Horizontal Mill Engine From Kit

[ozzie46]

Congrats Zee. Thanks for the ride. I'll be there for the next one.

Maybe I ought to by a railway ticket? Hint hint. ;D ;D ;D

Ron

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Congratulations Zee----Brian

 

[Kermit]

This thread has been a very convoluted, twisty turning little joy ride for all of us. I learned a lot of things that have nothing to do with your mill engine, and loved it all. Even the semi-unresolved beer issue. ;D

Congrats Zee and thank you everyone else as well.
Kermit

 

[bearcar1]

:big: :big: :big: :big: :big: :big: :big: :big: :big: :big: :big: :big: :big: Rof}

Zee! That has got to be one of 'THE' all time greatest vids I have seen. Man, I certainly needed that good laugh! Your engine is a beaut'. You've certainly "come a long way baby" (remember those girlie cigs of the '70s? Virginia Slims? Who the Hell is Virginia anyway??) Whatever. I am very much impressed with how quickly you have caught on, having not done any machine work less than a year ago, well done and BRAVO!! Thm: Now then, go to your corner and have a bag (or two) of M&Ms.


BC1
Jim

 

[mklotz]

Absolutely fantastic. Many, many congratulations. I never doubted that you would get there but it happened much faster than I expected.

Your remark about this being your first "real" engine struck a resonant chord. Like you, this was the first engine I built after a succession of wobblers. It was my introduction to the concepts of double-acting, slide valves and reversing.

I hope that we'll be able to point future newbies to this thread as an introduction to "what it takes" to get there. It's a rich tapestry including buying and (reluctantly) making tooling, jigging and fixturing and learning to plan the order in which operations are done. But more important are the psychological elements buried in there - maintaining focus and motivation, learning which advice to trust and which instructions to cast aside, and, most importantly, how to be patient.

I'm very proud to have been part of the journey and I'm sure that all the others who helped you along feel the same way.

Again, congratulations.

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Thank you all very much.

And some special thanks to Marv and Vernon. I think of Marv as that special mentor who's always looking over my shoulder. As for Vernon...many thanks for all the time spent on YIM...now if you'd just deliver that beer you promised (you fink).

Most of you know I started this hobby last February.
With everyone's contributions and help, my hopes and dreams have been exceeded.
This is a great forum with some of the most helpful and fun people I've met.

Again, thank you all very very much for teaching me, for helping me, for having fun with me.

 

[SteveG]

That is some great talented work zee, on both the engine and the video 8)

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Let the cringing and flinching begin...

This is the 3rd in the series...same company...same kind of instructions. ;D

I wanted to do this because it requires some new skills I want/need to develop. Notably silver soldering and sheet-metal. Looks simpler but it helps that it's a locomotive that will run on O-gauge track.

The drawing set is twice as large as the mill's drawing set...but the instruction manual is half.

But it will be a few weeks before I begin (he says). I do want to make some tools, machine modifications, and modify one of my workbenches.

To Work! To Work!

(If you haven't seen The Great Race...I recommend it. A movie that influenced me as a kid to want to make devices.)

 

[mklotz]

Those instructions demand the highest of security ratings - Destroy Before Reading.

Remember, don't practice silver soldering on your finely machined parts. Spend at least a week or so soldering scrap shapes of various relative sizes to get the hang of it before actually working on a real part.

 

[bearcar1]

Look out guys, Dr. Dred is afoot!! Cool looking loco Z', good luck

BC1
Jim



that's in reference to the villian in The Great Race (60's version)

 

[Twmaster]

So with the awesome powers you now seem to have Zee we'll see that loco chugging around the tracks by New Year right?

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Thanks SteveG.

Ah Marv...too late. It's been in my 'leave me alone' room for some time now. Not too worry though. I've learned (some of) my lessons. Oh yes...I'll be experimenting first.

Thanks Jim.

Twmaster...my awesome powers are not appropriate for this forum...or as my wife would say...not appropriate for anything. Sigh. Well, I and any other 12 year old would think they're awesome.

 

[seagar]

Thm:Great work Zee,it's onward and upward from here .Can;t wait to ride the train thread with you.

Ian(seagar)
Coffs Harbour,
Australia.

 

[JimN]

Great engine Zee, and looking forward to your next build. I like you learned many things from your first build.

Great going Zee

JimN

 

[ozzie46]

Blow me over with a feather! I really had no idea.

Purchased my train ticket and am anxiously waiting for the ride!

Ron

 

[ksouers]

Hey, zee!

Congratulation! Man, what a ride!

 

[shred]

Btw, on that train, it appears they use DWV sink drain for the boiler. Needless to say that's not rated for pressure. I know lots of people have done it and used similar thickness materials, but to be safe if you plan to steam it, I'd think hard about using something more up to code. It is cute though.

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Thanks Ian, JimN, Ron, Kevin.

Shred...thanks. Ah...DWV = drain/waste/vent. If I remember right, costs about $7 at Home Depot. Chrome plated brass.

Funny that...I bought one and about a week later I needed to replace the faucet in the bathroom. Drain was too short! Guess what I needed? Right...I have to make another trip to HD.

Hydro test calls for 60 PSI...Would I be right in assuming the working pressure should be half that? 30 PSI?

I think the OD is about 1 1/4" Would plain copper pipe from HD (if available) be better?

I look forward to any comments, words of warnings, words of wisdom. Thanks.

 

[ariz]

zee I didn't see that you had finished your engine, and that it's a running too!!!

many many compliments :bow: :bow: :bow:

I'm a bit busy at work in these days and so there isn't much time to browse the forum
I want to be honest: when I saw the engine in the video, a few minutes ago, I was a bit disappointed... 43 pages in this thread for that engine seemed too much to me :

but then the video went on, and I saw your dance and heard the music, and finally recognized you zee, and understood why you're a great fellow, that is a great engine and every page of this thread is worth :-* :-* :-*

thank you zee

 

[shred]

Thanks Ian, JimN, Ron, Kevin.

Shred...thanks. Ah...DWV = drain/waste/vent. If I remember right, costs about $7 at Home Depot. Chrome plated brass.

Funny that...I bought one and about a week later I needed to replace the faucet in the bathroom. Drain was too short! Guess what I needed? Right...I have to make another trip to HD.

Hydro test calls for 60 PSI...Would I be right in assuming the working pressure should be half that? 30 PSI?

I think the OD is about 1 1/4" Would plain copper pipe from HD (if available) be better?

I look forward to any comments, words of warnings, words of wisdom. Thanks.

Hm... I'm going off Kozo's tables here (other boiler codes may vary)... For a plain cylinder boiler, 0.040" wall thickness is ok for 30 PSI in 1.25"-ish tube. End caps should be 0.050"+ thick without stays. All silver soldered of course.

It's tough to find specs on DWV, but it does appear that it can have 0.040" walls, so it could be ok. But... it's usually brass... which is sub-optimal in steam boilers for long term use. Maybe one of the more experienced boiler folks can chime in here with brass boiler shells and the suitability of such; my experience and my mentors has all been with copper. Type-L copper pipe (the usual hardware store stuff with blue printing on it) would have more margin as it runs ~0.055" walls, but be a little less pretty.

Although it needs some respect, live steam is a lot of fun.