# 3/4" Pennsy A3



## SilverSanJuan (Mar 25, 2013)

I finally have some work to show. 

I'm building a 3/4" scale Pennsy A3 from Kozo's book.  I'm starting at the beginning with the tender.  Seems the logical thing to do in order to learn the skills to ensure success with the actual locomotive.

So I started out with this:






And, now I have this:





Well, actually now I have three axles done.  Just one more and I'll have all the tender wheels complete.  I'm ordering material this week to build the frames for the tender trucks.

I also had a little hold up due to my tailstock.  As most know, the tailstock on these mini-lathes leave something to be desired.  I had to make a new base for mine.  The original rocked on the bedways.  I could never repeat a setting.  Consequently I had some holes that were screwed up.  Here is the new base during machining:





I also added a modification to make offsetting the tailstock easier.  Don't have a picture of that yet.  But, the plan for it can be found on the LMS site.

Having some great fun. 
Todd


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## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 25, 2013)

this is very cool  good luck with the rest of the build


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## Tin Falcon (Mar 25, 2013)

Have the book have not had the heart to start yet. Also thinking about a shay. The semi local museum I  sometimes display at has a full sized Shay . The A3 is probably easier. Choices choices.
 Good luck on the build. 
A journey of hundred miles begins with the first step. A locomotive begining with the firs chips and the first part. Keep up the good work and the posting you just might get me motivated to build mine.
Tin


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## Herbiev (Mar 25, 2013)

Settling in for the journey. Keep the pics coming coming Todd and good luck. Looking great so far


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## Ryker Carruthers (Mar 25, 2013)

Lookin' good!!!!! You are a step ahead of me, I just got the metals list needed for the trucks and hope to get started soon. 
Have fun 

One question... Did you start with 2 1/4 steel for the wheels or 2 3/8? I wish Kozo would have had a bill of materials after each section or something like that but you cant have everything


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## SilverSanJuan (Mar 25, 2013)

Thanks guys.  I'm ready for the long haul.  I see every part as a new adventure in learning and experience.

Ryker, I used 2 3/8" 12L14 for the wheels.  2 1/4" wouldn't be good because that is your finished size.  Wouldn't give you any room to play with.  And, taking off 1/16" all around doesn't take much.  I really like the 12L14.  It machines really easy and leaves a real nice finish.

Yeah, a Bill of Materials would be nice.  But, I'm just going through and making a list as I read through the chapters.  This week I'm ordering the brass and bronze for the truck  frames and bearings.  Plus I'm ordering some steel to make a height gauge.  That's another part of this hobby I enjoy, making the tooling. 

Todd


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## Tin Falcon (Mar 26, 2013)

Todd that is the attitude . well said enjoy.
Tin


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## kvom (Mar 26, 2013)

Rather than use brass for almost everything, as Kozo did, I'd recommend steel for all the structural parts.  Much cheaper, and when done easier to paint.  Any added weight will give better traction too.

When it comes time to start the loco, I can recommend using the driver and cylinder castings from Friends Models.


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## Ryker Carruthers (Mar 26, 2013)

kvom said:


> Rather than use brass for almost everything, as Kozo did, I'd recommend steel for all the structural parts.  Much cheaper, and when done easier to paint.  Any added weight will give better traction too.
> 
> When it comes time to start the loco, I can recommend using the driver and cylinder castings from Friends Models.


 
Kvom,
Brass would actually be heavier. It is more dense but in this size it wont make much difference. I plan on using steel as you say.


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## GWRdriver (Mar 26, 2013)

kvom said:


> Rather than use brass for almost everything, I'd recommend steel for all the structural parts.


I agree, and I prefer hot rolled steel rather than cold rolled to reduce the tendency to deform when milled.  Some folks use flat ground "gauge plate" which IMHO is kind of overkill.  It's nice and shiny, and will have less tendency to warp, but it's very expensive.


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## SilverSanJuan (Mar 26, 2013)

Yes, I've been thinking about all that brass.  Can get very pricey.  And, definitely would rather use the hot rolled steel.  Will the hot rolled deform at all when milled?  I was under the impression that it wouldn't.

I'm definitely getting the driver and cylinder castings from Friends.


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## GWRdriver (Mar 26, 2013)

SilverSanJuan said:


> Will the hot rolled deform at all when milled?


It can, but I think that will depend upon how it's milled, or rather what shapes will be milled from it.  I'm not familiar with the details of the Kozo A3 (except for the boiler) so I can't say what I think it will do, or not.


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## Ryker Carruthers (Mar 26, 2013)

I cant think of anything that requires alot of milling on one piece to the point of deformation. I think the money saved from not using brass could be used to buy the copper for the tank and boiler. May just go galvanized for the tank and coat the inside


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## kvom (Mar 26, 2013)

I used HRS for almost all the steel in my loco.  The only CRS I used was in the walk boards.  You needs stainless for the piston and valve rods.

I found that, with my local supplier in any case, I needed to size the HRS bars larger than the desired final dimensions.  The edges are rounded from the rolling process, so for a piece 1" wide I bought bar stock at least 1-1/8" wide.  CRS is accurate dimensionally, so if it doesn't need a lot of machining it can be a reasonable choice, and it doesn't have the mill scale HRS has.


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## Path (Mar 26, 2013)

GWRdriver said:


> It can, but I think that will depend upon how it's milled, or rather what shapes will be milled from it.  I'm not familiar with the details of the Kozo A3 (except for the boiler) so I can't say what I think it will do, or not.




Harry,

Can you tell me more about the A3 boiler. I've been building the A3 in 3/4" for about 7 years now (off and on, of course ). I'm just starting to gather the wood for the Boiler forms. 
Always looking for insight on building ...


Thanks,

Pat H.


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## GWRdriver (Mar 26, 2013)

Hi Pat,
I haven't built an A-3 boiler specifically but I have built variations on the typical Kozo design.  Perhaps this should be a new thread, so as not to hijack Todd's thread.


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## Path (Mar 26, 2013)

Harry,

Thanks for quick reply.

I'll start a Build thread when I start the forming the raw stock for the boiler. Then maybe you can advise. Probably a couple of weeks from now.

Thanks,

Pat H.


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## SilverSanJuan (Mar 26, 2013)

Good information on the HRS and CRS.  Thanks kvom.

Harry, I look forward to your thoughts on the boiler construction as well.  Even though that task is some time away from where I'm at now. 

Pat, I look forward to seeing your progress here as well.


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## SilverSanJuan (Apr 1, 2013)

I started on my fourth axle this weekend.  The bore on these last two wheels is oversize.  These were the first two I made and led to my discovery that my tailstock was bad.  Consequently the holes I drilled were off.  So I bored them out oversize in hopes that I could salvage them.  Well I found that the bore isn't straight through the wheel because it wobbles on the axle.  Fortunately I have two spare wheel blanks.  So, I started making two new wheels.  And, I can still use the axle I started since it can be turned down more to fit the new wheels.

I also ordered some material for the next steps.  I'll be using Ralph Patterson's plans to build a height gage.


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## kvom (Apr 1, 2013)

It's easier to fit the axle to the hole than vice-versa.  And getting the bore hole straight is preferable with a boring bar than a drill.


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## SilverSanJuan (Apr 1, 2013)

Yup.  I'm following Kozo's method of drill, bore, ream.


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## SilverSanJuan (Apr 3, 2013)

I've noted that there are no provisions for oiling the journal bearings on the tender trucks in Kozo's design.  Do they not need oiling that often?  I was considering drilling an oiling hole in the outer face of the journal boxes.  I would then fabricate a little hinged cover plate like the prototypes.  Is this something that is reasonable to do, or would I be creating more trouble for myself further down the road?

Also, can I use CRS in the construction of the tender truck frames?  Or, is brass advised here?

Thanks,
Todd


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## kvom (Apr 3, 2013)

The bearings are phosphor bronze, and shouldn't need lubrication.  I would use steel vs. brass everywhere I could.


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## SilverSanJuan (Apr 4, 2013)

Thanks.  I didn't know that about bronze.  I was sure it would need some oil.

CRS will make this project a whole lot more affordable.  I imagine that I should use the brass and copper on the tender tank for the corrosion resistance.


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## SilverSanJuan (Apr 8, 2013)

Well, no pictures... But, I did finish my two spare wheels and the final axle.  So, the tender wheels are complete aside from painting and assembling them to the axles.

In the mean time, I'm building the height gauge.  Also, need to make the wiggler center finder and angle jigs for the journal boxes.  And, I have material to make the frame bending device.


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## Path (Apr 8, 2013)

Looks like you are getting a good start.
Keep up the good work and the posting and ...th_wwp  .

Pat H.


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## SilverSanJuan (Apr 11, 2013)

Question... what is an acceptable modification to the thread specs that Kozo calls for in the A3?  Can I substitute 2-56 and 4-40 for the 1-64 and 3-48 that he calls for in many places?


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## Tin Falcon (Apr 11, 2013)

I would think what he specified would be the best size. but it seems that what was once common is no longer common and odd Gage size hardware is rare these days.  Brownells gunsmithing supplies caries some odd  sized hardware as well as taps. that being said you can probably go up or down one size and be fine.  

Some of the better model supply model engineering supply houses also carry this stuff. also mico fasteners. 
Tin


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## stevehuckss396 (Apr 11, 2013)

SilverSanJuan said:


> Question... what is an acceptable modification to the thread specs that Kozo calls for in the A3?  Can I substitute 2-56 and 4-40 for the 1-64 and 3-48 that he calls for in many places?



McMaster Carr has them in cap head, flat head, and button head if that would help.


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## SilverSanJuan (Apr 11, 2013)

Thanks for the input guys.  I'm gonna go ahead and invest in these odd tap sizes.  And, Micro-Fasteners does have a full variety of screws available.  I hope to have some progress to show in the next week.


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## kvom (Apr 14, 2013)

SilverSanJuan said:


> Question... what is an acceptable modification to the thread specs that Kozo calls for in the A3?  Can I substitute 2-56 and 4-40 for the 1-64 and 3-48 that he calls for in many places?



That's what I would do as long as the tap drill holes are not too large for the part.  4-40 fasteners will be a lot cheaper than 3-48.


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## SilverSanJuan (Apr 14, 2013)

Thanks for the input.


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## SilverSanJuan (Apr 19, 2013)

OK, just received all materials, screws, and taps for the tender truck frames.  Hope to have some progress/pictures to post by the end of the weekend.


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## SilverSanJuan (Apr 28, 2013)

The springtime "honey do" list has been keeping me busy.   Along with making the height gauge to mark parts.  But, that is almost  done.  I just need to finish the base on it.

But, just to show something here....  This is all the material for the Archbar truck frames and the tender frame.






Hope to have some actual progress on this later in the week.

Todd


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## SilverSanJuan (May 5, 2013)

Some minor progress so far this weekend.  I cut all the  journal boxes from the 5/8" brass stock.  Then turned them all to the  final height of 13/16".  So, now I have eight journal boxes that need to  be marked and drilled for the bearings.  I also finished my height  gauge so that I can mark the centers for the bearings.

Here are the journal boxes:





Here's my height gauge:





Next I need to make the center finder tool.  Fun, fun.  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Todd


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## SilverSanJuan (May 5, 2013)

I made my version of Kozo's tool for centering the journal box in the four jaw.






And, from the other end.





The brass wire is supported by a rubber grommet which is fitted into the aluminum holder.  Works beautifully.  More progress ahead.

Todd


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## SilverSanJuan (Jun 3, 2013)

I've got all the journal boxes bored.  And, I've started milling the grooves for the arch bar frames.  No pictures to show because I'm packing up the shop.  We're moving to a nearby town.  Moving to a smaller home.  but, it has a MUCH bigger basement.   I hope to have the shop back up and running by July.  Have to see how things go though.  My middle son is graduating from high school and my parents will be in town for that this month.  So, shop ops will be on hold till that is all done.

But, having a bigger shop area is gonna be soooo much better. 

Todd


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## dalem9 (Jun 3, 2013)

Good luck Todd .I am building this same engine ,If you have any questions feel free to ask .  Dale


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## SilverSanJuan (Jun 4, 2013)

Thanks Dale.   How far along are you on your project?

Todd


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## SilverSanJuan (Sep 12, 2013)

WooHoo!  Finished setting up the shop.   Took a lot longer than anticipated.  But, what doesn't, right? 

Finished  with the grooves on the journal boxes.  And, made the drilling jig for  drilling the 32 holes.  I'll get some pictures of the new shop and  progress posted soon.

Todd


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## dalem9 (Sep 12, 2013)

Hi Todd  Glad your back ,been gone myself for awhile . Thanks Dale


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## dalem9 (Sep 12, 2013)

Todd  just a tip when you tap a hole do so right after you drill it  While you still have it held in your vise . Put the tap right in the drill chuck or get a tape handle that will fit in your drill chuck . If you try to tap a hole by hand in though small sizies you will surely brake a lot of them .. they must be started square in the part. Dale


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## SilverSanJuan (Sep 13, 2013)

Thanks, Dale.  Good point.  I have a spring loaded tap guide that I use in the mill to help keep things straight.


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## SilverSanJuan (Mar 9, 2014)

Finished up the tender trucks.






Now, on to the tender frame.


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## stevehuckss396 (Mar 9, 2014)

The trucks look great. Is that all brass or is the light making the steel look like brass?


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## SilverSanJuan (Mar 10, 2014)

Thanks, Steve.

The truck frames are all brass.  The tender frame is all steel.

Todd


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## SilverSanJuan (May 3, 2014)

Well, I've gotten a lot done in the past few weeks.  I made new frame  pieces from brass for the side and end sills.  I kept the steel bolsters  as they were already done.  The coupler pocket, drawbar pocket, and  drawbar are done.  I've started laying out the parts for the front steps  on brass sheet.  

Todd


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## dalem9 (May 4, 2014)

Todd Everything really looks great . I just now read your question ,I am almost done with my A3  .I build it in G guage . I am also polishing everything and putting a clear coat on it .The frame and cab walls will be black also the tender frame . Again looks GREAT . Dale


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## SilverSanJuan (May 4, 2014)

Thanks, Dale.

Would love to see some pictures of yours.  Can't imagine trying to build this in a smaller scale.

Todd


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## dalem9 (May 5, 2014)

Hi Todd here is the link to my engine .Thanks Dale  www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/f14/my-0-4-0-a-15499/


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## SilverSanJuan (May 5, 2014)

That's some beautiful work, Dale.  Where does she stand now?  Did you ever steam her?

Todd


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## crueby (May 5, 2014)

dalem9 said:


> Todd Everything really looks great . I just now read your question ,I am almost done with my A3  .I build it in G guage . I am also polishing everything and putting a clear coat on it .The frame and cab walls will be black also the tender frame . Again looks GREAT . Dale




Dale - what are you using for the clear coat? Thought about doing that on a couple of my engines, but never foind anything that worked very well. Any tips on the polishing/clearcoating would be great. I am just gathering up materials for Kozo's New Shay, will be starting that one soon. As you guys were discussing, I will be mixing in some steel stock in place of brass (things like the longer frame rails, plates, etc) to save some of the cost.


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## dalem9 (May 7, 2014)

Crueby I am going to use clear power coat . Don;t know much about it . It seems to hold on to the polished part pretty good on the test I made. Thanks Dale


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## SilverSanJuan (May 14, 2014)

Got a few more parts in the works. Here's the parts for the steps.




And, here are the steps all soldered up. I've started cutting one to shape. Also, the brackets for mounting the steps to the frame.




More to follow.

Todd


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## SilverSanJuan (May 17, 2014)

Progress continues.




Todd


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## SilverSanJuan (May 24, 2014)

Front steps completed.  Rear footboard is done.  Need to make the mounting brackets next.





[url=https://flic.kr/p/nJ1UZT]
	


[url=https://flic.kr/p/nrwCn8]
	


Regards,
Todd


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## SilverSanJuan (May 27, 2014)

No pictures to show from over the weekend.  But, I did finish making the center pins for the trucks and the drawbar pin.  So now the trucks are officially attached to the frame.  I can pick it up as one whole unit.  And, it is starting to get heavy. 

Todd


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## SilverSanJuan (May 31, 2014)

Made some progress last night.  The footboard brackets are complete.  I test assembled all the parts, and everything fits together just right.  Now I just need to clean all the parts and silver solder them.  I hope to get that done today.  Here's some photos:

All the parts ready to start bending.





The two on the right side have been milled to length and height.





Drilling the end sill mounting holes.





Drilling the footboard mounting holes.





Test assembled.





Test assembled on the end sill.  The parts will be cleaned and re-assembled on the end sill as a jig during soldering.





More fun to be had later.
Todd


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## SilverSanJuan (Jun 1, 2014)

Footboard soldered and attached.





Section 4 complete.





Regards,
Todd


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## SilverSanJuan (Aug 12, 2014)

While I wait for the funds to buy the copper and brass to build the  tank, I thought I'd go ahead and make some parts from the material I do  have.  I have some stainless hex bar to make the handhold stanchions on  the rear end sill.  Cut four pieces to an appropriate length.  faced and  center drilled both ends.  Turned and threaded the lower end.  Now I'm  turning the diameters on the upper ends.  After that I have to turn the  taper to finish them.  One piece at a time, right? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Todd


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## crueby (Aug 12, 2014)

Nice progress! One piece at a time - its amazing how many pieces there are in a loco, but fun when they start to come together.

Couple places I have gotten good deals on meta lately:
At Yarde Metals (yarde.com), they have a 'Drop Zone' area on thier web site with deals on off-cuts from thier commercial deliveries at great prices (usually 1/4 or 1/3 prices elsewhere). The selection is limited and constantly changing since they are offcuts (usually about 3' lengths), but good source. Shipping is cheap too.
Also, at OnlineMetals.com, if you sign up for thier emails, they have frequent sales. I got the sheet copper/brass for mine last month when they had a 25% off sale - saved a bunch.
Pays to check around on prices, they vary a lot for the same thing (as with most things these days).


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## SilverSanJuan (Aug 12, 2014)

Thanks, crueby!

I'll check out Yarde.  I usually buy from OnlineMetals.  I didn't have the money last month when they ran the sales.  It was killing me to have to miss that.  I also buy from SpeedyMetals.  But, find their prices are usually higher than OnlineMetals.  So, I only buy from them if I can't find it elsewhere.

Todd


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## SilverSanJuan (May 4, 2015)

Well, I've been able to make some progress over that past month or so.  Work on the tender tank continues.  

I learned how to form copper over a wooden form.  This part gets cut down the center to form the two sides of the tank.










Here the part has been split, the two halves mounted to their corner frames and resting on the tender deck.





I made a bending jig for the upper and lower coal bin frames.  The forms are aluminum that I turned on the lathe.  They have two sides.  One forms a 0.75" radius for the lower frame.  The other is 0.79" for the upper frame.  Pictured here is the lower frame ready for bending.





Here is the lower frame after bending.  I annealed the brass before hand.  And, I've annealed it again here in my fire brick box because I have some small adjustments to make on it.





Finally, here is a shot of the Wheel and Cylinder castings.  I just got these last week.  Nice to have these parts.  Keeps me thinking about getting to the locomotive. 





More fun to be had. 

Todd


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## crueby (May 4, 2015)

Nice! I like the bending jig for the frame rails. That would have made getting mine the same shapes a lot easier - I had to do a bunch of rebending to make them match. The tender sides look great.


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## SilverSanJuan (May 18, 2015)

Thanks Crueby! 

Parts from this weekend.  I made up all the frame pieces for the tender tank frame.  This is all 0.25" stock.  The uprights here were bent by hand.  There was a little fiddling afterward, but it wasn't too bad.






Now, I need to make up the sheet brass parts for the top and coal bunker.

Todd


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## petertha (May 18, 2015)

SilverSanJuan said:


> I annealed the brass before hand. And, I've annealed it again here in my fire brick box because I have some small adjustments to make on it.
> Todd


 
Hi Todd. I recently posted an inquiry about firebricks like that. Do you just hand assemble the little brick house to suit the application? And by annealing you mean with a torch? If so, what is your weapon/gas of choice & how do you get feedback on temperature state?


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## SilverSanJuan (May 18, 2015)

Hi Pete,

Yeah, the fire bricks are loose and I just assemble them as the application dictates.  I do the annealing with a hand held torch.  I use the small propane bottles from the big box store.  This torch has a half inch tip which has been enough for the small work that I've done so far.  As for temperatures, I just go by glow color descriptions that I've read in books.  I look for a slight dark cherry red in the brass.  Same color for the copper sheet of the tender sides.  I turn off most of the lights in my shop to make it easier to see the color changes.

Todd


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## SilverSanJuan (May 26, 2015)

Didn't get as much done as I wanted this weekend, but some progress was made.  Better than no progress.  Managed to get the Verge board cut out, cleaned up, and bent to shape.  Also, have the coal bin wall cut and marked for bending.

Here's the wall:





Here I created a template for the Verge Board using Autodesk DraftSight.  I glued it on to the brass sheet.  I couldn't find my 3M spray adhesive, so I had to use wood glue.  Worked well enough.





This is the Verge Board cut out using my scroll saw.





Here is the Verge Board after being cleaned up on the belt sander.





Verge board bent to shape and fit in to the upper frame.  Still need to cut and solder the upper lip of the verge board.





More fun to be had. 

Todd


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## SilverSanJuan (Jun 1, 2015)

Good progress over the weekend.  I finished up the coal bin.  It was all screwed together for these photos.

























The soldering is done, but I need to clean up the part.  The sides also have their bottom members soldered now.  I'll post some pictures when I get them cleaned up.  Now on to the front and top panels.

More fun to be had. 
Todd


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## SilverSanJuan (Dec 8, 2015)

I've made a lot of progress since my last update.  The tank is assembled  and soldered.  And, now I'm working on the water hatch.  It will be  rectangular instead of round.  The prototype pictures I have found show  it as rectangular.
















More of the assembly pictures are on my Flikr account.  More fun to be had. 

Todd


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## crueby (Dec 8, 2015)

That tank is a beautiful piece of work!


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## ozzie46 (Dec 9, 2015)

WOW and DOUBLE WOW!!

Ron


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## SilverSanJuan (Dec 9, 2015)

Thanks, guys. 

Todd


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## SilverSanJuan (Jun 9, 2017)

I had to take a break from this project for a while.  But, I've finally been able to get back to it.  Now I have the tank hatch, handrails and steps done.  I've started working on the hand pump.













I'm so happy to be back at this.  It has been too long.  With any luck I'll have the plumbing done in a few weeks.  Then I can finally start on the engine.


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## SilverSanJuan (Jun 13, 2017)

I completed the pump body last night.  I'm happy with how it turned out.  Quite a few different operations to create it.






Now on with the rest of the bits.


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## SilverSanJuan (Jun 16, 2017)

Adding more bits to the pump.  I finished the plunger, O-ring retainer, plug, suction valve seat, and link. The lever is drilled and turned.  I just need to mill it to shape.






More fun to be had.


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## dalem9 (Jun 17, 2017)

All I can is WOW . You do great work .


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## SilverSanJuan (Jun 17, 2017)

Thanks Dale. 

I finished milling the lever last night and assembled all the parts together.  I do still need to make the spring for the ball check valve.  And, I need to order some stainless bearing balls.  Also, the e-clips on it now are temporary until I can get some stainless ones to replace them.





I have the handle mostly done, but need to finish cutting the slot in it.  I must say I've learned a lot about slitting saws and cutting speeds in the last few days.  I've burnt up three of them...   So, now I need to order more.  And the handle sits until I get those.  Until then I'll move on with the rest of the plumbing.


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## SilverSanJuan (Jun 22, 2017)

Kozo calls for silver soldering the brass fittings to the copper tubes.  Is it absolutely necessary to do it this way?  Or, can I use the lower temperature solder I'd use sweating copper pipes in the house?


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## apointofview (Jun 22, 2017)

My experience is limited to two boilers one of which is still has very limited heating. That being said I found that silver solder ( mine was 45% ) HAS to be used on the boiler itself and any items that are touching the boiler. I was able to get away with hard solder on all the steam pipes downstream of the boiler. Same goes for water feed lines etc. I had one hard solder joint fail that was close to the boiler and that showed up after I added 3ft of superheater coil over the burners which got the steam a lot hotter. All it did was leak steam, no bombs went off. I resoldered that joint with silver solder and all is well. 
Hope that helps
Pete


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## SilverSanJuan (Jun 22, 2017)

Thanks, Pete.  That does help.


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## edhume3 (Jun 23, 2017)

Todd,

The tender joints are not exposed to heat and could be soft-soldered.  However,  silver-soldered joints are stronger.   But here is the real motivation for silver-soldering - Kozo's plans have you getting a lot of silver soldering experience with various parts before you tackle the boiler.  So you get a lot of learning experience and hands-on with these smaller, less-expensive parts.  You can get your cleaning and pickling materials and workflow all established and tackle larger jobs with confidence.

Regards,
Ed


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## SilverSanJuan (Jun 24, 2017)

Thanks, Ed.  I went with the silver solder last night.  All the joints are complete.  In fact the tender is essentially complete now.  With the exception of some minor cosmetics and the filter screens on the suction ports.  Time to get more materials and get started on the locomotive now.


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## SilverSanJuan (Jun 29, 2017)

Well, I'm calling the tender done.





Of course it still needs to get painted.  But, that'll come later.  It is now time to move on to the engine.  First up is the frame.  Well, I have to put in a material request with the boss.  And, I also discovered tonight that my 3-jaw chuck will not hold the driver castings.  It is only a 3" on my MicroMark 7x14.  I have a 4" 4-jaw.  But, I'd rather have the self centering of the 3-jaw.  So, looks like I need to put in a request for my tooling budget as well.  :


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## dalem9 (Jun 30, 2017)

Very , Very nice !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## SilverSanJuan (Jun 30, 2017)

Thanks, Dale.


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## Cogsy (Jun 30, 2017)

It seems like a shame to hide all that beautiful work under paint. Can't wait to see how the engine turns out.


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## kvom (Jun 30, 2017)

I have just acquired some Eastman Diamond Clear coatings.  

http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-diamond-clear-dtm-and-painted-surfaces-aerosol.html

I intend to use them on my Benson engine rather than painting, as they will keep the brass from tarnishing.  If you wanted to keep the tender and loco unpainted, this is an option.  

I did a test to compare the gloss vs. the satin on some brass that I'd gotten a very good surface with a face mill.  I can't tell that much difference between the two.


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## SilverSanJuan (Jun 30, 2017)

Hmmm....  Now that is a tempting thought.  But, I have plenty of time to think about it.  It's taken me about four years to get to this point.  So, I'm guessing another few years for the engine.    Thanks for the suggestions fellas.


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## matthew-s (Jul 3, 2017)

Beautiful. Something I aspire to!


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## SilverSanJuan (Jul 6, 2017)

Yeah, I said the tender was done.  But, while I wait for the funds to buy the materials for the engine frame, I thought I'd make the tender headlamp.  I'm going to make it more like the A3 on Long Island in the 20's-30's with an electric headlamp.  That headlamp also sat on a base that was made from angle iron.  So, I'll start with that.












There are four more frame pieces to add to the headlamp base.  The headlamp is going to be a modified version of the one that Kozo designed for his K-27.  I'm going to scale it down in size.  Instead of angled number plates, I will make them parallel to the body of the headlamp.


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## SilverSanJuan (Jul 15, 2017)

I have all my materials for the locomotive frame, bearings and axles.  






The brass tube is for the loco and tender headlamps.

Here is the start of the frame sides.  They are screwed together for identical machining.  I've slotted the areas for the cutouts.






And, for my birthday my son gave me a set of EasyVUE DROs for my mill.  Can't wait to get those installed.  






And, the fun continues....


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## Wizard69 (Jul 15, 2017)

SilverSanJuan said:


> Kozo calls for silver soldering the brass fittings to the copper tubes.  Is it absolutely necessary to do it this way?  Or, can I use the lower temperature solder I'd use sweating copper pipes in the house?



First off Amazing work!   I got clued in due to this being the project of the month and have to say it should be in the running for project of the year (if they have one).

As for soft or low temperature solder I would have to say don't do it anywhere on the build.    I work industrial maintenance in a large plant and you would be surprised at the number of copper pipes the leak of come apart at the solder joints.   These aren't high pressure lines either, often process or city water lines.   I would imagine because the temperatures are low and the pressures aren't extreme, the joint fail due fatiguing of the lead due to vibration or whatever.   

Now consider a steam engine where you have heat, vibration, thermal cycling stresses and much higher pressures.    Soft solder will certainly hold in places but I would NOT bother with it if everything else will be silver soldered or better.   Beyond that Kozo has a great deal of experience here.   If he specced a better solder joint than traditional lead approaches, the I would trust his experience.


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## SilverSanJuan (Jul 16, 2017)

Thanks, Wizard.  And, I agree with your reasons on the soldering.   I'll be following the specs.  And, I also found that silver soldering  the fittings was easier that I thought it was going to be.


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## SilverSanJuan (Jul 27, 2017)

Well, I got the DRO's installed on the mill (If you are interested you can read about it here).  So, work now continues on the A3.  I finished cutting out the material on the tail of the frame and both of the driver bearing boxes.  Kozo discusses the relief of the stress in the cold rolled material when you cut out one side.  So, the frame needed to be straightened out after the tail cut and again after the front driver box cut.  Let me tell you, the stress may have been relieved in the metal... But, it all ended up stressing me out!   I really had no idea how much force was going to be required to straighten the brass bar back out.  I put in so much of an opposite bend that I thought for sure I was ruining the parts.  But, lesson learned... Brass is VERY springy.  

Here is the frame back on the mill table.





X-axis centered over the datum line for the steam tee opening.





Milling out the steam tee opening.  The DRO's really made the setup and milling process much easier.





More fun to be had...


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## bazmak (Jul 27, 2017)

As a maker of a couple of steam locos,can i ask your reasoning for 
using brass for the frames and not steel.Even if price was not an issue
what other advantages are there.Machining slightly easier,but i assume you are going to paint,then steel would be slightly better.As you have found out
hard drawn brass has more inbuilt tension and spring. Just asking for your line of thought or are you just following Kozos spec ?? Regards barry


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## SilverSanJuan (Jul 28, 2017)

Hi Barry,

Kozo says you can use either in the model.  But, I chose brass for ease of machining.  I've machined some steel on my mill and I had some trouble with it and wasn't happy with the results.  I don't know if this mill is rigid enough to handle it well.  So, I chose to go with Brass on the frame.  I don't think this loco will see a lot of heavy running so in the end I feel the brass will be OK.  All that being said, I will need to improve my skill with steel as all the running gear is steel.  But, I'm hoping to find some easily machinable steel for that.  Perhaps I can find some 12L14 in bar stock.  I'd be happy to hear any of your suggestions. 

Thanks, Todd


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## SilverSanJuan (Jul 28, 2017)

Continuing on with the frame...

I needed to mount the frame at a 45 degree angle to finish milling the steam tee opening.





Next I drilled the four cross-tie mounting holes around the lead driver bearing box.  The DRO's made this super easy.  It took less than half the time it normally would with all the layout and tooling changes.





A drilling jig was fabricated for drilling the cylinder mounting holes.  This jig will also be used on the cylinders themselves.









Operations finished for the evening.  Still some work to do on the frame.  Up next will be making a pedestal brace for the lead driver box and a bearing box for the rear driver.





More fun to be had...


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## kvom (Jul 28, 2017)

I'd consider stressproof (1144) for running gear parts.  Machines really nicely.  Stainless 303 is also an option that could work well.


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## SilverSanJuan (Jul 28, 2017)

Thanks kvom.


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## dalem9 (Jul 29, 2017)

I am so impressed with the work you do . Great Job on everything ! You will like the readouts , I had them on my bench top mill . Also have one on my Lathe .


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## SilverSanJuan (Jul 29, 2017)

Thanks Dale.   I'm loving the readouts.  :thumbup:


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## SilverSanJuan (Jul 31, 2017)

A little more progress over the past two days.  The Pedestal Brace and Axle Box were machined.  These parts are actually two pieces soldered together so that they can be machined exactly the same.  Then they are set on the frames as a jig to drill the mounting holes in the frame.
Here is the pedestal brace in the vice.  At this point it just needs the holes drilled.  The block behind it is the axle box blank.






Here both parts have been machined and drilled.  The frames were drilled and tapped, and the parts are attached.





Next came one of those nervous moments.  Drilling/reaming the hole in the axle box/frame.  If this operation goes south it can ruin the frames as well. :fan: So, I got it all set up.  Took a deep breath, and went to it.  Thankfully it turned out just right.  :thumbup:










Next up are the front and rear end sills.  More fun to be had...


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## SilverSanJuan (Aug 4, 2017)

I finished up the end sills.  Putting the radius on the ends of the front end sill was a learning experience.  And, there were a lot of holes to drill and tap.  But, it was fun. 






The main frame rails were also completed last night.






It's starting to look like something now! 






Next up are the center cross frames and the lead driver axle box.  More fun to be had...


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## SilverSanJuan (Aug 5, 2017)

The fruits of last night's labors.






I still need to drill the center braces for the axle box pins.  More fun to be had...


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## kvom (Aug 5, 2017)

Looks just like the pic in the book!


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