- Joined
- Jan 24, 2015
- Messages
- 239
Last weekend I made the piston, piston rod, steam cylinder, valve plate and steam cylinder top. My wife was busy with gigs...
First up is the piston. Because I oversized the bore, the piston was oversized. And because the cylinder part is tiny, I could use that as my gauge. So a bit of aluminum rod was turned to a "piston" fit. Then I put in some oil grooves, using a very cute little HSS groover. Not shown is parting off the piston with a bit of extra material and then swapping end to end and turning to the correct length. I did this all in a 3-jaw chuck, as the parallelism of the the top and bottom surfaces is not super critical.
The piston turned to final diameter and grooved. You can just see
my grooving tool in the bottom of the photo.
I then made the piston rod by thread some 3/32" brass rod of appropriate length.
Next up was the steam chest. This began life as a 3/8" x 1" x 1-1/2" bit of aluminum (it's what I had). I machined it close to 1/4" x 5/8" x 1-1/4" per the plans. I left some extra on the sides for later. I then layed out the main features.
The stock was then centered in my Sherline 4-jaw chuck and valve rod end was drilled and then turned. The first operation was carefully drilling through the stock with a 1/16" drill to where the end of the blind "alignment" hole will be. I then drilled for the valve rod clearance and the stuffing box threads. This operation is not shown. I keep forgetting to pick up the camera.
I then reversed the piece in the chuck and turned the blind end. I then used a file to shape the blind end end. Or I ended the end with a file to make it end.
The part was then transferred to the mill. I found the center, and then milled out the opening. I Initially used plunge milling along the edges, leaving 30 thou for final milling. The end mill was a 1/8" double flute.
I then drilled the clearance holes for the mounting screws.
I then made the steam chest top and valve plate. Again, I did not take any photos in progress. For the parts I started with two bits of 1/16" brass sheet stock cut close to the right size. I then glued them together and machined the sides square to slightly over the final X/Y dimension. Then I drilled the clearance holes for mounting. The plates were then separated. I then surface plate sanded the valve plate (the one with all the steam holes) as flat-ish as I could. Then the steam holes were drilled and the valve plate sanded flat-ish again.
I then assembled the cylinder, valve plate, steam chest and steam chest cover.
Once all was put together, I put the assembly back in the mill to shave the sides so all was was square and my oops were removed (hence my oversizing before). I also took a file to the ends of the steam chest assembly to make them square with the cylinder.
That pretty much catches things up to where I am now. The next bit, I think, will be a major change from the plans. And some pillow blocks. At least, I think that is what they are called.
Thanks for checking in.
T
First up is the piston. Because I oversized the bore, the piston was oversized. And because the cylinder part is tiny, I could use that as my gauge. So a bit of aluminum rod was turned to a "piston" fit. Then I put in some oil grooves, using a very cute little HSS groover. Not shown is parting off the piston with a bit of extra material and then swapping end to end and turning to the correct length. I did this all in a 3-jaw chuck, as the parallelism of the the top and bottom surfaces is not super critical.
The piston turned to final diameter and grooved. You can just see
my grooving tool in the bottom of the photo.
I then made the piston rod by thread some 3/32" brass rod of appropriate length.
Next up was the steam chest. This began life as a 3/8" x 1" x 1-1/2" bit of aluminum (it's what I had). I machined it close to 1/4" x 5/8" x 1-1/4" per the plans. I left some extra on the sides for later. I then layed out the main features.
The stock was then centered in my Sherline 4-jaw chuck and valve rod end was drilled and then turned. The first operation was carefully drilling through the stock with a 1/16" drill to where the end of the blind "alignment" hole will be. I then drilled for the valve rod clearance and the stuffing box threads. This operation is not shown. I keep forgetting to pick up the camera.
I then reversed the piece in the chuck and turned the blind end. I then used a file to shape the blind end end. Or I ended the end with a file to make it end.
The part was then transferred to the mill. I found the center, and then milled out the opening. I Initially used plunge milling along the edges, leaving 30 thou for final milling. The end mill was a 1/8" double flute.
I then drilled the clearance holes for the mounting screws.
I then made the steam chest top and valve plate. Again, I did not take any photos in progress. For the parts I started with two bits of 1/16" brass sheet stock cut close to the right size. I then glued them together and machined the sides square to slightly over the final X/Y dimension. Then I drilled the clearance holes for mounting. The plates were then separated. I then surface plate sanded the valve plate (the one with all the steam holes) as flat-ish as I could. Then the steam holes were drilled and the valve plate sanded flat-ish again.
I then assembled the cylinder, valve plate, steam chest and steam chest cover.
Once all was put together, I put the assembly back in the mill to shave the sides so all was was square and my oops were removed (hence my oversizing before). I also took a file to the ends of the steam chest assembly to make them square with the cylinder.
That pretty much catches things up to where I am now. The next bit, I think, will be a major change from the plans. And some pillow blocks. At least, I think that is what they are called.
Thanks for checking in.
T