USATC S-160 Consolidation

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Dick_Morris
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Re: USATC S-160 Consolidation

Post by Dick_Morris »

First operation was on the lathe to machine the periphery and a spigot on the back that fit into the cylinder bore. The front heads were then turned over and the front was faced off. (I actually cast and machined three rear cylinder heads. I didn't use the one shown that has the sand inclusions.)
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IMG_20180116_221506 reduced.jpg
IMG_20180119_233859 reduced.jpg
IMG_20180120_100942 reduced.jpg
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Dick_Morris
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Re: USATC S-160 Consolidation

Post by Dick_Morris »

Then to the mill. The front heads were relatively easy. The center was indicated on the mill and the DRO was used to drill the hole pattern of 20 holes for the cylinder studs and four more drilled and tapped for the front cover.

The rear head was more difficult. The center was indicated, all surfaces were milled using the DRO for making the cuts, and using the DRO to drill another 20 holes were made for the cylinder studs and four more for the packing.
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IMG_20180121_165747 reduced.jpg
IMG_20180121_192907 reduced.jpg
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Dick_Morris
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Re: USATC S-160 Consolidation

Post by Dick_Morris »

The final product.
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2018-01-28 19.15.49 reduced.jpg
Pontiacguy1
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Re: USATC S-160 Consolidation

Post by Pontiacguy1 »

Impressive work. Very nice looking.
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NP317
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Re: USATC S-160 Consolidation

Post by NP317 »

Good to see your progress on your Consolidation.
You've obviously been busy on the Prototype!
~RN
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RussellCofIdaho
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Re: USATC S-160 Consolidation

Post by RussellCofIdaho »

Great stuff Dick! Someday I want to build an 0-4-0 in 18" gauge (approximately 1/2 scale) and the big dream is a couple of Sumpter Valley Ry 2-6-6-2s!
Russell Courtenay
Idaho - USA
unknownidaho.wordpress.com
Big trains and big dreams...
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Dick_Morris
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Re: USATC S-160 Consolidation

Post by Dick_Morris »

The front truck about 90% done. I've been creationg pieces for about a year, on and off. With the exception of simplified axle boxes, it follows the prototype drawings pretty closely. Waiting for more nuts and bolts and to machine the axles and wheels to finish it off.
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Last edited by Dick_Morris on Sat Feb 17, 2018 3:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Dick_Morris
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Re: USATC S-160 Consolidation

Post by Dick_Morris »

Another angle.
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Dick_Morris
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Re: USATC S-160 Consolidation

Post by Dick_Morris »

The truck is finished. Now I can finally move on to something else.

It's about 95% true to the prototype drawings. The bearings and journals are the only major deviation.
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NP317
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Re: USATC S-160 Consolidation

Post by NP317 »

Yea! I remember how I felt upon finishing te lead truck for my Mikado.
Good progress!
~RN
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Re: USATC S-160 Consolidation

Post by Asteamhead »

Dick,
nice construction, looking fine!

Asteamhead
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Dick_Morris
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Re: USATC S-160 Consolidation

Post by Dick_Morris »

A new casting technique (at least i don't remember it being mentioned here previously) -

Earlier in this thread I posted photos of a crosshead casting that I made using a wooden pattern and cores. I set aside that part of the project as well as patterns for the valve gear bracket because I wasn't satisfied with the results. I was hoping for more detail and thinner sections. I started on the valve gear bracket, but it was going to require two patterns - one for each side. Making a pair of small and fairly complex patterns with cores for only two one-off parts seemed like an effort in futility, but with many curved surfaces it would be hard to make a fabrication look like a casting.

For the last few months I've been watching Youtube videos by "Veg Oil Guy" in the U.K., who has done a lot of work using 3D printed parts and using them for "lost PLA" castings, a variation on lost wax casting. He normally casts things like coins and war gaming models, but his successes and the detail and accuracy he was getting suggested to me that this might be worth trying for locomotive parts. Among the advantages, once a digital 3D model is created, it takes only a few minutes to duplicate it as a mirror image.

I also noticed that there were now 3D printers available that were cheaper than the first dot matrix printer that I bought 35 years ago, didn't require a lot of assembly and tuning, and that could create parts with a fairly nice surface finish out of the box.

Finally, I found a couple of versions of 3D modeling software that were free. I chose Freecad, a very powerful and capable program. (Did I mention it was free?)

I had most of the needed lost wax casting equipment that a friend sold me when he left Alaska 30+ years ago, but I hadn't ever used most of it. It's outdated, so I've spent the last couple of weeks upgrading the burn out oven and melter with modern digital controls.

I decided to use what I had learned from VOG's videos and take the plunge.

For the last six weeks I've been teaching myself 3D modeling. Although I have been an occasional user of 2D CAD, this was a whole new world.

The first major part I modeled and then printed out was the crosshead as shown in the images below. It is scaled from the original blue print for the prototype and follows it pretty closely.

I sent a note to VOG about a week ago, thanking him for his videos and telling him what my plans were. He said he would like to give a try at casting a locomotive part. Since this would save a lot of the learning curve on my part for turning the 3D printed PLA model into a casting, I couldn't send the file for the crosshead quickly enough. (Actually half of a crosshead, I hadn't yet mirrored and added the second side)

With that introduction, below is a drawing of the 3D model of my Laird crosshead in 1/8 scale and my 3D PLA pattern. VOG's video on turning the digital file into a casting was posted this morning on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUt8wsggf0s&t=348s. Take a look at this and his other lost PLA work to see the process.

In his video, VOG was critical of the minor flaws in his casting, but to my eyes, for a locomotive, it was near perfect.

Now that he has validated that it can be done, I should be turning my red PLA patterns into bronze within the next few weeks.
Attachments
crosshead drawing reduced.jpg
crosshead photo reduced.jpg
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