What did you do today? 2023

Laboriously drew my engine's cylinders in Alibre, which appears to have survived its "up-dating" antics last night. Then found a measuring mistake meant I had to try and trim one end and stick some "metal" on the other, necessitating re-drawing the ports at that end.

It finished a bit of a mess. I'll have to redraw it if I want to produce working drawings from it.

I had built in some peculiar errors in the cylinder block, producing various unforeseen conflicts such as studs meeting passages, over-complicated fabrication and inadequate sealing surface areas, many years after starting it, so will have to start again from scratch.

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Otherwise I spent an hour or so working on the "plug-in" bunk I've made for my car, spartan but adequate for a couple of nights at my caving-club or on a rally field. Kipping in there when the steam-wagon's loaded is rather a challenge!

Some time ago I bought a "Precission" 90 degree square, very well made on the face of it. The other day I want to use it on the mill, I dicovered its loose, can't believe it was a pressfit glued(Was used before, maybe solvents effected the glue). So today was my 2nd attemp to clamp it between 1-2-3 blocks properly like a jig at 90 degrees and properly clamped. I switched the blade around and redrilled 6mm holes to fit two hollow pins, then glue those innersides with strong cement rawbolt glue. So I will know tomorrow if this attemp was successfull testing it with the line drawmethod using the same square.

Edited By Chris Mate on 21/09/2023 22:53:46

Hi, I've made a lifting bar from bits of scrap, this is to be able to lift my old Chester Champion milling machine in place where there is a shortage of height, as it's currently standing on my mobile slide compound mitre saw bench / storage cupboard, waiting for it's new stand that I'm making.

You may notice a block of steel on the Y axis, this was to level it it from back to front, as having to swing the head round, made the back heavy.

Regards Nick.

I stopped posting about progress on my traction engines on here some time ago. However, yesterday at the Forncett Steam Museum model engineers day, I got a flea in my ear about not posting. Sadly I didn't get the name of the gentleman that gave me said flea, or more likely I've forgotten it.

Over the summer I have been busy in the garden and flying. For both gliding and power I needed to do revalidation flights, and CAA paperwork in the case of power.

More recently I have been working on the tenders for my engines. The first job was to machine, and flange, the sides from 3mm steel sheet. For economy reasons I used oxy-propane for heating rather than oxy-acetylene. Previous duff attempts had shown that I needed to use a lot of clamps. Initial flanging was done with a home made wooden mallet, followed by a steel bolster and copper mallet to tap the flange into close contact with the steel former:

After forming the sides were convex, due to the flange shrinking as it cooled. Ideally I wanted the sides to be slightly concave as this would make assembly easier. The distortion was removed by clamping the side over a steel rod, heating the flange to red along it's length and then letting it cool. Excess concavity was removed by heating an inch or so of the flange and letting it cool with the plate unclamped:

All four sides flanged, the flanges machined to size and cleaned up with files and an abrasive rotary wheel in the electric drill:

Note: One of the reasons I gave up posting was due to snide comments. I have a well equipped workshop with, mostly, ex-industrial machine tools which I run to the limits. Time is precious and I don't like to waste it. I also use 3D CAD, CAM and CNC milling. So if any member doesn't like what I do keep it to yourself, I;ve heard it before, and it is your problem, not mine!

Andrew

Andrew,

There are always going to be issues with some people but as you say they should just keep it to themselves. Personally I like to see your progress as it is on a very large scale compared to my activities.

Also I used to thoroughly enjoy your postings about your flying and gliding experiences. Phil

Finally got round to uploading photos of "Sir Nigel Gresley", taken after 5 years work.

Edited By Brian Baker 1 on 02/10/2023 16:50:51

ANDREW good progress and good to see you posting again.

Andrew.

See, I told you it wasn't only me that wanted to know your progress on the Traction engines.

Good to see you back.

I must say it's nice to be called a gentleman!

Regards Keith.

Hi Andrew, nice looking work you've done there. Don't let those snidey ones get to you, they are probably just jealous. Keep on posting about your traction engines as they are interesting, and the methods you use can help a lot of people.

I like your Sir "Nigel Gresley" Brian, I've travelled behind the full size one a few times.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 02/10/2023 19:39:42

You were right and I was wrong!

Andrew

The first task on the tender sides after flanging was to add the angles on the inside that will form part of the frame for the water tank:

The rivets are 1/8" diameter steel. The inner side will never be seen so a whack with a hammer to close the rivet is all that is required. The rivet dolly, setting tool and "bolster" are home made from hardened and tempered silver steel. The items with yellow bottoms are skinpins. They are normally used in aircraft sheet metalwork for holding sheets in place while they are being riveted onto frames. Yellow denotes a skinpin suitable for 1/8" rivets. To start with rivets were placed at each end and at several places in the middle. The gaps were then filled in. This avoids cumulative issues with the pre-drilled holes failing to line up as the metal stretches very slightly when a rivet is closed.

Once the angles are fitted the two sides can be held apart ready for the bottom/back sheet to be riveted in place.

The spacer bars are machined to an accurate, 1 thou or so, length of 9.5" which is the outside spacing of the hornplates that the tender needs to fit over.

Andrew

NB: An alternative to skinpins are Clecos, which are fitted using special pliers to compress them for insertion and then released. I have some Clecos, but no pliers, so I decided to stick with the manual skinpins. I had a few in stock but was able to buy more online as mine are old and not in the best of shape.

Keith.

Very impressive Andrew, very impressive..

5 years work you say for "Sir Nigel Gresley"..? was that 18 hours a day every day?!

Andrew, looking at the pics of the tender sides leaning against the wall, it looks llke you will have a RH and LH set, judging by the cut outs. Just curious why that should be.

Keep up the good work. Chris Gunn

Fine work! I will follow the traction-engine progress with interest.

I recall seeing skin-pins used by one of the metalworkers in a small contract electronics-engineering company for which I worked many moons ago, but rarely since.I didn''t realise they are colour-coded for diameter.

If they are still made at all, I'd think them something our tool suppliers might consider stocking, or at least able to obtain on order.

Thank you for the tip on rivetting to avoid problems with stretching.

The tender sides look very good in the pictures but more impressive if seen in the flesh, very nice work.

Emgee

When I was still in the day job we used to make large stainless containment boxes which had radiused corners (makes them easier to clean). Instead of trying to form the corners they had a square cut away, the sides folded round and then a made from solid hemisphere chopped into 4 welded in and dressed off. You wouldn't have seen the join. I the link some loco firebox end plates have been done the same way

Edited By duncan webster on 03/10/2023 23:37:05

Thanks to one and all for the kind words; it does help.

Skinpins are still available. I bought mine online from the manufacturer:

Skinpins

The online ordering process was simple, just how it should be, but often isn't. I bought 20 for £35 including VAT and delivery.

Andrew

I'm not sure I understand the question?

I am building two engines, hence four sides in total. The right and left hand sides are different. The RH side has the rectangular cutout for the water pocket. The LH side has the bigger cutout at the top so the driver can get into position without damaging himself.

Andrew

Hi, I think Chris is getting confused, as the two pairs that are standing against the wall, with the left pair with the folds facing away from the wall, and with right pair with the folds facing towards the wall, so it looks as if there is a left and right hand of each of the two different sides.

Regards Nick.