Chris's Mann Wagon Build

[mklotz]

So, you really are human.  I watch you make part after part and never a mistake (at least none mentioned).  Creative, skilful, and error free - it's just too much perfection to invest in one guy.  :-)

Just kidding, Chris; I admire your work immensely and have every one of your build threads bookmarked and backed up.  Keep up the good work.

[crueby]

So, you really are human.  I watch you make part after part and never a mistake (at least none mentioned).  Creative, skilful, and error free - it's just too much perfection to invest in one guy.  :-)

Just kidding, Chris; I admire your work immensely and have every one of your build threads bookmarked and backed up.  Keep up the good work.

Oh, plenty of mistakes. Some big, some small. The little ones can usually be worked in (this part a touch too narrow, make the next one that much thicker). The trick is not letting the shop elves know about the big ones, or they snicker at me for weeks!   

The big mistakes that scrap whole parts get re-used as RC boat ballast.


Great to have you along Marv!

[crueby]

So, not long to remake the piston rods to proper length, only about 1/2 hour, not counting the 20 minutes spent with the first ones earlier to figure out why they didn't fit!
Here are the new ones fit up with the base covers/glands:

and the crosshead guides slipped on too. Need to get these parts plus the steam chests assembled onto the engine so I can measure for the distance out from center for the guide bearings in the valve rod arms, which come out of the middle of the crosshead guides.

[crueby]

Continuing on with the gaskets, made the ones for the steam chests. I like to do these by running the clearance-size drill down through the holes in the parts with the gasket pieces between. First did one corner, ran a screw in the hole to keep the alignment, same on the opposite corner to lock them all in alignment, and then went through the rest of the holes. An exacto knife trims out the center and edges.

Then temporarily bolted them onto the engine block, so I could mark the locations of the valve rod on the support arms. The arms are just slipped onto the crosshead guides, so they can be taken off for drilling and trimming the ends. The hole in the arm will get a bronze bushing to keep the valve rod in alignment with the steam chest. Its going to be interesting to assemble, I think the valve rod will need to be run in through the arm and chest, to get the slider adjustment nut on.


When ready to attach the support arms, I will assemble things like this and use the valve rods to set the angle of the arms on the guides.

[steam guy willy]

Hi Chris...still active and have been making the Indicaters and connections ready for a test run ....Watch this space ?!!!!



Willy
[/quote]If the engine is finished in your mind, how well does it (the engine that is) run?   

[crueby]

Hi Chris...still active and have been making the Indicaters and connections ready for a test run ....Watch this space ?!!!!



Willy

If the engine is finished in your mind, how well does it (the engine that is) run?   

Hi Willy!  Hope it does run as well in this universe as it does in the mental one! Given what's left to do, I am guessing we will know in a couple weeks. That will be just running on air with a line from compressor to the boiler, unless we get a warm midwinter day (its well below freezing now).

[crueby]

Just a little time in the shop today, drilled for and made the bronze valve rod support bearings - the side showing in the photo has a flange, the bearing is narrower where it goes through the support arm.


Next will trim off/round over the ends of the arms. Also, made up a whole batch of the studs/nuts, some are visible on the right in the picture. Loctited the nuts onto screws and cut off the heads. Forget which thread I saw that in, thanks to whoever that was!

[cnr6400]

 

[crueby]

As mentioned last time, next step was to round off the ends of the valve rod support arms. I was about to set up the rotary table, centering it/parts/all that stuff, when I realized that the simpler/quicker was to round the ends the same way that is commonly done for bearing caps, with a drill rod to set the vertical spacing and take a series of nibbles around the end with the part held in the mill vise.
Starting out on one arm (there is a parallel strip on the near jaw to space the part out a little, the bronze bearing protrudes slightly)


and finishing up:

Then made up the gasket for the cylinder base caps from some automotive type thin fiber material (a lot of people use brown paper, but the stuff I've got around is too porous so I have a roll of regular gasket material)

Test fit on the engine

Here are the valve rod supports slipped onto the crosshead guides to show where everything will go. I'll get them loctited in place. The little holes in the tops of the support arms are for the throttle linkages to be made later.

[cnr6400]

 

[Don1966]

Always first rate job Dog.......




 
Don

[Kim]

It's sure looking like an engine, Chris!  It's going to be on the Wagon soon!
Kim

[crueby]

Thanks guys, its down to the last of the fiddly bits now!

[tghs]

it's those fiddly bits that can drive you crazy..(to late for me, the crazy car is a high mileage vehicle)

[crueby]

it's those fiddly bits that can drive you crazy..(to late for me, the crazy car is a high mileage vehicle)

Its no drive, its a short putt!