Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)

[AdeV]

And I’m afraid that the powder coating process would melt the soft solder, which seems less than ideal.

I notice that Quinn (Blondihacks) is planning to powder coat her tender body/tank, and she's soft soldered it.... so I guess, watch that space!

I've never done any powder coating, so can't advise I'm afraid.

[kvom]

Powder coating temp is 400F.  One can certainly test the solder beforehand.

[Kim]

And I’m afraid that the powder coating process would melt the soft solder, which seems less than ideal.

I notice that Quinn (Blondihacks) is planning to powder coat her tender body/tank, and she's soft soldered it.... so I guess, watch that space!

I've never done any powder coating, so can't advise I'm afraid.

Hmm... Thanks for pointing that out, Ade!

I soft soldered my tender tank AND powder coated it and I never experienced any problems. Guess I didn't remember that!  :embarrassed:
Didn't even think about the temperature issue at the time, but it worked regardless.  So, it probably would have been OK, based on my limited experience.

How silly of me!
Kim

[Kim]

Powder coating temp is 400F.  One can certainly test the solder beforehand.

And apparently I did test it and didn't even connect that fact 
How silly of me, eh?

Kim

[internal_fire]

Traditional 60/40 tin-lead solder starts to melt well below 400F. It would be pasty at first, but with little strength. The newer 95/5 tin-antimony solder does not melt until about 450F.

So there might be a bit of margin for the latter at 400F.

Gene

[Kim]

Traditional 60/40 tin-lead solder starts to melt well below 400F. It would be pasty at first, but with little strength. The newer 95/5 tin-antimony solder does not melt until about 450F.

So there might be a bit of margin for the latter at 400F.

Gene

Yes, you're right Gene.  I'm certain that I don't have any lead solder.  All the solder I have is of the lead-free variety, which is probably why it worked!
Kim

[Kim]

Chapter 27.2 – Straps

Today is Strap Day.  These are the brass straps that wrap around the boiler jacket to hold it in place.  However, on the model, they’re mostly decorative.  But they look pretty cool!

Just like with the boiler jacket, Kozo specifies the 0.012” brass sheet for the straps.   So, just like with the boiler jacket, I used 0.016” sheet!
For these thin strips (3/16” wide), I chose to slice them off with the bandsaw. I think cutting them on the shear I have would have them come out like a corkscrew!  So this seemed safest.


To clean up the edges after the bandsaw, I used the belt sander in horizontal mode.  Sorry, I forgot to take a pic of that.  I had to be careful here since I only had 3/16” of metal to hold onto!

With two straps cut and trimmed to width, I proceeded to make the little angle brackets for the ends.  I used 1/16” sheet to make those.  I cut a length to 3/16” in width (just like the strap) and proceeded to bend the end into a 90^o angle.  I did the same to both ends.


Then I cut the ends off to make the little brackets.


Since I needed four brackets, I did the above process twice.

Next, I took those four brackets and drilled holes in each end.  One hole was for a 1-72 thread to hold the bracket on the strap during soldering, and the other end was drilled for a #2-56 screw that will pull the two ends together around the boiler.  Here I’ve just finished drilling the hole to be threaded 1-72 in all four of them.


And then I drilled a 1-72 close-fit hole in each end of the straps for the solder-holding screw.


After cleaning up all the parts, I fluxed the ends and screwed the brackets onto the straps for silver soldering.


Here’s the after-silver-soldering shot.


After a quick pickle, I removed the heads of the solder-hold-down screws. And here are the completed straps:


Then I attached them to the boiler using 2-56 screws & nuts. Just a note about those two long screws; I used them to help get the boiler jacket in place.  When I reassemble it after painting I'll use shorter screws like the other spots


And a beauty shot of the engine with its new jacket and suspenders on, all ready for a night on the town!  The straps will be left bright brass so it should look quite striking after the boiler jacket is painted black.


Thanks for looking in on my (minimal) progress.
Kim

[cnr6400]

 

[AdeV]

Hmm... Thanks for pointing that out, Ade!

I soft soldered my tender tank AND powder coated it and I never experienced any problems. Guess I didn't remember that!  :embarrassed:
Didn't even think about the temperature issue at the time, but it worked regardless.  So, it probably would have been OK, based on my limited experience.

How silly of me!

In fairness, Blondihacks may have used sodder - I'm pretty sure that's different stuff   

And no, it's not silly at all! Forgetfulness is something that comes with, erm, something or other. Why did I come into this room anyway?

[Sometimes, there's something I want to look up, and by the time I've got my phone out of my pocket, unlocked & opened the browser, I've already forgotten what it was.... Once, I lost a screwdriver I'd just been looking... I knew it was around somewhere, because I'd not moved away from where I was when I last used it... looked all over the bench.... found it in my left hand! True story!]

[Admiral_dk]

Great Family shot Kim - looks really good     

Per     

[Roger B]

Excellent   

The locomotive is developing  You are heading towards the last 20% of the project that also takes 80% of the time 

[Kim]

Thanks Per and Roger! 

You are heading towards the last 20% of the project that also takes 80% of the time 

Ain't that the truth! 
Kim

[internal_fire]

Actually, the boiler is 90% of the work. Everything else is the other 90%.

Does anything ever go as smoothly and rapidly as planned? 

Gene

[Don1966]

 

 
Don

[Kim]

Actually, the boiler is 90% of the work. Everything else is the other 90%.

Does anything ever go as smoothly and rapidly as planned? 

Gene

So true!
Kim