Hi all,
I've been doodling away at the Ransome saw CAD model, redoing the valve and passages to be like the original machines were since the version in the magazine was overly complex. The Ransome company made these saws for decades, and there were a number of variations on the theme that they produced. This model is based on the pictures and descriptions in the earlier Ransome catalogs (they made a huge variety of machines). The magazine article that Jo sent me a copy of was very useful too, but the way the author laid out the passages and valve were just too complex, plus when he wrote the article he had not built it yet, and there were portions not even drawn yet - the price of publishing deadlines!
So, here are some screen grabs of the cad model. There are two versions, one with the crosscut base that they sold for use at sawmills:
and one with the tree feller base, sold for use, well, felling trees! Its the same saw unit just a different base that its mounted to:
The feller version is one that I've seen pictures of from steam engine shows, terrific work, and thats what got me interested in the first place.
Next I'm going to generate the 2D plans from the CAD model, and I'll start a thread over in the Plans sub-forum with a copy of the PDF files of all the plans - I know there are others in the group here that are interested, it will be fun to see how many of these get built. Its a pretty simple mechanism, a lot like the steam boiler feed pumps - no crankshaft or flywheel, just a valve operated by the piston rod at each end of the stroke to reverse the direction. This one, like the original Ransome machines, differs mainly in that rather than a sliding D-valve style, it uses a rotary valve thats more like an oscillator or a Corliss valve.
Should be a fun build. Since I'm in the middle of the Sabino model, I wont be getting to actually building this model till later in the year, but I would not be surprised if others build it before I can start. As with any unbuilt model plan, there may be errors or omissions in the drawings I make - I'll make every effort to correct and/or add to the plan as needed and put the corrections up on the thread. My guess is I'll have the plan files ready in about a week or so...
Chris
