Ohio Locomotive Crane

[crueby]

Used the drill guide to drill 56 holes in the floor plate. Now need to tap all of them!   
Then will set up to cut the openings in the floor plate...

[cnr6400]

  Enjoy the tapping session! Think of the wrist workout benefits. 

[crueby]

Jeff, just one tapping session? Nope! A number of them, got one more set of 10 holes to go. I've been alternating tapping with milling the openings in the floor plate:

Here it is so far. Also, I didn't like the shiny surface on the aluminum plate, so I used a palm sander with a coarse grit paper to scuff it up, I like that surface better. In this picture, the frame was screwed on as well, using countersunk socket head cap screws. On final assembly, the ones that are not covered by other machinery will get some JB Weld to cover them, and I'll use some aluminum colored paint to hide the epoxy. So, just one more session to go on the tapping, and I can move on to final shaping. There is a set of bearings/blocks for the derrick drum to mill in under the rear openings in the floor, plus a vertical shaft for the worm gear on the derrick drum shaft. Then I'll move on to the outer framework, which will hold the outer/rear floor panels. The outer panels give room to walk around the machinery, and the rear floor holds the boiler and water tank and coal bunker. Still a ways to go on this floor assembly!

Also, the town building inspector is coming this afternoon for the final approval on the new room. Only other loose end is that the contractor is chasing down the window screens at the lumber supplier, they should have delivered them by now (they deliver the windows with the framing lumber, and the screens later on).

[Kim]

So do you call that the turret?  The thing that swivels and holds the crane boom?  Regardless of what you call it, it's looking mighty nice! 

And I like your brushed aluminum look

Kim

[crueby]

So do you call that the turret?  The thing that swivels and holds the crane boom?  Regardless of what you call it, it's looking mighty nice! 

And I like your brushed aluminum look

Kim

Thats the turntable that holds the machinery and the cab. Their term from the catalogs, not mine. Same terminology as on rotating steam shovels.

If the shop elves turn it into a swivelling catapult, then its a turret!   

[cnr6400]

  Looking great Chris. Good luck with the town's inspection of the addition.

[crueby]

Looking great Chris. Good luck with the town's inspection of the addition.

All, done, took about a minute. Looked around, said its good, and said he'd  send me the paperwork.

[cnr6400]

Great to hear it went smoothly! That is good news. 

[bent]

Looking good! 

[crueby]

Thanks guys!!

This mornings fun was to mill the openings in the frame rails for the derrick drum shaft. This shaft gets a worm gear set in the center to take power from the main engine when one of its clutches is engaged, while holding position when both clutches are disengaged. There will be two drums on this shaft, with cables running up through a gantry then out to the end of the boom. It is used to tilt the boom in and out as needed.

Each of the four rails gets a bearing/cap set. I am milling all four in one setup to ensure alignment for the shaft, and the openings will include a square bottomed opening for the bronze bearing blocks, which will also be square in outside section. Its the same way that I did the bearing blocks for the Sabino engine - square outsides on the bearing blocks all milled in one setup will sit down in the openings, and all should align with each other without need for drilling a long set of holes from the edge of the frame.

closer look at one opening:

The outer two bearing blocks are wider than the inner two. While its still aligned on the table, I will drill the holes for all the bearing cap mounting screws.

[cnr6400]

 

[EricB]

I read through the entire thread last night. Amazing work! I'm still drawing on cave walls.

Do you go through a lot of HSS end mills?

Eric

[crueby]

I read through the entire thread last night. Amazing work! I'm still drawing on cave walls.

Do you go through a lot of HSS end mills?

Eric

Thanks  Eric!


I like to use the cobalt steel end mills, they last longer than the hss ones. Same for drill bits. They are often a lot more expensive,  but by shopping around and picking them up on sale they are quite reasonable, often $6 or so apiece. Key is to not let them get hot, that ruins the edge quickly. Moderate speeds, shallow cuts, and some oil keeps temps down. In brass, no problem,  but steel is a lot tougher. Thats why I  like the 303 stainless steel so much, it cuts a lot easier tha other steels.

[EricB]

I like to use the cobalt steel end mills, they last longer than the hss ones. Same for drill bits. They are often a lot more expensive,  but by shopping around and picking them up on sale they are quite reasonable, often $6 or so apiece. Key is to not let them get hot, that ruins the edge quickly. Moderate speeds, shallow cuts, and some oil keeps temps down. In brass, no problem,  but steel is a lot tougher. Thats why I  like the 303 stainless steel so much, it cuts a lot easier tha other steels.

A LOT more expensive, but if they last longer I'd say it's worth it. I blunted every HSS mill I've used pretty quick. I've been using carbides since and, though I haven't had any real problems with them, I have broken a couple. Still don't know where the shards got to.

Eric

[samc88]

Just caught up on this, making great progress! What weight do you think the model will be capable of lifting?