I Don't Know Why I Ever Got Involved...

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Carrdo
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Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: I Don't Know Why I Ever Got Involved...

Post by Carrdo »

The rotary throttle handle installed on the boiler backhead.

In the position shown with the long handle end down, it does interfere with the opening of the firedoor but not if the handle is swung in either direction. If this becomes a problem when running I can rotate the handle either 90 or 180 degrees to give clearance. This is not the most elegant way to solve this potential problem but practical.

I think I will try and install the new drawbar between the engine and the tender next. This operation has a few issues also.
Attachments
113 The Installed Rotary Throttle Handle .jpg
Carrdo
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Re: I Don't Know Why I Ever Got Involved...

Post by Carrdo »

The setup's just keep getting wilder and wilder.

Milling out the end sill of the engine cradle to accept the new heavier drawbar and give it some clearance so the engine and tender can move independently of each other and rock and roll. The end sill had an existing opening for the old broken drawbar but it was much too small for the new one I made.

Since I could not detach the engine cradle from the rest of the chassis due to the old problem of removing the many (8) + (4 which I got out and then gave up) fasteners which had welded themselves together over the decades, I hung the entire locomotive chassis off the side of the milling machine table. I have done this before with other locomotives when conditions become pressing.

Ninety percent of the effort involved is getting the setup right. Everything has to be hung square and fastened securely with the head of the mill swung over. I used the machined upper face of the cradle's end sill and a depth gauge set on the top machined edge of the heavy angle plate as a reference surface and tapped the chassis until both ends of the end sill had the same depth gauge reading. See the first photo.

After that it was only a bit of careful pocket milling.
Attachments
114 Hanging the Entire Locomotive Chassis Off the Side of the Milling Machine Table.jpg
116 Milling Out the Larger Drawbar Opening in the End Sill of the Locomotive Cradle .jpg
117 The Larger Drawbar Opening in the Locomotive Cradle End Sill.jpg
120 The Larger Drawbar Opening in the Locomotive Cradle End Sill and the New Drawbar.jpg
Carrdo
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Re: I Don't Know Why I Ever Got Involved...

Post by Carrdo »

The first time the engine chassis and the engine tender have been permanently coupled together.
Attachments
121 The First Time the Engine Chassis and the Locomotive Tender Have Been Permanently Coupled Together.jpg
122 Closeup of Engine and Engine Tender Coupled Together.jpg
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Bill Shields
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Re: I Don't Know Why I Ever Got Involved...

Post by Bill Shields »

Issaboutime 🤪
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
Carrdo
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Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: I Don't Know Why I Ever Got Involved...

Post by Carrdo »

Bill,

It wasn't quite as simple as sticking a pin through each end of the drawbar but I won't go into that.
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Bill Shields
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Re: I Don't Know Why I Ever Got Involved...

Post by Bill Shields »

Know the problem and appreciate the process of getting it correct...😀
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
Carrdo
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Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: I Don't Know Why I Ever Got Involved...

Post by Carrdo »

Some minor replacements and then on to the next part.

The only major control piece left to do is the reverser so we will tackle that next. I think I would like a lever type reverser for the Uranus rather than a screw reverser. There is so little room left anywhere, it is going to be interesting where I can fit it in. In the case of the Uranus, it has to be on the left side of the cab.
Attachments
123 A New Rear Spring Hanger Rod on the Four Wheel Trailing Truck.jpg
Carrdo
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Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: I Don't Know Why I Ever Got Involved...

Post by Carrdo »

As there are no views or drawings of the reverser on the Josslin Uranus drawings, one is left to one's own devices here.

In this regard, I was very lucky as I received some photographs and dimensioned sketches of a very relevant lever type reverser from a UK locomotive builder who wishes to remain anonymous. John Baugley, the Secretary of the National 2.5" Gauge Association in the UK was extremely helpful also in providing a drawing of a reverser and description of same for LBSC's Asheya (where one can construct either a lever or screw type reverser).

I have used the information from both of the above sources to produce a drawing which I think combines the best aspects of both and is as well, aesthetically pleasing (at least to me it is). I don't know how well it will work in practice but we will see. The reverser quadrant plate drawing shows 5 notches in the forward position and four notches in the reverse position. As valve travel is governed by the position of the reach or reverser rod on the lever handle (or as LBSC says " the farther the screw [the reach rod attachment screw - my insert] is up the lever, away from the fulcrum bolt, naturally the more [valve] travel you will get").

So, I don't think it is all that important as to the number of notches or what their spacing is on on the quadrant plate but generally, I have followed what is shown in the LBSC sketches.
Attachments
125 Reverser Quadrant Plate Drawing.jpg
Carrdo
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Re: I Don't Know Why I Ever Got Involved...

Post by Carrdo »

The machining of the quadrant plate.

I won't go into all of the details but just some of the main points and the setup's involved.

I started with a piece of 2-1/2" HR steel angle 3/16" thick. Cut off a piece 2-1/4" long.

As HR steel angle usually comes warped, start by just rough squaring the blank all over and on thickness to just over 1/8" thick by machining one side of both angle legs. Then machine a finished reference edge or two on the blank. Layout the quadrant profile utilizing the reference edges and finally band saw away most of the surplus metal but don't destroy all of the reference edges. The blank, at this point, will look more or less like the part in photo 127 except for the top machined curve, the setup for which is seen in photo 126.

The radii on the side of the quadrant plate were fly cut, the setup for which is seen in photo 128. The scalloped side radii are there because the quadrant base is still oversize on width at this point.
Attachments
126 Rotary Milling the Top Curve on the Quadrant Plate.jpg
127 The Partially Machined Quadrant Plate.jpg
128 Fly Cutting a  Radius on the Side of the Quadrnt Plate.jpg
129 After Flycutting.jpg
Carrdo
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Re: I Don't Know Why I Ever Got Involved...

Post by Carrdo »

Starting to rotary mill the curved side plates for the quadrant plate from a piece of HR steel scrap. This is just slow careful work if you want to have good results. I am milling to a depth of just greater than 1/8" and then will bandsaw around the curved slots to remove the waste.
Attachments
131 Rotary Milling a Quadrant Plate Side Piece.jpg
132 Another Uranus Reverser.jpg
Carrdo
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Re: I Don't Know Why I Ever Got Involved...

Post by Carrdo »

More machining operations on a curved side piece.

After rotary milling down both sides, band saw away the surplus metal then on to the surface grinder for grinding away the base step to finished thickness. Nothing special, it is just slow, slow work.
Attachments
134 After Bandsawing Away Surplus Metal.jpg
135 Surface Grinding a Side Piece to Finished Thickness.jpg
136  A Side Piece After Surfacing.jpg
Carrdo
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Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2003 2:20 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: I Don't Know Why I Ever Got Involved...

Post by Carrdo »

The start of the reverser lever machining. This part almost gave me a heart attack.

First, it is long (3-1/4") and thin (1/8") for most but not all of its length. Second, it is tapered and contoured all over.

I know that long thin parts (especially CR thin pieces) can warp and contoured parts are very difficult to hold securely so here are two chances for Murphy to step in.

I should have thought about how to best approach this problem a lot more but after some thought I plunged ahead.

I started with a long piece of 1/4" square CR stock which was a bit warped to begin with. I could have used something better but it would have meant much more preliminary machining.

The handle end was turned quite easily as it only had to stick out from the collet a little over 1/2". It was turning the tapered body (3 degrees included angle) where the blank stuck out the full 3-1/4" which was fun. It took all of my turning skill but with a razor sharp cutting tool and very light cuts of just 0.001" DOC per pass nothing untoward happened. The SB lathe compound travel would not cover the full distance so the taper was cut in two stages. Just don't try it this way unless you have lots of turning experience and can guarantee that nothing will move or deflect.

Next was to cut down the sides to the finished thickness of 1/8". Again the full square of the blank can be clamped in the vise of the mill but not the tapered end. And it will move and chatter under the force of end milling so the free end was sort of supported as seen in the second photo. Again, one has to use a razor sharp end mill with a minuscule DOC (0.002") and a fine feed. The popsicle stick wanted to vibrate away when milling so I supported it with one hand while very slowly advancing the table feed with the other. Use your table stops and after taking a cut on one side flip the part over and without changing anything mill down the opposite face. I used a piece of masking tape as a locating stop for the part which was crude but effective. The shim seen in the photo was just there to know when the end mill was almost touching the vise jaws. The machinist jack just supports the free end without putting any upward force on the end. Nothing untoward happened here either.

Finally, I decided to grind the last few thou using the SG and use the setup shown in the third photo. It was here that the CR blank began to warp seriously, for no apparent reason, as I was taking extremely light passes. I did recover but did have a few heart attack moments before I decided to put a small strong magnet behind the adjustable parallel to keep the free end of the part firmly bedded on the top of the parallel.

Everything in the end looked good.
Attachments
138 Turning the Reverser Lever First Stage.jpg
140 Milling Down the Sides.jpg
141 Grinding the Sides to Finish Thickness.jpg
142 The Partly Finished Reverser Lever.jpg
143 The Partly Finished Reverser Lever.jpg
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