A Mini Tower Clock

[PJPickard]

"Step by Step"...

I plan on being at Cabin Fever it would be great to meet you!

[wagnmkr]

Chris, it was one of those things were I was by that museum many times, but I was quite young then and museums didn't hold much interest for me. Tug boats were one of the main interests then. The Island was one of my main haunts, but more around the long beach area on the North end.

Funny how we can do a lot of things but moving Provinces around isn't on the menu!

Cheers

 

Tom

I know what you mean - I am only an hour or so from Niagara Falls (Slowly, I Turn!  (lets see how many people remember that bit!) ) and I know lots of people here that have never been there. Even ones from Bufallo, right next door to Niagara. I would have been a big fan of the tugboats, loved them as a kid, my first RC boat was a tug - still have it and it still gets out for runs every year, after all these decades.

I worked on the boats way back then and my favourite was a retired US Navy tug called the "Storm King". Straight 12 cylinder, air shift for reverse, 85 foot long. wooden hulled beauty that was wonderful on the water and in weather.  The air tank for the reverse shift was very small and only allowed about 5 moves in quick succession and then there was an agonizing wait for the air to build again. It made for some very interesting dockings.

Cheers

 

[internal_fire]

I worked on the boats way back then and my favourite was a retired US Navy tug called the "Storm King". Straight 12 cylinder, air shift for reverse, 85 foot long. wooden hulled beauty that was wonderful on the water and in weather.  The air tank for the reverse shift was very small and only allowed about 5 moves in quick succession and then there was an agonizing wait for the air to build again. It made for some very interesting dockings.

I worked on tugboats that had direct reversing diesel engines, with no gears or clutches at all. Docking maneuvers definitely needed to be carefully planned. Not unlike a steamboat.

Gene

[wagnmkr]

That would have made life very interesting for sure!!

Cheers

[crueby]

I worked on the boats way back then and my favourite was a retired US Navy tug called the "Storm King". Straight 12 cylinder, air shift for reverse, 85 foot long. wooden hulled beauty that was wonderful on the water and in weather.  The air tank for the reverse shift was very small and only allowed about 5 moves in quick succession and then there was an agonizing wait for the air to build again. It made for some very interesting dockings.

I worked on tugboats that had direct reversing diesel engines, with no gears or clutches at all. Docking maneuvers definitely needed to be carefully planned. Not unlike a steamboat.

Gene

The diesel engine itself could run in either direction?      How?  Easy for a diesel-electric...

[uuu]

Well, the  Messerschmitt  KR200 bubble car had a reversing two-stroke petrol engine. 

Wilf

[crueby]

Got the rest of the round center sections for the columns turned,

and added some more detail on the square blocks

Next will turn the finials that will go on top of the columns. Then will work on the dome nuts and crossbars to bolt the front/rear columns together. Still lots to do on the outer frame...

[internal_fire]

The diesel engine itself could run in either direction?      How?  Easy for a diesel-electric...

This was quite common for engines made in the early 20th century. (I am not early 20th century, but the boats were.) The engines had movable camshafts controlled by a big handwheel. The timing of the valves and injectors were then the same in either rotation direction. To reverse one needed to stop the engine, rotate the handwheel, and restart. (Compressed air injected into one of the cylinders.) It was necessary to make sure the engine was really stopped before restarting or it could continue running in the original direction. (Quite poorly, since the intake and exhaust would be going through the wrong valves.)

There were also two-stroke engines that did not need a camshaft shift.

These were big, heavy beasts. One I worked on was made by Winton, predecessor to GM EMD engines used in locomotives and vessels by the thousands. The Winton, built in 1929, operated at 350 RPM with a rating of 235 HP. Six cylinder, with 10" x 13" bore and stroke.

Another name was Atlas Imperial. The one I worked on was slightly larger than the Winton, but quite similar.

Gene

[crueby]

The diesel engine itself could run in either direction?      How?  Easy for a diesel-electric...

This was quite common for engines made in the early 20th century. (I am not early 20th century, but the boats were.) The engines had movable camshafts controlled by a big handwheel. The timing of the valves and injectors were then the same in either rotation direction. To reverse one needed to stop the engine, rotate the handwheel, and restart. (Compressed air injected into one of the cylinders.) It was necessary to make sure the engine was really stopped before restarting or it could continue running in the original direction. (Quite poorly, since the intake and exhaust would be going through the wrong valves.)

There were also two-stroke engines that did not need a camshaft shift.

These were big, heavy beasts. One I worked on was made by Winton, predecessor to GM EMD engines used in locomotives and vessels by the thousands. The Winton, built in 1929, operated at 350 RPM with a rating of 235 HP. Six cylinder, with 10" x 13" bore and stroke.

Another name was Atlas Imperial. The one I worked on was slightly larger than the Winton, but quite similar.

Gene

Interesting,  thanks!

[crueby]

Was going to do the finials next, but decided to knock out the batch of dome nuts that will be used to assemble the columns to the cross bars. Turned/drilled/tapped from some brass hex bar:

THEN started on the finials. Took all four to length, then turned in steps for the ball in the center and the tapered end.

Next I'll set up the compound slide and turn the taper on the outer end. The blanks are long enough so I can turn each part from one and part off the remaining end.

[Kim]

Boy Chris! You're out of the gate fast on this one!  Great looking columns and nuts!
(Which is no different than any of your other builds!   )

Kim

[crueby]

Boy Chris! You're out of the gate fast on this one!  Great looking columns and nuts!
(Which is no different than any of your other builds!    )

Kim

ZOOOMMMM!   

[cnr6400]

  Who was that masked clockmaker? He was right there a minute ago! 

I think the ends of fasteners that have domed nuts assembled over them lead a sheltered life....  

[crueby]

Who was that masked clockmaker? He was right there a minute ago! 

Able to step over short piles of swarf!  Faster than a drunk shop elf!


 

I think the ends of fasteners that have domed nuts assembled over them lead a sheltered life....

[crueby]

One of the things I really like, whittling in brass on the lathe!  I took the four blanks for the column top finials, and taper-turned the ends with the compound slide and filed the ends round. There are four of these finials, so each of these steps wass done on all four before moving to the next section.

then rough turned the step round, and finished off with a flat file to sculpt it into a dome

Then a turned the remaining part back to form the rest of the ball and the base section, using a curved file to finish the inside curves:

Final finial finishing was to drill the base to fit over the post on top of the columns, tturned them around again, and parted them off:

Here is the row o finials:

All set as long as I can stop the shop elves from using them as tokens on their board games...   
Next started in on the horizontal bars that connect the left/right columns. To get a good solid joint with just one fastener, I first milled a shallow flat on the ends of the bars the width of the square column section - this gets rid of the slight rounded corner on the side of the bars, and a truly flat mating surface, since flat bars are not terribly flat, wide ones like these often have a very slight concave side.

Then a shallow recess in one side of the square section for the bar to fit into. I made these a close fit so the columns won't wobble

First joint test fit:

Three more to cut, then will drill for the round bars that link the front and back assemblies...