Chris's Build of Battleship Ohio Engine

[cnr6400]

 

[Kim]

That's some nice cone piston lathe work, Chris! 

Kim

[crueby]

Thanks guys!

Got the last of the piston head turning done, with the tops angled to match the bottom faces

Enough playtime on the lathe, back to the mill to shape the legs to support the outboard sides of the cylinders. Started with some short lengths of round bar drilled through for an assembly screw, and milled a 20 degree angle on one end of each one, all to the same height. These will be the lower ends of the legs, with a short pad made previously that has the bolt holes to match the tops of the columns.


Then some longer its of round bar to form the upper halves of the legs, taken to the same angle at one end of each.


Clamped each pair in the vise with the milled faces lined up, and used the existing screw hole in the lower leg as a guide to drill into the upper leg. One screw will hold the bottom pad, lower leg, and upper leg together for soldering.


Here are two of the leg assemblies set on top of the columns to show where they will go. After silver soldering the parts together, the top ends of the legs will be milled to fit them to the bottom caps of the cylinders. Picture is a little blurry but you get the idea.


So, after lunch I'll set up and silver solder the pieces together, then work out the holding jig to take the top ends to final height.

[cnr6400]

  I'd bet those knees will never get sore!    Looking great.

[crueby]

I'd bet those knees will never get sore!    Looking great.

They don't flex too well though!   

[cnr6400]

mine either!   

[crueby]

The soldering yesteday went well, this morning I trimmed the 'hip' area of the legs down to measured height. Here is the first one in progress. Since the leg does not stick out the side. I didnt need to use the rotary table but could just hold them in the vise.

Here are the first two test fit on the engine, just set in place.


Both sets are cut to fit (the ones by the steam chest also needed a little trimming to clear the steam passages), and then I started looking at how to hold them in place. The bottom cap on tghe cylinder can be unbolted so I can solder them on or run in screws, but how to hold them for that?     


Then I remembered the other day when Michael used some loctite to hold small parts on the faceplate for trimming. Seems like a good method, so I marked where the legs need to attach on the caps, set them with the bottom facing up on the bench, and got out the bottle of Loctite Red high strength. Put some under each leg and aligned them to the marks, they are curing up now. Later today or tomorrow I'll take off the caps, and drill through for some screws to hold the legs. More after that...  Either a big thanks to Michael for the idea, or a kick at me for not letting it cure long enough!   

I could also start on the brackets for the angled stay rods, but I don't want to handle these parts till the loctite cures up. Hmmm, I can unbolt the steam chests from the sides of the cylinders and get the valve faces lapped, also the valve sliders. That should be a good activity for the afternoon!
 

[Michael S.]

I used Loctite 648. It is important to clean the surfaces well with acetone beforehand. It just dried over lunch time. But on my workshop stove.

Michael

[crueby]

While waiting for the  glue to set, the valves and port faces have all been lapped. Tomorrow I will  drill for the screws to fix the legs, then can get the brackets for the angled stays made. After that, its gasket making time, assembly, then piston and  valve  rods. The list is getting short!


 

[cnr6400]

 

[crueby]

Not a lot of play time in the shop the last couple days with the holiday, but did get some little things done. The steam chests are all assembled with sealant and mounted on the cylinders, gaskets are made, and the piston rods were marked/cut/threaded for length. They look a bit like the pit droids from Mandalorian...


Here is a picture of the cylinders, one showing the passage block on the bottom of the steam chest, other showing the passage extension on the upper cap.


Next up will be to make the valve rods and adjusting nuts, then I can bench test the cylinders/valves to look for any leaks or binding spots. Learned that lesson with the IP cylinder! Much easier to test these on the bench than on and off and on and off the engine, especially since the first LP cylinder steam chest will be right up next to the IP one.  Down to the last parts to make, valve rods/nuts, stay rods, a set of pipes, and finish making a cartload of studs/nuts!

[crueby]

Got curious and weighed the LP cylinder parts. Not including the pipes/elbows or stay rods, or the cover studs, its 20 pounds. That brings the total for the model up to 75.3 so far...

[cnr6400]

  Looking great Chris! You might want to slop up the tops of the new pistons with heavy grease , to discourage the shop elves taking carousel rides... 

[crueby]

Looking great Chris! You might want to slop up the tops of the new pistons with heavy grease , to discourage the shop elves taking carousel rides... 

Grease up the pistons, put the shark tank underneath... 

[cnr6400]