Rebuilding a TE1a into a Showmans engine (project Sovereign)

syrtismajor

Welcome to the ongoing saga of syrtismajors rather fool hardy attempt to modify an early nineties Mamod TE1a without the aid of a lathe, milling machine, a pillar drill or any previous engineering experience.
The challenge I set myself was to turn it into a reasonable likeness of a showmans engine including a dynamo and working lights (diodes). I also decided to ‘up’ the power by increasing its operating pressure, designing and building a brand new cylinder, gearing down with gears rather than the ubiquitous ‘steel band’ and installing a regulator. All using nothing but a Dremel, a junior hacksaw, a few thousand sheets of wet & dry and a bit of hard work.
I basically wanted to turn this:

Into this:

After a few months of mental planning, something arrived in the post from the magical land of ebay:

And lo, the engine to be known as ‘Sovereign’ was in my possession.

The first mission was to strip into component parts and give a deep clean, after assessing engine:

Mechanics assessment would have been, ‘Whoah, you bought this? *laughs* Nothing but a paperweight!’

Well, it wasn’t that bad, just a bit of scorching, loaded with grease rather than oil, absolutely filthy and by some paranormal action, a 10mm wide lump of loose solder in the boiler. Luckily it wasn’t as thick as it was wide and came out after some careful persuasion (Shaking vigorously and swearing).
The hub caps came off like a dream (after more swearing, wrenching, mild injuries and a hacksaw) and the wheels were cleaned. The piston eventually came out of the cylinder, along with a black mass that could be classified as another life form.
The final result was this rather sorry pile of brass and steel (those with a weak stomach, look away now):

Some paint is missing as I am currently stripping it for the future repaint. The chimney is missing as I have already done a swap for the solid flywheel seen in the picture. The canopy isn't there as I'm not planning to use it, but will need some restoration if I'm to pass it on to someone.

From now on, I plan to update with every major completion of a stage. But will give loads of updates with any little thing. I’m trying to do the cylinder first to convince people that I am not mad. I am borrowing my step dad’s drill to finish off the cylinder blocks this weekend, and I have also already decided to build my own regulator and lubricator.

Dear lord, what have I let myself in for?

I will also have a running total to show cost. The mission is to do this for less than £200.

Cost so far = £40.00 for engine and £7.00 for blowtorch = £47.00

(ps) I have been working on this for a while now but am taking the opportunity to do this first post today as I am off work. My partner had a car accident yesterday due to someone kindly driving their car into the back of hers, she’s perfectly fine but we didn’t get out of the hospital until 2:00 am so work today was the last thing on my mind.

Steve_S

That's a very interesting project syrtismajor, I'll be watching with interest. I'm a big fan of making things without having the proper tools or facilities... it makes it more fun, and very satisfying when any success comes along!
I'm glad to hear that your partners OK!

tmuir

Thats a big task you have set yourself, looking forward to your posts.

SillyBilly

Cool. I guessing your making a new chimney then? Also are you planning on sending the exhaust to the chimney? There are some photo's of a lubricator on a TE1a on here: http://petes-mechanical-toys.photos.gb.com/p27677594.html

Graham-Jilly

Great project there syrtismajor will be eagely waiting future post and updates

Mamodman123

ITs a plan

will it work?

Wallace

Nice one, going to be great to watch the progress

wyvern

The best of luck.

You could make use of standard size brass tubing for the cylinder and piston valve and use standard size rod for the piston, sealing with carbon string to keep things steam tight. Just a thought!

I am sure there have been piston valve engines made in the past with similar machinery to what you have so I am sure you'll succeed.

IndianaRog

Syrtismajor,

Well done...you have a plan...that is half the battle...you have a Dremel...what more does a guy need!!!

Seriously, a fascinating project we will eagerly await updates on and the final unveiling. I know it will work and work well...all you gotta do now is deliver!!!

cheers,
Rog

syrtismajor

Just an update for you patient lot:
I'm still awaiting the loan of a powerful drill (I forgot to pick it up

)
In the mean time I'm experimenting with soldering. My question for the boards are:
What solder and flux would you recommend? A while back I was told that soft solder would do the job of soldering pipes but am unsure of what ones to go for (that and the people at B&Q were staggeringly unhelpful). I have a mini blowtork that happily melted the existing solder on the TE1a so I assume that will be up to the job.

So far I have drilled a hole through the boiler, decided to use brass piping for the cylinder rather than a hone out brass block and further experiments in using a dremel and a vice to produce a lathe have been rather successful!
Progress is slow, but when things get going, lots will happen quickly,, I promise!

Mamodman123

syrtismajor

Mamodman123

Wallace

syrtismajor this is the solder I use. It's french or spanish, so if they sell it in OZ then they should sell it in the UK.
As you can see it's for car radiators, and I only have a small blowtorch, and it does the job

As MM said, lead based solder. But don't get stuff for electronics, and just use anything that is a regular flux paste.

syrtismajor

I've drilled the cylinder block!

Not much of an update I know, bit I'm just rather chuffed than it 'seems' to have worked on a first try. Isn't perectly air (steam) tight, but hoping a seal of some sort can be used. Speaking of which. . .

What is this 'Carbon String' I keep hearing about? What is it, how much is it? And where can I get some

wyvern

I'm not sure exactly what graphite yarn is made of, I think they are synthetic or glass fibres which are impregnated with graphite. I first came to hear about them when discussing worn cylinders on my bowman 234 with a chap at markie models (tony pearce designs) whose phone number is 01329842559. He recommended wrapping carbon string/graphite yarn around the grooves in the piston to inprove the sealing instead of bying new ones. He said if I sent him £5.00 he would send me a small bag of the stuff(diameter 1.5mm length about 1m). Sure enough it worked! The string can be separated into strands so you can make it pretty thin and also tends to bind to itself when you wrap it around something. Although you'll have the cylinder walls to hold it against the piston. Incidentally you could use a reamer to improve the bore although that would mean increasing the hole size slightly.

Good luck

syrtismajor

OMG! An update!
Just to proove that I am actually doing work on this

So far I have obtained some better brass (the last stuff was as hard as steel), some copper tubing, brass sheet, brass rod, solder and flux.
The cylinder will now be made out of brass dowel that will be drilled out to the required bore. Specs shall be:
Bore: 9.5mm - stroke: 14mm - Pressure 25Psi.
Rough calculations show that this should give 121.80 Newtons force per stroke over the regular TE1a 51.80 Newtons per stroke (all approx and probably wrong).
I will get round to doing the cylinder, but I can't be bothered to buy a drill just yet and have to borrow someone elses who is always using it (how inconsiderate

)
Anyway, this is what I have done:
The valve block is complete other than location and fixing holes,

The left hand image is the port face that leads to the cylinder. The right image is the feed (centre hole) and exhaust (outer holes) face.

I have also done my first ever piece of soldering!

This is for the steam feed pipe that will exit the boiler from behind the safety valve, enter a regulator and lubricator at the rear of the firebox, then through a superheater, out through the front of the firebox under the boiler, then back up through the boiler and into the valve block like so: *gasps for air after such a long sentance*

Make sense?
Hope it does

I really want to get the cylinder done asap to proove that I can do this (more to myself than anyone else). But will be delayed now as I am moving house over the next month.... all fun....

My next easy job though is to solder two thin brass bands around the boiler to create shiny coaching lines. I'll paint the boiler heatproof black, then polish off the bands, then paint the black bits a deep blue leaving about 2mm of black next to the raised brass bands, I think that makes sense too. . . . .

Am also going to make a small steam dome. This will be between the sv and the firebox. The pipe will exit from the side of the dome and pass over the exhaust holes on the firebox and into a regulator.
Gah! This all sounds so complex! I honestly know what I am doing! (maybe)

Anyway, it will all make sense when I do it and take some piccies!

*wanders off into the void while laughing maniacally*

Mamodman123

Alway a good read!

The project seems to be steaming along nicely. Looks like you will get a pretty good increase in power with the new cylinder

It looks like you know what you are doing

which is always good!

Really looking forward to the next update! should be fantastic once it's finished

wyvern

Glad to see the update, Unfortunately things that are worth doing often take a bit of time. Pretty impressed so far. It'll be great when it bursts into life on its first steaming

and you'll be able to say - I made that!

Iam probably going to uprate my Goliath engine to 25 psi when I modify it, and I reckon with the right gearing it might be able to pull me along! I imagine you're going to use the IP engineering safety valve.

syrtismajor

Gah!
I hate moving! Well I am now settled in a new place (with a possible area to run Sir Rillian) and able to carry on with this project. Been off for about two weeks moving stuff across etc, and started to have withdrawal symptoms!

Right, to proove that I am not mad and that I can turn brass without a lathe, I decided to make the steam dome that will sit between the sv and the firebox. I would love to have shown off by making the cylinder, but I still need the drill to ream out the bore, so this little dome is all I can do for now...

That little thing is 8mm X 8mm with a 4mm hole up the middle and will fit into a 6mm hole that will be drilled into the boiler. The steam pipe will exit from under the boiler and go through the firebox, through the regulator, the lubricator and back through the firebox,,, hopefully.
Anyway, hopefully this will show that I am in fact not a looney

The lubricator is under construction as well as the regulator, the next main job is to solder the pipes in place...

There is a light at the end of the tunnel! (or is it my bedroom carpet on fire? I'm sure I turned that blowtorch off...)

IndianaRog

Hey Syrtismajor, glad your move is behind you and you are back online with the forum. Pretty good brass turning there on that Steam Dome!!!

cheers,
Rog

Mamodman123

Very neat job there!

A very good idea to have a steam dome! I take it, it will be a practacle use?

Mamodman123

That's pretty damn good!

A lot of people seem to be using drills to lathe things out, and that is very nicely made indeed!

Really starting to take some steps now, can't wait to see iyt

syrtismajor

Mamodman123

rangerssteamtoys

Its not that hard to do what your doing, seems pretty simple, I am also doing a little project, I could tell ya what I'm doing but then I would have to kill ya, I got friends in places

Mamodman123

rangerssteamtoys

Yeah true, didnt mean it badly. Your doing a good job anyone want to know what my project is? I wont kill ya either, hows that for a deal

syrtismajor

rangerssteamtoys

syrtismajor

Ok, here is a picture now I've ceased operations for the night. . .

The steam dome is between where the sv would be and the firebox.
The steam pipe comes out of the boiler and bends through the firebox (one of the pipes jutting out the back) where it will eventually join with the regulator and lubricator.
The pipe will then go back through the firebox (the other pipe sticking out) and bend up through the boiler to where the cylinder shall be:

Make sense?
My little dome can be seen sitting snugly now she's been soldered on.
The mess of pipes under the boiler will eventually be hidden by a faux belly tank.

Now, bath and bed I think after I've gotten rid of the smell of solder and flux from my bedroom. . .

EDIT: The red thing is not a kamikaze band but an elastic band holding the firebox together, and no it is not a permanant fixture

MTA

It's pretty obvious what Ranger is doing.

The same thing he does with Pinky everynight, try to take over the world!

Hey, how did you get in here? What's that in yo.. BANG *thud*

MTA

You are definitely progressing well Syrtis! Can't wait to see it finished

syrtismajor

MTA

Mamodman123

Definatly starting to take shape now

rangerssteamtoys

Well I hate holding secrets but love telling people that I have a secret. So here goes

I'm turing this

Into this

Yes its a wacky idea turning a wilesco steam roller into a mamod steam wagon. BUT look at the good things about it,

Wilesco steam rollers have plenty of power to spare and clutch drive so but the roller couldnt flatten caramel. So by putting a bed on the back and gearing up the wheels with chains it should do a moderately fast speed, with plenty of power.I will also be adding a handle to dump ( yes the bed will be hindged so it can dump ) the bed manually. The whole set up will be made of wood and fibregalss. I got the front made from fibreglass and the frame made from wood.It should be a fun project.

Mamodman123

Sounds like a good project!

Will be inetresting to see how it looks in the end

rangerssteamtoys

syrtismajor

Update 'o' rama

Hello once again to the ongoing saga of the TE1a modification

Firstly, I located the find of the century yesterday round the local market. for the measly sum of £12 I managed to buy a HSS Tap & Die set that does M3 to M12!! Result!
Much of this ensued:

I've already utilised it in an idea. My original plan was to fix the end caps of the cylinder the same way as the Mamod loco cylinders. This seemed like a gamble as they really do need to be precise. But now I plan to have the end caps to be screw on! This way I can open up the cylinder for maintence etc. . .
Here is the cylinder as it stands now:

As you can see, it has been drilled out and tapped ready for the end caps that I would be making now if it weren't for the time! I am also now building the lubricator properly rather than soldering on bolts to act as a thread. Things are looking up!
Also, the boiler is now looking swish with its new 'bling' boiler bands and new paint job:

(and no, they are not bought bands but hand cut using a junior hacksaw, hand bent using fingers, a few plasters and antiseptic. And yes they are soldered on

)
The firebox will remain black, but the boiler will be blue apart from a 2mm band of black left on either side of the brass bands.
So all and all it's going rather well, something is bound to go wrong sooner or later

(Speaking of which, me and my partner were involved in a car crash yesterday when another car ran up the back of us, that's twice it's happened to my partner in two months! We're both ok though, no injuries obvious as of yet. Her last car was written off but this time her new 4X4 seems to have gotten off lightly compared to the car that hit us. Oh well, life goes on!)

MTA

Sorry to hear about the car crash mate

Oh well, life goes on

Sovereign is coming on really well now, how long until she's in steam?! Might I suggest that when you leave the 2mm of black around the boiler bands, that you put a thin white line between the blue,black border. Should set it off nicely

syrtismajor

syrtismajor

Since I've been off work all week with sickness (not a pretty sight I can ssure you) I've taken the chance to get some stuff done (when not running for the toilet or nearest bowl)

(Before I start, please remember that I am only using a drill, a junior hacksaw, a handbrace, warding files and sandpaper for this, so apologies for sloppiness!)

Firstly! The cylinder was a disaster, I couldn't get the threads straight which means I now have a highly over engineered lubricator body for a future project

This meant that I went back to the old plan of using existing tubing and soldering the end caps on, more permanent and less fixable but what the heck. It's a gamble!
Here's the assembly as it stands:

The end caps are next on the 'things to do' list, as well as fixing in the M3 studding to hold the valve block to the cylinder block. The whole thing still needs cleaning and polishing too.

'Now how do you plan to mount it?' I hear you ask.. 'Every engine needs a frame!'
Well here it is:

Still need to drill the two steam holes and four fixing holes in it, as well as tidying it all up so it doesn't look so 'Frankenstien-esque'. You may also notice that I have soldered a brass tube in place to act as a bearing. This will be cut down to expose the axle for the eccentric to power the valve gear. Speaking of eccentrics:

How's that for one?
You may notice a small piece of cannibalised Meccano in there, sorry about that!

Right, I'm off to try and eat something and maybe make some end caps.

*Marches off into the sunset, before taking a slight detour into a bush and. . . erm. . . 'fertilising' it

*

Mamodman123

This is all coming along together nicely

The cylinder with soldered caps should be fine!

tmuir

Looking good, its all coming together now.

Hope you feel better soon.

wyvern

Hope you get better soon.

Your project is really motoring along. Are you doing a slip or fixed eccentric? To cut down on time and effort I imagine a fixed eccentric would be alot easier and I can't imagine you will run it in reverse too much.

Did you sap the piston yourselt or is it scaveged from some where.
What technique do you you use to turn metal in a pillar drill as I will probably be doing the same when I get round to my own showmans project (probably use an oscillating cylinder which is much easier but not as impressive)

James

Great project mate and coming along really well!

Get well soon wishes from everyone at the forum!

syrtismajor

Many thanks for all your best wishes! I am well on the mend again from some sympathy from my housemates:
'Get up you lazy s*d'
And motivation from my partner:
'You can't have beer when you're ill!'

The project has temporarily halted again due to the drill being 'borrowed' back to it's rightful owner. Probably a good thing since I was having touble getting the fixing holes straight. It'll work but it won't be pretty so an 'awning' may have to be made to cover the whole cylinder/valve block. Not a big problem though as it is my first attempt and was planning to insulate the cylinder in the event of using relatively thin tubing to prevent priming. Fibreglass should do the job sanwiched by a thin brass plate or salvage from a drinks can.

To answer Wyvern's question:
I am using a bog standard battery drill as a lathe. I clamp the brass into the chuck, kneel down on the floor with one knee on the drill.. switch the drill on...
*This is where I say DO NOT do this while wearing loose shorts, things may hang near to fast spinning objects. Connection between the two may hurt*
I then turn the brass with warding files. It takes ages and most has to be done by eye, but I seem to be doing ok,,, well,, better than I thought I would.

To take the 'meat' off quickly I use the sharp edge of a 8mm Titanium tipped drill bit. USE THICK and STURDY GLOVES, trust me on that... I am not using drill bits anymore...

Actually, no one should be doing it the way I'm doing it, I must be mad. Insane actually! Why on Earth am I not just buying a lathe or paying someone who has to do it for me?
Oh well, it's a laugh isn't it?

All I need to do now is the end caps, the valve rod, lubricator cap and the regulator pin.

PS- the technique described above is exactly what I am doing, if anything I can say that I do like a challenge

Cranko

Looking good man,, Keep it up

MooseMan

syrtismajor

Another update on Sovereign since I have actually achieved some more!
The drill is still out of my grasp due to it being used (Before some asks why I don't buy my own, the one I get to borrow is worth £300 and kicks bottom) so I did some more to the plumbing, this is how she looks now:

As you can see there is a regulator and a lubricator happily installed! You can also see the steam dome next to the Safety Valve.
Today was also a monumentous occasion as I put a meths burner in her to see if my soldering was sound. The good news is that it held! The bad news is that she leaks like a sieve from the reg and the top of the lubricator (granted that this is because there is no cap for it yet and steam readily escapes through a 1mm hole

). Will need to do a bit of thinking for the regulator, but the set up is only temporary anyway to test the concept. It did work! Everytime I turned it, steam would rocket out of the pipe through the boiler, and when shut, steam just hissed from the reg and lubricator. All in all I would say it was a successful 'Wet' test. especially since the paint held up!
(A small point:- I realised why we are told to flush out boilers after soldering work is under taken on them. Today Sovereign boiled froth rather than water

)

Next on the agenda is a modified reg and a cap for the lubricator (other than finishing the cylinder and valve of course).
The next big test will be with an uprated Safety Valve. The third test will hopefully be the first turn over of the engine! *fingers crossed*

Be sure to come back next time for the ongoing adventures of syrtismajor and his unique 'No design but lets build anyway' method of reviving and improving a clapped out 90's TE1a.
And next time the drill might be involved, so danger shall return! Will he lose a digit, a limb, or worse? Stay tuned!

James

LMFAO!

Great work mate, it really looks the dog's danglers

And again, great entertaining progress report, a pleasure to read

SillyBilly

Nice one Major! If all fails with constructing a saftey valve then I.P sell a mean one that can be adjusted to a pressure that suits you.

Sandman

I've a feeling this one is going to be a cracker.

Can't wait for the next installment.

Mamodman123

That's coming along really nicely now

IndianaRog

Syrtismajor...that thing is really shaping up...I love tinkered with pieces, I actually think they can be better than the original!!!

Keep it up, one day it will live!!!

cheers,
Rog

Cranko

Youll need a special license to drive this one

Steve_S

Very interesting... and entertaining! I'm looking forward to the next chapter.

Mamodman123

Surely it needs an uprated safety valve too?

IndianaRog

Question...I see "uprated safety valve" oft referred to for Mamod locos as a must have mod. Can someone better define what it is??

Is it just a normal safety valve with stronger spring that lets off at higher PSI? Will it fit on any Mamod or only locos??

Just need to improve my knowledge of all things Mamod

thanks,
Rog

SillyBilly

Rog,
The uprated saftey valves used in mamod locos operate at 26 psi and are of a higher quality than the standard mamod ones. Considering that it uses the same thread as a standard mamod one, you could probaly use it in any mamod. You can see what it looks like on this page: http://www.ipengineering.co.uk/page64.html .

IndianaRog

Bill, that was exactly what I was looking for...thank you,

Roger

wyvern

I am very impressed.

If you don't get the regulator to seal properly, you could get a regulator from IP engineering (£25) which although not designed for the traction engine does fit. you just need a small spacer to allow it to clear the fire box.

Glad the paintwork held, there would be noting more annoying then getting to this stage and then the paint melting off.

Mamodman123

Graham-Jilly

I find that my loco uses less water to power the pistons at the higher pressures so now need to modify the meths burner to hold more meths for a longer burn time

syrtismajor

Why thank you for all your kind support!

James

WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW

STUNNING!!

tmuir

Thats really coming along, cant wait for your first fire of the engine.

Sandman

I was right.

This is going to be a beauty.

Great work mate. Keep it up.

IndianaRog

Syrtismajor...it just gets better each time.

...but no matter HOW good, don't hold your breath waiting on the Jensen 51 replica in trade...close...but no cigar

Mamodman123

Loving those yellow wheels

SillyBilly

Yes, that's VERY nice, are you going to put tyres on it?

rangerssteamtoys

Looks very nice, good job keep up the good work

Steve_S

It's looking very good!

(I'd go for red lines.

)

Graham-Jilly

wow that is realy coming along in leaps and bounds
cant wait for its first fireing

bessytractor

waheyhey thats certainly going to be an awsome engine. I love the fact someone is making a relatively complicated engine from a mamod tractor!

syrtismajor

Once again, thanks for all your kind words! We'll just have to see if this endeavour is worth it in the end!
I now have some PTFE rod to make the regulator spindle out of, so hopefully that leak will be sorted soon.
The rest is dependant on when I can borrow the drill again!

Cranko

syrtismajor

A development! (of sorts)
I realised after the regulator leak fiasco that my current valve block was also destined to leak like a sieve that's missing its mesh while being pulled upwards through the Victoria Falls by a climber cursed with a urinary tract infection. After seeing the slide valve mechanism on Steve_S's Clydon 13 / 5, I was inspired. The old valve block has now been ceramoniously put aside (hidden somewhere on my desk, most likey under a pair of boxershorts or a bottle of lucozade) and construction on the new slide valve has commenced. I saw the light that a slide valve would have less chance of leaking than the original rod valve. Obviously more difficult to manufacture, but doesn't require the use of a lathe (or a powerful drill, as the case may be). So far I have done quite well with just a hacksaw, files and a hand brace. I would post pictures but I am currently a few miles away from the new valve at my partners where one of her cats is beginning to try and eat the power cable for her computer... The construction will be of three pieces of brass sandwiched together, the centre one being hollow with space for the sliding valve. I'm sure it'll work... maybe...
Still haven't utilised the PTFE rod yet, but am considering using that as a 'bearing' of sorts on the rods of both the valve and piston being so frictionless and heat proof

Should hopefully make a good seal too, I shall experiment soon!
Anyway, since there are no pics there isn't much more to see here for now.

You can go now, I'm sure there are more interesting posts on these boards!

Steve_S

Sounds interesting.... we need to see pictures!

syrtismajor

Chris

Always worth reading your posts for a good laugh! Looking forward to seeing the photos of the progress.

IndianaRog

Chris, I second that...I enjoy Syrtismajor's posts as much for the tongue in cheek commentary as for the steam bits. Even if his latest creation were to never work

, we would still have enjoyed the process and narrative immensly!!!

syrtismajor

ok ok, I'm a day late. I can't help it if I'm lazy and forgetful!
Here is that photo I promised:
(apologies for fuzziness)

The little bit on the left is the sliding bit, the piece in the middle is the steam chest and the piece on the right is the slide face with steam ports. The hole in the middle goes through the block to exit out of the hole visible on the top (this will be the exhaust pipe that will lead to the chimney). The only bits missing are the fixing holes, valve rod and steam chest front (with steam inlet pipe). Hopefully you all can figure out how it'll go together, of not, all the better for when it doesn't work!

Once again, thanks for all your kind words, if all else fails it is always good to know that you can entertain!

Roly Williams

Steve_S

Looks good! Are you going to have gaskets between the brass parts? PTFE tape would do.

syrtismajor

James

Looks good mate

I've been told, that old notes (currency, ie £5) can be cut up and made into good gaskets. Best thing to do is buy some worthless currency notes from somewhere like Kazakhstan and cut them up

syrtismajor

IndianaRog

With a leftover 1 pound note from the UK...I made thin, strong and tight gaskets for my Jensen 51 replica...has to be a new, crisp bill to work. Have used Canadian and US dollar bills same way, key is the high rag content used in currency.

James

Aye, Rog is the guy that told me about it, I just wanted to have a moment when I could pretend to think of something useful

Cranko

Mister Occlusion

IndianaRog

The only place I use dollar bills (or pound notes) for gasketing is where the surfaces are well machined together and don't need a lot of compression to prevent leaks. Though I did not build my Stuart beam, someone else used the same trick on many of the metal mating surfaces, I can see the markings of some sort of currency. With a bit of oil worked into the "gasket"...they are among the best gaskets I have ever seen.

syrtismajor

Another exciting update! Seriously!
I have been busy on the valve block, so much so that it is nearly finished, I have even made the connecting rod for the eccentric!
Rather than say more I'll just post some pictures, I also apologise for the fuzziness, my camera is rubbish for close ups:

Here it is assembled onto the frame. You might be able to see that there is a screw in the knuckle and in the eccentic, this is so both can be adjusted to perfect the timing.

Here it is with the rear face removed to show inside. Marvel at the blurry shinyness of it all!

And here are all the components laid out for display.

Hopfully I'll get some better pics in the future so I can show better what I have done here. But I can assure you that the valve works via the method of blowing hard into the hole and hearing the mechanism 'Phut, Phut' as I spin the flywheel!
I still need to make the end caps for the cylinder, but when that is done I should be almost ready for the first live steam test, and for that there will be a video! Rarr!

Right, after all the excitement, I'm off to bed to dream of brass and steam. And hopefully the cuts and scrapes will heal soon.
Goodnight!

Cranko

Well done sm , thats a great job

Steve_S

Well that looks very impressive! I'm sure we're all looking forward to the video of the first steaming.

bessytractor

awesome, good job!!! Can't wait to see it "phuttering" around

Griffin

It's clear to see a lot of time ane effort has gone into this project. It's looking great, look forward to the vid.

johnreid

too cool, keep us posted as you progress.