Section 5 - Cylinder group 2

Your browser has disabled scripting - some functions of this album will not be available. Please check your browser configuration and security settings for this site

Up one level

Neidrauer Adventures Photo Album and Blog » Building a Live Steam Locomotive - the Mikado Project » Section 5 - Cylinder group 2

Completed! The cylinder parts - covers, piping, jacketing. July 2006-Jan 2007, June 2009-August 2009, finished September 2009

At first page

Next page

1-64 (of 87 found)

30-Sept-09 The cylinders are installed on the frame. Yea!

30-Aug-09 Frisco used round covers for the cylinder inspection ports on the jacketing I guestimated the size and made ones for each side.

Tapping a 1/8-56 MTP fitting for the oil line. We used a collet to hang onto the tiny part.

Test fitting the jacketing with the hold-down plugs.

26-Aug-09 Temporary plugs with teflon plastic washers used to hold down and align the jacket to the cylinder assembly. They go in the valve inspection holes.

Since it is important to be able to see and use the inspection ports, we decide they should be the reference points on the jacketing. In fact, we will make some custom plastic washers for these temporary plugs to press the jacketing down while we drill the holes.

Another thing to do before mounting the cylinders on the frame is to mark out the cylinder wrapper screw holes. If we don't do it now, we will have to stand on our heads to drill and tap the bottom ones. I had previously rough-cut the wrapper, now we spend some time with the roller to form it.

Another vexing problem solved: tighten the flare-nut fittings. After purchasing a 13/16

Proposed solution: Using a piece of brass pipe with fits the OD the the pipe, pre-silver solder the inside of the collar and silver solder them to pipes.

19-Aug-09 Shop night 4 on this manifold assembly and now we're patching holes in two of the brass tubes. We worked so hard to fabricate and fit them that I'm not going to scrap the whole assembly quite yet. From the looks of things, one hole was caused by a rod strike, and the other had the weld puddle contact it. I spend an evening with the Dremel and some sandpaper cleaning the plate and all around the tubes for a clean fit. Not an easy place to work in, inside the cylinders.

12-August-09 Inspection time at the End of night and shop night 3 on this one assembly. I can't believe how difficult this has turned out to be. But wait--Is that daylight I see in the tubes?? OH NO! I've burned holes in two pipes, spoiling the work! Arrg. Time to walk away for a bit.

A quick touch with a 3/32

After silver soldering three of the pipes, the assembly has relaxed a bit and that troublesome fourth pipe has slipped out of the plate. We spend the next hour making small bend adjustments to get the pipe to come through further.

Carrying the assembly upstairs, we prepare to silver solder the pipes to the plate.

With all the pipes in the plate, we put the reducer on and check the assembly to see that it is still on center and in position. We measure the distance from the casting to the pipe by hand.

12-Aug-09 We continue to fit and bend the pipes. By the end of the night, three look good in the plate, but the fourth just barely touches. More adjustments needed.

5-August-09 A trial fitting of the exhaust manifold.

Using a 1/2

We continue to the assemble and alignment of the pipes inside the small space, while keeping the exhauste pipe centered in the hole.

With the cylinders temporarly on the up-side down smokebox, we use a piece of pipe to align the blast nozzle in the center of the smokebox. We put the assembly on the big lathe so the pipe could drop down between the bed ways.

Checking the alingment of the bent tubes to the centerline. Some more adusting is needed, and the s-bend to bring the pipes to the center is still needed. The s-bend is not shown on the print.

29-July-09 Putting the s-bend into the 1/2

20-July-09 Checking the 1/2

20-July-09 The turned reducer and adapter plate.

Driling 1/2

Indicating the adapter plate stock to find center.

20-July-09 The reducer is turned and faced in the lathe.

12-July-09 An unsuccessful attempt to bend hard drawn brass tubing for the exhaust manifold. We even tried heating it a bit but it still kinked. Found out later that we needed to heat it to a cherry color before it would soften up.

A bending mandrel for the 1/2

24-June-09 With some trepidation, we hand tap the 2-56 threaded oil lubrication hole. It turned out to be no problem, the cast iron cylinder material cut without problems.

17-Jan-07 Using a split adjustable parallel to measure the width of the crosshead shoe. This method is more accurate than using a vernier.

17-Jan-07 Using a 2-4-6 block bolted to the table, the crosshead is clamped down for shoe machining. We would have used an angle plate, but I didn't have one that allowed this clamping setup. An inside angle plate (one with a inside corner) would have been ideal.

17-Jan-07 Drilling the crosshead wrist pin keeper. We used a very small, long spotting drill to get the hole started on the edge of the fileted boss.

10-Jan-07 The completed valve guides.

Checking the width of the slide groove with an adjustable parallel and mics.

3-Jan-07 milling the slide groove.

We sure have to machine a lot of brass away for this part.

3-Jan-07 Work on the Valve Crossheads.

6-Dec-06 After a quick trip to the Metals Supermarket in town earlier this week for the .750 x 1.500 brass stock, we start on the Valve Crossheads. After machining to length, we drill the wrist pin holes through and put in the clearance radius in each block. We'll have to complete the operation after the New Year holidays.

6-Dec-06 Next step: Tap (under power) the 1/2-24 TPI hole. After this, face the top of the crosshead. On the other crosshead, we will face it first, then drill and tap thus saving a second chamfer operation.

6-Dec-06 Putting a chamfer on the drilled hole for tapping. Shown is the backside of the piston crosshead, which is the machined and reference surface.

6-Dec-06 Next step: face, drill and tap the hole for the piston rod. Here Bill is indicating the piston crosshead to assure it is vertical.

29-Nov-06 The crosshead after reaming the crosshead pin hole.

29-Nov-06 The completed covers with packing glands installed.

29-Nov-06 The results work, but the finish is a bit 'steppy' where we had to hand-radius the bottom.

29-Nov-06 An acceptable, but not ideal setup: a very long, and thus springy/chattery ball cutter to finish the casting interior.

29-Nov-06 ?How to mill the inside of the crosshead, maintaining the radius cast inside?

22-Nov-06 The set up is the best we could do with my limited shop equipment: a 2-4-6 block, parallels, angle plate and 6

22-Nov-06 Rough cutting a machined surface on the top and bottom crosshead shoes to be used in future setups.

22-Nov-06 Machining a reference surface on the back of the piston crosshead.

15-Nov-06 The finished Piston Covers!!!!

15-Nov-06 Last step in finishing the rear Piston covers; machining the boss off.

15-Nov-06 Closeup of the finished rear valve crossheads.

15-Nov-06 The finished Valve Covers!!!

15-Nov-06 We also opened up the front valve covers also by This was not call for in the prints, but similar to the piston covers.

15-Nov-06 We decided to 'open up' the valve ports a little bit and mill some exhaust steam passages. This was not call for in the prints, but similar to the piston covers.

15-Nov-06 One of the last steps is to drill and tap the packing gland holes. It's a close one for the spotting drill and tap -- check out the clearance between the side of the crosshead jaws.

26-Oct-06 A one-hour setback: the Valve Crosshead guides were machining with a taper. Investigation found the block was slightly tilted front to back. Much fussing later, and stacked paper shims of 0.0013 and 0.0018 removed the taper back into acceptable limits.

26-Oct-06 The crosshead jaws machined to width. Next, machine the step in them to make the crosshead guides.

26-Oct-06 Dialing-in the Valve Crosshead Jaws mounting fixture to be parallel to the table travel.

14-Oct-06 The completed Valve Crosshead-holding fixture (the aluminum block) with the crosshead bolted on and ready for use. Next time, machining the crosshead slots into the casting.

14-Oct-06 Kids, don't try this at home: Lacking a boring head which could go out to 1.750

14-Oct-06 Having reached the limit of the boring head, we put a fly cutter in to complete the hole.

Page 1 of 2

Next page