a newbie's take on the A3 switcher

Well, you can do something kind of like that on steel to help minimize the warping of steel too.  I've done it with a torch and just got it nice and hot (like, red hot) and held it at that temp for a while (a few min?)  I've done it for 1018 and it does help it not warp as much.  Still, taking some off each side when you're thinning material is good practice as it helps to keep the stresses more even.

The painted wheels look great!  As do the beginning of the journal boxes.  Yes, I agree, brass is a lot easier to work for sure.

Kim

a bit more work was done this week.. cost me a tiny boring bar but hey. at that size (i wanted to try it on the lathe in the 4 jaw but in snapped like a twig. woops

the journal boxes are all the way bored and then I made a test with my scrap to check the next step, but took my victory and called it a day before making a booboo with my real parts.


the one off the bench are the missed one


another view side by side. (notice the gonogo I turned myselft on the glass to check the bore)




and finally the test for the two channels  to make sure it's gonna be okay next session.



should be it for at least till next week as real life got me until then.

Hope you like it. they're not the prettiest but i made them

Thats how you learn, we've all been there!  Small boring bars (even large ones, but the smaller ones snap quicker) don't like hitting the bottom of the drilled hole. Always more to learn in this hobby, one of the things that keeps it fun!

Wow, I'm impressed, I started a few years ago with a small Chinese lathe and mill and the learning curve was steep (and I consider myself  to still be a beginner); you have made brilliant progress, they look really great, well done! 

Great progress on your journal boxes! 

Sorry to hear about the boring bar, but the machine gods sometimes demand such sacrifices.  All in the name of learning, right?

Kim

lesson time here.. yesterday i was finishing my 8 bore and still had like 45 minutes before picking up the kids.. I said to myself I can start the groove or take my win OR test on my scrapped part.

rewatching the last picture I posted do you guys see what I did???.. I am SO glad I tested the next step on the scrapped part and that I listen to my voice saying take the win for today.. because.. that groove is on the WRONG side of the bore....

So glad i made that mistake on already scraped part... even a stupid mistake like that feels like a win now 

Yes, hard-learned lessons!  But very educational.

I've found that when I start getting in the mindset of "I can get this done in the next 30 minutes", THAT is when I tend to make more mistakes.  I don't know if it's cause I'm in a hurry or if I just get complacent.  But focusing on getting it done results in more mistakes.  If I just work shorter amounts of time and quit when I start losing focus, that seems to work best for me.

I make plenty of mistakes regardless!  No point in upping the percentage   

Kim

back with a little time in the shop

the journal box is close to being done.



some angles. tapping the holes 64 times gets boring but with some show on the ipad it went ok. 



as you can see the doomed parts are being used to test the 3/10 and 45 angles to get some dro setting. this should be easy.. the bearing will be the next challenge for a manual lathe with no digital I anticipate my biggest challenge yet.

thanks for stopping

Nice progress on your journal boxes! 

Kim

that was quick. the back shaping is done.. (boy is brass hard to photograph)

appart from a little touch of emery paper they are done.



i'm having real hard time with the test spring.. i can't get the proper TPI on the minilathe despite putting the right gear in the box as per the littlemachinist's calculator. plus i'm not sure I have the proper wire for the job. do you guys think this will do?



i'm not sure. but i need to fix the ratio issue first it's way too tight right now at approx 14.5 TPI instead of the 10 the book wants

That type of galvanized wire is probably not going to make a good spring, you need wire that is hardened for spring use, usually listed as 'spring-back' wire or some wording like that. Here is what I have used:
https://www.mcmaster.com/products/spring-back-wire/spring-back-multipurpose-304-stainless-steel-wire/

Stainless steel wire is best if its going to be used with steam/water.

For these springs in the tender suspension, I used music wire and it worked quite well.  The music wire comes hardened, is available in 3' lengths and many diameters.  I found it at my local hobby shop (and on Amazon too).

While the suspension springs don't need to be stainless, the ones for the pumps and safety vales should be.  I used the wire from the link Chris provided for my stainless springs and it worked really well! (Much better than the jeweler's stainless wire I used initially!  )

Kim

update time.

suspension is progressing following the book as much as I can. i had to call a Piano repairer close to me looking for a length of wire and he was quite  about my intention but he didn't mind so i made this

you can see the mandrel next to it. i'm was surprised at how easy it all was. this was my solution to make the edges square. much simpler than kozo's jig, but i guess those little sanders were not common when the book was published

. sparks are cool

next was the actual suspension bar diferent thickness and angles. those were made with the book's method and they are mostly OKAY. i might redo one if i don't like the final setup but since they are made for you know, being springy i will wait till final assembly to decide.

the blanks were made on the BIG metal shop at work where they repair planes because i did not want to spent all that time roughing on my portaband. also the little block jig are on top of that pic.

the thin one are VERY good i believe as you can see they are not lego constant but pretty damn good for my usual level of precision 


on top of each other


i can almost taste it and ear them rolling


last thing i had time for is the first step of the collumn and go by that stupid 1-64 tap. i mean wouldn't the 3-48 that are already everywhere could do the job??..
anyway after some holes and taping, the next best thing will be my first ever silver solder experience so that should be fun.



i still have to find a pickling acid.  and to the block for the solder job.




BUT this will have to wait cuz i'm in MIAMI B****H for 2 weeks for a big training at work so no progress for a while. but i had an absolute blast this week feeling real progress in this elephant. I just can't wait for a truck to go krrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr on the rails.

thanks for watching, seeya

Your springs and arch bars look great, Pogo! 

On the 1-64 tap... Have you found a source for 1-64 screws?  I found 1-72 MUCH easier to come by so have used 1-72 hardware everyplace Kozo says 1-64.  But if you can find them for a reasonable price, go for it! 

Have fun in sunny FL!
Kim