3/4" Raritan 2-4-0 build.

[FKreider]

Well..it started out as a 48" x 96" sheet 40 years ago.
Think I paid $50 for the entire sheet at the time...1980 ish

Wow!

[Mike Walsh]

I just picked up a 12" x 30" sheet of 1/4" brass for $75 off Craigslist a few months back. I couldn't believe the price. Dude was pretty nice, too - he actually knows my uncle through the town!

[NP317]

Mike:
That was a lucky find!
RussN

[shild]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Made progress with the frame. Got frustrated trying to solder the frame, so made angle brackets and spot welded it all. Then I cut the bottom plates for the truck that keep the axle boxes from falling out, still need to drill the holes. Need 4 but cut 5 so can afford to screw up once. Wise move? 4th pic is the water pump handle and riding car brake handle which are the same measurements. 5th pic is my latest shopping at FW Webb, I asked for a sheet of brass or copper and one of the guys told me to go to a roofing supply store. Would a roofing supply store really have that? For the last pic, my 5/16 reamer came in, it's a Morse, is that high quality enough? From top to bottom is how I plan to do the wheels, I indicate first, then face off, then center drill, then a 19/64 drill, then ream. Is that How I should do it? Should I use a larger center drill than the one shown?

[jcbrock]

If you ask here how to turn wheels, 10 guys will tell you at least 12 ways to do it. Dave Sclavi has a good set of YouTube videos, the first one is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4_ro19aQZg

One thing to think about is how you are going to keep your axle bore perpendicular to your wheel face. I usually face the front and turn the outside to a large diameter to get rid of the cast surface then flip the wheel. Using the front as my reference surface pressed against a spacer to the chuck face, face the back, and then on the same chucking bore the axle hole. I like to drill the axle hole to a rough dimension, use a boring bar to true the axle hole, then ream to size. But as I wrote, you'll read several ways to do it that work.

[shild]

If you ask here how to turn wheels, 10 guys will tell you at least 12 ways to do it. Dave Sclavi has a good set of YouTube videos, the first one is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4_ro19aQZg

One thing to think about is how you are going to keep your axle bore perpendicular to your wheel face. I usually face the front and turn the outside to a large diameter to get rid of the cast surface then flip the wheel. Using the front as my reference surface pressed against a spacer to the chuck face, face the back, and then on the same chucking bore the axle hole. I like to drill the axle hole to a rough dimension, use a boring bar to true the axle hole, then ream to size. But as I wrote, you'll read several ways to do it that work.

Yeah, I've been watching Trainmans video's. They are a great source! He does the back of the wheels first but my Raritan book says to do the front first. Not sure which way to go. In one of the video's about how to do wheels he talks about how he is going to make one on axles next, but either he never made it, never uploaded it, or Youtube deleted it for what ever reason.

[Bill Shields]

The raritan book is very reliable. If you follow it you will not go wrong.

[NP317]

Follow the Raritan book.
Machining the front surface first allows you to center the casting features (in the 4-jaw chuck), which may not align with the back-side feature, due to the casting alignment methods.

Nike. Just do it.
RussN

[Harold_V]

but my Raritan book says to do the front first. Not sure which way to go.

There's a real advantage in doing the front first unless the castings are extremely well done. Here's why.

If the front and back sides are not parallel and concentric, once you've machined the back side, you're at the mercy of how it was aligned. If there's runout, either concentricity or perpendicularity, you won't have the ability to make corrections, while making the front your first operation allows for corrections. The back may then not run true, but it's the fronts that are exposed to one's vision, so they should be oriented in the best position.

It is NEVER a good idea to rely on a drilled and reamed hole to be concentric with any turns that might be made in the same setup. Drills have a way of wandering in use, and a reamer may not have the ability to make any desired corrections, so your wheels will have runout that you find objectionable.

If you must ream (I recommend boring for size), drill undersized, then bore within a few thou (.003"/.005") of the target finished diameter (that will correct any errors in the hole), then take it to size with a chucking reamer. I advise avoiding the use of a hand reamer. Hold the chucking reamer by only a short portion (¼") of the shank, so it is free to seek center if you do not have a floating holder.

H

[shild]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Got some more work done with my new 4-40 tap from Cleveland. Is that high quality enough? I center drilled, drilled and tapped the 16 holes to keep the brackets on the bottom of the trucks to keep the journals in. I had the truck frames pushed against the vise stop with table locked, after each hole I would open the vise, turn truck frame around to do hole on opposite side, then would do next truck frame. Then did inner holes in same manner. That's proper technique isn't it? A single table move to do all 16 holes. Also did the 4 bracket holes while they were on one of the truck side frames. Is this proper technique?

[Bill Shields]

If the holes are in the correct location and no broken taps then you are moving forward.

The finish in the bearing surfaces looks a little rough. You may want to consider finish and accuracy as priorities over speed.

[shild]

If the holes are in the correct location and no broken taps then you are moving forward.

The finish in the bearing surfaces looks a little rough. You may want to consider finish and accuracy as priorities over speed.

Yeah, I wish the bearing surfaces came out better. If I remember right, I did traditional milling and then a climb cut for the finishing pass. Can't remember what RPM I ran at. In this case I can still get a step better by deburring. I was waiting to find out if it's a problem at Waushakum or not, but was thinking about going in with a square file so the journal boxes have more suspension travel if necessary.