Stuart Major Beam Engine

[simplyloco]

Dave, that 5" gauge loco is magnificent and on display in your living room too, very nice.
I'll show the Memsahib your picture but won't hold out much hope. I will accept the trade off, I rather enjoyed the sirloin steak with stuffed portobello mushrooms dinner this evening.
Are many other model engineers not allowed to keep their engines in the house?

Andy

This one's in the conservatory, and that's where it's likely to stay!

[Chipmaster]

Looks good, have you tried to get it in your house and staying in the conservatory is a stalemate?

Andy

[propforward]

Dave, that 5" gauge loco is magnificent and on display in your living room too, very nice.
I'll show the Memsahib your picture but won't hold out much hope. I will accept the trade off, I rather enjoyed the sirloin steak with stuffed portobello mushrooms dinner this evening.
Are many other model engineers not allowed to keep their engines in the house?

Andy

This one's in the conservatory, and that's where it's likely to stay!

Magnificent!     

[simplyloco]

Looks good, have you tried to get it in your house and staying in the conservatory is a stalemate?

Andy

Hi Andy. It was allowed into the living room while the Stirling Single was in the conservatory, and as soon as that was sold out it went!
John

[Chipmaster]

Just over a year since I posted on my Stuart Major.
Last Summer I dismantled the engine for painting, finishing its base and attending to various details. There has been progress but the workflow was interrupted by other model engine projects and projects around our house and garden. It might take a few posts to bring the build log up to date. I'm slowly putting it back together again hoping to take it to an event in September (2022). The engine is to be steamed so I want to ensure the base is absolutely rigid when it is carried out to the garden.... and two of us can comfortably lift it.
The paint is Graphite Grey, I liked the finish when I used it on my Retlas engine and partly because I had plenty left over.

Here are pictures of,

The cylinder lubricator,

Cylinder lubricator fitted by Andy, on Flickr

S Major 1571 by Andy, on Flickr

S Major 1579 by Andy, on Flickr

My cardboard Spray Booth

Central column ready for painting in my spray booth / cardboard box by Andy, on Flickr

Central column - coat of primer by Andy, on Flickr

The beam with its final coat of graphite grey enamel paint. by Andy, on Flickr

The engine in pieces,

S Major 1597 by Andy, on Flickr

S Major 1598 by Andy, on Flickr

S Major 1605 by Andy, on Flickr

Andy
 

[simplyloco]

Hi Andy, good to see you posting Major pics again.
John

[kvom]

A major rework for sure.

[Chipmaster]

Regards John & KVOM. I wonder whether this build could be the slowest on MEM - 8 years 9 months so far.

Having made the hardwood plinth years ago I felt committed to staying with the wood finish. The base is part of a ten foot long laboratory bench top which is sturdy but with many defects that I had to cover. The top was covered with 2mm Walnut strip wood intended for model boat building.

   S Major 1594 by Andy, on Flickr

S Major 1600 by Andy, on Flickr

I then added 2" square teak to the edges, it was cut from an 8' x 30" x 2" piece of teak that came from the bar of a pub I bought at a bargain price,  wood like that is almost impossible to obtain these days. I machined and moulded the wood with a router.

  S Major 1603 by Andy, on Flickr

Followed with five coats of Rustins Plastic Coating which is very durable in my experience and can be polished to a high finish.

S Major 1604 by Andy, on Flickr

Then burnished using car paint cutting compound.

S Major 1613 by Andy, on Flickr

S Major 1614 by Andy, on Flickr

Thinking of how to lift and move the model I added more 2x2 teak to the underside of the base with holes that metal bars can be passed through.

S Major 1627 by Andy, on Flickr

S Major 1628 by Andy, on Flickr

Andy

[Michael S.]

Hello Andy,

the wooden base looks fantastic 👍.
You are very good at building machine sockets. when I think of the base made of ceramic tiles. Having holes to carry the machine is a good idea.
I think the whole thing will weigh a few kilograms.

Michael

[Chipswitheverything]

Hello Andy, the engine progress is looking very good:  the rather Myford like grey, with a black base,  is a nice colour for a steam engine.  I did my Stuart Turner steam hammer that colour and felt it suited it.  Also I think that painting the column is a good choice - though a polished effect can look attractive, in reality it would never have been done that way, it would have been a massive casting just filled and painted.  With the substantial base, the model will have some serious weight! Pleased to see that your Major is very near completion now.   Dave

[Chipmaster]

Good morning Michael and Dave,
Interesting to see John ‘Simplyloco’ sold his Major on eBay last night I expect many of us watched the auction.
I considered polishing the column like John’s but decided it would be difficult to keep it looking smart as I intend to run the engine on steam and it will be kept in the garage.
As I rebuild the engine I’m replacing steel fasteners with stainless to avoid the problem of tarnished nuts and bolts. I am also making several nuts with greater height  which look more period than commercially made nuts.
Andy

[Chipmaster]

I wanted to have the option to use the boiler feed pump, not necessarily for filling a boiler but perhaps to recirculate water from a small tank alongside the engine but it's a bit awkward having the inlet and outlet connections to the pump inside the plinth as per the drawings.

S Major 1630 by Andy, on Flickr

View of the pump connections beneath the bedplate,

S Major 1617 by Andy, on Flickr

I used 1/4" diameter copper tube and these 1/4" 'push fit' elbows so that I could reach inside the plinth from below to make the connections or take them apart if necessary. It would be very difficult to tighten up threaded fittings as there isn't much room inside the plinth. These fittings release by pushing the collar inwards. I bought them from 'Context Pneumatic Supplies' on eBay and they are genuine Imperial sizes.

S Major 1636 by Andy, on Flickr

These are the connections I made for the end of the plinth.

S Major 1620 by Andy, on Flickr

Viewed from above.

S Major 1625 by Andy, on Flickr

S Major 1621 by Andy, on Flickr

A video of the pump working.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k780oJyzX7s" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k780oJyzX7s</a>

Andy

[Chipmaster]

Gapped and fitted the cast iron piston rings for the first time this afternoon.

S Major 1635 by Andy, on Flickr

As expected it was awkward getting the piston and its rings into the cylinder because of the 5/16" step arrowed in the drawing.

S Major 1636 by Andy, on Flickr

S Major 1645 by Andy, on Flickr

I also formed the exhaust pipe using 1/2" diameter copper tube and lots of heat. I was able to bend the thick walled tube round a 1.1/4" diameter bar without kinks, perhaps I was lucky. The brass flange was silver soldered on the end followed by lots of polishing.

  S Major 1641 by Andy, on Flickr

S Major 1643 by Andy, on Flickr

S Major 1640 by Andy, on Flickr

Andy

[samc88]

Thats looking great, nice work on the exhaust pipe

[Chipmaster]

Thanks Sam, something to polish..

I decided to replace the twelve domed nuts I was using to hold the base down on the wooden plinth and made taller full nuts in the style that were used on full size stationary engines and machine tools such as a Ward 2A capstan lathe that I used to own.

The dome nuts

S Major 1647 by Andy, on Flickr

My home made nuts - 2BA stainless hex with M4 thread which I had to use for the thread inserts in the wooden plinth..

S Major 1646 by Andy, on Flickr

Reassembly has been hampered by paint obscuring marks that identified which bearing went where.

Without paint the X and O punch marks  could be seen on the castings.

Marks by Andy, on Flickr

After painting the punch marks were obscured so I had to carefully scrape paint off to work out what went where. It did make a difference to the fit of the axle.

IMG_4919 by Andy, on Flickr

The Beam in position.

IMG_4923 by Andy, on Flickr

IMG_4924 by Andy, on Flickr

Andy