tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43888266358945158082024-02-20T11:09:48.395-08:00gimbalStuffgimbalStuff is for people who want to peek inside my shed, and see what I am up to.gimbalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03482526310956627340noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-22700662964913527442011-01-11T10:24:00.000-08:002011-06-20T02:54:14.638-07:00My version of Elmers Wooden Beam EngineI got inspired and decided I would give my father a home made present this (last) year. So I decided to make my version of the Elmer's Wooden Beam Engine. The wood I used was Mountain Ash, which is an Australian hardwood. The finish is just a rub down of linseed oil.My version uses a flywheel made out of metal (aluminium actually). This was cut on the CNC mill. Here is a close-up of the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-25105156732748290482010-04-22T16:57:00.000-07:002011-06-20T02:54:41.919-07:00The Dial Gauge on the Taig LatheAs can be seen in this shot, my Taig lathe has a dial gauge mounted under the headstock that I use to measure carriage travel. The mounting block also includes provision for a stop rod. A web surfer asked me recently to post some more detailed photos of the mounting. The block itself is L-shaped. The two cap screws pass through and into the T-slots in the headstock. The thumbscrew was the one Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-86452068553886672602010-04-22T15:39:00.000-07:002011-06-20T02:54:41.920-07:00Boiler Fittings: Firebox DoorI plan to use a butane burner in this boiler. One of the common ways to light these is to turn on the gas and put the match at the top of the chimney and hope you retain most of your eyebrows and that the resultant pop-back does not extinguish the burner. I was looking for a better way so I thought why not a door?Since it will be painted, I am making it out of aluminium. Here is a shot on the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-43996622337703438502010-01-11T23:38:00.000-08:002011-06-20T02:54:41.920-07:00Boiler Fittings: Lock NutsThe lock nuts allow the boiler fittings to be positioned with more control. They are designed to lock against the boiler bushing. They are made out of 3/8" hex brass stock, and are a bit of an exercise in small scale production lathe work.Start by chucking up and drilling for the tapping size, in this case for 1/4"-40ME.Now tap - I did start tapping with the tap held in the tailstock chuck and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-79893041745336352702010-01-11T00:27:00.000-08:002011-06-20T02:54:41.920-07:00Boiler Fittings: Steam OutletThe steam outlet is a fitting at the top of the boiler that provides a threaded attachment for the main steam line. It is made of brass; of which we start with a small block on the mill drilling the passages out.Once that is done we cut out a small bit of waste to make our lives easier when we mount in the lathe.Using a spring loaded wobbler (actually it is the Taig live center, but it does Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-54824754606742653042010-01-09T18:28:00.000-08:002011-06-20T02:54:41.920-07:00Boiler Fittings: Steam Saftey ValveThe boiler I am making requires a safety valve to bleed excess pressure from the boiler during operation. I am using the same design as the last boiler I made. It consists of a body and a bridge, both made from bronze and a stainless steel pintle that uses a spring to hold a stainless ball against a seat in the body. A pair of stainless rods hold the bridge above the body.A picture tells a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-41038606057982163092009-12-16T21:44:00.000-08:002011-06-20T02:54:41.920-07:00Video of the first steam engine I made...I got bored one Saturday afternoon so decided to fire up the original steam engine I made. Here is some video I took with my iPhone whilst it was running. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-87379849125649484802009-12-06T20:30:00.000-08:002011-06-20T02:54:41.921-07:00Boiler dissappointment....then success!The saga of the boiler continues.....After soldering the top plate on, I find that I missed a bit between the shell and the top plate!! (sorry for the quality of the photo).Easy to fix - just more flux and heat and we are ready for hydro testing. Here is the set up; a couple of hours at the lathe gives me a bunch of blanking plugs (where did I put the ones I used last time??). These and the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-53090686942223992172009-12-03T19:55:00.000-08:002011-06-20T02:54:41.921-07:00More Boiler Progress (cont)Here are some pic of the latest progress. Here is a shot of the boiler sitting in the hearth after having the bottom tube plate soldered to the shell. The two lower bushings have been soldered in as well. The whole assembly was upside down for this operation and you can see how gravity assisted the distribution of extra silver solder. Better too much than not enough I suppose....Here is a shot Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-46970895960106070462009-11-28T16:28:00.000-08:002011-06-20T02:54:41.921-07:00Forming boiler end platesI was asked a question recently (at Home Model Engine Machinist) on how the end plates for the boiler currently under construction were formed.Copper is a malleable material an it annealed state and this means that it can be beaten into shape around a former. During the forming process it work hardens and needs to be annealed again. You can tell when annealing is required because the sound of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-70991579639492447702009-11-28T00:43:00.000-08:002011-06-20T02:54:41.921-07:00More Boiler ProgressI have another couple of shots of progress on the boiler. The first is the bottom tube plate and the fire-tube after soldering and pickling.There is a nice fillet of solder at all joints which is what I was aiming for. The citric acid pickle also cleans all the gunk off very effectively such that all that is required is a rub with a scotch brite or wire wool under running water once the job comesUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-41710289549786119732009-11-23T18:23:00.000-08:002011-06-20T02:54:41.921-07:00A Boiler for the new engineIt's been a while since the last post and now that I have the workshop back up and running again after getting the new lathe and mill operational, I though I would get back to some steam.I am going to make a steam plant for the new engine so the first thing I need is a boiler. I am going to re-use the design from the last boiler I made, but I am going to skip the superheater and use cross tubes Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-24840196936638239152009-09-29T21:10:00.000-07:002011-06-20T02:54:41.921-07:00Mounting a DRO on the 6x26 MillI kept the chinese DRO scales and readout display from the previous mill. All of the travels were able to accommodate the travels on the new machine. Having a DRO is something I don't think I could now live without.Here are some photos showing what I did:I drilled and tapped a couple of M5 holes in the bottom half of the belt guard - this allowed me to attach the readout unit to the side of the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-30440969541500251932009-09-15T18:50:00.000-07:002011-06-20T02:54:41.922-07:00A Countershaft for a Taig LatheI have been doing a bit of steel turning on the Taig lately again and have been having trouble parting off and form turning. I needed to slow the spindle speed right down. I didn't want to go and spend more money on a DC variable speed drive, plus I don't think they have enough torque at low speeds, so I decided to keep my trusty induction motor. I needed a countershaft.I wanted a compact design Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-14246650103653216402009-09-01T16:58:00.000-07:002011-06-20T02:54:41.922-07:00New Machinery Day!!It is New Machinery Day!!I have decided it is time to go bigger - no not like that, I mean upgrade to bigger machinery. To this end my 7x14 minilathe and my X3 mill have been sold on eBay. I got good prices for both so I am pretty happy with the results - they both went to good homes.I have replaced them with a 250mmx550mm (10x22 to our American cousins) lathe and a 6x26 knee mill. I got these Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-62604990601857477902009-07-23T04:07:00.000-07:002011-06-20T02:54:41.922-07:00Project - Mine Engine VideoHere is a YouTube video of the engine running on air. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-52748257684294904762009-06-25T13:03:00.000-07:002011-06-20T03:03:30.337-07:00Project - Mine Engine CompletedThe Mine Engine has been completed!Sorry the construction series got cut short, however here is the finished product in all its glory. I will upload the remaining drawings I have soon, but wanted to post some photos of the completed article.Front on shot while running on air. You can see the boiler plates behind as well as the butane gas tank and burner that will eventually fire the boiler.View Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-80432260535864464232007-05-26T09:09:00.000-07:002011-06-20T03:03:30.337-07:00Project - Mine Engine Part IAnother engine - again a design from Elmer. This time the Mine Engine.Shot showing Base, Main Bearings, Crankshaft, Flywheel, Columns and Table Close up of Main Bearings and the bearing pedestal. Both parts were machined on the CNC Mill.Closeup showing Connecting RodUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-58619966943507282442007-04-20T12:43:00.000-07:002011-06-20T03:03:30.337-07:00Project - Mine Engine Part IIPart II - The Cylinder.The Cylinder is a block of brass 25mm square by 35mm long. It has already been bored for the piston and the CNC Mill has been used to shape the outside. In this set-up the cylinder port face has the steam and exhaust ports milled and the holes for the studs that hold the steam chest on have been center drilled.The steam chest stud holes are now being drilled.In this setup Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-85192347558558132022006-09-16T12:33:00.000-07:002011-06-20T03:03:30.338-07:00Project - CNC Mill Final Assembly Part IIIPart three of the final assembly - some of this will be familiar from the trial assembly.In Part 2 we left off having the base assembled. Here we have installed the column, bolted on the rails and the head assembly along with the Z-Axis ballscrew.This shot shows the neoprene Gortite bellows fitted to the fore and aft of the table. You can also see some of the wiring done as well.Here we are Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-30290987437038520162006-08-23T22:28:00.000-07:002011-06-20T03:03:30.338-07:00Project - CNC Mill Final Assembly Part IIPart two of the final assembly - some of this will be familiar from the trial assembly.I want the machine enclosed and I don't want to have to pull it apart again if I can avoid it so I have machined some feet from steel and attached them to the bed. I have put bolt down holes only at the front since I do want to twist the bed when I bolt it down.I brought the plastic tub from Bunnings (Oz Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-50852702548632654832006-06-01T12:21:00.000-07:002011-06-20T03:03:30.338-07:00Project - CNC Mill Final Assembly Part IPart one of the final assembly - some of this will be familiar from the trial assembly.I have primed the non critical surfaces with red-oxide metal primer to protect them from rust - here we see the carriage ready to have the rails re-mounted.Carriage with the rails mounted ready to be mounted and aligned to the table. Notice the 3 holes in the front of the carriage for attaching the way Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-18927668195271226772006-03-20T12:18:00.000-08:002011-06-20T03:03:30.338-07:00Project - CNC Mill Full Trial AssemblyThis is the full trial assembly of the mill to date. A few things to note: I still have machining to do, for example the holes for mounting the swarf guarding and limit switches need to be drilled and tapped. I need to disassemble to perform this machining because I don't want cast iron dust in the linear guides or ballscrews. I intend to paint all the bare cast iron, as you can see from some Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-58625856131678422862006-03-19T00:06:00.000-08:002011-06-20T03:03:30.338-07:00Project - Ball Turning ToolA bit like a boring head, this ball turner goes in the QCTP on the lathe.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388826635894515808.post-1807409929157097542006-03-18T14:26:00.000-08:002011-06-20T03:03:30.339-07:00Seig X3 Mill EvolutionsSome updated pics of my Sieg X3 Mill.Front view showing DRO mounted and neoprene rubber swarf guarding. I bought the DRO to do the CNC Mill project - once you are used to using a DRO you never want to go back.Side view showing mount for DRO readout.Under the table view showing swarf shields for X and Y axis scales.Rear view showing swarf guards. You can also see the shims used to bring the columnUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0