A Cracker locomotive

[saw]

This is so very intressting project, I just love it. 

[DaveH]

Arnold,

Some very nice silver soldering on that gas tank - very nice gas tank.

Coming along very nicely, nicely posted as usual.

It is really going to look something special this cracker
 
DaveH

[Stilldrillin]

I love the way you think through, and develop ways around problems Arnold! 

Love how this is developing......   

David D

[arnoldb]

Benni, Dave, David - Many thanks Gents 

I had two days of leave from work; unfortunately not for shop, but to attend to some matters relating to government red tape...
At least I bought a good quality pressure gauge yesterday - at very good discount from one of my regular suppliers.  I'm finding that a lot of the suppliers that up to a year or so ago treated me a bit reservedly has nicely thawed; where initially discount and a bit of natter was taboo, that's run of the mill now.  Got the gauge for less than half the shelf price!

This afternoon I got a bit of shop time.

Started by turning down and single-point threading a bit of 8mm hex brass to the same dimensions and thread as the gas filler valve:


Then parted off a section, flipped it in the chuck, drilled through at 2mm and then drilled and tapped it M6x0.5 to fit existing adapters for my pressure testing kit.  Ended up with this:


It needed an O ring - so I added that:


Then I set up for testing - replacing my 1000kpa gauge with the new 4000kpa gauge.  The gas tank was filled with water - though not completely.  It is so small that a bit of air in it is needed to allow at least some form of control from the pump; if there is a leak it won't be too much:


On the first pressure-up I took it to 3000kpa, but the pressure dropped rapidly.  On checking, I found water leaking around the valve spindle packing, so I just snuck up the packing nut a bit more.
Next pressure up:


I left it sitting for 20 minutes, and came back to find the pressure had dropped slightly:


The gas tank was bone dry, so I looked around to find the leak; i eventually found it on the regulator adapter where a droplet of water had formed on the connection - but all-in-all, I think it's safe to say the gas tank is up to scratch 

As a final test, I screwed in the gas filler and filled the tank with gas, then plonked it in the water to see if there was any gas escaping by looking for bubbles:

No bubbles appeared...  I also tested the regulator while under water; it is easy to control and get varying amounts of gas escaping.

Having done that lot, I treated myself  :


 , Arnold

[sbwhart]

Good going with the pressure test Arnold I reckon you'll have this beauty in steam before long.

Stew

[DaveH]

Arnold,

Well everything seem good there, I do like that pump you have.

It's not going to be long now before it is full steam ahead.

 
DaveH

[Rob.Wilson]

  nice one Arnold 

Rob

[danstir4]

I just discovered your thread and it is great!  As a beginner I really appreciate your time and trouble to show how you have done things.  This will definetly be book marked for future reference.

[arnoldb]

Stew, thanks  , I hope to have it at least running by the end of the weekend; all the little nitty gritty things left to do 

Cheers Dave  - though the pump was a bit over-sized for this job... I need to make one with a smaller piston for future gas tank tests; both for better control and to use less force; I recon 3000kpa is about max for this one.

  Rob, thanks mate.  Will be a little slow for the next couple of days though.

Thanks danstir4  - it's a pleasure and I'm pleased you find it useful.  Just be open-minded though; I'm also pretty much a beginner, and some of the things I show might not necessarily be the best way to go about things - and definitely not the only way of doing it .  And welcome to MadModder !

I have a visitor for the rest of the week, so I doubt if much more will get done before the weekend, but I did manage to sneak in a couple of minutes after work today.

Started on some of the steam pipe work; the first thing I need are some "olives" that will get soldered to 1/8" pipe.  Here I'm turning up the first one - just some 5mm hex brass turned down to 4.2mm OD to fit inside a normal M5 thread, then parted off part-way to just below 3.3mm diameter, center drilled with a 2mm center drill, and ready to be drilled through with a 3.3mm drill:


Doing it this way leaves the olive sitting on the drill bit when drilling through with a minimum of burrs.


I have some 6mm hex brass on order, but for now just made up some on the end of an 8mm hex bar:


Then followed the same procedure as with the olive to turn up a nut after drilling and tapping it for M5 - with a final drill-through at 3.3mm:


The results of today's bit - thebigger nut on the left was already made along with the steam regulator - the nut on the right and the two olives was made today.  Cutting thin copper pipe is a problem, but a small rotary cutter like the one shown works a heck of a lot better than a hacksaw:


That's it for now; I think the next update will have to wait for the weekend.

 , Arnold

[madjackghengis]

Hi Arnold, that is looking good, and I like the idea of the center pops, I've left dog hair in a joint with the expectation of it burning out as the solder fills up the gap, but that sounds more positive and cleaner.  I've also had the issue of wanting a reamed hole and not having the reamer, taking the on size drill bit, and stoning a radius on the cutting edge corner of each flute, perhaps half a mm or so, will let the bit go in the next size smaller hole, and if the radius is clean and has clearance, it will give as good a finish as a reamer will.
   It's nice to see the respective parts put together even if only trial fit, it gives me a chance to get an idea of what it will look like in the end.  I'm really looking forward to seeing it steam.   Cheers, mad jack

[DaveH]

Arnold,

Nicely done,  getting close now to steam

 
DaveH

[arnoldb]

Jack, Dave, Thanks Gents 

Yesterday was a dud; I had to spend the entire day at the office, so no work done...

This morning I started assembling things...
Some PTFE plumbers' tape rolled into a string:


Then wrapped around the needle of the steam regulator to form packing under the pack nut:


I used a bit of thin wire to determine the length and shape for the main steam line; it's easier to bend and cut a bit of wire to shape than a piece of copper pipe:


Main steam pipe bent to shape and the ferrules soldered on - I used electronics solder as it is soft enough to give a good seal, and there would not be a way for the pipe to come loose in the position it is installed:

A bit untidy - I used a file afterward to remove some of the excess solder.

The completed main steam line:


Next I cut the jet end off the donor pencil torch using the small pipe cutter shown earlier:


And turned up and soldered on a suitable pipe fitting:


Then did the final assembly to get the loco to a ready-to-run state:


I moved needed bits to the stoep track, oiled the engine and bearings, and filled the gas tank and boiler.  The first fire-up didn't go too well.  The green pipe really didn't like the heat at the jet side of the pipe, so I shut everything down, beat a hasty retreat back to the shop and made a copper gas pipe as well.

The next fire up went well, and I got this result:

There were still a couple of steam leaks - around the regulator valve and at the engine which I fixed up, and then settled back for some more running:

With the leaks fixed the regulator works nicely - and the gas system also works well; it raises steam in 4 minutes from a cold boiler & water and then with the burner turned down a bit it does lap after lap - after about 10 laps the gas tank runs empty - a refill, and both water and gas runs out together later.  I spent a couple of hours just refilling it and letting it run - until eventually all my refill gas ran out 

Now it just needs a cab, a good tidy-up and a paint job 

 , Arnold

[saw]

Wow very nice. You have done an exellent work here. 
I have to ask "I used electronics solder"  I don't understand that, what do you mean or what it is? 

[Bluechip]

Hi saw

Usual resin cored solder used for electronic stuff.

Often 60/40 or thereabouts ..

BC

[Stilldrillin]

That's great Arnold!! 

What a lovely little runner! 

I'm sitting here with a big grin. Very pleased for you...... 

David D

[mklotz]

Great stuff, Arnold.  Congratulations on a job well done and beautifully presented.

[saw]

Thanks for answering me "Usual resin cored solder used for electronic stuff.

Often 60/40 or thereabouts " I am propebly dum but is not the plomming silver looded (sorry for misspelling)  

[modeldozer]

Well done  on a great runner.

 

Abraham

[Kjelle]

That's a good'un!!

Just love it!!

Saw; lödtenn för elektronik, finns på Clas Olsson eller Kjell & Co! Vanlig j-a lödtenn... Antagligen tunnaste varianten. Och det är inte alltid så lätt med främmande språk...

Kjelle

[saw]

Kjelle:Tack nej fackutrycken är svåra trots att jag försöker med Google Översätt.

Is there a reason why you are not using silver looding?

[Rob.Wilson]

  Your the man 

Great job Arnold ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, just love the desert track layout    needs a camel or two 


Rob

[sbwhart]

YAHOOO

ITS A RUNNER

Great job Arnold wonderful bit of work

 

Stew

[ozzie46]

  An other runner Arnold!!!     Well done.

   Ron

[arnoldb]

Many thanks Benni, David, Marv, Abraham & Kjelle-   - I'm right happy with the loco, though it still needs a way to go to complete it.

Benni, like BC said, I used 60/40 "electronics" solder - 60% lead 40% tin with a resin core.  I have a couple of rolls of lead-based solder like this, newer electronics solder appears to use something to substitute the lead for health reasons, and my rolls of solder is about 20 years old, so still have the real lead in it. I'm definitely not conversant in Swedish, but I think I catch the drift from Kjelle and yourself.  As far as I know, there is solder available with just a bit of silver in it (4% I think) with a low melting temperature - somewhere between the electronics solder and what is normally called "silver solder" which I used to make the boiler with.  I think this is what you are referring to as "plomming silver looded" which I interpret as "plumbing silver leaded".  That would work just fine in this application as well.   Don't worry about spelling - as long as you can get the idea across, it's fine.  If I've not interpreted correctly, please do say so  

Rob, Cheers mate; - the track needs a bit of sand though  - looks too much like a concrete jungle right now    I'll be sure to buy a packet of "ship of the desert" Tabs to get some camels for the scenery

Thanks very much Stew much appreciated.  Now I have to build a Coomber before I finish this one...

 , Arnold

[saw]

Thanks Arnold of course it should be "plumbing silver leaded" sorry 
Your'e locomotiv is outstanding, beutifull build and you have an teknik to build that I enver you.
You are the master.