# ET Westbury Side Paddle Engine



## kvom (Mar 6, 2010)

This build will be a pretty long term project, so this is a holder thread. I will be using this project as a "training" effort for my new CNC mill, so expect lots of do-over parts, broken tooling, etc.  The plans were originally published in ME magazine in late 1955, and have now been released to the public. A copy of the articles has been posted on this website.

My first attempted part was an outer main frame in aluminum and was not a success. I think I learned enough from this effort to succeed on a re-do, plus the other 3 frames as well. I don't have stock for these at present so have moved on to other parts. The first parts actually made are one outer and one inner stay bolt, turned manually on the lathe from 3/8" drill rod. Once again I ran out of stock so making the other 2 staybolts will be deferred.

In have been looking at attempting the cylinders next. In the article the cylinders were machined from castings, which are no longer available. To make from round bar a 2.1' diameter would be needed. I don't have any brass stock large enough, but do have a large amount of 3" round 6061 aluminum. I am thinking that a brass piston in the aluminum cylinder should be workable, but would appreciate others' opnions. The engine would be run on air, not steam. Durabar would be a reasonable alternative to aluminum or brass I believe. Since the cylinder is a fairly complicated piece I plan to make the first from aluminum in any case.


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## kvom (Mar 8, 2010)

Following a suggestion from Gail, I ordered a 12" piece of 2-1/8" cast iron from which I'll hope to machine the cylinders. Before potentially screwing up the CI, I've decided to make one from aluminum, as some of the operations are "delicate".

To start, I cut off 3" of some 3" diameter 6061 and chucked it in the lathe. I faced both ends, then turned one end to 1" diameter for a length of .75". Then I reversed the piece and chucked the piece in a 1" 5C collet in order to turn the rest to 2.25".







The rest of the operations will be done on the mill, holding the work in a collet block until the profile is milled out.

Here's the two staybolts I made earlier. Nothing too fancy, but it was the first chance I had to try out the insert threading tool I got from Mesa Tool a few weeks ago. Threads are 1/4-20.


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## kvom (Mar 9, 2010)

Contin uing on with the cylinder, I chucked the small end in a 1" 5C collet in a collet block and clamped in the milling vise. The g-code program is to mill the cylinder profile in .05" depth increments. I stopped it after one pass to check the pattern:






Quite a while later:






I drilled the bore out as far as 3/8". Further drilling/boring/reaming will be done on the lathe later on.


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## Maryak (Mar 10, 2010)

kvom,

Thanks for the setup. Not CNC but I've previously done mine horizontally. next time I will try your vertical approach. :bow: :bow:

Best Regards
Bob


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## don-tucker (Mar 10, 2010)

Hi kvom,is this the engine you are building 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



Don


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## kvom (Mar 10, 2010)

> Hi kvom,is this the engine you are building



That's the engine I'll be _trying_ to build. Great picture! If you have any more closeups I'd love to see them as the magazine scanned photos are really dark.


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## don-tucker (Mar 10, 2010)

Hope these help,I have a clip of it running ,can i post it the same way.
Don


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## kvom (Mar 10, 2010)

That would be great. So far I see a few minor deviations from the plans.

A shot looking down over the centerline would be appreciated as well.


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## don-tucker (Mar 10, 2010)

The mods we did was change the crosshead and con rod smallend to be more in line with marine practice and a few odds and ends.It's a beautiful engine we love it.
Don


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## kvom (Mar 10, 2010)

Did you put in cylinder drain cocks? Any build hints?

I like the way the exhaust tubes are done.

It looks as if the inner cylinder covers are a bit different. Having 8 studs/nuts rather than 6 looks very nice.


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## don-tucker (Mar 10, 2010)

No drain cocks,the crosshead guides were redesigned with one underneath instead of top and bottom,again to be more inline with marine engines.
My brother and myself built this engine about 40 years ago ,and was pretty straightforward from what I can remember.
Don


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## Paolo (Mar 10, 2010)

:bow: :bow: :bow:
Nice engine...


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## JRNYMAN2LMAYKER (Mar 10, 2010)

Where did you find the plans for this engine?


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## don-tucker (Mar 11, 2010)

When built I used the plans and instructions from the ME but I do have a CD with a copy of the same on it including the paddles .I was selling it for £10 plus post on e-bay.
Don


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## kvom (Mar 11, 2010)

The scanned magazine articles w/ plans are now public and are on this site in the plans section (along with the stern paddle engine).

Yesterday I had short amount of shop time and manages to mill the base of the trial cylinder. The 3 steam slots were cut 3/16" deep with a 1/16" carbide endmill at 4000 rpm (mill's top speed) and a feed rate of 5 IPM. I tool only .030" DOC per pass and used air to blow the chips out as it cut, along with a bit of WD40. That's an operation I wouldn't care to do manually. Slots are .5" long, and the narrow ones are 1/8" wide.


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## kvom (Mar 11, 2010)

I've been fighing a chest cold all week, so not up to any long shop sessions. Today I tried a bit of an experiment, seeing how I might make the cylinder look more like a classic casting form such as the original model used. Here's the result:






Not having any good handle on the 3D capabilities of the CAM programs I'm trying out, I decided to develop my own g-code since the basic milling tool move is just an arc in the YZ plane. I used a 5/16 ball endmill as it's the only appropriate size ball I own. I wrote a Java program to output the G-code. Each arc covered .02" in the X direction.  In was a bit conservative in the feed rate so it took 20 minutes to mill. With some tweaking the code should be able to run in less than 5 minutes.

I got my CI from Speedymetals today, so once I'm comfortable with the result in aluminum I can try to make a couple in iron.


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## Shopguy (Mar 11, 2010)

Looking good 
Regards,
Ernie J


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## kvom (Mar 12, 2010)

I finished with the trial aluminum cylinder this morning. Milled off the extraneous bits, then drilled, bored, and reamed the bore to 3/4" on thye Bridgeport. The boring bar I have that is long enough and small enough did not do a very good job of boring (left a bit of a taper), so for the CI version I will drill to 41/64" then mill to 11/16 on the CNC before reaming.

Next I milled the chamfer in the lower lip of the bore and drilled a steam supply hole to meet the slot in the base. As per the plan, drilling at a 30 degree from vertical resulted in a "spot on" meeting. Similarly, drilled the 3/8" exhaust hole from the side to meet the central bottom slot, also at 30 degrees from vertical. With the 30-60-90 angle bar I made last year setting the cylinder in the vise was quite easy.


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## kvom (Mar 13, 2010)

Having received a supply of metal from UPS, I continued on two fronts.

For the cylinders I got a 12" long piece of grey cast iron 2.25" in diameter. I cut off 2 3" pieces in the bandsaw, then faced and turned each to remove the external skin. The CI machined quite nicely using smaller feeds/speeds/cuts than for steel. 






I also ordered 3' of 6061 3/8"x5" for the frames. I had found a piece of 1/2" 6061 in the school scrap bin that is just the right size for a fixture plate. I decided to try using Loctite "Super Glue" to attach the work to the plate. Since the outer frames are smaller than the inners I'll start with those. I drilled the 6 hole pattern for the frame into the fixture. The I cut 2 3" pieces giving a 3x5x3/8 raw stock to start for each. I drilled the same 6 hole pattern in each, then flycut on both sides so as go give a smooth mating surface for the adhesive. I then put some brass pins in the 3 of the holes on the fixture, applied the glue, and clamped the first piece to the fixture. Not having time enough to finish milling, I have left it clamped up for maxium cure.






Before commiting to the glue, I did try gluing up a sample, letting it cure for a couple of hours, and then applying heat with a torch to see if the pieces would come apart. So far so good.

The inner frames have the same hole pattern at the front so the same fixture can be used for these later.


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## cfellows (Mar 13, 2010)

That cylinder turned out real nice...

Chuck


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## kvom (Mar 23, 2010)

After much blood, sweat, and tears, I finally got two useable parts made on the new CNC mill. There was a pretty steep learning curve, but I feel a lot more confident (before the fall?) about further progress.

Anyway, here's the two outer frames. No scale items, but they are about 4" tall.







Mill head tram was out for the first one on the left, but the ridges will polish out.  :-[

I finally worked out how to hold the small flat parts on a fixture plate. I use some Rhino carpet tape, which holds quite well and is also fairly easy to remove at the end. For these two parts I also used clamps at various stages.


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## ariz (Mar 25, 2010)

kvom I see that you're improving your skill on the CNC machine day by day

you're doing very nice pieces with it, well done :bow:



OT: I can't find any source for cast iron here in Italy :'(
unfortunately it is a very heavy material and shipping costs overseas are high


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## Artie (Mar 25, 2010)

Come on Kvom, mill the ports by hand... if I can do it you can! Seriously, I went very very slowly with a 3mm cutter. It isnt hard just cautious... looks like a good start mate, keep it up.


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## kvom (Mar 25, 2010)

I know I could mill the ports by hand, but the mill will do it too while I blow the chips away.  ;D

Drilling the steam passages will be done by hand.

Today I started on the inner frames. I hope not to screw them up as this is all the 5x3/8 material I have. I cut the remainder into 2 10" long pieces, squared away the saw cuts, and flycut one face on each. Then I let the CNC mill drill the many holes in each. The two are mirror images of each other.






Next I need to clean up the fixture plate in order to do the milling. The 1/2" holes in the plates above are just starting points for facing and pocketing operations.


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## kvom (Mar 27, 2010)

I machined the first inner frame yesterday. No real problems and the trial cylinder fits nicely into the through slot. 











Unfortunately I didn't have as much luck today on the second. The work raised up from the fixture plate cutting the outline and unfortunately the endmill was in a critical areal where I couldn't save it.   This will have to wait as I have no more suitable aluminum stock.

Guess I'll just work on finishing the CI cylinders next.


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## zeeprogrammer (Mar 27, 2010)

Nice stuff kvom.
The inner frame is all one piece?
And boy it sure looks complicated to me. It'll take me a while to have the confidence to that.


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## kvom (Mar 28, 2010)

The outer shape is not all that critical; I think Westbury just picked something that looked good to him. The important items are:

1) Centerline of the cylinder needs to line up with the center of the hornblock. That line is tilted 20 degrees from horizontal. The length of the line is fairly critical as it determines the lengths of the piston rod and conrod.

2) The two 1/4" holes are use for the staybolts, which mate the 4 frames together. The smaller hole above the left staybolt hole is for the weighshaft, which holds the reversing lever.

3) The u-shaped hornblocks hold the crankshaft bearings. The centers of the bearings need to be precisely aligned.

4) The two small holes in the middle of the centerline are for mounting a bracket that secures one end of the crosshead guides. Thye bracket needs to be positioned accurately to prevent binding.

5) The mounting holes around the cylinder opening are clearance for studs that connect the cylinder, steam chest, and steam chest cover. All three are thereby clamped to the frame.

In the original the frame was made of steel plate and the hornblocks were riverted on. Later one could buy a casting with the plate and hornblock integrated.


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## Philjoe5 (Mar 28, 2010)

Nice work. I like how you've profiled the frames and cylinder block. I too tend to make parts out of aluminum to try out new techniques. It usually pays off. Keep up the good work. That engine is going to be a beauty!

Cheers,
Phil


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## kvom (Mar 28, 2010)

Today I decided to skip any CNC work and actually turn the cranks for a change. I decided to make the valve slides as I had some suitable material. It is a lump of the mystery brass I used previous in Bogs' engine. It's a lot harder than 360 and needs smaller cuts too.

So the first task was to square two blocks and then reduce to size: 7/8 x 13/16 x 5/8.






Next I machined out the 1/16" deep valve pocket, which is 5/8" square. I used a centercutting .25" endmill to plunge to depth in the center, then moved along the perimeter.






Next I cut the 3/8" slot. As I broke my last remaining 3/8" endmill I used a 5/16 to cut to depth, then widened it with the side flutes. Then with the same endmill I made the cheek cuts.






Last is the 1/8" slot to hold the eccentric rod. I used a 1/8" endmill to cut to depth, then a ball-endmill to round the bottom of the slot.


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## kvom (Mar 31, 2010)

Having decided to make the steam chests from 6061 because of material availability, I started on the first one by squaring a suitable block and milling it oversize in all 3 dimensions. Then I center drilled both ends to hopefully end up with a straight line for the valve rod. Next I chucked in the 4-jaw and used a live center in the tailstock to align the block with the center holes. It was not really necessary to be extra precise as I will be drilling and reaming the holes on the mill later. The objective here is just to turn the round boss that will later hold the packing gland. The face of the boss will serve as the datum for further machining.






Here's the blank ready for milling, along with the blank cover plate that will also be milled to fit.






The mill has some issues with the limit switches, so I'm waiting for the vendor to come up with a fix. So using the manual mill and lathe in the interim. The block of aluminum I have for the other chest is a bit bigger, so I decided to put it off for another afternoon.


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## kvom (Apr 4, 2010)

I had a nice visit with Ed T, whom is a forum member and happens to live a few miles from me. He kindly donated a piece of aluminum from which I can hopefully remake the other inner frame. Ed's about to start building a new shop. I visited his current basement shop, and he has a nice lot of gear. Hopefully he'll give us a build thread.


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## kvom (Apr 9, 2010)

I worked on the cylinders the past two afternoon; after fubaring one I had to restart that one with a new atrategy. I used the manual mill to reduce the round bar to size on 5 sides, then milled the round top on the CNC mill. It was slow going squaring the sides as CI needs slow SFM (400 rpm, 5/8 endmill), slow feed (4 IPM), and a modest DOC (.100 shook the mill a little too much for comfort, but .075 seemed OK). Here's the result of those ops:






Then I did the bases. I'd already run the CNC program with the aluminum trial cylinder, so this part went smoothly:






The holes were drilled .101 to be tapped for 5-40 studs. The next job will be to drill the bore and the cover mounting holes (also 5-40).


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## rake60 (Apr 9, 2010)

Looking great kvom. Thm:

Rick


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## kvom (Apr 11, 2010)

Some more work on the cylinders after watching the Masters golf:

First I used the CNC mill to center drill all the holes in one face each cylinder, then a #38 drikll 1/4" deep for the cover mounting studs. Next I moved to the manual mill to drill the bore 11/32 and then ream .376". I preferred to drill manually for feel. The bore holes now had a sliding fit with a piece of 3/8" drill rod.






Now I used the drill rod in the lathe tailstock to position the cylinder body in the 4-jaw chuck:






Then I used a 23/32" drill with a MT2 shank that I borrowed from school to drill the bore. 400 RPM and a slow hand feed with frequent pecking.






Then reaming to 3/4" with the reamer held in a chuck in the tailstock:






Now they're ready to drill the steam input and exhaust holes.






The plans show 6 studs for the cover plates, but as drawn the two bottom holes interfere with mounting holes in the base. So I went with an 8-hole pattern omitting the bottom hole, which would interfere with the steam inlets.


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## Deanofid (Apr 11, 2010)

Good progress, Kvom. Thanks for the pics and writing.

Dean


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## ksouers (Apr 12, 2010)

Nice job on the bores, kvom. Very clean work with reamer, I usually get a little chatter at the entry.


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## kvom (Apr 12, 2010)

Spent a few hours more working on the cylinders this afternoon. This time it was drilling the inlet and exhaust holes. The inlet holes on each side are drilled from the lower "lip" of the borem on each side to intersect with the pockets milled in the base. Westbury thankfully drew the plans so that the angle of the inlet holes is 30 degrees relative to the bore. This means that the cylinder can be positioned in the milling vise with a simple 30-60-90 angle bar.






I first needed to mill a flat at the bottom of the bore, then center drill the three holes separated by 3/32". Then a 3/32" drill for the inlet holes. Repeat on each end of each cylinder.






The exhaust hole connects one side of each cylinder to the central pocket, and once again a 30-60-90 angle bar serves to set the cylinder in the vise. the exhaust passage is 3/8" diameter, and intersects with one of the stud holes. However, there is enough material left to thread for a stud.


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## zeeprogrammer (Apr 12, 2010)

I know I haven't been saying much...but I've been reading your thread all along and find it pretty interesting. I enjoy the detail and tips.

Those cylinders are pretty amazing.


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## kvom (Apr 13, 2010)

To those who responded or are following along, than ks for the support. I'm going to need it.

My back is sore from bouncing around in a friend's Jeep this weekend, so I'm limiting the amount of time standing up in the shop in front of the machinery until it calms down. Today I went for a fairly simple part, the steam chest covers, for which I had already sized up stock blanks previously.

The CNC mill had 4 operations: spot drill the mounting holes, drill them, mill a 1/32" pocket on one side with a 3/16" endmill, and then finish the pocket with a 1/16" endmill to get the corners as close to square as possible.






The holes are drilled with a #30 bit to clear the 5-40 studs that will connect the cylinders, steam chest, and cover.


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## Philjoe5 (Apr 13, 2010)

Really nice photo documentation going on in this build. :bow: The cylinders look really good. Did they start out as rectangles that were rounded on one end?

Cheers,
Phil

Oops! I double checked on back posts - I see they began as round stock. Not being a CNC thinker I couldn't imagine doing that operation by manual methods.


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## kvom (Apr 13, 2010)

Without CNC, you could mill the top semi-circle with a rotary table. 

I started with round stock as that was the only suitable form that Speedy Metals offered in cast iron. I had to use 3" of raw stock for each so that I would have enough material to clamp in the vise while milling the round top. All in all probably 60% of the material is now chips. 

I discovered that the square boss on the base is too large to fit through the cutout in the frame piece. Both dimension are two large by about .01" or so. It appears that while I was using a nominal 5/8" cutter and used .625" in the CAM program, the actual cutter diameter is .620". I should have measured while the cylinder was still in the vise; then it would be simple to just adjust the cutter diameter and rerun the g-code. I can still do that but I'll still have to do all the measurements to establish the zeros in all 3 coords.

For straightforward milling ops on one-off pieces you don't gain any time with CNC. In fact, it usually takes longer as you have to draw the part, then import it to CAM. However, for any curved surface it's a lot easier.  But it's also a lot easier to break endmills if you make a mistake.


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## kvom (Apr 14, 2010)

With my back still a bit sore, I spent yesterday evening drawing up a few more parts in CAD. I had previously drawn the eccentric strap, and having formulated a plan for the machining process I decided to givem this a shot today. The first task was to mill two pieces of 1/4' thick 360 brass to size, 1.5"x.75".

The first step is milling the profiles on both pieces. Since there is only .25" of the .75" width left chucked in the vise afterwards, I decided to put softjaws in the vise and milled a slot to clamp the pieces:







The first pass on the profiles was done with a 1/2" endmill to remove the majority of the material, followed by a 1/8" endmill for a finishing pass. Here's the result:






Next clearance holes for 2-56 screws were drilled manually.






Here progress had to stop as I have no 2-56 nuts to clamp the two pieces together for future milling. Once I obtain the nuts, I will use them to clamp the two pieces securely together, then face mill both sides flat to a final thickness of 3/16", and then bore the central 1" hole for the eccentric. After that it remains to drill the oil hole on the right side piece and drill/tap holes for mounting the eccentric rod on the left.

In the meantime I'll try to locate some more brass for the second strap.


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## kvom (Apr 15, 2010)

Today's parts are the "weigh shaft arms", which form part of the reversing linkage. They are a press fit on the weight shaft and are connected to the lifting links via a screw. So the first order of business was to make a fixture plate with a piece of 3/16" drill rod and a clearance hole for a 5-40 screw. The holes are 1.5" apart. The larger hole was drilled 1/64 small and then reamed .001 under for a press fit.

The blank stock was milled square. Then the 3/16 hole was drilled and reamed to match the fixture, and the smaller hole was tapped 5-40 on the tapping stand:






Next the blank was pressed onto the drill rod, and the other end attached from the bottom with a 5-40 SHCS. The piece was thus held down to the fixture plate securely.






The fixture and stock were all prepared on the manual mill, but now the fixture plate wasm mounted on the CNC mill to mill the final form.






The first one on the right came out "off center". It would still be useable since the holes are correctly spaced, but I'll plan to make another one later. I have no idea why there is a discrepancy in setting the zero. For the second one I eyeballed a .003 correction in the Y direction.

Since all the milling was done with a 1/4" 2-flute endmill, no tool changes were needed, so the milling takes only a couple of minutes at most. The prep and setup tool a couple of hours.


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## Deanofid (Apr 15, 2010)

kvom  said:
			
		

> Since all the milling was done with a 1/4" 2-flute endmill, no tool changes were needed, so the milling takes only a couple of minutes at most. The prep and setup tool a couple of hours.



So, just like manual milling, except both steps take a couple of hours, right?
; )

Thanks for the progress update, Kvom!

Dean


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## Artie (Apr 15, 2010)

Fantastic stuff Kvom, Im envious of the pace of your build. :bow:

While I used the same plan set to get inspiration Ive deviated dramatically from Mr Westburys engine. This means Ive got to design and make a component, prove it works, THEN go and make its mate.

Its been slow progress and work has had me away fairly often over the last few months (this isnt going to let up at all it seems) so opportunities seem limited. I went into the shop last night to finsh the cross heads and ended up just cleaning things... another moment wasted.

I enjoy your posts and it helps keep me motivated. Keep it up mate.

Cheers

Rob


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## kvom (Apr 16, 2010)

Today I made a start on the crossheads. I decided to make these from 6061 Al rather than brass as I had the right size material. So the guide bars will be brass to provide a good sliding surface. The crosshead requires machining on three sides, so this is the left side where the piston rod attaches. Material is 1x1x3/8" with 1/8" spigot. CNC milled the spigot and drilled to tap for 10-32 thread.






Once again the CAD/CAM work takes the most time, then sizing the stock on the manual mill. The actual spindle time on the CNC mill is less than a minute, as most of the time is setting the zeros, changing tools, etc.


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## kvom (Apr 17, 2010)

Spent a little bit of time after dinner in the shop to machine the top side of the crossheads. Here there are two crossed oil grooves 1/16" wide by 1/32" deep, plus a 1/8" oil hole (which presumably allows oil to reach the conrod link pin). As usual, programming and setup take all the time, and the machining is rapid.


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## Cedge (Apr 17, 2010)

Kvom
That engine is going to be a showpiece when you get her finished. Beautiful work!!

Steve


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## kvom (Apr 17, 2010)

That's a real compliment coming from Steve. Thanks for the support.


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## kvom (Apr 18, 2010)

I finished the 3rd machining operation on the crossheads this morning. Drill 4 #30 holes for mounting the side plates and then mill then space for the conrod to swivel vertically.


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## Philjoe5 (Apr 18, 2010)

Looks good kvom. This is a really interesting build. 

Cheers,
Phil


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## kvom (Apr 19, 2010)

Today's contribution is fabrication of the expansion links, wich form part of the reversing mechanism, one link per cylinder. A link is connected to 4 other parts. 

1) The circular slot is connected to the end of the valve rod, which slides along the slot;

2) The center hole is connected to a lifting link that is in turn connected to a weigh shaft arm.

3) The two outer holes are connected to two eccentrics.

In operation, the weigh shaft is turned causing the lifting link to raise or lower. This in turn rotates the expansion link which reverses the timing of the eccentrics, thus reversing the engine's rotation.

These parts are seemingly ones where CNC gains the most in terms of effort. To make manually would require a lot of filing to achieve the contours, as well as the rotab to make the slot accurately. Once the CAD/CAM was complete, each part took less than an hour to machine, mainly because of numerous tool changes.






The part on the right shows where material was left on each end after CNC work; this was necessary to keep the work secured in the milling vise. I programmed a shallow radial cut to indicate the final contour. The ends were then finished on the manual mill using this cut as a guide for positioning the piece in the vise.


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## Dan Rowe (Apr 19, 2010)

Hi Kvom,
Those links look really good, you are providing good inspiration to master the CNC learning curve.

Dan


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## Artie (Apr 19, 2010)

These look great Kvom, Im not overly happy with the drilled corners and am using a triangular file to make mine square without the drill holes. I am ussuming that you wont be running the engine for long periods at a time (ala at shows etc)?

Edar T. (Westbury) was concerned about wear in these units and suggested that they would be better built from hardened steel or hardened after manufacture if warpage could be eliminated. His are from 3/16 mild steel and I see no problem with brass of the thickness you have used for short term useage.

"The material specified for the link
is mild steel, which has been found
quite satisfactory, and shows no
signs of wear so far, but it would be
better still if made in a harder material
such as carbon steel, which, however,
has not been readily obtainable in
3/16 in. thickness. Case-hardening the
mild steel links would give everlasting
wear, but risk of distortion is very
great in a component of this shape."

Im still undecided yet and it was interesting to see that we are up to this component together. I am inclined to go the bras route..., can always remake later if it becomes a problem.

Keep it up...watching with interest..
Rob


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## kvom (Apr 20, 2010)

Artie, I doubt the engine will see a lot of hours, anjd as you say the part can be remade. Or the slide block could be remade.

I am making parts in a "random" order as the spirit guides me, or as I have material or tools to do do. Today I decided to work on the steam chests some more. First I drilled and pocketed the one I started some time ago, and then started on the second one. This time I milled the circular spigot rather than turning on the late. 






I still have drilling and tapping to do on both, and the first one is a bit thicker than in the drawing.


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## kvom (Apr 22, 2010)

My next effort is the "big ends", or crankhead bearing as Westbury termed it. Starting material is some 1" diameter brass rod. On the lathe I faced, then parted off 4 pieces about .7" long, and then milled the parted side flat. To hold the pieces repeatably and securely in the CNC milling vise, I milled a 1" diameter pocket .2" deep in the aluminum soft jaws:











Then the side profile could be milled as well as the mounting holes. Once removed from the vise, the round holding stub was milled from the bottom and each piece brought to size (5/16").











The 5-40 threaded rod I will use to connect the bearing halves and the conrod measured .118", so I drilled the holes with a #31 (.120) for a close fit.

Finally the pairs were clamped in the milling vise to finish the sides. After milling the round boss, the crank hole was creaedm by drilling 11/64" and then reaming .376 for a sliding fit on the 3/8" crank.






These little parts took the best part of two afternoons in the shop, not counting CAD/CAM time.


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## Troutsqueezer (Apr 22, 2010)

Yes but you've got some _great_ looking little parts!

-Trout


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## don-tucker (Apr 23, 2010)

I am in awe at the quality and speed of your work Kvom,and find it facinating to see this engine made using CNC.My brother with whom I made this engine years ago thinks it is easy and "not real model engineering" with cnc but having done a little bit know otherwise,there are a load of new skills involved.We must forgive my brother,he is the old school at 84 so go easy on him.
Don


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## kvom (Apr 24, 2010)

Thanks for everyone's comments.

Don, your brother will like the current effort better. No CNC work at all as I try to make a conrod to ET's plan.

Rather than steel, this is some 1" diameter brass rod, of which I have 7' and thus enough to screw up many times. Mounted in the lathe, I turned the following piece:






Not having a ball turner, I used Marv Klotz's ball turning program to output a schedule for turning a 1/2" diameter ball using 5 degree angle increments. The shaft was turned to 3/8" with the neck nearest the ball grooved to 1/4". From the end of the ball to the end of the shaft is 3.25".

Next the piece was mounted in the Bridgeport vise held between two V-blocks. A 1/4" endmill was used to make a flat on the side of the ball plus cut a flat that will be the finar form of that end of the rod. The ball was then center drilled, drilled, and reamed to 1/4" diameter.






A second flat was milled on the large end to provide a reference for clamping to bill the large end on the opposite side.






The next operation will be to put it back in the lathe and use the taper attachment to taper the shaft from 3/8 to 1/4 over its length.


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## don-tucker (Apr 25, 2010)

Thats an interesting use of the v-blocks,I'll have to remember that.
Don


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## ariz (Apr 25, 2010)

kvom I didn't follow your work (and the whole forum) for some time, but your progress with CNC is tremendous!
this engine will be lovely
great job :bow:


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## kvom (Apr 26, 2010)

Thanks for lookig ariz.

Today I decided to try to finish the first conrod, so after a much needed vacuuming of the machinery I set up the Monarch's taper attachment. Setting the little indicator on the 2-degree mark, I measured the actual taper angle as calculated from the XY DRO reading: 2.02 degrees, close enough!

After cutting the taper as close to the ball end as possible, I gave the shaft a quick polish with some 320 grit paper and than Scotchbrite. On this machine it's better to cut a taper toward the large end to take up any backlash in the crossfeed screw.







Earlier I had been worried about whether I could easily clamp the conrod vertically to drill the mounting holes and mill it to length, as it's over 1" longer than the jaws are deep. Luckily the vise jaws overhand enough to do so.






Finished with the big end bearing attached:






I thought it interesting to find that Reeves in England still sells casting for this engine (at 550 pounds, $800  ). Their website didn't saw which parts are included.


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## don-tucker (Apr 26, 2010)

I won't tell my brother you made the conrods out of brass. ;D
Don


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## Philjoe5 (Apr 26, 2010)

Great looking con rod Kvom! :bow: Thanks for posting the process. I may give that a try on my next build.

Cheers,
Phil


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## kvom (Apr 28, 2010)

Yesterday I made the second conrod taking advantage of lessons learned in making the first. The main change on the lathe was turning the shaft to 1/2", the diameter of the ball end, rather than the final major diameter of 3/8. So after cutting and filing the ball as before, I could place the shaft into a 1/2" 5C collet and the square collet block.






The 4.10" workpiece was just long enough so that the ball and part of the end were visible. Then I was able to mill flats on both ends, taking 1/32" off the ball and .200 off the end. After drilling and reaming the hole in the ball, I could flip the collet block and mill matching flats on the opposite sides.






Next I reversed the piece in the collet so that the large end was fully exposed, and used the height gauge on the surface plate to set the milled flat horizontal:






Now I could mill parallel flats to form the sides of the large end of the conrod. Then it was back to the lathe to reconnect the taper attachment and turn the shaft taper as before.

The remaining tasks were to mill the large end down to final length and drill the mounting holes. I discovered that it was easier to clamp the piece between two parallels than to use the tops of the vise jaws. In order to keep the parallels tight against the jaws, I inserted some pieces from my gauge block set in the opposite end.






Final result:


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## kvom (Apr 28, 2010)

I goofed off all afternoon, so after dinner I decided to knock out the 4 cheek plates of the crossheads.






The CNC milling/drilling took only a half hour. Squaring the pieces, milling the jaws, and tapping took a couple of hours altogether. While the 5-40 SHCS are good for now, I think either studs/nuts or hex head screws will look better in the end.


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## kvom (Apr 30, 2010)

I was supposed to go on a 2-day offroad event, but tweaked my back and decided it was not for the best to go. Since I can stand without discomfort, I spent the afternoon in the shop. Today's goal was to make progress on the cylinder covers.

Having obtained a length of 1.5" brass rod, the process on each of the 4 covers was to start on the lathe:

1) face
2) facing cut to create a .75" spigot .06" deep, to serve as a seal for the cylinder bore
3) part off

The rest was done on the CNC mill. A 1.5" round pocket .100" deep was milling in the soft jaws of the vise to hold each cover and to ensure that each was centered. From then on it was a matter of milling and drilling.

The end result of the days's effort is shown here:


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## kvom (May 1, 2010)

This afternoon's effort was to make the two slide-bar brackets. These attach to the inner frame and secure the far end of the bars on which the crosshead slides (the other end of the bars attach to the cylinder cover).






The machining sequence was as follows:

1) square 2 pieces 1x1.5x.375 inches on the manual mill
2) CNC the main "pocket" using a 7/16 endmill
3) CNC the inner profile with a 1/8" endmill
4) Back to the manual mill to make the outer 45-degree cut.
5) Drill the clearance holes for the 5-40 screws that will attach the bars.

To be done: file the edges of the inner slots where the bars attach, and drill/tap holes in the sides to attach to the frame. This latter operation will be done once the positions of the brackets are known exactly (i.e., the crosshead slides smoothly between the bars with no binding).


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## kvom (May 4, 2010)

Latest parts made are the two valve forks that connect the valve rod to the die block, which slides inside the link.






The screws show where the threaded valve rod attach via 5-40 threads, plus a lock nut for adjusting the valve travel.


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## don-tucker (May 4, 2010)

Looking good Mr Kvom I can remember making these parts as if it was last week,the way you are going this will be up and running by the time I'm home from hols.
Don


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## kvom (May 4, 2010)

Things are going to slow down soon, Don. At the end of the month I'll be hauling the Jeep out to Utah for a week's offroading in Moab, then staying another week out there for a family vacation. So along with the time for driving out and back that'll be 3 weeks with no shop time.

I recently discovered this website http://www.donashton.co.uk/index.html which describes how these links work, along with some good animations.


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## don-tucker (May 4, 2010)

Thanks for the site,I've sent it along to my Bro.
Cheers Don


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## kvom (May 4, 2010)

Today's parts are the valve rods and the valve buckle. Rods are 1/8" drill rod threaded 5-40. For the setscrew on the buckle, I drilled and tapped for a 2-56 screw and countersunk for a SHCS.


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## Dan Rowe (May 4, 2010)

Thanks for the link to Don Ashton's website. I have his book on valve gears and I highly recommend it.

The web section on Traction and Marine gear states the problem with marine engines they have short rods and this makes the error more pronounced. The type of gear you are modeling is direct Stephenson. To get this to work with Dockstader's valve gear program took me a bit to figure out. I am a Shay fan which uses the very same type of valve gear and launch links.

If anyone is interested in direct Stephenson gear and valve gear programs I can start a new thread on the subject and not hijack this one.

Dan


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## kvom (May 5, 2010)

My task for the past two days was to make the two cylinder gland nuts. No CNC work for these.  

I had a short piece of 3/4" diameter brass, so the first task was to turn down the outer ends to 1/2" and thread them 1/2-28. By doing the threads at each end I was able to have a nice amount of material held in the lathe collet, and as well I knew the DRO DOC settings for the second thread once the first was done.






I had previously tapped an aluminum "nut", so I had something to test when the thread was good. Next each end was parted off:






The nut now comes in handy again. I parted off each end, then threaded the gland into the nut so that the parted end could be cleaned up:






Now the nut/gland/collet were transferred to the hex collet block on the mill to drill the 6 radial holes for tommy bars (used to tighten the nut onto the gland):






The drilled nuts:






The hole for the piston rod will be drilled with the nut screwed into the cylinder cover to ensure concentricity.


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## Maryak (May 5, 2010)

Kvom,

I have been following this with great interest and it's really looking good :bow: :bow: That CNC is sure great for making more than one of the same part, as are your manual skills with the gland nuts. ;D

Best Regards
Bob


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## kvom (May 11, 2010)

Bob,

I appreciate the support; thanks for your comments.

Over the past three days I've been trying to make progress on the eccentric straps, all the while having life get in the way. I recently found a slotting saw via Craigslist, so it was a big help in cutting out the blanks for the straps from some 1/8' thick brass sheet. Each of the 8 pieces was machined to 1.5x.75". All three dimensions are slightly larger than the final target size.






I should have made a spare as I later ruined one and had to go back and make another.  :'(

Then each piece has a profile cut on the CNC mill: roughing cut with a .25" endmill, and a finish cut with a 1/8" endmill. I had previously made another but it was messed up since I had a poor design for clamping in the vise. This time I left a flat on each side; on the forward side this will later be milled away.






Then the mounting holes were drilled. Here I used softjaws on the vise to machine a holding pocket. This allowed the hole spacing to be quite precise. Now I'm able to screw the two halves together with 2-56 screws and nuts. The screws will be trimmed at some point.






Remaining to be done:

1) Bore 1" diameter hole in each to contain the eccentrics
2) Mill straps to 3/16" thickness (or to match slot in the eccentric disks), and remove 1/16" from rod mounting surface
3) Drill and tap mounting holes for the eccentric rods (4-40)
4) Finish profile and drill oil hole


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## zeeprogrammer (May 11, 2010)

Eccentric straps are some of my favorite parts to see.
A classic engine part.

2-56 screws! Small!

I went back through the thread to remind myself of what you're building.
Very very nice project.


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## Deanofid (May 11, 2010)

It's coming along well, K. 
There's an odd flat on one half of the eccentrics. (I don't mean odd as in bad, but as in different.) 
Are those for oil cups?

Dean


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## kvom (May 11, 2010)

The "flap" will be milled off to make an angle, with the oil hole drilled into it. On the plans there's no cups, but they could be added.


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## kvom (May 12, 2010)

Today was the most shop time I've put in for quite a while: over 7 hours. Too much like work?

The first task was to mill out the eccentric bores. I did a "circle mill" on the CNC mill rather than use a boring bar. I expect this will be accurate enough, although there was a few thousands variation after the operations were done. I suspect the brass spring back a bit after being compressed by the vise.







Next I decided to tackle the eccentric rods, which are possibly the trickiest parts to make of all. The first operation was to CNC mill the side profile .200" deep in some aluminum. I did two of them in some scrap pieces, and the other two in some material I cut to size.






Next I milled a pocket in the vise's soft jaws to match the profile. Broke one end of a 2-eneded 1/6" carbide endmill taking too deep a cut.   the pocket was milled .125" deep. Now I could invert the work pieces, hold them precisely in the vise, and mill the other half. 











Finally, with the rod held in the pocket I drilled the 1/8" hole where it will connect to the expansion link.






Here's the stopping point for the night.






Still to do:

1) Mill the top profile
2) Mill the slot for the expansion link
3) Drill mounting holes for attaching to the eccentric strap


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## kustomkb (May 12, 2010)

very nice work on your parts kvom. They look great!

If I may offer an alternative to clamping in the vise;

A fixture plate can be drawn up in your CAD/CAM program with spaced out tapped holes.

then bore a hole off in a corner, or centre, to clock in with your dial as your XY Zero.

now you part can be moved around in your computer to get it close to your preexisting holes for clamping. Also you can clearance drill through to retain a slug knowing there is a hole allready tapped underneath.

When you add new holes like removeable dowel pins, update your model for the next job.

parts can be milled a half a profile at a time by flipping the clamps around, without worrying about distortion.
















To minimize end mill breakage, I use a general rule of 10% diameter step down per pass or when ramping down. 

sorry for the lecture,

Have fun!


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## kvom (May 13, 2010)

Kevin,

A fixture plate like that is certainly useful, and I ought to make one. Good photos. I did use something similar, though cruder, for the frame plates. I needed to use the softjaws for these parts since the sides are not flat. 

To finish the eccentric rod this afternoon, I first milled the 3/16" wide slots. Since I made the links thicker than called for in the plans, I would need to either mill them thinner or else make this slot wider. I looked at the assembly elevation, and it looks as if there is not a lot of space. So I will need to thin the links and the eccentric straps.

My setup for milling the slots was a little non-standard, since one side of the rod isn't flat:











With the slots done, it was back to use the pocket in the vise jaws to face off the other side of the rod:






Westbury milled a radius between the "head" and the shaft, although I rather like it the way it is.

Finally, I drilled the strap end with a #32 drill for the 4-40 mounting studs.






Normally I would want to turn the eccentrics next, but since they need to be fitted to the straps, the next task will be milling the straps to 3/16" thickness.


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## SAM in LA (May 13, 2010)

KVOM,

Great looking parts.

You may want to reconsider adding the radius rather than leaving that corner square.

That square corner between the rod and clevis will be a weak point.

Just my unsolicited $0.02.

Regards,

SAM


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## kvom (May 18, 2010)

The past few shop hours were devoted to making the guide bars; in theory a simple task. Four brass pieces ~4"x3/8"x1/8" with a few through holes and a slight bevel on one end of each. However, the only suitable brass stock I possessed was a couple of feet of 1/2" square bar. Not wanting to mill away 3 quarters of the brass, I decided to use my new little slotting saw to cut the bar in two lengthwise. While I succeeded eventually, the geometry of the saw/vise/parallels required a semi-bizarre setup and most of an afternoon to accomplish the cuts.

Once I had 4 rough pieces, the final dimensions need to be fairly precise so as to allow the crosshead to slide smoothly and straight. So I proceeded using quite small cuts on the mill with frequent repeated measurements. The bevel on the ends is needed to provide clearance to the conrod when the crank journals are at their highest and lowest points. While I expect that they may need to be adjusted at assembly time by filing, I decided to 
try to use my sine bar setup for the first time to mill the 15 degree angle.






For many here, use of a sine bar to set a precise angle is old hat. I had done it once before at school, but this was the first use at the home shop. Since the sine bar is 5" long, I needed to elevate the free end with gauge blocks equal to 5" x sin(15), or 1.294". To do this, I wrung together gauge blocks of thickness .05, .144, .1, and 1 and lowered the bar onto the stack. After locking the joint, the top of the bed was at a quite precise 15 degrees.

Once I had drilled the mounting holes in the bars, I did a quick "finger assembly" to check out the fit of the associated parts.






The support brackets on the other end of the bars need to be filed so that the bars fit closely. That's a task for another time.


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## kvom (May 19, 2010)

Today I made a bit more progress on the eccentric straps. The first task was to machine the thickness to 3/16". I had previously taken off about .030" from one side on the mill, but found that for the other side I was not getting a secure hold in the vise. Thanks to a suggest by Ed Taylor, I turned a mandrel from some 1-1/4" aluminum round, forming a 1" diameter spigot to match the bore of the straps.






Each strap in turn was tightened onto the spigot, with the back edge providing alignment. Then I was able to remove the excess width taking small cuts of .005-.009" per pass.






Next, the half that attached to the eccentric rod was milled to a height of 11/16 from 3/4, and the mounting holes were drilled and tapped for 4-40 screws.


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## kvom (May 20, 2010)

Today I did a trial assembly of an eccentric strap to its rod. I discovered soon enough that the radius I milled between the staft and the base interferes with the 5-40 nut.






So I came up with this setup on the mill to remove the radii:






With the rod now mountable a loose assembly of partial valve components looks like this:






I need to figure out the best way to make the "studs" cut from some 4-40 allthread look good. This time I used a dremel-type cutoff wheel and then passed a die over the cut end. I also only threaded the strap holes with a plug tap, and in the 3/16" deep holes I get 4 full threads. I can make a bottoming tap by grinding the tip off a second plug tap if that's not enough; doing so would get me 6-7 full threads.

The engine won't get any further progress for a while, as I will be vacationing in Utah for 3 weeks starting on the 25th. I'm driving out towing my Jeep for some offroading at Moab. 1800 mile drive each way.


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## don-tucker (May 20, 2010)

Do you really want to go away for all that time Kvom,I want to see this engine completed now I am back home from Rhodes.It has the precise look of machined parts you can only get from a CNC.Excellent.
Don


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## kvom (May 20, 2010)

Rhodes? Hope they aren't rioting there.  

I'll also be gone the entire months of September and October, so if I get this done by the end of the year I'll be happy. I still have to tap all 28 holes in each of the cylinders, and not having tapped cast iron before I would hate to break a tap in one of them. I'm also not sure what kind of main bearings I want to use. I'm thinking about using some needle bearings rather than the split bushings called for in the plans.

Nonetheless, the parts box is pleasantly full after only a couple of months sporadic work.


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## zeeprogrammer (May 20, 2010)

kvom  said:
			
		

> I'll also be gone the entire months of September and October, so if I get this done by the end of the year I'll be happy.



Not acceptable. ;D I can't sit on the edge of my seat that long.


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## don-tucker (May 21, 2010)

kvom  said:
			
		

> Rhodes? Hope they aren't rioting there.
> 
> I'll also be gone the entire months of September and October, so if I get this done by the end of the year I'll be happy. I still have to tap all 28 holes in each of the cylinders, and not having tapped cast iron before I would hate to break a tap in one of them. I'm also not sure what kind of main bearings I want to use. I'm thinking about using some needle bearings rather than the split bushings called for in the plans.
> 
> Nonetheless, the parts box is pleasantly full after only a couple of months sporadic work.


Nope no trouble in Rhodes,lovely people,Please please don't use needle bearings for the mains,I wouldn't be able to face my brother if I told him that,he would say it would be like putting PVC windows in an Edwardian mansion ;D .
Cast iron is good to tap with a bit of patience and clearing the hole with a jet of air now and then ( like to see you CNC that job .
Don


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## kvom (Jul 5, 2010)

Back from travelling, so time to start up the build again.  

Today's parts are the valve rod tail supports, which screw into the back of the steam chest abd support the end of the valve rod.

While these parts are pretty simple, they took quite a while. All operations are manual.






Started with some 3/8" brass rod and turned the closed end down to 1/4, then rounded the end with a form tool. Then parted off for as total length of 3/4".

With the closed end chucked in a 1/4 collet, I turned the open end down to 1.4 diameter for 1/4 length, then drilled 1/8" hole 5/8 deep. Next threaded 1/4-20 ( don't have a 1/4-28 die, must get one).

Finally milled the hex portion using hex collet block.


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## kvom (Jul 7, 2010)

Today I made some progress on finishing the steam chests. Basically drilled and tapped the holes on either end for the valve rods: 1/4-20 for the back end and 5/16-24 for the glands. With the rod supports in place, here's a trial loose assembly photo.






I need to ream the rod support holes with the +.001 reamer to get smooth sliding fit and adjust a few things for better fit, but once the glands are made the steam chest/valve assembly will be complete.


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## don-tucker (Jul 7, 2010)

looking good Kvom,glad to see you back at work.
Don


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## kvom (Jul 13, 2010)

Having (at long last) replaced my broken 10-32 tap, I decided to continue on with the piston and piston rod (piston is machined while attached to the rod to ensure concentricity).

The first of two is shown here. Unfortunately I messed up the other rod when threading one end crooked, and that was the last of my 1.4" drill rod supply.  

The piston is down to less than .001 greater then the .750 cylinder bore, so finishing will wait until they can be worked together.

Picture shows the attachment to the crosshead.


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## ariz (Jul 14, 2010)

great work so far Kirk :bow:

keep it up


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## kvom (Jul 17, 2010)

Don & Ariz, thanks for looking in.

Yesterday I finally got around to remaking the inner frame piece that I had messed up a few months ago. This long post shows the improved CNC fixture setup I came up with to result in a good part. Previously I tried holding the part to the fixture block with 2-sided carpet tape, clamps, and bolts. This time I am using a holding tab feature to hold the outline cut attached to the surrounding metal. The first step was to secure the aluminum fixture plate in the pair of milling vises using soft jaws:






The soft jaws are a bit too tall above the hard jaws and have a tendency to bend outward under hard clamping. I decided to level it with the 1.25" endmill skimming a few thou.

The material for the frame and the fixture plate had been previously drilled, so I bolted the work onto the fixture using 4 .25" bolts, without removing the fixture from the vise.






Having set the X and Y axis zero, a final check to ensure that all is well using the prior bad part.






The first milling step is this pocket .25" deep, which covers all of the thin part of the frame except the curved postion under the hornblock. I used a .682" 2 flute endmill for this operation in two passes.






Next the hornblock profile was cut with a .437" endmill, the same that will be used to mill the final outline. Using this endmill here ensures that the rest of the frame profile will blend smoothly with the hornblock. Once this is done, all the numerous holes in the frame were drilled.






Now the through hole for the cylinder was roughed with a .25" endmill.






And then a finish pass with a 1/16" endmill:






Next the 1" hole iwas milled;






And the outline completes the CNC milling.






I used a small endmill on the manual mill to cut through the 3 tabs along the top and free the frame from the surroundings material. Turned out the bottom tabs weren't needed:






Some milling, filing, and deburring completed the frame:


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## don-tucker (Jul 19, 2010)

You are red hot with that CNC,you must forgive my little cracks and jibes,I would love to be able to do that.
Don


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## kvom (Jul 20, 2010)

Thanks for dropping in, Don.

Latest progress was the staybolts and weigh shaft to connect the 4 frame plates together.






The next pieces I have in mind are the mounting brackets for the feet and the crank bearings.


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## kvom (Jul 21, 2010)

Finished the mounting plates for the rear of the inner frames. These took quite a bit longer than I expected.






For the front I need 4 longer ones.


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## kvom (Jul 22, 2010)

Made another pair of feet this evening. Still surprising how much time these simple parts take.


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## kvom (Jul 25, 2010)

Some small progress on the engine the past few days.

Made the front feet for the inner frames; no pics for these, but similar to the others.

The next goal is to make the bearings for the crankshaft. I decided to make these as 1 piece and fit the crank to them before mounting to the frames. This is possible as there are separate crankshafts for each cylinder. These will be milled from some 1" round brass bar. I tried the first via CNC milling yielding a .6"x.8"x1" blank. Afterwards I thought up a better/quicker way that I'll document in a later post. The first step is facing the end of the bar on the lathe via a 1" collet, then mounting the bar and collet in a square collet block.






The CNC mill then carves out a .8x.6 profile 1" deep.






I then "whittled" out slots on the side and bottom to fit one of the frame hornblocks using the Bridgeport. I screwed up and made the side slots too wide, so this will be scrapped. Once the block will slide fully onto the hornblock, I measure the amound the top extends beyond the hornblock and then mill it flat.






The bearings are held in place by a strap across the top of the hornblock. It's necessary to drill and tap two holes for the screwing the strap to the hornblock. Here's the setup in the milling vise:






I managed to get a second bearing block fitted before leaving the shop, as well as drilling and tapping all 4 hornblocks.






Next time out I'll try to fit three more bearing blocks and make the retaining straps. Then it's back to the CNC to bore and ream the holes for the crankshafts.


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## zeeprogrammer (Jul 26, 2010)

Very nice kvom.
I need to learn more about this. Caused me to do some searching and found some interesting stuff.

Newbie question...can this engine be used for either a side paddle or stern paddle?


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## Brian Rupnow (Jul 26, 2010)

Zee---Some guesswork here on my part, but to steer a side wheeler they would have to have independent speed control and reverseability for the two side wheels---thus two seperate crankshafts as has been mentioned. Is this engine actually two reverseable engines side by side on a common frame?---Likewise, to steer a stern wheeler, the stern wheel would have to be split on the center long axis of the boat with each half being independent of the other to allow steerability without a rudder. If that is so, then the engine would probably work for a stern wheeler with chain drive from each independent crankshaft to each independent half of the split stern wheel.---Its an interesting concept. When I was about 12 or 13 years old, I rigged up a bicycle frame in a flat bottomed boat, with a chain drive to a peice of 3/4" waterpipe which rested on top of the boatsides, with a paddlewheel made out of wood on each end. It worked great, but I had to mount a rudder on the rear of the boat to steer it with, as the paddlewheels were not independent of each other. The next year, I converted it to a sternwheeler, driven by an old gasoline washing machine engine. My gear reduction was via a couple of 3" diameter v-belt pulleys driving 26" bicycle wheels with the tires removed, to act as giant v-pulleys. I remember that it was a total pig to steer, the v-belts slipped really bad when they got wet, and if I gave it too much gas, the revolving stern wheel would lift up water and thow it into the back of the boat, rapidly filling the boat with water. My thoughts at the time were to convert back to side wheels with a couple of jack-shafts with independent belt tensioners to allow me to steer via slip clutches. Unfortunately, entering high school and discovering GIRLS sidetracked my project, and the final change was never made.---I can still remember a lot of wonderful sun filled summers, paddleing around the lake and trolling for small mouth bass.-Brian


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## kvom (Jul 26, 2010)

I believe in normal operation side paddlewheels were steered with a rudder and the wheels being locked together. While this engine is called a "set of engines', neither is self-starting if disconnected. This model has a separate junction piece to connect the two crankshafts.

This engine would is different than a stern paddle engine. Here the engines are canted upward to allow the engine mechanism to be down in the hull but the drive shafts elevated to the level of the deck. 
\
A stern wheeler would typically have a much longer crank rod. The boats are shallow draft for rivers and hence the engines would be higher and oriented horizontally.


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## Blogwitch (Jul 27, 2010)

Kvom,

In the UK there were a group of ships called the 'Director' class. Not steam powered, but diesel/electric and did have independent paddle control, for maneuverability.



> Royal Navy Paddle Tugs
> 
> Seven paddle tugs built for the Royal Navy, with the main role of providing berthing assistance to aircraft carriers. The very wide beam over the paddles allowed the tugs to tuck under the protruding flightdecks of carriers without catching their funnels. Dexterous, Director, Faithful and Forceful were built by Yarrow Shipbuilders at Scotstoun in 1957. Griper and Grinder were built by William Simons & Co at Renfrew in 1958. Favourite was built by Ferguson Brothers of Port Glasgow and launched on 1st July 1958. She was scrapped in 1980.
> LOA 157', breadth 60', draught 10', 473 grt.
> ...



http://rfaaplymouth.org/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=1519


Just another bit of useless information


John


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## NickG (Jul 27, 2010)

Kvom,

I've just come across this, don't often check for new stuff as there is so much now it's hard to keep up with! You are making this look so easy now, those cylinders were a master class. I've not made any slide valve cylinders yet, it's still setting up for drilling the ports that worries me!

Well done :bow:

Nick


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## Maryak (Jul 27, 2010)

There is, (was in 1994), an English steam paddle tug at the San Francisco Maritime Museum. She had two scotch boilers and a separate engine driving each paddle. During my visit she was non operational but floating. At the time they did have an operating steam tug Hercules, Triple expansion with a nice size, oil fired scotch boiler.

Some of the locals could maybe photograph etc. if there is any interest.

Best Regards
Bob


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## kvom (Jul 27, 2010)

A bit of progress today. I finished sizing the remaining three bearing blocks to their respective hornblocks, and made one of the retaining straps.






The center of the straps need to be drilled for an oil cup, but until I know how I'll make those I just center drilled a spot for a marker.

To make the rough bearing blocks from 1" round bar, here's the setup I used:






Before milling and boring the bearings, I need to do an assembly of the frames on each side to see how much room is there initially to fit the crank and conrod, and adjust accordingly. I start out with the length of the outer staybar, and from that subtract the thickness of the hornblocks and the amount the bearings extend. The distance from the inner frame to the center of the crank needs to be pretty close in order for the drive components (piston/rod/crosshead/conrod) to line up. It's not clear how close the tolerances need to be.

With that 1.25" endmill I could easily take .100" DOC, so it took only 6 passes to get the oblong. Then it was off to the bandsaw to cut it off. A smaller mill could still use this approach with smaller endmills and cuts.

I also spent some time tapping the base mounting holes on one of the cylinders. I found that the cast iron tapped quite easily with light finger pressure on the tapping stand, which was a relief.


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## don-tucker (Jul 28, 2010)

Tis me again,thought you were going to CNC the tapped holes in the cyl ;D.Are you going to split the main bearings?
Don


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## Philjoe5 (Jul 28, 2010)

I haven't dropped in for a while - am really enjoying the work you're showing. Thanks for keeping us posted.

Cheers,
Phil


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## kvom (Jul 29, 2010)

Thanks to everyone that is following along.

Don, my CNC mill doesn't do rigid tapping, so all tapping including the cylinders is by hand. I'm not planning to split the bearings unless someone has a compelling reason to do so.

I did finish tapping both cylinders and tried fitting the end caps and glands. One end cap went on perfectly, but Unfortunately some of the holes are off by a "smidge" on the other. I'm not sure if it's because the bolt circle is not centered. For the end caps I can just file a bit on the holes with no problem. For the glands, the front bore and the inside spigot need to be aligned, so until I drill I won't know if I screwed up somewhere.


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## kvom (Jul 29, 2010)

Got in 6 hours or so in the shop doing "little stuff", so not much to show photographically. Also found one big "boo-boo". Might be fixable.

The first job was to drill the cover mounting holes on one side of both cylinders. The other side was done via CNC when milling the profile. For this side I just centered the bore under the Bridgeport quill and used the DRO to locate the holes. Still took a long time to be sure of everything. After tapping all the remaining cylinder holes, I got the rear covers and one front cover to fit after some filing. Any opinions on using those 5-40 set screws as studs? Seems to look OK.






Notice anything wrong? The front cover needs to go on at a 90-degree angle from what's shown, meaning I'm missing one mounting hole and have an extra. I think I can put a dummy bolt in the extra hole and use the part.

In any case I drilled and tapped the holes in the front cover for mounting the crosshead guides. There was no dimension for locating the holes; I did a finger assembly and discovered that the end of the guides bars need to be flush to the front of the cover, so 5/32" out. With two bars attached, one crosshead slides very smoothly, but the other is a fraction tight at the near end.


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## don-tucker (Jul 31, 2010)

As regards the Grub screws in the Cyl cover,it is purly cosmetic but not steam engine practice,Studs or hex hd set screws look better but only a matter of choice.
I have a vid of our engine running ,may be of interest.



Don


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## kvom (Aug 1, 2010)

Thanks for the video, Don. I hope mine ends up half as nice.

My "plan" is to use the grub screws as short studs but reverse them so that the hex hole in the end is not seen. By using two nuts as locks I can tighten them into the cylinder and other short blind 5-40 holes. I have ordered some hex-hex bolts from American Model Engineering that will be used to connect the cylinder to steam chest to cover. I also have some 5-40 threaded rod to use in other places as needed. Those model-scale nuts and bolts cost $0.30 each, so the model will have a lot of expense just in nuts and bolts.

This weekend I bit the bullet and redid the inner cylinder covers to orient the mounting holes correctly. I also decided I could use the CNC mill to get accurate centering of the holes for the piston rod. The first order of business was a skim cut on some 1.5" diameter brass rod, yielding a diameter of 1.491". Without removing the rod, face, then turn the inner spigot of the cover to a close fit with the cylinder bore. Then drill a pilot hole and part off. Repeat for the second piece.






Next use the CNC mill to create a soft jaw pocket to match the diameter. Afterwards the Z-axis of the mill is centered on the pocket and thus the workpiece that's mounted in it. Now I can face the parted end, mill the profile, drill the mounting holes and the hole for the gland screw, and tap the hole for the screw using the 1/2-28 forming tap. Then screw in the gland screw and drill through it. Hopefully everything ends up concentric. I didn't have my .251" reamer handy, so that will be done later. 






The last operation is manually drilling and tapping the holes for the crosshead guides, as shown in an earlier post. With everything assembled for a trial fit:






Of course, everything didn't go as smoothly as the above sequence would suggest. Biggest issue was that the gland scews would not go into cover more than 1/2 turn. The screws do go into the aluminum nut I made with the same tap, and the tap turns easily in the covers' threads. I tried to set up the lathe to potentially recut the threads a smidge deeper, but couldn't get the screws perfectly straight in the collet chuck. I finally decided to run a small triangular file into the threads while the lathe was turning slowly, and in addition put a slight bevel on the ends. Now I can get about 2 turns of the screw, so I'll just have to put enough packing into the glands.

My list of parts to finish is getting smaller:

Mill and bore crank bearings
One piston rod and piston
Crankshafts and the connector
Conrod pins
Lifting links
Remake one weigh link, plus some lever mechanism to move the weigh shaft
Eccentric discs
Remake one staybar
Some sort of base
Air plumbing to steam chest inlets

Got an order into Enco for materials plus some roll pins.

Then lots of filing, adjusting, cussing, and remaking anything that proved inadequate. One month to go before my 2-month trip, so mitmwill be close.


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## don-tucker (Aug 2, 2010)

You can't go going away again,I will have nobody to have a go at.I hope you will finish this project. ;D.It's always a buggar getting all those bits to line up,I allways end up fiddling this or that to get a nice fit.
Glad you liked the vid,all without the aid of a flywheel,will you be making the paddle wheels?,if you need the drawings,I have a set if you do,now that's a cnc job.
Don


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## kvom (Aug 2, 2010)

I don't plan to make the paddle wheels at this time. I noticed for the first time that you made the center eccentric for driving the feed pump. I hadn't planned on making that myself. At the time your engine was built, did you plan on steaming it?


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## don-tucker (Aug 2, 2010)

Hi Kvom,We Made the eccentric to couple the two shafts together,it has the pump and piping but with no plans to steam her.
Don


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## kvom (Aug 3, 2010)

Today's mini-project was making the conrod pins that connect the rod end to the crosshead. I chucked some 3/8" drill rod in the collet chuck, faced it, and turned to 1.4" diameter for a length of 1/2". The conrod ends have been reamed to .251, so I took off a couple of thou at a time until I had a nice sliding fit on the rod end:






Next, center drilled, drilled and tapped the end 5-40 for to depth of 3/8".






Next parted off leaving a "head" 1/16" thick. After making two, I reversed the pins in a 1/4" collet to smooth off the partoff tit. 

Not having done so previously, I needed to drill and ream the center hole in the outside crosshead cheaks. With a 5-40 grubscrew stud screwed into the end of the pin, the crosshead and conrod assembly looks like this:






Eventually the SHCSs will be replaced with studs & nuts too.


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## larry1 (Aug 3, 2010)

Kvom,  Great work on this side paddle engine, it really looks great, thanks for the pictures also.  larry


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## SAM in LA (Aug 3, 2010)

Kvom,

Looks to me that you will end up with one fine looking engine.

SAM


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## kvom (Aug 6, 2010)

Sam & Larry, thanks for your comments.

Today I started on the cranks, and did not have a good day. Here's the photo evidence:







The shafts are all 3/8" drill rod. The webs are 3/16" thick and need to be separated by 1/2". After drilling and reaming the webs .001" oversize, my process was to hold the webs and the crank pin together in a vise with a .500" gauge block clamped between the webs for spacing. I would then fix the crank pin to the webs with 1/16" roll pins.

I had two errors with this plan. First, I had made the crank pin slightly too long, so that when I clamped the vise the webs and the gauge block were a bit loose. I ended up with the webs about .04" too close together. The second error was where I drilled for the roll pins, which need to be in the ends of the web rather than the side. With the pins where they are the webs can move slightly side to side around the roll pins.

I also discovered that the crankshaft pieces I had cut will be hard to get straight, as the oversize hole and thin web make it possible to move slightly.

So my rework plan is as follows:

1) Make the crank pin slightly less wide than the width of the crank, allowing use of the gauge block to set the web separation.

2) Make the crankshaft one piece and use for aligning the webs.

3) Secure both the crank pin and crank shaft with loctite and let set

4) Drill and insert roll pins and the ends of the webs after the loctite dries.

5) Machine out the center section of the crankshaft.


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## don-tucker (Aug 8, 2010)

The only comment i would make on your rework plan would be to use solid pins instead of roll pins,they tend to work loose,but then maybe the loctite will hold.The solid pins will certainly look better after filing flush.
Hope you don't mind me having my say Kvom.
Don


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## Blogwitch (Aug 8, 2010)

K,

I used to use soft iron nails for the pins. Once swelled into position with a small persuader, they really do grip, and are easy to smooth down and blend in.


John


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## deverett (Aug 8, 2010)

One thing you might consider doing is to shoulder the crankpin. The bearing area would be the correct size, but where it fits the webs, it would be reduced by a small amount, say 1/16" on diameter.

Doing this will assist lining up the webs perpendicular to the crank pin and will also ensure the webs are kept the correct distance apart. Loss of strength would not be an issue.

Dave
The Emerald Isle


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## kvom (Aug 8, 2010)

Thanks for the ideas.

Dave, I like the plan to shoulder the pins. If I do that I could leave the part that is in the webs slightly short, make the webs from steel, and then weld the pins to the webs. I'd then grind the weld flush afterwards. Thoughts?


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## don-tucker (Aug 8, 2010)

No no no, pinning the webs to the shafts is the best.
Don


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## kvom (Aug 8, 2010)

I started to remake one of the cranks today, this time using some 12L14 for the webs and shouldering the pin:






I have put some loctite on the pin ends to set up until tomorrow. The total width measured from the outside of the webs is .04" oversize.  This is "semi" on purpose as my rod ends are .03" too wide. I think I can safely take off .02 from the outer side of each web if needed.






I won't fix the crankshafts until the engine is ready for a trial fit.


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## don-tucker (Aug 9, 2010)

Or you could increase the frame spacer length,tell you what I did on my Gerrys beam engine,I laid the 2 shafts in v blocks on a good flat surface with the ends flush with the inside of the webs,loctite, left to set then pinned,came out true much to my supprise.
Don


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## deverett (Aug 9, 2010)

You didn't waste an time getting the new crankshaft sorted out!

The shouldered crankpin setup looks good and I feel sure that Loctite and tapered pins will be better for your application than trying to weld the bits together.

Dave
The Emerald Isle


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## kvom (Aug 9, 2010)

Thanks for the hint, Dave. Still have the second crank to make if this one works out.

Don, I know that the staybolt lengths are not critical and that I can separate the outer frame from the inner more than the plans call for. However, in order for the piston rod, conrod, and crank to line up I am constrained by the distance of the centerline of the cylinders from the inner frame surface. If I need to move the crank and conrod centerline closer to the frame, I would need to reduce the widths of some combination of the bearing, inner crank web, or rod end. I guess it it also possible to use a "spacer gasket" to move the cylinder outboard a bit, but I don't think that would gain much.

I have quite a bit of excess material left in the bearings and the crank web, so hopefully they will be sufficient.


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## zeeprogrammer (Aug 9, 2010)

The parts are looking great to me.
Also, I appreciate various bits of learnings and techniques demonstrated here.


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## o.h.cam (Aug 9, 2010)

Need help finding plans.New to site so unfamiliar with navigation(??????)


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## kvom (Aug 9, 2010)

One source of plans for this engine is http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/smf/index.php?action=downloads;cat=9


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## kvom (Aug 10, 2010)

The first task today was to drill and pin the crank webs to the pin. This went well. I started the roll pins by tapping with a hammer, but then pressed them in fully with the vise jaws. One of the conrods was test fitted:






Next I undertook drilling the first pair of bearings.

Here's the setup in the milling vise, with the inner frame being clamped by the hornblocks.






There is a couple of thousands play between the bearing and the hronblock, so I used a shim from a soda can to clamp down the bearing with the retainer plate. Note that I obtained the center from measuring the inner edge of the hornblock.

Then drilled and reamed:






Then the the same with the outer frame, although clamping in the vise was trickier because of the curve leading into the hornblock. Still it seems to be all good as the drill rod passed through the assembled frames turns pretty easily:






Before leaving the shop I set some drill rod for the crankshaft into the webs with loctite; next time, after it cures, I'll pin it to the webs. Also need to make the other crank and drill the other two bearings.


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## kvom (Aug 12, 2010)

Spent a good part of the afternoon in the shop. The first task was to drill and pin the crankshaft to the crank webs, then mill out the portion of the shaft between the webs. Then I finished drilling the bearings for the other two frames, allowing a test setup of the four frames. Here's the result, including the crank:






The good news is that with the two center staybolts in place, the 3/8" length of drill rod turns smoothly while passed through all four bearings. \

The bad news is that the holes for the outer staybolts in the outer frames seem to be ~.04" higher than in the inner frames. I checked my CAD drawings and they are correct, so I have no idea how they became displaced. I can still install the outer staybolts, but that causes the frames to flex slightly and jam the alignment rod. I will enlarge the holes in the inner frames slightly to correct this. As shown in the photo, the height of the staybolts varies on .004" from one end to the other, so the engine is quite level side to side.

Now that I have a crank and can connect the frames for testing fits, I proceeded to mount one of the cylinders to get an idea of how much the bearing sides will need to be trimmed. To do this, I needed to finish fitting the previously turned piston to that cylinder. 

That's when I discovered that the conrod threads were crooked on one end. I had cut the threads with a die on the lathe, but that wasn't good enough. So I proceeded to make two new piston rods with the 10-32 threads on each end single-pointed to ensure they are concentric. Once they were done, I needed to remake the piston, which needs to be turned "in situ" on the piston rod. So this meant facing/turning/drilling/tapping some 1" brass rod, then parting off and screwing onto the piston rod. Then the final diameter is turned with the piston rod chucked in a collet.


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## zeeprogrammer (Aug 12, 2010)

Nice kvom.

Hey...you're only on page 10. You need another 40. ;D


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## jimmybondi (Aug 13, 2010)

Hi kvom,

nice to see the paddle engine growing (and to see that there some other who build it  )

my engines are little bit other than the shown one by don-tucker:






i was astonished at first run of the less steam consumption and one of my engines works in paddle duck 

When i meet the ship builder i will see if i can make a small video of it in action

Frank


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## kvom (Aug 14, 2010)

Frank,

It's good to see you pop in again. I was looking for your missing photos on the Paddleducks site before I started work, and someone wrote that you were ill. I hope you're back into modelling again. I'd like to see more pics of your engine from different angles, just to get some ideas for finishing mine (esp. the plumbing). It won't look as nice as yours for sure. I love the way you did the cylinder cocks, something mine won't have.


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## jimmybondi (Aug 15, 2010)

Hi kvom,

the server where the pictures has been stored has changed by another "member" of our small group after a crash ...
And they don't find the backup i've made some weeks before this crash ...

I've send you a private message - maybe thats a solution for you 
You also may share that photos here - there isn't a problem from my side

And:
i'm not right up at all - but there's a light 
(one problem just mostly survived the next one comes without a moment for take breath :-( )
at the moment i'm only planning some projects - some things like a 72° watercooled V10 with double DOHC (FIA-style)
and a roots charged 6cyl boxer ...

Frank


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## GRAYHIL (Aug 15, 2010)

I have just decided to make this engine but the first drawing I studied and tried to draw the more confused I became.
Looking at the inner main frame drawing there is an error somewhere between the 3.5/8" crankshaft centre height, the dimensions along the 20 degree line to the cylinder and its height at the cylinder.
Does anyone have an autocad drawing or explanation??? 
Graham


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## kvom (Aug 15, 2010)

There is a typo in the inner mainframe plan on page 823. The line labelled as 2-1/16 should be 2-11/16


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## GRAYHIL (Aug 16, 2010)

Thanks for the information 
The drawing looks a lot better now.
Graham


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## kvom (Aug 16, 2010)

Now I am starting to find which parts I need to remake.  

I discovered that the threads on one of the crossheads were crooked, so that part was remade tonight. I will also need to redo both steam chests as a result of various faults. At least this time I have a good idea on how to do them better.


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## o.h.cam (Sep 8, 2010)

Hi again guys.Great build on a distinctly unique engine kvom and sorry for this interuption but I have been looking all over hecks half acre for some plans for this engine or something similar.Don't find anything in H.M.E.M archives.Found Paddleducks site and tried to register there but that site doesn't seem to want to acknowledge my activation code prompt I got in my email.(sigh).A similar engine was found at J.R.baileys site modelengine.info but my computer doesn't seem to want to let me access that site anymore(sigh).Can anyone help me circumvent the snakespit of links or have I simply missed the boat (pun intended) on the info for this engine????????


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## kvom (Sep 9, 2010)

PM me your email and I'll send you the plans if you don't find them elsewhere.


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## o.h.cam (Sep 28, 2010)

Hey kvom,another thanks for the plans and just wonderin'when you might be starting back up on your build.I seem to recall a lot of travel/vacation plans here at the tailend of summer.Hope all goes well there.Holding my breath for next installment and starting to turn a little purple,,,,,,,,I'll be keeping an eye out


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## kvom (Sep 29, 2010)

Well, at this moment I'm sitting in a coffee shop in Kathmandu, Nepal with a good Wifi connection. I am leaving tomorrow morning for a longish trek in the Himalayas, although I should reach a town with internet in 10-14 days. I plan to be back home on November 3, with engine restart shortly after,

Thanks for thinking of me.


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## ChooChooMike (Sep 29, 2010)

kvom - please keep up the great work & pictures Thm: 

I'm very much enjoying the build process !!

Mike


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## kvom (Oct 12, 2010)

Location update: Namche Bazaar, Nepal, after a 13-day hike in from the trailhead at Jiri. Lost a few pounds. ;D


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## jimmybondi (Oct 15, 2010)

Hi Kirk,

hope you enjoy the journey 
(have seen Nepal 21 years ago - don't forget to take a look to earth from its roof  )

i've sent you a PM because your demand ...

here's a small fragment to see of my last E.T. Paddleduck:













Frank


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## nfk (Oct 15, 2010)

A-MA-ZING! :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:
If this is not inspiration to keep trying i will sell my lathe!
Impressive work.
Now i`m afraid to start my build thread...  (sorry folks, i`ll start it in a couple of minutes anyway!)

Cheers, 
Norberto

PD: i loved this thread, maybe you noticed it


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## jimmybondi (Oct 16, 2010)

Hi Noberto,

i didn't like to capture a thread nor to resuscitate a mummy thread

but to start a new one for 3 links ?

Kirk - hope you forgive me 

http://www.global-radio.ch/Bilder/Film_1.avi
http://www.global-radio.ch/Bilder/Film_2.avi
http://www.global-radio.ch/Bilder/Film_3.avi

Pressure 2 atm - valve not fully opened 

Frank


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## nfk (Oct 16, 2010)

Beautiful!
I think i`ll just need about 10 more years of practice to build my own version...
I have plenty of time :big:
Thanks for sharing those videos!
Now i need a towel to clean my keyboard and some help to close my jaws 

Norberto


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## Artie (Oct 16, 2010)

Yup, its absolutely gorgeous isnt it?

Its the engine Ive used for inspiration and critical dimensions for my build.

Love it..... :bow: :bow: :bow:


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## kvom (Nov 7, 2010)

I got back from Nepal a week ago, but a combination of jetlag and a chest cold have kept me out of the shop until this weekend. Today's goal was to rough out the two lifting links, pieces that connect the lift arms to the expansion links. These are somewhat "delicate" as ET says, so it took me some thought as to how to make them.

Material is 1/4" diameter drill rod. First a length is chucked in the lathe collet, and i faced the end and center drilled it.






The rod and collet were then transferred to a square collet block and secured in the mill vise. A vise stop was used to ensure repeatability. A 1/4" carbide endmill then milled a flat .055" deep 1/8" from the end of the rod. Leaving the spindle locked, I turned the block over, positioned against the vise stop, and milled a matching flat on the opposite side of the rod. Next a 1/8" hole is drilled through the rod.centered on the flat. 

Next the collet block is moved to the surface plate, and the drill rod is pulled out ~ 2". The height gauge is used to set the milled flat parallel to the plate.






Back to the mill vise. I used the 1/8" drill bit in the existing hole to zero the DRO, then moved the X-axis 1.625" to establish the location of the flat/hole on the other end.






The collet and rod are then placed back on the lathe to turn down the shaft between the flats. The non-chucked end is supported by a live center. First I used a parting tool to turn down the right end of the shaft to provide space for a turning tool.






Then the rest of the shaft was turned.






After some polishing of the shaft with emery cloth and scotchbrite, I parted off the link. After the first one, it took only about 15 minutes to make the second.






In my next shop session I will grind off the center-drilled portion and do some cleanup filing on the ends.


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## kvom (Nov 9, 2010)

A bit more progress this afternoon, although nothing picture-worthy. The first job was to mill the sides of the main bearings to plan, and test fit the crank and outer staybolt for spacing between the frame. By measurement it looks good, but the true test will be when the entire drivetrain is in place.

After that, I found a piece of 12L14 in the material drawer and used that to mill the webs for the second crank. Afterwards, I used 3/8" drill rod as before for the crankshaft and pin, setting them in place with loctite and using a .500 gauge block to set the spacing between the webs. The assembly will cure overnight, and then will be fastened permanently with roll pins. Essentially the same construction as the first crank.


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## GRAYHIL (Dec 17, 2010)

Hi all
I am making good progress on the machining of the parts for the 
ET Westbury Side Paddle Engine but have come to a stop because I cannot find the drawing for the expansion link.
Does anyone have the dimensions/drawing they can email to me???Graham


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## kvom (Dec 17, 2010)

It's on p476, along with the drawings of the paddles. It was omitted in error from the issue where it was described.


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## GRAYHIL (Dec 18, 2010)

Hi All
It always pays to read everything, which I did not do obviously.
Thanks Kvom


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## GRAYHIL (Mar 29, 2011)

Started the assembly but having trouble with the valve gear. Does the lifting support on the expansion link move _backwards_ and _forwards_ in mid gear by about .22of an inch. Have set the gear as page 477, 22/3/1956 ME at 105deg to the highpoint of the eccentric.
As far as I know all dimensions are correct.
Any advice appreciated
Graham


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## mzetati (Mar 30, 2011)

Hi kvom,

that engine has been on my to-do list for so long I've already started collecting the metals to make it, even had some of them already painted with the blue ink and scribed!!!!
This thread will surely be of great help, when time will come to cut them to shape (though that'll be a two/three completed engines away, at least).
THANK YOU a lot.
Marcello


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## kvom (Mar 30, 2011)

I've set this aside for a while as I'm working on the Kozo A3 locomotive. Eventually I want to finish it. Too many projects.


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## JRNYMAN2LMAYKER (Apr 5, 2011)

I was wondering if someone would please direct me to the location on this site where these plans are available for download. I managed to find the thread which had the link but they did not produce anything. I was wondering if they have been saved elsewhere or if someone else has saved them. Hopefully there is no copyright infringement with them.
Thank you all in advance.

Greg


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## GRAYHIL (Apr 5, 2011)

Greg
Tried to send plans but your email address is not working. It timed out whatever that is  Even a small email follow up did the same!!
Graham


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## JRNYMAN2LMAYKER (Apr 6, 2011)

try this [email protected]
Thanks..Greg


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## GRAYHIL (Apr 6, 2011)

Hi Greg
You should have them by now 
Graham


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## JRNYMAN2LMAYKER (Apr 6, 2011)

Graham, thank you so much!!! They did appear this time.

Greg


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## GRAYHIL (Apr 7, 2011)

Chuck
Plans sent
Graham


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## GRAYHIL (May 13, 2011)

At last it goes even if its a bit "knocky" may have to adjust the eccentrics or valve position.













Graham


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## kvom (May 13, 2011)

Very nice Graham. A video will be even better.

Heres the video I took at NAMES this year of one built 50 years ago:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvFmxx5lgKo[/ame]


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## GRAYHIL (May 13, 2011)

Kvom
When I double click on the image it takes me too photobucket and plays the video.
Graham


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## Lakc (May 13, 2011)

kvom  said:
			
		

> Very nice Graham. A video will be even better.
> 
> Heres the video I took at NAMES this year of one built 50 years ago:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvFmxx5lgKo


I took a bunch of pics and a quick vid of that myself, thinking about this thread. Thanks for the additional info, I didnt have time to learn the backstory of it.



			
				GRAYHIL  said:
			
		

> Kvom
> When I double click on the image it takes me too photobucket and plays the video.
> Graham



I got a link to an mp4 video but it errors out, it just might be this computer, however, so dont panic just yet.


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## metalmad (May 13, 2011)

just amazing :bow: :bow:
Pete


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## steamin (May 13, 2011)

That is one beautiful model. Thanks for sharing the video. I have seen soooooo many neat engines here on HMEM. I just wish there were enough hours in a lifetime to build them all. So I take pleasure in watching a model maker such as yourself bring an engine to life. Awesome job, Larry


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## kvom (Aug 6, 2015)

Time to resurrect this 4 year old build, parts of which have been sleeping in a drawer in the shop since then.  Herbie started his version, and that was an incentive to me to get back on it.  Hopefully I have more skills now than then and can do a better job of it.  I'll likely remake some of the previously completed parts.

The past couple of evenings have been occupied machining bits rather than metal, as I am modeling the engine in Solidworks.  This allows verification of the magazine drawings as well as provides a means for generating DXF files I'll need for the CNC parts.

Here's what I have thus far.  I did discover an error in the eccentric rod as shown in the second picture.  As drawn, the eccentric sheaves interfere.  In reality I suspect that the rod is so flexible that they'll easily bend 1/32" to the side.


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## kvom (Aug 7, 2015)

I redrew the eccentric rod to offset by an addition 1/32".  Some more modeling to get to here.  After adding the paddle wheels next I'll think about making some chips.


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## kvom (Aug 7, 2015)

Went to the shop to reacquaint myself with what was done previously.  Frame with one cylinder mounted (with exhaust hole up hence on wrong side) with cranks and main bearings.  Temporary staybolts need to be remade.






Then the tray with the rest:






It will take relatively little work to get the power portion of the engine assembled, as most of the parts are there.  The cylinder was drilled with 7 holes for the covers on each side.  I didn't drill the hole that is in line with the steam ports, and so will check the drawing/model to see what depth is possible  without cutting through.  That wil allow an  8 bolt pattern on the rear covers and 6 on the front.  Then the only task left is to drill and tap the crosshead guide bracket.

On the valve side I will remake the steam chest in CI or brass.  Then I need to finish the eccentric disks, the die blocks, and the center pins for the expansion links.

I have never done any timing on a Stephenson valve gear, and I suspect it may be tricky here.  The eccentric disks are fastened to the crank via set screws.

Otherwise, I spent some time modeling the paddles.  I probably won't make them feathering as they will never see water.


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## Herbiev (Aug 7, 2015)

Great to see you get back into it Kvom. Thanks for the tip on the eccentrics error.


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## kvom (Aug 8, 2015)

Bit of investigation today along with partial test assembly showed that the guide bar brackets need to be remade.  Aside from being aluminum, I discovered that the mounting holes were both off-center and out of alignment.  I will remake them in brass.

The steam chests will be made from cast iron, and I found that this piece of 2.5" diameter durabar just fits the profile needed.


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## don-tucker (Aug 8, 2015)

Hi kvom,good to see you back on the paddle engine,we had a race going at one stage,i guess i won &#128539;.
The way i did the timing was to hold the sheaf on to the eccentric without the back half in place,set the timing lock the set screw and replace the back bit,worked ok
Don


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## kvom (Aug 8, 2015)

I learned a few things when doing the partial/test assembly.  One is that my frames are fairly flexible, and with no support at the bottom it's easy to cause the cranks to bind.  So before too long I need to come up with a base to anchor them.


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## kvom (Aug 9, 2015)

Spent weekend shop time working on the steam chests starting with the CI bar;  First, cut off two slides with the bandsaw and face them both sides on the lathe.  Both end up at .82" thick.  Drilled a half inch hole for swarf "drainage" when pocketing.







CNC operations:






For the outer profile I used one of the steam chest covers as a fixture:






Then to the Bridgeport to bring both to .75" thickness.  This allows the valve rod to be in the center and thus both chests identical:






Then back to the CNC mill to mill the boss and drill/ream the center hole:






Back to the Bridgeport where I used a long center drill to locate the rear hole for the guide, and then drilled the through hole 1/8".  All was well on the first, but had a disaster on the second when the drill apparently jammed and broke.






The end of the drill is inside only about 1/8".  But it has resisted attempts to press it out with vise and arbor press.  I tried heating with a propane torch, but that didn't help.  Also tried milling it out with a carbide EM, which broke, but the one I weas using was too long; might be worth risking another tomorrow.


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## Gerhardvienna (Aug 10, 2015)

Hi kvom
Try to grind that stuck piece with a Dremel or similar tool, at the highest speed. Make it a hollow piece, than you can break it and remove the parts from your workpiece. 
BTW: GREAT WORK so far!
Regards
Gerhard


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## kvom (Aug 10, 2015)

I got it out by pushing it backwards.  Piece of steel through the cavity against the drill, and two other pieces of steel against the vise jaws, and it popped loose without much force.


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## Herbiev (Aug 10, 2015)

I'm glad I'm not the only one breaking drills.  great work so far. I'm in the process of machining the steam chests at the moment. Pics later today.


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## kvom (Aug 10, 2015)

Back at it to finish the steam chests this morning.

As before, the end guide is a 14/20 thread, and the packing gland 5/16-24.  The steam supply hole is 5/16-27 NPT (1/16 pipe).






Remake of the guide bar brackets started with some brass bar.  CNC machined the profile, and then finished to size of the Bridgeport.






To cut the slots for the bars I used a 1/4" Woodruff cutter.  Started by touching off:






Then adjust height and depth to mill the slots.






Drilled the top and bottom clearance holes for attaching the bars, but the holes for frame mounting need to wait for fitting.


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## kvom (Aug 11, 2015)

A "fettling day" here.  First task was to make three spreader bars, all the same length +/- a couple of thou, in order to stiffen the frame assembly.  These allow me to work on one of the engines by itself more conveniently.






Then I spent several hours adjusting and trimming the crosshead assemblies, ending with these:






All of the dimensions given by Westbury are zero clearance, so any moving parts will need to be adjusted.  One thing that doesn't show in the plans is a small notch needed near the upper inside guide bar that allows the inner cheek of the crosshead to pass the bracket.

Anyone else building this engine will be well advised to get this assembly moving freely before mounting on the engine as a whole.  Note the bevels on the ends of the guide bars.  These are not decorative but as needed to clearance the conrod at its maximum angle.


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## kvom (Aug 17, 2015)

Back in the shop after 4 days away from home.  More adjustments/filing/etc and the piston-conrod-crank assembly now moves freely.  Then I started to work on the 2 eccentric sheaves I'd started years back.  After facing the cut-off sides, I mounted them on the Bridgeport.  After center finding, I used the sport drill to scribe a line down the center to aid in drilling the holes for the setscrew.  Then drilled and reamed the crank hole.






Next I could use the scribed line to set the part vertical in the vise.






Drilled and tapped 8-32, as I have setscrews that size.  I'll have to shorten them here.  The assembly as it sits:


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## jimjam66 (Aug 18, 2015)

Lovely work!  I particularly like the idea of scribing a datum to ensure you get the setscrew central.  I would never have thought of that ...


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## kvom (Aug 20, 2015)

Had a couple of more afternoons in the shop working on the engine.  Here's where it was at the start of today.






To fasten the valve parts together I needed to make the "pivot pins" from some 1/4" drill rod.  Pivot shaft is 1/8" and threaded end is 4-40.  Drill rod is rather sticky when turned, but that's all I had to work with.  After turning the threaded end to .112" I used a little die I've never used before, mainly because I don't have a diestock that size.  But I succeeded by keeping the die square with the tailstock and turning it with a wrench.











With a couple in place:






The shaft for attaching the lifting link is similar.  I made it 1/16" longer than the plans to clear the pivot pins a bit better.  It's a press fit in the eccentric strap.






Final job of the day was to make the die blocks, a CNC task.


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## don-tucker (Aug 21, 2015)

Looking good
Don


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## kvom (Aug 25, 2015)

A few more parts done today, including the weigh shaft links:






Along with the weigh shaft, a test assembly of one of the engines:






At this point, I have all of the parts needed to try to get a runner of this engine.  Before trying to run it, I need to disassemble and drill all the oil holes I've heretofore ignored.  The valve rod is also a bit sticky.


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## kvom (Aug 27, 2015)

The trial run did not go as well as hoped.  I had tapped the steam delivery line as 1/16-NPT and bought push-to-connect fasteners that take 1/8" OD tubing.  I was not able to find such small tubing at my local store, so have placed an order with McMaster.  In the meantime, I decided to use the 1/4 NPT fasteners used for the Joy engine, so made an adapter from .75" diameter brass rod,  1/4-NPT female to 1/16-NPT male:






With this screwed into the steam chest:






Applying air produced no inclination for motion to occur (I had a drill chuck clamped to the crank for momentum and turning by hand).  I did feel some resistance when turning, but not a lot).  When I increased air pressure to 30 psi the crank resisted turning in either direction.

Can someone refer me to a good web page for describing timing a Stephenson?  What I did, with the cover off, is set the eccentrics so that when the piston was at its maximum backward position the back steam port was open, and then when at the maximum forward position (closest to the crank) the forward port is open.  I didn't try to make valve particularly centered.

Since I don't have a way as yet to lock the weigh shaft or weigh arms, the weight of the eccentric trap keeps it down to that the direction controlled by the upper eccentric arm is in control.  I'm considering removing the other eccentric temporarily until it runs in one direction, but don't know if both are needed for proper operation.

Given that I didn't have any gaskets or packing, there were surprisingly few air leaks.


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## don-tucker (Aug 28, 2015)

The way i time the valves is to get the valve to be equal each end of its travel then when the piston is near the end of its travel the valve should be just cracking open to admit steam to that end of the piston,
That has always worked for me,hope it helps.
Don


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## kvom (Aug 28, 2015)

Equalizing the valve travel is straightforward.  I need to figure out the eccentric positions.


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## don-tucker (Aug 28, 2015)

The valve should crack open as the piston just before top dead centre,as i said


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## kvom (Aug 28, 2015)

JasonB ever on MEM got be straightened out on eccentric settings, but now I found that I bent the valve rod.  So will be making another and trying another run.


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## Herbiev (Aug 28, 2015)

Good luck. I'm following right behind you and learning heaps.


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## kvom (Aug 28, 2015)

Herb, you might want to consider temporary "staybolts" between the feet of the frames, as opposed to leaving them on the base.  I found it quite useful to be able to turn the assemblies around in various directions and to get access from below.

I tried another run today without success after setting the eccentrics according to Jo's diagram.  No luck, and the valve motion didn't look right anyway.  I remade the valve rod and opened up the tail guide on the steam chest, so the rod motion is smooth.  I intend to make some additional lower staybolts between the two inner frames, as I discovered that the cylinder end of the frame was flexing a bit when I turn the crank.  As can be seen from the last pic both inner frames are necessary to support the weigh shaft.

The separation of the two engines is quite arbitrary, and can be adjusted to the width or configuration of the boat to be driven.  Places call for 2.75".


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## kvom (Aug 29, 2015)

I have a semi-runner, at least forward.  I left the eccentrics the way I had them yesterday, and took some time to try to make the steam chest more air tight.  One thing was to tap all of the cylinder's mounting holes with a bottoming tap, allowing be to get a tight fit with all but two of the 14 screws that hold the cylinder/frame/steam chest/cover together.  I also adjusted the center of the valve slightly, and added another staybolt between the inner frames under the cylinder in order to reduce flexing.

Applying air with the weigh shaft set for reverse, I was getting the engine to kick, but not turn over completely.  Switching to forward, I had the same thing for a few turns until suddenly it ran for a few seconds.  With a bit more are pressure it took off.  I'd hope running in will reduce the amount of air needed, currently about 20 psi.  Gaskets and packing would help too.

I'll see if I can get a video, although it would probably be taken with a phone and no tripod.


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## kvom (Aug 29, 2015)

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT922Y_A4kE[/ame]


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## Herbiev (Aug 29, 2015)

It's ALIVE. Well done. I hope to be at that stage in about a week. I have just retapped the cylinder holes with JB weld and a bottoming tap. This fine grain cast iron is a pig to hold a thread.


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## kvom (Aug 29, 2015)

Herb, I assume you translated the BA threads into some metric ones.

I started a test assembly of the second engine this afternoon.  Retapped the cylinder holes, and then enlarged the mounting holes in the frame.  When they were drilled initially 5 years back I didn't use the 5-40 clearance drill.

I will have to remake the front cylinder cover as the mounting holes are off.  And it appears that I may have drilled the holes in the cylinder a bit off center as well.  So I'll have to fit the cover's holes to the cylinder.

I also need to make the eccentrics.  I have no 1.25" steel rod remaining, and the only scrap pieces I have that will work are 2" diameter.  Guess the lathe will get a workout.


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## Herbiev (Aug 30, 2015)

Yes, you're right Kvom. I translated 6BA TO 3mm. Thread pitch is slightly finer at about 51 tpi as compared to around 48 with BA. Bottoming the thread seems to be doing the trick.  
Good luck with the second engine.


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## kvom (Aug 30, 2015)

I used 5-40 for all the frame  and cylinder screws, and 4-40 for the pivot pins.  A few others here and there as needed.


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## kvom (Sep 1, 2015)

Two longish days in the shop has gotten the port-side engine assembled.  A good part of yesterday was spent  turning the eccentrics, and today I spent a good while shortening screws for both sides.  Here's the state at the end of the day:







I used the starboard side as my example for setting the eccentrics, given that it would be embarrassing to have the forward setting turn in opposite directions.  I COULD have tried putting air to it today, but I figured if it didn't run I'd either have to take it all apart to investigate or else be depressed for a couple of days since I won't be in the shop tomorrow.

The inboard ends of the cranks are not very well aligned, and I hope it's mainly a matter of the staybolts not being precisely fitted.  Obviously for the engine to be self-starting the cranks need to be coupled at 90 degrees to one another.  I may try aligning them with a tube and then adjusting the staybolts to match.


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## kvom (Sep 6, 2015)

I used the CNC mill to cut out a pair of gaskets from .01" thick Teflon sheet, as shown here.  Holding that stuff down flat is not so easy, and I came up with the system shown here.  For further gaskets I want to skim the plate flat with a face mill in order to get consistent hole sizes.  Tool is a 80-degree engraving bit with a .03" flat on the tip.






After I installed these on the port side engine, I got it to run, but still not self starting and needed 30 PSI.  I couldn't detect any air leakage around the steam chest with the gaskets.


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## Blogwitch (Sep 7, 2015)

Coming along really well there K.

You might know that for 40 years I was involved with making model boats, and one of my dreams was to make this engine and floats (paddles) and mount them into a hull, but never achieved it as real life got in the way.

I might be wrong, but I think this engine was designed by ETW to go into a hull of the 'Director class ship', 'Dexterous, Director, Faithful, Favourite, Forceful, Grinder, Griper' all built in 1957/8. A diesel/electric (not steam) ship designed for manoeuvring aircraft carriers about, as it was not only powerful, but could easily turn in it's own length and because of the paddles, had huge stopping power, which normal tugs of that time didn't have.

Are you going to be making the feathering wheels to go with the engine?







John


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## kvom (Sep 7, 2015)

In the article Westbury names the boat "Devonia" as the target for the engine.  He also names the engine itself "Neptune".

Given the architecture, this engine could be used in many boats since the width is easily customizable by varying the lengths of the staybolts and weigh shaft.

I'm still thinking about the paddles


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## kvom (Sep 7, 2015)

Spent some lathe time making a coupler from a chunk of steel round I had in the bin.  This is very similar to what was done on the original to add temporary rotational mass prior to mounting the paddles.






Even with this added the combined engine wouldn't run on one cylinder, and it still is a bit stiff when turned by hand,  I also found air leaking around the cylinder/frame interface, so cut another pair of teflon gaskets.  I should get the tubing I need to connect both engines to air this week, and perhaps will have better luck getting it to run.

In the meantime, started rereading the chapters on the paddles.

I've found that the tiny 4-40 nuts on the the pivot pins tended to work loose when the engines did run briefly individually.  Since I used them to connect the eccentric rods to the expansion link with the nuts on the frame side, they're very hard to get back on.  So after the next disassembly I'll reverse the pins so that the nuts are on the outside, eventually with a bit of thread locker.


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## Blogwitch (Sep 7, 2015)

I stand corrected K, not having all the info with my plans, maybe the 'Director Class' took my fancy at the time for this engine.

You really need to get your engines smoothed out, as in real life, the paddles would be running between 100 and 150rpm max. 
The feathering ones would be ideal to try out your CNC machine. I actually cut the four main frames by hand, out of ali, but were given away years ago to a mate who said he could use them.

But my hankering is still there, even though I could never handle a model boat of that size any more.

John


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## Herbiev (Sep 7, 2015)

As that other John said. " life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans"


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## kvom (Sep 9, 2015)

Last two session in the shop were devoted to starting the paddle wheels: the 4 frames.  Here's the progress on the first 2 with the CNC work complete.  Diameter of the frame is 5.75".






This aluminum alloy is quite gummy, so I'm taking very shallow DOC in cutting out the windows.  Over 90 minutes for each.  Because I'm using 5-40 screws for the hubs, I made the central hole .5" vs 9/16 to give a bit of space for countersinking the screw heads.

I can't imagine cutting these out with a jewelers saw.  Rotary table would work though if your hands are steady.

For the engine body, I got my tubing today and so will be able to apply air to both sides together.  Not that hopeful,  but who knows.  In any case I need to do a complete disassembly to finish up a few things.  I suspect that using brass for the bearings instead of bronze might have been a bad decision 5 years back.


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## kvom (Sep 10, 2015)

Some progress and some steps back today.  For progress I let the CNC mill chug along on the other two paddle frames.  These were the longest I had ever let run unattended, and since I use air blast for chip clearance the air compressor running continually made the shop rather noisy.

The mailman delivered 6 small oil cups from PMR, so I tapped the holes (2-56) for these on the bearing caps and top crosshead guide bar.  I know the purists would make their own, but at less than $3 each I couldn't justify the time.

Next, started to take apart the starboard engine with an eye towards getting it more air tight as well as looking for friction points.  I decided to trash the old forward cylinder cover and gland screw, as I could not get a good fit with packing,  That will be a project for next time.  I'm also running into the issue that when fitting up one engine by itself, the inner frame flexes enough that getting everything nicely aligned can be a problem.  An idea that comes to mind is clamping  a stiff steel bar to the inner frame feet to keep them in line.

I ordered from McMaster a length of steel bar 1.25" wide and 1/16" thick that may work for the paddles themselves.  The paddles need to be bent into a slight camber, so I'll need to make some press dies.  Without knowing how springy the material is, the camber of the die may take some experimentation.


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## Herbiev (Sep 10, 2015)

Are you going to build a boat for the engine ??


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## kvom (Sep 10, 2015)

Herbiev said:


> Are you going to build a boat for the engine ??



Nope.  I went back and forth on whether to do the paddles, but decided to bite the bullet.


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## kvom (Sep 11, 2015)

Spent a good part of the afternoon remaking the forward cylinder cover for the starboard engine as well as two gland screws.  Threads for the glands are 1/2-20, vs. the 1/2-26 Westbury calls out.  The cover started out as a cutoff from a nominal 1.5" hex bar, turned down to 1.47".  The screws are turned from .75" round bar.






I originally drilled the cylinders for 8 screws on each face, but after finding that the two behind the guide bars couldn't be countersunk and that one would intersect the steam ports, I ended up using only 5 screws for the inner cover and 7 for the outer.


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## kvom (Sep 13, 2015)

After reassembling the starboard engine with 3 gaskets on the cylinder/frame/steam chest mounting surfaces, as well as some additional filing, I found that the engine turned very freely by hand.  So I oiled it up, attached the steel coupler for additional angular moment, and applied air.  Reverse still runs a bit fast, but forward runs much slower using the same air pressure.  The eccentric setting may need a tweek. Unfortunately my regulator seems to have become inoperative and I could adjust only with the ball valve.  The indicator reads between 15 and 20 PSI when running.

I took a video, but it doesn't look much different from the first, so I won't bother posting it.

Started disassembly of the port engine in order to drill and tap the inward cover for its gland screw.  Then will re-assemble in sections hunting down friction points as I did for the other side.


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## kvom (Sep 14, 2015)

I decided to take a  break from fiddling with the port engine and do a bit on the paddles.  First job was to start on one of the hubs using some 1" brass rod.  Turned a 1/2" hub on one end, then drilled and reamed it .376.  Then it was over to the Bridgeport to drill and tap the frame mounting holes 5-40.






Then I could mount each of the wheels on the hub, and using the lathe cut off the milling tabs with a parting tool.






Finally I screwed all 4 frame together using a 1/2" bolt in the center and 8-32 screws on the perimeter, then turned the rims in one operation.

In order to finish the hub, the mounting holes need to be aligned on both sides.  The easiest way to do that is to bolt the frames together on the hub using the tire bars for alignment, and then use the holes in the other frame as a template.  I'll need 16 tie bars, all 1.5" long and tapped on each end.


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## kvom (Sep 15, 2015)

Today I needed to make 16 tie rods for the paddle wheels.  First good opportunity to use the 5C collet stop I bought some time back.  I needed to have all 16 pieces of 5/16" diameter brass rod cut to 1.875" length.  Using the collet chuck on the lathe and the parting blade as a stop., I first cut off pieces at around 1.90" long.  Next I faced one end of each and spot drilled that face.

Then measured the first piece and faced the other end to the desired length.

Next, I installed the collet stop and adjusted it so that about 1/2" of brass stuck out from the collet.  Installed on the chuck, I carefully set my facing tool to the exposed face and locked the carriage.  Now I just needed to insert the faced end of each piece into the collet against the stop, run the face tool across the exposed end, and spot drill it.  Result equal lengths within tolerance of a few thou +/-.







The stop was also useful in drilling both ends for 10-32 tapping.  With the pieces in the collet, I could get a constant DOC by locking the tailstock and using its spindle rule as a reference.  After tapping each end, I was able to test-assemble two of the frames and the hub.






The inner frame is held firmly against the hub boss without screws, so I'm thinking drilling for them won't be needed.

Finally, poser shot on the starboard engine:


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## kvom (Sep 16, 2015)

Short workday in the shop:  machine the second paddle hub and assemble.  Pretty much identical to the first one.


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## ozzie46 (Sep 16, 2015)

looking good Kirk. 

 Ron


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## don-tucker (Sep 17, 2015)

Those wheels are really nice,makes me wish i had a cnc and the know how to run it.
Don


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## kvom (Sep 18, 2015)

Thanks for looking in.

Having decided to make the paddles I now need crankshafts long enough to support them.  First stage in remake is the webs on the CNC mill from some 1/4" HRS.






After cutting free and milling off the tabs, I thinned them to 3/16".  Then used Loctite 620 to assemble in two stages.






After curing tonight, I'll cut out the unneeded section on the Bridgeport.  The 620 should be plenty strong for this application, but I'll pin the side shafts anyway.


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## Herbiev (Sep 18, 2015)

Will you be brazing it together or just rely on the 620 glue and pins?


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## kvom (Sep 18, 2015)

No brazing for me.  The drill rod is straight enough, and all the holes were reamed .376.  There's not enough torque from this engine to budge the shafts.

That's all I did on the Joy engine, which has a lot more power.


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## kvom (Sep 19, 2015)

With a bit of shop time today I wanted to finish the crankshafts.  I decided to use a pair of 3-56 screws as pins for each; first because I couldn't find any roll pins in the shoop, and second because I can still disassemble them if for some reason I need to redo something.  Later on I can mill off the heads.






Second task was to machine a pair of dies to apply camber to the floats.  Did the machining on the CNC mill, and tried them out on a piece of the 1-1/16x1/16" CRS I ordered from McMaster.  It seems to form very well using the vise on the  Bridgeport.






I now need to drill and mount some guide pins in the die to ensure that the floats are kept straight while being cambered.  The pins need to match holes drilled in the floats for attaching the lever arms.  I'm leaning towards using drive screws to attach the levers, so the hole sizes will depend on which size drive screw, probably #4.


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## kvom (Sep 20, 2015)

Start reassembly of the port engine with the new crankshaft.  Ran it for 30 minutes on the lathe to loosen it up.






While that was running, more fettling with the cylinder/crosshead/guide bars, which are still a bit sticky on one end.  My goal is to get the cylinder side motion moving smoothly before attacking the valve side.


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## kvom (Sep 22, 2015)

The paddles require a custom screw that both fastens the frame to the tie rods but also provides a surface for the float brackets to pivot upon.  Westbury names these pivot screws.  I need 32 of them to replace the 32 10-32 socket screws currently holding the paddles together.  I am making them from 1/4" hex brass rod.  When making a large number of things its useful to come up with a system for doing the same operations quickly using the same tools and setups.  I had  devised my system, but decided to only make the first two screws in order to verify the process.

Op1 - part off lengths of the rod at .90" of length on the lathe.

Op2 - face one end of each cutoff

Op3 - using collet stop in the hex collet, face the other end to make both cutoff the same length (.77" in this case).

Op4 - mount collet chuck on the CNC mill and mill two diameters - .24" for the pivot, and.188" for the 10-32 thread.

Op5 - threadmill the 10-32 threads for .375"

Here's the result of the first screw:






And on the paddle:






With success on the first pair, I started the process of making 32 more (2 extra).  This time I combined Op3 and Op4.  Got them all done except for the threadmilling, which will have to wait for the next time in the shop,






The extra-long head is needed to hold the work in the collet, but a finishing app will lop it off to 1/16".


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## Herbiev (Sep 22, 2015)

Looking great. I'll be at that stage around Xmas hopefully


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## kvom (Sep 27, 2015)

Finished the pivot screws:


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## kvom (Sep 29, 2015)

Got the stock for the floats cut to plan dimensions:  2.625x1.062x.062".  Did a couple of extra just in case.  After some experimenting, I decided to attach the brackets to the floats with #4 drive screws.  The .104" hole for these isn't far off from the 3/32" rivet size ET used, and the head size looks similar.

Rather than bending the brackets from metal, I'm thinking of carving them from some 1/2" square brass bar I obtained recently at a bargain price.  By using a square 5C collet in the lathe, I can ensure that the pivot holes in either end will line up.  The arm will be attached.  I'll make a trail piece later this week when I get the collet.

The other task of the day was to extract the master rods from some 1x1/16" brass bar.  Drilling and profiling were done on the CNC mill, followed by tapping the holes for the slave rods 4-40 on the tapping stand.  4-40 is quite close to the 6BA size in the plans, and there is space for socket screw heads to be used for trial assembly.  The slave rods will be cut in the same way from the same material.


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## kvom (Sep 30, 2015)

Today I had a couple of shop hours to experiment with making a float bracket from some 1/2" square brass bar.  I was able to borrow a 5C collet from a friend.  After cutting a piece and facing to length, I drilled a 1/4" hole in each end.






Then over to the mill to convert most of the  piece to chips.






A trial fit revealed a problem.  The bracket interferes with the tie rod!






I had used some 5/16" rod for the tie rods, while ET's were 3/16 at the ends necked down to 1/4" in the center.  I can't go back and do that since my pivot screws are 10-32,  but I can reduce the ends to 9/32  and the centers to 1/4, since I'll need clearance there for the drive screw heads.

In any case, I'll finish the first of these manually before I program any CNC work for the other 15.


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## kvom (Oct 1, 2015)

Did some experimenting with the bending option.  Milled a 1" wide slot .04" deep in a piece of steel and used it as guide for bending some 1/16" thick brass bar.  By scribing lines on the stock for aligning on the steel's edge, I can get a good idea of how much to adjust dimensions to account for the bend.  It appears to be 1/16" in both length and height.  I did the bending by striking with a dead-blow hammer directly, and the bent edge is still fairly straight.  I think using a flat piece of aluminum between the brass and the hammer will be even better.






I'll machine a test piece to validate.  Since I can't get two 1/2" brackets from 1" wide stock, I'll wait and order some 1/2" wide brass for the rest.  The 1" stock will be used for the slave rods.


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## kvom (Oct 1, 2015)

Success in getting the first trial paddle/float.  I made a SWAG about where the bends should be to get a bracket that swings freely on the pivot screws.  While machining the part on  the CNC mill, I had it scribe two cross lines where the bend would start (i.e., I'd line up the line with the top of the steel block.  The first effort came out about 1/16" too narrow for a minimum fit.  However, I was able to manually adjust the ends slightly in order to get a drill bit to clear both pivot holes.  The second time I moved both lines apart, and this time I was able to mount the bracket on the screws, albeit still slightly tight.  For the "real" ones I'll widen the brackets a bit more.

With that done, I proceeded to drill holes for the drive screws in one of the float blanks, and then  squeezed it in my little die blocks to impart some curvature.  Then hammered in the 3 drive screws.  Here's the assembly mounted on a paddle.






The first bracket attempt is shown to the right,  On the production floats I'll need to mill off the ends of the drive screws that protrude.

These two were made from 1" wide stock, but I'll wait to obtain some 1/2" before making the rest.  In the meantime I still need to make the slave rods as well as 30 smaller pivot screws.


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## Herbiev (Oct 1, 2015)

Looking really great. Learning heaps on this thread.


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## kvom (Oct 5, 2015)

Not much shop time this weekend, but did manage to drill and camber the floats:






So now I see a conundrum.  Do I want/need to paint the floats?  If so, then with brass brackets it could be difficult to paint just the steel portion.  If I paint the floats before attaching the brackets, then I still have to mill off the stubs of the screws.  That will require a touchup of at least the concave side.  For these reasons, I'm going to make a test bracket from the same 1/16" CRS.  If the brackets are also steel, I can paint both them and the floats after otherwise finishing the assembly.


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## kvom (Oct 9, 2015)

I've decided to make the brackets from steel and have ordered material from Enco.  In the meantime I made a start on the 30 small pivot screws that connect the arms of the feathering assembly to the bracket arms.  These will have a 5/32 hex head, an a 3/16 shaft of which 3/32 is threaded 5-40.  These screws start off as pieces of 3/16 drill rod which I parted off on the lathe, and then faced to a 0.57" length.  This was tedious making 30 of these pieces and a couple of extras.  That was done yesterday.

Today, I used the CNC mill to form the shaft and head with an endmill, and the threads with a threadmill.






Each of the operations took a bit over a minute, plus time to remove one piece from the chuck and insert the next.  A collet stop ensured that each screw went into the chuck the same depth.  As for today, each screw looks like this:






To finish, each will be chucked thread down and cut down so that the hex head is 1/8" thick.


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## kvom (Oct 28, 2015)

Spent some scattered time over the past week on the engine.  With the new crankshaft in the port engine I set the eccentrics to the same angles as the starboard, but it still doesn't run.  The starboard engine runs very well, but still has the old crankshaft, so I don't want to disassemble it until the port engine is running.  Other than that, I finished the 30 small pivot screws plus 14 of 16 pivot brackets in steel (ran out of material).  I have some left over sheet from the floats, and I should be able to make two more brackets from it.






The scribe lines are where the brackets will be bent.

Now I just need to make the 14 articulated rods and the engine fabrication is done except for a base and some sort of reversing setup on the weigh shaft.


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## kvom (Oct 29, 2015)

Starting to put the floats together.  First need to bend the brackets.  I use the bench vise and line up the scribed line with the top of the jaw, and hit it with a deadblow hammer.












Next, use the die block to start the drive screws through the bracket.






With the ends of the screws exposed they can be aligned with the float and started using a small hammer.






Drive the screw heads flush with the bracket using the vise and die block.






Clamp the bracket in the mill vise and mill off the protruding ends of the screws.  I used a 1/2" ball nose mill for this.






Test with paint.  Using tractor implement spray paint; result looks good thus far.






Should finish up the others and ready for paint next shop session.  Still need to make two more brackets.


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## kvom (Nov 2, 2015)

Last few times in the shop I managed to get all the floats assembled and painted:






The setscrew in the bracket is just to keep the paint out of the threads.  Today I made the articulating arms/rods from some 1/16" C260 brass.  Original plan was to make two across using 3/4" wide bars, but that would require a maximum 3/32" endmill to avoid cutting into the vise jaws;  not having a 3/32, I elected to use 1/16.  However, I broke two of these on the first piece of stock.  I suppose the brass is sticky.  Since I'd already cut off 7 pieces, I changed over to using a 5/32 endmill and cutting one arm from each piece.  Then I used the same 5/32 to cut two across on 1" wide stock.  Ended up with 15 (1 extra):






The one on the lower left is shown with a small pivot screw to test the fit.

Tomorrow I'll attempt a test assembly of one paddle.  The arms still need to be bent to clear the master rod, so that will likely use the #1 eyeball tool.


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## Herbiev (Nov 2, 2015)

Can always trust #1 eyeball tool


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## kvom (Nov 3, 2015)

Did a test assembly of one paddle:






No real problems, but I'll need to enlarge the pivot holes in the brackets a bit.  They are only .005 larger than the screws, and not being lined up are too tight.  One of the articulated arms is shown attached as well.

I did not mill the slots in the tops of the floats to clear the frames.  Westbury said that they were not needed once he had assembled his, but left the drawings unaltered.  They will be simple to add if I find them to be needed later.


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## Herbiev (Nov 3, 2015)

Looking really great. Can't wait to see it in action.


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## jimjam66 (Nov 5, 2015)

Herbiev said:


> Looking really great. Can't wait to see it in action.



Seconded! Thm:Thm:


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## kvom (Nov 5, 2015)

To be honest I don't the the "action" of the feathering will be that impressive as the rotation is only a few degrees.  The mechanism is interesting, however.


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## Blogwitch (Nov 5, 2015)

K,
Even though it might only be a few degrees, when used in water it makes a tremendous difference to how the floats produce more power.
Seeing the floats enter the water almost vertically and when at exactly the bottom they are perfectly upright, it is amazing how much more 'shove' they give.
If only the old Mississippi sternwheelers had taken up this idea they would have found much more driving power to their boats.
Lovely build BTW.

John


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## kvom (Nov 5, 2015)

Thanks, John.  Appreciate the compliment.

Assembled both paddles after enlarging the pivot holes in the brackets.






Bent the first of the articulating rods manually.  The drop is supposed to be 1/4", so checked it with a gauge block and adjusted:






Then decide to try a test fit on one paddle with the master rod.






Ran into a problem as the articulating rod is not long enough to reach the float opposite the master without the float being able to rotate further.  So it looks as it the slots in the floats will be needed.  I'll have to disassemble the wheels once again to mill the slots allowing the extra rotation.  rats.


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## kvom (Nov 6, 2015)

Today was notch day in the shop.  After measuring the separation of the frames and accounting for their thickness, I calculated that the centers of the frames are 2.04" apart.  So after mounting the first test float in the bridgeport vise aligned on the Y axis, I found the center and machined the notches at +/- 1.02" on the DRO.

While Westbury used some sheet steel for the frames, mine were machined from 3/16" aluminum.  To provide some wiggle room I used a 5/16" endmill.  After the first seemed good, It was just a matter of taking each float off in turn, milling the notches, and reassembling to check fit.  Rather tedious.  It is important to realize that with the notches the float assembly loses symmetry, and the port and starboard floats are mirrored.  Didn't screw that up so all the notches ended up on the correct side.

I now need to disassemble all of them again and repaint the bare metal of the notches.

I did verify that with the increased angle of pivot the articulated rod opposite the master rod now reaches its float arm.


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## kvom (Nov 7, 2015)

After watching some football this afternoon I had a few hours in the shop.  Disassembled the paddles once again, deburred the notches with the belt sander, and repainted.

Next, bent the first wheels articulated rod and attempted assembly of the first feathering eccentric "spider".






For reference, the central hole is 1/4" or ~12mm.  The screw heads are 5/32 across the flats.  As can be seen, the tolerances are very tight, and I found that when pivoting there is friction between the head of an articulating rod and its neighbors.  I did some relieving with the belt sander on the last couple while assembling, but the rest will need to come off for the same treatment.


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## Cogsy (Nov 7, 2015)

kvom said:


> For reference, the central hole is 1/4" or ~12mm.


 
Oops, a typo I think - 1/4" is 6.35mm. 12mm is close to 1/2".


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## kvom (Nov 7, 2015)

Weak metric kung fu.


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## kvom (Nov 9, 2015)

During the weekend having cut, deburred, and painted the floats, today's job was to reassemble the wheels.  It gets a bit faster each time.  I attached the rod assembly to the starboard side wheel:






Took a little doing, and learned a few things in retrospect.  First, there's only about 2.5 threads here (40 tpi and 1/16 inch hole), so starting the tiny pivot screws was a challenge.  When machining them I tested for fit with a nut, but a tapped hole is a tighter fit.  Found that running the screw in solo seemed to enlarge the tapped threads a bit so that it was each to start afterwards with the arm involved.

The good news is that the articulating arms rotate very little with regard to their neighbors, so the tight fit is not a problem. Any contact should be smoothed out with running.  In any case I was able to rotate the center hole of the master rod around to show the feathering action of the floats.

Heading out of town tomorrow for two weeks, so no more progress until I return.  I'll finish up the port side rod assembly and then continue to get the port ending to run again.  Then I'll need to swap the crankshaft on the starboard side and get it running.  Afterwards it will be time for a base.


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## don-tucker (Nov 10, 2015)

That looks amazing,i no longer have the patience to make these but they would finish my engine off,well done
Don


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## Blogwitch (Nov 10, 2015)

Don,

If you are not into making the wheels and floats, Reeves in the UK still sell the castings for them, gets you 50% there. 

http://www.ajreeves.com/diag-paddle-alloy-paddle-wheel-frames-each-6092-p.asp

http://www.ajreeves.com/diag-paddle-alloy-wheel-paddles-each-6093-p.asp


Bogs


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## don-tucker (Nov 11, 2015)

Thanks Bogs,ill consider that
Don


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## kvom (Dec 1, 2015)

Back from my trip to Ecuador, and had a couple of hours in the shop the past few days.  Some progress and more frustration.

1) Retimed valves on the port engine and tried on air.  Runs in reverse but not forward.  Still had lots of air leakage so I made new PTFE gaskets.  Ran better in reverse but still not in forward.  I also discovered that it needed flex in the main inner frame to run well.  If I clamped both end of the frame in a vise to run it then it would bind up.  So it seems I need to clamp a piece of straight bar to the bottom of the frame and readjust the motion.

2) Replaced the crankshaft on the starboard engine, which had been running OK in both directions.  I needed a new longer crankshaft to mount the paddle.  Now it's a bit stiffer, so I hooked it up on the lath to do a bit of running in.  Went to check on it after an hour to find that the big end bearing on the conrod had come loose when the nuts worked off.  Decided to call it a day.


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## kvom (Dec 6, 2015)

Finished up the port paddle wheel today.  Found out that the 1/8" plastic tube with 1/16" ID won't deliver enough pressure to run either engine, so I'll have to make do with the 1/4" tube for testing until I get around to actual piping.

I'll be interested to see how each engine runs with the paddles installed.  The extra angular momentum should allow a slower speed, as currently both run way too fast.


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## kvom (Dec 7, 2015)

Did a quasi assembly of the engine set.  With the paddle wheels mounted and the cranks coupled, both turn pretty freely.






As can be seen I have temporary connectors for the inner and outer frames, made from some 1/4-20 threaded rod and some nuts/washers.  The idea is to remove any flex between the frames and to keep the outer frames parallel.  The spacers will be replaced once the engines run well and I can get accurate measurements.

I will be machining a length of steel bar as a spacer between the inner frames, again to avoid flexing and to keep the two frames parallel.

I am also considering replacing the screws that join the cylinder, inner frame, steam chest, and cover with studs (or at least some of them).  Doing so will allow removal of the covers while retaining alignment of the other pieces.  There are 12 screws on each side, so 24 such studs (5-40 x 2") would be needed.


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## kvom (Dec 10, 2015)

A small step backwards last night.  I had decided to do a remake on the stay bars that hold all 4 frames together, and to install it I needed to remove the paddle wheels.  They were stuck!  Apparently the setscrew had raised a burr on the crankshaft arm.  In attempting to wrestle one off the starboard engine I twisted the web loose.  And since the shaft itself it now scored, I need to remake the crankshaft, hence a partial disassembly.

This time I'll mill a small flat on the crankshaft so that a burr there won't prevent the paddlewheel from coming off.  I think that for transport to shows removing the paddles will be a good idea anyway.


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## kris2205 (Dec 16, 2015)

I am also in the process of making one of these models.
But to be honest I have so many projects on the go, including a 5" Shay loco, that I cheated a bit, and got the paddles laser cut for me from Stainless steel by model engineers laser www.*modelengineerslaser*.co.uk in the UK.
found they look good and also much thinner so more to scale, and once fitted look perfect.
Hope to get the engine completed very soon.
Chris 












View attachment Edgar Westbury Paddle Wheel.pdf


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## kvom (Dec 17, 2015)

Your pretty engine makes mine hang its head in shame.  

I see you didn't cut the notches in the floats.  Are they hitting the frame?

Looking forward to seeing a video.  D

BTW, you have the paddle wheel on the wrong side (I know this was just a test fit).


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## kvom (Dec 20, 2015)

After various delays due to the season plus a bit of laziness, it's taken me a while to remake the starboard crankshaft.  Originally I was just going to replace the outboard shaft, but then decided starting over was a better option.  This time I pinned the webs on both ends using 1/16" drill rod pins held with loctite and then filed flush.

Also made a second adapter to allow connecting 1/4" air tube to the 1/16 NPT inlet in case I ever get the two engined working together.

Reassembled, and now need to retime:






I've also decided that rather than angle brackets to attach the feet of the frames to the base individually, I'll make a single bracket for each pair.  I think that will guarantee the frames stay parallel more easily.


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## Herbiev (Dec 20, 2015)

The engine looks really great. Havent done much on mine due to the heat wave down here.


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## kvom (Dec 21, 2015)

After a quick try at timing I tested the engine with the new crank.  Ran well in forward, nada in reverse.  I'll take another try tomorrow.  Today I made a bracket to fasten the two frames together at the base.  Started with some 3/8" thick HRS bar.  Seems to work well, so I'll make another for the port engine and a third to attach the two inner frames on the other end.  Thses three brackets will be attached to a base plate with screws.


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## kvom (Dec 22, 2015)

A friend donated a piece of 8"x1/4" HRS that will eventually serve as a base for the engine.  I took another piece of 3/8" HRS and carved out the bracket to connect the inner frames at the cylinder end.  It's 2.75" wide, hence the same as the stay bars.  It's attached to the base by a couple of 10-32 screws.






Did a test fit of the engines to this bracket.  Other than being awkward to get the screws started, it worked well enough to get both engines attached and lined up.  Since the front brackets between the inner and outer frames aren't done and attached, it's unclear how much shimming might be needed to get the crankshafts aligned well enough to avoid any binding.  As they are with the coupling attached, both engines do turn fairly freely together.






Weighed it as shown above - 18 pounds / 8 kg


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## kvom (Dec 24, 2015)

Got the 3rd bracket attached to the base with the port engine attached to verify fit.






Also split the temporary coupler I'd been testing with.  The two halves will be joined by screws, allowing decoupling when needed.


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## kvom (Dec 26, 2015)

So having applied air to the port engine in the configuration shown above, I found a leaky steam chest since I'd not tightened the screws on the cover since the last reassembly.  After snugging up there's still some leakage at the corners since I have an issue with threading the corner screws all the way through the cover/chest/frame to the cylinders.  I think I need to enlarge the 4 corner holes in the chest a few thou.

In any case, even with the leaks the engine still runs in reverse with enough pressure applied and a manual assist on turning the paddles.  The main problem is that it then runs at high RPMs, and when pressure is reduced to a reasonable speed slows down until it stops.  Still doesn't run forward.  Also, the high speed running causes enough flex even with the frame mounts to loosen quite a few screws.  So I'm not sure how much work/rework is needed on both sides to get a slow enough motion to run reliably for a long period, which is a necessity to exhibit at Cabin Fever 3 weeks from now.  With both engines mounted there will be the two stay bars between the inner frames, and those may quell some of the vibrations.

Feeling a bit frustrated, i decided to spend Xmas afternoon cleaning swarf from my machinery, something that's been neglected for quite a while.  Before that I needed to empty a year's worth from the shop vac.  Filled a plastic sac that's almost too heaving to lift.  Now I'm going to sweep the floors and try to put tools and stuff where they belong.  Maybe having a clean workbench will make be more enthusiastic for engine work.


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## kvom (Dec 28, 2015)

Today I decided to make 4 studs for the cylinder/chest assembly as an experiment.  Because the fasteners go through the cover, chest, frame, and into the cylinder, plus through 3 gaskets, it's quite a feat of dexterity to get everything lined up.  And when you need to remove the cover to see the valve during timing, it's another hassle.

With studs you can leave them in place and remove the cover, keeping the rest aligned.

I don't have enough material for replacing all the screws with studs, and with 12 holes to line up, screws are easier.  So I'll stick with 4 per engine.  The 4 I made were slightly too short, but did prove the concept.  I'll remake them a bit longer next time in the shop.


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## kvom (Jan 1, 2016)

Some better progress the past three days on the port engine.  I decided from the past trials that I had way too much air leaking to get a good test.  I needed high pressure to get it started, and then it wouldn't run at a low speed.  So I took the bull by the horns and first remade the piston in bronze vs. the original brass, and with a much better fit (~.001" total clearance).  

The second step was to make 5 gaskets from 1/32" thick paper gasket stock.  This is much tougher and pliable than the .010" teflon sheet I'd used earlier.  Following the same recipe as with the loco, I coated the gaskets with a combination of thick steam oil and graphite powder.

Third step was to make some packing of teflon thread for the piston and valve glands.

And finally figured out the easiest way for me to time the valve gear.

After all that I had one irritating problem with the crankshaft sticking at one spot in its rotation.  An hour of turning on the lathe didn't loosen it up.  After lots of trying various things I discovered the problem to be the inner eccentric being too close to the bearing.  Moving the eccentrics outward a smidge freed things up.  Applied air and it took off.

I still have to hold the weigh shaft in position as there's no reversing mechanism in place yet.  After the first trials I substituted the 1/4" air tune with the 1/8" tube, and it still ran fine.  Here's a short vid:


[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLaCysPrmuo&feature=youtu.be[/ame]


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## Herbiev (Jan 1, 2016)

Its alive. Well done Kvom. Looks like ive got some adjustments ahead of me when the weather here cools down a bit.


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## kvom (Jan 3, 2016)

This weekend I performed the same operations on the starboard engine as on its buddy (new piston, gaskets), did the valve tuning, and applied air.  Discovered some dumbassery on my part in that I switched the forward/reverse timing, something that would not work well with the engines connected.

Next time in the shop I'll redo the timing and try again.  The timing itself is getting quite easy; it's unfastening the 12 screws to open the steam chest cover that is tedious, as well as messing with the 2-56 screws and nuts that fasten the eccentric straps.


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## gus (Jan 3, 2016)

Runs like a real paddle steamer in Disney Land.


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## 10K Pete (Jan 3, 2016)

kvom said:


> This weekend I performed the same operations on the starboard engine as on its buddy (new piston, gaskets), did the valve tuning, and applied air.  Discovered some dumbassery on my part in that I switched the forward/reverse timing, something that would not work well with the engines connected.
> 
> Next time in the shop I'll redo the timing and try again.  The timing itself is getting quite easy; it's unfastening the 12 screws to open the steam chest cover that is tedious, as well as messing with the 2-56 screws and nuts that fasten the eccentric straps.



Have you considered using clear acrylic or Lexan to make a temp cover
so you can see in? Should work fine with air...

Pete


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## kvom (Jan 4, 2016)

The clear cover would have been more useful when I was struggling with leaning to do the timing, but I wouldn't want it on a finished model.  Hopefully this will be the last time I'll need to do it.


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## kvom (Jan 4, 2016)

After resetting the starboard engine valve correctly I joined the two and applied air to both at the same time:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_3XUOUp2Pg&feature=youtu.be[/ame]


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## Herbiev (Jan 4, 2016)

Thats a great runner. Thanks for sharing


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## kvom (Jan 6, 2016)

I discovered that with the longer crankshafts needed for the paddles that the assembled engine will not fit in either of my standard toolboxes that I was planning to use to carry it on the plane to CF.  Separating the engines and the base will make it harder to pack securely, but I'll see if it's possible.

I did come up with a scheme for a reverser, as shown in the attachment.  A 3" long lifting rod will be attached to the ends of both weigh shaft arms, and its other end will be attached to a 5" long rod with a pivot point in the center.  I will need a means to secure the end of the pivot in both forward and reverse positions.  As shown in the diagram, the weigh shaft needs to pivot 30 degrees between the two, and the ends of the pivot rod will move ~ 3/4".


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## kvom (Mar 28, 2016)

With NAMES on the horizon I decided I'd try to get the starboard engine working, with crankshaft #3 needed.  Stan Shire turned me onto the use of Tix low-temp jewelry solder, and with the solder and flux having arrive last week I did an experiment as to whether this solder would be a good choice for a built-up crank vs. the loctite I've tried previously.

I drilled and reamed a .376" hole in some scrap steel 1/4" HRS and cut off a small piece of 3/8" drill rod for the experiment.  I dipped the drill rod in the flux and inserted it halfway into the hole.  Then heated the rod from below while applying the solder from above.  I needed to push the solder pieces into contact with the rod, but once I did so it wicked all around and full depth.  

The solder doesn't set hard until the temperature cools, but once I ran cold water over the piece the joint appears very solid.  It would be interesting to see what sort of force this joint will sustain under an arbor press.


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## Blogwitch (Mar 28, 2016)

Hi K,

Just a note about using soft solder.

When you come to do the final job with it, let it cool down naturally, otherwise, if cooled down in water, sometimes capilliary action can suck water into the joint and so may cause failure at a later date. DAMHIK.
If you need it to cool down quicker, just put it onto a large sheet metal plate, but be careful the joint doesn't move, it takes a long time for the joint to solidify and gain it's strength all the way through. I normally just walk away for an hour without touching anything.

John


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## kvom (Mar 28, 2016)

Sounds like good advice.  Thanks John.  I have a big chunk of aluminum I'll set it on.


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## kvom (Mar 31, 2016)

After soldering the 4 joints of the crankshaft and leaving it overnight, I pinned the joints using 1/8" drill rod pins with a press fit.  The prior rods used loctite and then loctited pins with a sliding fit.







Then it was a matter of machining out the center section of the shaft and polishing away the solder from the outside of the joints.  The shaft turns quite smoothly in the main bearings, and also with the conrod attached.  Here's the status before lunch today.






After lunch I attacked the Stephenson valve timing for the nth time.  I must be getting better at it, because after I buttoned up the steam chest cover the engine ran very nicely in both directions at less than 10 psi!

Next time in the shop I'll reattach the port engine, add some lubrication, and see if the two engines will play nice together.


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## kvom (Apr 4, 2016)

More comedy of errors.  Crankshaft#3 was made with the eccentric side too long to fit on the base, and my attempts to shorten it resulted in the solder joint coming loose.  After considering various ways to fix it, I decided to just make crankshaft #4 (back to loctite and pins), which was finished this morning.

After lunch it was time to time the valves again, which seemed to go a lot slower than last time.  And my result was not good as the engine ran happily in reverse in both positions.  Back at it tomorrow.

I think the plan to run it with 1/8" plastic tube and push-lock connectors may have some limitations.  Given that the area of the 1/16" ID is .003 square inches, it may not be surprising that the air pressure indicator shows 40 PSI to flow enough air to run it.  Next time out I'll go back to the 1/4" tube, which will be equivalent to the eventual 1/16-NPT piping.


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## kvom (Apr 7, 2016)

With partial disassembly of the port engine I was able to extract the valve and valve nut.  The nut slides very easily inside the grooves, so there seems to be nothing keeping the valve away from the port face except the absence of gravity.

I obtained a spring from an expired ballpoint pen and found its diameter to be ~0.17" in diameter.  So I used a 3/16 end mill to bore two pockets in the bottom of the nut, cut the spring into two appropriate lengths, and ended with this:






The springs will exert light pressure to keep the valve and ports in contact until air pressure is applied.  I ran out of time to reassemble and test, but will do so next time out, keeping fingers crossed.  If it works as designed I'll do the same on the other engine.


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## Herbiev (Apr 8, 2016)

That looks like a great solution.


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## kvom (Apr 9, 2016)

To reassemble the steam chest required more hands than I possessed until I glued the little springs in their pockets with some superglue.  Since the valve nut goes back in the same place on the rod I didn't need to retime.  After reassemly both engines run uncoupled:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0oOekH4Zvo&feature=youtu.be[/ame]

Clearly the starboard engine needs a bit more air than the port.

The crankshafts are misaligned sufficiently that the coupler won't work without binding, so to get them running synchronized I'll need to shim the mount enough to get them in line. The other option is possibly to shim the main bearings, but that would require a major disassembly.


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## kvom (Apr 9, 2016)

After watching golf for a few hours on TV, I went out to the shop to check on the shaft misalignment.  It appears that I can get them quite close with a few small modifications to the base mount and the bars that connect the two frames.  There's still a height difference of about 20 thou or so.

I also found an inexpensive Oldham coupling on eBay (Huco brand) that I've ordered.  Less than $14.  Looks worth a try, and easy enough to install.


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## kvom (Apr 14, 2016)

My order of the Oldham coupling went awry - seller sent me the wrong item, and the coupler wasn't even in stock.  Found another for $4 more, and it should get here on Tuesday.  In the meantime I decided to try another idea, which is to connect the two shafts with a spring.  Indeed there are couplers that actually work like springs, so nothing original from me.  Went to Ace hardware with some 3/8" rod to try for a fit, and found one the right length that is fairly tight to the shaft.






It does work to a reasonable degree, although the port engine frames are not as stiff as they should be, and there's perceptible wobble in the crankshaft on the eccentric side, possibly because the bearings are aligned properly.  At least both sides rotate at the same speed, although the air pressure needed (20 PSI) is higher than I'd like.

If I take it to NAMES it will likely need to remain in this unfinished state, as I don't really feel like a major disassembly with a week to go.


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## kvom (Apr 15, 2016)

It appears that nowadays eBay sellers are using Amazon as a fulfillment service and may be selling the same products from the same wholesalers.  My order for the Hurco coupling also fell through, although this time I got a notification and refund the next day.  So I decided to make my own slot coupling as recommended previously.

Here's the coupling mounted:






3/4" bronze round with 5-40 set screws.  Cut the slot 5/16" and the boss about .02" narrower.   Works but at a higher air pressure than I'd like (20+ PSI).

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hqg2VN9KdI8[/ame]

I'll shorten the set screws before NAMES.


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## Blogwitch (Apr 16, 2016)

Hi K,

When looking at couplings like this, where maybe a bit of side load or angled misalignment can cause binding problems, then an easy way out is to use a no coupled coupling.

Years ago these types were used where friction would cause major problems if two shafts were misaligned. The more misaligned, the larger you made the drive holes.






Very easy to make. Just make the pins to length so that they only just protruded through the larger diameter holes they went into.

For quietness, drill the holes even larger and slip some rubber or silicone tube over the pins, but still leave plenty of space around the sleeved pins.

John


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## Mechanicboy (Apr 16, 2016)

Why not make a whole crankshaft instead 2 piece crankshaft??


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## kvom (Apr 16, 2016)

Mechanicboy said:


> Why not make a whole crankshaft instead 2 piece crankshaft??



Getting the eccentrics in place might be tricky.  

Prototype paddle boats had couplings that could be unlocked, allowing the two engines to operate independently.


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## Mechanicboy (Apr 16, 2016)

kvom said:


> Getting the eccentrics in place might be tricky.
> 
> Prototype paddle boats had couplings that could be unlocked, allowing the two engines to operate independently.



The solution: The left crankshaft web with set screw on the middle crankshaft who has flat side to be locked by set screw and the right crankshaft web is fixed on middle crank shaft, then the excenter is on place after the left crankshaft web is screwed on place. The crankpin journals must be in 90 degree to make steam engine selfstarting when pressure of steam is on. 

In my Stuart triple steam engine has 2 piece excenter for the middle pressure cylinder. Not easy for newbeginner, see the serie of photo from   #95  how to make 2 piece excenter: http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/showthread.php?t=14887&page=10


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## kvom (Aug 22, 2016)

The engine has sat undisturbed since NAMES, but still needs work.  At the show I was able to run it, but only at fairly high RPMs.  As well, it was a little balky at self starting.  Once home I could see that the crank pin on the port engine's crankshaft had worked loose.  Now that the Olympics is over, I can devote some hours spent in front of the TV recently to time in the shop.

After removal of the port crankshaft, I found that only the crank pin needed to be remade slightly longer.  Here's the setup for alignment waiting for the Loctite to cure.  V blocks align the shafts and a gauge block ensures the webs are parallel and the correct distance apart.






This time I'll pin it like I did on the other.

I also need to get working on a reversing mechanism (based on my multistart thread experiment) and a more authentic looking air connection.


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## kvom (Aug 23, 2016)

Back on the engine, I have installed the new crankshaft on the port engine and done some run in using the lathe. I need to do a bit of shimming yet.  In the meantime, I looked at Westbury's reversing mechanism and discovered that it's too wide to fit between the steam chests as drawn.  So using his design I need to position it to the rear of the cylinders.  Then in order to design the reach ror I'll need to know it's distance from the weigh shaft and the needed angle of travel.

I measured the heights of the weigh shaft arm at full forward and reverse.  The vertical travel differs by 1.23", and with a radius of 1.5", a bit of drawing on Draftsight yields an angular travel of 48 degrees.  I'll model the reverser in SW to get a feel for its position.


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## kvom (Aug 26, 2016)

I decided to make the reverser similar to that on the Joy engine.  Here's a SW depiction of the parts other than the threaded shaft and crank wheel.






The bottom pivot attached to the base while the upper forked part is attached to the weigh shaft.  Yesterday I fabricated the three parts aside from the reach rod.  Rather than use CNC for the rounded profiles on the pivots, I tried a corner rounding bit on the manual mill.  Results were decent even if slightly less precise. The pivots are 1" wide and 1.5" long, with 1/4" holes for pivoting and a 5/16-18 double start thread tapped into the upper.

The reach rod is more complex and required multiple operations on both the CNC and manual mills.  The first operation was the side profile, machined into a block of 1"x1"x2" brass.






Then the excess was milled on the Bridgeport to free it up.






Back to the CNC mill to cut the partial side profiles:






Next, reposition on the vise and mill out the throat.






Back to the Bridgeport to mill the "tail" flat and drill the pivot holes.  I should have drilled the hole for the weigh shaft after milling the first side of the tail, and then needed some ingenuity to do it later:






Finished:






Then a test to determine how far the upper pivot nut needs to travel for a complete forward-reverse transition.






After marking the test rod it seems I need 1.5" of thread; since the nut is .5" thick its actual travel is 1", or a bit less than I calculated earlier.  So next shop visit I'll attack the shaft itself.


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## kvom (Aug 28, 2016)

More work on the reverser today, turning the shaft between centers using one of the small lathe dogs I picked up in PA.

The first op was to take3 .25" of 5/16" brass rod.  On one end turn down to .25" diameter for a length of 3/4", center drill, and thread the end 1/4-20 for 1/4" with a die.  Turn the other end down to 1/4" for a length of 1" and center drill the end.  This leaves 1.5" to be single point threaded 18tpi double start.

On the chuck end it's necessary to turn some round bar to a point with a 60 degree included angle.  This is done with the compound set over 30 degrees.  Before turning ensure that this center extends far enough out so that the dog's arm can contact the chuck jaws.  Since I had the 1" section of the stock for clamping the dog, I had a good deal of adjustability.






Now I could mount the work and tighten the dog's screw.  Things to check: that the threading bit can traverse the needed section to be threaded, and that the dog won't hit any part of the carriage or the tool.






Now I could do the threading as before using jaws 6 and 3 for the two starts.  Previously on steel I had advanced the compound .100" to get a working thread, but I decided to cut both starts to .08", the check the fit on the nut and advance by .005 until it fit.  With the dog it was quite easy to remove the work, test the fit, and replace for each pass.  The final pass was at .095 with a spring pass on both starts.

The remaining part to fabricate is the base of the shaft.  It's a 2" piece of 7/16" brass rod that's turned down to 1/4" for a length of .75" and threaded 20 tpi with a die for .25".  The other end is drilled 1" deep at .251 diameter.  The end of the threaded shaft goes into this hole, and the top end will server as a stop for the nut at the full forward position.  The bottom of the shaft passes through the bottom pivot and it secured with a nut.






Since I won't know the exact range that the nut will use on the thread until the reach rod is fixed to the weigh shaft, this design allows adjustment (I can shorten either the base or the screw or both.  Eventually the shaft and base will be loctited together.

The same applies at the top, where the adjustment wheel will server as the stop once the full reverse position is known. 

Initially I was going to place the reach rod at 180 degrees from the lifting links, but discovered that at full lift it would contact the steam chest.  So it will be angled upward to clear.


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## kvom (Aug 29, 2016)

Completed reversing shaft assembly.






In place:


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## kvom (Aug 30, 2016)

Retimed the port engine and ran it solo in both directions, the hooked it up as a pair for a test run.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ9DddBJOBA&feature=youtu.be[/ame]

This is at 18 psi.  I'm continuing the run-in, and hope it will run slowly and continuously at Cabin Fever and/or NAMES next year.


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## kvom (Aug 30, 2016)

It was running pretty well after doing the above video that I left it running for the next 2+ hours nonstop.


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