"Billet" Cast Iron Cylinders - Not a casting

[Loco112]

Dura-Bar is available in sizes up to 26" diameter. That might seem way too large for most, but when designing the smoke box saddle and cylinder to fit into round stock, the diameter of the round stock needed gets really large really fast.

That 26" dia. might be too small for the larger of the NG locomotives in 2.5" and 3.75" scales, but should fit the small to medium sized locos in all scales.

[hwboivin3]

Jared,


Your design and methods are identical to how I am going to make my BR52 cylinders. Quicker and cheaper on my Boss 5 instead of
dealing with patterns, cores and a foundry.


I'm still on the fence on whether to make out of steel and use bronze liners or Cast Iron.




Harry

[Dick_Morris]

See http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/vie ... t=cylinder for a similar thread. Included is a photo of a fabricated cylinder block I am working on.

[David_T]

Live Steam Magazine from Sept 1977 has a article by William S. Van Brocklin Jr. about fabricating cylinders. Good reference. Also was a story about a Niagara, where the gentleman built everything from blocks of aluminum. It had a good set of pictures on his cylinder fabrication. I do not remember the dates for that issue.

[Benjamin Maggi]

Also was a story about a Niagara, where the gentleman built everything from blocks of aluminum. It had a good set of pictures on his cylinder fabrication. I do not remember the dates for that issue.

Live Steam - July/August 2003. I just read the back issue again yesterday. It was Fred Bouffard's engine.

[hwboivin3]

Ok, hopefully this an acceptable place to but......


What is the downside to drilling the passages?

I can understand that it is restrictive but what is sacrificed by being restrictive?

How restrictive is it?

Does it make an enormous difference?

Is it possible then to make the passages to big?

I've seen a couple railroad supply engines and they run just fine.

How would they run if the passages were ported?

My engines has a fabricated copper cylinder and the ports were formed.


Please help me understand this.


You may have to dumb it down a little for me.


Thanks


H

[david griner]

Hello,
These are the fabricated cylinders for my engine. Getting a set of cylinders for what was needed was much easier and quicker than patterns and castings. Cast iron sleeves in the valve bores, none in the cylinders. So far they have given good service.
Dave Griner

[Mike Walsh]

Hi guys

I am looking at machining some cylinders for a friend of mine. Wondering if Dura Bar is the best bet. We got a quote for (1) 6x6x12 pc @ $275, or a piece of 6.5" round x 12" @ $214. The 6.5" round should accommodate the work piece.

Any suggestions on cheaper sources?

Thanks,
Mike

[kenrinc]

The pricing isn't bad especially if you can source it locally. SpeedyMetals has it for lower but that assumes you'll pick it up in Milwaukee.

$175 for 6.5" dia 12" long bar
$205 for 6.25" sq 12" long bar

DuraBar slide valve cylinders are a "no brainer". But John Hudak's Kozo K27 piston valve cylinders were done just like the OP was thinking; from one solid block of DuraBar. Excellent work on this: http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/vie ... 44#p320667

1/4" steel plate and DOM steel tubing can be welded together to form a cylinder assembly. Steam supply and exhaust is plumbed with standard copper fittings and pipe which make for similar, smooth flowing passages. Most often attributed to Ed Yungling, you can see a block done this way in his son Don Yungling's SP GS1. The thread is here: http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/vie ... 7&start=12 They can be made to look and weigh the same as a cast block. There is obviously a lot of welding involved. I mentioned before that the late Bob Reedy used this technique to build the cylinders for his E6 Atlantic that was in the May/June 09 issue of LS.

Interestingly, Kozo does the same in his description of the K-27 piston valve cylinders although he used brass and silver soldered everything together. It is exactly the same concept. Jan Eric Nystrom also did the same for many of his engines.

$.02

Ken-

[Kimball McGinley]

One thing to keep in mind is that massive cylinders have a lot of thermal mass - they will take longer to warm up than a mostly hollow set, like a welded one. They might need more use of the cylinder cocks and be less forgiving if not used?

This becomes more important, I think, in the larger scales and larger cylinders, neither of which applies to Kozo or Nydstrom.