Hello from Alaska

[Grimm1966]

I have been lurking here for years, finally decided to take the plunge. That and others have recommended this site as a good one to get help on Elmer's engines. I have started a Elmer's #26 and it is going well. Hopefully I can get it running soon.

Just a little info on myself, I live in Fairbanks Alaska and have a mini-lathe and milling machine (both Grizzly C3, X2). I started machining in 2009 and now feel that I might actually have the skills to start building things. My goal is to build 3/4" scale live steam locomotives, etc. Here is a picture of the fuel tank and boiler that I have build so far for the #26:

This site has been so helpful for many of my questions over the years, maybe I can repay in kind.

Jason

 

[tvoght]

Welcome, Jason.

--Tim

 

[b.lindsey]

Welcome Jason, one of the great things about this forumis that no matter where you live, the fraternity of fellow modelers is as close as the keyboard. Glad you decided to take the plunge !!

Regards,
Bill

 

[dalem9]

welcome Jason Always wanted to go Alaska .Dale

 

[steamer]

Welcome Jason!

Dave

 

[Maryak]

Jason,

Welcome to our forum. wEc1

Best Regards
Bob

 

[Herbiev]

Welcome from "Down under" Jason. Looking forward to more pictures. Very nice work so far.

 

[Tin Falcon]

Welcome from the east coast of the lower 48. Never been to Alaska hear it is beautiful county . And things are expensive due to import cast. My wife lived near anchorage back in the late 70s. I know many miles apart. Welcome to the forum.
Tin

 

[gbritnell]

Welcome to our world Jason. There's a great bunch of fellow here, all willing to help.
I don't want to get off on the wrong foot but it looks like your boiler is 'soft' soldered together. I would be careful about putting too much heat to it as the strength properties of 50/50 solder aren't terrific when it comes to boiler work.
gbritnell

 

[mklotz]

While it's true that soft solder is not a good idea for boilers, I should point out that Elmer's #26 design includes a "safety valve" that consists of a cork pushed into the boiler fill tube (top left in photo).

Unless that cork is hammered in the boiler isn't going to develop more than a few psi of pressure.

I would suggest that, before the engine is attached, a safety test be done. Fill everything, install the cork and plug the steam outlet. Light it up in the driveway, stay well away and observe that the cork pops - hopefully long before any part of the boiler has melted.

 

[Grimm1966]

Thanks for the welcome everyone.

No problem gbritnell, I understand that safety is most important. I used silver bearing solder from PM Research. It melts at 430 degrees F. It's what Elmer recommended, but then again he recommended asbestos too. I will let you know if it blows up, ah ... if I'm still around that is. ;D

I will use your technique Marv when I first fire it up.

The engine is done and it tics over a couple of times on my breath alone. I'm having problems with the connecting pipe from the boiler to the engine. The walls on my K&S copper tube are too thin so I can't thread it like the plans show. I thought I would do a nipple and union nut like Kozo describes in his book. Both to learn how to do it and to get around this problem. I don't have all the taps and dies that I need so it's going to be a little while before I can even think about testing the engine on steam.

Jason

 

[tel]

Welcome Jason.