Building the 2.5" Scale Shay

[Soot n' Cinders]

Oh ok, good to hear it's just splatter from the stuff coming out the stack.

Yeah, splatter is hard to keep under control with such a long exhaust run. I havent quite figured out how to warm the lines up without splatter yet so for now its just a lot of wiping with some kerosene and a rag.

[NP317]

Prototypical.
~RN

[Soot n' Cinders]

Not a whole lot to report on the shay right now, I just got it home after having it up at the railroad for almost two months for play and tweaking.
Only major tweaks were changing the valve plug and changing the boiler gaskets. The original plug that came in my globe valve throttle was a quick open type, and for obvious reasons I was not satisfied with how it was working. First trial was a straight taper plug, but it was still too much like the quick open. My second attempt was much more pleasing. Its a two taper plug shaped to mimic a equal percentage valve. This one is much easier to control and I plan to stick with it for the time being. Only thing I havent seen yet it how it behaves towards the end of the travel, but I need a lot of load to need that much throttle.

valve plug

Having the valve assembly out, I notice my Buna-N gaskets were not holding up how I would like. They were getting hard and brittle. They were swapped for expanded PTFE gasket material from McMaster-Carr. These shouldnt harden since PTFE doesnt react with much.

Other than that, enjoy some pictures of it running! It still slobbers a little after sitting, but I figure this is just because of the long copper exhaust line. Some insulation may help but I think its just going to be a fact of life with the shay.

[Soot n' Cinders]

Next step on the shay is going to be the boiler jacket, simply because it’s the last thing I need the big paint booth for and my booth is falling apart.
Not entirely sure how to go about making the jacket, but right now I’m thinking of using heavy wall stove pipe for the jacket itself and using oak lagging underneath. The stove pipe won’t be thick enough for tapping, but I can run wood or sheet metal screws into the oak to attach the detail parts on top of the boiler.
Anybody have any experience doing something like this? Or any recommendations on a better plan?

[Pontiacguy1]

I suggest that you don't use lagging... In my own experience, the slight amount of efficiency that you gain is more than offset by the corrosion you'll get because the lagging will hold water and not let it run out. If you want a contoured boiler, just weld rings around the boiler and then put the jacket on top of that. The air gap between the boiler and jacket will provide some insulating properties.
I always use mild steel, about 16 to 18 gauge to make a jacket. Don't use galvanized unless you intend to sand it all off so that the paint will stick, or you can find one-sided galvanized and use the galvanized side toward the boiler. Stove pipe works well on boilers small enough to utilize it, or if you can make good seams. I'm sure there is some sheet metal or fab shop somewhere near you that will sell you some cut off stock in the sizes you need to fabricate that jacket.
Finally, get yourself several sheets of poster board and make your first jacket out of that, using tape to hold things in place. Once you have all the cuts and holes in the proper location, you now have a template to transfer that to your steel sheets. It's really not that big of a job with just a little bit of planning. I usually actually put the jacket on before I plumb in everything so that I don't have to take all that back apart again. Good luck to you.

[NP317]

You can view a short discussion on making jacketing on my 90-ton 2-8-2 Build Log
http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/vie ... 5&t=106308
The first page.
I also used poster board to make patterns, transferring the shapes to the sheet metal.
~RN

[Pontiacguy1]

And MARK on it with a sharpie which end is which and which side is the inside and which side is the outside!!! The sharpie marks will go away real quick when you sand and prep it for paint. Make sure to mark where everything goes and which end is the front and which side is the inside so that when you roll it, you'll roll it the right direction and not inside-out.

[NP317]

Sounds like Pontiacguy1 had some "adventures"!

Yes on the sharpie marking.
I also painted the boiler-side of the jacketing with high temp paint, to decrease the possibility of corrosion.
~RN

[Glenn Brooks]

When I restored my Ottaway, I found my lagging had 1/8” tabs riveted to the ends. These tabs allow short bits of all thread to snug the lagging tight around the boiler, at the underneath part.

Also, I took my cab and lagging to a powder coating place and had them done up in powder coating. Very happy with the result, going into the second season. Vinyl lettering adheres quite nicely to powder coat.

Glenn

[Soot n' Cinders]

I suggest that you don't use lagging... In my own experience, the slight amount of efficiency that you gain is more than offset by the corrosion you'll get because the lagging will hold water and not let it run out. If you want a contoured boiler, just weld rings around the boiler and then put the jacket on top of that. The air gap between the boiler and jacket will provide some insulating properties.
I always use mild steel, about 16 to 18 gauge to make a jacket. Don't use galvanized unless you intend to sand it all off so that the paint will stick, or you can find one-sided galvanized and use the galvanized side toward the boiler. Stove pipe works well on boilers small enough to utilize it, or if you can make good seams. I'm sure there is some sheet metal or fab shop somewhere near you that will sell you some cut off stock in the sizes you need to fabricate that jacket.
Finally, get yourself several sheets of poster board and make your first jacket out of that, using tape to hold things in place. Once you have all the cuts and holes in the proper location, you now have a template to transfer that to your steel sheets. It's really not that big of a job with just a little bit of planning. I usually actually put the jacket on before I plumb in everything so that I don't have to take all that back apart again. Good luck to you.

Thats why I was going to use wood lagging. It would support the jacket material without holding much moisture. Oak wont trap near as much water as something like rock wool or fiberglass.

You can view a short discussion on making jacketing on my 90-ton 2-8-2 Build Log
http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/vie ... 5&t=106308
The first page.
I also used poster board to make patterns, transferring the shapes to the sheet metal.
~RN

Thanks Russ! This should be helpful!

[NP317]

I lagged the boiler of my Allen Ten Wheeler with 1/4" thick cork sheet!
It provides good support for the stove pipe jacketing and absorbs very little moisture.
It even provides some heat insulation.
Still good after 15 years of steaming.
~RN

[Soot n' Cinders]

I lagged the boiler of my Allen Ten Wheeler with 1/4" thick cork sheet!
It provides good support for the stove pipe jacketing and absorbs very little moisture.
It even provides some heat insulation.
Still good after 15 years of steaming.
~RN

Good idea! I hadnt thought of cork. How did you fasten down jewelry like the bell?