2" Minnie Traction Engine

Following on from my introduction my efforts continue and as part of my build the chimney saddle is the latest part, still not quite finished but almost there. The first attempt was ruined by operator error  . With that still fresh in my mind I decided to machine the arc on the bottom first. This was followed by milling a shallow slot for the blower which I have silver soldered in place.All that remains is to fit the bottom plate,bore out for the exhaust and the centre hole.
This was a bit of a experiment as I was going to buy a casting but inspired by Mal's efforts I decided to have a go, more experience if nothing else and I'm pleased with the result .

Hi Packmule,
Looks like you are making good progress, got the  at the ready

Cheers Kerrin

Nice work on the Chimney Saddle, Bob.  In the picture, I see what looks like a regular end mill. How'd you get the curve so accurate with that?  I'd have thought you used a boring head or something to get the shape.  It looks great, however you did it!
Kim

Nice results Bob and good progress.......

Don

Looking good Bob, I love watching these Minnie builds.          Terry

Hi Bob, the chimney base looks really good I like the way you went about it ,keep the pics coming

Thanks for the replys,hoping to get it finished this week.
Kim
it is a 16mm end mill I fitted a set of dro's earlier this year other than turning the handles it does it all for you.The results as hou can see are v.good.Anything i can do to make life easier is always welcome.I did try with a flycutter but I didn't get on to well with that,more practice needed there.

Bob

Hi guys, following on the saddle is now finished albeit a bit of filling when it comes to painting. I hadn't a clue how to mark out the shape for the saddle plate for fixing to the smokebox when inspiration struck. I suddenly thought ,I have Visio on the pc so why not draw a ellipse and enlarge it to take account of the radius of the smokebox this was then printed onto a piece of paper which I glued to the rolled plate and simply cut and filed to the shape. Worked a treat and was so easy. Will probrobly line saddle and perch bracket up drill out the holes and bolt together. Then its back to making the throat plate former for more copper bashing.

I love it when simple ideas work.

That is looking very nice Bob. Sometimes the simple  ideas are the best and your are right, it is rewarding when they work out just as you wish!!

Bill

Hi Bob, the chimney base has turned out really nice with you 

Quote from: packmuleThanks for the replys,hoping to get it finished this week.
Kim
it is a 16mm end mill I fitted a set of dro's earlier this year other than turning the handles it does it all for you.The results as hou can see are v.good.Anything i can do to make life easier is always welcome.I did try with a flycutter but I didn't get on to well with that,more practice needed there.

Bob

Thanks for the reply Bob.  It was a very successful method, that's for sure!  Looks great!
Kim

Wow couldn't believe how long its been since last post.

Been busy working on the boiler just a couple of pinholes then pressure test.
Made a start on the front wheels and have turned the rims . I've left them oversize so if there's any distortion I should be able to machine them back true. While waiting for some steel plate for the tee's I bored out the chimney and ready to start tapering .Absolutely loads of swarf as its from 57mm solid

Following on from the last post. I've managed to bore out the chimney which took forever. Tapered both inside and out. I levelled it on the mill and machined a piece out as suggested in the book to give a rolled appearance and drilled for the rivets. For the chimney top I had some copper plate left from building the boiler so I decided to make two formers, one for the top and one for the bottom. I annealed the plate and began copper bashing the two pieces ,didn't take very long and I was happy with the result. These have now been soldered together and need boring to fit on top of the chimney and cleaning up and polishing. I'll post picture a.s.a.p

Disaster

The dreaded sticky copper gremlin grabbed the top while cleaning it up and threw it on the floor. Needless to say the air was a very thick shade of blue
Rather than start again I decided to see if it could be salvaged. I didn't have anything to lose so I cut the former so I could fit it inside and started bashing back to as good as shape as I could get. The result is far from perfect but I don't think its a complete disaster.

Put it together with most of what's completed so far and it at least looks as it should.

Wow! Looks like a great save. 

That should clear up the air a bit.