Pennsylvania A3 Switcher (Kozo)

[crueby]

That wheel came out terrific - watching along as usual.   

[joe d]

That came out great!  It's a keeper to me.

Cheers, Joe

[Kim]

Thanks Dave, Stuart, Don, Chris, and Joe! 

A small blast cabinet would sure be nice to clean the wheels after silver soldering.
Did you ever try boiling water to remove the flux?

No, Dave, I'm ashamed to say that I haven't tried that yet.     But I'm going to!

I have to agree - single point threading is fast becoming my favourite turning job. Don't know why. Something about knowing what's going on synchronizing everything on the lathe that is just fun.

Totally agree about threading!

That came out great!  It's a keeper to me.

Unfortunately, if you saw it in person, you'd be able to see that a couple of the spokes are out of alignment.  Two directly across from each other don't line up   It's noticeable in a few of the close-ups.

But this was still a very worthwhile exercise for me to do!  I got a LOT of learning out of doing this, which hopefully means that the official production run will not only go more smoothly, but have fewer bungled steps!

Thanks all!
Kim

[gary.a.ayres]

Very cool work on that wheel!

[Roger B]

There's a lot of work in that wheel but it looks like you have the technique sorted   

[Kim]

Thanks Gary and Roger!
Kim

[Kim]

Well, I’ve got a process worked out and so now I’ve started production on four drivers.  While it doesn’t sound like a lot, today I got four pucks sliced, faced, and drilled with the 1/4" center hole.  It’s a lot more work than it looks!


I don’t expect I’ll have much to post for a bit since I’ve already described the process I’m using in detail over the last several weeks. But I may show a few ‘in process’ pictures like this just to keep you abreast of my progress and just so you all know I haven’t disappeared 😊

Thanks for looking in,
Kim

[Admiral_dk]

As the prototype was close - it would be nice if these come out as they should 

        following along with the rest 

Per

[Brad]

I dont know if i missed it or just over looked it. I did not seam to find your BOM spreadsheet. I am looking a starting this project. just ordered the book.

[crueby]

I dont know if i missed it or just over looked it. I did not seam to find your BOM spreadsheet. I am looking a starting this project. just ordered the book.

Kozo usually has the BOM in the back of the book. Excellent books, I've learned a lot from them.

[Flyboy Jim]

I finally got caught up on your project Kim. You are doing a fantastic job on this build.

Jim

[Kim]

Thanks Per, Brad, Chris, and Jim!

Yes, Per, my prototype was pretty close, so I'm confident I can make these ones even better! (He says with more confidence than he feels   )

I dont know if i missed it or just over looked it. I did not seam to find your BOM spreadsheet. I am looking a starting this project. just ordered the book.

Interestingly, there is no BOM for this engine in Kozo's book.  And frankly, even if there was, I did a lot of substitutions with the materials I could find available.

Anyway, my BOM can be found in the first post, at the VERY end.  It is an attachment at the very bottom of that first post.  It's called "Kozos A3 Switcher BOM RevA.xlsm".  There are a few errors I've found in my BOM so far.  I should update it and repost.  Let me know if you're interested Brad, and I'll do that soon.  Or if you PM me I can just email it to you.  (Don't post your email to the forum - it's too easy for email addresses to get sucked up by spamers and other ner-do-wells.)

Thanks everyone,
Kim

[Brad]

Thanks Kim I have enjoyed following your build. I have decided to start one of my own

[Kim]

Great Brad! I'll be sure to follow along with your build
Kim

[Kim]

Still working on the drivers.

I’ve made some progress over the last weeks.  As I said, no process shots, since it’s the same as for the prototype, but here are some progress shots.

First I did a quick layout, just to help prevent any real nasty oopsies.


Cutting the inside ark for the weight.


After milling the inside of the rim and the top side of the hub.


Next the bottom radius and both sides of the hub.


Then finally milling out all but the spoke supports (and I left them a little taller than last time).


Here’s another shot at a bit of an angle to give you a better view of the spoke supports.  Note that I left a little short piece on the inside to help cover those spokes – I was afraid that the outer support might not catch that last spoke before the weight.


And that’s it for milling the basic shape.  Next will be the 1/8” ball-nose mill to make channels for the spokes.

Thanks for checking in,
Kim