Hi,
A little more done; the beam support was out of square. This corrected the beam wasn’t parallel to the parallel motion bracket. This corrected I am pretty sure the parallel motion isn’t parallel! Before checking this the next work will be fitting the crank shaft assembly. Some work arrives later today so might be a bit before work resumes.
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Regards Tony.
Nice progress so far Tony!
Hi,
The work needed on the parallel motion will have to wait until after the crankshaft assembly is finished. To this end the second plastic bag has been opened. My ideas of doing as little engineering as possible are going down the pan; quite a lot was needed on the column and beam assembly but the crankshaft bearing brackets need to be almost completely machined. They weren’t the same height, they wobble on their bases, the securing screws screw down on to a slope and where there are threads to secured the split bearings, they are either stripped or different sizes! So, the bearing brackets have been machined both top and bottom and the split bearing screw holes plugged along with the holes in the split bearings. I rather suspect that there will be more holes plugged and drilled again than original when this project is finished. The bearing brackets have been drilled and tapped and fitted to the wooden base, nothing so far has been done to the crankshaft and flywheel, it is starting to look a bit like a beam engine.
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Regards Tony.
The joys of fixing some one else work
It can be a challenge but also very rewarding.
You are doing great
Cheers
Dennis
Great Movie!
Impressive salvage effort!!!
Yes, a very good moving showing your work so far
"I rather suspect that there will be more holes plugged and drilled again than original when this project is finished."
Keep plugging away at it, Tony!
Hi,
Before continuing working on new parts of the model what has already been done has been tidied up: the flywheel has been skimmed, the crankshaft bearing pedestals along with the column have been painted, the wooden base of the column has been varnished, the eccentric and its sheaf have been fitted on the crankshaft and any temporary screws have been replaced.
With this done a new bolt to hold the connecting rod to the beam has been made. The parallel motion has been cleaned up before checking that it works. A suitable cast resin figure of an engine driver has been bought and painted by Mrs. B. This is as likely as far as it will go for a bit as I am now concentrating on building a new portable 16 mm scale model railway layout; however I am bound to get a bit board or have to wait for some materials when some further work will be done on the beam engine.
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Regards Tony.
Hi,
Well this morning it was cold and damp in Cardiff and while I waited for the heater in the shed to do its bit, I had a look at the beam engine. I was a little concerned as the flywheel is a bit on the small side for a beam engine that would usually work quite slowly. So, I decided to check how well the beam balanced; the connecting rod and crank on one side and the parallel motion and piston on the other. Well by accident or design it is pretty well balanced, the crank and connecting rod being possibly a little heavier. It is close enough that it is not worth weighting the flywheel to compensate until it has run and then it might not be necessary. The piston and its rod are interesting the piston is screwed off not the big end to remove the piston rod from the cylinder cover. Anyway, most of the day has been spent build the model railway layout. Work will only be done on the beam engine if I get time or get bored with working on the layout.
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Regards Tony.
Looking good and thanks for the update. Now that you mention it, the flywheel does look a bit small...
Hi,
Its is over two months since I posted in this thread, having spent those months doing a lot of repetitive work building base boards for a model railway layout this comes as a bit of light relief. I have a few days before we leave for a warmer climate so how far I will get towards finishing this restoration I don’t know. It will depend on what has to be done.
The last plastic bag containing the cylinder and the remaining valve gear parts has been opened and the contents taken apart. Like the other parts of the beam engine they are not particularly well made.
Like the beam the cylinder is a fabrication and also like the other parts uses BA threads so the model was probably made in the UK and after 1903 when the British Association adopted the thread. As the sealant used instead of gaskets blocked one of the cylinder’s steam passageways after the engines last assembly it probably never would have run in fact there is no evidence that the engine ever ran. Attached photographs of the cylinder and valve gear parts being taken apart. Tomorrow I hope to start on the cleaning up and deciding what repairs are or not are necessary. There is no evidence after taking apart that the model ever worked so getting the cylinder positioned under the beam and the valve gear in place never mind working might be interesting.
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Regards Tony.
Hi,
Well, I made quite a lot of progress yesterday: all the brass/bronze bits have been cleaned and the rusty steel work blackened. The cylinder has been lapped; out of interest its stroke is 1.3/4” and bore 5/8” (46 x 16 mm), the cylinder port faces and valve have been polished. The lagging surprisingly; went back on the cylinder, gaskets were made and the engine was assembled. The parts of the engine went back together quite well the positioning of them on the wooden base took some time, they were first held by wood screws to check alignment, when happy these screws were replaced by screws with nuts. This took some time as the beam had to be removed a few times to allow the base to be drilled. I am not keen on wooden rather than metal bases as the drill holes tend to wander if drilling jigs aren’t used also the wood can contract allowing the parts to become loose at a later date. With all the valve gear connected the engine was turned over using an electric drill, there was no major binding there was a bit of a knock, but the big end bearing is a bit over size, if it irritates me, I will line it. It was getting late and from experience I know that trying to time an engine isn’t sensible; it can be frustrating at the best of times, maybe today?
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Regards Tony.