Wood Steam Engine

[doctorwayne]

Geez, Don, I gotta give you credit for your perseverance...that train looks like a Chinese puzzle that's been offered minus a couple of key parts.

I'm usually pretty competent with puzzles, but my choice would likely be a short trip to our woodstove.

Wayne

[ezdays]

Geez, Don, I gotta give you credit for your perseverance...that train looks like a Chinese puzzle that's been offered minus a couple of key parts.

I'm usually pretty competent with puzzles, but my choice would likely be a short trip to our woodstove.

Wayne

Thanks Wayne, it's been a challenge, but I'm OK until something won't go together or won't stay together, then it becomes frustrating. But, my hat goes off to whoever invented the @#!!&% thing in the first place...

[ezdays]

Whoopie-do, hallelujah, I've gone past step 47, it's as done as it's gunna be. Will it ever run? Probably not. I cranked the winder a few days ago and I heard it go, "click, click", (good sound) , and left it since I didn't want to stress anything. I could roll it and the gears all rotated. I put the rods on, the last few steps and now the gears seem to be frozen. I cranked the winder and instead of a "click",  I got a loud "SPROING" (not a good sound) , meaning that the winder shaft has broken free of the ratchet gear. When I rotate the engine to look at the underside, tabs and other connections come apart, especially the drive rods from the wheels. Maybe some more glue, but at this point I'm just joyous that I finished the $%!#!&@ thing. especially that I got the sagging front end to come up a little more, almost level. Basically, when it does run, the smokestack should rotate and the bell goes gong-gong-gong... Oh yeah, the engine should move forward too...

I'm going to let it set for a few days and see if I can get those rods to stay connected to the wheels and maybe get the shaft glued again to the ratchet gear. It's tricky because that gear rotates free inside that three-stack of the main drive gear, but the connection may not take the stress and snap again. It's main purpose is to keep the spring wound until you release the parking lever. I think if it wasn't for the glue I used so far, the whole thing would fall apart when I pick it up.

So here it is in it's present glory, looks just like the sketch. I may just decide to dunk it in a vat of crazy glue...

   
   
   
   
   

[Tyson Rayles]

Damn!    It sure looks good Don, I love the words on the back of the cab!

[TMo]

Caught that too! Wood Fun my @$$!!!!!! Your perseverance through all of it and your running commentary was food for the soul! I'd give it a couple of days before doing some exploratory - rest on your laurels, Don.

[Charlie B]

An excellent job and an excellent mantle piece but you probably don't have a mantle    You did a great job, 
Charlie

[ezdays]

Thanks guys, that word, "FUN", kinda sticks in my throat as I choke,  but actually it says, "Wood Fun", and the wood was fun, had a blast popping those laser-cut pieces out of the sheet, putting them together is a whole different story.

As for a mantelpiece, fireplaces are not uncommon here, except in my house. We shooters would call it a "wall hanger".

I remember as a kid, we'd do model planes out of balsa wood, then cover it with paper. Wet the paper and it would shrink tight. NO, not a chance, just reminiscing 'cause it looks a lot like a skeleton, just like those planes.

[ezdays]

Wonder what gauge that is? G maybe?

I measured the wheels, the flanges are at 2.5", making them a bit larger than G, however, if you calculate that, it turns out to be 1:22.6 scale, so it could be G, but won't run on G scale tracks, that is, if it could run without falling apart...

[ezdays]

This project is as finished as it's going to get. It will never run unless I take a few things off and get the wheels to move without locking up. That's just problem #1. The second one is that the drive shaft had to be glued and it doesn't have the strength to hold the spring wound up, requiring stripping it back to step 2 and rebuilding the shaft. Now that I've glued a number of joints with either CA or modelers cement, that's not going to happen. Nope, wouldn't happen under any circumstances. The third problem is the cab door won't open preventing access to the brake. But.... I finally got the front of the boiler to stay level, shims and glue will keep it that way. I would have liked to get it running but it's somewhat short of a miracle that it's completed to the extent that it is.

As for its history, this engine used to be with the "WoodFun" railroad, but was acquired by the Canyon State RR as CSRR #001 and has been renamed as: "Ol' Frustration" for some unknown reason ....'nuff said... 

Here it is as of today. Since I don't have a fireplace mantel, I will build a small shelf somewhere and that is where it will reside.

   
   
   

[doctorwayne]

This project is as finished as it's going to get. It will never run unless I take a few things off and get the wheels to move without locking up. That's just problem #1. The second one is that the drive shaft had to be glued and it doesn't have the strength to hold the spring wound up, requiring stripping it back to step 2 and rebuilding the shaft. Now that I've glued a number of joints with either CA or modelers cement, that's not going to happen. Nope, wouldn't happen under any circumstances. The third problem is the cab door won't open preventing access to the brake. But.... I finally got the front of the boiler to stay level, shims and glue will keep it that way. I would have liked to get it running but it's somewhat short of a miracle that it's completed to the extent that it is.



As for its history, this engine used to be with the "WoodFun" railroad, but was acquired by the Canyon State RR as CSRR #001 and has been renamed as: "Ol' Frustration" for some unknown reason ....'nuff said... 



Here it is as of today. Since I don't have a fireplace mantel, I will build a small shelf somewhere and that is where it will reside.

I looks pretty good to me, Don, and is likely better not being mobile, so it can remain assembled, rather than, as Desi would say..."Lucy, dat ting is gonna esplode!"

Put it on a shelf or in a glass display case.

Wayne

[ezdays]

I looks pretty good to me, Don, and is likely better not being mobile, so it can remain assembled, rather than, as Desi would say..."Lucy, dat ting is gonna esplode!"

Put it on a shelf or in a glass display case.

Wayne

Thanks Wayne, I like that glass case thing. On a shelf, all it will do is get heavier and dirtier with dust, in a case, it will stay clean and anything that falls off won't get lost.

[ezdays]

So I designed this very elaborate display case to hang on the wall. Complete with acrylic dust cover. Got all the material and after I started, I realized that it was a bit cumbersome and I should have something simple. So without wasting any of the materials that I already cut, I converted the project into a floating shelf without a dust cover. I still have that sheet of acrylic if I ever decide I need one, but for now, this is what I wound up with:

   
   
   

[Charlie B]

So I designed this very elaborate display case to hang on the wall. Complete with acrylic dust cover. Got all the material and after I started, I realized that it was a bit cumbersome and I should have something simple. So without wasting any of the materials that I already cut, I converted the project into a floating shelf without a dust cover. I still have that sheet of acrylic if I ever decide I need one, but for now, this is what I wound up with:

Great job Don. No problem with the instructions either 
Charlie

[ezdays]

Great job Don. No problem with the instructions either 
Charlie

Well, my original design was in CAD on four sheets of paper, this one I kind of eyeballed it with a ruler.

[ngauger]

That looks great!!!
Now you have to find something else to keep you occupied