Disney American

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ccvstmr
Posts: 2230
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:37 am
Location: New Lenox, IL

Re: Disney American

Post by ccvstmr »

JB...."Fiddle and fit, fiddle and fit, just a job for a bozo like me!"...after seeing your workmanship and attention to detail (not to mention superb craftsmanship)...would HARDLY call you a bozo! You do fine work!

Saw the "keeper" for the bushing key on your main rods...never saw a gizmo like that. Interesting!

Your wooden cab...is fantastic in its own right. And excellent piece of cabinetry. Will only highlight the rest of the locomotive when completed. Can only hope boiler heat does not distort the appearance...but then, that would only add artistic patina. Please...continue to share progress reports. And thanx for sharing your ideas and methods. Carl B.
Life is like a sewer...what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!
I don't walk on water...I just learned where some of the stepping stones are!
I love mankind...it's some of the people I can't stand!
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JBodenmann
Posts: 3856
Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2003 1:37 pm
Location: Tehachapi, California

Re: Disney American

Post by JBodenmann »

Hello My Friends
Thank you Karl B for the compliment. Yes, that key keeper on this engine is not very common. These parts were made by Dr. Thees back in the 1960's. He did a beautiful job on them and all I did was clean and polish them. This cab will hold together as it's a bit over built. This cab will have a metal sheathed roof as did the #173. Even though this engine isn't particularly a model of the 173. Here is one change that I like to make when dealing with Stephenson's valve gear. In the top photo here you can see an eccentric strap and blade as it is usually set up on an engine, both full size and model. The blade is bolted to the side of the eccentric strap. I have never liked this set up. There is no way to precisely adjust the length, which almost always must be fiddled with to get a Stephenson engine to run well in both forward and reverse. So the second photo is how I like to do it. The strap is milled off, and the blades have a plate silver soldered to the end. Then they are just bolted together. Nice place for a shim. This is one place on an engine that I will use alloy allen head fasteners. On final assembly I will give the hasteners a shot of Loctite 271. Some stationary engines did it this way. Number Nine was done this way. The valve gear was very carefully made. But one eccentric and blade needed .007" of shims to get things right. Once set, and done up properly this should practically never change.
Jack
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Strap&Blade1.jpg
Strap&Blade10.jpg
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Comstock-Friend
Posts: 157
Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2010 9:05 am
Location: Sun Valley, California

Re: Disney American

Post by Comstock-Friend »

Jack, The blades bolt to the eccentric strap like your technique on the V&T's 'Dayton', a CP173 sibling so you are not out of line.
100_9100 small.jpg
(You can see a shim!)

John
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JBodenmann
Posts: 3856
Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2003 1:37 pm
Location: Tehachapi, California

Re: Disney American

Post by JBodenmann »

Hello My Friends
Just wanted to say hi and let you know why I haven't posted anything for a while. I have been in the process of moving, I hate moving! My goodness you never know how much stuff you have until you move. Many trips back and forth to the new place, a 3-1/2 hour drive. Also many trips to the good will store. I have a machinery mover coming for the big heavy items. I hope to be back to work sometime in October.
See you in the funny pages..
Jack
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Fender
Posts: 3084
Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 8:33 pm
Location: Chattanooga TN

Re: Disney American

Post by Fender »

I sympathize with your challenge. I had to rent three Penske trucks and a crane when I moved my shop.
Dan Watson
Chattanooga, TN
10 Wheeler Rob
Posts: 1546
Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:44 pm
Location: East Hartford, CT

Re: Disney American

Post by 10 Wheeler Rob »

Jack, hope all goes well with,the rest of your move. The thought of moving my shop, which dose not even have any really larg machined is overwhelming to me.

Rob
ccvstmr
Posts: 2230
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:37 am
Location: New Lenox, IL

Re: Disney American

Post by ccvstmr »

Well Jack, you can look at it this way...moving a household is a PITA. Moving a shop with the household is a bigger PITA!

However, there are some positives that can come from this: 1) as you're packing (or unpacking) in your new shop...you can weed out the stuff you've collected you don't want anymore. 2) you get to re-organize the tooling and supplies. Sure helps when you can find things faster when they're organized and labeled. Otherwise, you know how it goes...you remember packing things...but can't remember where you squirreled those things away. In my experience...you always find what you're looking for in the last place. Now, if could start looking for things in the last place first...you'd save yourself a lot of time! LOL.

Good luck on the move. Don't mess up your back. Hope you'll be posting loco and/or other project status soon enough. Cheez! Carl B.
Life is like a sewer...what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!
I don't walk on water...I just learned where some of the stepping stones are!
I love mankind...it's some of the people I can't stand!
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Greg_Lewis
Posts: 3014
Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2003 2:44 pm
Location: Fresno, CA

Re: Disney American

Post by Greg_Lewis »

And how about all the stuff you forgot you had? That piece of 3-inch bronze round that was in the box under the lathe. You could have used that instead of the one you just bought. And the special shape toolbit you were looking for six months ago — tore the shop apart and still didn't find it then. And, of course, all the empty cardboard boxes from McMaster that you saved to use for small parts but are now too small for packing stuff in and not worth schlepping across the state.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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JBodenmann
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Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2003 1:37 pm
Location: Tehachapi, California

Re: Disney American

Post by JBodenmann »

Tern Roof3.jpg
Tern Roof2.jpg
Tern Roof1.jpg
Hello My Friends
Well it's been a while since anything was posted on the little tea kettle so here is what has been happening. These engines had what was called a terne plate metal roof. Terne metal was soft iron sheet that was tinned and could be soldered easily. It was not available in large sheets so it had to be pieced together and folded and soldered at the seams. The roof on the model we have here is being made of .005" full soft copper. The seams are folded together and will have the joints soldered. Then it will be silvered with circuit board silver plating solution to give the appearance of tinned stock. This roof covering has been a bit of a challenge, with lots of fiddling and massaging of the copper sheet.
A delightful little puzzle….
Jack
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JBodenmann
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Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2003 1:37 pm
Location: Tehachapi, California

Re: Disney American

Post by JBodenmann »

Roof25.jpg
Hello My Friends
Here is a bit of an update on the little tea kettle. The terne metal roof is mostly done now.
No shortage of things to do!
Jack
AmerView.jpg
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JBodenmann
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Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2003 1:37 pm
Location: Tehachapi, California

Re: Disney American

Post by JBodenmann »

Glass1.jpg
Glass2.jpg
Hello My Friends
Glass3.jpg
Here is something you may find useful. All steamers need at least one water glass, so here is one that was made up for the American. One feature of most model water glasses is that the glass tube is sealed to the metal housing by having O rings mashed against the end of the glass. I don't like this set up as it can allow the glass to come into contact with the metal. This glass against metal can cause the glass to break. A savvy old friend of mine showed me how to make a teflon seal that completely encases the end of the glass tube, both inside and out. My friend was Everett Lyman, some of you may have known him. He forgot more than I know. If you look closely at the top photo you can see the white teflon washer stuffed in the round recess in the square housing. You can also see the circular slot in the teflon washer that the glass tube fits in. If you don't have a tiny boring bar, you will have to grind up a special cutter to cut the slot. The glass tube positively can not touch the brass housing. The water glass is assembled and the rods that draw the end housings together are drawn up just slightly more than finger tight. As things heat up the teflon swells a bit and it seals very nicely. This water glass also has another feature that I like, and that is the square housing that fits over the whole mess and holds the glass shields in place. This protects the glass tube from a wayward coal shovel or clinker hook. It also looks cool. So there you have it, a little water glass that you can make yourself.
See you in the funny pages...
Jack
daves1459
Posts: 279
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 7:58 pm
Location: Plainfield, Illinois

Re: Disney American

Post by daves1459 »

Jack, that's nice antique looking water glass for the Disney loco. I'm restoring a Disney 4-4-0 and am thinking of making one for it. May I ask a couple of questions? First, what type of glass are the shields made of? I've used microscope slides for head light illuminated number boards. Would that work for the water glass shields? Second what is the size of the square top end? I and proportion the rest of the water glass assembly.

Thanks Dave S.
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