Keith Black

Bob, it's great to see you back in the shop and working away on the Duchess. You're making tremendous progress and doing a great job. Makes me smile it does it does. Hey, neat little trick on measuring line thickness, thank you for sharing.

Thank you, Rick. Not really, brother Tom. I wear reading glasses when at the computer or worktable but when working with tiny stuff and painting I wear a pair of 6x glasses. Thank you, Glen. If I could get these fat fingers inside a bottle I'd give it a go but working with tweezers inside a bottle would drive me bonkers. I got the cylinder and steam chest made and installed. I need to paint both and then make the connecting rods. I'm not sure how much of the rod assembly I'm going to be able to replicate?

Thank you to all for the likes and the comments. Your support is the wind in my sails! What I have done so far on the beam engine sits atop a penny assembled and painted. I really am going to get to the the cylinder side. Hopefully I'll have the engine completed in the next couple of days then the boiler. Thank you to everyone for your interest and for following along. Keith

The Pearl is perfect, Glen. This is gonna be a stunning SIB.

Welcome to MSW. Glad to have you aboard.

Thank you, John.

Jacques, congratulations on creating a finely crafted unique model. I've enjoyed the journey.

That's also the way I do mine. Doing it this way also allows you to put as much tension on the line as you want to without worry about the tension being released.

Craig, thank you and glad you're back with us.

Components used thus far making the beam engine. After doing research when I start to make a thing I immediately go through my stash of bits and pieces. I look at each piece thinking if it or a version of it can be used. Those aha pieces go into my working bit tray along with the maybe pieces. I look at this process like it's kitting up the pieces for a model but not knowing if all the pieces will work. Working at this scale eliminates a lot of the bits I've collected over the years. Every thing is put together using CA A. Beam and Column 1. This piece is out of a package of boat davit parts. I used these in the pile driver build for the drum shaft. Here I've used it on the cylinder side of the column. It's had the center cut out. 2. 1mm etched eye pins. I've used these things on every build, their just so handy and perfect for this scale. I'm using them here for rods. 3. Cornwall model boats list these as a flange. When I ordered the several weeks ago I did so not having a purpose for them, they looked like they might come in handy. Here they'er used for the beam. 4. Solid brass ring (I don't remember what they came out of?) used here glued to the top of the dowel. 5. Brass split ring from craft store's jewelry section used at the bottom of the column. The split ring slips over the dowel, part 5 fits on top of the dowel. It gives the impression of a tapered column. The dowel is too small to make a proper taper. 6. Very small dowel. B. Base 1. Wheel from Tichy Train Group 2. Pillow blocks from Tichy Train. 3. Larger etched brass eye pin used here for the control rod from shaft to valves. C. Water Pump 1. One hole stanchion. I've used pieces of these for various items, here the base is turned upside down and the length trimmed to pin into the base. 2. Brass bead fitted over stanchion base to add shape to the water pump. D. Cam 1. Same flange as A, 3. Here I cut off about a third, shaped, drilled hole, and added pin. I'll now paint and assemble these components before moving on to making the cylinder, steam chest, and rods. Thank you to everyone so muck for the kind comments, likes, and support. Keith

Thank you, Bob. Nope, no name, I just grabbed one of the men for the photo op.

Thank you, Tom. Thank you, Pat. Glen, I'll include photos of the sausage factory shortly.

You pulled that off with great effect, Glen. When first discussed I thought the chances were slim of you making the whirlpool a tenth as well as you have. Hat's off! In fact, it's so well done I'm pretty sure I see a Kraken lurking in the whirlpool's void.

Thank you, Tom. I've got about eight hours into the making? Time goes by so quickly when I'm modeling it's hard for me to keep track of time. I get plenty of sleep even though it comes in four to five hour stints.

Thank you, Glen. The only wood used thus far is the base and beam column, brass wire, and brass bits from my fittings stash. I thought about taking a photo of the bits used before starting building but i still can if you're interested. Thank you, Eric. I envision Lula as having been built on the cheap in the late sixties, early seventies. Walking beams were a common design from that time period and I would think they would have been available in the used equipment market. So little information is available from that time period and lacking something definitive I went with a walking beam. I could be wrong in picking that design and being that it's early in the build, should someone have a recommendation for another design I can certainly change the water feed system. Thank you, Eberhard. Lula's owner was white paint happy and anything not covered in white paint would be out of character, IMHO. A lot of a walking beam was cast and those pieces will be painted white. For those pieces that would have steel I have steel color paint. I have silver wire from my wife's jewelry making days and I'm going to change the drive shaft from brass to silver wire. The engine will have a fine coat of coal dust and the engine is so small, one would have to look closely to see any parts not being as they should. Also, I don't solder because I stink at the process, this all put together with CA.

Thank you to everyone for the comments and likes. The past ten days have been a blur. Between caregiving, pool, receiving in fittings orders, and the reorganizing of same there's been little time for Lula. But now I'm finally able to get back to work on the ole gal. When I made the Donkey engine for the pile driver I really wanted to go into more detail but it didn't make sense as the boiler and engine would be enclosed in the engine shed. Lula is different in that with the exception of the wheel engines, all the other machinery will be exposed. With new bits to work with I started building a walking beam steam engine for the boilers's water feed. There are hundreds of images of walking beam steam engines (unfortunately most are models) and after hours of looking at images like the one below I started in. i feel like I've made good progress. The only items that are permanently attached at this point is the wood base and pillow blocks.. Everything else will be disassembled for painting and final adjustments and attachment. I still need to make the cylinder, steam chest, and connecting rods. Of course the axle shaft will get trimmed back and filled. I've left it long as trying to run the shaft through the bearings, valve rod and flywheel is a bugger, I fear if it were trimmed to length before final assembly I wouldn't be able to run the shaft through the above components. I'm pushing my limits making these itty bitty pieces but it's a challenge I'm excited to accept. The engine is 0.75 inches L including the flywheel, 0.35 inches W, and 0.75 inches H. Some of the brass bits will get painted and some won't, only when I start painting will i know which it will be. I want the look to be worn and scraped as Lula would never have won a beauty pageant. Thank you to everyone for your support and for following along. Keith

Tom, nice to see the space above Sophie's deck filling with line.

Only by someone with your modeling and rigging abilities and I dare say it would be anything but easy.

Kenneth, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours.

Roel, thank you for the insight.

Ras, congratulations, she's a beauty.

Good stuff, Roel. What do your shipmates think of your modeling?

Mike, welcome to MSW. Glad to have you aboard.

Ras, she looks great!

Lars, welcome to MSW. Glad to have you aboard.