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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted -  25/11/2004  :  14:20
I've always been fascinated by the things people do in their spare time when they can do exactly what they want to do. Men and sheds are a particularly fertile field. Women tend to do their thing in the comfort of the house.



I was delighted to see Andy's picture of the clock movement he has made.







It struck me that we could perhaps start a new topic devoted to spare time skill. So Andy starts it off and my contribution is this:







It's a small steam engine made from scratch and is based on the Stuart 5A but a longer stroke. One of these will drive a 14 foot boat with steam at 250psi. By the way, we don't like to call them models, it's exactly the same construction and materials as a full size engine, just smaller. So come on out there, let's hear about what you make in your spare time. I reckon we could be in for some surprises!


Stanley Challenger Graham




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stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk
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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 13/09/2007 : 16:28

I had another think......  and decided I'd rather have all the meat in the end so I could grab it in the world's biggest catch plate....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Awkward setting up because I've sawn the centre hole off the marine end but we managed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By 4pm we had reached this stage......  I think I'll do some crosshead end gapping and shaping tomorrow.  On the other hand....  might be better to do this when I have made the crosshead/piston rod.  All the fitting done at once....  Decisions, decisions.




Stanley Challenger Graham




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stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk Go to Top of Page
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 14/09/2007 : 17:29

I had a lazy morning and eventually decided to have a day of what Newton used to call 'tiddly bits'.  I decided to make the fitted bolts for the marine ends.  As many of you will have realised I am a bit of a pack rat.  If I see something and I have the money in my pocket I'll buy it....  Always on the grounds that it will come in one day.  A long while ago I saw a little fixture for turning small diameters, I'm sure you've all tried it and finished up with the workpiece bending and spoiling the work.  I've never used it and so went for a dig in the treasure chest...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a small fixture with a built in cutter and is in effect a very small steady.  The workpiece has to be rod, in this case 1/4" and the steady is a copper insert which you drill to whatever size you need.  So, off with the chuck, in with the 1/4" collett and poke a 1/4 drill through the copper blank.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a view from the tailstock side, the cutter has to be adjusted to the required diameter by trial and error.  In this case 4.55mm for a 2BA thread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once set up it's a doddle.  Here we are on automatic feed reducing the rod down to the required size.  I had the tailstock die box mounted and so just wound the fixture out of the way and ran the thread down on the lowest speed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The time was taken up getting set up.  Once I was into the swing the bolts were a doddle.  Here we are, 8 fitted bolts for the marine ends.  I can do some cleaning up tomorrow once the ends are bolted together and then bore for the bush.




Stanley Challenger Graham




Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk Go to Top of Page
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 15/09/2007 : 16:51

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First step this morning was to fit all the bolts.  Next job, as is usual in fitting, I took them all to bits again and had a think about which way to go next.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I decided that It was a toss up which end I started on so decided to do the fork end that fits the cross head.  First job was to whiten up, go and check all my measurements (again!) and then mark the centre lines as accurately as my old shaking hands could get them.  Some years ago I helped a woman who's husband had died by giving her some advice and prices for her husband's workshop.  She got some immediate offers from the advert and ended up about £3,000 better off so she asked me if she could pay me or give me something.  So I ended up with this height gauge and a set of slip gauges.  So, I gave it an outing today.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's where we are at close of play.  I've drilled the 3/8" holes for the crank pins, bored 5/8" for the bottom of the fork and milled out a marker slot as this is the most accurate way of marking it.  I can't mill it all out safely because when I get to the bottom of the cut the vice will exert too much pressure on the fork and start to collapse it.  Now they are marked it will be fairly simple to saw down the mark and take the meat out in one lump.  Just one confession, you have to take your courage in both hands when you get this far and start to poke 5/8" drills into it!  Especially when it starts to grab as one wing of the drill hits the crank pin hole.  Exciting stuff but no problems as it turned out. 




Stanley Challenger Graham




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stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk Go to Top of Page
panbiker
Senior Member


2301 Posts
Posted - 15/09/2007 : 18:11

I suppose this is related to shed culture in a way. I've been having trouble with the battery on my bike. Perfectly OK until a couple of weeks ago when we were going to set off to Llandudno for the day. When I went to the garage to collect the bike the battery was flat. All dressed up and nowhere to go! So off with the leathers and set to with a maintenance session. First thing, a trip to Appleyards to get a decent analysing bike battery charger. Never needed one before, the Pan has always started as regular as clockwork, but thought it would be a good investment anyway. Bought an Optimate III which can analyse, desulphate, boost charge and maintain.

Back down to the garage and take the side rear fairing off to get at the battery. I have no power in the garage so the battery had to come off to be tested and charged at home. This was duly done and the Optimate gave it a test charge/discharge cycle and then went into maintenance mode, this was Saturday so I left it on charge overnight then stuck it back on the bike on Sunday. Started first time, starter motor kicked in and turned the 1100 engine without a problem. OK so far but why did it go flat? Checked the voltage going in from the alternator when running, no problem there, a good 18V. I have a number of add on electrical devices on the bike so I checked for current drain when the engine was stopped, ammeter in series with the battery showed 0.001A. No real problem there with a 12AH battery. 1mA is hardly going to kill the battery from one wekend to the next. So the intercom and sat nav electricals are ruled out. The current is drawn by the LCD clock in the dash which is always on. The battery would power the clock alone for 12000 hours so I re-assembled everything and postponed the trip to the following weekend.

I thought I would hedge my bets last weekend and test the bike on Saturday prior to our planned trip on Sunday. When I checked it, the battery was flat again. OK, what next? I know, the earthing strap from the negative to the engine block. A high resistance here could be the root of the problem. Enough current to power the clock but not enough to ground the 10A or so that the starter needs. Needs checking anyway so off with the lower fairing to get at the ground strap which is bolted to the engine sump next to where the oil filter screws in. Some signs of slight corrosion here but no high resistance showing on the meter. Removed, cleaned and re-fitted anyway. Off with the battery again and charge again at home. Re-fitted on Sunday morning and off we go to Bowness for the day. No problems at all so fairly confident that it's sorted.

No chance of setting off on the bike this weekend as we had the gas man here this morning to check the combi and we are at a 40's dance tonight a Bolton Abbey and then dressing up in our 40's military tomorrow and riding the trains. I thought I would check the bike anyway this afternoon to make sure the problem was fixed, not so, 1 rev on the starter and battery dead. Iv'e proved that there is no fault with the electricals so it must be the battery. The bike is S reg 1998 and I think it's the original factory fitted one so it doesn't exactly owe me anything, 9 years service, 4 in my ownership isn't bad. I bit the bullet this afternoon and shelled out for a new battery.

The replacement is a maintenance free lead acid battery, the battery is supplied dry with a multi chamber acid bottle to fill it with. I have filled the battery and allowed the cells to aerate for about 30mins. I have now sealed the battery with the strip provided. It's currently on charge on the Optimate, it needs a 10 hour charge before use. I'll probably leave it on the Optimate until I have chance to fit it, The new battery should finally sort the problem, unless I've missed something. Time will tell.

 




Ian Go to Top of Page
softsuvner
Regular Member


604 Posts
Posted - 16/09/2007 : 04:16

Ian

Modern bikes electrics are pretty good compared with what we used to put up with, although they are still susceptible to poor connections and bad earths. Modern components like rectifiers, when they fail, fail completely.

Sounds pretty much like the battery. I learned my lesson in the days when I ran old Ford cars. When the battery starts to play up, don't mess about, get a new one. I've got an Accumate, forerunner to the Optimate. Good bit of kit, and useful to keep the battery topped up when the bike is laid up during the winter. Mine does 6 volt as well, but you don;t need that! Safe Riding

Malcolm




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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 16/09/2007 : 07:44

I had to smile when I read all that Panny!  The idea of a battery charger that does all that is mind-boggling.  I was reared on tiny 6volt batteries starting 6 cylinder 28hp (RAC rating) petrol engines in old wagons.  We knew about clever tricks like charging the batteries the wrong way to kill sulphate but never bothered with them.  The drill was always to take the battery off, empty the acid and wash the cells out to get rid of lead in the bottom shorting the plates and refill with fresh acid.  Clean all the connections and refit.  As they were all on dynamos you could start the engine by towing it or using the starting handle (Never park for the night so close to a wall that you couldn't get the SH in!) and go and do a days work which charged the battery.  If that didn't cure it, get a new one but we were poor and did everything we could to keep them going.  Never used the starter if you were on a slope, run it off in 2nd gear.  Batteries don't last forever and the old ones were nowhere near as good as modern batteries.  Funniest fault I ever saw with this was a big stacker truck at Rochdale Welding.  It wasn't a reliable starter, some days good some days dead.  John Got the auto electric people in and they did every test known to man, decided it was the alternator and replaced it.  All OK for two days then same problem so new battery.  No better.  John mentioned it to me and I told him they had missed something.  His reply was something like 'well, if you're so clever, fix it'.  I think he'd forgotten I had a lifetime of maintaining wagons and diesels.  I went and had a look and found the problem.  Engine mounted on Silentblocs and no earth strap.  The reason it was sometimes right and other times wasn't was that the system was earhing through a strap that retained the exhaust pipe, fitted to the frame.  While the exhaust was new and shiny, no problem, as soon as it rusted or came loose it was a bad connection.  I fitted an earth strap and gave the battery a quick charge, problem solved.  Problem was that I then became shop auto mechanic as well as everything else and I soon remembered why I had given up working on big diesels!  You wouldn't believe some of the jobs I finished up doing.....  most of them mission impossible like when they ran it for months with a loose wheel and chewed all the studs up..........  then they cracked the sump.......   don't remind me.

So, my best guess?  Lead compo dropping out of the plates and bridging them in the sump of the battery.




Stanley Challenger Graham




Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk Go to Top of Page
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 16/09/2007 : 17:27

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sawing the meat out of the forks was a good plan, fast, accurate and no drama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next job was to get the rotary table out and cut the curve on the ends.  Lovely job, no measuring and dead easy.  I made a washer to go under the central holding bolt and milled all the cuts up to the washer.  Pleasure to do....  Then I spent a couple of hours with the file cleaning things up and making them look a bit more tidy.  Next job was to bolt the split marine ends together and put the two jaw on the lathe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I poked a 1/4" drill through after syarting with a Slocombe drill to make sure I was dead cebtre and then followed up with a 3/4" drill, very careful feed and plenty of oil! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Come knocking off time at 16:30 I had a clean hole and here I have set up another little goodie that hides in the treasure box most of the time, a small tailstock mounted fine boring head.  I suppose I could have got away with a small boring bar in the tool post but it would have to have been fairly long because don't forget the end of the con-rod is taking a pretty big sweep.  Actually it just clears the front end of the saddle but I feel a lot safer with the saddle locked out of the way, I don't want any slip-ups.  Far too much work has gone into these con rods and I would hate to have a smash.  So tomorrow, more boring and finishing.  The funny thing is that I don't know what size I shall bore to because there is a small variation in the fitted bolt holes and I want to bore until I just start to catch these holes as that will give me the maximum wall thickness in the bronze split bushes I have yet to make.  They will all be different sizes and will have to be made to match the individual bores.




Stanley Challenger Graham




Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk Go to Top of Page
pluggy
Geek


1164 Posts
Posted - 16/09/2007 : 18:09
You sound a lot like me Stanley, getting involved in jobs you can do and then getting lumbered with it.  I think twice now before letting on I know something about whatever. Much to be said for hiding your lamp under a bushel in my opinion......



Need computer work ?
"http://www.stsr.co.uk"

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softsuvner
Regular Member


604 Posts
Posted - 17/09/2007 : 00:45

Stanley

Sorry if it is a silly question, but is there any reason for you opting to use the boring head in the lathe rather than the milling machine? I am sure there is, I am interested to know.

Malcolm




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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 17/09/2007 : 06:51

You are absolutely right Malcolm.  I was laid in bed last night worrying about the security of a morse taper grip on the boring head and it dawned on me that the reason why the head has a screw thread in the morse taper shank is because it was designed for a vertical milling machine with a draw bolt.  This is only the second time I've ever considered using it  and I am a bit thick, I have to work it out as I go along.  I decided that I'll finsish the one in the lathe with a boring bar because the setting is OK and then rethink.  Only problem I see is having to keep swapping heads on the vertical miller to preserve the setting.  I might leave experimenting with the boring head until I have a simple job because the lathe is far more rigid and accurate and there is too much at stake here.

Best personal example of what you were saying about hiding your light Pluggy happened when I first went to work for Richard Drinkall as his cattle wagon driver.  I was in the shippon with John Henry one day talking to him as he milked and a cow kicked a cluster off.  Instinct took over, I picked it up and slipped it back onto the cow's udder.  As I straightened up JH was looking at me and he said 'Heyup!  It's not the first time you've done that!'  I told him that if he let on to Richard I was a milker I'd separate him from his breath!  I could see being relief milker being added to 110,000 miles a year and maintaining three wagons!  John Henry never let on and I was safe but years later Richard found out and I could see from his attitude that I'd been right.




Stanley Challenger Graham




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stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk Go to Top of Page
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 17/09/2007 : 07:06
While I'm on and the site is quiet, I have been thinking about the split bushes for the marine ends.  The standard method for making split bushes is to have two catings, one for each half, face them, solder together and split after making the bush.  That's how I did the main bearings.  However, I don't have the castings for these marine end bearings because they are not standard.  One way would be to split some bronze bar, solder it together and then turn the resulting egg shapes bar to what I want.  The easy way is to make the bearing, split with a junior hacksaw and deal with the gap if necessary.  All the marine end brasses I have ever seen have gaps in them to allow for adjustment of wear, all you need to do is make provision for anchoring at least one half of the shell, usually the bottom one and allow the top one to find its place making sure that the oil hole registers wherever it is.  The thrust on the bearing is such that the wear is on top and bottom, the sides don't wear.  So, I'm going for the easy option and making the bushes before splitting them.  They will be just as adequate as the old-fashioned method from castings.  I'll probably use an old trick for oil distribution, cut a channel in the outside of the shell so that oil flows round and not only gets into the bearing through the top oil hole but through the gaps between the shells.


Stanley Challenger Graham




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stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk Go to Top of Page
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 17/09/2007 : 17:13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I came to a sensible decision and bored the ends with the biggest boring bar I could get into the hole.  Always remember, the heavier the bar the more rigid and the better it will cut.  I bored them all to the point where I was hitting the bolt holes, I knew they would be tight and the aim was for a minimum of 13/16" to give a shell wall of 1/16" on an 11/16 journal.  I hit both bolt holes simultaneously on the last con rod, all the others were a whisker out but I expected that, I'm not that good at measuring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the ends bored to a nice finish even though I say it myself.  I went for a root in the treasure chest and would you believe it, I had a piece of 1" X 11/16" bore bushing!  Perfect.....  God loves a tryer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Close of play at 16:30.  All the ends bushed to a good fit and oil gutters cut in the outside of the shells.  I've not done anything about splitting the bushes, flaring the ends or cleaning the bore, all that can wait until I get round to fitting them.  Next job is to make the crank pins and securing collars......  How much work can there be in con'rods.  I'd forgotten how long they took....

 




Stanley Challenger Graham




Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk Go to Top of Page
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 17/09/2007 : 17:15
By the way, I got my 13/16" on the smallest bore, one at 27/32" and the last two at 7/8".  That'll do me......


Stanley Challenger Graham




Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk Go to Top of Page
Mercury
Regular Member


233 Posts
Posted - 17/09/2007 : 19:23
Stanley, those are beautiful.


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softsuvner
Regular Member


604 Posts
Posted - 17/09/2007 : 23:51

Stanley

The boring head seems to work OK in the lathe, I suppose you could make a bung and draw bolt for tailstock fit, I presume your tailstock bore is a parallel fit at the wheel end.

Making each one to fit the individual engine, that's the true old fashioned way to do it!

Malcolm




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