its centre line is true along the bed of the lathe, i.e. we are looking for the square to touch both ends of the casting or for equal gaps to the square on either side of the casting:



The yellow arrow shows where I have chosen to have a gap on opposite sides on the casting as the two ends are slightly different diameters. With everything secure we can face across the casting. This is to show you that no the hole in the centre has not lined up but it does not matter, all we are currently doing is giving ourselves a flat surface that is square to the casting:



Now were are going to turn the cylinder round and mount it with our nice flat surface against the chuck and to help beginning to locate it in the right position I use a large centre:



Now I am going to put a tool in the tool post and adjust the position of the casting so that when I turn the chuck round the tool follows the outside of the casting:



Lets check if it is true:



Now we can start our facing the cylinder. You can see on this initial cut the high points:



Those machined bits were high points that meant earlier on if we had tried to mount the cylinder flat against the chuck the bump would have probably cause the casting to mount at an angle  :facepalm2: . You can also see that as the machining comes in towards the centre the bore is not far out of line.



So far it is machining nicely, no hard bits or air pockets so all good news, the bad news is that the casting is going to be undersized so that will need to be taken account shortly.

Jo




« Last Edit: July 28, 2021, 02:50:21 PM by Jo »
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Offline propforward

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Re: Coles C-611
« Reply #4 on: April 23, 2021, 02:18:50 PM »
This looks like a lot of fun. Thanks for the detailed posts, they really help me understand the approach. I shall be following with great interest.
Stuart

Forging ahead regardless.

Online Twizseven

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Re: Coles C-611
« Reply #5 on: April 23, 2021, 03:05:39 PM »
Jo,

I am another one pleased to see you are posting again and look forward to following this build.  Do I take it that as you have no drawings you will be scaling as near as possible to the drawing just based on the 4 sizes given in the engine advert (overall, bore., stroke and flywheel dia.).  Based on the number of Graham's Alyn engines you have made with very little in the way of drawings I'm sure you will have a nicely running engine at the end.

Best Regards,

Colin

Offline Jasonb

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Re: Coles C-611
« Reply #6 on: April 23, 2021, 03:17:01 PM »
Good to see you back making Swarf

I wonder if the aluminium casting may have been a box bed to raise the flywheel off whatever the engine is standing on, the photo that I found makes it look like it would come lower than the casting you have but the illustration does not?

Online Jo

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Re: Coles C-611
« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2021, 03:20:08 PM »
Hi Stuart and Colin, hope you find this useful  :)

We are just about to face the cylinder but before cutting any more we are going to check the thickness of the flanges on either end of the cylinder:



Hopefully you can see that the outer flange is thicker than the inside one - this is the face we are about to machine. On some castings you may find that one flange is  thinner than the other - if you find this it is a good idea to try to even things out as it will help when you fit the cladding (the cladding will hide it if you can't  :-X)

Having taken a fine facing cut the cylinder is now 49.7mm long. I suspect the drawing would have said 2"  which is 50.8mm but the casting was short.

Without taking the cylinder out of the chuck we do the cylinder boring. This cylinder is cored (the casting has a hole in it) some you will get are not. Not having a hole is better than having a hole that is wobbling all over the place. And just because the hole is in the right place this end there is no guarantee it will be on the other end. In any case we need to use the thickest boring bar we have to bore the cylinder so that it does not flex especially where there maybe interrupted cutting on an offset hole  ::)

So big boring bar in place with a little longer than the cylinder is long hanging out of the toolholder and if you have it - set the saddle stop:



The outer face of the cylinder is our reference for the boring bar:



It is also worth checking your bar can go through and does not catch the chuck:



Having bored the cylinder (twice at the same setting for the final cut) it is time to make sure I have marked that this is the crank end of the cylinder:



We can now remove it from the chuck and look at the opposite end of the cylinder:



What you can see is a burr above the surface of the cylinder  I took this off with a hand deburring tool. If your chuck did not have a big enough hole in the centre you may have a slight lip round the inside of the bore - again you can take this off with a de-burring tool. You do not have to worry about it not being perfect as the cover will hide any irregularities in your deburring.

Someone is suggesting it is time for me to watch him eat a Ice cream Snicker  :pinkelephant: so I will leave you with a shot of the next pieces that will be machined the covers:



The one with the smaller boss is the cover that goes towards the crankshaft and the other is the outer cover. We will do the port face in a while  :cheers:

Jo



« Last Edit: July 28, 2021, 02:50:48 PM by Jo »
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Offline Roger B

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Re: Coles C-611
« Reply #8 on: April 23, 2021, 03:42:46 PM »
Good to see you posting a build again  :)

What is the bar through the bore in the first facing picture, a catcher in case somthing digs in?
Best regards

Roger

Offline RReid

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Re: Coles C-611
« Reply #9 on: April 23, 2021, 03:48:27 PM »
I've not built anything from castings to date. If and when I do this looks like it will be a very valuable primer on the specific techniques. I can imagine thinking "What would Jo do here?" and coming back to this thread for an answer. Thanks, I'm looking forward to following along.
Regards,
Ron

Online Jo

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Re: Coles C-611
« Reply #10 on: April 23, 2021, 04:00:49 PM »
Thanks Guys, :)

What is the bar through the bore in the first facing picture, a catcher in case somthing digs in?

Yes its a chicken bar : better safe than sorry  :paranoia:

Jo
Enjoyment is more important than achievement.

Offline mikehinz

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Re: Coles C-611
« Reply #11 on: April 23, 2021, 04:09:50 PM »
I'm watching this with interest!  I'm sure I'll pick up tips from a 'Master' engineer!!

Thanks!

Mike
MIke
Wichita, KS, USA

Offline Kim

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Re: Coles C-611
« Reply #12 on: April 23, 2021, 04:46:33 PM »
Hi Jo!
Great to see you posting a build thread!   Love to watch you bring these castings together.

Thanks for the interesting posts :)    :popcorn: :popcorn:
Kim

Offline Bearcar1

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Re: Coles C-611
« Reply #13 on: April 23, 2021, 04:50:24 PM »
Jo, it is pleasurable to see you displaying your works once again. It has been a long-ish time. I enjoy watching your progress and I learn stuff along the way. Thank you for that. I once ordered that C-611 set of castings but never received them as they allegedly were not in stock. (from the original Cole's out in California) Anyways, keep up the great editorial. 


BC1
Jim

Offline AVTUR

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Re: Coles C-611
« Reply #14 on: April 23, 2021, 06:32:16 PM »
Jo

Good to see you back and I like the lathe.

I shall follow your progress on the engine with interest but I am a person who tries to keep comments to myself.

AVTUR
There is no such thing as a stupid question.

 

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