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Making a model steam engine and boiler from scratch

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c_dug
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PostPosted: 14:12 - 05 Feb 2015    Post subject: Making a model steam engine and boiler from scratch Reply with quote

G'day all,

As a little bit of background info, I started working as a maintenance engineer in the Science Museum about 2 years ago and as part of that have been training up on all of the machines in our workshop. I'm nowhere near the level of some certain other well known engineers in our midst, but I'm not dreadful.

I've been wanting to make something for my dad for his Birthday (Dad if youre reading this, stop reading here! (he does browse the forums on occasion)) for a while but I've never had any decent enough ideas. I have until October to get something sorted so I have a little while on my hands. If I miss the deadline it can potentially become a Christmas present instead.

For a while I was set on making a Turners Cube as shown below, but it's probably a tad difficult for somebody of my skill level to make on a manual machine (No CNC here) and also not as enjoyable an end product IMO.

https://cdn.instructables.com/FW2/TU9I/GZLW99DA/FW2TU9IGZLW99DA.LARGE.jpg

So, eventually I stumbled upon this website, which gave detailed plans for a simple little compressed air or steam powered engine. Bingo.

https://www.steves-workshop.co.uk/steammodels/simpleoscil/simpleimage.jpg

I haven't the slightest clue about steam engines, but it looks quite cool, it'll make a nifty little present, and it does a little more than the cube within a cube within a cube.

I printed all of the plans off then had a look through the galleries and stumbled upon this gem:

https://www.steves-workshop.co.uk/steammodels/simpleoscil/others/rowans.jpg

I thought to myself, that is what I want to make!

So I interrogated the old engineering blokes at work, who have dabbled in this sort of thing before, and they've agreed to help me with the boiler part and now I have a project on my hands! I don't want to copy the above exactly but I want to end up with something a bit similar.

I've made a start on some bits and pieces already but I hadn't really committed to a thread at that point so wasn't documenting it. When I can organise them a little better I'll post the first few steps. I doubt this well be a super speedy project but I should be able to do enough to make a post every couple of weeks or so. I'll try and do my first update this evening.

I've never had cause to turn anything other than Steel, Aluminium, Titanium or Plastic before, but already in the last week I've added Brass, Copper, Bronze and Wood to that list!

Enjoy!
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Skudd
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PostPosted: 16:46 - 05 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

I used to love my little Mammod steam engines. Anything hand built even if it doesn't hold the steam and needs to be cranked by hand to show how it would have worked is a great idea and will usually get pride of place on the mantle place. Thumbs Up
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c_dug
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PostPosted: 19:00 - 05 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've got a bunch of pictures of the bits I did today uploading but they're taking a while. I figured I'll pop what I've done so far up in the mean time. I haven't really got any work in progress pictures as I wasn't planning on doing a thread.

I started with the cylinder:

https://www.steves-workshop.co.uk/drawingsandbooks/drawings/mk1/cylinder_large.jpg

Annoyingly I didn't pay proper attention the first time around and drilled the cylinder cap holes 60° out of alignment. DOH! I basically drilled right through the path of the inlet port. The second attempt and current "good" one is on the right with the grub screws in the threads.

https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0768_zpsijw7vswv.jpg

https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0767_zps9t1bztib.jpg

The finished article below. I'm not actually 100% happy with it, I should have drilled a decent pilot hole and stepped up the sizes, but I got cocky and went straight in with an 11.8, which predictably snatched, I'm not sure the reamer removed all of the marks from my cock up. It's quite an interesting part to make so if I redo it I'll be sure to get lots of pictures.

https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0769_zpsjp58plhx.jpg

Lastly this is the pipe that will be the basis for the boiler. It's a piece of 3 inch copper plumbing pipe:

https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0770_zps0yyotdgp.jpg

As you can see it dwarfs the cylinder. I'll knock together some plans at some point but essentially I'm going to solder a cap on the top and bottom with a 3/4 or inch diameter pipe up the middle as the flue, probably with some cross pipes to aid heating the water. It'll probably be fired by a meths burner. I'll add a pressure release from a mamod to be on the safe side, but I've not decided about other ancillaries (whistle, pressure gauge, sight glass).

The pictures from today's workings have uploaded so I'll try and knock together another post at some point this evening with some actual machining work going on.
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Last edited by c_dug on 11:02 - 06 Feb 2015; edited 1 time in total
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c_dug
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PostPosted: 22:02 - 05 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

So, first decent bit of machining to show.

https://www.steves-workshop.co.uk/drawingsandbooks/drawings/mk1/bearing_large.jpg

Nice bit of bronze.
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0740_zpsimz8mlk3.jpg

Sharpen the tool up a tad:
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0734_zpsa80l6uvs.jpg

Faced off:
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0743_zps6b1s79og.jpg

Turned down to diameter:
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0720_zpsbrvmjduz.jpg
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0722_zpsbrsnkaos.jpg

Centre drilled, drilled and reamed:
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0721_zpstryldzpf.jpg
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0723_zpsaihawgjz.jpg
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0724_zpsygzvaiyb.jpg

Turned down the first side of the bearing:
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0735_zpsgfcsmnqb.jpg
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0737_zpsh8ufsyex.jpg

Parted off:
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0739_zpszy7jklsu.jpg

Flipped it around the other way:
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0745_zpsc6ojpryy.jpg

Faced the other side:
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0746_zpsl4ex2ppe.jpg

Turned down the back half:
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0756_zpsdqhiosw8.jpg
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0765_zpsxossvbzj.jpg

So, just the holes to do tomorrow and it's good to go.
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Just_James
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PostPosted: 22:34 - 05 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very cool Thumbs Up

Would love to be able to do stuff like this!
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c_dug
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PostPosted: 11:24 - 06 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

To be honest this sort of thing isn't that difficult if you have the equipment, just most people don't have access to a lathe. The difficulty is more in the knowledge of the materials rather than the machining process itself, or at least that has been my experience so far.

I've never done any sort of silver soldering or welding so for me the biggest challenge will be the boiler by a long way. Plenty of practice required before then.

Plan is to get the engine looking good and working on compressed air before making a start on the boiler.
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nowhere.elysium
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PostPosted: 12:01 - 06 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

c_dug wrote:
I've never done any sort of silver soldering or welding so for me the biggest challenge will be the boiler by a long way. Plenty of practice required before then.
Silver soldering really is very easy. Were you intending to use hard solder or paste?
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c_dug
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PostPosted: 15:52 - 06 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm at the level where you may as well have just spoken Japanese, hard solder or paste means nothing to me. I'll be getting the engineers to give me a decent bit of schooling before doing the boiler.

Any recommendations/tips are more than welcome on anything in this project. Lots of it is a learning experience for me, even the machining side which I'm fairly au fait with I'm still learning lots.
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CHR15
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PostPosted: 09:35 - 07 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Make sure you lubricate the piston and cylinder face well or consider a Teflon piston ring and oil grooves in the cylinder face if your compressed air supply is "dry"

I seized my first oscillating engine whilst seeing how fast it would rev.
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nowhere.elysium
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PostPosted: 10:24 - 07 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

c_dug wrote:
hard solder or paste means nothing to me.
Well, one of them is a hard strip of solder, and the other is solder in paste form. I try to avoid overly complex terminology if I can, as a rule Laughing
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c_dug
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PostPosted: 11:16 - 07 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Clears it up perfectly, thanks Thumbs Up Razz I meant more the end result (whether one is stronger than the other) but I'll think about the boiler in a month or two anyway, plenty to do before that stage.

Chris, I doubt the boiler will put out much more than a few PSI, I presume you had your engine properly whizzing around to get it to seize? I have plenty of PTFE around so putting a piston ring on it isn't beyond the realms of possibility if it's needed. Not sure what you mean by oil grooves though?
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mudcow007
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PostPosted: 12:58 - 09 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

this my friend is whoresome work...

keep it up Thumbs Up

ive got access to lathes an stuff, but never really knew what i could use em for
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Northern Monkey
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PostPosted: 13:59 - 09 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can silver solder, and I'm a mechanical muppet. It's just expensive stuff to practice with
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trisers
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PostPosted: 00:32 - 10 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

+1 for silver solder...if you run live steam and let the boiler go dry then soft solder will melt Wink
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mudcow007
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PostPosted: 09:47 - 10 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

i might be able to get you a couple of sticks of silver solder from my place if you wanna practise with it?

seen the guys using it here, bit of flux then loads of heat an done
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c_dug
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PostPosted: 09:52 - 10 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the offer but I should be able to order some on the department budget given I'm learning a skill I'll be using at work in the future. Thumbs Up

The holes are taking a while, one of the engineers said he can show me a better way of positioning the holes using a three jaw chuck and the digital readout on the vertical mill. Waiting for a spare half hour when he can show me.
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c_dug
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PostPosted: 17:22 - 10 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

After a bit of a light hearted ribbing from the Engineers regarding my failure to read simple instructions I've eventually sussed how to work the jig boring coordinates as seen on the left of the below picture. Quite proud of myself for making it work, I know it's simple enough but my maths is properly rubbish at times.

https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0781_zpsbob5jjeg.jpg

Such a simple thing when you know how! With that little bit of knowledge I now understand how it would work on the mill too so I just need to find the time to do the work. I'm working next weekend so hopefully I'll finish the bearing and start a new component then too.

The washer in the picture is "Plan B", it wont be necessary if I go on to do the drilling on the mill. That said I may mark out and drill the washer anyway, as marking out in that way isn't something I have a huge amount of experience of so will be a useful thing to practice. I'll make sure to take some pictures if I do.
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CHR15
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PostPosted: 19:16 - 10 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's a lot easier to just stick a rotary table on the mill, clock off the centre, wind out to your pcd on x and wizz it round 120 degrees lol
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c_dug
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PostPosted: 19:23 - 10 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

We actually have a rotary table set up semi-permanently on one of the mills, guess I'm showing my n00bness!
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CHR15
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PostPosted: 19:42 - 10 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not at all, one of the things I've found with machining is that there's a dozen right ways you can do 1 job, the skill is in knowing which is the best for that application.
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Fisty
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PostPosted: 14:58 - 12 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Every red blooded male who enjoys steak and beer should know how to use these machines as part of his DNA.
For learning off your own back I commend you sir, there are very few folk who would be interested in learning. Keep it up.
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salty21
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PostPosted: 13:00 - 14 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

been quite a while since i posted on bcf but started lurking recently and thought this deserved some praise. Hats off to you for jumping in and having a go Thumbs Up

getting in over your head is definately the right way to learn in my book Laughing
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c_dug
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PostPosted: 21:04 - 14 Feb 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the compliments Thumbs Up

Been a manic few days at work what with half term and all that so not made much progress, maybe tomorrow will be a bit less stressful and I can get a little more done!
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c_dug
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PostPosted: 18:18 - 14 Mar 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Evil or Very Mad Eventually had a couple of hours free time to crack on with this and the first thing I did in a moment of absentmindedness was use the copper end of the mallet instead of the raw hide end and put a whopping great dink right in the middle of my freshly machined piece of brass for the main frame.

Evil or Very Mad Evil or Very Mad Evil or Very Mad Evil or Very Mad Evil or Very Mad

Swiftly followed by twisting my knee so that puts and end to play for today!

Anyway, just posting to say this hasn't been forgotten about this is what I had done:

Big brass plate, weighed a ton!

https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0833_zpsymguwxls.jpg

I hacksawed a piece out, which I failed to photo, but not much to see other than a hot and sweaty c_dug.

Did manage to do this though:
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0866_zps0gp4hk2v.jpg

Anyway, a few wizzes later:
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0864_zpsevylebv0.jpg

I had something pretty much bang on size:
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0857_zpsbvd09jwn.jpg
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0859_zpsmm8eoadu.jpg

This was the worse side, needed a little polishing to remove machining marks, the other side came out very nicely:
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0868_zpsw0bgkf1t.jpg

But then today:
https://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/paddy2007dug/DSC_0936_zpser86nqrs.jpg

Sad

I was already slightly under diameter so not option to machine a layer off.

Guess I'll start again tomorrow!

You can see how nice the finish was in that picture too, typically I'd go and dent the good side. I know it's only a small blemish but I'd rather get it nice, and I reckon I can do a bit better on the sizes too.
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