Walking Beam Update

[chiliviking]

I've got some more work completed on my walking beam engine and while I have many more parts to go I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Today I spent most of the day making a jig for rounding off the ends of the motion links.

First I turned a .250 stub on the end of a morse taper piece that I had that fits in the center of my rotary table. Next I made a piece of aluminum with a hole to fit over the pin on one end and a countersunk hole on the other end to bolt the jig into a T-nut on the rotary table. Then I milled a slot down the center that was a nice slip fit for the pin blanks and deep enough to do two at a time with .025 sticking above the top sutface to clamp down on. I made a strap to hold the pieces down in the slot and drilled and tapped them 10-24.

I figured the amount of rotation necessary on the table and marked the location with red fingernail polish. It only took about an hour to make the ten peices after the jig was completed.


I have begun replacing the socket head cap screws with small hex head bolts which really inproves the overall look.

I got a 90 degree gate valve for the air inlet.

 

[DICKEYBIRD]

Ooh la-la...very, very nice work! On the tool and the engine. :bow:

Gotta make me a taper jig for my lathe, I can see that coming.

 

[chuck foster]

very nice work indeed :bow: .........this looks like an engine that will give hours of visual enjoyment even if it isn't running 8)

i know that we will all be looking at this build closely as if unfolds.

chuck

 

[Circlip]

It looks 99.999% better with the hex heads Chili, the 0.001? the washers ain't needed, otherwise superb.
Regards Ian.

 

[chiliviking]

Yeah I guess the washers aren't needed on a model , I just revert back to full size applications and I usually feel more comfortable with a lock washer ( I guess I'm a belt and suspenders type guy.. LOL)

 

[Bogstandard]

Chil,

Lovely precision work you are doing there.

I am not nit picking, just trying to convey a bit of full sized info, for a better understanding.

You would find on most of the full sized engines like this, studs would be used with a washer under the nut. There was a reason for this. When large castings were lifted into position, they could be placed onto the studs, and basically they would self hold themselves while the nuts and washers were fitted. Like studs on a car wheel. Imagine trying to feed a bolt thru a hole and line it up with a tapped hole, when you had half a ton or larger casting swinging on the end of a rope, trying to do what it wants. Bolts were usually used thru pivot points, and even then, a lot of the bolts didn't have full hex shaped heads, just maybe one or two flats, all the tightening was done on the nut.

Again, wonderful work.

John