rolphill
Active Member
This is a continuation from my boiler build thread here.
My boiler is to the point where I need to start mounting it and the steam engine together so I can pipe them up. I was originally planning on putting them in a little rowboat. However, I knew in the back of my mind that I'd almost never have a chance to actually take that out on the water. However, something that can putt around the yard can be played with much more easily. So, I started my build by stripping my old steam kart down to the frame. I thought about making a new frame, but reusing the old one adds some character and removes some decision paralysis at the same time.
One of the major improvements I'm doing is to use real wheels instead of harbor freight wheels. The harbor freight wheels had way too much drag between the cheap bearings and the wide tires in grass. This is a significant loss since I only have half a horsepower or so to work with. So I started with the wheels by getting some kids bicycle wheels. My daughter recently got a bigger bicycle, but didn't want to get rid of her old one. She was very happy that I am keeping the 12in wheels off her old bike to use for the front wheels. For the rear wheels I just bought an old kids bike off marketplace for the princely sum of $5.
Bicycles are great sources for parts because people give them away all the time for next to nothing. However, bicycle wheels have a major disadvantage. The axles are designed to be held on both sides, and are very small diameter. So I took the wheels apart, and machined new hubs to accept 5/8in axles. The front wheels have nice bearings so they roll with little resistance. The rear wheels are 18in and are locked to the axle. Rather than use a keyway, I ended up welding a pinch collar to the hubs to grip the axle. This has worked well for me in the past. The new hubs are also a little bit wider than the old ones to increase lateral strength. I then ordered new spokes to fit the new hubs and re-laced the wheels. I didn't really do any truing since they are small wheels for a relatively lower speed application. The 18in rear wheels are also extremely solid and beefy now because I could only find a pack of 4mm motorcycle spokes in the right length. For whatever reason I haven't taken any pictures of the rear wheels yet. oops.
While waiting on parts for the wheels, I made the front axles. These are machined and welded up from pieces of 1in rod. They are pretty self explanatory.
I also wanted to upgrade the steering. I had this old printed steering wheel that was part of a gaming wheel setup for playing driving games. I took the steering wheel and machined a matching gear and mounting bracket. The gear modulus is big so I could cut out the gear using a 1/8in end mill instead of having to try to use gear cutters. It's about a 1:3 reduction, and the large gear pinches fingers super easily. This steering setup should work quite well. I may have to reprint the wheel in something like petg for higher temperature resistance in the future. This was actually the first gear I've machined on the CNC. I'm surprised it took this long.
I've got the front wheel assembly all put together. I won't install the steering wheel and linkage yet until I put the boiler on so I know where to place and route it.
The next step is the rear axle. I don't have a picture of the whole frame at the moment, but the arrangement will be: rear - seat - boiler - engine - front. The engine will be connected to the rear axle using bicycle chain, with two sets of 10:30 sprockets. I also want to add a second gear at some point.
The seat has an open box area underneath it for coal storage. I was actually thinking of building a tender to hold the water and things like tools, more coal, battery?, and stuff. That would keep weight and length down on the vehicle, so it's more portable. I might add like a 1gallon water tank to the main vehicle.
My boiler is to the point where I need to start mounting it and the steam engine together so I can pipe them up. I was originally planning on putting them in a little rowboat. However, I knew in the back of my mind that I'd almost never have a chance to actually take that out on the water. However, something that can putt around the yard can be played with much more easily. So, I started my build by stripping my old steam kart down to the frame. I thought about making a new frame, but reusing the old one adds some character and removes some decision paralysis at the same time.
One of the major improvements I'm doing is to use real wheels instead of harbor freight wheels. The harbor freight wheels had way too much drag between the cheap bearings and the wide tires in grass. This is a significant loss since I only have half a horsepower or so to work with. So I started with the wheels by getting some kids bicycle wheels. My daughter recently got a bigger bicycle, but didn't want to get rid of her old one. She was very happy that I am keeping the 12in wheels off her old bike to use for the front wheels. For the rear wheels I just bought an old kids bike off marketplace for the princely sum of $5.
Bicycles are great sources for parts because people give them away all the time for next to nothing. However, bicycle wheels have a major disadvantage. The axles are designed to be held on both sides, and are very small diameter. So I took the wheels apart, and machined new hubs to accept 5/8in axles. The front wheels have nice bearings so they roll with little resistance. The rear wheels are 18in and are locked to the axle. Rather than use a keyway, I ended up welding a pinch collar to the hubs to grip the axle. This has worked well for me in the past. The new hubs are also a little bit wider than the old ones to increase lateral strength. I then ordered new spokes to fit the new hubs and re-laced the wheels. I didn't really do any truing since they are small wheels for a relatively lower speed application. The 18in rear wheels are also extremely solid and beefy now because I could only find a pack of 4mm motorcycle spokes in the right length. For whatever reason I haven't taken any pictures of the rear wheels yet. oops.
While waiting on parts for the wheels, I made the front axles. These are machined and welded up from pieces of 1in rod. They are pretty self explanatory.
I also wanted to upgrade the steering. I had this old printed steering wheel that was part of a gaming wheel setup for playing driving games. I took the steering wheel and machined a matching gear and mounting bracket. The gear modulus is big so I could cut out the gear using a 1/8in end mill instead of having to try to use gear cutters. It's about a 1:3 reduction, and the large gear pinches fingers super easily. This steering setup should work quite well. I may have to reprint the wheel in something like petg for higher temperature resistance in the future. This was actually the first gear I've machined on the CNC. I'm surprised it took this long.
I've got the front wheel assembly all put together. I won't install the steering wheel and linkage yet until I put the boiler on so I know where to place and route it.
The next step is the rear axle. I don't have a picture of the whole frame at the moment, but the arrangement will be: rear - seat - boiler - engine - front. The engine will be connected to the rear axle using bicycle chain, with two sets of 10:30 sprockets. I also want to add a second gear at some point.
The seat has an open box area underneath it for coal storage. I was actually thinking of building a tender to hold the water and things like tools, more coal, battery?, and stuff. That would keep weight and length down on the vehicle, so it's more portable. I might add like a 1gallon water tank to the main vehicle.
