Brian's Donkey Engine

[Brian Rupnow]

Thats a fine bit of deatiling on the door Brian

Stew

Stew---Thanks. I have just about ran out of things to do on the Donkey until my new 45 degree elbows get here from P.M. Research. I am still undecided about adding a brake. I do want to blow everything apart for painting and detailing, but not until everything is completed.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Brian

I think you are going to wish you had drilled the holes for the hinge pin and tested the swing before painting.

Jerry

Well actually Jerry, it isn't going to swing. The door frame is solid, with nothing but a counterbored hole in the center of it to bolt it to my firebox. The doorframe will attach with one 1/4" shcs, and the brass door will be epoxied in place.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

HURRAY!!!!! My elbows just showed up from PM Research. If I can find some time now, and not screw these ones up, we will have a fully plumbed Donkey!!!

 

[Brian Rupnow]

I simply had to stop and take a few minutes out from one of my "real" jobs this morning to get a few "beauty" shots of the Donkey. My new 45 degree elbows came in from PM Research and I was able to drill and tap them last night without any mishaps occuring. The control handle for my main air/steam valve is finished and installed, and the piping to the cylinders is all completed now. The firedoor is installed. My airline enters thru the side of the base, then emerges inside the boiler, where it hooks into my main control valve. This is turning out to be one of the prettiest engines that I have built. I had it running last night, and that main control valve does a great job of controlling the speed, and the engine self starts with no problems.---And dang!!! I wish I'd thought to wipe that red lay out die off the handle in that top picture!!!!

 

[cfellows]

Dare I say that I think this is your best work yet? Very pretty engine. You'll get as much pleasure out of looking at it on the shelf as you do running it.

Chuck

 

[ozzie46]

Absolutely stunning!! Super Job! :bow: :bow: :bow:


Ron

 

[ronkh]

Brian,

Absolutely lovely engine both with the work that you put into it and the fine detailing. The elbows really help to "make" it and worth the wait.
Also the "boiler" was well worth the money you paid for in that lump of ali!
Fascinating and thank you for a marvelous build.
Now, where's the vid please?!!?

Kind regards,

Ron.

 

[vcutajar]

Nice one Brian and thanks for showing me your ups and downs during your build. Learned many things.

Vince

 

[Harold Lee]

WOW!!!! That is a great job Brian.... Not only did you build it but you designed it as well. You have my undying admiration...

Harold

 

[AussieJimG]

A stunning engine Brian, right down to the 45 degree elbows.

Thank you for allowing me to follow your work from start to finish. It is only on sites like HMEM
that one has the privilege of following an expert craftsman like you through the trials and
tribulations of a complete project and it both enjoyable and very instructive.

:bow: :bow: :bow:

Jim

 

[miner49r]

Very Cool Brian. What do you plan on using for your drag line?
Alan

 

[Maryak]

Nice one Brian, :bow: :bow:

Best Regards
Bob

 

[Brian Rupnow]

I am going to have a difficult time deciding when this project is "finished". I know that I want to add a set of ashpan cleanout doors---(By the way, the ones Captain Jerry did on his donkey last week were absolutely marvelous!!) ---I MAY put a brake on it, but I'm still not sure. I will probably bolt some small superstructure to the front of it to attach the hook on the end of the end of the hoisting cable to. Right now when the engine runs, the drum rotates in "freewheel" mode but it shouldn't really, unless the clutch is engaged. I want to lay up at least a couple of layers of authentic looking "hoisting rope" on the winch drum. I would like to eventually blow it all apart and paint the base, bearing stands, and crosshead guides. I have no real desire to start another project at this point, so will probably continue to slowly make improvements to this one. I have all of the detail drawings completed except for the base, so I will probably soon post a download link so anyone wanting the plans can download them. Thanks guys, for all of the kind words and encouragement along the way.-----Brian

 

[tel]

You did good Brian - this one next?

 

[Ken I]

Brian, that is a lovely piece of work - it has such an "engineering" feel to it - I want to rush out and build one - one day - maybe - if I can get my finger out.

Ken

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Thanks Ken----Something Jerry said over on his "Donkey Post" has me thinking. Jerry was talking about an A frame boom.--I'm looking for a way to dead end my winch cable, but still be able to demonstrate the clutch mechanism----Wheels are turning------

 

[Jared]

Wow, it looks great! If you're going to do some lifting to show off the clutch, then you're gonna need a brake to show off as well.

 

[SBWHART]

Great looking engine Brian

Stew

 

[Jasonb]

Nice little steam crane here Brian if you want a bit more work. Quite a simple boom arrangement but you can leave out the slewing gear if you want

http://www.prestonservices.co.uk/locomotives.htm

J

 

[Brian Rupnow]

There you go fellows. If I've done this right, (I'm never sure), this should get you all 51 drawings as pdf files by clicking this download link. I give you fair warning, this is not for the faint of heart, nor the inexperienced (newby) machinist. It is a wonderfull project, and I believe the drawing details cover about 98% of what I have built. The other 2% you will have to make up as you go along. If you download this set of drawings, please give me a karma point, otherwise they are free. If you discover any horrible errors let me know. There shouldn't be any, because these drawings are the ones I built from, but design engineering is a strange business, and sometimes errors do slip through. The project is not totally finished, but I will not be creating any more drawings for whatever I do as I move foreward beyond this stage.-----Brian
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?zmb9s8w2w11atfi