3" Burrell Traction Engine build.

 Box Part 1... and stuff The 2nd Shaft gear being machined with the mating finished gear for alignment.  Following the back of the casting now being fully machined, I'm working to a true datum, the previous roughing cuts can be finally machined to size. Using the previous drilled and tapped holes to hold it onto the face plate from behind, this will enable me to machine the inside without fear of catching any bolts or fixings. This part has been a tricky but well thought out machining process, mainly because of the size of it, and also the need to hold it in a chuck or face plate to make a start on it.     I have also just ordered a   Gear shaft  Bracket ,  Part Number 81153 for the Burrell. This will be cast as they do not currently have one in stock but as its not needed right away I have time for it to arrive.   << Left  is the pattern that will be used for this casting, this is from the foundry and most of the parts, I ask for ...

 Gears Part 5.... And finally the Box. Hello, if you have been following so far, thankyou. I must however apologise for my occasional bad English and grammar. It's easier to drill 80 holes than to talk about it. However we have made it thus far and a pinnacle stage has been reached. The horn plates and shaft tubes have been mated together (THE BOX) and also the bearing housings. This seems like a result because most of the other parts either fix onto this, or are associated with the horn plates. There are some other holes perhaps required, like the 200 or so dummy rivets, but these are just visual and will be completed when necessary. The coming weeks I will be considering -  The large gear for the 2nd shaft, as the dividing plate is ready for cutting the teeth. Bronze bearings to go into the bearing housings. The crank shaft. (Or a length of silver steel for alignment).  The eccentrics for mounting on the crank. The steering gear brackets (Small bronze castings I have) +...

Gears Part 4.... And some other bits & Welding Since the last update there has been a few things on the go.  The idea to cut the keyways meant either buying an arbour press to just cut 2 slots or using some steel box section I had, and the newly acquired welder I was given. My son was given a 140A Mig welder and after sourcing the wire, gloves, mask and the skill, we have a frame made to utilise a bottle jack to cut the keyways in the driving wheel hubs. More to follow as this is still work in progress, in fact the paint is still wet here!!!. The gears had to be adjusted a bit and an additional 0.004" taken off to get a good mesh and tooth clearance, but was all worth it in the end. Next job is to enlarge the holes for the actual bronze bearings. It's currently using a dividing peg I made for a check on the mesh on the actual horn plates. The next job on the miller is to complete the dividing plate,  requiring a series of 79 holes drilled for the next gear and 19 holes for...

  Gears and Covid Part 3.... And some other bits. The 2nd shaft gear was finally complete after quite a few passes round all 69 teeth. Here its shown with a quick coat of red oxide to protect the inner surface. Only remains the mating gear which is slightly bigger in diameter to be started.   The main reason for finishing one of the large gears was to progress the drilling of the horn-plates for the shaft tubes. I wanted to be sure of the dimension for the hole centres using my gears rather than trying to modify it later. It appears to be ok but I think I will still make a location spigot for the large gear, fitted into a smaller hole in the horn-plate for a test, so that the hole can be made larger  (and ) / or offset if needed after.      The Next easy job will be the bolts required to hold the bearing housing onto the plate followed by some holes used for some threaded hex rod in the positions of the back head bolts. I will then end up with a box si...

  Latest progress following a holiday. Not a traction engine but a Tool and cutter grinder by  Alexander, this was lurking in a cupboard and with a 3 phase motor and awkward motor mounting, my father never managed to get this unit up and running. With my background in electronics I have managed to convert the motor to a Delta connection and, it now run's from a 0.25KW Omron Inverter. The plan is to convert the intended drive from underneath to rear mounted, with a newly acquired belt I ordered from fle-bay.  More to follow on its, its progress and use. Maybe even neaten the paint up where it has had a few bashes. The 2nd shaft gear is almost finally complete, the results so far are very pleasing, the dividing all worked out perfect and the fear of the last tooth falling off did not happen.  In other news I invested in a 25kg bag of the best smoky house coal, from a local supplier. They are not meant to be selling smoky house coal by the bag, and certainly by end Octo...

  Burrell Traction Engine, 2022- Year 3 of the build Well, here we are again, new variants are still a thing my back is still playing me up.  Just a quick update on the Burrell build. The objective for this year, fingers crossed, is to complete the following items :- Complete the riveting of the chimney that I had rolled Christmas before last. Shorten the shaft tubes and complete the bearings. Install the Olite bearings that I ordered last year. Complete the horn plates all dunny rivets and bearings. (69T gear required) The intention is by the end of 2022 to end up with a back and front section and to make a wooden former to replicate the boiler so that it can be assembled in order to give an idea of the size and scale of the engine.  Aside from making the engine this year I also looked at my equipment and tools. < Left I had printed a chuck wedge to aid stuck chucks. <Below> I also ended up investing in some Stevenson blocks, and have put them to good use alread...

  Happy Birthday To Me Again ! Already February and 2 year 4 months since the start of the build!!. Both the rear wheels are complete!.   < Left  The spokes have been hand painted with corrosion-resistant red oxide paint, to prevent finger marks rusting up. The differential parts have been started apart from the teeth a job I feel I might not be able to do on my machines, but looking to out source these. The ones available from Bridport Foundry at £250 are a last resort owing to the cost, and I already have the cheaper differential blank castings.  Also looking into replacing all the M3 bolts for dome head Allen key bolts for a better rivet look finish.  > Right finished bevel gear minus the teeth mounted on wheel ready for a decision on how to cut the teeth. Just removed some surface rust from the diff and checks to see if it might fit on the faceplate and even on the 10 inch lathe. Next few weeks a number of small jobs to do, and by way of getting b...