Chris's Slew-Crowd Engines

[bent]

Whew!  Catching back up, Crueby.  Looking great. 

[crueby]

Whew!  Catching back up, Crueby.  Looking great. 

Thanks!   Starting to look like robot faces...


 

[vtsteam]

You work at an amazing pace! 

[steam guy willy]

Hi  lots of progress with these parts !!!

Willy

[crueby]

Thanks guys!
Been at Cabin Fever show the last couple days, had a GREAT time. Met up with a bunch of people from the forum here, talked with lots of people that have been following my Marion 91 build in Live Steam magazine, and we sold quite a few steam shovel books. Fun!!
Chris

[crueby]

Started in on the gaskets, first the steam chest covers. Used the cover of each as a drill guide into the gasket material, over a piece of scrap plywood. Drilled the holes in opposite corvers first and pushed in screws to keep the gasket sheet aligned, then went around the rest of the holes:

Quick and easy, no special punches or anything needed. Then assembled onto the steam chest and trimmed around the outside/inside edges:

leaving a finished gasket, and on to the next one...

Then started in on the cylinder caps using the same method. After those are done, will make them for the steam/exhaust glands...

[cnr6400]

  Glad the CF show was good! Hope the driving wasn't too "interesting".  The gaskets look great.   

[crueby]

Glad the CF show was good! Hope the driving wasn't too "interesting".  The gaskets look great.   

Thanks  Jeff!  The drive down Thursday  morning started out quite 'interesting '. Couple inches of snow by then, windy so visibility  was bad, so slow going heading south. Got behind plows on the expressway a couple times, slower but clean lanes till they turned off at the next county border. That took up an hour of the extra time I gave it at the start, then near the Pennsylvania  border it cleared up and  was sunny and clear, back to full normal driving speeds the rest of the way.     Coming back yesterday  evening it was all clear, easy drive home.  All in all, a great time!


There was one guy there with an antique model of a Marion model 60, smaller version than the 91. It was built by the operator of the machine so nice details. Yesterday  afternoon he brought it over and we set it up next to my 91 for pictures, looked to be at same scale, made a great pair! Will post pics when I get  them.

[crueby]

This morning I got the valve plates on all four engines lapped smooth using a diamond grit plate and then some finer grit paper stuck to a flat glass plate. Both use water as lubricant so not messy, and easy to clean out the openings.

After drying them with a hair dryer mixed up some JB Weld and applied a very thin layer around the ports on the undersides of the plates, and around the bottom of the steam chest sides. then bolted them down with long socket head screws down through the top flanges of the chests (where the covers will hide them). The screws were tightened enough to  seat the parts into the epoxy, there was just enough there to start to squeeze out around the edges. A few of the passage holes down to the cylinder plates got some squeeze out, but after it has cured I can run a small drill down through the ports and from the cylinder ends to clear them out easily.

The squeeze out around the perimeter of the plates can also be cleaned up after it has set up, probably can scrape it off with a x-acto knife.
So, getting close to done with the cylinder blocks! All that is left is to make a pile of 2-56 studs for all the covers. I have some lengths of 2-56 threaded rod and a bin full of small pattern nuts, will cut the rod into the short lengths, debur the cuts on the belt sander, and loctite on the nuts. That way they can be installed just like a normal hex head screw, but will have the appearance of separate studs and nuts.

[PaulR]

That way they can be installed just like a normal hex head screw, but will have the appearance of separate studs and nuts.

Crafty! I haven't had time to follow these builds in detail but they're all looking amazing as usual. 

[cnr6400]

  Good to hear re the CF driving / weather not being too bad. Good luck making the 9654 #2-56 studs! Quite a herd of engine assemblies you have there. Looking forward too to see the pics of the Marion 60 your friend brought to CF.

[Kim]

Glad your trip to the show went well, and that you had fun!  Did you sell a lot of books?  If I could have gone, I'd have brought my Steam Shovel book and had you sign it!

Kim

[crueby]

Thanks guys!   Kim, yup they sold all but one of the pile they brought!     Signed most of them. We sold half a dozen to other exhibitors just during the setup Thursday  afternoon.




Kim, you didn't  make the show, so you'll have to  swing by my house to get yours signed, drive isn't  that long, same continent!   




Jeff, just finished cutting the batch of 112 studs, three different lengths. The abrasive  wheel mini chop saw is fast to cut them, but twirling the ends on the belt sander is tedious, fingers need a rest!

[crueby]

Oh, and for anyone who couldn't get a  copy of Kozos New Shay book last year, its been reprinted and is back in stock again.

[bent]

Heck Kim, if you plan a trip to NY to see Crueby, let me know and i'll split the gas money with ya.  Probably should wait til spring so we could watch him compete in submarine races...