A gantry crane

[tetters]

Sweet!

[modelsof1900]

Kurt,

a very good sample of brass soldering! Gratulation !!!

Soldering, that is the big adventure in my modeling processes and I did avoid it where I can. However I know also that not will be better then solder - then gluing such brass pofiles that can not be the right solution!
Shortly a bought two different solder irons and all the other needed materials and I have had success with first attemps.

Looking for your next pics.

[Herc Driver]

Outstanding work!!! That looks great!

[Sumpter250]

Man....I envy you guys that work in brass.
Makes me wish I was that talented.

You are! If you can build in one material, it's just a case of learning the techniques needed for a different material.

[doctorwayne]

Very nice work, Kurt, and, not surprisingly, up to your usual fine standards of workmanship.

I was quite nervous about soldering the legs and the beams together. If I’d fail to do it right, the whole project would go down the drain.

There are at least a couple of ways to solder additional pieces onto an already partially-assembled construction without fear of un-doing the previous work. One is to use solders of different melting points, starting with the highest temperature ones first. This requires that you know both the melting point of the solder and the temperature of your soldering iron.
Another method is to use suitably-sized clamps or alligator clips to hold the previously soldered parts in place - usually, only the joints nearest the current work site need to be so protected. The clamped work will be held in place, while the clamp itself will act as a heat sink, drawing excess heat away from the finished joints. The danger in this method will be that the work being performed will heat the entire assembly faster than the sinks can draw it away - this is especially true if you're using a torch as the heat source.
The method that works best, at least for my limited soldering skills, is to wrap all nearby joints in wads of wet (not merely damp) facial tissue or paper towels - if you're doing a lot of such work in succession, simply leave the tissue in place, adding water as it boils away. As long as the tissue is wet, the temperature of the joint will not exceed the boiling point of water. With a torch or iron of sufficient wattage, you can solder almost immediately adjacent to a previously-soldered joint without fear of un-doing it - the key is to apply a large quantity of heat for a short period of time.

I look forward to seeing the rest of this project. Even if, like Kurt, you don't need the product of such a build, this is a good way to expand your skills at a reasonable cost. New skills beget confidence in your own abilities, which leads to better workmanship in other areas, too, and a willingness to push yourself even further.

Wayne

[cnw1961]

Thank you all for your very kind comments.

Wayne thank you for your valuable advice. The trick with the wet paper towels was new to me, I will definitely try it out.

No new progress shots today as I have to get another brass profile tomorrow to go on.

[Ralph]

That looks terrific Kurt!!!! I'm enjoying the step by step process. It's going to be a beaut!
Ralph

[Steamtrains]

WoW...I hadn't seen this thread until now.... Don't know how I missed it...sometimes they just disappear from the "new posts" lists...

That is some FANTABULOUS work....!!! Looks like another "winner" from "Kurtsmodellwerkes"

Looking forward to more....

[Russ Bellinis]

Awesome work, Kurt!

[cnw1961]

Ralph, Gus, Russ, thank you for your kind and encouraging words.

I wanted to put wheels on the crane so that it can run on tracks, but it gave me quite a headache to figure out how to do it. Don’t know why it took me so long to find a solution. It is quite simple. I’ll use n-scale wheels that will run in these trucks that I made from a 1/4" U-shaped profile.

[tetters]

On the topic of building a brass model using soldering methods, I wonder if this is where a Resistance Soldering Station would be more practical then an iron?

Just putting it out there as I have been drooling over a couple of small RSS set-ups for sometime now and wondering if detailed brass work might benefit from this method of soldering? :|

Granted, yes they are expensive, and there is a bit of learning curve on how to properly use one but... well you know how it is. It's like walking into the tool department at the Home Depot and seeing the latest high powered, cordless, do all tool and saying,

"Boy, I could sure use one of those."




Once again great stuff Kurt. Can't wait to see the finished trucks.

[Bigsteel]

wow kurt,you can make something as simple as a gantry crane into a work of art! amazing craftsmanship!--josh

[ngauger]

That is so COol!!! Beautiful!!!!

[cnw1961]

Well ... I know I should have updated the thread a bit earlier, but I was too busy finishing the crane .

The first pic shows the trucks with the wheels in place. I used n-scale wheels and put two of them face to face on each axle. They fit perfectly into the brass profile.



When I started this project, I thought of putting an enclosed hoist on the crane that I would make from styrene. But after finishing the bridge, it did not seem right to put a simple styrene box on this brass construction. So I decided to build a hoist using the brass profiles I had at hand. After looking at plenty of prototype pics, I came up with something that looked a bit like a double girder hoist and because it would not make sense to build a hoist and hide it under an enclosure, I just put a little roof on top of it.





To do the hook turned out much easier than I had expected. To tell the truth, I was not even sure if I could do a decent to scale hook. I started by drilling a 1/8" hole into a .080" thick piece of brass and simply cut out the shape of the hook around this hole with my cutting disc. Some filing and sanding worked wonders. The next pic shows the parts the hook is made of. I assembled the hook by riveting the parts together with two .060" bolts.





Being a TAMCOT project (Trans Atlantic Modelers Cooperation Treaty ) the crane will be shipped to the shops of the Northern Pacific "Narrow Packages" Division in Ohio. It will get painted there and then put into service at the team track on the end of the branchline.

[Ralph]

Kurt, I've already expressed my admiration but I have to say again how impressed I am by this project. Beautifully done!
Ralph