# Building Kozo's New Shay locomotive



## crueby

Finally got started on a locomotive engine project - been building small steam engines for a bunch of years now, and think (hope) I am ready for a project like this one. The one part that I am still nervous about is the boiler, but hopefully by he time I get that far in I'll have a lot more practise with silver brazing (also know some Live Steamer guys that can help me out if needed).

Here are a few photos of the progress so far - have the main frame rails and bolsters done - not too much to look at, but was a lot of layout/drilling/tapping. You will note that the rails are offset to the left on the front/rear endplates - the Shay's have the boilers offset since the engine is vertical on the right side. 








There are also a lot of bolts holding nothing as yet on the endplates - they will hold footplates, handrails, etc later on. The endplates are brass - the original engine had them made up of a stack of large timbers, so I have scored the brass to outline the timbers, and will woodgrain in the paint later on.







I cant recommend more the drilling guides that Kozo shows in his books - takes just a few minutes to make one, and makes accurate repeatable location of matching holes in the parts SO much easier. Here are the guides for the holes in the frame rails, to locate the bolsters (crossbars the wheel assemblies will mount to) as well as the footplate brackets/brace bars still to come. 




The smaller guide has holes at three different angles for the different brace bars - would have been a pain to lay out each set of holes manually on the rails.



More to come, depending on the weather - good weather: outside sailing/canoeing, rainy weather: in the shop!


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## SilverSanJuan

Beautiful work, crueby!  I look forward to following along.

I'm building Kozo's A3 currently.

Todd


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Beautiful work, crueby!  I look forward to following along.
> 
> I'm building Kozo's A3 currently.
> 
> Todd



Yours is coming along great - been watching that thread as I gathered materials for mine. I have several of Kozo's books, and it was a tossup whether to build the A3 or a Shay. Been practising silver soldering, learning a lot but no where near what he can do!


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## crueby

Got some good progress on the drawplates - nice to have some simple parts to practise silver soldering with. Made up the backer blocks for the drawplates first - did not have brass in the right width for that thickness, so used it as another chance to practise, and soldered up two pieces to get the width. Came out good - his instructions are great.

As for the drawheads themselves, started with the thin backplate - used up some C260 that has been in the drawer for a long time (hate machining the stuff, seems to smear easier than it cuts, now only get C360 or C353 which machine so much cleaner). Had to thin it a bit with the fly cutter.


Next squared up to size the blocks for the drawheads


and silver soldered them to the backplates - used a couple small brass screws from the back to hold them together. One went great, the other needed a retry on the soldering, think I stopped too soon and there was still liquid flux in the joint, the solder had not flowed completely. Maybe did not have both sides heated right - still learning....


Once both were soldered, drilled for the drawbolt


then switched to a thin mill bit and milled out the centers of the drawhead cavities


then angled the piece 15 degrees (used a scrap piece as a guide to get it same each time) and milled the angled sides of the cavities




then went in and drilled/tapped the holes to attach the drawheads to the thicker base


and used the sander to round off the front faces


All attached to the frame ends, came out looking good - happy with the results. 10 pieces down, about a thousand to go!


Next up will be the footrails (am following Kozo's sequence pretty much)....


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## SilverSanJuan

Excellent work!  I'll bet those pockets were fun to do.  As for the heating issue with the silver solder, remember to always heat the larger object.  Conduction will do the work for you.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. 

Todd


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Excellent work!  I'll bet those pockets were fun to do.  As for the heating issue with the silver solder, remember to always heat the larger object.  Conduction will do the work for you.
> 
> The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
> 
> Todd



That was probably it, heating too low and not getting the upper block to right heat. Gotta love a fun project that teaches you something too!


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## SilverSanJuan

Yup!  In the last year and half I've been learning all the things I've always wanted to learn.  Something new every time I'm in my shop.

Todd


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## crueby

Next up are the footboards and such on the ends - fairly straightforward pieces with some more practice on silver soldering (getting better at it little by little, figuring out the amount of heat to use on small vs large pieces better).

The footboards start as four narrow strips bent to a 90 degree angle plus two thicker strips for the boards themselves.




With the strips bolted onto the end block, the boards are clamped into place and drilled for temporary screws.



Those screws hold the boards in place for silver soldering, and are then filed off flush.




The handrails at the top are a simple piece of brass rod, bent 90 at the ends and soldered into small lugs used to screw them to the end blocks. I heated the area of the bend to get a clean bend without cracking the rod.




The poling pockets, used to hold large poles to push cars on sidings, are made by boring a hole in the end of a piece of bar stock to make a thick walled tube. That tube is held with the angle table at 15 degrees for cutting with a slitting saw.




That makes a set of little angled rings.



Those rings are then soldered to a square plate.



The plate is drilled for a small flat head screw that holds it to the end block just below the handrail ends.


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## crueby

I got a start on the boiler support brackets, which hang down below the main frame rails and holds up the bottom of the firebox area and also holds the fire grate. There are two identical brackets, so the outlines are cut from sheet brass and screwed together for machining. The screws go where larger holes will be in the finished pieces, so there is no extra hole left. With the two pieces screwed together, the outlines are milled to size.


Then the center opening is sawn out.


and milled to dimension across the bottom


and the angled part at the sides.


Then the holes for the support rods are drilled


and the bottom corners milled off at an angle.



A seperate lug plate is needed at the top of the bracket to bolt it to the main rails. The lugs were made all in one longer piece to make it easier to hold square - that piece was drilled for the bolt holes, including a smaller hole in the center of each one to screw into the bracket, holding it for silver soldering (oh, and I am using the term 'silver soldering' like Kozo does - some call it silver brazing, or hard soldering. Whatever term you like, depends what country and decade you are from, I think!).




With the brackets soldered to the lugs, 


the lugs were cut apart and trimmed to length.


The brackets were then bolted to the main rails, ready to make the support rods. That will be done in place, using the main rails as the building jig for the rods, so that everything comes out the right size. Enough for this time, more to be done the next rainy day!


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## crueby

Couple rainy days, so good time to play back in the shop! Got the rest of the boiler support brackets done this morning.

The adjustment plates and the rod end plates were gang drilled


and milled


from longer pieces to make it easy to hold/align in the machine vise,


then cut apart and trimmed to final length


before soldering onto the rods on the brackets


and the rod ends


before assembly onto the model.


It is starting to look like a loco, little by little!



Next up are the angled brackets at the ends of the main rails - those look like they will be tricky, getting all the angles in the right directions....


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## SilverSanJuan

Wow!!!  You're just movin' right along.  Looks really great!

Todd


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## Herbiev

Looking great and love the pics


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## tms6401

It's fun to watch one of these come alive. You are doing a fine job on it.

tms


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## crueby

Kinda surprised myself how quickly this part of the build has gone - the main frame is done and ready for paint. A bunch of days I got going back in the shop, until looking up at the clock and going 'WHAT time is it??'. Sure ign of a fun project! Most of the parts so far are nice easy square shapes, but LOTS of little holes to tap....

Most recent parts were the angle braces at the ends, which have lots of odd compound angles to drill/solder at, fortunately Kozo gives detailed measurements for the parts and the soldering jigs, so they came together well.








After that was a set of floorboard brackets, simple blocks, angled on bottom, and drilled using the template made at the start so they all fit perfectly (the jigs for multiple part drilling were well worth the time to make).


Then, it was down to the floorboards - to drill the holes for those I put the whole frame up on the mill table, you can just see the low-tech machinists jack at the far end (two carriage bolts/nuts holding a crossbar) to support it during drilling.


Once all the holes were drilled at tap size, the boards were pulled off and drilled/countersunk for the flat head screws used to hold them on.




Ready for paint now, got some hi-temp paint that I need to test in the sprayer...


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## Gonzo007

Amazing work

Colin


Sent from my iPhone using Model Engines


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## Swifty

Looking very nice, I'm enjoying following along.

Paul.


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## SilverSanJuan

Looking Great!

Todd


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## crueby

I got a coat of paint on the main frame assembly - amazing how it changes the appearance of it all. I used some satin-finish high temperature grill paint, thinned down and airbrushed on. Below are some pictures of it sitting out in the sun to cure up (another 90 degree (F, not C!) day, perfect for it).

While waiting for it to dry, I read ahead the next chapter in Kozo's book on the truck assemblies. Sure are a lot of parts in those (wheels, axels, suspension, brakes, gears) - more than in a lot of whole engines I have done - should keep me busy for a while! So far a very enjoyable build, learning a lot from his book.


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## crueby

Got a start on the wheels for the loco - started off with a length of 2 3/8" steel round bar (heavy sucker!) for the rims, and sliced it into a series of hockey pucks, one per wheel. First one I tried using a hacksaw, then after the arm turned to rubber most of the way through, went and dug out the reciprocating saw and a metal cutting blade to do the rest. Much easier!

Following Kozo's sequences from the book, first faced off the blanks and drilled a hole in the center


to start boring out to the inner diameter of the rim. 


Then cut a step, which will form the bearing surface of the wheel,


and then turned it around to face off the back side to thickness and turn the high part of the step down to diameter.


This (and 7 more to do) form the slightly oversize blanks for the rims of the wheels. They will get spokes and inner hubs silver soldered in, then will be trued/turned down to final outer dimensions. Right now they dont look like much, but lot of work given the size of them - largest pieces I can turn on the Sherline without putting in a riser block...


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## SilverSanJuan

Lookin' good!  Wheels do take a lot of time.  Many operations to repeat.

Todd


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Lookin' good!  Wheels do take a lot of time.  Many operations to repeat.
> 
> Todd



fortunately only 8 wheels (am making a 9th as a spare - do trains have a trunk for the spare tire??)

THIS project was one with a ton of repeated parts - a 4' scratch-built 74-gun ship model I did a few years ago. 74 canon to turn, plus 148 carriage sides, plus 148 axels, plus 296 wheels.... That part got a little old eventually. Was worth it in the end to see the finished product though!


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## SilverSanJuan

WOW!  That's an incredible model.  I love wooden ship models.  Great work!


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## tms6401

I love that sailing ship, but I agree that so many of the same pieces would get old very fast!

I see you are using a Sherline lathe and mill, and I have to ask ... how do you like using the smaller machines? Your results show they are certainly up to the task, but do you find them awkward at all? I only ask because I am thinking of selling my larger mill and lathe and converting to the Sherlines. (Downsizing due to health and age issues ... the big stuff is too heavy to move around anymore)

TMS


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## Swifty

Hi Bob, the loco is looking great, and that ship is amazing. I don't think that I would have the patience to do something like that.

TMS, sometimes I wish that I had a smaller lathe, when I'm turning parts down to 2mm dia on a large lathe I'm always thinking that I could do this better on a smaller machine.

Paul.


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## crueby

tms6401 said:


> I love that sailing ship, but I agree that so many of the same pieces would get old very fast!
> 
> I see you are using a Sherline lathe and mill, and I have to ask ... how do you like using the smaller machines? Your results show they are certainly up to the task, but do you find them awkward at all? I only ask because I am thinking of selling my larger mill and lathe and converting to the Sherlines. (Downsizing due to health and age issues ... the big stuff is too heavy to move around anymore)
> 
> TMS


Sometimes the smaller machine can be limiting, cant do a big flywheel, and the power is not there to cut large stainless steel, etc, but overall I like them. Do have to get creative on how tomake certain things, like large dia. gears.... Sometimes it doesnt have the rigidity i would like, backlash tolerances are not as easy to maintaon than some. For my use, in a small shop, it is fine. It is perfect for small parts like clock arbors and such. If I was doing a large gas engine it would be inadequate.


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## crueby

Swifty said:


> Hi Bob, the loco is looking great, and that ship is amazing. I don't think that I would have the patience to do something like that.
> 
> TMS, sometimes I wish that I had a smaller lathe, when I'm turning parts down to 2mm dia on a large lathe I'm always thinking that I could do this better on a smaller machine.
> 
> Paul.



Thanks Paul, actually it is Chris, not Bob....

You are right about doing small bits on a bg machine, though anything is possible with the right setup i guess.


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## Swifty

crueby said:


> Thanks Paul, actually it is Chris, not Bob....
> 
> You are right about doing small bits on a bg machine, though anything is possible with the right setup i guess.



Sorry about that Chris, don't know what made me think that your name was Bob, I've just woken up and sitting in bed with a cup of tea reading the forum, perhaps it's too early.

Paul.


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## tms6401

Thanks for being honest about the Sherlines. Your responses are somewhat what I expected. Perhaps a combination of the 9 x 20 I already have and perhaps a 15" Sherline lathe would work out OK.

I have the books for Heisler and Climax and I am deciding which I might have a chance of finishing.

Thanks Again, and now back to some excellent model engineering.

TMS


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## crueby

Swifty said:


> Sorry about that Chris, don't know what made me think that your name was Bob, I've just woken up and sitting in bed with a cup of tea reading the forum, perhaps it's too early.
> 
> Paul.



No problem, George!  
Since I retired I don't need to make sense early in the morning anymore!!


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## crueby

I got the hubs for the wheels cut - simple cylinders, with a 2-56 hole tapped in one side to hold it into the soldering jig (the hub and all 8 spokes will have a screw holding them to the jig, which rests on the back of the rim for soldering). The extra-observant of you may notice that there are 9 sets of parts - am making up an extra wheel, just in case of problems doing the final machining/truing. If all 9 come out okay, then one will make a nice display piece (hang it on the back of the tender like a Jeep spare tire maybe??!)


For the spokes, took a length of rectangular bar and rounded one side on the sander. The spoke material is held in the machine vise, and using a dial indicator to get the length of cut, the spokes are cut off with a slitting saw.


The last photo is a shot of the test fit of the first batch of spokes with the first wheel. Got a close fit (took a few tries to get the correct length), so time to run off the spokes on the rest of the wheels.


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## ausdier

May be a little late now but how would this be for an idea.
If you are going to use a solid to start with, how about machining a recess where the spokes are to go and leave a thin piece on the back.
Silversolder or what ever you want to the spokes ( BLUE ) and then put the wheel back in the lathe and then face the back piece off ( GREEN ).
This has the advantages of not needing another piece of material for the hub, holding everything concentric and giving a flat surface for all the spokes to be clamped to.

Just an idea.


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## crueby

Ausier - interesting idea, though I'm not sure how I would cut the recess, at least in this case. The spokes are just 10mm long, and the recess would have to be about 12 or 13mm deep. It would take a special tool to get in there - in Kozo's book he mentions a 'trepanning' bit to do just that, and also mentions that it takes a lathe with a lot of power to use. I've never seen one, so dont get just how it works. I assume it would need to have clearances on both sides of the bit, and cut with the end, sort of a sideways cutoff tool? Anyone know how that works, can post some pics of that kind of tool?
I've done a simaler recess in a larger flywheel, but in that case the recess was a lot wider so I could get in with normal bits, switching between right and left handed ones to work my way down in steps.

So far, I've got all the spokes cut/fitted to the wheels, and am ready to drill/tap the back sides of them to hold them in the soldering jig - more photos to come soon on that.


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## ausdier

A picture is worth a thousand words, I hope.


Not all that hard and you only need clearance for the OD as you can see.
Just a bit of quarter inch tool steel.
Then whilst it is still setup, if the lathe can run backwards, you can also prep turn the flange using the same tool at the back.
If the lathe isn't powerful enough to cut the full face you can either thin down the whole tool or some people prefer to grind a groove in the middle of the face to reduce actual plunge cutting face and then just move side to side as you plunge in, at least this keeps the full thickness of the tool.
I hope this explains and is of some help to someone.
Cheers.


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## crueby

gotcha - thanks for the diagram!


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## whitehedr

Would an end mill in a cnc milling machine be able to cut that recess in the wheel blank?

ROG


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## ausdier

Yes and no.
An End Mill normally is designed to come in from the end or edge of the job and a Slot Mill ( Slot Drill ) is designed to cut down into the job and then move X or Y.
However these days they simply make just about all mills capable of plunging into the job.
The first picture provided shows an End Mill and you will see that if it was plunged into a job, it would not cut in the middle of the cutter. but the second picture shows how the cutting faces on the end of the Slot Mill act just like a drill, allowing it to plunge cut.

Yet like I said before most end mills now have their cutting ends all the way to the middle so can plunge cut.

Hope this was some help and wasn't too confusing.

PS here is a nice site I just found with some good info in it http://nikita.argia.net/kmaxon/safety/Q_stuff/1_cutting_tools.htm


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## stuart123

whitehedr said:


> Would an end mill in a cnc milling machine be able to cut that recess in the wheel blank?
> 
> ROG



You could use an old style end mill in a CNC, but you would need to ramp down. Ramp angle up to 10 degree would be fine.


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## Swifty

I was thinking the same thing about ramping, however it's  probably only be suitable for a CNC mill or a knee mill. It would most likely be too hard to bring the quill down on a bench top mill whilst cranking the table handle. It's very east to raise the table on a knee mill while cranking the table.

Paul.


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## crueby

Been an interesting few days - got the spokes made, and also the soldering jigs as Kozo describes. The jigs made soldering them up a breeze.

First step since last time was to put a notch in the back corners of the spokes - this notch is to hold the little length of silver solder wire in place for each end of the spokes. They were done up in batches, using an alignment jig made from a scrap of brass to line them all up in the vice, 


where they were notched with an end mill.


The spokes and hub are all held in place with a sheet metal soldering jig, with holes at all the joints that both served to let me put the solder in, and also to keep the sheet metal from soldering itself to the wheel (had one wheel where the solder floated up on a bubble as the flux melted - had to break that one free like a sardine can lid, it will get faced off in the lathe in the next step anyway, so no harm done). There are also larger holes between the spokes to let the flame/heat through - they assembly is placed sheet metal up between two firebricks for soldering. The book gives all the dimensions for the jig, well worth the time to make up. I made 4 of them, drilled all together in a stack. That let me solder up all the wheels in two sessions.


Each piece is held in place with a 2-56 screw - meant a LOT of small holes to tap, did break a tap in one near the last piece, but was easy to drill out after heating it red with a torch and letting it air cool - that took the hardness out of the tap end so it would drill out easy.


After soldering, the back face of the wheels is faced off to thickness, and the steps in the spokes are also turned off.




Very happy with how they all soldered up - getting more comfortable with silver soldering with each piece.

Next step will be to face off the front of the wheels, bore for the axles, and finish turn the rims. The hubs/spokes will be painted, think I will put a little JB weld in the holes in the backs of the spokes first to smooth them out.


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## SilverSanJuan

Nice work.  Silver soldering is fun isn't it?

Todd


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Nice work.  Silver soldering is fun isn't it?
> 
> Todd



Once you figure out the basics and learn what to look for, it is! I love adding a new skill to the toolbox, especially one that opens up so many model possibilities.

I just picked up a copy of W M Harris's book 'The Steam Donkey Engine' from Village Press - looks like that could make a really fun project, though I think I'll scale it down a little bit. I was looking at PMR's vertical boiler kit, that could make a good way to do the boiler, scale the rest of it to suit. Something to think about in another year or so after the train is done...


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## crueby

The wheels are almost done now (just need to drill for the gear bolts and paint the spokes/hubs).
Got the wheels faced off to final width and the axle holes bored/reamed to size,



then mounted the wheels on an arbor (turned to a sliding fit on the wheels, and left in place in the chuck till all were turned so it was absolutely true) for turning the tread and rim to size.


Then, the headstock was turned 3 degrees so I could taper the tread surface,


then 10 degrees the other way to taper the rim. The corners were rounded with a file while turning.


That completes the main fabrication on the wheels. The right side hubs will be drilled/tapped for the bevel gears, and all of them will have the hubs/spokes painted black. The rims stay clear, just polished.


As it turned out, I am glad I made one extra wheel assembly - one did get botched somehow in the axle hole, think it slipped in the chuck or the drill wandered a touch - came out slightly wobbly. So, that one goes in the trains trunk as a spare...!


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## SilverSanJuan

Those are some beautiful wheels!  Keep up the great work!  I hope to get back to my A3 soon.

Todd


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## brian13b

Doing good....


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## crueby

Too hot to do anything outside recently, so been spending some time in the shop playing with the Shay model.
I drilled/tapped the right-side hubs for the bevel gears, and got them painted. The holes were drilled using a drilling jig to keep them all the same, same jig will be used to drill the gears. The center hole in the jig was already in the scrap piece of brass, has nothing to do with the jig...




Then got the axles done - pretty straightforward turning of a shoulder on steel rods, with two axles having eccentrics added (held with set screws) that will power pumps for oiling the engine/shafts, as well as the boiler water feed pump. The wheels are held on with high strength loctite.




Here is a shot of the wheels set under the frame to see how the overall progress is going - almost looks like a train...


Next up are the bevel gears - I have cut lots of normal flat gears, this will be first time for bevel gears. I have a book on gear cutting plus some articles, looks like a straightforward extension of the normal method, with some extra fiddly steps to keep it interesting. This engine needs 4 pairs of gears, one per axle. Stay tuned for progress pictures, hopefully none of the gears get turned into projectiles for the ol' flintlock!!


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## SilverSanJuan

Nice!  How long is the frame?  Looks like a pretty big loco.  Of course, I've been following Ed Hume's Gauge 1 version of this model.  That makes yours look huge. 

Todd


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Nice!  How long is the frame?  Looks like a pretty big loco.  Of course, I've been following Ed Hume's Gauge 1 version of this model.  That makes yours look huge.
> 
> Todd



The frame on this one is 32" long, 6 1/2" wide. Definitely not HO guage!


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## kvom

What gauge is it?  4-3/4?


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## crueby

kvom said:


> What gauge is it?  4-3/4?



3 1/2" gauge, building to same size as in kozos book


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## crueby

Well, I was going to wait and post the making of the bevel gears for the Shay all in one post, but it turned out I did not have any brass large enough diameter for the ones attached to the wheels so had to order some more (found a chunk of 1-5/8" bar as a drop at a commercial supplier, it should be here later today according to the tracking).
So, I got started with the smaller gears, a 20-tooth gear at 26.57 degrees. These are being done with a 44 tooth-range cutter, module 0.7. First up was to turn the blank on the lathe, with the bevel done with the compound slide


and the rest done with the normal slide. Since the teeth will intersect the post of the gear, the gear is first made with the post on the large side, which later on will be turned off after a new post is hard soldered on the small side of the gear.


With the blank turned in the end of a brass rod, the chuck was moved over to the rotary table, which was set at a 26.57 degree angle to the mill bed. Since that did not leave enough travel on the bed, I got out the heavy plywood extension that I made several years ago for cutting large clock gears.


The teeth were cut in three passes, one normal pass to cut the slot between all the teeth, then two more passes to take a slight wedge off the side of the large end of each tooth to give it the final shape - this is needed since the teeth and the gaps between them need to be tapered on a bevel gear, and the cutter will only do a parallel-sided gap in a single pass. I used the formulas from Ivan Law's book on gear cutting (with the correction from Sine to Cosine that I learned from other's posts - that saved the day!). I tried to get photos showing the process, but they did not come out well enough to show - will try again with the larger gears, hope they show the difference between passes.
As each gear was completed, it was cut off the bar, and the process started again for the next one - 4 gears needed in total.


Once all the gears were cut (they mesh very well with each other, so that is a hopeful sign I did it right, will know for sure once the large gears are made) it was necessary to make a new post for the small end. The posts were turned to the final diameter, with a smaller end that fit snug into the holes in the gears. They were then silver soldered in place.


After soldering, the gears were chucked up in the 4-jaw, and trued using the original post. They were then redrilled through the new post, and the old post turned off. Again, this was needed since the final post coming out of the small end of the gears would have been in the way of the gear cutter.


Once the gears were done, a setscrew was drilled/tapped into the post to hold them on the line shafts. Once the trucks are done, the positions of the gears will be adjusted to mesh well, then the posts will be cross drilled for final pins - the setscrews are just to allow that adjustment before pinning.


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## whitehedr

Those gears are works of art.  You are demonstration some serious skills with this build.  Awesome work.

ROG


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## SilverSanJuan

Nice lookin' gears!

Todd


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## crueby

Okay, got the larger bar stock for the 40-tooth bevel gears, and got the first one made tonight (weather was good during the day, so got the canoe out for a paddle first!).

Took the 1 5/8" round stock, and cut down four discs, then center drilled/reamed for the axle, and using the drill guide made for the screw holes in the wheels, drilled out some 3-48 clearance holes. Then bored out the recesses in the center of the gear, which provide clearance for the bearing holders.


Then, made up an arbor with the same drill guide, 


and turned the outside of the blanks to the bevel angle.


With the chuck/arbor moved over to the rotary table on the mill, cut the teeth using same constant-depth method as the small gears. Must have gotten my calculations correct, since they mesh very nicely. Just need to make up the other three....








This was my first build of bevel gears - they seem intimidating to make, but once you have been through it and see the changes each cut makes, it really is a straightforward process. Glad I had made some normal gears first though....!


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## SilverSanJuan

Beautiful work!  You just keep cranking out the parts. 

Todd


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## hcrotalus

Great job! I love watching your progress.  Could you give a quick link to what was meant when you talked about the Sin Cosine correction to Law's book?  Thanks Todd


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## crueby

hcrotalus said:


> Great job! I love watching your progress.  Could you give a quick link to what was meant when you talked about the Sin Cosine correction to Law's book?  Thanks Todd



Hi Todd,

I dont recall which posts I read about the error originally, but doing a search for "ivan law bevel gear cosine" found quotes like:
.................
In fact there is an error in Ivan's maths concerning the OD of the small end of the gear. He has :

OD small end = PD + 2 x Addendum x SIN pitch cone angle

This should be :

OD small end = PD + 2 x Addendum x COS pitch cone angle

Likewise the effective number of teeth on the back cone for selecting the No. of form cutter should be N/COS pitch cone angle not N/SIN pitch cone angle

It becomes obvious if you consider a gear of pitch cone angle = zero degrees which is of course a spur gear.

It makes no difference, for his example mitre gears because SIN 45 = COS 45
,................

Hope that helps, it is a critical correction!

Chris


----------



## crueby

Oh, and in my copy of the Ivan Law book it is on page 106 where he does the formulas for bevel gears.


----------



## crueby

Got a start on the trucks for the Shay - The lower bolsters are bigger than any rectangular stock I had, so I made the bars from a couple lengths of round rod. In the past, I've run into trouble doing this, having the bars warp on me as I took down the first side. So, before machining, I did a stress-relief session in the oven (500F for an hour) first, let them cool down, and there was absolutely no warping problem. As I understand it the bars get work hardened during the rolling process as they make them, and if you cut one side off the internal stresses built into the bar will cause them to twist to the side. Other alternative is to take a little off one side, turn it 180, take some off the other, and so on. Baking them first to relieve the stresses let me mill off one side down to desired dimensions at a time - easier, and came out dead straight.


Once they were milled to overall length/width/height, I milled the steps in the right ends (which let the drive shafts pass by).


Then, using the tilt table and machine vise, milled the ends and the angled slots in the ends (3 degrees, to give the suspension room to tilt on uneven track). Kozo did this with angled blocks in the vise, but having the tilt table made it an easier setup for me.




After milling, laid out all the attachment holes and spring-end holes, and did a long session of drilling/tapping. Both lower bolsters are the same, except for the mount holes in the center for the brake levers, which are opposite on each bolster.


Finally, made up the bronze bearing blocks and adjustment screws which pre-tension the springs on each axle (there is a sprung vertical movement on the left end of each axle, then the entire truck has springs for movement of the axles as a pair - slick setup they did on them).



Next up will be the rest of the framework for the trucks.... but first, off to the local steam fest later this week! Here is a link to thier site:
http://www.pageantofsteam.org/


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Wow!  You work fast.  I spent two hours in the shop last night and only got two parts started.  That all looks beautiful.  Good job!

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Wow!  You work fast.  I spent two hours in the shop last night and only got two parts started.  That all looks beautiful.  Good job!
> 
> Todd


Secret is being retired and spending an entire rainy day in the shop!!!


----------



## crueby

Got the truck support columns made - they bolt to the lower bolster, and guide the upper bolster on the springs. The angled slots in the upper bolster ride on tongues sticking out of the columns, which allow them to angle side to side and roll forward/back as needed on uneven track. These columns will also hold the upper framework for the rest of the truck structure.
To start, cut some slices off a piece of 1-1/8" square bar stock brass, and milled them down to the final dimensions (16mmx20mmx28mm).



Then, milled in the recess on the inside surface to make the guide tongue/base, a pair at a time.




On the outside surface, a recess was milled into the side


and the middle was milled to the same depth - this left a pair of columns sticking out. 


After that, the holes in the top/bottom were drilled/tapped, and the outside face was angled back with a larger mill.


When assembled, the upper bolster is suspended on the main springs, and held from coming out by a small plate screwed to the top of the columns. The upper bolster has a pin in the center that holds it to the crossbar on the main frame, and also has a pair of blocks that ride on the crossbar.


The upper bolster is free to move up/down, tilt side to side, and roll forward/back  a bit.


Next up is to make the webwork of flat bars for the rest of the truck, and then the really fun bit of milling, the journal blocks that hold the axle bearings. Those are complicated shapes, fortunately Kozo gives a good step by step sequence for milling them out....


----------



## RonGinger

> Those are complicated shapes, fortunately Kozo gives a good step by step sequence for milling them out....



Kozo does a fantastic job of all  his parts. I wish I wanted to build a locomotive so I could follow his plans. I have every one of his books, and have spent hours reading through them. There is a wealth of ideas in there for all manner of assembly and fabrication.

You are doing a great job, and I love all the photos. And all on Sherline machines was well.


----------



## MatiR

Hi Crueby:

Superb work, especially with Sherline equipment, which I have. I am an "off-and-on" model engine builder and post something here every year or two, some which has pushed the limits of Sherline stuff. Too lazy to add links, but Search should find them. 

I bought the Kozo New Shay book, and the Climax book (which do I like best), a few years ago and thought that maybe Sherline could not handle it - you have proven me wrong. Your work might just get me going on this!

I have a Jan Ridders pressure-controlled 2-stroke engine 95% complete for about a year; got to get it done and get on with a locomotive, hopefully. I have been interested in narrow gauge, shortline locos all of my life; perhaps this will get me going.

Regards, Mati


----------



## crueby

Hi Mati/Ron,

The sherline machines are working out great for this project, nothing they cant do on it. I think it would have problems on a larger scale version, but the 3 1/2" guage works out fine. I got the lathe originally for doing parts for my ship models and little by little got drawn into the world of steam and added the mill to avoid all the wasted time switching the headstock. I love bothb building and learning new skills, on this one the silver soldering and sheet metal work was a nice step forward.

Chris


----------



## Ed

I'm kinda new at this, but I have a question. How do you know what gear cutter to get. I see there are a lot of gear cutters for sale. I would like to get a set of cutters that would do must of the gear gutting a hobbyist would do. Is there a set that would work and what would that set be? Thanks and I hope this question isn't too stupid. Ed


----------



## crueby

Hi Ed,

The gear cutters come in sets by "module" or "dp", which are two ways of expressing the same thing. Each cutter in the set will cut a gear with a given range of number of teeth in that module size - one cutter may do 10 to 15 teeth gears, next in set 16 to 24 teeth, and so on. Gears cut with cutters from the same module set will all mesh together properly regardless of how many teeth. Gears from different module sets will not.
So, the decision is what set to get. That will depend on what size teeth you need on gears for your projects. For what I have done so far, a set of 0.7 module cutters has worked out, have done several clocks and engines. A couple of the larger clock gears, at the weight end of the gear train, needed larger teeth for strength, so I hand ground the one cutter needed for that (being very slow speed motion the accuracy needed was not as tight as would be on a high speed engine).
If you are doing a large hit/miss engine you would need cutters for a larger tooth pattern. For watch gears, a much smaller tooth. Plans for an engine should specify the module or dp size of the gears needed.

Hope that helps.
Chris


----------



## swst

Great job! :bow:
I love watching your progress and your photo.Thm:
I feel very strange, all parts are made &#8203;&#8203;with brass. 
Why all parts to make with Brass.


----------



## crueby

swst said:


> Great job! :bow:
> I love watching your progress and your photo.Thm:
> I feel very strange, all parts are made &#8203;&#8203;with brass.
> Why all parts to make with Brass.



Thanks!

Most of the parts are c360 brass except for wheels/axles/drive shafts  (steel) and boiler (copper) in Kozo's book, probably for ease of machining, maybe corrosion resistance, he does not give a reason. I have substituted steel for some parts like the long frame rails since steel was cheaper. Given the thick dimensions for so many parts of the original locos, brass works out plenty strong for the model. Lots less wear on my cutters too...!


----------



## crueby

The framework for the wheel trucks is done, ready for the journal boxes (which hold the axle bearings). The truck framework is made from 2mmX8mm brass bar, sawn down from sheet stock with a slitting saw.


Except for the diagonal bracing on the top all the bars are cut/drilled to the plans. The diagonal bracing is drilled one end, then marked for the other end - these bars have a slight bend to them so they can cross over each other.


Once the diagonal bars were all in place, they were trimmed to fit the outside corners. In the last photo, the wheel sets are propped in place as they will be in the final assembly. Still need to make the journal boxes to hold the wheel bearings - that looks to be a fun (complicated) set of steps....


----------



## SilverSanJuan

NICE!  Look at all that beautiful brass. Great work!!

Todd


----------



## crueby

Got a start on the journal boxes. The left and right side boxes are different shapes, but they share a lot of positions for the mounting holes and the bearing cover plates, so I started all of them, then will do one side's boxes at a time when it comes to the detail shaping. The 4 boxes for each side were first milled to overall size,


then bored the holes for the line shafts in the right hand boxes,


and the mount holes/cover plate holes in all of them. This part went pretty quick, since once a hole was located in the first one (using the edge of the milling vise as a reference point) the table was locked down, and I could repeat the same hole in all 8 blocks. Tapping 32 holes 3-48 and 32 more as 2-56 took a bit longer....


The next steps are for the right hand journals only - these are recessed for the bearing block and also to clear the bevel gear on the right hand wheels. To start bored for the bearing block (this hole will be squared up in a later step to match the square-outside bearings),


then moved the 4-jaw chuck with the block still in place to the mill, and lowered the surface around the bearing 3mm, leaving the top edge for mounting to the truck. 


Then recessed to leave a ring that fits into the center of the bevel gear,


and finally angled the area around the ring at the same angle as the bevel gears.


At that point, the other 3 right-hand blocks are next up to be milled through the same steps.


Next time will have the sides and back of the journal block shaped, and can start on the left-hand blocks....


----------



## crueby

Next step on the right side journal boxes was to mill out the bearing recess square (was bored to size on the lathe first for position and depth). The bearings are rounded on the top/bottom/back edges, so that it can tilt - the left side bearings are sprung to let the axles tilt independantly on rough track.




After that, the back side of the box was inlet at the bottom, and recessed up the middle. This recess will be redone once the back side is angled - this cut keeps the end of the recess square to the face.


At this point, all the other shaping/drilling is done, so it is time to cut the recesses down each side, leaving the 'feet' where the boxes attach to the rails. I did the main cut from the back, then had to finish it from the front since I dont have a mill that small with long enough flutes.


Last setup was to angle the box in the mill vise (used a wedge to get them all angled the same, was quicker than setting up the tilt table) and milling the angled area on the back face.




That finished the right side journals - was not as complicated as I was afraid it would be, Kozo gives a very good sequence for them.


Last photo is the journals test fit into the trucks - the left sides are propped up since the left journals are not done yet.... Looking very different as each piece goes on - cant wait to get the left journals made now!


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Fantastic work, crueby!


----------



## crueby

Cold couple days up here (wierd for mid-august, usually in the 90's now, been hanging around in the 50s and low 60s), so getting more done in the shop than usual.... Getting tired though, time to walk away for the day before I have a brain-fart and make a mistake!

Got the left side journal boxes done - started by milling out the rectangular center cavity, where the bearing slides up and down,


then milled out the recesses on the back side - one goes through, the other does not.


After that, angled off the back side just like the right side boxes, and 


cut in the sides to leave the feet.




The completed boxes look simaler to the right side ones, except that the bearings are in a slot to move vertically. An adjustable-tension spring on top holds them down.


The screw sticking out the top is the adjuster for the spring tension. The spring tension on the center bolsters is not adjustable, just the one on the axle itself.


Last photo shows a test fit of the front truck on the frame - major milestone for this project, really looking like a loco now (can you hear the smile from there?? ). The gears mesh well, and the suspension works too. Still a bunch to do on the trucks - brake assemblies to make, and the gears need to be drilled/pinned in place on the line shafts, plus a coat of paint to put on the truck framework.


----------



## crueby

got more shots of the frame with both trucks on now. That brings it up to about 21 pounds so far - enough weight for it to turn the wheels/gears easily with a push to the frame.

Looking more like a train (or a government designed lazy-susan??)


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Time to get some rails. 
Looks great!


----------



## ddmckee54

Have you started making engine noises yet?  You probably will the first time you set it on the rails.


----------



## crueby

ddmckee54 said:


> Have you started making engine noises yet?  You probably will the first time you set it on the rails.



Dang! You saw me!! 


I got some rail stock ordered. Also started milling out the brake shoes, though not as Kozo did it - he started with a large diameter brass disk, I started with some offcut blocks and shaped them on the rotary table - photos to come....


----------



## Gonzo007

Looks great.  Keep the pictures and build log coming.

Colin


----------



## canadianhorsepower

very nice work , how long is this going to be ??
 32 long but how hi and heavy??


----------



## crueby

canadianhorsepower said:


> very nice work , how long is this going to be ??
> 32 long but how hi and heavy??



Thanks! It is 32" long, 7.2" wide, and 10" tall. According to the book it should be about 55 pounds without water - already the frame/trucks are about 21 pounds. I am building it to the plans in Kozo's book, so it is 3 1/2" guage, though he also gives instructions for a larger version at the end of the book (my lathe/mill are not big enough to do the larger version, plus I dont know where I would put it!).


----------



## crueby

Got a start on the brake pads - in Kozo's book he shapes them from a large diameter disc of brass, angle undercuts the inside to match the taper on the wheels, then cuts them apart. In my case, I did not 1) have a piece of round bar 2.75" in diameter or 2) have a way to turn it without putting in the riser block on the lathe, or even 3) have a riser block for the compund slide.

So, using what I do have, I came up with an alternate method that probably took a little longer but got me to the same shapes in the end. What I did was take some offcuts of brass (left over from the journal boxes, when I cut the square stock down to rectangular), and mounted them on the rotary table with the mill vise on top. The ends of the brass were set to one side so that by turning the rotary table it would mill an arc that matched the outside diameter of the wheels. This was done with the table tilted 3 degrees so that the arc on the pads would also match the taper on the wheels. The aluminum block in the photos is there to raise the brass above the vise, so I did not cut into the vise jaws.



Once the arc was milled in, I lowered the tilt table down to level again and milled in the recess behind the brake pad.


Then the pad was cut from the larger block, and the back of the block milled to size, with a notch in it for where it will mount on the cross beam. The ends were also milled down to size and a 2-56 hole drilled/tapped in the corner for the brake hangers (not made yet).


A test fit of the pad against one of the wheels (the spare one left over from the wheel construction) showed that the arc and angle all matched, so then I went into mass production mode and made the other 7 pads.




Then, took a length of bar stock, and milled it down to be an I-beam shape (I think in Europe you guys call it a RSJ shape?)


Then, the pads were silver soldered onto the ends of the beams (at the right distance to match the wheel spacing - checked that about 5 times!) along with a small bracket in the middle that will hold the actuator linkage.


----------



## jschoenly

Great looking shoes!  Just proves that better/bigger/more tools don't make the craftsman.  Using what you have to get the desired result is real craftsmanship.  Keep it up!  Looking awesome!


----------



## SilverSanJuan

+1 on Jared's comment.


----------



## crueby

Thanks guys!

Got the brake hangers made - need 16 of the little links, and the thought of making them individually made me cough up some swarf, so dug out an old small-part trick and ganged them up. Started with a couple slices of off-cut bar stock (think these are left over from the journal boxes), and drilled through holes for the links in both, 


laid them on thier sides and milled a slot down each side to form the center of the links, 


then filed the ends round.


At that point the two pieces had the proper shape in two directions, so it was just a matter of running them through the slitting saw to make the individual links. Got enough to make 9 from each before the blocks got too thin to hold for cutting.


A little deburring later, and they were ready to screw onto the brake beams. The last photo shows one propped up in position - still need to make the pivot bars (just a short length of rod notched for e-clips. Wonder how many of those little buggers will fly across the room during installation...)



Got some nice weather rolling in for the next week, time to get out the boats and go play on the water!


----------



## crueby

Okay - got the brake assemblies mounted, and the trucks painted. Below are some shots of it with the trucks/frame together. Some more parts still to go on the trucks (brake actuators, and lube/feedwater pumps), but they would have been in the way to paint, so they will be painted seperate and mounted as they are made.

Farther along than I thought I'd be by now, still amazing to see that I am only up to about page 54 of Kozo's build book, only another 200 to go!


----------



## thayer

A beautiful bit of work. Makes me want to get out to the shop and start on one myself.

Thayer


----------



## crueby

thayer said:


> A beautiful bit of work. Makes me want to get out to the shop and start on one myself.
> 
> Thayer



Go ahead and start, you will have fun too!


----------



## thayer

Oh, I don't doubt it. The issue comes with all my other distractions, that pesky thing called a job, and my fiscal obligations to my family.


----------



## crueby

Got the rest of the levers/rods/etc for the brake actuators done and installed - really tricky figuring out what order to put it all in place, not much room to get nut drivers/wrenches in between all those struts.

Started out with a couple of sets of pivots for the cranks, which were milled out of some 1/4" square bar.


Then went into mass production mode on the 22 clevis ends that were needed - gang drilled the cross holes for all of them on one bar, with the holes far enough apart to account for the part plus thickness of the slitting saw.


Then sawed in the slot in the end, one at a time, cut them apart, and drilled/tapped the hole in the end for the rod.


Made up a set of crank bars,


and test assembled everything. The long crank rod and the last clevis mount on the lower bolster of the truck, and the outside cranks pivot on the I-beam holding the brake shoes. When the brakes are activated, it draws everything up tight against the wheels. When I was looking at the plans, it took a while to visualize how it all works.


A coat of paint, and a bunch of fiddling to get it all assembled, and it all looks good. I need to go back and touch up the paint in some places where I scraped it up during assembly. 


While waiting for paint to dry, I got a start on the lubricator pump housing, which is driven from one of the eccentrics on the axles, and pumps oil up to the steam chests on the engine. Some small brass screws are there to hold it all for soldering, they will be filed off after the silver soldering is done....


----------



## crueby

I got the lubricator pump housing silver soldered up and milled to shape - your basic little box, with a sliding lid. This pump is driven off an eccentric on one of the axles, and will send oil to the three steam chests. The pump bodies screw into the bottom of the box, and will have a spring loaded steel ball to act as a check valve.

The pump bodies were turned down from some hex rod, with a thread to go into the box and a protruding rod to hold the return springs for the plungers (made later).


After turning one end of the bodies, a piece of round bar was chucked up and drilled/threaded to act as a holder while turning the other ends of the bodies. To make sure it all stayed concentric, the holder was left in place till all three were done. The other end of the bodies were drilled in a sequence of sizes to form seats for the check valve balls inside, and finally tapped for the spring holders (made below).


Last on the bodies was to cross drill a number 60 hole at the end of the threads to make an inlet for the oil - this hole winds up just on the inside edge of the bottom of the box. Nearly missed this step - Kozo does not mention it in the text, was wondering how the oil intake worked for a while and finally spotted this hole in one of the diagrams. Been a few cases like this from the book - the text is sparse in a lot of places - he tells you once how to do a procedure, then assumes you will remember things for the next time around. That is fine, but in places where he goes into great detail in the text on part of a piece he says nothing about the other portions. Still, better than having plans with no text!


Fourth photo shows the progress so far, with two of the bodies screwed into the box. The sliding lid of the box is visible at the upper right - the hole in it is to provide a finger grip. The flange with two holes at the top of the photo is the mounting plate for bolting the pump to the upper crossbar of the truck.


Next up was to make the spring holders, which hold the springs for the steel ball check valve. They are made from a smaller hex bar (8mm), and were threaded one end, drilled for the OD of the spring, and then through drilled #60 for the oil passage.


The holders were then turned around, and held in the chuck using one of the pump bodies - the area of the hex remaining at that point was too small to hold securly in the chuck. The second end was turned down and threaded.


The last two photos show the pump body assemblies test fitted to the box. The steel rod through the box is the axle that the pump eccentrics (3 lobes, one per pump body) will fit onto. Lot of stuff to fit into a little box!


----------



## petertha

Beautiful work. I'm not a locomotive guy, but just admiring the machining. Couple questions

 - is the extensive brass use prescribed in the original Kozo design, or you are opting over steel for particular machining/silver soldering reasons?

 - your frame painting looks so great. When you described as below, what is 'grill paint' & how did you reduce it? Is it a 2-component catalysed paint or single stage/ambient cure?

_I used some satin-finish high temperature grill paint, thinned down and airbrushed on. Below are some pictures of it sitting out in the sun to cure up_


----------



## crueby

petertha said:


> Beautiful work. I'm not a locomotive guy, but just admiring the machining. Couple questions
> 
> - is the extensive brass use prescribed in the original Kozo design, or you are opting over steel for particular machining/silver soldering reasons?
> 
> - your frame painting looks so great. When you described as below, what is 'grill paint' & how did you reduce it? Is it a 2-component catalysed paint or single stage/ambient cure?
> 
> _I used some satin-finish high temperature grill paint, thinned down and airbrushed on. Below are some pictures of it sitting out in the sun to cure up_



Hi Peter,

Kozo uses mostly brass for structure in his book for the 3/4":1' version, some steel for axels/wheels/cranks/etc, and copper/bronze for the boiler. At that scale it is plenty strong, and very easy to machine. I did swap steel for the frame rails for lower cost, but am sticking to brass for everything else. I was able to get some good bargains on the larger brass from Yarde Metals Drop Zone, where they sell offcuts at a discount. He may also have picked it to add weight for traction. In the 1 1/2" scale version at the back of the book he calls out more items in steel. With my smaller machines and no coolant spray the brass is more easily worked and easier on my cutters.

For paint, I am using rustoleum grill paint, thinned down about 50% and applied with an airbrush. Gives me great control on placement, about a 1/4" spread pattern, and it goes on thin with a matte texture. Later on the white lettering will be applied same way, through a self adhesive plastic template. I use a printable plastic film for painting and also to make templates for relief carving and scrimshaw patterns. Usually use the airbrush on my carvings, first time use on engines was this one - spray can gives too big a pattern to get into all the details on the trucks/frame.

Chris


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Brake rigging and pump look great.  I like how you approached the brake rigging machining.

Todd


----------



## crueby

Got most of the rest of the lube pump done (waiting on an order of a bunch of sizes of steel balls for check valves, and viton rings for pistons/shafts/etc for the rest of the engine). The pump plungers are simple shafts with discs silver soldered up at the tops, to ride on the cams.


For the eccentric straps, was about to dig out some flat bar stock, when I noticed that Kozo milled his down out of discs of brass - I happened to have a piece just big enough left over from making the bevel gears, and split it down with a parting tool on the lathe to make two discs, one for each pump strap.


Before sawing the disc into two halves for top/bottom of the strap, I milled in some flats and drilled/tapped for the bolts that will hold the straps together. Doing it now meant that the two halves would line up correctly.


Then sawed the disc in two (not in the center, since there is a protrusion on one side to attach the conn-rod) with a slitting saw.


With the two halves screwed back together and held in the 4-jaw (one jaw turned around to give clearance to the lathe bed), I bored out the centers to match the eccentric diameter (the eccentrics were made along with the wheels, and are already on the axles).


Then moved to the mill, and held the strap from the inside with the 3-jaw on the rotary table, and milled the arcs on the outside, leaving the bolt extensions and the con-rod flange. Kozo did this without a rotary table (dont think he has one, never saw it in the books). He held the strap on a vertical post, and did a whole lot of plunge cuts, moving the strap a little around the post between cuts. Much faster with the table, though end result is the same.


Last step was to slot the attachment flange with a slitting saw.


Last photo is the pump assembly on the left, and the eccentric strap for the feedwater pump on the right. That pump and the hand-pump come next. 


After that, the real fun begins - the boiler! Gulp. :hDe:


----------



## SilverSanJuan

I can't believe you're that close to the boiler already!  Those eccentrics look great.

Todd


----------



## crueby

Got a start on the second axle pump, the boiler feedwater pump (there will also be a manual pump used to fill boiler and also to do hydrostatic tests).

This one is pretty straightforward turning so far - I noticed that so far on this build the vast majority of it has been mill work, very little lathe time, opposite of most of my projects.

The pump consists of two bars joined in a T shape, with check valves at each end of the crossbar for inlet/outlet, and a slide that will move up the body of the T to move the water. So far, have the parts made


and test fit ready to silver solder together (burned my fingertips on a hot offcut from the plate, so taking a day before getting out the torch. Turned out to be a perfect detector for a slitting saw blade going dull - that sucker got HOT very fast rubbing on the brass, though it cut okay. The blade, a cheap one, had worn down the set of the teeth enough to rub. The plate is C260 cartridge brass, which did not help. This is about the last of the 260 brass sheet I had, be glad when that stuff is gone - much prefer the C360 alloy for everything. Wont buy it again if I have a choice!).



The flanges on the base plate are screwed in place for soldering, after soldering the base plate gets trimmed down to final dimensions and the screws heads filed off.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Nice looking parts there. 

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Nice looking parts there.
> 
> Todd



Thanks - just got back from a trip to Cass, West Virginia. There is a state park there that has 5 operating Shay engines, an operating Hiesler, and a Climax that is under restoration. They take trains up the old logging rail up the mountain there (up to 4700 feet) - fantastic place for steam engine junkies! The track is so windy that from one car or two back you get a nearly straight side view of the engine, and the grades go up past 9 percent. I am starting to get a ton of photos off the cameras, will be uploading some of them later on today.... Here is one to get started, 


plus this one is a shot of my boiler all done - didnt it come out great? 


Okay, busted - it is one of thiers in the shop - might be the one from the Climax engine.


----------



## crueby

Here are links to some videos from Cass of the trips on the Heisler and Shay engines. Great incentive to keep working on my model! Also took a ton of detail photos of thier engines for reference. Thier website is:

http://www.cassrailroad.com/

If you are anywhere near West Virginia, I highly recommend taking a trip over there to see/ride. I dont know of anywhere else with that many Shay's still operating regularly.
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      [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEts5HV71xM[/ame]

      [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8rhUcCYV80[/ame]

      [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YkqtPhkNus[/ame]



[/SIZE]


----------



## crueby

Got the rest of the bushings done - first pic is the steam outlet fitting plus the water inlet and manifold bushings. Second pic is the collection of fiddly-bits so far (had to label them to keep track of which is which). Next can start on the steam dome base and the big collections of stay bolts.... Probably a couple days worth of those, lots to do. After that will come the wood forms for the sheet metal (then it can start looking like a boiler).


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Perfect idea for storing all those finished parts.  And they look so pretty in there. 

Todd


----------



## crueby

Got the steam dome base made - More to this one than just a cylinder so a few more pictures.
Started out with a bar of phosphor bronze, drilled the center hole (stepped hole to take the outlet pipe) and turned the rim down to size - stepped to fit in the hole in the boiler.


Parted off/cleaned up the part,


and put it on the rotary table in the mill to drill/tap the rest of the holes. The rotary table made it very easy to lay out the holes, which lie on two circles - just centered the table on the drill, and cranked it out the needed distances. Then drilled a hole, turned it 90 degrees, ready for next one.


Back on the lath, started the parts for the clamps that hold the base to the boiler shell for soldering. First, bored out the center to the same diameter as the small side of the base part, and parted it off.


That dish shape was then sawn into three pieces, the outer two are the needed parts. 


They were then milled to width/length, and a hole drilled for the mounting screws.


The last two photos show the whole assembly. The clamps will be filed to an arced shape to fit the boiler shell later. Tightening down the bolts will draw up the base to the shell, and all the parts are soldered into place at that time.




That completes the boiler bushings. Next up are a whole lot of bronze staybolts....


----------



## crueby

First batch of boiler stay bolts are done. There are two type, first are a simple stud with a thread at one end for the front and back ends of the firebox (they get screwed into inner plate, soldered at threads, then other end is soldered into outer plate). The second style have a large head, and a flat nut.

The studs were turned to dimension in the lathe and threaded at the end with the die held with the tailstock, and then parted off.


The studs were then turned around, and the other end cleaned up and chamfered.


Third photo is all 11 studs done.


For the headed bolts, they are turned down to size and threaded, then parted off.


The nuts are drilled/tapped out of the leftovers, and parted off to size. The first edge of the nuts has a small chamfer, once all are made I will go back with a threaded holder and taper the outer edges of the nuts (does not effect function, just looks better).


First one down, just need to make 23 more of the headed bolts...


----------



## SilverSanJuan

I'll bet you're having too much fun. 

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> I'll bet you're having too much fun.
> 
> Todd



Didn't think my grin reflected in the metal that well!

First 13 stay bolts done, 11 more to go... A return to warm weather for a couple days (30s yesterday, high 70s today) So I am headed outside!


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Enjoy that warm weather while you can.  It is getting cold here. 

Todd


----------



## crueby

Well, got through the big-pile-o-staybolts making, and have begun the wood formers for the boiler sheets. These will be used to hammer the copper sheets over to form the actual boiler parts (with lots of stops to re-anneal the copper again). The formers were laid out on the wood, and cut on the bandsaw slightly oversize, and will be machined down to final dimensions on the mill (a bandsaw is a very handy tool, but hardly a precision one). the blocks are from some Sapele offcuts from a display case/drawer unit I did two years ago (shows up in background of some of the engine progress photos now and then). It is a very hard, heavy wood, and very stable, should work well for the formers. I was a woodworker long before getting into machining metal, so this will be kind of a nice blend of the two arts...


----------



## crueby

Next step is done on the boiler former blocks - got them milled down to size. For the round ones, I screwed a sacrificial block to the faceplate, drilled for a bolt on the lathe to ensure the bolt was centered, and screwed that assembly onto my rotary table (which has a screw adapter for centering chucks on the table). Then I could bolt the round formers down and mill them to exact size (spiral mill leaves a finer cut on this wood than the lathe bit does, plus the odd shape ones later would not work on the lathe anyway).


Same was done for the smaller end formers.


For the formers around the firebox, which have a circular end and a straight base, did the same thing but stopped turning the table where it met the straight sections (third photo).


There are also a pair of formers for the forward end of the firebox area, which are just a rectangular section with an arc cut into the top. This needed a different holder, one with a tongue sticking out to bolt the former to (bolt holes needed to be right distance out to put the arc in correct place). I could not use a larger circle for this, since I dont have enough reach on the mill.


On the wider of the two, (fifth photo), there was not enough room to rotate it all the way past the cutter, so I did as much as I could on one side,


then finished it up on the other side of the column (did not move the former on its holder to ensure it stayed centered).


With both of the throat formers cut, bolting the together shows the step formed - the arcs are different by the thickness of the copper. This will allow using a pipe section to finish hammering down the flange there - will all become clear when that piece is made. Kozo really thought these formers through, looks like a good sequence he has in the book.


At this point all the formers are cut, milled to shape, and drilled where needed. Still need to go back and round over the corners of the edges the copper will be hammered over - will use a small 1/4 round bit in the trim router for that.


Once that step is done, will be time to start cutting copper sheet! Think I'm gonna cut each blank, and take some of the offcut scraps to experiment with the hammer (have wood and plastic head mallets for the forming)....


----------



## petertha

Cant wait to see this, I'm very interested in the process.


----------



## crueby

petertha said:


> Cant wait to see this, I'm very interested in the process.



Me too! My first time doing sheet metal work, Kozo's instructions seem very complete so I am hoping it goes well. Otherwise I'll have some weird looking copper funnels and measuring cups!


----------



## Swifty

You have almost got me wanting to build a locomotive, I'm following along with great interest.

Paul.


----------



## crueby

Swifty said:


> You have almost got me wanting to build a locomotive, I'm following along with great interest.
> 
> Paul.



G'head, build one! You know you want to.... Your shop is calling out to you.... :hDe:

Great projects - when done, you can watch the engine run, plus the whole thing moves (they dont seem to be able to get away though, fortunately!). If you build one to large enough scale you can even ride the sucker!


----------



## crueby

Got the corners of the formers rounded over (1/16" radius bit in trim router), and also made the patterns for the endplates out of some card stock (wierd, a step that involves no swarf!).

Next step, trace them out on the 2mm copper sheet and start cutting...


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Beautiful!  I did some reading on the wood you used.  There were some comments about having some issues with tear out when machining it. Doesn't look like you had any trouble with that.  They look great! 

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Beautiful!  I did some reading on the wood you used.  There were some comments about having some issues with tear out when machining it. Doesn't look like you had any trouble with that.  They look great!
> 
> Todd


I've used Sepele on a couple furniture projects, even carved a rifle stock from it, never had any problems with the wood. Cuts like a figured Cherry wood. The grain is twisty compared to northern zone woods, which gives it a great ripply sheen,  but is very stable, no warping. Like any dense wood, sharp tools are a must. It takes a varnish looking like a figured mahogany.


----------



## crueby

Wow - that worked out a lot easier than I had been expecting. Got the boiler endplates cut out


and formed. Annealed the copper with a torch and let it all cool down, then started in on the shaping. Using a plastic-headed hammer started hammering on the exposed flanges - got about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way over very quickly, then as the copper work-hardened it would get to a point were it would just bounce the hammer off. 


Took all the parts to that stage.


I took that as a sign that it was work-hardening, and took it back out to reheat and cool down again (about 20 minutes or so to cool, its cold out today). After that, got most of the way over (all the way on the parts that were just straight sections). 


Another re-anneal step, and the parts were formed all the way over.




The one that needed a fourth anneal was the throat plate, which has two side flanges going one way and the curved section going the other.


Once all the plates were formed, they were given a short soak in the Sparex acid pickle and wire-brushed under running water to clean them back up. Looking very good so far, ready to machine the edges to final dimension (which also gives a fairer surface for silver soldering).



There are still the tube sections and firebox to form, probably will do that after machining the endplates. They will be simpler bends, since they wont have flanges to deal with.


----------



## petertha

Very nice. Particularly the piece with flanges in reversed direction. So 2mm thick plate, that's 0.078" relative to 1/16" nose-over radius. I would have guessed that would be tight but it worked great!

 - anything special about the copper composition itself? (this supplier shows C101 & C110 in plate. I wasn't even aware of so many grades)
http://www.onlinemetals.com/productguides/copperguide.cfm

 - when you heat it, do you look for a specific discoloration or use a temp gauge of some sort?

 - on the cool-down side, should this occur slowly, quickly, or doesn't matter?


----------



## RonGinger

Nice work, and as usual, very nice photos.

Copper is fun to hammer form like this. It does work harden quickly, and like you I have usually had to do 3 cycles of heating and hammering. You need to heat the copper till its red- low light level  in the room helps for this. You can cool it quickly- Dump the parts in a bucket of cold water. that not only cools them very quickly so you can gt back to work, it knocks off most of the scale and the copper looks bright and shiny again.


----------



## crueby

It took a couple experiments to learn the right color to heat to. Was out in sunlight so was hard to see. No harm though, if I did not heat it enough it would not form much. Once I got the color figured out it went quick. I heayted and formed all the parts in batches, so only had to wait for cooling a few times for all of them.

In Kozos book he says to let it cool without quenching so that is how I did it.  Not sure why he says not to quench. Possible distortion on larger parts maybe?? There are several things like that in his book that I'd like to ask him about. Not knowing, I took his word for it.

As I recall I had gotten the c110 grade from onlinemetals, waited for one of thier 25% off sales for it. The boiler sheets cut so far are about 8 pounds of copper, not counting all the bronze fittings or copper tube! Gonna be a heavy boiler.

Next up will be to start boring all the tube and bolt holes in the endplates, hose holes will give a way to hold it on the faceplate to mill the flange faces true.


----------



## crueby

Rivets usually are round as you mention, mine came out with square head since I started with a square piece of copper cut from scrap sheet. It would look a little better round but works just fine, and being inside it won't show anyway so I skipped that step.

I am using cutting fluid on the copper cuts - before taking pictures am wiping off the oil/chips to show the part better. Before soldering I am cleaning off all the oil so it won't interfere with the solder. Cutting it dry makes it stick and grab at the cutter, unlike brass which I cut dry most of the time (except fine drills and taps)


----------



## SilverSanJuan

crueby said:


> Todd, that is a great set of photos!  Did he do a build thread for that engine? Different model but a lot of commonality between them. Thanks for the link.



I don't think there is a build thread for it.  But, there are two other  guys who've also built the A3 in 3/4" scale on Flikr.  I can send you  the links if you'd like.

Todd


----------



## crueby

Quick update - got the first boiler shell section silver soldered up today - took a couple sessions to get all the joints done, some of the joints took a couple of tries. This was my first time soldering up long joints, took a couple experiments to figure that out, wound up using both torches to put enough heat in quickly - that worked very well. First tries with one it was hard to get both the shell and the joint strip heated up together. In a couple of places I went back after pickling/brushing to redo a spot that did not get solder flowed in. Right now it looks like I got everything - visually it looks like full coverage.



Also took some more wood scraps and made up bending forms for the inner and outer firebox sections. Kozo did the bending over pipe sections, but I have had better luck making a full length form from wood (having a lot of offcuts from furniture projects and a bandsaw came in handy!). Next time will show bending up the firebox sections....

Chris


----------



## crueby

Busy day - went ahead and formed the rest of the boiler shell sections. The first picture shows the conical forward part of the boiler after one pass, got that far and it work hardened, went back for more annealing. Took two more passes to get it fully formed and trued up.


Second photo shows the second pass on the outer firebox shell - took one more pass after this one to get it formed fully where it transitions back to straight at the bottom.


Third photo shows all the sections as they stand now - I got the conical section soldered up (has a joint strip down the inside just like I showed on the first boiler section the other day).


All the sections are close to fitting together, the joint rings just need a little filing to let the other ring sections to seat tightly so the solder can wick between them. Major progress today, going to be a couple days before I can get back in the shop again.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Beautiful work!  How did you form the conical section?  Was there a template for it?

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Beautiful work!  How did you form the conical section?  Was there a template for it?
> 
> Todd



In the book he gives the measurements to lay out the shape on sheet metal, which I used to make a cardboard template first, and cut the metal to that. Here is the picture of the sheet pieces before bending, the one in the upper left makes the conical piece.






For this one I did not make a wood form, but bent it around a pipe, angling the piece as I went. The final shape is a cone, but with the ends angled so that the bottom edge where the joint is runs at a right angle to the ends. That piece was tricky to shape without the form, but not bad. I used the round forms from the end plates as a guide to getting the ends round. To get the joint pulled up tight to rivet it I put rings of steel wire around the cone and tapped them down like barrel hoops to draw it up.

The really tricky one was the firebox sheet, since that one is 3mm thick rather than the 2mm everywhere else. That extra thickness made it a lot tougher to shape and keep the two sides straight and parallel in the finished piece. Took a couple extra anneal steps before that shape came out well - fortunately copper is forgiving to reshape a bit as long as it is annealed. Came in handy the one time I dropped one of the sections and bent the edge in a little!


----------



## crueby

Got the fittings for the outer firebox sheet drilled for and soldered in today. Also made the support ribs (rectangular bronze, milled down from round - first photo) that hold the steam bracket base on - this base has the steam manifold and upper engine supports later on, so it requires bracing inside the boiler to take the added weight. Kozo designed it so the manifold is attached directly to the boiler so it gets warmed by it. The ribs were drilled/tapped for screws to hold them in place for soldering.


Second photo shows it all soldered up.


Third photo shows the back plate test fitted - ready for fine tuning the joint with a file to get a tight fit. After that, will fit the middle section of the boiler to the outer firebox and solder them together. So far so good!


----------



## crueby

Another day, another section on the boiler. Got the outer firebox section and the parallel middle section joined up and silver soldered together today. Took a little filing/tweeking of the joint ring to get it to seat tight, then got the throat piece fitted underneath and screwed to the two sections to hold it all for soldering. Next up is to fit the conical front section on. Actually starting to look like it will be a boiler when it grows up...


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Nice work!  It is indeed starting to look like a boiler.

Todd


----------



## crueby

Got the conical section soldered on - looks like I am hitting the limit on the torches I have - with this much mass and surface area it is wicking away the heat almost as fast as I can apply it. Got some missed spots that need another pass, most of it took - just. 

I am looking around at other torches, anyone have any suggestions for an economical way to go? Has to be available in the US (seen some nice ones that are common in UK/Europe but not here). Prefer to go with something that could hook up to a standard 20lb propane tank, since I have one of those (current model threads on it, they changed them a few years back). I've seen some that are intended for roofing work that look like they put out a lot of BTU's, could heat a large area up while I could zero in with the mapp gas torch for the joint being soldered. Anyone use that type? Better way to go??


----------



## littlelocos

Really-REALLY nice work!  Absolutely beautiful.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

I've read that a Sievert torch with a rosebud on it works really well.

Todd


----------



## crueby

After great advice gotten here and over in Questions forum, found a sievert torch kit on sale for a reasonable price. While waiting for that, I am going ahead with the fire tubes and firebox assembly, pics later today....


----------



## bouch

crueby said:


> Got the conical section soldered on - looks like I am hitting the limit on the torches I have - with this much mass and surface area it is wicking away the heat almost as fast as I can apply it. Got some missed spots that need another pass, most of it took - just.
> 
> I am looking around at other torches, anyone have any suggestions for an economical way to go? Has to be available in the US (seen some nice ones that are common in UK/Europe but not here). Prefer to go with something that could hook up to a standard 20lb propane tank, since I have one of those (current model threads on it, they changed them a few years back). I've seen some that are intended for roofing work that look like they put out a lot of BTU's, could heat a large area up while I could zero in with the mapp gas torch for the joint being soldered. Anyone use that type? Better way to go??
> 
> View attachment 72862



Next time you need to silver solder to the boiler, start insulating the parts that don't need to get heated up.  I remember hearing somewhere that if you bury the boiler, except for the part you're working on, in kitty litter, it works as a good insulator so the heat doesn't flow down the entire boiler.

Kitty litter is basically clay, so it makes sense to me that it would work.

Might want to do some googling/research to see if I'm remembering correctly or if I'm nuts...


----------



## crueby

bouch said:


> Next time you need to silver solder to the boiler, start insulating the parts that don't need to get heated up.  I remember hearing somewhere that if you bury the boiler, except for the part you're working on, in kitty litter, it works as a good insulator so the heat doesn't flow down the entire boiler.
> 
> Kitty litter is basically clay, so it makes sense to me that it would work.


Neat tip - have to try that. At least with the basic cheap clay litter - some of the newer stuff who knows what it is.



bouch said:


> Might want to do some googling/research to see if I'm remembering correctly or if I'm nuts...


Seem to recall times I may have been BOTH correct AND nuts...! :hDe:


----------



## crueby

As I mentioned earlier, while waiting for the bigger torch for the main boiler shell assembly, I went ahead with the firetube assembly - three firetubes and the firebox. First photo shows the tubes soldered into the front firebox plate - up at the top out of the shot I had the front endcap slid into place on the tubes to hold them in alignment.


Second shot shows that assembly screwed into place on the firebox, and then soldered up. The front endcap is still there at the left end, that is not soldered on yet, just using it to hold/support that end of the tubes. It gets soldered in place last, since it has to go on from the outside of the outer shell.


The third photo show the back firebox plate being checked for fit - spent some time tweaking the shell and tuning with a file to get a tight fit. By shining a flashlight from inside, I could see any gaps and where the two pieces were touching - file down the touches till the gaps go away. On the first plate I'd just hold it up to the window, but on the second needed the flashlight to get into the corners.


Last shot shows the plate fitted and screwed into place, ready for soldering up.


By then, was getting a little tired, and got to the 'put down the tools and go do something else before you do something stupid' point. Probably will solder this up tomorrow, or may wait for the other torch - getting a lot of metal in one place now, that firebox shell is a lot thicker than the outer boiler shell, and the front end took a while to heat up.

After the firebox and outer shell are all soldered up, the next step will be to put the two assemblies together and fit/solder on the boiler backplate. Not bad progress lately - happy with how it is going so far!


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Looking great!   How are you ensuring that there is no twist in the firetubes from front to back? 

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Looking great!   How are you ensuring that there is no twist in the firetubes from front to back?
> 
> Todd



Hi Todd,

The tubes are a tight fit in the holes, and keeping the endcap on the other end keeps the tubes running together and not splaying out or in. Did some careful sighting down the length to make sure they were straight before soldering the firebox end. When soldering, the assembly was vertical, and hung on the edge of a vertical firebrick (happened to be about the right height, just needed a small shim). The endcap and the firebox sheet had enough edges/fittings to make it easy to sight along it to make sure it was square and not twisted. If the tubes were a sloppy fit that would have been a lot harder - I milled them out till the tubes were a tight force fit.

Chris


----------



## crueby

Well, gotta love having the right tools for the job. Got the bigger torch today (Sievert), and it really does the job. I probably could have gone for a slightly smaller nozzle, but this one had the full kit (regulator, hose, torch, end) at a reasonable price - it is one of what they call a roofers detail torch. I used it to heat up the whole assembly close to soldering temperature - got there pretty quick - then turned that one off and used the smaller torch to put the final heat on the joints. These types of torches are most definitely an outside tool - no way would you want to do this indoors (unless you have a MUCH bigger shop than mine, I guess!). Worked out great - redid the couple joints on the outer shell that I could not finish before, and also soldered up the backplate on the firebox (no new pictures, looks just like before just with solder). The pieces pass the light and water leak tests, looks like full coverage - best I can do till static pressure testing can be done. The pieces are soaking in pickle again right now, will get them cleaned up good and ready for fitting together next session. 

Thanks to all those who gave me advice on torches and techniques, here and in the questions forum!


----------



## SilverSanJuan

That's great to hear.  Look forward to seeing your continued progress.  You'll be performing a hydro in no time.

Todd


----------



## SilverSanJuan

That's lookin beautiful!

Stay safe out there in the weather.  Crazy winter in Western NY already.

Todd


----------



## crueby

Last couple fittings on the smokebox - the mounting lugs that attach the assembly to the frame. These will get a pair of links that drop down to the frame and allow the boiler to expand/contract with heating. 

Started out with a pair of square bits of sheet brass, bent to match the curve of the boiler with pliers/vise. Then mounted them in the mill vise at the proper angel, and plunge cut with a 1/4" mill.



Then took a 1/4" piece of brass rod, drilled into the ends on the lathe for the link bolts, and silver soldered them to the plates (distance betwen plates was just for the piece of rod handy, is not measured out for the boiler).


With the rod cut in half to separate the plates, they were put in the lathe and the square ends turned round. Looking at the end of the rod the plates look round, since they are at an angle they appear oval from the side.


Then put them in the mill vise with some scrap to hold them above the jaws, and drilled holes for mounting screws.


With matching holes drilled/tapped in the smokebox, next few photos show the mounts in place.






Last photo also shows the headlight bracket - simple piece made up from some sheet stock. This will hold the headlight, and also the ends of the handrails that run along the boiler. These will both be made later in the build.


That finishes up the smokebox, about all I can do till the final boiler staybolt/front plate soldering/testing is done. Still looking like it will warm up (finally) this weekend, hope to work on that stuff then. Once the boiler front plate is soldered on, I can drill the last mount holes for the smokebox to hold it to the rest of the boiler. Also, will need to do some tweaking to the boiler support braces in the main frame - Kozo has you leave them a little tall to allow for any actual variations in the boiler. In my case I need to lower the tops of the supports a few millimeters to have the boiler sit where it should relative to the frame. At that point, it should really start looking like a locomotive - can't wait!


----------



## crueby

At last, weather is back to decent to work outside, got the staybolts soldered inside and out, plus filled the two leaks I knew about. Time to clean it up again, put in the plugs, and do one more fill/leak test. If it passes that I'll solder on the front plate tomorrow...


----------



## crueby

:wall: :redface2:
Let's see, how can I say this and not be too explicit: Politician-Poo! Swarf-Stuff!!

Did not get past the leak test. One spot on the back wall of the inner firebox seam leaks, fixed part of it but apparently it extended farther to on side. That needs some rework, plus two small spots on the conical section to middle section seam leaks. Not as suprised there, that was first big joint I did, and struggled with the smaller torch there. That one is easier to fix than the firebox. So, will take a shot at those tomorrow and test it again before attaching the front plate. Hopefully it works then!


----------



## crueby

Decent progress today. Got the leaks patched successfully, and got the front end plate soldered in finally! Give that a while to cool, and will check that for leaks. If okay, can prepare for the static test...


----------



## crueby

This morning I got the last of the known leaks reworked, and they passed the fill-with-water-and-watch-for-leaks test. Just tested the joints on the front plate, which I soldered on this afternoon, all is good! Major milestone - ready for static test on boiler. Passing THAT will be a huge step forward. I need to make a tube set to go from the pump to the boiler and a fitting for the pressure gauge first - had held off on that part not knowing if I would need them or not! 

Happy Happy Happy!
*beer*

Oh, had one head-slap moment on the final leak test - I put in the plugs on the bushings at the front of the boiler, tipped it up on its front end, and put in a funnel in one of the backplate openings. Poured in some water, and WOW, did it come gushing out fast from the front end. What the heck! Cant have been that far off on the joints! Umm... took a closer look - I had poured the water into the hole that leads to the blast tube, which runs all the way down the boiler and straight out the other end. It is SUPPOSED to go right through. Whoops! :hDe: Moved the funnel to the water guage bushing, filled the boiler that way... Much better.


----------



## crueby

A few photos of the boiler progress so far, while I am in process of making the fittings needed for the static pressure test. The brass cylinders to the left in the first photos are the boiler jackets, which wrap the middle and conical sections. On the real locos the jackets were an insulated layer around the boilers. In his book, Kozo mentions he left out the insulation to get the maximum volume of water in the boiler - the insulation is not as important on the model as on the real thing. Last two photos show it sitting in place on the frame.


----------



## crueby

Got the fittings made to plug the bushings and provide connection to pump and pressure gauge. On first try for static test, found one pinhole on the top seam - looks like an air bubble, gave a teeny stream of water squirting across the sink, plus one outer staybolt head that seaps. Not bad, will redo those joints and try again (got other stuff needing to be done today, so will probably be a day).

One other issue, the thread sealant goop I tried is worthless, at least without a really long dry time. Going to go back to old standby teflon tape on second try. No good pressure testing and having the pump fitting leak! Anyone have other options for sealing threads?


----------



## crueby

Got those leaks fixed, and got the fittings sealed well. One leak is the o ring on the hand pump, have to fix that now. Did get up to about 120 psi even with the pump leak, which showed two more teeny pinholes. With the holiday here, will be a few days till I get back to it, but am making forward progress. Depending on the weather then I'll either work on the boiler or skip ahead to the cab.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.  Good to see you making more progress.  Good luck with the hydro!

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.  Good to see you making more progress.  Good luck with the hydro!
> 
> Todd


Thanks - Holiday went great (still is). Got some side projects to finish for birthday/christmas presents, then will get back to the boiler. I realized that the leak at the pump wasnt really a problem with the plunger, but that the check valve at the outlet must not be sealing right. Also, to make it easier to move the boiler around during the test, to see underneath it, etc, I am switching the hard copper tubing I connected the pump to the boiler, with a short length of air tool lead-in hose, which is flexible and has plenty of pressure rating. 
The weather is cold/snowy again right now, going to warm up Sunday and Monday, so am planning on going back to work on it then. One by one knocking down the leaks.... Learning a lot this way, wish I could start over on the soldering with what I know now, but that would be WAY too much work!


----------



## crueby

SO close.... But not there yet. The new hose setup from the pump works great, and I got the few known leaks fixed. But, now that I can get the pressure up high, found that there are a couple more, and one known one did not get fully fixed. Sigh....
Pressure goes up to 160 psi+ easily, but with the couple seaping spots it drifts slowly down again, gets real slow down around 50. About a drop of water out every 6 to 10 seconds. Still some work to do on it. Good news is no movements or bulges anywhere. Kozo has it designed very well, just my sheet bending skills are not as good! The first couple seams I did are the worst offenders, which shows the learning curve.

Given the back and forth weather, which is normal for western New York state, think that I am going to skip ahead and work on the cab and tender during bad stretches and go back to the boiler during warmups, which usually happen every week or two till a real cold stretch in February. That way I can keep the progress going.

Onward!


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Boilers are finicky creatures aren't they?   I'm sure you'll tackle it.  Look forward to your continued progress.

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Boilers are finicky creatures aren't they?   I'm sure you'll tackle it.  Look forward to your continued progress.
> 
> Todd



They sure are! I'm off on a couple side projects for a couple days, getting some birthday/christmas presents made. Should be back at the engine soon...


----------



## crueby

Okay, back in the shop again! While waiting for the next batch of warm weather to arrive to do more boiler soldering work (we usually get a couple warm days every week or two this time of year, good thing too, or the snow would get really deep by end of winter seeing how we get anywhere from 60 to 160 inches a year!), I am going to skip ahead a chapter or so in the book and work on a simple/fun section, the cab and tender. The cab pieces are just soft soldered, so can do that work indoors. The  few bits that are hard soldered are small, can use the little butane  torch for those.

Started out with cutting the sheet brass for the roof/sides of the cab. The window openings get cut later on after the frames are in place, so for now just the outlines are cut.


Then, cut the brass bar stock for the edging pieces, and milled the ends to square them up and take them to final length.


Last photo shows these pieces laid out in place, ready to drill/tap for some small screws to hold them for soldering. Also, there are mounting holes to be drilled in them. Will get to that part later today probably. Got to get up to the range and get my bow sighted in before the winter leagues start, so may not get to soldering these pieces till tomorrow.... Nice to be back fabricating again - these pieces will change the look of the model really fast.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Nice.  I've been considering whether I could make a wooden cab for my A3.

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Nice.  I've been considering whether I could make a wooden cab for my A3.
> 
> Todd



It would get a lot of heat, especially the front wall where it wraps around the boiler. Panel inserts and coverings might be okay for detail.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

crueby said:


> It would get a lot of heat, especially the front wall where it wraps around the boiler. Panel inserts and coverings might be okay for detail.



That's true.  There is no insulation between the boiler and jacket.  And, there is no jacket in the cab at all.


----------



## crueby

Got the cab side frames drilled for mounting holes, and then screwed and soft soldered to the panels. 


After soldering on the extra panels that will make the window frames, filed off the screw heads flush with the panels. Second photo also shows the roof panel, bent to an arc and with the drip rails soldered on (hard to see in photo - they are angled up along the sides).


With the side panels clamped onto the mill table (the frame bars hold the sheet off the table) I milled out the openings for the windows and insert panels. In the book Kozo saws them out, but I think this was aquicker and straighter way to do it. Next few photos show milling out the openings in the two side panels.






Last photo shows the two sides with all openings made, ready for filing the edges nice and smooth. Next step will be to drill/tap the mounting holes for the insert panels, and add the window sill below....


----------



## crueby

Today I got the inserts for the side panels cut, and the ones that simulate wood planking scored. Did that with a high speed rotary air tool (like a dentist drill - wonderful sound...) and a tiny (0.5mm) cylinder cutter run along a straightedge.




Last three photos show the pieces after screwing the inserts into the left/right side panels, and the sides/roof propped up together to see how they look. Roof is not attached yet - that will get held by hinges from the front panel (not made yet - roof first, then scribe that curve to the front sheet).






I like the look - really going to change the appearance of the loco in one step. Next will start on the front panel and the floor.... Weather is still lousy, so this is more fun that fussing with the boiler outside!


----------



## thayer

That is some nice progress!


----------



## crueby

Cab front is started - got the outline cut, 



and the mounting holes  drilled, so I could do a test fit of the cab on the frame. The floor is  not made yet, so it was just propped in place - amazing how it changes  the look of the loco!  *beer*


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## SilverSanJuan

Really starting to come together!


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Really starting to come together!



I love those steps where you put on one more piece and go "ooh! That looks so different!"


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Yup.  I can see the big smile on your face from here.


----------



## Swifty

You have impressed me so much, I'm going to order the book today.

Paul.


----------



## crueby

Swifty said:


> You have impressed me so much, I'm going to order the book today.
> 
> Paul.



You won't be disappointed, the books are great. Interesting style, he goes into detail on each new procedure, then assumes you remember it the next time a simaler ppart comes up. So, book looks light on text at first glance  but it teaches you a lot. I have both of his Shay books plus the A3 switcher book. The New Shay book has very few missing or wrong details, since he had two newbies build from his draft, and corrected any issues they turned up before publishing. I had the books a few years before having the confidence and skills (and time, once retirement) to start. No regrets at all, having a lot of fun!
Hope you didn't pay too much - even though the books are still in print some sellers charge way over list as if they were old and out of print. Some sellers and the publishers sell at list price.


----------



## Swifty

Ordered the book from Amazon, sure was expensive!!!! Ah well, I've sold a bit of surplus stuff around the place recently so I might as well spend it. It is a big book, and a nice hard cover, with 326 pages.

Paul.


----------



## crueby

More done on the cab assembly - got the windows/frames milled out in the  front wall, the floor blank is shaped to its outline, and have the  engine cover about half done - some more slots/holes/tabs on it still to  be done, but enough to see how it looks on the frame. These kinds of  parts are a lot of fun - easy to do, and they make a big difference in  the appearance.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

The cab is turning out very nicely.


----------



## crueby

Minor update (been out of the shop busy with holiday parties, reunions, christmas tree/lights, all the usual fun seasonal stuff!). Now have the cab floor finished up - a number of holes for mounting the cab itself, floor-to-frame, and for reversing gear lever later, plus some recesses for piping. Not a lot to look at, but at least it holds the cab steady now. Next up is to make the roof hinges and support....


----------



## crueby

One more small bit made - the cab-half of the roof hinges. Found a chunk of offcut brass in the box, milled it down to dimensions, 


drilled/tapped the holes, rounded the end with a file, and fitted them to the cab front. 


For that, drilled a hole just undersize in the front wall, and filed the holes square to fit the hinge so that the working end projects through and is screwed in from the back. 




Next up is to make the roof-half of the hinges... These hinges allow the roof to swing upwards, giving easy access to the valves/gauges on the end of the boiler.


----------



## crueby

Made the other half of the roof hinges, as well as the ventilator for the roof.

To start, milled an angle on the edge of a piece of brass bar wide enough to make both hinges. The angle matches the angle of the roof where the hinges will go.


Then drilled/tapped a hole in the center for a screw to hold the other plate of the hinge in place.


With both hinge plates screwed together, the assembly was silver soldered together, and then sawn down the middle to make both hinges.


Each half was then milled to width, which also cleaned up the sawn edge.


After drilling the mounting holes, test fitted it on the cab/roof - fits nicely.




Also made the dummy ventilator for the cab roof. Kozo made his from one piece of 6mm brass, I did not have any that thick, so used two sheets of 3mm - worked out easy that way since the two halfs are slightly different sizes anyway (so the upper one hangs over the lower one). The lower piece was milled lengthwise to match the curve of the roof in a series of stepped cuts, then filed smooth.


Last shot shows the ventilator in place - the screws will also hold the bracket for the bar that holds the roof open - that will be made next time.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Nice work!  What sort of file did you use to remove the steps?


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Nice work!  What sort of file did you use to remove the steps?



Mostly just a normal flat file - the curve is very shallow, and the steps were small. Started with using the upper wheel area on the belt sander to remove the bulk, then smoothed it with the file.


----------



## crueby

The cab roof support (used to hold it open to make access to valves/gauges easy) started with making a pair of hinge ends very simaler to the roof hinges. Then, took a strip of brass for the support itself and drilled one end for the pivot, and a series of holes at the other end for the slot. The slot was then cut out with a jewelers saw and filed smooth.


Next, needed to make the little handwheel to tighten the bolt that rides in the slot. In the book, Kozo uses a cross-rod arrangement like you would have on a bench vise. I decided to use a handwheel instead since it will blend in with the handwheels on the valves better, and be just as functional (plus easier for fat fingers to turn). Started with a bit of brass rod, drilled/tapped the center hole on the lathe, and then went to the rotary table on the mill to drill the series of holes around the edge. First spot drilled to locate the holes,


then drilled them out to size every 60 degrees.


After that, moved the table over a bit and used an end mill to make the recesses in the edge of the wheel. I plunge cut each one, so that I did not have to worry about getting the distance in from the edge the same on each one. 


Moved back over to the lathe, filed the edges round, and parted off the wheels - had enough depth for two of them, sure the second one will get used somewhere...


With the wheels parted off, soldered in a short length of threaded rod (cut from socket bolts) in the center.


With all the parts made, they were assembled onto the cab and roof.




Next up will be the end plates for the engine cover, hand rails, and steps, which will complete the cab....


----------



## Swifty

I had the FedEx man at the door today with my copy of the book, even at first thumb through, it sure looks very detailed. It's a very nicely presented book. I think that I will slowly get all the materials required, and perhaps later next year I will make a start on it. 

Although I'm not a mad keen "run the train on the track" sort of person, it will sure make a nice display piece.

Paul.


----------



## crueby

Swifty said:


> I had the FedEx man at the door today with my copy of the book, even at first thumb through, it sure looks very detailed. It's a very nicely presented book. I think that I will slowly get all the materials required, and perhaps later next year I will make a start on it.
> 
> Although I'm not a mad keen "run the train on the track" sort of person, it will sure make a nice display piece.
> 
> Paul.



I had the books a couple years before starting mine. When I finally decided to start, began getting bigger size stock during good sales at places like online-metals (30 off coupon out this week) and the drop zone at Yarde metals, they have great prices on 3 foot offcuts. I am more into running boats (real ones) than trains, but it is a great project to build, and the end result looks amazing on the shelf.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Beautiful work on the hand wheels.  Thanks for the details on how you produced them.  They are somewhat reminiscent of Honeycomb cereal.


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Beautiful work on the hand wheels.  Thanks for the details on how you produced them.  They are somewhat reminiscent of Honeycomb cereal.



I THOUGHT they looked familiar!!


----------



## crueby

First up, got the panel that goes at the cab end of the engine cover made - simple sheet metal plate with some slots and holes in it.



Then started on the handrails for the cab - drilled a set of holes in a rectangle of sheet brass,


and silver soldered in the bent brass rod. Keeping them as a pair made them stand up, so it was easier to solder up.


Then, cut them apart and filed the plates down to shape with rounded corners.


Installed on the cab, gives it a nice finished look.


Next to the rails, in the inset panel, will be another place where the loco number will go (to match the one on the front end of the boiler). I have not cut them out yet, but have the numbers inkjet-printed on some transfer film and stuck on the brass sheet.


Got a start on the ladders that lead into the cab. Dug around in the scrap box again and found some brass the right thicknesses (the cab is using up a bunch of the offcuts). Hacksawed (hacksawned? hacksaweded? whatever...) them to rough size, then milled them straight and square to size.


Last photo shows the steps and risers ready to go. They will be screwed together and silver soldered up next time....


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Splendid idea on the handrails.  That worked out well.


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Splendid idea on the handrails.  That worked out well.



Anytime I can gang up small parts in one bigger chunk I do, works out a lot easier to hold in the vise. A couple times I did not, and when soldering the flame from the torch kept knocking them over!  :wall:


----------



## crueby

Last time I posted the photo of the ladder parts cut out - got them drilled/tapped/soldered up, ready to hang on the back of the cab doorway. The last photo shows one of the ladders in place, it is just on one screw for now since the back rail hangs from the tenders' floor plate, which is not made yet.






Next up, I am going back a chapter in the book to do the valves/gauge parts - I had skipped ahead to the cab to get a break from the boiler parts - needed to work on something where I could see big progress quickly and keep my interest up (it worked). Too long working on twigs, need to make a whole tree again! With so many interconnected parts with nested threads, I went and got myself some of the metric taps/dies for these parts - would have been too complicated switching to nearest imperial sizes, turned out fairly cheap to pick up the few sizes needed. For things like the valves, he has smaller threads internally for stems, and slightly larger ones outside for gland nuts and such. 

After the valves/etc, next chapter in the book is the steam/sand domes, throttle assembly, and handrails - another place where it will change the whole look of the project.


----------



## crueby

Almost forgot the numbers on the side of the cab. As with the number on the front of the boiler, they were inkjet printed from the computer on a piece of self-adhesive film and stuck to a piece of thin brass sheet. The sequence below shows cutting a number out from start to finish with a jewelers saw. Since it is tricky to back the blade out from a long curvy cut without breaking it, as is moving the piece in the vice without breaking the blade, it is important to make short cuts, and to make a stop cut first. Pick which section to cut out next, make a stop cut up to the line, and cut along the line to that stop cut to remove a section. Then reposition the work in the vice for the next section. When all the cuts are done the remaining piece of the adhesive film is peeled off and the number is ready to solder onto the cab plate. These numbers are only about 5/8" tall....

Oh, and anyone who suggests that I cut all the letters for the railroad name on the tender out this way will be shot out of a steam caliope!!


----------



## Henry

Next time you should try to cut with the saw vertical and the piece horizontal. Think about the saw like a file with only a line of teeth, you can use the saw pushing it gentle a little bit against the side of the cut, that way it will open it, doing easier to change the direction , a little bit of wax helps a lot..

I will never suggest to cut all the letters like a good practice:hDe:.

I enjoy riding the Shay in West Virginia and I am enjoying along with your great work on that jewel.


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## BAH101

For the railroad name, you could try acid etching of the brass. Been a while since I researched it, but it didn't look too difficult.
And I must say, very nice job you are doing, like others have said, it makes me want to build one, but my wife says no, as I have way too many other projects on the go right now.


----------



## crueby

Hi Henry,

I have tried using the vertical-cut method in the past, with a platform like the jewelers use. For me it was more awkward to hold the saw and piece to be cut that way - had better results holding the saw horizontal. Just a personal preference, I know the vertical cut way is standard practice in the jewelers world. Either way, a good quality blade under tension and lots of good light plus patience in letting the blade do the work are key. I do not have any problem in changing the direction of the cut on curves - it is backing the saw out of a tight curve or corner change cut that is tough with these thin blades.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Outstanding work on the numbers.  Thanks for details on how you do it.  These fiddly cuts worry me.  I'm going to need much practice to get to that point.  what is the thickness of the material in your numbers?

Todd


----------



## Bob Bailey

First thanks so much for an amazing job of posting.
IMHO your shop work is at the level of art.
The only reason I say Drats is because I just bought the plans book plus two more books from Village Press. (I can never buy only one book from them.)


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Outstanding work on the numbers.  Thanks for details on how you do it.  These fiddly cuts worry me.  I'm going to need much practice to get to that point.  what is the thickness of the material in your numbers?
> 
> Todd


The sheet I used was 1/32" thick. If you are not too accurate with the saw, cut a little outside the line and finish with a file. For me, being nearsighted, I take off my glasses to get a good close view. Otherwise, use a magnifying headset, makes everything big, then its not a tiny fiddly cut! Spunds silly but it works. I am so used to small ship model parts that these numbers are big. A project on my future wish list is the tiny vertical that george britnell posted.


----------



## crueby

Bob Bailey said:


> First thanks so much for an amazing job of posting.
> IMHO your shop work is at the level of art.
> The only reason I say Drats is because I just bought the plans book plus two more books from Village Press. (I can never buy only one book from them.)



They have some great books, lots of fun to come for you then!


----------



## Swifty

It's been interesting following your progress, but now I have the book with plans, it's moved up another level. I can read the book section and follow your methods at the same time. Keep up the great work.

Paul.


----------



## crueby

Swifty said:


> It's been interesting following your progress, but now I have the book with plans, it's moved up another level. I can read the book section and follow your methods at the same time. Keep up the great work.
> 
> Paul.



Get out the book, and build along - then we can race them....!


----------



## Swifty

crueby said:


> Get out the book, and build along - then we can race them....!



I'm not ready to start yet, sometime later next year maybe. I will just sit back and enjoy your build.

Paul.


----------



## crueby

Got a start on the steam manifold that sits on top of the boiler and feeds the water gauge, whistle valve, and pressure gauge (as well as holding up the end of the throttle lever. 

The manifold starts out as a block of rectangular brass bar, hacksawed to rough length then trimmed square to size in the mill. Then, drilled a narrow hole down the length of it, most of the way through but not all. This will become the passageway for the steam to the different ports. A second hole from the front left side intersects with the first one to lead to the steam gauge.


Drilled a shallow larger hole at the ends of these first two, giving an opening to silver solder the fittings to. In the book, both fittings are threaded on the outside to attach pipes to. In my case, the one for the steam gauge was internally threaded, to match the fitting on the gauge I had bought from PMResearch.


Next up was to drill/bore the large center hole, which the bolt that holds the manifold to the boiler passes through.


After boring it to match the bolt, another 'ring' area is bored in the center of the length of the hole - this gives a passage for the steam from the hole in the side of the bolt into the manifold, no matter what orientation the bolt stops at. It was hard to get a good picture of this - in the fourth photo you can see the shoulder that the far end of this ring makes - the near end is hard to see, it is at the edge of where those chips are in the bore. Both the top and bottom of the manifold will have a gasket, tightened by the large center bolt.


Last to bore out was the hole for the steam whistle valve in the right end of the manifold. This hole was drilled through, then the first 3/4's of it bored out to a larger size - the valve will have a step in it to match, and will go all the way through this opening, tightening down around the manifold with a nut on the end. This valve is not made till much later in the book, guess I'll make a plug for the opening to test the rest in the meantime.


Next photo shows the manifold at this stage. Did not get a seperate photo of this, but the hole at the left front corner of the top is for mounting the throttle lever.


Last two photos show the little fitting for the steam gauge port - it is threaded on the inside 3/16-40 to match the gauge siphon, and the other end necked down to match the hole in the manifold. It was silver soldered into the opening later (next post).


----------



## crueby

For the manifold mounting bolt, a piece of brass bar stock was turned down to diameter and threaded on the end to match the boiler fitting. There is also a hole drilled up the length of this section from the end, which will meet up with the cross hole drilled later.


Then, parted off the bar and moved it over to the rotary table to mill in the flats to make it a hex-head bolt (quick look online found the formula to get what diameter bar is needed for a given width hex - internet can be handy sometimes!)


Turned the bolt sideways in the vise, and drilled the cross hole. This, along with the hole from the end, lets steam flow up the inside of the bolt, outside to the ring bored in the manifold, and then into the series of ports out of the manifold. Simple but clever the way Kozo designed this.


Next photo shows the manifold with the bolt, along with the gauge fitting ready to silver solder in place. 


Last photo shows them all together. Still need to make the fitting for the port in the left end, which will lead to the top of the water gauge assembly. I have some metric taps/dies coming Monday that I need for that, so will probably go to one of the other parts and come back to that fitting...


----------



## crueby

Got a start on the water gauge assembly today. Began with the tube fittings to connect it to the manifold. Drilled and turned the union nut from a length of hex bar stock,


and the tubing nipple from a bit of round bar. It is just two holes drilled in the end (small one through, larger one sized to solder onto the tubing at the outer end), then neck it down and part it off.


Third photo shows them on the tubing.


Next up is the water gauge itself, which is made up of a whole bunch of tubes and union nuts. Given how confusing it would be to describe making up a pile of very simaler simple pipe sections, I will leave that to the diagrams in the book and just give the highlights. The main column, which supports the glass tube, was drilled down the length from one end (not through), and then holes crossbored for the end supports. Next few photos show that, plus the assembly so far. Still need to make up upper and lower supports and the flange to attach to the boiler - those come next time...


----------



## crueby

Made some more of the parts for the water gauge assembly, namely the parts that hold the glass tube. Started with the upper one, turned some brass to right diameter and threaded the end.


Then, drilled through just larger than the glass tube, and drilled/tapped the outer end for the plug. Actually, did all this twice, since I botched the first part (misread and grabbed wrong drill - boy did the tap go in REAL easy that time... :wall.


Cross drilled for the post that holds this part, and the upper holder was done.


Next photo shows the pieces so far test fitted (nothing soldered up yet).


On the the lower holder - again threaded the end,


and drilled for the glass tube (only partway through on this one - the tube slides down through the top holder, rests on the bottom one in an o-ring).


Then, drilled for the passage to connect into the crossbar post, and parted it off to length. 


Drilled the crossbar hole, and test fitted everything. Looks good, ready to solder it all up (an oiled rod will be used to hold the upper/lower holders in alignment).


Other thing going on is that the weather here is in a warm cycle - nice and calm, no wind, getting up into upper 40s and 50s next couple days, so have started work again on fixing the leaks in the boiler. I got a session in on it this morning, will do a pressure test on it later today - think that this week will decide whether this is a nice display model run on air only, or will be fully capable of running on track under steam! When I started this project, I figured on a 50% chance of getting the boiler fully functional, seeing how I had never done any copper forming or silver soldering before. The way its going I think those odds are higher now - will see how well it does soon (either way I am happy with the engine!).


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Great work on the turret and water glass.

I've had a similar numbskull moment with threading.  I wasn't reading the tap drill size chart close enough to notice there was a difference in drill size depending on whether you were tapping steel or non-ferrous material.  I broke a couple small taps in steel before I realized that one.  :wall:

Todd


----------



## crueby

FINALLY! got some big progress on the boiler - was finally able to cure those last pesky pinhole leaks and get it to hold pressure.  woohoo1  There must be a good way to solve those pinhole leaks (that shoot a super-thin stream under pressure) - I have not found it yet other than repeated reflow. I am pretty sure that a lot of the problem was poor fit on the inside joint rings used to link the tube sections, and also on the strips that closed the tube rings. I was settling for a good structural strength joint, did not make enough effort to get a good tight fit all the way around like I should have. Oh well, still lots learned from first shot at a boiler! This one will spend most of its time as a display model, run on air, so that is acceptable - not worth going back and remaking the whole boiler. Lesson learned for next model though!
So, time to get it polished up and get the boiler jackets on and painted - looks like a session with the paint sprayer is coming up for the jackets, cab, smokebox parts. Will post some pictures when that is done....


----------



## SilverSanJuan

CONGRATULATIONS!  That's quite a milestone.


----------



## crueby

Here is the most of the rest of the water gauge assembly - since last time got the last of the parts threaded and silver soldered together. First the mounting ring onto the main column, as well as the crossbars onto the glass holders.



Then, with a piece of rod as an alignment guide in place of the glass, soldered the rest of the parts on. After that, made up the union nuts that go around the glass tube, and compress the o-rings at the ends of the tube.


Made up the top/bottom plugs, and test fitted everything. Getting the tube, o-rings, and nuts all in is a bit fiddly, but it all works. All that is left is to make the valve stem for the drain valve at the bottom of the glass (water drains out of the little tube stub at the very bottom), and bend up/attach the tube that goes to the manifold. Cant do the tube till the boiler is back from the paint shop (corner of the basement) so I can work out the length and curve.


I also took some pictures before starting paint, of the boiler and cab in place. With the boiler jackets on it all looks great in raw brass, but I am going for the painted-real-train look (plus keeping all that brass shiny would be a pain!). Pictures of it painted should be up tomorrow sometime....


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Looks fantastic!


----------



## crueby

Yesterday I posted a couple pictures of the engine before painting the boiler and cab - here are some shots after painting - going to let it set up for a few days before going back and picking out the edge of the floorboard/engine-cover plates in white, as well as the engine numbers on the cab and front plate. Still, looking like a train now - someone come get me in a couple hours, that will be enough time to sit and stare at it! Come a long way from the start of this back in June, very happy with how it has come along. 
Again - thanks to all those reading along and encouraging/advising me! 

Merry Christmas!!
Chris


----------



## crueby

Could not resist a couple pictures of it under the tree....


----------



## Swifty

Looks really amazing.

Paul.


----------



## crueby

Hope everyone got something better than old rusty swarf in thier stockings this year! 

Back from holidays, got a little done in the shop - finished up the water gauge and got the blower valve done too - starting on the blowoff valve now. 

First up was to make up the valve stems for the three valves. First, turned down some steel rod to the dimensions for the threaded area as well as the pointed valve portion at the end.


Then threaded the middle area


and took the outer end down to size with the parting tool.


The blowoff valve stem outer end is a little different, it is drilled for a crossbar where the other two get handwheels.


To make the handwheels, I turned the shape of the rim into a brass rod and center drilled it to fit on the end of the valve stem (getting two rims out of this piece, so there is a second rim started behind the first). Then on the rotary table, drilled a series of holes just inside the rim.


Switched to a small end mill, and took little nibbles out of the rim to make it easy to grip.


Back on the lathe, parted off the first, and turned the center in for the second one before parting it off.


Finally, silver soldered the parts together to make the finished valve stems.


The site has a limit on how many photos I can upload at once, so splitting here to another post...


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## crueby

Back on the fittings, needed to make up a couple bolts for mounting the water gauge and blower pipe. These bolts are drilled up through the threaded area and cross drilled under the head to form a steam passage. Started with a piece of brass rod long enough for the two bolts, and turned down/threaded/drilled each end.


Then switched the chuck over to the rotary table, and milled the flats into the middle section to form the hex heads on the bolts.


Drilled the cross holes, and parted the two bolts apart.


Next photo shows the first of these bolts holding the water gauge assembly onto the back face of the boiler. You can also see the copper tube from the top of the gauge going back to the manifold on top of the boiler.


Next up was the blower valve (which takes steam and runs it up the smokestack to increase the draft on the fire). One end was turned down and the hex shape milled in as before.


That gave a good surface to chuck in the lathe for turning down and threading the other end.


After cross drilling for the steam passage, next photo shows the valve ready to go. And... Swarf-Pucky!! Just noticed I had the wrong valve stem in the valve for the photo. Oh well, another wardrobe malfunction!


Last photo shows all the valves so far in place (with the correct handwheels this time!). Last up will be the blowdown valve, used to drain the boiler. That will be next time...


----------



## crueby

Catching up on the last of the valve/etc bits in the cab area, got the blowdown valve made (very simaler to the other valves in last couple posts). One change I did from the book was that instead of just being a bit of tube for the exhaust hole, I made it a barbed tube fitting that I can use to attach a tube from the compressor or house supply at shows to run the engine on air. That way I can display it on air, using the normal throttle control without having to remove/replace any fittings.


Second photo shows the completed (for now) cab area - made up the firebox door from brass and steel. There are still more controls to come later - the throttle lever and reversing gear lever plus the valve for water supply from the axle pump.


Last few photos show the loco so far, now that I got the floor plate edges and numbers picked out in white paint - really makes the profile pop.








Next up is the throttle valve assembly, safety/snifter valves, and the steam/sand domes. The domes are larger than any brass stock I have, so they will be turned from aluminum (are not pressure holding, just trim pieces, and will be painted, so material does not matter).....


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## crueby

Time to throttle up the build... okay, okay, just time to make the throttle assembly.

Got started with turning down a disc of brass rod to size (first one side as shown in photo, then turned it around and took the other side down).


After that, drilled all the holes through for mounting to the bushing on the boiler, and drilled/tapped all the holes for the safety valves (2 of them), the snifter valve (which allows air to pass into the engine when the throttle is closed), and passages for the steam to come up from the boiler. Lots of holes in all directions, I'll leave that up to Kozo's book to show in detail - took lots of referring back to the plans to make sure it was all correct since there are several intersecting passages.


Last to drill was the passage for the throttle valve stem itself. The outer end of this is larger to take the bushing that leads out.


Fourth photo shows it all together, with the bushing silver soldered in place and the mounting screws sitting in thier holes.


Then I turned attention to the valve stem - the end of this is tapered at 12 and 30 degrees.


Once the end was done, turned down the rest of the stem to size (loose fit in throttle body outer hole).


Then, turned it around and threaded the end to take the clevis.


Last photo shows the pieces so far - next up will be to make the mechanism that threads onto the bushing, which holds the throttle valve stem in a spring loaded setup so that releasing the throttle lever in the cab snaps the throttle closed.


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## crueby

I got a PM question that I thought I would anonymously share in case it helps others:



			
				(removed) said:
			
		

> Hello,
> I have some questions about some of the details of your beautiful  project.  I'm amazed at what you can do with the Sherline equipment and  would like to know more.
> I have never been able to machine steel like you are doing.
> First what steel alloy and what tool bit are you using?  Second  threading what dies and is the setup yours or something you purchased.   Thanks for inspiring me to get back to my Sherline.  I have more  questions that I may ask later.
> Thank you,


Most of the Shay I am building is brass,  but the wheels/frame/axles are steel. The crankshaft/pistons/etc will  also be steel. I prefer to use C360 brass as much as possible since it  cuts so easy. For steel, I prefer to use either 12L14 alloy or 303  Stainless, which are easier machining versions. They are not quite as  hard or rust-free as other alloys, but they cut much easier. I am using a  carbide-insert style tool holder on the lathe - saves a lot of time  resharpening a fixed cutter. It is important to use some sort of cutting  fluid with steel to keep the cutter from overheating and dulling too  quick - I use a few drops of 'ReLion' tapping fluid, since it is what I  have on hand. Any of the brands would do the job.
For threading, I  have a mix of different brand hand taps, both normal tapered plug taps  and bottoming taps. Irwin makes some really good ones, have those at my  local hardware store. The tailstock die holder is key for getting  outside threads straight on shafts. Mine was one I made, used designs I  found by searching the forums and looking in catalogs - simply a chunk  of brass milled out to fit the shape of the dies, a setscrew from the  side, and a loose shaft running back to the tailstock. I put holes  around the edge to let me put in spindle bars (tommy bars) to turn it.  Without that holder I could never get the threads to align properly, and  would drift to the side. For tapping, I just do that by hand. Again,  all threading should use tapping fluid to keep the cutter from binding  up, and back it out frequently to clear chips.
Hope all that helps!


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## SilverSanJuan

More amazing work coming out of your shop.  Nice work on all the various valves and fittings. 

Hope you are having a Happy New Year! 

Todd


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## crueby

First of the new year deserves some new parts! More of the throttle linkages done, ready to move on to the throttle lever end of things.

Started out making up a batch of clevises and link arms out of square brass. Marked out and drilled the holes,


and milled the openings for the arms.


One of the parts is a ring that slides on the throttle bushing, with arms that hold the linkage at one end and a spring at the other. This sliding arm is used to adjust the position and tension on the throttle valve stem when closed. So, drilled a hole in the end of a brass rod and turned the outside down to size. Then, used the mill to put a shallow slot in the side, turned it 180 degrees with the rotary table (the adapter that holds the lathe chuck to the table is a VERY handy item), and milled a matching slot in the other side.


In a piece of sheet brass, I drilled the outer holes in the arms, and milled a slot in the center that made a sliding fit into the grooves in the center ring. 


With that part slid into the ring, it was silver soldered together. In the background is another of the arms in the linkage.


Next photo shows milling off the excess from the arms, to leave a tapered shape.  Hard silver soldering is something I wish I had learned years ago - would have been able to make better parts much easier for a bunch of the earlier projects....


After filing the ends round, the armed wing was complete.


Last photo shows the parts so far. The holes in the arms closest to you get a spring, and the two left clevises will get a threaded rod sized to fit the distance to the throttle lever in the cab (to be made next).


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## crueby

Got on a roll this morning/afternoon and got several parts for the throttle lever assembly made. First up was the lever itself, which is made from a turned handle silver soldered to a bar stock lever. The handle was freehand turned on the lathe, and smoothed out with files.


The reversing lever, made later on in the book, shares a lot of the same kind of parts as the throttle so I am making up two sets. Second photo shows the two handles after parting off and threading the end for a short piece of screw cut off a bolt that will be used to hold it to the bar for silver soldering.


Next up I clamped two lengths of bar steel in the vise and drilled/tapped the end to match the bolt sticking out of the handle.


Next photo shows the two handles soldered up.


The throttle lever is a little shorter, and it has a stub sticking out the side to take the clevis from the throttle assembly.



On to the locking lever, which holds the throttle in one of the preset positions that will be notched into the rails the lever rides between. This is a strange tapered/notched shape, so it was made on the end of a longer bar, and will be sawn off after the rest is shaped. Otherwise there would be no way to hold this little sucker. For scale, that is a 3/8" mill bit in the photos. Started out by taking down the two sides, to make a narrow tounge.


Second step was to drill the pivot hole in the side of the tounge.


Next up was to mount the bar at an angle in the vise, and mill a taper into the tounge side. All these milling operations were done with a series of light cuts, so I did not put too much stress on the part - did not want to risk catching it and bending it.


Then, turned the part over, set it to the angle needed, and milled in the taper on the base of the latch.


Last milling operation was to flip it over again and mill the final taper on the back side of the base. All these operations left a shape that looks a bit like a tiny snow shovel. The 'blade' end of the shovel will latch into notches in the rail, and the hole in the upper end will provide a lifting point for the moving handle.


Next photo shows the parts after milling, but before sawing off the main bar. You can see that there is one part on either end. One will be used for the throttle, one for the reverse lever.


After sawing off and cleaning up the ends, the two parts are done. You can see why it is neccessary to make them from the outer end in - otherwise way too hard to hold safely.


Last photo shows the parts next to the throttle lever itself, after drilling/tapping the rest of the holes in it. Well, most of them - there is one more guide block on the lever that I will make next time.


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## crueby

Going on with the throttle lever mechanism - now that the locking lever was made, needed to make the bracket that holds it in place. As with the lever, used a piece of steel longer than needed so there was a way to hold it, and slotted the end to go around the lever and the arm.


Then, needed a slot going crosswise for the 'shovel blade' part of the lever to sit in. I dont have a mill that narrow so I cut it with a jewelers saw (cut down each side, then across the bottom to remove the waste).


After that, I drilled the mounting holes (2-56 thread) in the bracket, and drilled matching holes in the lever arm. First drilled one, ran in a screw, and drilled the second to make sure they would line up.


Last two photos show the assemblies so far (the one at the top in the photo is the reversing lever, bottom is the throttle lever).





Next up will be to make the little bracket/handle that activates the locking lever - that might be a few days, I have some work to finish up on an RC model for a run next weekend. This small work should be good practice for a model I want to make someday - one of George Britnell's Tiny engines.


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## crueby

Next up on the throttle/reverse levers is the moving part of the handle that actuates the locking lever. This is another small fiddly part, so am again making up the two pieces together as long as possible to have something solid and rectangular to hold in the vise.

Started out with a rectangular length of steel bar - drilled the end holes, and milled it down to the right width.


Then, turned the bar up on end and milled the slot in the end. This slot will allow the handle to fit over the main bar and the locking arm.


Turned the piece back on its side, and milled out the middle section.


That left the middle section parallel, and one side needs to taper in. 


So, angled it in the vise and milled one side to the taper then the other. 


At this point, I have done about all I can with the pieces still connected. They were sawn apart, held with a small clamp and the tapered area was rounded over on one side on the grinder.


After that, cut a little strip of sheet spring to size and drilled a hole in the end to hold it to the lever (to drill this spring stock, which is left over clock pendulum spring material, I clamp it between two pieces of wood and drill through the wood into the spring steel - only way to hold it I have come up with).


With all the parts assembled, the two lever arms are done. Last photo shows how pulling the two handles together raises the locking arm up in its slot.


Next up will be to make the sector rails that the levers ride in - those will have notches that the locking arms engage in....


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## crueby

Time to make the sector rails for the throttle and reverse levers. They started out as a wide piece of flat bar stock, rough sawn to shape, and the second smaller rail piece was screwed in place using the same holes that will be used to hold the second rail and spacers later.

I got out the faceplate with a piece of wood screwed to it (same piece was used earlier to hold the firebox end plate), and drilled/tapped it for some 10-32 bolts to hold a crossbar to hold the rail in place for milling. With the pivot hole for the lever screwed to the middle of the crossbar, and using that screw as a reference, the whole thing was centered up on the faceplate. 


Then, milled the outer radius first, turning it with the rotary table. Stopped once the distance from the pivot to the outer edge matched up with the corresponding distance on the lever arm.


Then moved the table in and milled the radius on the inner edge of the second rail (mill was set to just skim the main rail piece).


With that done, came back with the mill lowered and nibbled out the inner radius on the main piece. Once that was done, just a matter of filing the ends of the rails to a even curve around the screws.


Same sequence was done on the throttle rail pieces....


After all the rail curves were done, I used the same setup to mill out the bases to final shape.


Last photo shows the two sectors with base plates soldered on, and the lever arms all assembled.  All that remains on them is to cut the notches for the locking levers to drop into...


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## crueby

With the throttle lever assembly done (sawed the slots in the sector for throttle position presets and made the connecting rod to the throttle valve, not much to see, just a rod), time for the two safety valves. Kozo calls out 2 valves, one set slightly under the other ones' pressure for redundancy.

I am making up both at once - this sequence shows one, the other is the same. Started out with a chunk of hex rod, and drilled the smaller through hole.


Then up to the larger bore for the steel ball (drilled then deepened it slightly with a D bit to form a back shoulder).


After that, bored the final outer section for threading.


Threaded that last part M7.


That completed the inside shape (Kozo's book shows it much better than I can here, recommend you refer to the book if you are making one). Final step at that end of the valve body was to round down the outside.


Turned the part around in the chuck, and turned the opposite end down to size


and threaded it to match the threads in the throttle body.


Last photo shows the two safety valve bodies, with the steel balls that will later be fitted to an inner stem (next time).


In the book, Kozo says to use steam pressure to test/set the valves, that using compressed air will give wrong results. Anyone know why, which way that it would be off? Seems like the opening pressure would be the same either way, but I can see that the reset pressure might be different, maybe. Anyone out there have more experience with this behavior? For initial setting I will use air to get it set close, err on the low side, till I can get it tested with steam in the spring (too flipping cold to do much outside this time of year - has been about 5 degrees F recently!).


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## wirralcnc

Fantastic build thread.  I've been following from the start. It has inspired me to build. My copy of the book arrived yesterday and I haven't put it down since.


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## crueby

wirralcnc said:


> Fantastic build thread.  I've been following from the start. It has inspired me to build. My copy of the book arrived yesterday and I haven't put it down since.



Thanks! Hope you post some pictures as you build yours. The whole thing looked daunting at first, but its just a lot of individual easy parts.


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## crueby

On to finishing up the safety valves. The inner stem for these is a steel ball held in a little holder on a shaft. To make, took a brass rod, drilled the end for the ball (drilled just over half as deep as the ball), and drilled through for the steel shaft it attaches to. Then, used the parting tool to notch down the end and the upper shank.



Parted them off, and inserted the balls. One was a nice snap-in fit, the other needed at drop of loctite to hold it in place. Teeny little parts!


Third photo shows the parts so far - the valve bodies and the ball holders.


Next up was to make the adjusting body - it screws into the main body, and guides the ball holder. A spring between them is compressed the more this part is screwed in. Started out by drilling the end for steam passage, and turning down the shank to size.


Then, turned it around in the chuck and threaded the opposite end, and turned down the little protruding nub at the end.


Last step on that part is to mill off the sides at the lower end, exposing the end of the steam passage a little. This was left a little short, will be adjusted by filing the sholder back as needed to get the blowoff and reset pressures right - will do that later on.


Next photo shows all the parts for the valves so far, just need to make the locking nuts.


Last photo shows the valves all assembled and on the throttle body. They will be covered by the steam dome, with holes in the top of the dome above each one to let out the steam.


Next up will be to make the snifting valve, that should be a quick little one, just a simple check valve. After that I can get started on the steam and sand domes.


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## crueby

One last bit for today - made the snifting valve, which allows air into the engine when the throttle is closed so it does not hit a sudden vacuum. It is a simple check valve, with a steel ball under a cap. When the throttle is open, steam goes up into the valve body and pushes the ball into the valve seat in the cap. When the throttle is closed, the ball falls/gets sucked down onto the end of the valve body, which has a slot so the ball cant seal against it.

First photo shows making the valve body from a piece of hex bar. Hole drilled all the way through for the steam passage, and turned down/threaded the ends. One end got a small slot cut in it.


Second photo shows the pieces made - you can see the slot at the right end of the valve body. The cap was drilled/threaded, and the bottom of the hole extended a little with a boring bar to leave a raised valve seat (a little past a square bottom hole) that was punched with a steel ball to form the seat.


Last photo shows both safety valves and the little snifting valve in place on the boiler. Ready to start the steam dome...


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## crueby

Time to make the donuts! 

Well, an aluminum one, anyway... The steam dome base started out as a bar of aluminum (did not have any brass that large, and it will be painted anyway, so I am using what I got). Drilled/countersunk the holes that the handrails will go in (visible at the taop of the first photo - the little hole in the middle/top), and then bored out the center to size, halfway through.


Then, turned it around and bored the other side out, a little smaller. The step that left in the center will be used to hold it for milling later.


With the center done, went back and turned the outside down. There is a step at the top for the steam dome to rest into, then a straight section that flares out to the outer diameter. After the rest is milled, that bottom thicker area gets filed down to flare into the shape of the boiler, just like the smokestack base did.


In the fourth photo, the base is sitting on the boiler where it will go around the throttle body. As you can see, it does not sit down on the curve of the boiler yet.


Here is where the step I left in the center bore gets used - turned a brass disc to fit the bore, and used that to bolt the piece to a square block held in the vise. In Kozos' book, he uses an angle iron to bolt it to the lathe faceplate for this step. My little Sherline does not have the throw to do this, so I am using the mill instead. I made a paper template of the top of the boiler, and transfered that to a wood block, which you can see to the right of the mill cutter. That curved top will serve as a guide for setting the depth/width of each pass on the mill. As long as I get close to the template without cutting into it, I will duplicate that curve in the base.


Next photo shows it after a set of passes with the mill - you can see how the curve is replicated in the base piece. I then took the little steps off with a sanding drum and filed it to a good fit on the boiler.


Last milling step was to cut a slot for the throttle valve stem to stick through.


Last photo shows the base test fit to the boiler/throttle. Still need to file the curve into the sides of the base - will show that next time...


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## RonGinger

That plywood template is a very clever idea. I am really enjoying your work and look forward every day to hear what you have done, and see the great photos. 

Are you going to bring this to Cabin Fever or NAMES? I would really like to see it.


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## crueby

RonGinger said:


> That plywood template is a very clever idea. I am really enjoying your work and look forward every day to hear what you have done, and see the great photos.
> 
> Are you going to bring this to Cabin Fever or NAMES? I would really like to see it.



Might take it to cabin fever.... Depends what other trips are going on then. Never been to Names. How big a show is that one? Went to cabin fever last year, that was a fun one.


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## RonGinger

NAMES is about the same number of exhibitors, but a much smaller floor space so limited in vendors and  things like the G scale trains and model boat pond. I have been to all but the first NAMES, and all of the Cabin Fever shows, and hope to continue to make it to both. I will admit, if I had to give up one show I would give up NAMES before Cabin Fever.


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## SilverSanJuan

More excellent progress!  Thanks for continuing with the detailed photos and descriptions.  They are very appreciated.

My thoughts on the steam vs. air for setting your relief valves.  The key differences being the temperature and the mass of the steam vs. the temperature and mass of air.  The temperature will affect how much relaxation there is in the spring, thus how much steam pressure is required to overcome the spring.  Also, steam molecules are more massive than air molecules and have more kinetic energy to boot.  So the interaction between the steam and the valve is much different from that of air.

An observation on your barbed nipple for the the blowown valve...  You could also attach a rubber hose with a nozzle to steam clean your loco after a running day.  Many live steamers use this method to clean their locomotives.

Todd


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## crueby

Todd - thanks for the tips/info!

Just about done with the steam dome - just need to make the hold-down screw and the handrail stanchions. First up was to finish the base - last time had it fitted to the boiler, first photo here shows it after filing down the base to blend it with the boiler. Started with some coarse files (more of a rasp, really) and worked down to fine file an sandpaper to smooth it up. The hole in the side will be threaded for the handrail stanchion.


For the dome itself, started with another piece of the aluminum (that is hard to type!), turned a step in the base to match the base, and drilled a starter hole for boring out the center. The chamber in the center is to make room for the safety/snifter valves. It does not go all the way through, so the starter hole was made to same depth as finished chamber.


A bunch of shavings later, had the chamber half done. To make it easier to clear chips/shavings, I bored out the hole half-depth first, then went back and took it down to full depth (almost 1.5" deep).


After the inside was done, turned the piece around in the chuck, holding it with brass shims on the chuck jaws so it would not get marked up, and took the outside down to size at the top. Also, made up a card stock template for the curve at the top - this is important to follow, since going too deep could break through into the inner chamber.


A bunch of nibbling away at the outside, checking frequently with the template, and filing it smooth when the shape was reached, the outside shape is done.


Then, drilled the holes in the top - center for hold-down screw, outer ones for safety valves.


Last photo shows the completed dome sitting on the base. Just need to make the screw and the handrail stanchions, and it will be ready for paint.


Now, need to duplicate most of that same process for the sand dome. That one differs in two ways - much smaller chamber (just need room for water fill plug), and since that dome will sit on the tapered part of the boiler, the curve cut in the base will need to be done at a matching angle. Will probably use same setup, but with the vise on the tilt table - the same process should still work.


----------



## swst

Hi crueby,
I like your posts very much and follow up each thread.
Please advise where you buy the raw material "Copper,   Brass & Aluminum" to build the model locomotive and the price of these material per pound.

Rgds
Sunny


----------



## crueby

swst said:


> Hi crueby,
> I like your posts very much and follow up each thread.
> Please advise where you buy the raw material "Copper,   Brass & Aluminum" to build the model locomotive and the price of these material per pound.
> 
> Rgds
> Sunny



Hi Sunny,

I have been getting most of the material at onlinemetals.com and at yarde.com.  At yarde metals, they have a "drop zone" area on thier site with offcuts from thier commercial sales, limited selection but great prices, mostly larger sizes. At onlinemetals, I signed up for thier email list, and get a lot of 20 to 30 percent off coupons. They have a big selection. I dont know the pound price, but you can get that from their sites.
Chris


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## crueby

Next up is the sand dome base, which sits over the water fill plug on the tapered part of the boiler. It was made pretty much the same way as the steam dome base, but since it has to sit on a slanted surface the piece needed to be tilted when milling the bottom.

Started out with another chunk of aluminum, bored out the center just like on the steam dome, and drilled/countersunk the holes in the sides for the handrail stanchions.


Then, tilted up the vise to 45 degrees and drilled the holes for the sand dispensing tubes. there are a pair of these on either side. To start the holes, used the mill to make a flat.




Back on the lathe, turned down the lip on the top and turned in a starting curve for the side bevel - this removes the bulk of the material possible on the lathe, saves filing time later on when blending the curve down to the boiler.


Then, back to the mill, with the base mounted with an inner disc just like I did on the steam dome (see previous post for that if you came in late). Again, like with the steam dome, made a card stock template of the curve of the boiler where the base will go, and fixed it in place at correct height next to the base. The base is held at an angle this time that matches the angle of the boiler top surface.


Next photo shows the piece from the side, to show the template in use. For each pass with the mill, I lowered the headstock a little, and cranked the table to the forward/back till the mill just touched the template, then ran the table across side to side to cut a step at that setting. On this base I used smaller steps, which should speed up the filing.


With the milling done, time to test fit the base on the boiler. Not bad, should not take long to get a close fit with some filing to smooth out the steps and match the curve - since the boiler is tapered, one curve wont fit exact at front and back of the base, so I got it close and will fine tune it with the files.


Last photo shows the two domes so far - really changes the look of it yet again. Next time I'll get the sand dome base fitted, and blend in the side curves like the steam dome is. Then, on to making the dome itself, which will be some straightforward lathe work...


----------



## fuzzymuff

Hi Crueby.
What a fantastic build so far. You really show how versatile the Sherline lathe and miling machine are.
Graham.


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## crueby

fuzzymuff said:


> Hi Crueby.
> What a fantastic build so far. You really show how versatile the Sherline lathe and miling machine are.
> Graham.



Thanks Graham - sometimes it would be handy to have a larger machine, but a little ingenuity and they can do the job.


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## crueby

Coming down the home stretch to getting started on the actual engine (8 months in to this point). Made the handrail stanchions today - they are standoffs that hold the handrail around the top of the boiler. Started with some brass rod, drilled the cross hole for the rail, and threaded the end.


Then, moved the end out a little, and used the parting tool to cut into the shank for the post portion. The material is thin, so took in stages to get the whole shank done without bending it (next 3 photos).








Around the cross hole, used a combination of the parting tool and a small file to round the end before parting it off.


Sixth photo shows the handrails in place.


Last photo shows the handrails, plus the sand tubes from the sand dome in place.


Next up is to make the steam bracket/base, which form the mounting point for the engine on the side of the boiler. Kozo designed it so that the steam manifold to the engine is mounted on the side of the boiler where it stays hot, keeping the steam from condensing before getting to the engine. That will be the last piece before starting the engine parts (wahoo!).


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## SilverSanJuan

Beautiful!   She's really looking like a locomotive now.


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## crueby

The steam bracket and base are well along now - the base is a simple slab shape with one side milled out to conform to the curve on the side of the boiler. In the book, Kozo turns this curve on the lathe, holding the base on a long L-bracket on the faceplate. My lathe does not have the capacity for that, so I made a template from the boiler for the curve, and traced the curve onto the ends of the brass piece, and milled down to that. One thing I have had trouble with in the past on milling or cutting off one side of a large bar is the bar deforming as the side is cut away, due to the stresses in the metal from when it was rolled to shape in the factory. I have gotten in the habit on pieces like this of doing a stress-relieving operation on it, which is simply putting it in the oven at 500F for an hour, and letting it cool naturally. This gets rid of the internal stresses without changing the hardness - never had a problem since. After milling to shape, I transferred the locations of the mounting bolts already in the boiler to the piece and drilled matching holes in the base. Machining: process of removing all the excess swarf from bar stock to reveal the finished part.


For the steam bracket itself, this is another slab shape, but left rectangular. It has holes down the length for both steam inlet and exhaust, with passages running from those holes to each of the three cylinders. Started out drilling the exhaust passage.


Then, counter drilled the end to a larger diameter, 


and bored an even larger diameter at the very end. These larger sections are to take the exhaust pipe. 


After that, it was a matter of drilling sets of holes into the passages at each cylinder. Lots of these, I will not show the entire sequence, better left to the plans in the book. Suffice to say, LOTS of holes, both in the face and diagonally up from the bottom to connect all the passages and to form mounts for the cylinders.





Last two photos show the state of the base and bracket at this point - still need to go back and silver solder in plugs in the extra holes, where passages were formed but need to be dead-ended. Also, will make up the steam inlet fitting for the top - will show that next time (out of time for the day, time to head off to archery league). One more day should wrap up these pieces, then its time to make the cylinders!


----------



## crueby

All right - got the steam bracket finished (added the steam inlet, got the plugs silver soldered in). It will form the platform that the engine will build upon.


The cylinder stock starts out as some 1-5/8" brass rod (stress relieved along with the steam bracket base the other day), that is milled down to square (Kozo does this a lot for square or rectangular stock). I have a big chunk of that size that I picked up as a drop from Yarde Metals. So, first step was to set it up with the fly cutter and take down the sides till square (since I stress relieved it, no need to flip back and forth, could take down each side in full). Several passes per side later, and lots of chips to vacuum up, bar was down to size...








Then, rough cut the bar to length to give the three cylinder blocks - left them a little long to trim up in the lathe.


I mounted each one in the 4-jaw, centered up with a dial indicator, and squared up one end, then reversed it to square up the other.


With the blocks squared up, but still a little long, I measured the length of each one and marked the length on the side. Quick calculation to determine how much to remove off the end to get them all down to final dimension.


Then, put them back in the 4-jaw, and took them down that amount. Last photo shows the three blocks next to where they will mount on the steam bracket manifold. Note that they are not evenly spaced - the leftmost one will have the steam chest on the left, the other two will have the steam chests on the right. This means the first cylinder will have several of its ports/etc on the opposite side from the other two. In order to keep track of which is which I number stamped each one in the upper corner.


Next time - boring the cylinder...


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## SilverSanJuan

I wonder why Kozo starts with round stock?  Was it just what he had on hand?  Why not just start with square bar?


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> I wonder why Kozo starts with round stock?  Was it just what he had on hand?  Why not just start with square bar?



I think since you can make lots of sizes of square from a few sizes of round. Saves buying a dozen sizes of large square bar. I do same for hex, turn part from round, then mill hex at end for bolt head.


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## Swifty

I think that you will find the availability of round sizes in brass a lot easier than square or rectangular.

Paul.


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## SilverSanJuan

Thanks for the input, folks. 

Todd


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## crueby

On to the main attraction: Act 1: The Cylinders

Last time I got the blocks for the cylinders shaped down to outside dimensions. Time for the 'boring' part. First up was to chuck the block up in the 4-jaw again, but this time offset towards one corner. The bore is offset to leave room for the steam passages and bolt holes. Since the number one cylinder block is facing the other way from the number 2/3 blocks, all of these operations took some careful checking to make sure I was orienting the blocks correctly (good time to be paranoid - Murphy is always out to get you!). Anyway, using the dial indicator each time, I offset the blocks the same amount in both directions (0.052", as I recall), and then drilled a starter hole for the boring bar.



Using the boring bar, I took the cylinders out to size, measuring both with calipers and checking final size with a test bar of the proper diameter. The last few passes were done with very light cuts, and very slow feed rate.


As you can see in the third photo, the resulting bore was mirror smooth (okay, photo is grainy, does not show it well - tough to get camera to focus in right spot!). The test bar fit nicely in each, if I plugged the bottom of the hole with my finger and dropped in the test bar, it floated down, and I could feel the suction when drawing it back out. Best I've ever had a set turn out - hope I dont mess up later on these!


Fourth photo shows the three blocks so far, in front of the manifold in the positions they will be. The steam chest for the left one will face left, and face right for the other two. You can see how the bores are offset to leave more material on the back wall and the steam chest wall.


Next steps were to make the steam passages. Kozo used a 1.5mm mill bit to cut the outer ones - I dont have one that small, so I drilled a series of 3 holes and used a micro bit in my high speed air tool (like a little dentist drill - I use it for detail wood carving) I connected up the holes to make a slot. For all these drilling operations, I set up the first block in the milll vise, using a straightedge to line it up at the edge of the vise. Then, once I had the position of the holes dialed in on the first block, I could swap out to the other ones and get the same result - saved a LOT of setup time (center/measure once, drill 3 times). 








Next photo shows milling out the passage in the center - that one I had a mill the right size for.


With the passages milled from the side, it was time to make the connecting passages. All the passages are at 20 degrees, so I set up the mill vise on the tilting table for them. Again, used a straightedge on the side of the vise to position the blocks the same every time so I could set up once and do all three blocks. Again, triple checking that I had the blocks oriented correctly! Started out with a mill to make a flat at the top of the cylinder.


Then, drilled the passage down till it met the slot cut in the face in the previous step. This was repeated for all three blocks, and at both ends of each block. Due to the offset of the bore, I could do the top hole for number 1 and bottom hole for 2 and 3 in one setup, then readjusted for the rest of the holes.


Next up was to make the passage for the exhaust, which comes in from the back wall of the block and meets the center slot. Again, started with a mill,


and finished with a drill through to the slot.


Last step was to make the steam inlet passage. Unlike many engines where the steam inlet comes into the steam chest cover, for space reasons the Shay has it coming in from the back wall of the block, exitting into the space inside the steam chest next to the valve slider. This was done with another angled hole in the back wall,


and a vertical hole in the steam chest face.


Last photo shows all the cylinders so far. Note how the number one block (on left) is a mirror image of the other two.


Enough for today (okay, some of this was done yesterday) - time to sit back and admire the work so far! *beer*  Next up will be to start drilling/tapping all the mounting holes (lots and lots of them).


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## SilverSanJuan

Your work continues to impress.  You make it all look so easy.  Yet I know there is much careful thought and consideration before each operation.  Then that wrankling feeling in your gut right before you plunge the tool in that says, "I hope this is right." 

Good show!
Todd


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Your work continues to impress.  You make it all look so easy.  Yet I know there is much careful thought and consideration before each operation.  Then that wrankling feeling in your gut right before you plunge the tool in that says, "I hope this is right."
> 
> Good show!
> Todd



Oh yeah, I know that feeling! Not so much on early cuts, its that last one on the part!
On one of the cylinders I marked out the locations for the passages, and was about to drill one when I noticed the lines on that part did not look the same as the other, had the dimensions swapped by mistake. Would have ruined it... Close call...


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## crueby

Bunch more done on the cylinder blocks today - started out with drilling the holes for the cylinder end caps. There are four 3-48 holes at each end. To get them all lined up properly, and also to make sure the holes in the caps get drilled to match properly later, a jig was made (one thing Kozo shows in his book is great use of jigs - a real time saver, plus it ensures repeatability of placement on multiple parts). I took a piece of brass plate and bored a hole in it to match the bore of the cylinder. With the piece still in the 4-jaw so the hole was centered still, holes were drilled on the rotary table at the distance needed for the mount holes (all sized for tapping at 3-48 ) . (okay - that was annoying - try putting the numbers 3-48 followed by a close paren and period without it turning into a smiley! Like this: 3-48). Extra space solved that one...). Then made a pair of stepped blocks for either end, with the narrow part of the step also matching the cylinder. Note that I made the top end cap deeper than needed - will show why later in this post. With a bolt running down the center, the pieces all sit on the cylinder block the same way each time (markings on the plate show which way to turn it to line up with the front edge).  The first photo shows the jig in use, with the block held in the vise, but the vise just handheld on the table, so the drill would self-center in the hole. 


Second photo shows the jig sitting next to the block to show the parts. Just a few minutes to make, but with it I was able to drill all the holes in both ends of the blocks, accurately, in just a few minutes - no more measuring/marking/etc needed. The same jig will be used later to position the holes in the end caps - they will be drilled at the tap size, then redrilled to open them up for clearance on the threads.


Next up was to make a drilling jig for the mount holes for the steam chest. There are 8 holes (all 2-56) in this jig. The same jig will be used to drill holes in the cylinder blocks, the steam chest frames, and also the steam chest lids. With the jig, all will line up correctly (as long as I position the jig right way up each time, I guess!).


Next photo shows the jig in use, clamped to the cylinder block over the face with all the steam ports on it. The clamps I am using have copper jaws, so they wont mar the surface of the bore (not clamped too hard, just enough to hold).


Fifth photo here shows the progress so far - all the holes drilled/tapped (took some breaks during the tapping process - tired fingers leads to broken taps at these small sizes). The two jigs are shown in front.


Last step was to round over the front corner of the blocks on the side away from the steam chest. There are no passages in this area, so no need to keep all that material - in the real thing this would have been cast that way. The end-cap drill jig played another use here, as an arbor to hold the block in the 3-jaw chuck on the rotary table. This is where that deeper end of the jig came in handy - made enough room to grab it in the chuck while holding the block out a little from the jaws so I would not hit it with the end mill. I took off the corner in a series of light cuts, down to the point where the curve blended into the remaining side.


In the right block in the seventh photo you can see the surface left - not bad, but not too smooth. I got out my diamond-surfaced lapping plates (use them for sharpening my wood carving chisels), and used that to smooth down the faces of the block. With some oil on the plate to float off the removed brass, I held the blocks down and ran them back/forth while slowly rotating them through the curved face. Couple minutes and it left a nice polished surface. Then I did the same on the other flat faces of the block, which smoothed out any protrusions left from drilling/tapping. I spent some careful time on the face where the steam chest goes, to get a nice flat polished face for the D-valve to slide on.


Last photo shows the complete cylinder blocks and steam manifold, ready to make the steam chests....


----------



## jschoenly

I'm jealous of your progress but really enjoying it take shape!  Keep it up!


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## SilverSanJuan

Seriously impressive!  The cylinders really look nice.  Great technique on cleaning up the machined surfaces. 

Todd


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## crueby

Thanks guys! Learned a lot on this project, makes me want to go back and redo so much on earlier engines. That would get in the way of all the other stuff I'd like to build though... Sigh. So little time, so much swarf to generate!


----------



## petertha

I was waiting to see how you were going to go about lapping the brass cylinder bores, but looks like you got your desired finish by boring & finishing alone. So how does that come together on the piston side, ie what kind of rings or packing run best in brass bores in a steam environment like this? Another question, what sort of max temperatures do boilers & parts see in model steamers? (can you tell I'm more a gasser suck, squeeze, bang, blow kinda guy?)


----------



## tms6401

Excellent work as usual. You make this look so easy.
Tom


----------



## crueby

petertha said:


> I was waiting to see how you were going to go about lapping the brass cylinder bores, but looks like you got your desired finish by boring & finishing alone. So how does that come together on the piston side, ie what kind of rings or packing run best in brass bores in a steam environment like this? Another question, what sort of max temperatures do boilers & parts see in model steamers? (can you tell I'm more a gasser suck, squeeze, bang, blow kinda guy?)



On previous engines I lapped the bore with diamond paste on an aluminum rod just under the bore diameter, and gotten excellent results, with good compression. Usually I used steel pistons with no rings, but for this one the book calls for Viton rubber o rings, which can take pretty high temps (some people use the in ic engines). I don't know what max temp the engine sees, have to defer that to someone with more steam experience than me.


----------



## crueby

tms6401 said:


> Excellent work as usual. You make this look so easy.
> Tom



Thanks! You are not seeing the shelves full of wobbly, leaky engines I did over the years...!


----------



## crueby

Got a start on the steam chests today. Started out by cutting down/milling square to length some flat bar stock - had to take a couple mm's off the side but thickness was good. This bar was enough to get all three valve chests out of - it was cut into thirds, each squared up to length with the mill.


Then chucked it up in the 4-jaw on the lathe - first centered it then offset to the side so that the valve shaft will be far enough from the side for the D-valve to fit.


After that, turned down the end to form the boss for the o-ring holder (the valve shaft is sealed with an o-ring, with a holder ring going into the hole in the end). The hole in the end was drilled for the o-ring size, then a smaller hole farther in for the valve shaft.


Turned the block around, and drilled/tapped a hole in the other end for the oil pipe inlet fitting - the axle pump on the front truck pumps oil up to the steam chests (the way it is ratcheted, the pump only delivers a drop of oil every so many turns of the wheels). 


Next step was to drill/tap the hole for the set screw that keeps the o-ring holder in place. since it was so close to the main part of the valve chest, I had to dig out my smallest center drill to start the hole, 


then drill for the 2-56 thread.


Next photo shows the valve chest so far, with the center marked out for the opening which will be milled out after I get the other two chests up to this point.


----------



## crueby

Continuing on the steam chests, set up in the mill and drilled corner holes for the opening in the center of the chests. Easier to accurately locate these holes and mill to them than to mill blind and try and match the edge locations.


After the holes were all drilled, switched to an end mill and cut out the center section, taking three passes to go the full depth. In the second picture you can see the block cut out from the center.


Third photo shows all three steam chests so far - ready to drill mounting holes.


With the steam chest clamped together with the same drill template used for the cylinders, making sure the orientation is correct (stamped numbers on the chests to match them with the cylinders), drilled through with a 2-56 tap size drill.


Then, removed the template and clamped the cover plate on the steam chest, went back and drilled out the holes to a 2-56 clearance size, going through both the chest and the cover - in this case, the steam chest acted as a drill guide for the cover. I had tried clamping up the chest, cover, and guide all at once, but it was too hard to line up properly - this worked out just as easy.


Last photo shows all the engine parts so far, with the chest/cover/cylinder all bolted together on number 3 (right end). Naturally, no matter how many screw sizes you have, you always need an in between length - had to cut down some 3/4" long ones to fit. Which Murphys' law is that one?


Anyway, great progress this week - next up are the cylinder heads and steam chest stuffing boxes.


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## SilverSanJuan

Very nice.  You're making quick work of this.  Are you going to polish the mating surfaces?

Todd


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Very nice.  You're making quick work of this.  Are you going to polish the mating surfaces?
> 
> Todd



Yes - only takes a few minutes, and lets me use thin (sometimes no) gasket.


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## crueby

With the valve chest bodies done, on to the head caps: turned them down from brass bar, with a step on the end that matches the cylinder bore. Then parted them off - used the steady rest for the first ones since the bar was sticking so far out from the chuck.


The rest of the bar was used to make the stuffing boxes - again, turned the end down to match the cylinder bore (they have protrusions above and below the flange - in the next photo it is the bottom side with the larger protrusion showing). Then, drilled for the piston rod and also a larger diameter hole for the o-ring.


Third photo shows making the upper step, and parting off from the bar.


With the caps/boxes turned to shape, last step was to use the same drill template from the cylinder blocks to drill the mounting holes in them. The stuffing boxes also get a cross-hole for a set screw in the bottom protrusion.


Next couple photos shows the engine assembly so far. Really taking shape quick with just the first few parts.





And then a couple photos of it test mounted on the side of the boiler...


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## SilverSanJuan

That just adds a whole other level to the loco.  And, I have to keep reminding myself of the scale of those parts.

What is the process you'll use for polishing the mating surfaces of the steam chests?

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> That just adds a whole other level to the loco.  And, I have to keep reminding myself of the scale of those parts.
> 
> What is the process you'll use for polishing the mating surfaces of the steam chests?
> 
> Todd



Same as with the outside of the cylinders - I have a pair of diamond lapping plates (two diff grits) that I use for sharpening my wood carving chisels. They are flat steel plates covered in diamond particles - can get them at most woodworking suppliers.Some oil to float off removed particles, hold it down firmly and slide it back/forth, making sure it does not rock. I get much better results with this than with files. I learned the diamond plate/followed by diamond paste sharpening method from an old boatbuilder. Gives a really quick result, with mirror finish. On the chisels, I put the paste on the bottom of an old woodworking plane - nice and flat, and the steel is softer than the chisels so it holds the grit - you want a plate softer than the metal you are lapping. For these parts, the diamond plate should be plenty.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Thanks for that.  I'll look in to getting some diamond plates.


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## crueby

On to the crosshead guides. These frames connect the cylinders down to the crankcase, guide the crossheads, and hold the slides for the valves. So far I've gotten the main tube portion done, lots more to go on them....

Started out with some large brass bar stock (stress relieved since they will be milled out to open-frame columns in the middle) in the lathe, held up with the steady rest. I squared up both ends, measured the lengths, and figured out how much more to take off one end to get them down to final length. 



Then back in the lathe, took off that much, and drilled a starter hole, and bored them out to size (matches the cylinder bores).


Once all were the right length and bored to size, took off the steady rest and inserted one end of the jig used for drilling the cylinders - made a handy piece to hold the end of the live center to steady up the piece for taking it down to final diameter. 


I did one end, flipped it end for end, and did the other.


Fifth photo shows one down to outside size, one on right still to go. Note that they are stamped for which cylinder they go with - I like to keep them in sets, in case there is any fine fitting/tweaking needed, they will be taken apart/put together a bunch of times during the build.


Next photo shows drilling the mounting holes, using the same drill jig from the cylinders. Same goes at both ends - same pattern used for the crankcase end. The lines down the center are to align the top/bottom holes with each other.


Last photo shows progress so far. The middle one has some guide lines on it, am figuring out the milling needed for the next step which turns them into open columns...


----------



## crueby

Been a productive morning - got the rest of the crosshead guides machined out. Last time I had them to diameter and bored through the center, this time set up in the mill and took out the center section on each side, leaving two 'columns' holding the rings at either end. The first operation had it set up in the vise, using the screw holes at the end to get it level - was a good double check when the mill broke through the screw holes evenly all the way around while taking down the surface.


After the first side was done, put in a couple of square bars as a reference, so that the second side would get milled parallel to the first, and milled out the same amount. That left a 10mm thick column on either side.


Then, set it up with the columns held between spacers, and milled the sides of the columns flat.


The tops of the columns got a small recessed rectangle - this is not used for any fittings, but makes it look like the original castings. Below the recess will be a fitting for the reverse gear.


Last step was to drill/tap a number of holes for mounting fittings for reverse gear and valve guides.


Last three photos show the engine parts so far test assembled (sure it will be apart/together again many times before it is all done). Really looking like an engine now. The bottoms of the columns get bolted to the crankcase, which comes next in the build. That part is built up from a bunch of pieces, should be interesting to do. For now, time to sit and stare at the shiny pieces so far!  *beer*


----------



## fuzzymuff

Hi crueby.
This is looking fantastic. I have ordered a copy of Kozo's Shay book. You have inspired me to build a Loco.
Graham


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## crueby

fuzzymuff said:


> Hi crueby.
> This is looking fantastic. I have ordered a copy of Kozo's Shay book. You have inspired me to build a Loco.
> Graham



Excellent! Welcome to the fun. It looks daunting at first but its just a lot of little assemblies. Hope you post your progress.


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## crueby

Today was a stock prep day - the crankcase is made up of 4 thick blocks, an angled top plate, and two side plates. All are non-stock widths, so had to mill down the next size up. 

In the first photo, I had the two side plates milled to length, and was taking them down a few mm's to the planned width.


Then, milled the top plate to length, and needed to take the sides down a little and also angle them to 11.3 degrees. This is the angle of the sides of the finished crankcase. To put on the angle, I got out the handy tilt table, mounted the vise on it, and took down the edges with the mill.


Third photo shows an end view of the top plate with the edges beveled. I left the tilt table set to the angle, since the same angle will get milled into the blocks later, and leaving it set I could be sure to be able to duplicate it again.


Next up was to mill down the blocks to dimension - had to take off a little in all dimensions for this.


Last photo shows the parts so far. Still need to angle the sides of the blocks and put a step in them for the side plates to sit in. Then they will all be screwed together for silver soldering and further milling. 


Thats enough for today - back at it tomorrow or the next day, got some work to do on the submarine for next RC gathering....


----------



## crueby

Cranking along - got the pieces for the crankcase fitted up today. Started out by taking the thick blocks and drilling a hole down each side for an alignment pin in a portion that will be milled off later. The pins were a push fit, so they would hold all four blocks in position so I could mill the profile of all together (this is Kozo's method, I can't take credit for it!). To get the holes in the same place in all the blocks, I set up the mill vise for the first one, with the block aligned with a straightedge on the side of the vise, locked down the table, and drilled each block one by one. Then set up for the other hole, and did the same process. They all fit together well, with just a tiny variation from one to the next. Kozo allows for this in his process by leaving the blocks a millimeter oversize to this point. I then used the fly cutter to smooth off the top/bottom of the block set, taking them down to final thickness. In the first photo you can see the pins in the blocks at the lower left/right corners.


Next up, got out the tilt table again (still set at the 11.3 degree angle from milling the bevel on the top plate edges), and clamped in the stack of blocks for milling the sides. This recess will hold the side plate on either side of the crankcase. You can see in the second photo the outline drawn on the side of the block of where the milling will go - this was mainly as a double-check that I had the blocks set right way up in the vise each time, the actual milling was done to measured depths not to the lines.


Third photo shows the first step milled in. You can see where the alignment pins are at the top/bottom corners at the front. After this step I turned the blocks over and milled the step on the other side.


Once both the steps were milled in, it was time to mill off the areas with the pins, forming the shoulders that will be at the bottom of the crankcase, level with the side plates. As you can see in the fourth photo I held the blocks with a machinist clamp for this process to make sure the blocks could not shift. This completed the shaping for the blocks.


Fifth photo shows all four blocks set in place to check that the tapered sides matched up with the tapered edges of the top plate.


Then it was time to fasten the blocks to the top plate to hold them in place for silver soldering. I measured out and clamped the end blocks in place for drilling/tapping some temporary screw holes - took some careful fiddling to get them both square to the plate and lined up flush with the beveled edge of the top plate.


Seventh photo shows the assembly with the side plates also drilled/tapped/screwed in place. The side plates were much easier to align, since the four blocks were already held by the top plate.


Last photo shows the engine sitting on the crankcase to double-check the spacing. Next step will be to silver solder up all the joints in the crankcase and then cut/file off flush all the screw heads. 


At this stage, you can get a feel for how the full engine will look, even though there are still several dozen more parts to make.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

That's a big hunk of brass.  It's really looking like an engine now.  Great work! 

Todd


----------



## crueby

This morning I braved the cold and went out and got the crankcase frame silver soldered up (going to be really nasty out next couple days, so wanted to get it done before the storm rolls in - we are going to get the north side of the one rolling through Chicago on its way to NY and Boston). Once it was all soldered up it went on the mill to true up the top/bottom surfaces and take them to final size. There was a slight warp (few thou) that the heating introduced, this took that out again. It was bolted directly to the mill table with bolts/t-nuts through holes in the top plate (in places where the plate will be bored out for the con-rods later). Since the t-nuts on a Sherline stick up above the table slightly (silly design) I had to put in some bars to raise it up - those are visible at the bottom of the crankcase.


In the second photo I have laid out the openings in the sides of the case, and am milling them out. The angled sides are stepped at this point, they will be smoothed out two photos down...


Next I mounted it in the vise, and milled the small flat at the top corners.


Last step in this session was to angle the vise so I could smooth out the angled sides on the openings with a small mill.


Fifth photo shows the crankcase progress so far.


That finishes up the current steps - more shaping/drilling next time, when the bearing caps are made and fitted. Last photo is the money shot, with the engine sitting on the crankcase...


----------



## BAH101

Try these from A2Z: http://www.a2zcorp.us/store/ProductDetailNP.asp?Cguid={18DCA0E7-5B5D-4106-AD83-9597A4B4F209}&ProductID=3834&Category=TNut:Sherline

I have them and they sit below the table.


----------



## crueby

BAH101 said:


> Try these from A2Z: http://www.a2zcorp.us/store/ProductDetailNP.asp?Cguid={18DCA0E7-5B5D-4106-AD83-9597A4B4F209}&ProductID=3834&Category=TNut:Sherline
> 
> I have them and they sit below the table.



I think I have one that came with the quick change tool post from a2z, have to see if I have any more. Forgot about those! Thanks!


----------



## crueby

On to the bearing caps for the crankcase. Started with a piece of rectangular brass bar, milled it down to dimensions with it left long enough to get the four caps out. Then, set it up in the vise with the top edge sticking out and milled out the flats on either end of the caps.


Switched over to the drill chuck, and drilled out the mount holes (2-56 tap size). These will get opened up to 2-56 clearance later, for now they will act as drill guides for the holes in the case. I stamped each one with a number to match the posts on the crankcase, in case there were any differences cap to cap, and sawed them apart. No need to mill the ends square, that will be done after they are in place.


Then marked centerlines on the crankcase, and one by one clamped them in place and used them as drill guides to drill the holes in the posts. After that, tapped each hole to 2-56.


With all the holes tapped, it was time to go back and open up the holes in the caps to the clearance size.


Last operation was to bolt all the caps in place, nice and tight, and with the crankcase bolted to the mill table again it was time to take all the caps/posts down to final dimensions. Got it squared up on the table, and first milled off the ends of the caps even with the edges of the posts. Then, took a light cut on the end of the case - that surface acts as a measuring point to all the rest of the sides. After zeroing the handwheel at that setting, cranked out to each of the other posts and did the corresponding side. The posts were all left about a millimeter thicker than needed, to allow for any variance during soldering them up. Again, this is Kozo's method, I did not think this up myself - worked like a charm.


With the right sides of the posts all done, I went back and took the left side of the first post down to thickness, and used that point as the start to crank over to each of the others.


Next photo shows the crankcase sitting under the engine to show current state - one thing that I am going to do beyond what Kozo shows is to mill in a small flange around all the lower openings. I saw that flange on the real trains down at Cass WV, and I think that little detail will look good on the model too. Will do that after the rest of the machining on the crankcase.


The next step is a biggie - drilling for the main bearings for the crankshaft. The last photo shows how I am setting this up, on the mill with the crankcase bolted to the tilt table (drilled/tapped an extra set of holes in the table to match the holes in the crankcase). 


The mill column is JUST tall enough for the drill to fit - glad I went for the taller column a couple years ago. Kozo did this operation on the lathe with an angle bracket to hold the case - my Sherline is just not big enough to do it that way, so I will use the mill. Going to have to make an extension for the center drill, and spend some time to ensure everything is squared up properly. That will be tomorrow probably - want to start fresh in the morning, one goof and the case is scrap.


----------



## crueby

This morning I got the setup for the crankcase bearing drilling all squared up, and made an extension for the center drill. The extension allows me to center drill each bearing post, drill it out, and center drill the next, to keep from wandering down the length of the crankcase. Kozo drilled out with a large drill all at once, I have found that I get better results if I drill with about a 1/4", and open it up with a series to 3/8" - reduces the chatter and irregular hole shape at the tops of the holes. The first three photos show the sequence of center drill, main drilling, and reaming to final size.








The fourth photo shows the crankcase with all the holes drilled through. These holes will hold bronze bearings, with a 5/16" main shaft. 


With that operation done (phew!) it was time to drill the mount holes to hold the crosshead guides. Once again, the same drill jig made for the cylinder caps originally was used to locate the holes. As he points out in the book, this makes a total of 84 holes located with this one jig - well worth making it since it made drilling the holes very quick and accurate.


Last two photos show the engine parts so far test fitted together and assembled on the loco. At this point I am using socket head screws for easy assembly/dissasembly during construction. Final assembly will use hex head screws.





Good progress for this morning - next up will be to mill the conrod/valve rod holes in the crankcase, as well as lubrication holes for the bearings. After that I will add the flange shapes to the edges of the case....


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## dalem9

Such wonderful work . You can be proud of yourself .Really enjoy your work. Thanks for sharing .


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## SilverSanJuan

Wow... that was a nail biter for sure.  Excellent work!

Todd


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## Swifty

Excellent work, it's all looking great as it comes together. I'm following along with my copy of the plans/book.

Paul.


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## crueby

Down the home stretch on the crankcase. Set it up in the tilt table again, at 40 degrees, at bored for the oil fittings that run down to the crankshaft bearings. Started with a mill to get a flat spot for the drill to start,


and switched to the drill to make the holes. A smaller drill went all the way through to the bearing holes. A set of rods with holes down the center will be added in a couple steps, below.


Next up, bolted it back on the mill table and milled out the holes for the con-rods and, for the middle cylinder, the valve eccentric opening. As the holes were bored out, the bolts were moved to make room for the next hole to be milled.


Last milling operation was to back bevel the sides to give clearance for the valve eccentrics and the con-rod bearings. Nice that Kozo gives the dimensions for these cuts, saves trial and error later on.


Last two photos shows the complete crankcase. The oil tubes are in place (loctited in), plus I took it up to the other shop and got the front face shaped back a little around the openings on the front, to put in the flanges at the openings that the real ones have. Small detail but I think it will show off the shape better once it is painted. I used a diamond grit dental bit in a high speed air tool (about 450,000 rpm) that made short work of it. A little sanding to smooth it out, and also rounded the upper edges where the sides go into the top.





Next up will be the bronze bearings, then on to the crankshaft itself!


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## SilverSanJuan

Very nice.  And, the detail you added to the edges of the crank case really does look good.  Nice touch.

Todd


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## crueby

Back in the shop this morning, and got a start on the crankshaft bearings. They are made from bronze, and are shaped like a spool to fit in the crankcase posts/caps. Started out with a bronze bar a few sizes larger than the bearings will be, to leave room to split it lengthwise. First, milled flats on two sides to make it possible to grip the two halves in the vise later.


Then, hacksawed (hacksawned? hacksawnded? Cut!) down the center of the bar, and milled the inside surface of both halves back flat again (used a parallel bar underneath so the new flat would be parallel to the outside). 


The two halves were then soft soldered back together again, and the outside flats given a light pass in the mill to even them out - could not get them perfectly aligned when soldering. The bar was then cut into two shorter pieces so it would not stick too far out of the chuck. Each piece is long enough to get out two bearings while leaving enough to hold in the chuck.


So, chucked up the first piece in the 4-jaw, and kept adjusting till the solder line down the end crossed the center point of rotation, and drilled/bored out the center to the size of the crankshaft. Kozo recomends boring the hole vs drilling/reaming, since the reamer would tend to force the halves apart. I believe it, since when I drilled the starter hold for boring it did crack the solder joint, had to clamp/reheat it to get it back together again.


After boring the center out, switched to the parting tool to nibble out the center section of the outside to form the spool shape - the flange at either end will fit over the crankcase posts/caps. When that was down to size, and just wide enough for the cap to fit down over it, the bearing was parted off.


Next photo shows the two halves of the bearing test fit in the cap and a piece of the rod for the crankshaft. You can see how it overlaps the sides of the cap, and also how thin the bearing is.


Last photo shows the first bearing in place on the crankcase. One down, 3 more to go....


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## crueby

Got the rest of the crankshaft bearings done. One thing I changed after the first one was to drill the starter hole for boring with the soldered-together halves all the way into the chuck, to keep the drill from cracking them apart. After starter drilling, I then moved it out like I showed in the first one and bored the center and turned the outside. Doing it that way kept the parts together till I parted them off. First photo shows the bearings all in place and test fitted with a piece of the stock for the crankshaft.


With everything fitting fine (a little tight to turn, close enough that I will wait till the crankshaft is done and will lap them with some diamond paste to a nice smooth run), it was time to loctite the bearing halves in place. Being careful to keep the pairs together and oriented the same as they were made, a drop of loctite went in between the bronze bearing and the brass case. The caps were screwed back on to press everything into place, with a piece of card stock between the halves to keep from sticking everything together. After it set up, the card stock was removed.


Last two photos show the engine so far bolted up on the loco. This morning I made the lower bracket, which holds the crankcase steady to the frame of the loco. It is a piece of brass sheet stock, bent to shape (another template was made to get the angles) and drilled for three mounting bolts top and bottom. You can see the plate behind the crankcase in the photos (shows best in the last one).





This was the last step before making the crankshaft itself. It will be a built-up crank rather than turned from one solid bar. I have had great luck making them that way on other engines, going to do the same here. I make the webs and eccentrics as press fit on the rods, position everything and drill for cross pins at every joint, then for good measure go back with low temp silver solder to fill in the joints and lock everything together so nothing can wiggle loose. As long as the web pairs are made together and kept oriented right, the final results come out square. Going to take some time and select stock and lay out everything, then will get a start on it - should be fun!


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## petertha

crueby said:


> The two halves were then soft soldered back together again, and the outside flats given a light pass in the mill to even them out - could not get them perfectly aligned when soldering.


 
I've seen soldering often referenced for 'split line' jobs like this. Have you ever tried any of the 'glues' like CA, locktite, epoxy? etc. & then subsequent heat removal to separate them after machining? I've never done either, but just interested in your take on the matter.


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## crueby

petertha said:


> I've seen soldering often referenced for 'split line' jobs like this. Have you ever tried any of the 'glues' like CA, locktite, epoxy? etc. & then subsequent heat removal to separate them after machining? I've never done either, but just interested in your take on the matter.



Never tried them either. Seems like high strength loctite could work. Epoxy I would doubt for metal work, except maybe jb weld. Someone else out there must have tried other methods - anyone?


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## crueby

Got a start on the crank webs today. Started by milling some 303 stainless steel rod to the needed rectangular size, then cut off 3 pairs of that a little long to allow for clamping them. Each pair was marked to let me keep them together and oriented the same every time.



Second photo shows the first pair clamped together, with the table positioned and locked down for center drilling the first of the main shaft and crank pin holes. The shafts are 5/16", and centered 9mm apart.The clamps will stay in place till both holes are drilled/reamed, so that they will stay aligned with each other.


Then drilled out the first hole, starting with a smaller drill and working my way up to full size, which keeps the chatter/wander away.


Fourth photo shows reaming the hole to final size, which leaves it a press fit for the rod.


Fifth photo shows drilling the second hole - unlocked the table cross movement and moved it over to the new position and locked it again. The piece stayed clamped in the vise so that the second hole would be parallel to the first one.


Sixth shot shows the pieces out of the vise,


next photo shows the first pair drilled, ready for radiusing the ends (will do that after all 3 pairs are drilled).


Last shot shows the first pair test fit on a piece of the rod for the main shaft - nice and square to the shaft, good to go. Two more pair to drill....


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## crueby

Last step to do on the crank web pieces was to radius the ends. To do this, I made an arbor by turning a shoulder on the end of a bit of brass bar the same diameter as the crankshafts, and threaded the end for a bolt. Then, with a pair of the webs bolted on the shart, turned the radius on one end, swapped to the other hole, and did the other end. This also took the webs to final length.


Second photo shows the first pair turned (on the right), second pair (on the left) still in rough length and ready for thier turn.


After that, on to the eccentric cams. Started with a piece of stainless rod, and turned the shoulder for the eccentric follower on the end, and parted it off. 


Next photo shows the cam blanks with the web pieces. 


Last operation on the eccentrics was to offset drill the eccentrics. I wound up having to make an extra set, since I tried using the 4-jaw chuck to offset drill, but with such a small part it was too hard to measure the offset accurately and I wound up going through the side of the first ones. So, went another direction and clamped the 3-jaw to the mill table (have a chuck-thread-to-t-slot adapter), centered up the piece with the center drill, and cranked over to one side the offset distance, and locked it all down. Then I could drill all 6 of the eccentrics with that setting, wound up being a quicker way to do it than in the lathe.


Next two photos show drilling/reaming the hole in the eccentric.





Last photo shows the first pair test fit on the crank shaft - all looked fine, so went ahead and drilled the rest of them...


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## crueby

On to an exciting step - assembling the crankshaft. I started out by making sub-assemblies out of the cranks and eccentrics. The cranks were easy - ran a piece of rod the right length for the crank pins through the webs, a longer piece through the other hole, and drilled through the webs and rod for some drive fit pins. Since I have been keeping the web pairs together and oriented the same through the whole process, they lined up nice and straight.


Second photo shows the web pieces all pinned.


Next up was to make subassemblies out of the eccentric discs. Each pair sits back to back on the main rod, with a 19.5 degree offset from centerline for each one. I laid that out on card stock, and used that as a pattern to clamp up the pairs. Then drilled for a cross pin to hold the two discs together.


Once I had all the webs and discs ready, it was time to put it all together. Lots of measuring, checking, more measuring, rechecking the book, .... Once I had the main rod turned to length with shoulders at the ends for the u-joints, and marked out for position of the pieces, I pushed on the first crank web to its position, and drilled/pinned it in place. Then set up the rotary table vertically, with a tailstock to support the other end of the shaft, and zeroed the table with the first pinned web square to the table. You can see on the shaft that all the webs are in position and roughly to right angle (120 degrees to each other). There is also one eccentric pair in place - the others go on later at the ends, no need to put them on now. The middle eccentric will be drilled/pinned later.


With everything aligned and zeroed, I then turned the rotary table 120 degrees for the next web, and clamped the web in the mill vise. This squared the web to the table, holding it in place for drilling. One of the webs was drilled/reamed, and a pin tapped in far enough to hold it, and the second web was then drilled/reamed/pinned. The pins were not driven home yet, I waited till it was off the mill to do that so I would not risk bending the shaft.


Then, turned the rotary table another 120 degrees and did likewise for the third web pair. With all the webs drilled and pins started, I took it off the mill and with each web sitting on the anvil tapped the pins home and filed them off flush. The middle eccentric is not drilled yet, wanted to check everything with the crankcase first.


Next photo shows the crank so far sitting on the bearings in the crankcase. It is a nice smooth fit, so all has gone good so far.


Last photo shows the bearing caps screwed on to make sure it still fits right - it does. I also slipped on the outside eccentrics to check that the shoulders at the ends were the right distance out.


Enough for today, time to walk away before getting tired and pulling a brain-fart on it. :toilet:

Next step will be to mark the positions of the eccentrics and drill/pin them. Each one needs to be at the proper angle to the corresponding web, so I will figure out a jig to hold the discs, with the web they go with clamped in the mill vise. After that is done, I will lap in the shaft on the bearings - it is a good fit, just a tiny bit tight, so the lapping should work out well. I have some of the time-saver compound that someone else recommended, will try that out on it.


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## SilverSanJuan

This really looks fantastic!  The crank is probably the most critical piece.  And, it looks like you've nailed it. 

Todd


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## crueby

Quick update - got the eccentrics drilled/pinned on. Turned out no jig was needed since I already had each pair pinned at the correct angle within the pair, just clamped the corresponding webs in the vise, and the eccentrics self-aligned on the tops of the jaws (checked several times that I had them the right way round, they are not perpendicular to the webs but 19.5 degrees off that). Started with the center set, and clamped the eccentric in place with a spacer from the next web to get it located properly.


Second photo shows doing one of the end sets.


Last photo shows the crankshaft so far. With all the parts pinned in place, I went in with some low temp silver solder and flowed that into all the joints to lock everything in place, and keep any pins from working loose. The pins are doing the work of holding things in place against rotational forces, not the solder.


All that is left on the crank is to get it lapped into the bearings and  cut away the parts of the main shaft within each web set. Next up is the  universal joint sets that run out to the drive shafts on the trucks.  Interesting part on Shays, the u-joints include a square shaft section  the telescopes as the trucks pivot.


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## crueby

Time to cut out the openings in the cranks, removing the un-needed sections of the main shaft from between the webs. That always SHOULD be a good moment - never had a problem making the cranks that way before. As long as I cut in the right place....! I did get those pieces cut out this morning, and the hacksawn sides cleaned up with the mill. No movement at all in the shape of the crank, still sits nice and flat in the bearings.  





Just needs a little polishing up to make it look shiny again. The lapping compound should be here Monday according to the tracking info, will lap the bearings then. In the meantime I am going on with the universal joint shafts.


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## crueby

I got a start on the horn couplings, which make up the inner workings of the universal joints on the drive shafts. They will be held in an outer ring with pins that let them rotate. To start, trimmed 4 pieces of stainless down to length. Each piece will make two of the horns - 8 of them are needed.


Then, drilled/bored the ends for the drive shafts. On one pair, the holes are smaller - this set will get pinned/silver soldered to the square telecoping drive shaft boxes.


With the holes done, turned down the ends to size. This will leave clearance for the outer rings to pivot in.


Next step was to mill flats on two sides of the bars. In order to ensure the flats were parallel, I clamped the parts in the mill vise (used the v-slot in the center to hold them), and milled the flats from either side without taking the part out of the vise.


Then, turned the piece sideways in the vise, resting the flat on a square bar, and drilled the pivot holes. When all the milling is done on each bar, it will be cut between these holes to make the two horn couplings.


Sixth photo shows the parts so far, with the end holes, flats, and pivot holes. Note that the one on the left has a different size end hole and shank - this will make the couplings for the square bars.


Next up was to start shaping the center area. With the bar held horizontally in the mill vise, the center area was milled down to size. Same depth was done on either side. Lots of cutting oil, a number of passes to get it down to size...


Last photo shows that done on the first bar - still need to do the same for the other three bars. After that, a 45 degree angle cut will be made at the ends of the center area to blend them into the ends - that will be next time.


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## crueby

Lots more done on the horn couplings for the universal joint shafts. Set up the vise at an angle to mill the slanted portion of the center section. First photo shows the setup, little hard to see what it is doing, but second photo shows the result with the four angled portions of the horn pair (making two of the horns from one piece, much easier to hold in vise for milling this way).





Then back in the vise down flat again, and drilled out the majority of the center area.


Fourth photo shows the remaining part of the center being milled out. Fifth photo shows all 4 bars with the center milled, ready to cut apart.




Next photo shows the first two pairs cut apart into the individual horns. The bottom pair has been filed to final shape - tapered the inside corners off, and rounded the ends of the horns.


Seventh shot shows the first pair test fitted on the end of the axle shaft, held in position. Still need to make the outer shell and pins.


Last photo shows all 4 pair cut apart, still need to do the filing on the rest of them....


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## crueby

This morning I got the rest of the horn couplings filed down like the first set, and got going on the telescoping drive shafts. First step was to make the hollow square tubes, which are made in two pieces silver soldered together. The first piece was made from a length of steel bar, with the center milled out to form the tube. The top of the channel was then milled back a little farther to hold the 'roof' of the tube. You can just see one side of that notch in the back wall of the channel in the first photo.


In the second/third photos, the flat bar for the roof is test fitted. The notced side walls hold the top piece so that a square tube is formed.





After making up a second set, got the tops/channels silver soldered together (glad it was a quick thing to solder up, it is about -5 F out there today, and that is the high temp for the next couple days, heading down to some overnights around -10 to -15!) Then, milled off the top smooth with the side walls.


Fifth photo shows how the horn coupling for the ends of the tubes go in - made up a snug fitting bit of square bar with a pin to hold the coupling, and silver soldered the coupling to the pin/bar. That assembly was then loctited and pinned into the square tube.


Sixth photo shows the next subassembly - lengths of round bar and square bar that is pinned/silver soldered together to form the inner part of the telescoping shaft. There is one long and one short bar, for the back and front drive shafts.


Last photo shows the round/square sections after silver soldering and trimming to length. Also has the horn coupling loctited/pinned in place on the end. The upper set in the photo has the square shaft in the tube, like it would be in use. The bottom one has it outside the tube, to show the parts.


Next up will be the housings/pins for the couplings. Though they do the same job as the u-joints in a car, they differ in that the pins are held in a large outer ring rather than using the cross-shaped connector that a car does. It takes up more room than a car-style joint, but there is plenty of space for it in the loco.


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## crueby

All right, back in the shop again today. Started on what Kozo calls the 'square pieces' for the universal joints. These are steel square rings that hold the pins for the u-joints. They start out as a piece of round bar, drilled/bored on the lathe...


Then over to the mill to square up the outside with the fly cutter.


The original curve is left at the corners - this will fit the cover ring in a few steps.


Back on the lathe, parted the square sections off to length.


Each section was then clamped in the mill vise ant the middle hole taken out to square, so that the dimensions match the outside width of the coupler horns.


With the squares made, it was time to make the retainer rings that go around the squares, and hold the pivot pins in place. The rings started as a length of brass bar, drilled/bored out to match the original diameter of the square sections. I took the hole out to size just deep enough for one ring at a time, so that it would stay strong enough to do the work on the outside - otherwise it would be like machining a long thin wall tube.


After boring the inside, the outside was turned to a curved profile, finished smooth with a file. Maybe I can go into business making cheap brass wedding bands... Anyway, after shaping the outside, the rings were parted off from the bar.


The last photo shows the rings and square pieces test fitted - the rings are a snug fit over the curved corners of the squares.


Next up will be to make the pivot pins, which go through the center of the flat sides of the squares and into the holes in the horn couplings. The heads of the pins are held in place by the brass rings. The rings will get retaining screws into the corners of the squares. Should be interesting to see it all together...


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## fuzzymuff

Hi Crueby. I got my copy of Building the new Shay today. Great book.


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## crueby

fuzzymuff said:


> Hi Crueby. I got my copy of Building the new Shay today. Great book.



Great - hope you can build one soon and post the progress!


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## crueby

Here is the sequence for the rest of the u-joint assemblies. Last post I had gotten the square and round shell pieces done, so I got going on making the pivot pins. They started out as a length of stainless rod, and turned the ends down and threaded them at the tips on the lathe. The threaded portion is only there to hold it to the fixture to shape the heads, it will be cut off after that.


Second photo shows the pile-o-pins, 16 are needed, made a couple spares in case I Murphied one or two...


The heads of the pins need to be radiused to fit under the outer retaining ring. To do that, a little fixture is made from some scrap bar stock, with shank turned to same diameter as the inside of the retaining ring, and a flat milled in the side the same distance from center as the flats on the square inner ring. The pin is put through a hole in that, and a nut on the inner side to hold it in place. Then its a simple session of turning it down to the proper radius. Once I got the setting from the first one, I zeroed the handwheel there to make the rest go quick - bolt in the pin, take several passes down to zero, remove the pin and cut off the threaded part...


Last thing to do before assembly was to drill the holes in the squared ring for the pivot pins. Set up first one in the vise with one edge aligned with the edge of the vise, centered for the hole, then could crank through the rest at the same setting.


Fifth photo shows all the pieces for both drive shafts. The upper one is assembled, the lower one still in pieces. On the left is one of the squared rings with one of the horn couplers in place. The pins on that one are cut to length, the pins laying on the right are still uncut.


Next shot shows a closeup of the assembled joint - you can see the pin heads under the outer ring. Assembling that is a little fussy, since the pin heads need to be all aligned with the high spot running lengthwise so the ring will slip over them. Without letting any fall out. Again. Oops, again...


Seventh shot shows both shaft assemblies all together - all that needs to be done is to drill/countersink for some small screws through the outer ring into the corner of the squared ring, so that the outer ring can't slip off.


Last photo shows the shafts slipped onto the ends of the crankshaft. 


Just need to cross-drill the ends for pins to hold them in place. For now I'll run some small (2-56 or 1-72) bolts through the pin holes so I can assemble/disassemble it quickly while making the rest of the engine. The u-joints work very well, nice and smooth, with more than enough angle possible for the trucks to pivot. I've never made u-joints this style before, always had done the car-style. For small models I like this type, the parts are not quite so tiny on the pivots.  Not sure why the Shays had this style over the inner-pivot style, maybe was easier to maintain in the field, and could be made beefy to take lots of torque.


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## SilverSanJuan

Lot's of work in a few days!  Really looks great.

Todd


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## crueby

This morning was catch-up-on-little-stuff time: pinned the last connections on the shafts, ran in retaining screws on the u-joint rings, lapped the main bearings, and test fit the whole thing on the loco. The TimeSaver lapping compound (yellow) that someone here recommended worked fantastic - I got the trial set of different grits, it looks like it should last for a LOT of models since it does not take much to mix up enough with oil for small bearings. It works very quickly, and left a smooth running set of bearings. I think I will go back and relap some of the connections on my twin-beam engine, see if it will clear up the sticky spot that one has.

First photo shows drilling/tapping for the retaining screws on the outer u-joint rings.


Rest of the photos show it all assembled on the loco. Good point to sit there with it and make train noises!  














Next steps in the book are to make the pistons and conn-rods.


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## crueby

Now to the heart of the engine - the pistons. They are bronze, pinned to a steel shaft. First photo shows a piston that has been drilled for the shaft, had the o-ring slot cut in the center with the parting tool, had the corners rounded, and is in the process of being parted off.


Second photo shows the first two pistons, one with the piston rod installed (cross-pinned and loctited). The thread at the base will be to screw into the crosshead.


After making all three pistons, spent some time fitting them to the cylinders. Two fit nicely, one needed a little shaving off from the bottom of the o-ring slot to get a good sliding fit.


Last part to make was a set of lock nuts for the crossheads. I did not have any nuts the right thread (M4) so made up a set from some steel rod. Drilled/tapped the center on the lathe, then over on to the rotary table on the mill to mill in the flats. 


Back to the lathe to part off a half dozen of them.


Last photo shows the pistons assembled and ready to go. 


Next step will be to make the crossheads - good project to start fresh with tomorrow...


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## brian13b

I dont know if I missed it, but where are you buying/getting all your stock from?  Thanks B


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## crueby

brian13b said:


> I dont know if I missed it, but where are you buying/getting all your stock from?  Thanks B



I got a lot from onlinemetals.com, stocking up during thier sales (am on thier email list for specials). Also got most of the big diameter brass from yarde metals, from their 'drop zone' where they sell offcuts cheap. Selection there is spotty since it is leftovers from their commercial sales, but prices are good.


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## crueby

Got a start on the crossheads today. They started out as bronze rod, turned to diameter with a smaller nub at the end which was drilled/tapped to match the piston rods. The ends of the crossheads are tapered just a little so they dont scrape off the oil on the guides - that just shows in the first photo.



Second photo shows the crosshead blanks all turned/threaded, one test fit in the guides.


Next step was to mill the sides off flat. Did first one side,


then the other.


Then drilled


and reamed the hole in the side for the pin that will hold the conn-rod end.


Last photo shows the three crossheads so far. 


Next step will be to mill out the recess in the end for the conn-rod...


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## bouch

crueby said:


> This morning was catch-up-on-little-stuff time: pinned the last connections on the shafts, ran in retaining screws on the u-joint rings, lapped the main bearings, and test fit the whole thing on the loco. The TimeSaver lapping compound (yellow) that someone here recommended worked fantastic - I got the trial set of different grits, it looks like it should last for a LOT of models since it does not take much to mix up enough with oil for small bearings. It works very quickly, and left a smooth running set of bearings. I think I will go back and relap some of the connections on my twin-beam engine, see if it will clear up the sticky spot that one has.
> 
> 8>< snip ><8
> 
> View attachment 75390
> 
> Next steps in the book are to make the pistons and conn-rods.



Would love to see a video of all the motion spinning as you push the loco the short distance on your display track!   ;D


----------



## crueby

bouch said:


> Would love to see a video of all the motion spinning as you push the loco the short distance on your display track!   ;D



Next time I have the engine bolted up I'll do that - currently have a lot of it apart to fit the cross heads and such.


----------



## crueby

Here is the rest of the work on the crossheads. With them in the mill vise, drilled 3 holes across the end to remove the bulk of the material from the inner slot.


Then went in with a small mill and connected the holes and took it out to the design width/length/depth. With the drill having done most of the work this part went quickly, just had to check thickness of the outer walls with the calipers a couple times to see how much more to take off.


Third photo shows the change from no slot on left to slotted on the right.


Next steps were to take the bottom edge to shape. Started by milling out the center section.


Then, with the pieces angled in the vise, took off the slanted part on the sides.


Last step was to mill in a shallow groove on either side to form a groove to hold more oil.


Last photo shows the parts on the piston rods, one of them in place in the cylinder assembly.


Next up are the connecting rods and thier bearings onto the crankshaft. Once those are done, will be time to bolt it up and check the action - that will be a major milestone!


----------



## crueby

Got a start on the piston connecting rods. They are in two pieces that overlap above the crank bearing and are through bolted together. To start, got some stainless bars milled down with the fly cutter to the needed sizes, one set each for the top/bottom halves.


The stock for the bottom halves was left in one piece since they are so short. With the bar held in the vise, I milled out the top sections of each. This are is where the two halves will overlap. The bolts will go through the arms. By doing all three together it was easy to get the inner widths all the same, plus it was easier to align/hold in the vise with one long part. This was one of the few places Kozo did not show the setups for the milling steps, usually does for complex parts.


After milling the openings the three parts were sawn apart. Since the upper half needs to nest all the way into the bottom half, I swung the parts vertical and trimmed out the inner corners square.


Last step in shaping the part was to trim the bottom off to the final length.


Last photo shows the bottom pieces with the blanks for the top pieces. The lower one has the bottom sitting on it to show how they will overlap, and the rest of the conrod is sketched in. The extra width at the lower side in the photo will be used to hold the part when thinning down the upper arm (next time).


----------



## crueby

Lot farther on the piston connecting rods today. Last time I got the bottom halves milled out, today started milling the upper halves to shape. First up was to narrow the bottom ends to be a snug fit in the gap in the bottom halves. Took down the ends with the side of an end mill...


With the bottom pieces pushed onto the ends of the top pieces, cross drilled for the mounting bolts.


Bolted the halves together, and it was time to drill out the hole for the crank bearing. To keep the vise jaws square, put one of the other pieces on the right side as a spacer.


Then it was time for another little drilling jig - bolted a bit of brass rod turned to press fit in the bearing hole, and a guide hole the right distance up for the crosshead pin. Used that guide to drill the upper hole in all three conn-rods.


With the holes done, ready to start shaping the upper end down. First, set the piece up on its side in the vise. Here is where the extra width left on the one side of the blank came into play - that is how it was held. With an end mill, milled out the recess in either side of the upper arm.


Then, with the piece bolted down to a aluminum block in the 4-jaw on the rotary table, started to mill out the profile of the upper arm. The rotary table made it simple to line up each face with the table axis and take it to shape. The block was mounted so that the hole in the upper end was centered on the rotary table, so I could turn the radius at the end.


Next photo shows the first one milled to shape, and the second one ready to go.


Last photo shows it test-fit in the crosshead guide.


Next up will be to make the crosshead pins, and then start on the crank bearings for the lower ends. That will be a fun moment - get to reassemble the engine and get the whole thing spinning for first time (can't run with no valves yet, but close!)


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Nice work on the rods.  How did you align the part on the rotary table so that your part was parallel to the x-axis?

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Nice work on the rods.  How did you align the part on the rotary table so that your part was parallel to the x-axis?
> 
> Todd



Before starting the milling I measured out the widths at top and bottom of the arm, and marked that on the parts. Then aligned it best guess by eye and milled close to that. Readjusted the angle and took light cuts to check that I hit the marks at both ends. The side profile is not a critical fit to anything so eyeballing it works fine (helps to be nearsighted, or have magnifiers)


----------



## crueby

Last thing needed for the connecting rods were some smaller 2-56 nuts. The store-bought ones were too large, so they overlapped the sides of the rod (plus they just look chunky). So, drilled/tapped the end of a piece of stainless rod, and milled the flats with the rotary table. Got enough for 2 pair off either end of the rod.


Second photo shows the difference - set on the left is with the commercial nuts, the set on the right has the home-made ones - much more in scale, plus they wont project out and hit the crank webs.


On to the connecting rod bearings. They are made from bronze, in the same way that the main shaft bearings were made (shown in earlier posts). A piece of bronze rod larger in diameter than the finished bearings (to leave room for cutting it lengthwise) was milled flat on opposing sides, cut lengthwise, the cuts milled smooth, and the two halves soft soldered back together again. Then, that was chucked up in the 4-jaw so that the solder joint crossed the centerline, and the end drilled/bored out to size. The smallest drill possible to start the boring bar was used, so that it would not put much strain on the solder joint - on the first main bearing I went too large on the drill and popped the joint. Then the smallest boring bar I have was used to enlarge the hole out to the diameter of the crank pin.


After that, used the parting tool (well sharpened) to cut the recess in the center to match the bore of the connecting rod, and the bearing was parted off.


Last photo shows the first bearing test fit in the connecting rod. One down, two more to go....


----------



## fuzzymuff

Hi Crueby.
Every time I get on the computer the first task is to check if you have made any more parts. Love the updates. Fantastic workmanship.
Graham.


----------



## crueby

fuzzymuff said:


> Hi Crueby.
> Every time I get on the computer the first task is to check if you have made any more parts. Love the updates. Fantastic workmanship.
> Graham.


Thanks Graham! I've been having a ball with this build. Not sure how to top it, but a friend of mine got a huge 3' x 12' capacity lathe for his business.... Hmmm...!


----------



## fuzzymuff

crueby said:


> Thanks Graham! I've been having a ball with this build. Not sure how to top it, but a friend of mine got a huge 3' x 12' capacity lathe for his business.... Hmmm...!


 

Crueby.
How about a 1 to 1 scale Shay.


----------



## crueby

fuzzymuff said:


> Crueby.
> How about a 1 to 1 scale Shay.



Whoa! I'd need a MUCH bigger garage!


----------



## crueby

Not much in progress pics for new parts today - have been assembling the con-rods into the engine and getting the bearings lapped and rod lengths adjusted. So far so good, but it is a pain in the swarf to assemble/disassemble an engine with this many little parts/bolts/nuts/etc so it is going slow, but should have a set of pics and a video of it rolling around on the display track Friday or Saturday (other activities keep getting in the way). 

Below are a couple shots from loctiting in the bearing halfs and assembling/lapping them onto the crank. The TimeSaver lapping compound that someone recommended to me is working great - just a pinch of the powder in some oil and slather it in the bearing, spin it around by hand, and it is done. Neat stuff.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Very nice work!   How is the rod length adjustment done?

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Very nice work!   How is the rod length adjustment done?
> 
> Todd



The lower ends of the piston rods are threaded, and have a locknut. It threads into the crosshead, set the length and tighten the locknut. There is about an 1/8" of travel so easy to center the piston movement in the cylinder. He has you put a little slot in the top end of the piston rod so you can turn it with a screwdriver - I forgot that step till after I had already pinned/loctited in the pistons to the rods. Oh well - turning them with needle nose pliers at the threads works, just have to be careful not to scratch up above on the smooth area. :wall:


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Ahhh yes.  Same thing on the A3.  I forgot about that.


----------



## edhume3

Hello Crueby,

It is a pleasure to see your work.

It is no big deal not to slot the piston rods.  The best way to adjust the rod length is to not mount the cylinders.  Instead, use calipers to measure the height of the piston top protruding above the frame part where the cylinder is mounted (crankshaft at top dead center).  You can hold the piston heads while you tighten the nuts and that provides plenty of holding leverage.

Best Regards,
Ed


----------



## crueby

edhume3 said:


> Hello Crueby,
> 
> It is a pleasure to see your work.
> 
> It is no big deal not to slot the piston rods.  The best way to adjust the rod length is to not mount the cylinders.  Instead, use calipers to measure the height of the piston top protruding above the frame part where the cylinder is mounted (crankshaft at top dead center).  You can hold the piston heads while you tighten the nuts and that provides plenty of holding leverage.
> 
> Best Regards,
> Ed



Good tip, that should be much easier. Thanks!


----------



## crueby

Ed - I tried your tip this afternoon - that way is MUCH easier. One of those 'but of course' moments. Or, as Homer Simpson would paraphrase, DOH!  oh:


----------



## SilverSanJuan

If you haven't checked out Ed's conversion of Kozo's shay to a three truck #1 gauge live steam, then you must.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/edhume3/sets/72157614192042835/

Todd


----------



## crueby

Not a lot to show today, since pictures can't show things moving smoothly (and I can't video while using both hands to hold engine/turn crank). The main bearings and crank bearings have all been lapped in with some TimeSaver compound, and you can still see all my temporary markings on parts so I get them all back on the same shaft and side (learned that one the hard way on a previous model - what a pain to sort out unmarked bearing halves that got mixed up!). So, a picture showing things during reassembly - the pistons are all set on the crossheads, o-rings are there in the piston ron bearings and in the pistons themselves. 



I want to make up the gaskets for the top/bottom of the cylinders before putting the cylinders back in place, so that will be next. Then I am going to bolt it up on the loco and get some video of it rolling back/forth on the display track and everything so far spinning. That should be fun (listen for my cackling in the background!). Been busy with other stuff the last couple days so that will probably not be till late friday or saturday. This is where it all starts to come together - fun time!


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> If you haven't checked out Ed's conversion of Kozo's shay to a three truck #1 gauge live steam, then you must.
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/edhume3/sets/72157614192042835/
> 
> Todd


Todd - thanks for the link!

WOW! Ed - you did an amazing job on your Shay - *very *impressed!  :bow:

I really like the butane burner setup - is that your own design, or an existing one? I'd love to make one like that for mine. Are plans available for that burner/tank design??


----------



## edhume3

Hi Crueby,

Thanks for the praise.

The butane burner is my own design based on ideas from Morewood's Raritan propane burner.  It is working well and it is convenient.  I have a mix of hand sketches and CAD files for the parts.  I'll look into pulling the materials together, but not before this weekend - I am prepping for the Chile Fest steamup in Houston.  The filler valve is a Ronson lighter repair part that you can find on ebay which uses a tightening tool and a special metric tap.


----------



## crueby

edhume3 said:


> Hi Crueby,
> 
> Thanks for the praise.
> 
> The butane burner is my own design based on ideas from Morewood's Raritan propane burner.  It is working well and it is convenient.  I have a mix of hand sketches and CAD files for the parts.  I'll look into pulling the materials together, but not before this weekend - I am prepping for the Chile Fest steamup in Houston.  The filler valve is a Ronson lighter repair part that you can find on ebay which uses a tightening tool and a special metric tap.



Thanks for any info. Enjoy the steam fest! Up here in upstate NY it is very cold, very snowy - just spent the day clearing snow off  the roofs at my house and my mothers' house (arms are like rubber now!). Looking forward to spring!

Chris


----------



## crueby

Got the engine parts so far all assembled again and fit on the loco, and could not resist pushing it back and forth on the display stand to watch it all spin. No valve train yet, so cannot run it for real, but getting close! Below are a couple photos, plus a link to a short video of it moving (dont think the camera picked up the sound of my face cracking with the smiles!). Would have posted this earlier but right at the end of the video you can hear the phone ring - had to go over and shovel a few feet of snow off my mothers' roof, and came home and did the shallow pitch part of mine too. Crazy winter this year... yes, I can hear you guys Down Under snickering from hear, and complaining about the heat!

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFhupERdyAI&feature=player_detailpage[/ame]


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Outstanding!  Looks like it runs pretty smoothly.

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Outstanding!  Looks like it runs pretty smoothly.
> 
> Todd



Only adjustment I had to make yesterday was on the o-ring holders for the piston rod seals - had to take them out a few thou, the compression on the o-rings was just a little too high. I had forgotten to measure the actual o-rings I had and look them up in the table at the back of the book where he gives the dimensions for a smooth sealing fit - the dimensions on the plans were for the metric rings, I had the nearest inch size to match the piston rod stock I had. fortunately it was a small difference so I did not have to remake the parts.
Other than that it all went together well - very happy!


----------



## bouch

crueby said:


> Got the engine parts so far all assembled again and fit on the loco, and could not resist pushing it back and forth on the display stand to watch it all spin. No valve train yet, so cannot run it for real, but getting close! Below are a couple photos, plus a link to a short video of it moving (dont think the camera picked up the sound of my face cracking with the smiles!). Would have posted this earlier but right at the end of the video you can hear the phone ring - had to go over and shovel a few feet of snow off my mothers' roof, and came home and did the shallow pitch part of mine too. Crazy winter this year... yes, I can hear you guys Down Under snickering from hear, and complaining about the heat!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFhupERdyAI&feature=player_detailpage
> 
> View attachment 75579
> 
> 
> View attachment 75580
> 
> 
> View attachment 75581



Thanx for the video!  Love watching the motion on a shay!


----------



## crueby

Alrighty - on to the valve stem assemblies. Both the valve slider and the valve crosshead are bronze, and were first milled to outer dimensions from a larger piece of rod. Both will be made in a group of three to make it easy to position/hold in the vise.


First shaping operation on the sliders was to mill the rectangular recess in the face side. This was done as a plunge cut with a center-cutting end mill, and the shape traced into the bronze.


Next, the piece was turned over and a slot run down the length with the mill. This will form the groove that the square adjusting nuts sit in.


With the piece sticking out the side of the vise, cross-slots were milled in to form the groove that the valve stem rod will sit in.


Then with the piece held at a 45 degree angle in the vise, the tops of the sliders were tapered back. Since the angles were all 45, it was possible to do both sides of each top with this one position, just had to raise the cutter for each side and run it back and forth.


Last shaping was to also taper the side faces.


With all the shaping done, the sliders were cut apart and trimmed to length with the mill. This photo shows the three sliders all complete.


With the sliders done, it was time to move on to the valve crossheads. On the Shay, the valve stems come down to a crosshead/guide assembly that the reversing gear connects to. This keeps the angular motion from the eccentric from being transfered to the valve stem. To start, another rectangular section of bronze was milled to size, then a step cut into each side. This step will allow the guide to hang onto the crosshead.


Next step was to drill the cross-hole in each of the three pieces (all three are gotten out of this one strip). This cross hole will be threaded for the pivot pin from the reversing gear linkage.


The piece was turned on its side, and notches cut into the edge to form the protruding post at the top of the crosshead.


Next photo shows the crossheads so far, with the major shaping and cross holes drilled. The three parts were then cut from this strip.


The cut ends were then trimmed to length with the end mill. The other part visible on the right was to keep the vise jaws from twisting.


Last step was to drill through the ends for the hole to hold the valve stem, plus a lock screw on the bottom that keeps the cross pin from un-threading itself.


Last two photos show the three valve stem assemblies complete - made up the valve stems (stainless rod threaded at each end) plus the square nuts. You can just see that the nuts have a short round section on the end. I did not have an end mill quite small enough to match the diameter of the stem rods, so this projection keeps the square nut centered on the slider.





With the sliders all done, next step is the valve crosshead guide, which bolts to the piston crosshead columns...


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Dang, those are some tiny pieces!   Nice work.

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Dang, those are some tiny pieces!   Nice work.
> 
> Todd



Thanks! Such little pieces definitely take a little planning in how to hold them for cutting. It will be good practise for when I build one of Britnells' Tiny engines someday...!


----------



## crueby

The valve crossheads ride on a guide bolted to the piston columns. These guides have brass bases and stainless steel retaining plates. The bases started out as a length of brass bar, milled down to outer dimensions with the fly cutter. Then the stepped sides were cut in with an end mill. The lines on the end are a guide to the final shape - they are just there so I can tell at a glance which side is which, the cuts were measured from the upper edge.


Once both sides were stepped in, the top was grooved down the center - the crosshead will rest on the two upper rails.


A simaler groove was cut in the bottom, to give estra clearance to the piston crosshead.


Next photo shows the guide block complete, ready to be cut into the three individual guides.


After cutting the blocks from the larger piece and trimming them to length with the mill, holes were drilled/tapped into the sides to hold the steel retainers.


Last step was to drill the mount holes to match the ones in the piston columns.


Last photo shows the guide blocks complete - the one on the left as a valve guide resting on top where it will be held by the retainers.


----------



## crueby

Got the rest of the valve guides made. The retainers are milled out of some stainless steel. Such skinny strips were a challenge to figure out how to hold, what I wound up doing was milling them in pairs out of a larger bar. With the outside taken down to dimension, I milled the center out to form a u-shape, then hacksawed down the middle to split them into two pieces.


With each piece held in the vise, the sawn edge was taken down smooth with the mill.


Next photo shows the two strips after this shaping.


Last steps were to drill the mount holes, and saw the strips into the 6 retainers.


Last two photos show the parts so far assembled. The guide blocks look to need just a little tweaking to get them to line up perfect with the valve rods, looks like the the tolerances stacked up on me and they are just a few thou short. Nothing a strip of thin shim stock wont cure.





Next up will be the reversing gear parts - lots and lots of little parts. Good thing to work on while the weather is still so bad!


----------



## crueby

Quick update from this morning - got the guide shims worked out and made (just some thin shim brass with holes to match the guide bases), and the first guide installed along with the valve slider. Picture below shows that first one in place, two more to go. I may skip adding the valve slider on the middle one till the reverse gear is done, since I'll have to dismantle the right end cylinder to get at it for timing, no point in dismantling/remantling/dismantling it an extra time (is remantling a word? Means putting pieces back together, or it means putting a shelf over the fireplace... Anyway.)


----------



## crueby

Started milling out the slide links for the reverse gear today. In the book, Kozo mills all three links out of one long piece of stainless steel - I dont have any that wide/long, so made up a holding jig for the individual pieces. The jig is a chunk of aluminum bar with holes drilled/tapped for the two mount holes at the bottom of the links, plus two more temporary holes at the top of the stock. All three links were first drilled for these holes (started at same spot, counted off turns of the handwheels to get to the rest of the holes, returned to starting point for next piece). Then, using the same sequence, drilled/tapped the jig bar for the hold down screws.


With the first piece bolted down to the jig, and the jog held in the 4-jaw chuck on the rotary table, spent some time getting the jig and rotary table all centered up and the stock the correct distance out from the center - the two bottom screws were the reference points. Then, cranked out the distance from the pivot to the center of the slot in the link, drilled a starter hole for the mill, and milled the slot with several shallow passes.


Then, cranked out the distance for the top edge of the link (taking the radius of the mill into account), and drilled starter holes there.


And milled a slot - the bottom edge of the slot is the top edge of the final link piece. Ignore the extra hole above the slot - that one was a brain fart, fortunately in a spot that did not ruin the part!


Last milling operation on the jig was to do the short sections at the bottom corners of the link. The center part, between the mount screws, is not radiused, so that will be done later with the part held in the vise.


Sixth photo shows the state of the first link at that point, with the rest of the edges drawn on.


Last photo shows the link sawn out of the bar, ready for final trimming /shaping. The ends of the slot will get filed square too. One part down, two more to go before I take the jig setup down and start the final trimming...


----------



## crueby

Did the rest of the reverse gear link arcs this morning, and milled the shapes around the lower mount holes. Then filed the corners off and smoothed the ends.


Last step was to drill/tap the mount holes for the bracket that will connect to the reversing lever.


Next photo shows the complete links.


Last photo shows a link held in place on the engine. 


Next step will be to make the spacer and slider piece that sits inside the link, and the threaded pin that holds it in place...


----------



## SilverSanJuan

The scale thumb in the last picture is really helpful to get a sense of how small these parts are.  They look great.  Was it difficult to thread those small holes?  What stainless are you making these parts from?

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> The scale thumb in the last picture is really helpful to get a sense of how small these parts are.  They look great.  Was it difficult to thread those small holes?  What stainless are you making these parts from?
> 
> Todd



I should carve a huge thumb to put in pictures to make parts look super small?

I am using 303 stainless, which is an easy machining alloy. As long as I use a little cutting fluid it works very nicely, easier than the bronze which gets grabby when drilling, a little harder than c360 brass (lighter cuts work best). I have used other stainless alloys in the past that were really hard, like this stuff (303 is what Kozo calls for). I've also used water hardening steel on some projects, that is nice to work with too.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Thanks.  I've only turned some 303 stainless on my lathe.  That was pretty nice.  So, I was curious as to how easily it tapped.  I know what you mean with the bronze.  It gave me fits while trying to ream a hole to size on my A3 tender's wheel bushings.

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Thanks.  I've only turned some 303 stainless on my lathe.  That was pretty nice.  So, I was curious as to how easily it tapped.  I know what you mean with the bronze.  It gave me fits while trying to ream a hole to size on my A3 tender's wheel bushings.
> 
> Todd



The 303 drills and taps nicely with a little cutting oil. Deep holes can heat up quick without enough oil.


----------



## crueby

With the reverse gear links done, on to the fittings that go on them. First up is the little bronze sliders that ride in the slot. They are curved to match the slot, so the same jig that made the links was adapted to make a strip of the sliders - just had to widen it at the end with another bit of aluminum. Then the bronze was screwed down to it and adjusted to be the correct distance from the pivot point of the rotary table.



With all the adjusting done, a few passes with the mill cut the arc into the bronze.


After that, a set of holes was drilled spaced along the strip - this hole will take the pivot pin into the valve crosshead. The strip was long enough for 4 sliders, so have one spare if I cut wrong later.


Last step on the sliders was to cut them apart and to length.


Next up is a little bracket that bolts into the center of the links, and will hold a pin that connects the actuating lever to move the link between forward and reverse. This started out just like the retaining strips did a few posts back, as a piece of larger stainless rod, milled to size, then a slot milled down the center, and the side sawn off to leave an angle bracket shape. This sawn edge was cleaned up with the mill, and it was ready for the next step.


A set of holes was drilled/countersunk along one edge for the mounting screws, and the other side drilled for the pivot pin.


Last step was to angle the mill vise and angle cut the sides of the brackets.


Last photo shows the links, sliders, and brackets all assembled with each other. There will also be a little spacer piece between the slider and the crosshead, but I am going to wait till assembly time with the eccentrics so I can measure the lengths needed.


Next up will be the eccentric followers and connecting rods...


----------



## petertha

I'm so impressed with the parts you are producing on your equipment & your varied set-ups. Can you elaborate on the 4-jaw. I haven't seen one with a clamping flange like that. Did you modify a stock chuck yourself or is that kind of a dedicated accessory item to that particular RT?


----------



## crueby

petertha said:


> I'm so impressed with the parts you are producing on your equipment & your varied set-ups. Can you elaborate on the 4-jaw. I haven't seen one with a clamping flange like that. Did you modify a stock chuck yourself or is that kind of a dedicated accessory item to that particular RT?



That is a stock Sherline 4 jaw, came with that slot around the base. The clamp is one of the ones from the mill vise. The table has a screw adapter from Sherline that screws into the center of the table and has the same outer thread as the headstock for the chuck to screw into. The rotary table is not quite wide enough so I have to turn the clamp sideways, but it keeps the chuck from unscrewing itself from pressure from the end mill. I wish the 3 jaw chuck had the same slot. I am not sure if that slot is on all the Sherline 4 jaws or just that model. They do make them to fit several lathes.


----------



## crueby

Only got a few minutes in the shop today, got the pivot pins for the reverse gear links made. Like all the other engine steel parts they are 303 stainless. Started with a length of rod, turned just the end down to size for 2-56 threads - did not want too much hanging out and getting bent.


After threading the end, went back and took the shank down to size too.


Parted it off,


and reversed it in the chuck to trim the head to thickness.


Then, over to the mill to put the hex shape on the heads with the rotary table.





Last two photos show the completed link pins in place - they go through the sliders in the link and into the valve crosshead.





Probably get more shop time tomorrow, will get a start on the eccentric followers.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

That's some fine work.   Can't wait to see it all in motion. 

Todd


----------



## crueby

Been a fun day in the shop today - got the eccentric followers mostly done. They started out as blocks of brass, taken down to a stepped shape with the mill. This step will form the bolt hole section of the followers. The bottom half is a shallow step, the top half has a post sticking up that will attach to the connecting rod. The curved part of the followers will be done later.





Once the steps were all done, the two halfs were clamped together, and a series of holes drilled down each side. The holes in the bottom half were opened up to 2-56 clearance size, the holes in the top half were tapped 2-56. The sharp-eyed among you will notice that I drilled 7 holes - the block was long enough for a spare set.


Next up was to round over the bottom of the bottom half. The block was clamped in the 4-jaw, on the rotary table set vertically. The inner edge of the block was centered in the chuck so that the milled surface would be concentric with the hole drilled later. A pass was taken with the mill down the piece, the table turned slightly, and another pass taken. This was repeated till the curve was done. On one side, the mill was offset so that the edge of the mill met up with the step. This whole process is simaler to what Kozo does in the book, except that he used a lathe bit on the late cross slide as a shaper bit, where I used the end mill. Same end result though.


Then, on the other side of the piece, the mill was offset the other way to match up with the step on that side. Then, the piece was turned around in the chuck so that the 1" at the chuck end could be curved like the rest was.


With the bottom half done, the top was bolted back onto it, the jaw against the inner surface moved out, and the block reclamped in the chuck. The same process was done on the upper curve, the only difference being that a smaller mill was used since the space was so narrow.


Next the chuck was switched over to the lathe. I center drilled for the tailstock, then slotted between each piece with the parting tool. It was only taken down though most of the posts. These slots will be guides for cutting off each piece later.


With the slots all done, a starter hole was drilled through the center and a boring bar used to open up the hole to match the eccentric cams. I left the fit a little tight, will let the lapping compound take it to a smooth sliding fit.


Last steps were to hacksaw apart the pieces one at a time, turning the face left on the chucked piece down smooth again and the proper distance from the bolt hole (final pieces are 4mm thick, so took it to 2mm from center of the hole and sawed off the next one).


With the individual parts chucked back up in the lathe, the sawn face was taken down to make the part 4mm thick.


Last photo shows the followers so far. Last step will be to notch them for the connecting rods and drill for the mounting bolts.


----------



## barnesrickw

Nice setup on that last.  Never would have though of that.


----------



## crueby

barnesrickw said:


> Nice setup on that last.  Never would have though of that.



I used a simaler setup on my double beam engine a couple years ago to put recesses in the outside of the cylinder to make it look like a casting.
See post 14 in this thread for pics:  

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/showthread.php?t=22713&page=2

A rotary table and tilting table combo can do lots of things (wish it could get this winter to end. Today was first day over freezing point in 5 weeks! Spring might finally be sproinging)


----------



## RonGinger

I can't believe you got away with that long overhang from the chuck in cutting those curves. Did you take really tiny cuts? always cutting in toward the chuck? How did you get all the way to the end of the stock without hitting a chuck jaw?


----------



## crueby

RonGinger said:


> I can't believe you got away with that long overhang from the chuck in cutting those curves. Did you take really tiny cuts? always cutting in toward the chuck? How did you get all the way to the end of the stock without hitting a chuck jaw?



The brass piece was only 2" long, so no flex in it and cut depth was not a problem. I think the camera angle made it look much longer. I took cuts up to near the jaws on the first end, then turned the piece end for end and did the other end, so I did not hit the jaws.


----------



## crueby

Getting close to having the eccentric followers/rods done. Continued on by notching the tops of the followers to take the connecting rod. The brass plate behind it in the first photo was just to keep it from flexing at the top during milling.


Second photo shows the set of followers all notched.


Next parts to make are the valve connecting rods. They are milled down to rectangular size with the fly cutter, then I started notching in the sides. The first side just has a shallow recess.


The second side has a much deeper recess - this has the effect of moving the clevis end out, so that the pairs of rods will line up in the center of the reverse gear link later.


After recessing the sides, the ends will milled for a slot to fit over the link. The cross hole in the ends will be drilled later with a jig, so that they all have the same distance from cam to link.


Last step for now was to drill/tap/countersink the bases of the rods into the followers.


Last photo shows the first pair done. After drilling the end hole, the sides will get tapered in and the ends rounded. Before that, I need to finish up the other two pairs...


----------



## len1042

edhume3 said:


> Hi Crueby,
> 
> Thanks for the praise.
> 
> The butane burner is my own design based on ideas from Morewood's Raritan propane burner. It is working well and it is convenient. I have a mix of hand sketches and CAD files for the parts. I'll look into pulling the materials together, but not before this weekend - I am prepping for the Chile Fest steamup in Houston. The filler valve is a Ronson lighter repair part that you can find on ebay which uses a tightening tool and a special metric tap.


 Hi to all, I just got back to completing my Kozo Shay that I started way too many years ago. I have not done the fire box yet and I'm interested in using propane or butane. Can your share the details of your burner design.
Thanks,
Len (freezing on Long Island)


----------



## edhume3

len1042 said:


> Hi to all, I just got back to completing my Kozo Shay that I started way too many years ago. I have not done the fire box yet and I'm interested in using propane or butane. Can your share the details of your burner design.
> Thanks,
> Len (freezing on Long Island)



I have made my crude sketches and CAD DXF files available in the download area - http://www.homemodelenginemachinist...for-gauge-1-kozo-new-shay-by-ed-hume-312.html .  

Let's not hijack Crueby's build thread for burner discussion.  Keep any followup limited to comments on the download, or create a new thread.  

Regards, 
Ed


----------



## crueby

edhume3 said:


> I have made my crude sketches and CAD DXF files available in the download area - http://www.homemodelenginemachinist...for-gauge-1-kozo-new-shay-by-ed-hume-312.html .
> 
> Let's not hijack Crueby's build thread for burner discussion.  Keep any followup limited to comments on the download, or create a new thread.
> 
> Regards,
> Ed



Thanks for sharing Ed!


----------



## crueby

I got the other two pairs of the valve connecting rods for the followers milled out like the first set, and moved on to finishing them. First up was to drill the hole in the top end for the pin that goes through the tabs on the reverse gear link. To make sure all of the were the same distance from center of the followers, which is critical to make sure that the forward/reverse settings both give same valve movement positions/distances, a little jig was made with a plug to fit in the follower hole and a hole the proper distance out an arm. All six of the rods were drilled with this same jig.





Then it was time to taper the connecting rod arms - took a quick look at what it would take to hold them steady for the milling machine, and decided it was easier and quicker just to take them up to the grinding wheel and taper them that way. Last photo shows them after tapering and rounding the ends, ready for final filing/sanding them pretty.


At this point in the book, Kozo goes on to the linkages for the reverse gear actuator. Naturally, after all this time, I am going to take a side trip and get the followers installed, the valves timed, and make up a test stand and some temporary plugs for the piston drain holes so I can test this puppy on compressed air! Got a bunch of other things that will take up a lot of time the next couple days - league shoots, getting outside now that it is finally warming up and melting all that snow, etc., so it will be a couple days till next post which hopefully has a video of the first air powered run! Stay tuned....


----------



## crueby

I have not been able to get into the shop the last couple days, finally got going on installing the valve gear. Started out by lapping the eccentric followers to the eccentrics on the cranks. That all went well. I did run into one interference issue between the reverse gear pivot bolts and the conn rod tips - had to take off about half a mm from the hex heads on the pivot bolts. Once that was sorted, things started flowing. I started with the center piston, since to get the cover off the valve chest for that one you have to remove the right end cylinder. Below are a few pictures with the center pistons' valve gear all installed and timed. Lots o stuff in a very tight space - tough to get all the parts in and get the bolts started, but it is coming along nicely. Two more pistons to go, and I'll make up some temporary fittings so I can test run it on air (need to retain the reverse links at one side, plug the drain holes, make a block to hold the engine on the bench with the u-joints guided, and hook up the air hose - sounds like a lot but should not take too long. I hope. Maybe. :hDe: )


----------



## crueby

Important news first: IT RUNS!!!!!  woohoo1woohoo1

Okay. Ahem. Back to the details.....

Got back into the shop yesterday and today after a bunch of delays for other events, leagues, family stuff, etc (all the usuals when you are anxious to get something done). Got the other two cylinders' valves installed/timed, oiled everything, along with making and installing all the gaskets, temporary plugs for oil feeds, air hose connection, and making a quick test stand (adapted a work support and made a couple little blocks to retain the u-joint ends so they would not whip around too much). With all that done, got out the compressor and started to feed it some air. It ran part way around, then would stop at same spot each time, at number 1 piston TDC. Pulled the valve cover, ran the valve down a turn or so, and buttoned it up again (glad it was not the center piston, that one requires removing the right hand cylinder). More air applied. At about 15 to 25 psi it self starts and runs very nicely, up and down the pressure range. After the obligatory Snoopy happy-dance, got out the camera and recorded an official test run - below.  

Major step - I am very happy with the progress on it lately! It sounds like there is a tweak needed in one of the cylinders still, I detect a minor hitch in the sound on each rev. I think I will wait till the reverse gear actuating lever is on before that adjustment, it may just be that the reverse links were not in quite the same spot, affecting the lead on the valves.

Here is the video:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzB4O0XvtFY&feature=youtu.be[/ame]


----------



## RonGinger

Fine work, that has to be really satisfying to see it run. I sure hope you decide to come to Cabin Fever with it.


----------



## fuzzymuff

Crueby.
That is so great to see the running of the Engine. Fantastic.


----------



## crueby

RonGinger said:


> Fine work, that has to be really satisfying to see it run. I sure hope you decide to come to Cabin Fever with it.



I've been considering it, but there is still so much not done on it before I can run it on the loco itself. Next year for sure!


----------



## SilverSanJuan

WOOHOO!!!  Outstanding!!   Congrats on another milestone.  She really sounds good.  I can hear she's a bit lopy at low speed which is what you describe.  Probably just some minor timing adjustments.  But, at the higher speed she sounds great.  Good Show!

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> WOOHOO!!!  Outstanding!!   Congrats on another milestone.  She really sounds good.  I can hear she's a bit lopy at low speed which is what you describe.  Probably just some minor timing adjustments.  But, at the higher speed she sounds great.  Good Show!
> 
> Todd



Thanks! I figured out why my face was hurting - all that grinning!


----------



## crueby

Well, in between running the engine more times, got a start on the rest of the reverse gear linkage. The hangers are brass bearings that bolt to the front of the piston rod guide columns and hold the rod that connects all the reverse gear link arms. They started out a length of brass bar, and drilled/reamed holes for three hangers down its length.



Next step was to drill the mount holes, measured off the centers of the bearing holes.


Then flipped it over and milled out the bearing shapes in the tops.


After cutting them apart and beveling over the corners of the bearings, they were all bolted up to the columns and the rod was test fit in them - a little adjustment on the positions and they were all set.


Next up will be the crank arms...


----------



## crueby

Got going on the crank arms for the reverse gear linkages today. There are three identical arms, that connect to the slide links, and one at the end (slightly longer) that connects to the lever in the cab through a set of u-joint type links. I got all four out of one bar of stainless - as before drilled all the holes first, counting off turns on the table to space them correctly with some extra between arms for cutting room.


Then, turned it on its side and drilled holes into the larger holes on the three shorter arms - these will be the starter holes for the cross pins that will hold them in place on the shaft.


With all the holes drilled, it was time to taper the arms. Tried a different method this time - set the bar in the vise at an angle (used the tops of the holes from one link as a reference line), and used the fly cutter in a series of shallow cuts to form the taper. With the first side done, it looks like a shallow staircase. The steps end just short of the next links' large hole, where it will be cut and rounded later.


With the second side done likewise, you can see the taper in each link. This method worked well, quicker than setting up a jig to bolt them to, but it is critical to make sure the piece cannot slip in the vise - it started to on the second side since I had missed a spot with a bur from the first side. Fortunately I caught it in time. In this picture the longer arm is on the left end.


Then it was just a matter of sawing them apart, and rounding the ends on the disc sander table (lots of dips in water to keep them cool). The longer arm is on the right in this picture.


Then it was time to solder up the long arm and one short one to form the crank. Kozo gives the measurements for a jig bar to give a right angle. A little spacer ring is between the two arms.


With the end cranks soldered up, next photo shows a test fit on the rod - the other two arms are just slipped on right now, they will get pinned in proper position later. Still need to make a couple more small rings that hold the assembly in place on the hanger blocks.


Last photo shows the rod/cranks in position on the engine for a test fit.


Next up will be to make the other rings, and then the connector arms that go to the reverse gear slides...


----------



## crueby

Almost done with the reverse gear pieces now - been a fun day in the shop. First off, got going on the connector links from the crank arms to the sliders.Three are needed, and the closest stock of stainless bar I have let me get two out at a time. So, drilled the end holes in a bar long enough for two sets.


Then rotated it 90 in the vise, and milled the center sections out, first one side then the other.


After some rounding of the ends on the disc sander, put the links in the bench vise and sawed them down the middle to make the two pair.


Then, some cleanup filing, and it was time to test fit them on the cranks.


Last parts to make were the 'chain' that connect the lever in the cab down to the larger end crank arm. These are square links, with holes 90 degrees offset in either end. Two are same length, center one is a little longer (don't know why, that is what the book calls for. Seems like three equal length ones would work too?). Started like many other parts by notching the end tongues in on the mill on a longer piece.


Then drilled the holes in the tongues, and 90 rotated ones in the blocks.


After cutting them apart and sawing in slots in the square ends (fine hacksaw blade and filed smooth), all were assembled. The upper end will go on the end of the reverse lever arm I made a while back, at same time as the throttle lever.


Last shot shows the new parts test fit on the engine. 


I am going to hold off pinning the arms in place on the rod though - this is a good time to do the painting on the engine. I will degrease the outside of the brass parts, mask off the crank/conn-rods, then airbrush on the black paint like the rest of the loco has. I may use that opportunity to do some touchup on the cab parts that were a little thin the first coat, and also paint the steam/sand domes. Its getting heavy to move around now! After painting, back to parts like steam inlet, exhaust, whistle....!


----------



## crueby

While waiting for the current coat of paint to cure up on the engine, I decided to have some fun and skip ahead to make the whistle. 


Since the scale whistle size would be an ear-splitting high note, Kozo designed a larger whistle that tucks behind the engine and up against the boiler. Since it is a larger diameter and longer tube, the note is much lower.

To start, found a length of tubing the right size (it is copper rather than brass, but I dont thing that will matter much to the sound), and then cut a shoulder on a piece of rod to be a push fit in the tube end. This will form the base of the whistle.


Then, on the remaining length, cut a shallow cap piece to plug the far end of the tube - this piece was soldered into the tube.


Back to the base piece, drilled a hole through for the steam passage. This end of the hole will be plugged with a bolt. It does not go all the way through, but meets up with the slot to be cut in a couple steps.


Drilled a hole in the side that met up with the lengthwise passage. The hole was enlarged at the opening to take the screw fitting which will take the steam tube from the whistle valve in the cab.


Then cut the slot in the side that the steam passage leads to. From this slot, a thin cut was made to the end to form the opening into the tube. This cut was just 0.2mm deep, so it does not show in the photos. 


Then, cut the opening in the tube that makes the turbulance for the sound.


With the screw fitting and a mounting flange silver soldered on, and the bolt plugging the steam passage opening in place, the whistle is complete. 


Only way I know to get a sound posted here was to do it as a video clip - boring blank view, but the sound comes through. I was just blowing through the screw fitting for this - volume is lower than it will be  but you can hear the note.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTeTbavIFCw&feature=youtu.be[/ame]


----------



## crueby

Note - found out that the video settings on the whistle video were wrong, that is now fixed and should be working properly. Sorry!


----------



## charlesfitton

and it's humorous, too. 50 Grades of Shay...


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## SilverSanJuan

Whistle sounds great! 

That's an awesome picture, Charles. 

Todd


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## crueby

charlesfitton said:


> and it's humorous, too. 50 Grades of Shay...



Good start on "50 Shays on a Grade"!!!

Charles, awsome pic. Did you take that down at Cass? Looks like thier #6 at the front. Any chance of getting a high res copy of it?

Chris


----------



## charlesfitton

crueby said:


> Good start on "50 Shays on a Grade"!!!
> 
> Charles, awsome pic. Did you take that down at Cass? Looks like thier #6 at the front. Any chance of getting a high res copy of it?
> 
> Chris




Not my picture in any way - Think I got it from Facebook with a meme across the bottom.....wish I had that much talent.


----------



## crueby

Not the same photo, but probably from the same day, railfan weekend at Cass in 2013:

https://500px.com/photo/72689331/triple-header-by-jason-lowe?from=user

Also found this - a video of when that shot was taken, there were actually 4 shays altogether, one was back a little bit. Great vids...

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv0w0spsMTc#t=150[/ame]


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## charlesfitton

Quite likely correct - about 45 seconds in...even the red Louvre on the roof is open


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## crueby

After getting the whistle made, I realized that it would save removing/reinstalling the engine an extra time to also make the whistle valve and piping, since that connects down behind the engine. Also, the whistle valve hole would need to be plugged to test the engine on air from the boiler anyway. So, on to the valve. For once I happened to have a piece of brass hex stock the right size, so chucked that up and turned down the end to fit into the steam manifold that sits on top of the boiler in the cab. The end was drilled/bored to form the seat for a ball bearing check valve.


Then, flipped it around and drilled/bored out the other end for the valve stem and o-ring retainer.


After silver soldering on a square block on top to hold the lever, and a threaded connector on the bottom for the outlet pipe, it looks like the third photo.


Next part was the plug that goes in the front end of the valve - this holds it in the manifold, and also holds the return spring for the ball bearing.


Last part to make was the actuating lever. It was rough hack-sawn from stainless, then milled/filed down to shape.


Next photos show the parts all made, and then assembled.





Just need to make the tubing nipples and union nuts, and it can be installed...


----------



## crueby

This afternoon I got the tubing fittings made and installed for the whistle/whistle valve assembly. Really glad I did this before installing the engine - would not have been room to get the whistle and its fittings in otherwise. Getting the tubing the right length and the union nuts started was a royal pain in the exhaust with so many other parts so close.

Anyway, the union nuts were simple to make - drilled a through hole a little larger than the tubing through a length of hex rod, and drilled/tapped the end, and parted it off.


The tubing nipples are bronze, and were made by first through drilling a hole, and drilling a shallow hole the diameter of the tubing. This is where the fitting will be soldered onto the tube.


Then, used the parting tool to narrow down a neck to match the hole in the fitting this will all screw onto. Parted it off, and silver soldered onto the tubing.


Then, a bunch of fat-fingered assembly, and the whistle is in place under the steam bracket. It will be un-noticed behind the engine. A scale-sized dummy whistle will be in the normal place atop the boiler - this larger whistle has a much lower pitch, wont be as ear splitting as a scale size one would be. With that done, and now that the paint on the engine has cured up, back to assembling the reverse gear linkage onto the engine. Once that is done, I'll cut the stop slots in the reverse gear hand lever rails, and can test/tune the valve timings for both directions. Lots of little fiddly stuff! Once all that is done I'll post another video of it running - probably be a couple days given other events here this week...


----------



## crueby

Got some plugs in for the water inlets, and hooked up the compressor to the boiler to test the whistle installation. Found a couple minor leaks in the snifter and throttle valve, have to sort those out - you can hear the hisses in the video. Here is a quick video of the whistle now that it is installed. You can see the whistle itself in the lower right corner - it is the round tube with the fittings on the left end.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-OZ0uaZKbY&feature=youtu.be[/ame]

Also got the reverse gear rod/arms installed, plus made the first part of the steam inlet pipe. Still need to make the elbow that takes it to the boiler steam outlet fitting. Below is a shot of those.


----------



## crueby

I'd love to bring the engine to Cabin Fever if I can get enough together in time. Lots of progress the last couple days - just got the reverse gear links all pinned, and ran a test of it in forward and reverse. All went well, was some clatter that I traced to the center con-rods' locknut, which worked loose, plus the valve eccentrics rattle against each other a hair, but that is not a functional problem. I tracked down the leaks in the throttle and snifter, so that part is done. Still have some more pipe fittings to make so I can run it in the loco, and a biggie is working out a carry box that I can strap it down in the car with. If things keep on well this week, looks like I will be making reservations to hit the show! There will be no tender/water tank behind the cab (might make a cardboard cutout to show where it will be). Need to find out from you guys what the air hookup details are at the show so I can have that ready too - quick disconnects? 1/4-npt male/female, what? If I make it, I'll bring the loco, my double beam, and the marine triple engine.

Anyway, here is the running video - part way in, I shift the reverse link down to middle to stop it, then over to the other end to reverse it. It does run nice and slow at around 10 or 12 psi (at least according to the little gauge on the compressor).  ;D

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvP8KS-DThs&feature=youtu.be[/ame]


----------



## crueby

The last couple days I've gotten some more painting done on the engine and on the steam domes, plus reworked some gaskets that were leaking a bit. 

Also took some time to install the CNC ready bearing/adapter sets on the mill. I am not switching to CNC, but these parts from Sherline solve a problem with their machines that have bugged me for a LONG time. They have a nice anti-backlash adjustment for the leadscrews, but the tables are held to the leadscrews in part by the handwheels. Not a bad way, as long as there is a way to adjust the pretension on that connection. But, there is NOT. They use a small grub screw through the handwheel into the end bar on the leadscrew. That screw never holds position that long, so you are constantly readjusting the fit, since the play builds up to a horrible level. With the CNC fittings, they used proper ball bearing thrust bearings, with a preload adjustment from the leadscrew. All I had to do was to make a little connector bar and plate to take the place of the stepper motor, and am back in business without all the play in the tables. Why they dont switch all thier machines to a setup like this is baffling - costly to rework old machines, but new ones could be done that way pretty easy. Okay, end of rant!!

Now, on to the steam pipe and exhaust pipe fittings. For both, there is an elbow fitting needed to turn the pipes into the boiler. They start out as a short length of hex bar stock, with a smaller hole drilled through and a larger one bored halfway through, all done with the four-jaw chuck on the lathe.


Then, the bar was turned lengthwise in the 3-jaw, and the shape turned in for one arm of the final fitting.


Then, a crossbar was made to fit the holes in the first bar, and to form the part of the fitting going off at 90 degrees to the first bar. The third picture shows the parts for both the steam and the exhaust elbows ready for silver soldering.


Then, naturally, they were silver soldered together...


and the hex and round extension parts of the bar used to chuck it up in the lathe for drilling/tapping the ends of the elbows (next three photos).








The last photo shows the fittings all drilled/tapped, and ready to cut off/round over the upper and right parts of the fittings. Out of time for that today, will pick up on it tomorrow...


----------



## crueby

Still going on the steam and exhaust pipes. I got the elbows trimmed down and filed the corners round. First photo shows the pipework so far. 


To get the pipes fitted to length, was finally time to install the engine for the (hopefully) last time. Turned out I needed to trim the slots a little in the engine cover, then I could start installing pipes. Next two photos show the engine in, and the steam pipe fit.





Fourth photo shows the exhaust pipe fit. It is an inner piece of tubing, wrapped in insulation, and an outer larger tube cover. The elbow connects to a short length of tubing in the smokebox that directs the exhaust up the stack.


Last part for the steam tube is the cover. In the real thing it would be an insulating wrap. In the book, Kozo shows to make a dummy cover out of wood, so I went down to the carving bench a cut s groove in two pieces of wood with a ball end rotary bit. The two halves are glued on, when set I'll trim and fair the outside to shape and install it.


While fitting the engine, I found that the chain links for the reverse gear mechanism came up a little short, so I am going to remake the center link a little longer. Then I'll be able to cut the slots in the lever rack for the forward full/60%, and reverse full/60% positions. Once that is done, I'll start work on some riser blocks to fit under the truck frames. These will raise the wheels off the track slightly, so I can test run the engine on air without the loco leaving the room without me - that would be embarrising!


----------



## crueby

Quick update - got the steam pipe cover faired down and installed (photo below). Naturally had to check for leaks in the connection, so gave it a little pressure from the compressor. So far so good. Then, backed it up to the end of the display track, ran the pressure up some more, and very carefully pulled back some on the throttle bar.... Got first revs of the loco as it moved forward the 6 inches available on the track under its own power (well okay, an assist from the compressor) !  

So, now gonna move forward with the jacking blocks to raise the wheels a smidge (lets see - two pinches to the smidge, three smidges to the little bit...) off the track so I can run it on the trestle - the mod to the reverse gear link can wait!


----------



## crueby

Big step today - got some riser blocks figured out (experimented with scissor jacks and such, just not enough room under the trucks for them - went with some shaped wood supports) so I could lift the wheels off the track a bit to run the engine without the train leaving the station on me. Took some fiddling to carve out recesses for the brakes, pumps, etc that hang down from the bottom of the truck frames. Here is a video of it all running on air, forward and reverse.  

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_ORN9c9NtE&feature=youtu.be[/ame]

Also, got a start on the tender. In the book, at this point Kozo works on all the plumbing still to be done (oil feeds, check valves, water feeds, etc). Right now I need a break from that stuff, and have decided to skip a few pages and work on the tender parts for a while. So far, I have the base plate made - does not look like much, just a rectangular plate with a whole swarf-load of holes to be laid out, drilled, tapped, countersunk. Most of these holes will be used to hold the supports for the tank sides, some will hold pumps and plumbing.






Next up will be to form the support bars that will run on the inside edges of the water tank.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Dang, that's just awesome!  Sounds like you have her running really nice. 

Todd


----------



## barnesrickw

That is real cool.  I wonder if the real ones ever got stuff caught in the moving parts that are exposed.  Looks like it could transfer a lot of torque.


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## crueby

barnesrickw said:


> That is real cool.  I wonder if the real ones ever got stuff caught in the moving parts that are exposed.  Looks like it could transfer a lot of torque.



Given the size of those gears, would be REAL bad to get a sleeve caught in the real thing! Wonder if thats how they invented the wood chipper....  

On the full size ones I saw at Cass, they at least had a sheet metal cover over the gears. Still are lots of dangerous places to be caught in. Sort of like farms - very productive, but a dangerous place to work. I know a cattle farmer who had an arm removed by a tractor power take off to the silo. Fortunately these days they can reattach with some success. Still....


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Dang, that's just awesome!  Sounds like you have her running really nice.
> 
> Todd



Running nice and smooth, even with it pushing the axle pumps - very happy!!


----------



## barnesrickw

I used to run an old sawmill.  Open belts, 60" blade and a hand crank pony motor that started the huge marine diesel that ran the whole thing.  Seems years ago they built things with the expectation that you didn't put your body parts in bad places.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Yes, those were the days when common sense was a common virtue.  These days it seems people just don't have any.


----------



## BAH101

SilverSanJuan said:


> Yes, those were the days when common sense was a common virtue.  These days it seems people just don't have any.




Didn't you know that common-sense has been legislated out of existence? It's now illegal.


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## crueby

BAH101 said:


> Didn't you know that common-sense has been legislated out of existence? It's now illegal.



With shipping and taxes, common cents are now a dollar....


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## mwooten

Wow!  Great job!


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## crueby

Time to get caught up a bit - not too much time in the shop this week due to some minor family medical issues. Given the ongoing needs there, I will not be making it to Cabin Fever or Names this year , but am planning on bringing the engine next year.

I did get the tender frame parts made - these bars line the upper and lower edges of the outer skin of the tender, holding them to the baseplate and providing a support for the tank lid. The book/plans give locations and sizes for cutouts at the corner areas where the bars are taken down thin enough to bend to a tight radius. After laying them out on the bars, and end mill was used to eat away the notches...


Second photo shows the  bars for the lower edge of the coal bunker recess in the water tank. The upper one has been bent to shape, the lower is ready to go.


Third photo shows the two bars bent to shape. 


After this, the same was done for the longer bars that go around the water tank sides/back, plus the other bars that go around the top of the tank.


Next step was to make the tank side plates. They are cut from brass sheet stock (book calls for 1mm, I used nearest inch size). The tank also gets rectangular plates on the sides and back that double up the thickness. The corner areas plus the flat plates get embossed with dummy rivet heads. To make the rivet heads, the sheet is embossed from the back side with a center punch held in the drill press (NOT running, just pressing down), going into a recess in a backer block. To make the backer, I cut a row of hemispherical holes into the block with a small ball head bur. The holes were the same distance apart as the finished rivets will be, and the right distance from a fence block.


To form the rivets, the tank side was held up against the fence, and the drill press quill pulled down to push the punch into the metal, deforming it into the hole in the backer block. Then the sheet was moved over so the newly formed head dropped into the next hole, and the process repeated. By having the holes act as an indexer, a row of evenly spaced rivet heads can be formed very quickly.


Next photo shows a closeup of a row of the rivet heads embossed into the sheet.


Last photo shows the side plates with rivets formed around the edges, plus another pair of rows down the midlle (same process, fence farther from the holes). After all the rivet heads were done, the side sheets were ready to bend to match the frame pieces....


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Nice looking rivets.  Did you bother to anneal the brass bars before bending?  Did you use a curved surface to bend them over?

Todd


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Nice looking rivets.  Did you bother to anneal the brass bars before bending?  Did you use a curved surface to bend them over?
> 
> Todd



No - just clamped the end below the thin part in a vise, and used pliers to hold the other end just above the thin part and bent it over. By torquing the pliers you can control where the bend goes, either even along the length or more at one end. I did tweak the bends a bit with needlenose pliers to get the overall length to work out to plan. The thin part was narrow enough that annealing was not needed, but I could feel that it work hardened it a lot during the bend - would not try much adjustment without re-annealing it. I have the plates bent now too (pictures to follow next time I am home), for those I clamped heavy strips across the bend lines at either side of the area to be curved, clamped one side in the bench vise, and used the clamps as handles to bend the plates cold - also a little tweaking needed to make them match the supports, but the curved sections are short so it was not bad.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Thanks.  I've finally managed to gather up the next batch of material I need for the A3 tender tank.  Hoping to get back to that this weekend.

Todd


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Thanks.  I've finally managed to gather up the next batch of material I need for the A3 tender tank.  Hoping to get back to that this weekend.
> 
> Todd



Aha! THATS where that other bar stock went...!  

Its amazing how much the look of the engine changes, just propping up some of the parts for the tender - so used to seeing it with bare frame on the back.


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## SilverSanJuan

crueby said:


> Aha! THATS where that other bar stock went...!
> 
> Its amazing how much the look of the engine changes, just propping up some of the parts for the tender - so used to seeing it with bare frame on the back.



Ratz!  You caught me.  

I can't believe how much you've done in a year. 

Todd


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## fuzzymuff

Crueby.
I have ordered some of the materials for the Shay. Should start construction within the next few weeks.
Graham.


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## crueby

fuzzymuff said:


> Crueby.
> I have ordered some of the materials for the Shay. Should start construction within the next few weeks.
> Graham.



Great! Hope you post a build thread as you go.


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## crueby

Got some more time in the shop for some tender work. The panels for the tender water tank were bent to match the shapes of the supports, and holes were drilled for screws to hold it all together for soft soldering the seams. Photos below show the tank shell plus the extra side panels. The red line near the top shows where another trim piece will be applied and the shell trimmed down to....






Fourth photo shows the start on fitting/screwing on the upper tank supports. These will stiffen the sides, plus form a shelf for the tank lid to sit on.


With the upper supports all screwed in place, the trim piece around the outside of the upper edge was made from some sheet stock, and everything was soldered up. At that point, the top edge of the tank was sawn/filed down to the top of the trim piece. 


Last two photos show the tank with the screw heads filed off, and after a prime coat of paint. Really changes the appearance of the whole locomotive a lot!


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## SilverSanJuan

That's really looking great!  What RR name will you be putting on the loco?

Todd


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> That's really looking great!  What RR name will you be putting on the loco?
> 
> Todd



Hi Todd,

Its going to be

        Eagle Mountain Logging

A made up name, I like eagles and going to the mountains, so came up with that. As far as I can find, no such railroad existed. I did some experiments with printing on adhesive stencil material to paint it, but have not liked the results, so am going to use white dry transfer letters. Considered using decals, but I have never had good luck with them.


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## SilverSanJuan

I like it.  Has a nice prototypical ring to it. 

Dry transfers should work well.   Another option would be vinyl graphics. 

Todd


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> I like it.  Has a nice prototypical ring to it.
> 
> Dry transfers should work well.   Another option would be vinyl graphics.
> 
> Todd



I've never used vinyl letters - they would be kind of thick, wouldn't they? I've only seen the 3 or 4 inch tall ones.


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## edhume3

Chris,

Your progress is amazing!  

I have a question - back when you made the crankshaft by attaching pieces, did you make the eccentric diameters a little bigger to provide some margin around the thin side when you drilled for the shaft?  Asked a different way, if you did it again, would you make them larger and expand the straps to provide some more margin?  

Ed


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## crueby

edhume3 said:


> Chris,
> 
> Your progress is amazing!
> 
> I have a question - back when you made the crankshaft by attaching pieces, did you make the eccentric diameters a little bigger to provide some margin around the thin side when you drilled for the shaft?  Asked a different way, if you did it again, would you make them larger and expand the straps to provide some more margin?
> 
> Ed


Hi Ed,
I kept them the original size from the plans. I dont recall having trouble with them, dont think that I would change them. If I was designing an engine I would probably give more material there, but only as long as there was clearance to the crankcase, since the followers would be bigger as a result.
Chris


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## SilverSanJuan

crueby said:


> I've never used vinyl letters - they would be kind of thick, wouldn't they? I've only seen the 3 or 4 inch tall ones.



Today's vinyl graphics are much improved over even a decade ago.   I've applied them to cars and could swear they were painted.  A local sign shop should be able to set you up. 

Todd


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## crueby

Back in the shop, made up the manhole cover that goes in the water tank lid. It makes both a good handle for lifting the lid, plus the handle for the manual pump in the tank can run through the manhole cover. The book calls for brass for the base ring, but I did not have any quite large enough, did have some 6061 aluminum, so made it from that. The outside lip was turned to size, the ring parted off and turned around to bore the center out.



I did have a piece of brass large enough diameter for the cover plate, so parted off a disc of that, and milled the flat on the edge for the hinge (matching flat also on the base ring).


For the hinges, started with two short lengths of flat bar, and drilled through for the hinge pin on the lathe.


With a length of rod through the hinge pin hole to position it in the vise, used the mill to step the bars.


Last steps were to mill out the center section of the longer bar to fit around the shorter one, and drill bolt holes to hold them to the base ring and cover.


Next photo shows the cover ready to fit to the tank lid.


This photo shows the cover in place on the tank lid, ready to paint.


Other part made was the bracket to hold the light on the back of the tender. It was made just like the headlight on the front of the boiler - notch three pieces of sheet brass so they slip together, and silver solder the joints.





Then, the overlaps are cut and filed down to shape.


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## crueby

Been short on shop time lately, starting to get back to normal now. Next thing up on the tender were the sandbox and ladder for the back end. The sandbox is a simple shape, just a large box with the center area cut out, but it is quite large. In the book he mentions that you can make it out of two blocks of brass, or anything else. I happened to have some aluminum bar the right size, so I used that. It was made in two halves, with the shape done on the mill while the blocks were clamped down on a piece of wood to protect the table.


After milling the outline, the two blocks were glued together with some JB Weld epoxy (a spacer block on the back side also straddles the joint to help hold it together. The lid plates on top were made out of brass.


A coat of paint, and the sandbox was done.


Next up was the ladder. The sides were bent from some square brass bar (heated with a torch and bent hot). Holes were drilled in the sides for the rungs. The rungs themselves were made frm brass rod, with the ends turned down with the parting tool (did the end, moved it out in the chuck, positioned the parting tool to proper length by counting turns on the lathe bed, and the other end turned in). This way the rungs self-spaced the sides for soldering.


With the rungs soldered on, and some crossbars at top/bottom to take bolts to hold it in place, the ladder was done.


I took the engine and tender down to the basement to get some more painting done the other day, and now that the paint has cured up it was time to get the lettering onto the tender. I had done some experiments with printing the text onto self-adhesive film to make stencils with, but that was a failure. So, went back to old standby of using dry transfer (rub on) letters. Woodland Scenics has a good font available in white letters, so got several sets of those (each page only has a few of some letters, so needed 4 pages altogether). To get a spacing guide, I set up a light box from my photography days and traced the lettering off onto a sheet of paper. Important thing was to get the spacing to look right, so the tracing mainly had the left/right edges with the middle of the letter just sketched in. When I had a set of tracings that looked good, they were cut out and taped just below where the actual letters would go, and I started laying down the real letters. If you have never used them, quick description: the letters are printed onto the back of a sheet of plastic - you line up the letter you want on the surface you want it on, and rub over the top of the plastic with a burnisher or (what I like to use) a dull pencil (do kids today know what a pencil is?) That rubbing sticks the letter to your work, and releases it from the plastic sheet. After they are all down, you go back and rub it some more through another sheet that looks like heavy tracing paper to make sure it is well stuck down. If you want you can clear coat over them (I have done that on boat models, for this project I did not).


Next photo shows the first panel with all the letters on, ready to bolt onto the tender (the plate has threaded studs in the corners that go through the tender walls and bolt on the inside).


Last photo shows the tender just about done, still needs the white strip along the edge of the floor - next up will be the lights for back of tender and front of the boiler. Really looking like a train now - amazing how different it looks with the tender made. For those following along with Kozo's book, I have skipped over all the remaining plumbing steps - will go back to that stuff last.


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## SilverSanJuan

That looks perfect!  Really fits the shay well.  Well done!

Todd


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## crueby

Moving on to more of the finishing touches - time to make the head/tail lights for the loco. They started out as a length of brass rod stock, outside turned to size with a shallow ring detail at one end, then bored out for the light mechanism. Since the through-hole was larger than the hole in the center of the chuck, I bored the through hole from one end to about halfway through the length, then flipped it around and finished it from the other end. A step was left at the lens end of the lights, to hold the glass in place.


Next step was to make the base and side pieces. They needed to have an inside radius to match the outside of the light body, so I bored a hole in a larger piece of bar stock, then moved it over to the rotary table on the mill to put on the flats around the outside. All the pieces for both lights were gotten out of one piece - in the book he shows getting one set per block, but it all fits from one bar. The bases are taller than the side blocks, so two of the flats are farther from the center than the other four.


After that, a hacksaw was used to make the lengthwise cuts to seperate out the blocks. As you can see in the next photo, the base blocks have tapered sides, the side blocks are rectangular.


With all the cuts made, the pieces were parted off from the bar, and they were clamped in place on the bodies to drill/tap for temporary screws to hold everything for silver soldering.


After soldering the blocks on, the screws were milled off flush, and recesses made in the outer panels of the side blocks.


With the shell done, aluminum center pieces were turned to fit inside the bodies, with a hemispherical reflector shape bored/sanded into the ends.


Last two photos show the lights all assembled, with a brass back panel bolted onto the back. There are holes internally to hold a light bulb (I will find an LED light to fit), and a hole in the back/bottom for the power lead. A little paint and they will be ready to mount to the tender and front of the boiler...


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## SilverSanJuan

Excellent!   Could you please describe your process for turning the reflector?

Todd


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Excellent!   Could you please describe your process for turning the reflector?
> 
> Todd



Hi Todd,

Not much to it - I used the hole in the center for the bulb as a starter hole for a small boring bar, and free handed the depression, back and forth, combining movements on both handles together to make the depression in the aluminum to a close hemispheric shape by eye, then used some sandpaper while still spinning thepiece to smooth out the ridges. In the book he suggests using a ball end mill, but this was quicker.  The exact shape is not critical, so free handing it was fine. I always stunk with an etchasketch as a kid, but I've developed a hand at it on the lathe over the years (think I've gotten better along with all the woodcarving I've done) - this afternoon I shaped the bell outside and ball on the clapper the same way. Will put pics of that up tomorrow. Bell came out nice, even has a good tone!

Chris


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## crueby

Time to ring in the bell for the loco. It started as a short length of brass bar, with a hole drilled most of the way in. That was bored out at an angle (freehand turning both cranks) to form the inside of the bell.


Then, with a combination of the left and right handed turning tools, followed by files and sandpaper, the outside of the bell was shaped down to the 'bell' curve shape, and parted off.


The hanger bracket was made from a bit of sheet brass, drilled/bent/silver soldered to a length of rod. The center section of the rod was then cut out, leaving the projections at either end.


Next two photos - turning down the cap nut for the top, and the clapper for the bell. A short length of threaded rod will go through the bell, and the clapper will hang on a loop of wire through a hole in the bottom of the rod.




Next photo shows all the pieces, ready for assembly.


And last two photos show the bell all together - has a nice tone, very high pitch since it is only an inch across. Next up will be the base bracket for the bell, and then the whistle...


----------



## BAH101

I use these: http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.aspx?p=20235&cat=1,330,49233&ap=1
To carve brass. I have a turning rest, similar to a wood turning rest for my Sherline lathe. It does a great job on brass. Just have to take light cuts.


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## crueby

BAH101 said:


> I use these: http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.aspx?p=20235&cat=1,330,49233&ap=1
> To carve brass. I have a turning rest, similar to a wood turning rest for my Sherline lathe. It does a great job on brass. Just have to take light cuts.



Nice little chisels - thanks for the link!


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## crueby

Got the rest of the bell frame made - another bit of flat stock drilled at the ends and bent to shape for the base, and another length for the lever.


The whistle is pretty straightforward, since it is a dummy one. This one is to scale size, the working one I made earlier is much larger and tucked behind the engine. The working one has a nice deep tone, this one if working would make dogs up the street howl! The body of it is a length of rod drilled and turned to shape, with three mouths filed through into the center hole near the base. It also has a small cap that will be silver soldered in place.


The base is in a couple parts - third photo shows turning the upright, which has a threaded base, a flange, then a top post which will get a short thread on it to go into the body.


Fourth photo shows the whistle all done - the horizontal part and the lever are again just dummy parts - correct outer shape but solid.


The rest of the photos show the bell, whistle, and headlight all in place. 











Finally, here is a short video of the bell - has a good ring, though since being so small it is not very loud....
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ab3Hv6X4Ig&feature=youtu.be[/ame]


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## SilverSanJuan

She's just coming along so nicely.  Great work!

Todd


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## crueby

Next up on the Shay is the generator - this sits on top of the boiler in front of the cab, and uses a steam turnbine to make electricity. Like the small whistle, this is a dummy part - looks right but does not function. The main body of it was turned out of a chunk of brass bar stock - lots of steps in with the parting tool, plus some filing for the rounded parts.


Second photo shows it after parting off.


After the main body, made up the mounting brackets (used rotary table to make the arc to match the body) 


plus made up the other little bits like the exhaust stack, all silver soldered together.  A coat of paint and it will be ready to mount on top of the boiler - there is a mounting stud built into the boiler shell to take a bolt for it.


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## BAH101

Very nice.


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## SilverSanJuan

That looks really amazing!

The A3 doesn't have drawings for a generator.  I'm going to have to buy the Shay book for some of these details.   I plan on "modernizing" my A3 by updating the lights, adding a generator, and an air compressor.  

Todd


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> That looks really amazing!
> 
> The A3 doesn't have drawings for a generator.  I'm going to have to buy the Shay book for some of these details.   I plan on "modernizing" my A3 by updating the lights, adding a generator, and an air compressor.
> 
> Todd



Kozo's first Shay book does not have generator or compressor either, he added those in the New Shay book. Those kinds of little details do add a lot.


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## crueby

A little more whittling on the lathe, and the compressor is made. It is a set of simple parts, mostly bolted together (couple little ones silver soldered). None of the parts are complicated, but the assembly looks pretty neat. It will get painted, then bolted onto the left side running board, along with some piping to the cab and smokebox.



Next to make are the toolbox and air tank....


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## SilverSanJuan

Now, that's just too cool!  Looks like it could actually function.  Nice work.

Todd


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## crueby

Got a start on the tool box. It is made of some brass sheet, cut to shape then edges trimmed with the mill, and silver soldered together. The hinge took a bit of fussing to get it to clear along the back, but not bad. It cannot open all that far anyway since the lid will contact the boiler when open. Below are some photos.











Now, after a great suggestion from b.lindsey, I am going to see about making up a pile of little (well, scaled up they will be quite large) tools - wrenches, hammers, etc.  The wrench in the photos is about the size some of them would be - that is not a model but one I use.


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## SilverSanJuan

Yes, definitely a great place to put any tools for adjustments and small repairs.

Todd


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Yes, definitely a great place to put any tools for adjustments and small repairs.
> 
> Todd



Yup. It sits next to the compressor on the footboard on the left side of the boiler. I was looking at the air tank drawings, which will be next to the engine on the right side. Kozo started with 1 1/4" bar, that seems like a waste of solid stock so I am going to go get a length of brass pipe extension from the plumbing store and fit end caps...


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## SilverSanJuan

Would you be putting something in there?  I would say that the additional weight of the solid bar would help with traction. 

Todd


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Would you be putting something in there?  I would say that the additional weight of the solid bar would help with traction.
> 
> Todd


Thats a good point. I could fill it with scrap pieces to get some weight back. I've also got a half bag of lead shot that I can use some of. I have not weighed the whole thing lately, must be up over 50 pounds by now.


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## SilverSanJuan

Lead shot would be a good alternative.


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## kvom

SilverSanJuan said:


> That looks really amazing!
> 
> The A3 doesn't have drawings for a generator.  I'm going to have to buy the Shay book for some of these details.   I plan on "modernizing" my A3 by updating the lights, adding a generator, and an air compressor.
> 
> Todd



The A3 had oil lamp headlights and steam brakes, so no need for either a generator or an air compressor.


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## crueby

kvom said:


> The A3 had oil lamp headlights and steam brakes, so no need for either a generator or an air compressor.



So make some little oil cans and steam irons instead....!


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## SilverSanJuan

kvom said:


> The A3 had oil lamp headlights and steam brakes, so no need for either a generator or an air compressor.



I have some pictures of it in later years that show a generator and electric lamp on both the tender and engine.

Todd


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## crueby

Just a couple of quick progress pics to show - the compressor, air tank, generator, etc parts are painted and installed now, and also got the white floor edge stripe on the tender painted. I have gone back and am making the water piping, connecting up the tender tank, axle pump, hand pump, water return valve, check valves to the boiler. Mostly it is mass producing union nuts, nipples, and connectors, plus bending lots of tubing....  After that I'll probably tackle the drain cock assembly for the cylinders - that looks to be a lot of teensy parts! Then on to the oil lines/valves... This part of the build is all the little fiddly details behind the scenes. Also going to see about making up some small tools for the toolbox...




Next time that it is a little warmer/sunnier outside, I am going to take the loco outside and get some good pictures of it (we have regressed from spring back to wintry weather again, actually had some snow the last couple days!). 

Yesterday the local raptor research organization had its annual public event (one of the bays here on the south shore of Lake Ontario is on the migration route for all sorts of hawks/eagles/etc), and I got to participate in the photo session with a collection of hawks, eagles, falcons, owls - took a ton of pictures, and at the end got a chance to fly one of the hawks - last pic below is of that! Great experience!


----------



## SilverSanJuan

She is looking amazing!   Such nice work you are doing. 

Raptors are amazing creatures.  I envy your time that you spent with them.  Such a beautiful Hawk.

Todd


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## SilverSanJuan

Crueby,

What solder are you using when you do the soft soldering?  Also, what flux?

Thanks,
Todd


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## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Crueby,
> 
> What solder are you using when you do the soft soldering?  Also, what flux?
> 
> Thanks,
> Todd



For soft soldering, I have been using a mix of things from the bottom of the toolbox - I think most recently I used some Forney self fluxing silver solder (soft, low temp, not hard solder). For other areas where there is no high heat, the TIX brand jewelers solder and flux is very good - needs a tight joint to work well, but is very strong (and expensive, but it does not take much). It has a very low melting point (around 275F I think) - it is meant for fine jewelers work, wicks into tight joints very well. In the past have used other brand silver solders/fluxes, dont recall the brand names - was stuff from local hardware store. With any of them, be sure to wash/scrub off the parts to get rid of any flux residue since it can corrode the parts over time.

For the high temp/high strength stuff, been using cadmium free silver solder and harris white flux. Found it in coils of thin wire which are handy for small jobs.


----------



## SilverSanJuan

Thanks.  I need to pick up more solder/flux to start assembling my tender.

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> Thanks.  I need to pick up more solder/flux to start assembling my tender.
> 
> Todd


Great, looking forward to seeing the progress on yours.

I've been working on the water tubing between tender, axle pump, hand pump, and boiler. Progressing slowly, but real pain to get pieces through the maze of struts, beams, floor plates, etc. This might be one place where Kozo could have laid it out better, not sure. This might be the best way to make a lot of stuff fit in a small place, just seems like another layout might avoid dismantling/re-mantling things so many times. Trained mice with wrenches would help!


----------



## SilverSanJuan

I can imagine it is very tight in those spaces to be running the tubing.  There's more on the Shay than on the A3 also.  And, there's more space as most of the tubing runs on the outside.  You're a pretty clever guy though.  I'm sure you'll get it done right. 

Todd


----------



## crueby

SilverSanJuan said:


> I can imagine it is very tight in those spaces to be running the tubing.  There's more on the Shay than on the A3 also.  And, there's more space as most of the tubing runs on the outside.  You're a pretty clever guy though.  I'm sure you'll get it done right.
> 
> Todd



It is getting done - also inventing new words/phrases  every time I rescrape a knuckle (again) or the part falls down out of reach for the umpteenth time in a row!!  :wall:  A lot of it is due to the articulated trucks, so all the tubing to/from the axle pumps has to go close to the pivot point and then make longer loops to minimize the flexing. Just hope these joints dont leak much and have to redo them! Not looking forward to the oil pump, that has three outputs!


----------



## Stieglitz

Hi crueby,
              Loving your project,please post many pictures.Great inspiration!
Cheers


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## crueby

Stieglitz said:


> Hi crueby,
> Loving your project,please post many pictures.Great inspiration!
> Cheers



Thanks! There are some more pictures and videos of it test running on air over in the Finished Projects section. The remaining work on it is mainly in the piping/etc underneath, so wont be changing appearance much more from now. I am taking a short break from it now that boating/outdoor season has finally arrived (was a LONG winter here!)


----------

