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| Posted: Sat Oct 3rd, 2020 10:36 pm |
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1st Post |
Reg H
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| Location: | Shelton, USA |
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Kozo Hiraoka is a household name in the world of live steam.
He has published a series of books detailing the construction of live steam locomotives.
I have started the New Shay (as opposed to his first Shay project) in 3/4" scale.
It promises to be a challenging project.
The theme for today is "do not despise the day of humble beginnings".
Today I got the frame side rails machined to length.
A small step, but a step nonetheless.
Here is the process:
It was a challenge getting the rails properly clamped.
They are just over 28" (730mm) long.
Here is the book cover:
The genesis of this project was the idea of completing a Kemtron Shay project in 1/4" scale,
that I had started some 40 years ago.
But I don't have the gears and couldn't find anyone who had any for sale.
So a pretty good-sized project turned into a huge one.
Hopefully I can get it completed in what's left of my life time.
Reg
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Reg
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| Posted: Sat Dec 12th, 2020 11:12 pm |
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2nd Post |
Reg H
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Those who wander through the other Freerails Forums know me (Reg) as being scale-flexible,
having posts in the 'On30' and 'HO/OO' Sub-Forums.
Some may know that I have wandered into the world of machine work.
Though it may seem I have completely lost my mind,
I recently began work on the Kozo Hiraoka live steam, 3/4" scale 'New Shay'.
Work on the HO layout has not ceased.
Both projects will move along on parallel paths. I detest boredom.
So far I have almost completed the frame rails. They are a bit difficult to photograph.
But there will be other photos as progress happens.
Strangely enough, the project started with some research in completing a Kemtron 1/4" scale Shay.
It is a project I started some 40 years ago and got laid aside for a variety of reasons.
I was getting bored learning machine work on vertical steam engines,
typical of those used in factories and mills in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
I learned a lot, but they just were not railroad related.
I do not have all the Kemtron pieces for the Shay. Notably, the gears.
Yes, it is possible to machine gears. That is well above my pay grade.
In my search for suitable gears (hard to find and expensive),
I came across the Kozo Hiraoka series of books.
I got hooked.
The "test" factor was the ability to acquire the gears.
Once I had those in my hands, the final decision was made.
So we are off and running.
Reg
I will be presenting progress here in 'Large Scale' as time allows.
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Reg
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| Posted: Sun Dec 13th, 2020 12:50 am |
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3rd Post |
| Posted: Sun Dec 13th, 2020 04:23 am |
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4th Post |
Reg H
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I found a dandy little tool that serves multiple purposes.
It is a 'Laser Center Finder', though it is useful for other tasks than just center finding.
But it does get out of calibration from time to time. Mine did that this afternoon.
I had done a very cursory reading of the calibration instructions,
and thought I had the process figured out.
NOT!
I spent most of the afternoon,
attempting to get the little blighter back into calibration with no success.
So, I went back read the instructions CAREFULLY.
Following that I finally understood the calibration process.
It is not particularly intuitive, but it is not very difficult either.
Following the proper procedure,
I had the center finder back in calibration in less than 10 minutes.
No matter how clever I think I am, I should always carefully read the instructions.
Here is the center finder with the calibration target in the vertical mill's vice.
There are four calibration screws, visible as black dots on the barrel.
One would think that you could adjust the calibration,
by centering the laser dot at the intersection of the cross. Not exactly.
First, you know the device is out of calibration, when you turn the spindle by hand,
and the dot travels in a circle instead of staying put on the marked center.
The process is to put the dot in the center of the circle,
described by the dot when the spindle is rotated.
Then you adjust the calibration screws based on the direction the dot moves.
Not difficult, but one can be driven crazy trying to do it the way I thought it should be.
In use, I have the center finder in one collet, the center-drill in another collet,
and the appropriate drill bit in the Jacobs chuck. I can swap the tools out quite quickly.
First, use the center finder to get everything lined up (+/- 0.01mm).
Spot drill with the center-drill, and then drill the hole.
If it needs to be tapped I use the center-drill as a guide for the tap.
It used to take me 10-15 minutes to line up a hole using the point on the center-drill,
or a traditional "kick out" center finder
With the aid of the 'Laser Center Finder',
I can have the hole drilled in under 5 minutes and be within the +/- 0.01mm.
Reg
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Reg
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| Posted: Tue Dec 15th, 2020 05:53 pm |
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5th Post |
Lee B
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The inch scale thing always drove me nuts.
I prefer a ratio and a inch size per foot calls for math... ICK.
I think this would be 1/16 scale, am I right?
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-Lee
Commanding Officer, 796th Railway Operating Battalion (in On30 gauge), operating on the Stoney Creek branch of the ET&WNC RR
Photos of my layout: https://www.flickr.com/photos/53587910@N05/albums/72157668176638961
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| Posted: Tue Dec 15th, 2020 07:27 pm |
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6th Post |
Reg H
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Yes, one sixteenth scale.
Or... 3/4" = 1 foot.
What takes some getting used to is that the plans are in metric.
So... I suppose, 19.05mm = 1 foot.
Another aspect I have to work to get my head around...
The scaling on the plans indicates a precision (or accuracy) of +/- 0.01mm
For one used to working in imperial measurements, that does not seem to be very precise.
Until converted to imperial... +/- 0.0004" !!!!
Reg
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Reg
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| Posted: Tue Dec 15th, 2020 09:27 pm |
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7th Post |
| Posted: Tue Dec 15th, 2020 10:08 pm |
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8th Post |
Si.
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" The inch scale thing always drove me nuts "
I've noticed that 1/4" & 1/2" fractions don't generally flummox folk ...
... BUT chuck in an oDd number, like a 3 or 7 and ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE !
- - - - - - -
" I prefer a ratio and a inch size per foot calls for math "
When I was at school (about 37 years ago) a ratio was always expressed ...
... with a : 'colon' between two numbers (sometimes decimals !) ie. 1:13.714286 ...
... or just 1:13.7 if Kozo isn't teaching class !
Or 7/8" if you're a model railroader !!
- - - - - - -
" I think this would be 1/16 scale, am I right ? "
What ? ... You mean 1.5875 mm per foot ? ...
... making the 37' end to end Shay 58.73 mm or 2 1/3" long.
Good luck with Zn3 live steam Reg !
Si.
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' Mysterious Moose Mountain ' - 1:35n2 - pt.II
http://www.freerails.com/view_topic.php?id=7318&forum_id=17&page=1
' M:R:W Motor Speedway !!! ' - 1:32 Slotcar Racing Layout
http://www.slotforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=59295&st=0&a
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| Posted: Wed Dec 16th, 2020 07:32 pm |
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9th Post |
Reg H
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Though it is slow, progress is being made.
The frame rails are all but complete.
As I was going through the QC stage I noted that one of the MANY holes was out of line.
I plugged the offending hole last night (12/15) and, after letting the Loctite set overnight,
will clip and file off the excess and drill and tap a hole in the proper location this evening.
Speaking of tapping,
here is a trick I have employed to make sure the taps start, and stay, straight.
I simply use a small center drill/countersink to hold the tap vertical.
The actual tapping is done by hand.
I advance the spindle after about three rotations of the tap handle,
in order to keep the center drill in contact with the top of the tap.
That approach also allows me to monitor the depth of the tap,
as long as I remember to zero the Digital Readout (DRO) before I start.
The next step is to fabricate the frame rail end brackets.
Reg
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Reg
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| Posted: Mon Dec 28th, 2020 11:11 pm |
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10th Post |
Reg H
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Progress inches forward.
The frame rails are complete,
except for some holes that are aligned using other parts... that are not fabricated yet.
But some are.
Here is the first frame rail end bracket.
And the full complement...
The next step for these, is to fabricate the drilling jig for the mounting holes.
Machine work is very different from scratchbuilding in wood and styrene I have done in recent decades.
Setting up operations and fabricating jigs and holders, often takes more time than the actual operation.
It does not require a great deal of dexterity to clamp a part in the milling vise and then set it up,
using the calibrations on the mill and the digital readout (DRO) to get it all aligned +/- 0.01mm.
That is 0.0004 inches!!
In some ways, that is a good thing.
At 72 I do not have the manual dexterity I once had.
That is not really a factor, even for very small parts, when in the machine shop.
Because of the close tolerances and the forces involved,
parts must be held very firmly during the machining operation.
I suppose the same approach could be applied to other scratch/kit building projects.
I will have to give that some thought.
In this case, fabricating multiple, essentially identical parts, the set up is done for one operation,
and all the parts go through that operation before moving on to the next operation.
In this case step one, was to mill four blanks 24x24x10mm
Step two, was to mill out the shape you see in the photos.
Step three, will be to drill the holes by which the brackets fasten to the end sill.
The jig to drill those holes in the brackets will also be used to drill holes in the end sill.
The holes to attach the brackets to the frame rails, and matching holes in the frame rails,
will be drilled at the same time in one operation using the brackets as a jig.
I will post pictures.
Reg
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Reg
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VERY IMPRESSED INDEED !!
