Author Topic: Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)  (Read 327698 times)

Offline Don1966

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Re: Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)
« Reply #855 on: November 16, 2020, 12:34:20 AM »
Nice soldering Kim looks like it now comes naturally to you now. It's nice to see all those new tools being used....LOL.....


 :cheers:
Don

Offline Dave Otto

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Re: Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)
« Reply #856 on: November 16, 2020, 12:51:08 AM »
Nice fabrication there Kim!
Fun to see the frame get to the point where you can start hanging parts off of it.  :Lol:

Dave

Online Kim

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Re: Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)
« Reply #857 on: November 16, 2020, 06:36:42 AM »
Thanks Cnr,
Yeah, gotta have a strong coupler box so I can pull big loads of cars around in the yard with my switcher, right? :)

Thanks Don,
It is certainly coming easier.  I've still got a lot to learn though.

Thank you Dave!
Kim

Online Kim

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Re: Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)
« Reply #858 on: November 21, 2020, 11:17:40 PM »
With the soldering complete on the Front Coupler Pocket, it is now time to take it to shape.

I milled off the screw heads and took a very light skim across the back to make sure everything was level.  Did the same to the front side (no pics, sorry).

Then on the top side, I shaved off 1/16”, which was the extra I put on the top and bottom for the fabrication. This made the top nice and flush.


With the top and bottom milled to size, I shaved off the overhang tabs on the side from the fabrication process.


And last, for the major shaping, I used a 20o angle gauge block and cut the bottom flange so shape.  Looks like 20o was pretty close!


The last operation on the mill was to drill and ream the 1/8” hole for the coupler pin.


Then a little hand filing to contour the front of the pocket and round the corners just a tad.


And the Front Coupler Pocket is complete!


And here it is screwed in place on the front of the engine chassis.



Thanks for taking a look,
Kim

Offline Don1966

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Re: Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)
« Reply #859 on: November 22, 2020, 04:11:10 PM »
 :ThumbsUp:


 :drinking-41:
Don

Offline Dave Otto

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Re: Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)
« Reply #860 on: November 22, 2020, 04:13:52 PM »
That turned out nice Kim!

Dave

Online Kim

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Re: Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)
« Reply #861 on: November 22, 2020, 05:29:27 PM »
Thanks Don and Dave!

Kim

Offline cnr6400

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Re: Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)
« Reply #862 on: November 23, 2020, 12:15:26 AM »
Great job Kim!  :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:
"I've cut that stock three times, and it's still too short!"

Online Kim

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Re: Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)
« Reply #863 on: November 23, 2020, 05:55:35 AM »
Thanks Cnr!  Appreciate the encouragement :)
Kim

Offline jmcyclist

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Re: Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)
« Reply #864 on: November 23, 2020, 06:43:52 PM »
Keep track of that handle, Kim! I just got an email from LMS about it...apparently it was a one-off, "on the side" thing for the manufacturer, who has since decided to stop making them.  :'(

Chapter 10.7 – Front Coupler Pocket


Here's a shot of me tapping the 0-80 holes.  Have I mentioned that this is the BEST little tap handle ever?  If you don’t have one of these, do yourself a favor and spend a few bucks and get one! I got mine from Little Machine Shop*.
*No affiliation with LMS other than a satisfied customer. All standard disclaimers apply.

Thanks for stopping by,
Kim

Online Kim

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Re: Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)
« Reply #865 on: November 24, 2020, 05:49:06 AM »
Really?!?  I had no idea!  They had them on their web site for several years.  Guess they've run out now.  That's too bad.  The really are the bets little tap handle!

But you know, you could easily make one out of a 2" piece of aluminum round bar.  Just put a square hole in the middle, the right size for your taps and fancy up the ends (round them off, put a little knurling on them) and you've got a nice light tap wrench.  It won't be red or blue, like the ones LMS sold, but they'd probably work just as well.

Too bad they don't have them any more. I even have the smallest Starrett tap wrench and it's really nice to use, but when you get down to anything under #4's I really like those itty-bitty aluminum tap wrenches!  Nothing that I've found beats them.

Just my opinion, of course.
Kim

Online Kim

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Re: Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)
« Reply #866 on: November 24, 2020, 11:25:13 PM »
Chapter 10.8 – Foot Board

The next part is the Foot Board. This will attach to the underside of the front bumper.

The Foot Board consists of four brackets, bent from 1/16” steel (4130), and some 1/2” x 3/8” x 1/8” angle. I’m going to make the angle from 1018 CRS bar stock.

I started with the brackets.  I cut some strips from a 0.0625” thick sheet of 4130 then ganged them together to trim them to 9/32” wide.  They are a little longer than needed.  I’ll trim to length later.


Using my handy-dandy shop vise, and making sure they were at 90 degrees (like so):


I formed the first bend in the bracket.


The second bend was more difficult since it had to be accurate with respect to the first bend.  The brackets are supposed to be 3/4" wide. Since the metal is 1/16” thick, that makes the inside have a width of 5/8”.  So I used a 5/8” steel bar as a form for the bending.  I also put a random sized bar long the back to hold it in place (making the bending possible).  I couldn’t hold it directly in the vise or I wouldn’t be able to bend it down.  So, held like this:


I was then able to make the second bend around the 5/8” bar like this:


That made them exactly 3/4" wide!  How fun is that?  Though I didn’t show it, I was also checking for squareness at every step along here.  Tried to make sure I started square, and then squared it up after bending.


And here we have the basic brackets for the Foot Board assembly.


The brackets need two holes in them for attaching to the bumper.  So I clamped them around a piece of 5/8” aluminum bar scrap and, carefully indicating the location of each bracket, drilled the required mounting holes.


Then, rotating the brackets 90o I again indicated in each bracket and (making sure the legs were square) drilled a hole to attach the bracket to the angle.  I did this on both sides of the bracket.


And here are the four mostly completed brackets.


Next, I need to make the 1/2” x 3/8” x 1/8” angle.  I cut appropriate lengths of 3/8” x 1/2" 1018 bar, then proceeded to do some stress-relieving by heating them up nice and hot with the torch for a bit. 


I’ve left those to cool overnight and tomorrow (?) I’ll carry forward with making the angles.

Thanks for checking in!
Kim
« Last Edit: November 28, 2020, 12:37:45 AM by Kim »

Offline crueby

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Re: Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)
« Reply #867 on: November 25, 2020, 12:08:00 AM »
Nicely done! 



And now you know how to make staples too.... I'll take 1000...   :Lol:

Online Kim

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Re: Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)
« Reply #868 on: November 25, 2020, 06:12:45 AM »
And now you know how to make staples too.... I'll take 1000...   :Lol:

I'd like to see the staple gun that uses these!  They're mighty big! :ROFL:

I'll get you down for 1000 of these.  Lets see, if I pay myself minimum wage, they come out to just about $15 each.  So, I'll the total bill will be $15,000, and I need 50% down (plus materials) to get started.  So when your check for $8000 clears I'll get started on it right away.    :naughty: :Jester:

Chris - you should really put a new password on your computer.  I think the elves have hacked the current one! :)
Kim

Online Kim

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Re: Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)
« Reply #869 on: November 28, 2020, 01:19:30 AM »
Now that my stress relieved parts are cool, I used a 3/4" end mill to cut out the notch to make them angles, like so:


Then trimmed the ends square and to the specified length, followed by drilling holes to tap #1-72 for solder holders.


And the final op for the angles are to trim the top edges to 45o.


And here’s a family shot of the foot board elements:


And with them all screwed together.


Next, I fluxed things up and got it set up on the fire brick for soldering.  I used the front bumper itself as a jig to hold things together in the proper orientation while soldering.


Here’s a shot post-soldering.


After a pickle bath and washup, I put it on the mill and shaved off the screw heads:


Then cut the staple/bracket things to the correct length.


And here’s the completed Foot Board:


And for the parting shot, here it is, mounted in place on the bumper attached to the frame.


Thanks for stopping by!
Kim

 

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