British 0-4-0 Toy Locomotive: he said

[zeeprogrammer]

Hi Chuck,

Actually, the plan is to leave it chromed. Just need to sand off the ends a bit so the end caps can be soldered on.

That's the plan.

Once I start soldering...reality will set in. I guess if there's any chrome left we can still consider it to be chromed? :big:

 

[Foozer]

Hi Chuck,

Actually, the plan is to leave it chromed. Just need to sand off the ends a bit so the end caps can be soldered on.

That's the plan.

Once I start soldering...reality will set in. I guess if there's any chrome left we can still consider it to be chromed? :big:

Once its all soldered up, take the bride to dinner, the dozen roses for "Just thinking of ya Dear" always works to get the wallet back. Drop the boiler off at the chrome shop and run like mad.



Robert

 

[Philjoe5]

Wow Zee, it's looking good. :bow: I'll be hearing her chugging away here in Lancaster county before I know it ;D Just let me know what whistle pitch you'll be using so I won't confuse you with one of the Strasburg railroad steamers.

Cheers,
Phil

 

[Swarf Rat]

This is looking great!! I've been reading this thread since back when I was a lurker here.

So, what solution did you settle on for machining the boiler end caps. I think too much good brass got turned into swarf. Since it's a brass boiler anyway, I think I might have fabricated the end caps from the remainder of the chrome plated drain pipe - cut, anneal, shape, solder....

I think I might like to try building something like this some day

 

[zeeprogrammer]

take the bride to dinner, the dozen roses for "Just thinking of ya Dear" always works to get the wallet back.

Hm...take bride to dinner...spend money.
Get a dozen roses...spend money.
Get wallet back that was taken away for spending money...

You're thinking that it makes a difference that I spent the money on her? No no. She's bright. There's no fooling her. I've never fooled her. Never. Can you hear the sadness in my voice? (But I haven't talked about the sunny side of life. ;D )

Thanks Phil! Strasburg! I've been in this area for 15 years and have yet to get to there! It's just down the road. I'm so ashamed.

SwarfRat! Thanks. You're right...the brass pieces that came with the kit were on the order of .375 thick...and had to be turned down to .16. All I thought about while facing them down was how much brass was being wasted. But I didn't know what else to do! On the other hand...if I do the soldering well...they'll look really good.

Thank you all for taking a look!

 

[kcmillin]

Zee, I love your project.

I too have and lionel trane set, (that is a Lionel track, right)

this may be a project to put on my "To Do" list.

Kel

 

[arnoldb]

You've quietly been making progress Zee - it looks great :bow:

Your little W&W man will soon have to go on a loco driver's course ;D

Kind regards, Arnold

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Thanks kel and Arnold!

It's been a real struggle to get in the shop and do something...but progress is progress right?

I managed the pistons tonight. Two itty bitty pistons. We won't know for sure until later how well I managed...but for now I'm pretty happy with the fit. This is an area I've been particularly interested in improving.

Each piston was hand fit to its cylinder. Anyone want to bet I lose track of which is which? Too late!

Question...the cylinders are a 'tight' fit but you can push them in and out without any kind of 'real' strain. Kind of 'rough' too. Close enough that it seems like a bit of run-in will smooth things out nicely. Is this expected?

 

[Philjoe5]

Looking good Zee. If you can push those pistons through the cylinders and they don't just drop through, then you're right where you want to be. Put a little #30 oil on them and run them back and forth and they should run in just fine. BTW, they do look small, what is the bore?

Cheers,
Phil

 

[ksouers]

Looking good, zee.

Like Phil said, you're spot on. Just a little break-in is all they need.

 

[Deanofid]

They look good, Zee.

I don't mean to be contrary, and am not totally disagreeing with Phil and Kevin, but.. If you hold a cylinder vertical, and put the piston in one end, it should slip through. Not fall through, rattling about, but it should not stick. Should slide from one end to the other. If you have to push on them, they're too tight at this point. Running-in to loosen up parts that are too tight is really wearing out to make things fit.

I looked back a ways and couldn't find if you bored the cylinders, or reamed them. One post I found said you used the tail stock, so, reamed? Usually that makes a finish good enough to let the right sized piston slide through nicely. If the reamer got really loaded up, you could have a number of tiny ridges in there. You can polish it up a bit with a clean split rod with very fine wet or dry, like 1500, through the split. Size the rod close to the bore, go at it slow.
Then, you could have to make your pistons again.

I don't want my name on your list a third time for saying that last bit about pistons, but will have it there gladly if it gets you a nice running engine.

Dean

 

[Troutsqueezer]

I wish it didn't look so good, Zee. I wish it turned out to be something I could turn my nose up at. Then I could be satisfied with focusing on my engine projects but no, because of you now I want to make a small loco. I was fine with the Horizontal Mill but now I'm think I'm going loco... stickpoke

-Trout

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Thanks Phil and Kevin.

The bore is 0.281 inch.

Thanks Dean. The cylinders were reamed...but you're right...I forgot I hadn't polished/sanded the inside yet. That may help (and should've been done before making the pistons). The pistons are only 0.19 thick and I haven't attached (pressed in) the piston rods yet. So I couldn't put the piston in very far for fear of not getting it back out.

As for the lists...remember I mentioned you're on more than one. There's 'mentor', 'good guy', 'another M&M eater', 'awesome machinist'...I see no conflict that you happen to show up on the 'crumb' list occasionally. ;D

Thanks Trout. We may all turn our nose up at this loco yet! It won't do me any good if it looks good but doesn't run. :big: Even if it runs I'll have plenty of opportunity to ruin the looks. I have a lot of soldering to do. Build a loco!

Thanks for the encouragement everyone.

 

[b.lindsey]

Its looking great zee. Nice to have you back on page one too...must have got all that mulch out huh?? The grooves in the pistons...will they be packed with anything? That could also influence the fit. When working with non-ringed pistons (albeit with air rather than steam), i usually use something similar to Dean's approach, though with the added provision that with one end of the cylinder closed off (like with finger) the vacuum created will stop the piston from sliding or slow its sliding to just a gradual motion, then slipping again once the finger (and vacuum) is removed. Not sure what exact fit that ends up being, but it works every time!

 

[Deanofid]

...one end of the cylinder closed off (like with finger) the vacuum created will stop the piston from sliding or slow its sliding to just a gradual motion, then slipping again once the finger (and vacuum) is removed. Not sure what exact fit that ends up being, but it works every time!

The way Bill says is the same way I check my own stuff. I noticed your pistons have a hole through the middle, and so, didn't mention it. Won't work. If you plug that hole and try it, you'll find out what's what.

That sanding bit I mentioned, Zee. That's if you need it. I can't see the finish in your cylinders. I have a number of engines that have cylinders running just as they came from the reamer. They (reamers) usually do a good job. Your cylinders appear to be blind, so take some care if you sand them, not to bell the mouth, (much, at least).

Dean
On the list, and out to lunch.

 

[zeeprogrammer]

...must have got all that mulch out huh??

Sigh...no. 3 more yards coming this Saturday. That'll make 15.

Thanks Bill. The vacuum is exactly the effect I'm hoping for...but will find out later. Nothing was said in the instructions about packing the piston with anything. I did wonder about that. It does look ideal for a small o-ring or something.

The other day, at work, I came across two aluminum tubes used to study the effect of sound waves. Both are blocked at one end. One happens to fit into the other. Putting them together was a nice sliding fit...and it acted like a shock absorber. Now that's what I want to achieve!

Thanks Dean. Right. The hole is for the piston rod...it's a press fit. And yes, the cylinders are blind (blocked at one end except for the 'valve hole'?).

Got the brake today that Marv mentioned in an earlier post! Looks pretty nice. I'll use it when I fabricate the fuel tank.

And now back to my regularly scheduled time for code reviews and documentation.

crap

 

[ksouers]

Zee,
Something you might try: wrap some masking tape around a rod or stiff wire to get a good friction fit through the hole on the piston. Bend the end of the wire so it'll catch the piston, this will let you pull it out if it gets a little stuck. Then use the the whole shebang as a feeler gage on the cylinder. Should tell you where any tight spots are.

Lapping with a piece of oak dowel and some Mother's wheel polish should take down any rough spots. Be sure to clean it really good before using the piston in it again.

 

[Kermit]

Zee,
Something you might try: wrap some masking tape around a rod or stiff wire to get a good friction fit through the hole on the piston.

If the piston fit is like you describe a few posts above, then just using the piston in the cylinder it will fit and lapping them together would be the way to go. Brass-o, Glitz, or the Mothers polish mentioned. All would work. Spin one and slid the other back and forth while the first spins. A minute or two of this should get you the vacuum tight fit being talked about.

Just Do It!

:big:

:bow: Following in your footsteps,
Kermit

 

[zeeprogrammer]

To heck with the code reviews et.al.
I'm going to do more machining.

Rats. Maybe not. What am I doing wrong?

Went to make the piston rods. 1018 steel. The worst finish I can remember (I have no long term memory ;D)...came out groovy or rough. Tried several HSS cutters and a carbide. Made sure they were at the right height. Tried some cutting fluid and different speeds. The rod is sticking out about 1.5 inch. Too far? 1/4 diameter trying to get it down to 0.11 but I'm still at 0.2. It doesn't even look good near the chuck. Also tried power feed both forward and reverse.

Gotta be the cutters. Doesn't it? Well...could be the length. When I get back to it I'll setup a live center on the tailstock and see if that helps.

Time to stop when it gets to this level of frustration.

Kevin...thanks. Can you get Mother's polish at a local hardware store?

Kermit...thanks. And watch those footsteps of mine...if you look closely you won't see a right foot. :big:

Some would call this divine compensation when you don't do what you're supposed to be doing. ;D

 

[ksouers]

Kevin...thanks. Can you get Mother's polish at a local hardware store?

Auto Zone carries it here, I would think it'd be same at all the stores. Most likely available at any chain auto parts store. It's a small white can with red label, advertised for polishing aluminum.


I can't get a decent finish out of 1018 either. I've gotten OK finishes, but never good. I usually end up with a bunch of galling. And they usually take lots of sanding. It's a good structural steel, but for something visible I prefer the leaded varieties or O1 drill rod.