Chris's Slew-Crowd Engines

[cnr6400]

  You're just the Trail Boss for that unruly herd of crossheads Chris! (Yee Haw!) 

[crueby]

Looks great and what a lot of work in that batch 

Thanks  Paul!  Very happy with how its coming along. Soon I'll be  starting on the main frames, and think they may be done one at a time since they are all different  shapes and styles.


 

[crueby]

You're just the Trail Boss for that unruly herd of crossheads Chris! (Yee Haw!) 

Hmm, that batch of swarf smells like the wrong end of a crosshead...   


 

[crueby]

More work on the crossheads. I got the Marion, Erie, and Bucyrus parts profiled first, they were simple recesses. The Thew profile is more extreme, so will show more detail on them. The two parts were slipped onto a drill shank to align them, and a drop of Loctite Wicking Grade applied to keep them together and prevent them from rotating separately. With the pair in the mill vise,

used a ball end mill to start shaping down the end

The outer cuts went down to the deeper position, while the center stopped where the radius will be (the blue sketched on line was just a guide to help figure things out, it was not used to mill to!). Took a few extra cuts across the middle to make it easier for the next step...

Switched to a square end mill, and set the depth to match the flat in the center, and smoothed that over since the ball mill left ridges

From there it was the same process I use for making the curve on top of bearing caps, use the drill rod as a pivot, and rock the part over a bit between each pass to make a series of small flats along the radius

farther each time...

ensuring the rod is kept flat on the top of the vise, until the flats went tangent to the concave surface left by the ball mill at the side

Then same steps on the other side...

Then two more cuts, to flare out the outer edges to be tangent to the other side of the concave side trenches

same on the other side to complete the shaping

Then popped apart the two pieces and filed off the loctite residue. Here are all eight crossheads ready to mill in the openings in the ends. All different shapes and sizes, according to how the manufacturers made them - very different styles!

and have started milling in the openings in the ends for the con-rods. Each opening is centered on the end, long enough for the con rod to rock as the crank goes around, just over the width of the con-rods, and deep enough to let the end of the con-rods clear when the wrist pins are inserted. Started with the Marion,

then the Bucyrus,

which leaves two more pairs to cut...  Its REALLY cold/windy out this weekend, so more time than usual in the shop where its warm!

[cnr6400]

  The herd's looking great Chris, all fed and watered by the look of them. 

I'm hiding inside by the fireplace today, it's a wee bit chilly here too. ( ie froze right solid - nothing bigger than molecules moving outdoors today) 

[crueby]

The herd's looking great Chris, all fed and watered by the look of them. 

I'm hiding inside by the fireplace today, it's a wee bit chilly here too. ( ie froze right solid - nothing bigger than molecules moving outdoors today) 

I ventured out to get the mail a little while ago, just that walk down the driveway and back and my face started to hurt from the cold. We are getting air temps around 0 F this weekend, with high winds to drive the wind chill down to -20 to -30F. Yikes!

At least the lake-effect snows around here are down a little, Lake Erie (one of the Great Lakes between US and Canada) to the west has frozen over completely, and Lake Ontario to my north has a rim of ice around the shore that is getting wider by the day. Haven't seen any reports of ice fishermen driving out on the bays here and having their trucks take a swim - usually get a couple of those a year when the surface freezes.

[wagnmkr]

Chris, you are doing your usual bang up job and the parts are piling up!

I am just across the lake from you more or less and this is what we had this morning ...

[crueby]

Chris, you are doing your usual bang up job and the parts are piling up!

I am just across the lake from you more or less and this is what we had this morning ...

Yeeeaaahhhh,  iiitttss cooolllddd!!   The snow is piling up pretty deep now, more inches of powdery snow have been drifting down the last day or so. We are supposed to get one afternoon up closer to freezing midweek, then back to cold again.

[crueby]

Since its so stinking cold, a good afternoon to stay next to a nice warm milling machine! Got the rest of the crossheads hollowed out:

and couldn't resist planting all the piston rods into them:

The shop elves have been demanding a vacation, so I did a little hypnosis on them and convinced them the piston assemblies were palm trees, and they were relaxing in sunny Palm Bench!   

[wagnmkr]

 

[cnr6400]

  No regular raking and sweeping needed to clean up after that kind of palm tree either! 

[crueby]

Won't be much of anything to show today, its a planning day for the main frames. Going through the bar stock on hand with the plans to decide what to use without having to buy too much new stock, if any. The base plates are pretty thick on the engines, but I can make them from thinner stock and put a frame around the bottom edges to bulk them up. Tricky part is that the bases are fairly wide, more than the 4" wide stock I have on hand in thicker pieces.    Several ways to handle things...    hmmm...  That piece of plate stock for this piece, this piece of flat bar for here... 

[cnr6400]

  Just splurge and order twenty 8" dia x 10 foot brass bars Chris, you'd never run out. Might have to empty the shop elves' piggy banks though...

( a few bandsaw blades too maybe...)

[crueby]

Just splurge and order twenty 8" dia x 10 foot brass bars Chris, you'd never run out. Might have to empty the shop elves' piggy banks though...

( a few bandsaw blades too maybe...)

Will you come over and help me out from the bar that fell on me while lifting it to the saw?      I haven't figured out how to get the forklift up the stairs and around the corner...

[vtsteam]

Since its so stinking cold, a good afternoon to stay next to a nice warm milling machine!

If only mine were in the house..... I've reverted to basically just working on the computer for now until this latest snap let's go. Your crossheads and piston assemblies look great!