The Workshop Progress Thread 2020

Apologies Duncan -

If I had realised a brush on paint would do the job I too would have suggested Paragon.

Take care,

Nick

Edited By Nick Clarke 3 on 21/04/2020 09:29:25

More of the Dads & Lads mill engine to show - the valve chest assembly.

Here's all the bits including the "enhancement" of an exhaust manifold to fit over the as designed plain outlet ports.

And here's the assembly complete with the Banggood governor on top.

JIm

A couple more bits for my beam engine.. cylinder, piston, con' rod assembly..

Still needs PTFE / Nylon piston ring... PTFE rod ordered

Getting there.

George.

I have recently finished my Stuart Turner undertype engine, and have built a base with handrails for it. As we are still locked down, I feel it is time to paint it and set off the base with some black and white tiles. Can anyone recommend some black and white tiles in 1/12th scale? I know I have seen some on a model in the recent past, maybe one of Jason's models?

Chris Gunn

Chris, you can do it with some white formica or even conti board, maybe even paint what you have as it looks quite smooth. Stick some fablon or similar stick backed plastic on top and then use a scalple to cut a grid of lines into it. then peel off alternate squares which will leave your mask. Now spray with black before peeling off the mask, clear lacquer the top.

Stuart beam done here and this link will take you to a few pics of my Benson being done.

Nice job on the undertype, you don't see them about much these days.

Edited By JasonB on 29/04/2020 19:53:10

Jason, thanks for that, I feel it was one of your engines where I saw it done before. I never thought of doing it that way, it will make working around all the holes in the base much easier.

Thanks for your comment on the undertype, I was lucky to find a set of part machined castings on Ebay a few years back, and even luckier that whoever did the machining was a real pro, they were not butchered. Once I finished the engine itself, it looked really good, so had to make the boiler.

I always wanted an undertype, but when they were listed back in the seventies they were too dear for me. A set of engine castings cost a tad under £60 in 1972, equivalent to £800 or thereabouts today.

I am also making a Musgrave right now, but the M1 non dead centre engine.

Chris Gunn

Lockdown has allowed me to get on with this engine to the stage where I could give it a tickle of air. Only got a few screws tacking it together, no gland packing or piston rings and the valve links only have screws as pivots not fitted pins but it run straight away as soon as the air was turned on.

Learned a lot doing this one not just with the CNC but working out the rocking valve construction as the source of drawing that were on the web has been removed so I just had to make up the details myself, did not even have to break out the collet chuck as all done in the 3-jaw except the trunk guide which was done in the 4-jaw and the micrometer did not get a look in either. Fairly happy with how it's turned out just needs some finishing touches now.

Hope this lockdown does not go on two long as i'll be running out of subjects as this one took just under a month doing a bit most days.

Jason, that looks good, I have yet to make the 2 rocking valves in the Musgrave M1, I hope mine runs first time out.

Chris Gunn

Brilliant work.

Of course it would only have taken me about 5 years to make.

Steve.

Thanks chaps

Chris, who's design of Musgrave are you using? Julius de Waal, Lothear Matrian or Paul Jacobs?

I am using Julius de Waal's drawings, so only a representation of the original, but something i could start quickly as of course no castings are needed, apart from the flywheel which was my choice to use a Stuart casting. I downloaded the drawings FOC, and modifying bits here and there. When I have a minute I will put some pictures up.

Chris Gunn

Isn't that a very sweet runner, excellent. Some interesting shapes in the parts Jason certainly different. The crosshead guide/housing looks interesting was it machined similar to the entablature cylinder with faceted cuts but leaving the central rib along the top.

What are you thinking for the base plate certainly deserves something good.

Very nice.

Ron

Chris have you seen this one built from those drawings over on MEM, if not a member you will have to join a spics are posted as attachments, also look at his other posts as it is not all in one thread. I quite like the look of the engine but would probably make it to at least look like it had compound cylinders and also add the levers that work the pump.

That's it Ron, mad a simple rod with two stepped "nuts" to hold it by and used the same method, back side looks better as I moved the tool over a bit more from ctr line once far enough from the top rib.

Not quite decided on the base, a planked floor was quite common in the US where these engines originate but all the other 24mm engines have had quite a plain base. Whatever I go for it will need to have some depth for the flywheel pit.

Edited By JasonB on 01/05/2020 07:43:08

                     Since I finished work at the end of March, and as we are in lockdown I thought it was time to get some of the un- started projects on the go. I've had the castings for these for some time but house moves, work and old motorcycles got in the way.

The Kennet is almost finished I'm waiting on a couple of deliveries to complete, some welding gas so the wheel guard can be fabricated, and a new motor capacitor as the old one is very badly dented, now I've left work there's no more access to the lovely Clarkson, so thought I'd better get my finger out.

The Myford saddle stop is something that's been on the list for ages been very useful in making the smaller parts for the others it's fabricated from odd bits that were to hand, the rear toolpost is GHT's design for the short Myford crosslide (ML7- R) and the Keats angle plate from College Engineering supplies. The rear toolpost still needs slotting for the parting tool, but nearly there.

Thought I'd put these on as I'm always interested in what everyone else is making, there are some great projects underway on this site.

Edited By Dave Wootton on 01/05/2020 18:08:32

Like the saddle stop. Unfortunately that is right where my quick change gearbox lives. Dam.

Steve.

Jason, thanks for the info on the Musgrave, I will have a look later, I have done a couple of his engines as a fill in, they are fast to do, and cheap too, as mainly built from bar stock. I started with the aluminium, and after 85 hours got the almost finished engine.

I have one of these but not set up running due to another project

- Swapped out my fluorescent lights for the LED sort in the shed. It's very bright but not too harsh on the eyes.

- 3D printed some resin parts for my brother. He's scratch building a V&W Class Destroyer in 1/96 scale, HMS Vega. Have spent hours in fusion 360 on this.

- Completed the installation of a DRO to the mill, finally!.

- Machined a custom oldham coupling to enable fitting a 3phase motor to the mill, but the idea was canned because I wouldn't have been able to remove the draw-bar . Then machined a stub shaft (photo below) so the motor can sit in its original place and use the machine's helical drive gear. The motor mount plate willl be next.

- I'm also part way through motorising my rotary table.

Ed.

I'm working on a table for my FEMI saw and needed to cut a 10mm thread in the end of a ally support bar. I have 3 (carbon steel) 10mm dies and not one of them would cut the aluminium! So pretty much useless. eBay to the rescue and a new HSS die was ordered.

When it got here, I found I'd ordered a die with a 30mm diameter (I mean who knew that existed!). I pondered for a while and asked what a real engineer would do. He'd make a die holder! So I pretended to be a real engineer for a few hours and came up with this.

In the spirit of full disclosure my eyeballing of the angle for the holding screws was a bit naff - next time I will need to be a bit more accurate, but I now have two aluminium pillars with threaded ends!

Iain

One of my distraction projects has been building a saw table for my Femi Bandsaw.

Finally, it's all done!

The guide works satisfyingly well and the idea is that I can run it for right angle cuts or

I can arrange for an angle cut. Most likely using a new piece of 20x10mm steel, but that shows the idea.

Here's a close up

In my usual spirit of full disclosure, this was one of my first real attempts at welding (the support gripped in the vice) and the job is embarassingly poor. After a few goes, though, I got enough metal there to hold it together. But I wanted to spray the support before photographing it to save my blushes...

Iain