Member postings for Alex Collins

I'm wondering where the text went that was with the photo....

4 wheels started.

Boss is 16mm dia X 11mm long. may well reduce this later. It's 16mm cos I have a 16mm Collet.

I turned the boss taking ~ 2mm cuts down to 17mm dia then cleaned it all up. The myford was quite happy with this.
Parted them off at 7mm with a 2mm wide tool. It really didn't like that much.
The tool dug in several times during each cut. The clutch I fitted has proven most valuable.
Tried everything including regrinding the tool.

I'll put the boss into the Collet chuck to drill the hole and turn the tread. That should keep it all concentric.
What sort of angles do I need on the flange and tread ?

Sounds like you have an Inverter type generator.
Some of these do not produce a good Sine wave so some things won't play well with them, mainly Digital Electronics, TV's and Computers. They are designed for Lighting and other resistive applications.
Your Lathe has a DC Motor, so the first thing it does with the Mains to drive the motor is rectify it. At that point it's DC and the generator makes no odds.
There will be a transformer and other bits to run the Speed electronics. As it's all analogue electronics you should have no issue there.
You may find that the Power Factor of your lathe is rather poor (getting technical) but your 800W Genny should easily drive your lathe without issue.

Don't forget to make sure the genny is earthed !

Alex.

Hi Martin. I had already worked that one out. I have 6 BA screws and they all fit as expected.
I will comment that this makes the crank pin bushes very thin. I may go up a bit on the ID of the bushes.

Hi All

I'm now back from my jaunt around the Med. Should be back in the workshop over the coming days.
Just ordered some cogs. 32 and 48 dp in a range of sizes.
Next CSME night is next week. I'll take em the Boiler and ask them to be gentle with me.....

Still debating the make / buy wheels thing. I have the stock so will probably have a go.
That eccentric certainly looks fun to make. Done a few before in the 4 jaw so not expecting any issues.

Looking at the wheels, the Centre is hollowed out. There may be enough metal there.
The Bushes look like they are Nylon, Not sure if the nylon would stand the stresses or may melt as it gets hot.

Now I have a paten I may make the wheels myself. It's pretty much a chip making exercise.
If I cut 4 discs I can drill and silver solder the bushes rather then machine from Solid.
Chuck the Bush. Face off. Turn the tread square + .025". Chuck the tread, Face the back then turn the bush to size. Drill the hole.
I can then drop the bush into the Collet chuck (saves marks) and complete the tread and make sure everything is concentric. The silver solder will hardly show
I have 1 1/2" steel and also Iron bar. Never Silver soldered Iron so I guess Steel would be a better bet.

Hi Martin.
I have neither wheels with 38mm tread or Flange....
My Wheels are 42mm Tread !
I bought the wrong wheels. My Mistake.

I will have to put this project down for 2 or so weeks. Will get the correct wheels ordered.

Had a few more hours over the weekend.
Chasis is complete and assembled.
Everything works and the wheels turn with the Coupling rods attached.
1st attempt at the rods failed. I threaded the bars and Bushes for the 2nd attempt.
The solder has as good as hidden the threads

I have an issue with the bottom Frame bars at 1.821 and 7.160 mm fouling the wheel rims.
Holes are drilled 1/8" for M3 Clearence. I can pass 1/8" Rod through but not attach the Rails.
Hmm - have I bought the wrong size wheels ? They are also proud of the Top of the frame.

Things will go quiet for the next few weeks on this one.

Hi Thomas.

If it's outside the cable has to be protected. SWA (Steel Wire Armoured) or in steel conduit. SWA is much easier to handle.
The way to do this easily and economically.
Use 2.5 mm 3 core SWA on it's own 16 or 22 amp trip (not more than 22 amps) from your house fuse board. Don't connect the Steel armour to the House Earth. Just the Earth wire.
If the run is 50 meters or more it may be worth going up to 4mm. Especially if you want to run a welder.

*** If you have Wire fuses it really is time to replace the entire fuse board in your house. Not a DIY Job ***

Connect to the NON RCD side of an RCD'd fuse board in the house. If you want an RCD on the House side as well, use a 100ma RCD not a 30ma.
If your workshop RCD goes at night you can find that. Finding your way back to the house (which may also be in darkness with an unhappy SWMBO) is not so easy.

In your Workshop connect your SWA to a 30ma RCD'd Fuse Board.

Use a 5 amp trip for Lights. You can run 500w off that (5 long tubes)

Use 1.5mm Twin and earth to build your ring main. Attach that to a 16 Amp (Not more than 16a) trip.
You have the option of a 16A /30ma RCDBO (trip and rcd combined) and 5 amp trip for lights if you wish. That means the lights should stay on if the trip goes.

The last and vital thing. Get an Earth Rod. Attach the Earth from the workshop AND the Steel Armour from the SWA to the earth rod with 6mm Earth Cable. The rod must be knocked home in Soil. You can bury it if you desire.

Alex

Cut the frame rails to length tonight.
The frame is test assembled and sits square which is good. Need to put the Radius in the ends still.
The 7 and 8 BA fixings are all M3. The clearance holes are 1/8" so there is some slack for adjustment where required.
The wheel Holes are also correct and square to eachother.
Not started the rods or axle bushes yet. That will no doubt be for the weekend.

As for the Boiler - I think I will wait for the drawings and see what I can make work.
I'll cut out the top plate but not solder it together so that I can flip it over if required.

Thank you both for your input, help and comments.

This is one of those "Oh Bother" moments..... - I'm trying Desperately to work out what I have done here.

It looks like the End Caps and Fire tube has gone in the wrong way around.
There were 2 of us who checked the Drawing when I assembled and soldered the Boiler.
I have carried on and assembled the rest of the boiler without noticing the error. I must have looked at that Drawing 20 Times since I put the boiler together.

The Angle has the point at the Top of the Fire Tube. I spent about 10 Mins aligning it !
Just checked the drawing again and yes, it's upside down as well as Back to front.

If re-making the Boiler is what is needed then I do still have material to do so.

I like to think of my engineering as Unconventional and Unique. This project ( as you can see) is certainly challenging me and my skills.
I'll see how things fit as we progress and I'm sure I can make it all work.

Had a bit of time over the weekend and a couple of hours the past few evenings.

Boiler is complete apart from the Glass tube for the water gauge and pressure Gauge elbow.

Drilled the side frames today.
It's all going rather well

John Rudd.
This is what I got in a £5.00 1 kg pack of Brass. They sent 2 X 1kg packs. Both are similar. Got a bit of 1.6 mm 1/16" in the 2nd pack, otherwise very similar content.

The slab ( bit of Granite worktop I use for marking out) is about 13" X 13"
Only 1 bit has a mark through the film.

Stainless steel balls ordered It's not worth messing about with....
Made a start on the frame bars and Buffer plates. They are coming together nicely.

I spent 2 or 3 years making 3D Printer nozzles.

I was easily able to drill 0.3mm holes in Brass on an early (slow speed) Myford ML7.

I used 1/8" shank PCB Drills.
Speed was not the issue, it was all in the feel.
I reamed a pin vice and matched it to Silver steel rod held in the tail chuck. The drilling was all done by hand.

Paid £700 for my Long Bed ML7-R with Gearbox, Steadies, Metric and inch screws, Metric gear kit , Milling slide, QTCP. All in their sealed packaging.
There were still grinding marks on the bed.
I have added the Clutch. Makes tapping so much easier.

A Colchester would have been nice but my workshop is up 2 flights of stairs....

SGS Metals. They sell on Ebay.
I have used them before and had great service at a fair price. Opinions may vary !
£5 per KG of Brass Offcuts. + £2 postage per kg.
If you buy stuff they usually waive the postage costs- ask them to recalculate before you pay !

Their business is Door and other metal architectural fittings.

Their brass sheet is polished 1 side and comes with a film. Offcuts may be damaged sections they can't use.
The back may not be 'Pristine' but is seldom badly marked.

Hi Martin.
Just what I needed.
I have also now worked out what the "Check Valve" does. It's to inject water into the boiler. I was a tad Puzzled.

The Ball - stainless steel That I don't have. I do however have Glass Balls that are 3mm dia used in Bearings.
Comments on suitability welcome.
I guess that means I will be making a lil water pump as well. That'll be interesting.

Nice package turned up from Roundhouse today. Gauge, Safety valve, Axles and Wheels. I have to agree that Making the wheels is gona be a lot of work !

Hi Martin. Thanks for the details on Kennions. I'd not found them before.
After a dig I found 1/4 X 1/2" steel. Not quite so easy to machine as brass. Once it's painted no one will ever know
As I also have 1/4 X1/4 steel i'll probably use that for the other frame bars.
Soft Soldering steel I have done so no issues there either.

I have ordered a 2 KG pack of Brass Sheet offcuts and a 12" sheet of 1.5mm brass.
The offcuts packs are great. You get a lot of varying thicknesses and it's all usable sizes. it's rare to get anything with a dimension less than 100mm.

To attach drawings or pictures to the forum is a bit of a fiddle.
In the "Albums" Section, "Add New Photo's," create an album and add the drawing. I'm not sure which formats are allowed.
Once you have added the image to an album you can use the Camera icon in the forum to attach it to the forum.

I plan to use Metric threads for the Frames. I have metric taps an dies from M2 - M12. I also have loads of metric fastners I have no BA fastners and a set of 2,4,6,8 and 10 BA taps n dies. They are a bit cheap n nasty tbh.

Alex.

Can I suggest a couple of things to build that I found great to start this hobby with.

One of the engines from the Dads n Lads series by Stewart Hart in Model Engineer. These are simple mill engines all made from Bar Stock and low cost materials. They will teach you a lot about how you can use your tools and machines.

The Puddleduck Engine by 'Bog Standard'. A More advanced engine. This requires a fair bit of precision to get working well. (Note: mine never did. Rebuild no.3 is on hold)
**LINK**

If you are hell bent on a Loco, there is the 16mm IDRIS loco currently being featured in Model Engineer.
The Boiler I certainly found a challenge to get soldered together and it's only 2" dia and 6" long !