Not LS, but LS - A 4" scale steamroller

[Mik]

Don't it figure, I made some good progress today despite the heat, but forgot the camera.....

The big project was a new crankshaft. I got to use the big lathe in the 1890s Hoffman Machine Shop at the Portersville Steam Showgrounds to do it, too! ---
(the big lathe - with one of my final drive sprockets and a guy named Ed - small by locomotive standards, but big enough)

The Mason engine has a 3/4" shaft. The McCormick thresher pulley I'm using for a flywheel, and dog clutch a friend gave me are 1-1/4". I thought about making a sleeve, but it would have needed to be about 7" long, and I was worried about the possibility of bending the crank if somebody hung a belt on it, anyway. Sooooooooo, since I had a 2 foot piece of 1-1/4" shafting "seasoning" in the shed, I decided to polish it up, then turn it down on one end to 3/4" for about 8" and be done with it. It looks kind of funny (the governor pulley is at the transition, so the shaft is skinny on one side and fat on the other), but it's totally functional. I'll probably use two pillow blocks on the flywheel end since I have them to keep as much stress off the small part as i can (overkill? nah....hehehehe)

The other project was boring out a #40 sprocket to fit the nice riding mower differential I have (Jacobson? it's orange anyway)... it's only 40 tooth, but the one that was on it was 32 tooth, so it's at least a bit larger. I did the math, @ 250 rpm it should go about 3MPH... A little faster than I'd prefer, but I don't have a 50 tooth sprocket.

There was no fan in the shop. I probably lost 10 pounds in sweat, so I quit after I got those done. Maybe I need to lose a little "insulation"?

 

[Mik]

It was just too miserable hot by 9AM to even consider going over to work today. So I assembled the differential sitting on the livingroom floor. I was careful not to make a mess but Kim still wasn't amused. What is it with women and that old bearing grease smell? Men don't (usually) complain about their stinky flowers.....

At least I'm still allowed to sleep indoors, and I even got a couple pics to share!
This is the twin brother of the #40-40T plate sprocket I cut yesterday as a "before" pic:

And how my amateurish machining job turned out:

This is business part of the pinion clutch I was given. I "milled" mating dogs on the inside end of the flywheel hub with an angle grinder, then dressed everything up with a file to reduce the stress risers. The hub casting is about 7/16" thick, and the roller is only intended to pull itself, so I'm hoping to get away with it. If it breaks I still have the mating part from the clutch in the shed. I'll be turning down the taper part to mount a 15 or 16 tooth ring sprocket. which will give me a about 2.5:1 reduction to the differential countershaft. I'd prefer at least 3:1, but simply can't afford the asking price for a new 50 tooth sprocket!

More pix coming when I get them....

 

[Dtsteam]

I do have to say that I find this thread absolutely fascinating. Small scale engineering in this country is locked into some sort of Victorian time warp where, until a few years ago, no-one used roller bearings, piston rings and a welded steel boiler was always to be avoided (in locomotives) in favour of copper. Now, that hasn't meant, say , the demise of home boiler making. As we learnt earlier in the thread, steel boilers have to be welded by a competent professional welder, however the plate work and tubing can be prepared by the home engineer to spec.
Clearly in rural America, no one throws anything away, which helps ! As a child of the sixties, my parents rarely threw anything away, and the old boys who coached me in the hobby used to say "If it doesn't eat anything, don't chuck it !". By the time I got married the mountain of 'come in handy' had reached epidemic proportions - certainly too much to fit in a poncy new estate house - so a lot got skipped. In the past, the scrapman would have had first dibs. The big difference in this country is that scrapyards have become metal recycling centres. The useful stuff used to end up in a pile, and anyone who went to Billy Smiths in Blackpool will remember that they had an eye for what would sell on. Even 10 years ago, I could go into a scrapyard in Preston and tip the lad a few quid to climb through the non-ferrous looking for fittings. Nowadays, there is an urgency to pulverise the material in order to claim that it has been recycled.
So, all our bits of steam engine and ride-on mower have nearly all gone, as have the scary big lathes. We don't have many barns, so we're running out of barn finds. Mind you, I did keep a steel flash boiler out of the skip - maybe it will come back into fashion.

The point of this note ? We are probably never going to see a build like this in the UK so I want to make sure Mik keeps sharing it with us- G scale or not.

Keep up the good work Mik, and keep posting. I for one will be cheering in the aisles when it moves under its own power.

 

[Mik]

David,
I'm concerned for here as well.

Much of the really good stuff here is gone, too. The old "pack rats" that remembered the Great Depression have mostly passed on, their treasures scattered to make way for new tract housing. A lot of municipalities have become (for lack of a better term) 'Californicated' - passing those anti-redneck ordinances where they not only can fine you for your private scrap piles, but seize them and charge you to haul them away! Crackheads looking for a quick fix steal just about anything left unguarded that two people can carry away. And the young folks don't appreciate grandpa's "junk". They often can't even wait until the old boy croaks to get rid of it to the scrap man, either.

And then more and more scrapyards won't let anything, no matter how good, go as anything but shredded 'recycling' for fear of the dreaded "liability".

Worse yet, when I sold model engine stuff I was really saddened by the number of lovely old steam engine projects going dirt cheap because there were no drawings with them... All those guys with thousands tied up in fancy home shops who claimed to be model "engineers" were totally helpless without a set of directions to tell them what to do! I lost track of how many half finished engines I reverse engineered drawings for, but was truly scary (to me) were the guys who couldn't even figure out what kind of engine a casting set would make without a photo of a finished engine. Not even laying out the bits in their relative locations helped! Nobody taught them to visualize, let alone think in 3 dimensions.

Then I remember listening to the real old model guys years ago (some of them who got their start in postwar Britain!), talking about how they build their exquisite models in garret apartments with just a treadle wood lathe and hand tools...... As a species, I fear we've lost something precious. And few have noticed.

I just wish I had 1/4 the skill my grandpap had. Unfortunately, he didn't have the patience to pass it on. This is his 3/5 scale engine, with Kim and my youngest running it:

 

[Mik]

Some new progress (Hope I ain't boring you!), even with the miserable heat of late

This is what the new crankshaft looks like. I need to ream the bearing bushing to fit better - as my "interference fit" completely interferes with it even thinking about going together at all.

I almost talked myself out of these stainless hotdog cart coolers 3 times. Mostly because the guy wanted $50 firm for the pair.... Kim finally had enough of my dithering and bought them for me. She says they look perfect. I tend to think she might have a point, even if they do only hold about 4 gallons each.

We also got a real good deal on 20 feet of 6" wide canvas belting to put on the rear wheels until finances allow us to get 1/4" x 7" flat bar rolled.

 

[spoz]

Boring! Hardly! This is just a fascinating bit of engineering; way back when (40 or so years ago) I helped reassemble (and largely refabricate) a Foden steam truck; but at least we had patterns to work from when we had to make things. Plus the occasional find of an OEM part. To start from scratch with largely scrounged bits which were made for other purposes, and welding the boiler up from sheet, is just mind boggling. Keep it up; and keep the reports coming!

Steve

 

[Mik]

Sooner or later I might get the hang of using the smaller lathe. For now it's about all I can do to get the bloody belts to stay on! (I think they need tightened, but it isn't my call)
I needed to enlarge the bore on the crankshaft bushing. I'm sure I probably did it all "wrong", but this accomplished the job with very little trouble

The next project on the agenda was to turn the dog clutch to accept a ring sprocket. I got lucky there were no hard spots in the old iron casting. The sprocket is a 17 tooth #40 - the smallest that would fit without needing reboring.

A quick mock up to double check everything shows I must not be quite as dumb as I look... It's actually gonna work!

 

[trammayo]

Its coming on! Can I ask - is the drive shaft going to have another bearing between the pulley and the motion? I just wondered because of the shaft reduction.

The tanks are another inspirational idea. Some great lateral thinking. Great solutions and use of "parts"!

 

[Mik]

One of the really nice things about "freescale" model building is you can change your mind, tear things out, even start over in a totally different direction, and it's still "right"....

Way back when I first envisioned this thing as a true 1/3 scale engine. That meant rear wheels in the 25-28" range. The wheels I ended up using are 36" - making this pretty much a small boilered half scale.

It also meant the platform ended up well above knee level. With not much room for 1:1 scale feet, either.

Anyway, when I built the frame two years ago, I knew I was running the beads on the rear crossmember a little cold - unfortunately, with an AC box that also meant minimal penetration. So when a short weld broke (in it's and my own defense I WAS doing some "precision adjustments" with an 8# hammer at the time), I took it as permission to rethink the entire platform/bunker area. The re-design will be a two level platform. The rear part will be about 5" lower than the front. Possibly allowing a lower canopy..... and more importantly it will also be nearly 3" wider. (or enough to sit sideways or turn around without twisting an ankle for most folks!)

I started cutting stuff out on Sunday, and re-welded enough yesterday to ensure I'll remember what I had in mind..... Unfortunately, with the local antique machinery club's 50th show coming up in just 2 weeks, I doubt I'll have much in the way of time in the near future to finish anything up on it!

I also had a large "durrrrrrr!" moment concerning the smokebox. I had been trying to decide for days whether it would be better to use a hole saw and hand drill or acetylene torch to cut the 3/4" hole in the side for the exhaust line. It suddenly dawned on me last night that it's just BOLTED to the boiler.... as in "simply UNbolt the danged thing and stick it in the big drill press".... seems I can fix just about anything but my own blind stupidity.

On the plus side, even unfinished, it will be available for viewing during the show. Those who've looked at it already have proclaimed it "cute as a button"... But just how cute ARE buttons supposed to be?

 

[Mik]

I was supposed to be helping the electrician over at the showgrounds today... He was late, and it was raining anyway, so I had some time to kill.

I found that the spacer collars from the manure spreader axle fit inside the wheel centers. They'll hold the wheels on just fine and also give it a nice, finished look.

I'm not a fan of welding during a thunderstorm, so I did other things. This is 5/4"x 6" deck stuff. I haven't decided whether to clear coat it or paint it grey.

Drilling the 7/8" hole for the exhaust line took a while... but then the smokebox is the same schedule 40 as the boiler (almost 3/8" thick)

The piece needed for the exhaust pipe is an odd length. No choice but to custom cut and thread it. Luckily the club has a nice Ridgid pipe vice and threader.

All that for this. The electrician finally showed about 3 hours late, so I didn't get the elbow and nozzle inside the smokebox installed. But I got the nipple that runs through the side screwed on, so at least it shouldn't snap the pipe off if someone leans on it.

 

[Mik]

Finally, another mini-update - Today I built the front roll scraper. It may not look like a major project, but it took me almost 4 hours! This is one of those parts that has to be slightly oversized for durability's sake.

The first step was to make the 2 actual scraper bars. Some 1/8" x 2" strap welded to a piece of 1-1/4" pipe. Getting the amperage right so the 6010 rods would neither stick, nor burn through was a bit tricky with the ancient Forney AC box I was using!

Then the 2" channel side brackets were welded to one of the scraper bars.

Set in place and welded to the roll bracket

And finally the front scraper bar was welded in place and the sides were cut to length.

By this time I'd lost the light.... again

 

[3Valve]

Truly inspirational stuff. I don't understand half of the engineering jargon but that just doesn't matter.

Oh if only I had this sort of skill. Fantastic, please keep updating, it's great to see this project coming together.

 

[Mik]

Any term you don't understand, just ask. Unfortunately, I sometimes fall into the trap of ASSuming that other folks know what I do.

There's really no skills I have that can't be mastered with a little practice. (Or a LOT if you want to weld boilers). FWIW developing an eye for repurposing of used materials comes in really handy in Largescale, too.

 

[3Valve]

Any term you don't understand, just ask. Unfortunately, I sometimes fall into the trap of ASSuming that other folks know what I do.

Don't worry about it. Your photographs speak volumes.

 

[Andrew Foster]

I think it was Michaelangelo who said he would look at a block of marble and see a statue in it... I wish I could, like Mik, look at pieces of rusty steel and see a living, breathing steam engine in them! This is a great thread and it shows what a determined and skilled person with imagination can do when resources are limited - thanks for letting us in on it. There is much more to this hobby than scale models.

Andrew

 

[Mik]

Today was a day to make what looked like a lot of headway just because the pieces were huge. I was looking for 3/16 sheet to make these two platform sides, but I found some 1/4" plate at a really good price. I decided to use solid pieces instead of open bracework for one very good reason - I didn't want kids getting tangled up in the driveline. Since I had good sturdy plate, I decided that the best way to mount the countershaft would be to drill the upper front corner and mount flange bearings. It took me about 2 hours to lay out and drill all the holes. One of them had to be 1-1/2" in diameter to clear the differential (so the chains line up). It was probably a good thing I had access to the machine shop at the showgrounds!

The left side also got the 1-1/2" bore hand pump mounted before getting welded in place.

Clamped in place and ready to weld.

The actual top side welding took about 20 minutes. I'll need to pull the rear wheels to do the lower welds. After that I'll mount the countershaft

 

[Mik]

Yesterday I spent a whole day working on this. Well, more like work a bit, sit and think, spend a goodly while digging around trying to find where you just set down the part you need, sit and rest, err, daydream, err, think again, then work a bit more. Part of the reason I'm on disability is I gotta "think" so much.... I'm like a young old geezer.

A quick mock up of the hotdog cooler bunkers to get an idea of how to proceed..

A start on the support framework - I used up what angle stock I had along... Good thing there's a bit more in the shed.

With the coolers temporarily set back in place it's starting to look real good

This bit of leftover manure spreader steering axle bracket will perform a very important function... helping to keep the front roll from trying to fold on rough ground

Since it started to thunder I decided the wisest course was to disconnect the welder. So I spent a bit painting the front roll bracket black... Unfortunately, the can of Rustoleum had frozen at some point, so it was kind of like painting with pudding.

After the rain stopped I added this brace made from a leftover short bit from the scraper bracket. I doubted the bearing mounted in the plate is gonna move, but the engine bracket was a different story.

And yes, I also assembled and installed the differential (often referred to as a "compensating gear in the old literature) - good thing I was planning on relocating that injector anyway...

I ran out of light and it was starting to rain again, so that's as far as I got. And today I HURT.

 

[Mik]

Today was sort of a half day. And I got a lot less done than I wanted to. I probably spent 3 hours plus just trying to re-route the injector lines. Mixing and matching various length pipe nipples to get things to line up. Two are done, leaving just the suction line to figure out... and all the hand pump lines.

I made a bracket for an outboard bearing on the countershaft since I wasn't sure about 3" sticking out unsupported.

Well, the coolers still aren't fastened down, but they are nearly ready to. I need to cut a few bits yet, but all the teeth wore off the sawzall blade I was using.I threw a quick base coat of paint on the rear end even though it isn't finished because I needed to use up the end of the grey.

Once again I ran out of light. Now It'll probably be Friday before I get back to it again.

 

[minimans]

Mik I just love this Bitsa engineering it's starting to look really cool.
Roll on Friday!.......... Roll on.........Geddit........Oh please yourselves.........

 

[Mik]

Biggish update! I got a lot of weird little things done, some I have pix of, some didn't come out.
One that the pic didn't come out was the exhaust piping inside the smokebox. It was pretty much a 3 handed job with room for none. Things got really interesting when the stupid channel locks slipped, hit the trouble light and sprayed broken glass and sparks in my face... there's a REASON I always get polycarb lenses!

If you remember the test fire from 2010, then you'll recall this boiler doesn't draw worth a hoot (it was originally designed for an undermounted, with the typical short chimney) So in order to help the boiler draft better I decided I needed to lengthen the stack.... Just how tall was the question. The piece I had to splice on was just a LITTLE BIT too long

I cut it off the same height as the top of the governor. But it still wasn't right. (A spark arrestor will be made from this wing fryer basket I found at a flea market for 50c, more on that in a day or three)

So I tried once again, this time I think it looks acceptable. If you've ever used little Ridgid pipe cutters to do household plumbing, here's one on steroids... It will cut up to 6"

On to something interesting. I got this lever off the same manure spreader the wheels came from. It will make a dandy Johnson bar.

And hooked up. The notches for forward and reverse are only about an inch apart.

Some very light used 3" channel made a good looking countershaft shield

Then I worked on the feedwater piping some more, but didn't take a pic

I thought long and hard about how to do the depressed section of the platform. I really wanted to use 5/4 wolmanized like the upper platform, but also needed to make the whole thing strong enough to be used as a tie down point when the roller gets trailered. Well, I had this bit of diamond plate seasoning in the shed, so I decided to go the lazy route and just use it to make the depressed section. I may bolt wood to it later.

The bunker supports are done. They hold my weight without moving. I need to get a couple bulkhead connectors yet, before I mount the hotdog coolers, but I'm actually pleased with how it looks so far.

I had to quit early because I had a meeting, so that's all for this update. thanks for looking!