jud

Ed, thank you, your comment means a great deal to me.
 
this evening I am having a hard time wiping the silly grin off my face.
 
Beginning cuts
 

 
Half a day later the last tooth cut
 

 
Back to the lathe for some rough shaping
 

 
I ground up a bit of a form tool to get the curved recess better.
 

 
After parting it off I slipped it onto the camshaft .
 

 

 

 
It is actually on the shaft backwards I have to set it up in a fixture on the four jaw chuck now and machine the eccentric cam for the water pump then it can be flipped to finish the front side.
 
It did mesh nicely though even without any clean up yet,
 
Michael

Elia the short answer is Yes.
 
I began with the base external Dimensions of the Engine, as noted in the Buffalo catalogue. determined the bore and stroke based on a scaled version of original core dimensions such as the diameters and lengths etc. Some dimensions are absolutely critical, Gear meshing , piston fits shaft diameters and so on. I do have leeway over many ancillary dimensions though. for instance the outside diameter of the hub for the 30 tooth gear, I drew it at .250" I think the final finished dimension was .249" is doesn't matter and without miking the diameter it is impossible to see. it could just have easily been .235"
 
Without actually having the real engine in front of me to measure, and this is a model after all I certainly have taken dimensional liberties as well as material and design ones.
 
I have no way of knowing some dimensions and so they are guesses, there is enough "stacking " as you say that I can make some adjustments as I go along.
 
One of the most critical and challenging fits is going to be the smooth meshing of the gears, on the real engine the DP of the teeth is an unknown to me, I could have done more research and found out exactly no doubt but being impatient I scaled from photographs of the engine counted the number of teeth, in actuality the real gears are 64 and 32 a 2:1 ratio.
I do not have a proper dividing head or gears with those numbers of teeth to use as masters, only a rotary table albeit a good but very large one it can measure into degrees minutes and seconds.  The key information is the ratio of 2:1.
 
The camshaft had to be clear of the con rods, and I had some general dimensions based on the catalogue and photographs Gears are really no more than a couple of discs ( Pitch Circle) that rub against each other with teeth projecting from each so as not to slip. There are tables for all the standard tooth sizes these are based on the Diametral Pitch system which is the number of teeth in the gear for each inch of pitch diameter. lots of small gears use 64 or 48 teeth per inch these are standard ones that are sold through the commercial vendors.
 
On the engine that I am building neither of these pitches provided a pair of gears that were the correct ratio and the correct number of teeth to look scale or the correct Diameter(approx in any case ). I used the formulas to calculate from the diameters that were formed from the two circles on my drawing for the crankshaft and for the camshaft a set of gears that would give me 60 teeth and 30 teeth it worked out to 75 teeth per inch of pitch diameter.
 
A non commercial gear size, so using another set of tables in an article in a Model Engineer magazine, developed by model engineer D. J. Unwin, I made the tool to make the cutters for the 75DP gears.
 
Here's the rub, on paper they mesh perfectly ,I will find out soon enough if my machining tolerances are good enough for them to mesh perfectly in situ.
 
In the (unlikely   ) event that I need to make a minor adjustment I can make the camshaft bearing housing which are 3/16 diameter carrying a 1/8th inch shaft  (.18725" and .125" respectively ) I can make a second set that is very slightly eccentric which would allow for the camshaft to be moved to in order to have the best meshing. This is my fall back position.
 
I think that we always need to consider the fall back position when we are building our models because  "life is."
 
Apologies for another long winded answer, but a nice break from winding the table on the mill , only 30 teeth to go on the big gear.
 
Michael
 
 
 

Jud, thanks, regarding the shaping, the thing is I am taking very small cuts with the tool on a fairly forgiving material for the most part. The way the tools work on the lathe is mostly the work moves and depending on the diameter and shape of the tool the cutting will usually produce a nice smooth cut. Sometimes the cutter needs to be reshaped or lubricated to get the desired result, most of this has been learned by observing what happens when one tries something.
 
When I say that I am using the lathe or mill like a shaper, it is in the loosest way really, as you know on a shaper the tool is hinged so that on the back stroke the tool lifts and then the machine indexes over to make the next cut.
 
My tools are fixed and so the back stroke the tool stays in the same relative position. I am making very small cuts .005 max on the first cuts and backing off as the form tool gets deeper because it is doing more work, think of the chamfer on the corner of a piece of wood, as the chamfer gets wider more material is being cut by the plane or chisel, the same thing happens with the tools on the lathe.
 
The important thing is small cuts and keeping everything as rigid as possible. the last cuts on the gear teeth are repeated over 2 or 3 times without adjusting anything, the natural spring in the tools and materials take just that little bit extra material off in those last cuts, it is almost undetectable but it does matter for the final finish.
 
Each tooth on the gear takes a minimum of 15 cuts back and forth before moving on to the next tooth. it is a slow tedious process but satisfying because I can make what I need. I am 15 teeth into the 60 tooth gear at the moment and have to take little breaks to keep my sanity, and concentration level up, it is so easy to get lulled into a rhythm that causes a lack of attention and wham, a missed action or an additional one that can spell disaster, like this.
 

 
Just some thoughts about the way I work.
 
And again thanks for the likes
 
Michael

Your use of the lath and mill as a shaper is new to me, can't complain about not having a shaper. Like to spend some time with you, in your shop, asking dumb questions.
jud

Row, Denis, Jeff, Carl, Jack, that you all so much for the encouraging remarks, they take the edge of these types of screw ups.
 
Thanks to all who are following along and noting it with the like button.
 
Today was a much better day nippy (-32 this morning)  but better.
 
I went back to square one with the tooling and reset the rotary table in the vertical position, and spent the time needed to get the chuck properly centered on the table with the dial indicator. I turned down some new stock to the .422" diameter the advantage to using the mill table and rotary is far greater accuracy can be achieved.
 

 
the depth of tooth cut can also be very accurately regulated the depth is .031" and I fixed the quill on the mill so that it could not rotate and unplugged the mill, then worked the table in the same manner as the compound slide on the lathe, in other words I used the mill like a shaper this time. I prefer the way the material finish occurs with the shaping cut versus the rotating cut.
 

 
The indexing was simply a matter of rotating the table in increments of 12 degrees.
 

 
Once the shaping of the teeth was completed the chuck went back onto the lathe to finish the other operations , drilling and boring to 1/8th and cutting the hub for pinning.
 

 
It cleaned up nicely and is now waiting for its big brother, on the camshaft, but i have to make a new cutter first.
 

 
Michael
 

Math is definitely not my strong point it seems. yesterday I spent a fair bit of time cutting the (30tooth) gear and as I came to the last tooth I could see that something was awry because I cut a half tooth.  Thinking I had skipped a tooth on the indexing I counted the teeth 32.5 noooooooooooo counted again 32.5.  I used a felt marker and recounted the big (60tooth) gear on the lathe 65 ..... 65!! . Somehow I had got it into my head that the big gear was a 60 tooth gear? hearsay ...myth,  a wild guess  I don't know.... what is the old saying about assumptions?
 
So one step forwards 5 steps back, a rethink of what to do next. All I know is that it involves setting up the rotary table in the vertical position on the mill which is what I ought to have done in the first place. It is just such a pain in the neck to do, because it is a very heavy bit of tooling, and really a bit too big for using as a dividing head, that is why i was so pleased that the gear on the lathe was a (60 Tooth one)perfect one for the job.
 
Oh Well....tis a good job that I am not getting paid for this and it is just my education that I am dealing with.... don't make assumptions you would think that I would have learned that one by now. Lesson learned!
 
to be continued
 
Michael

I was searching through the Library of Congress "Historic American Engineering Record" for information on ships and boats and came across this record. I had never heard of the Sub Marine Explorer. It was a submarine built in 1865, to harvest pearls.  It was abandoned in Panama after a couple of years use.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/cz0044/

Don't forget the Half Hitch, I still use it often for many different things, you can double them or tie it for a quick release by looping the tuck. Handy knot. The constrictor knot is one I have not used, have about 4 feet of 1/4" cotton rope on my desk and practicing tying it.
jud

Don't forget the Half Hitch, I still use it often for many different things, you can double them or tie it for a quick release by looping the tuck. Handy knot. The constrictor knot is one I have not used, have about 4 feet of 1/4" cotton rope on my desk and practicing tying it.
jud

I'm a huge knot nerd and I am glad to see a conversation here about knots.  Naturally, sailors are the best at tying knots and ship model builders can only benefit by learning some of the knots of the sailor. Model builders though probably only need to know a very few knots in order to aid in rigging their ships. The Overhand Knot and the Clove Hitch being the two absolute essentials. I am a big promoter of the Constrictor Knot too as I think it easily has a place among the "top ten" most useful knots. If I was to make a short list of "least know but most useful knots" the Constrictor would be my only submission.
Sailors will argue endlessly about which are the ten knots everyone on a ship should know. They all agree the Bowline, Clove Hitch, Reef Knot, Sheet Bend and Rolling Hitch should  be on the list but will begin to argue about what the other five should be. There are so many choices. Personally I would leave the Sheet Bend off the list but I know this is a heretical opinion. I just never have any confidence in it as I have too often seen it misbehave in different types of line.

thanks evreyone for the encouragements.
 
The cam cutting is working well a little slow but I am pleased with the way it is shaping up.
 
I made a small indent pin for the Myford this morning before starting on the shaping.
 

 

 

 
the wheel was progressively marked with the teeth that would be left out until I got to the 1/2 way mark from both sides of the lobe apex
 

 
the cutter was rounded a bit more after this cut

 

 

 
Still .008" to go before the final clean up.
 
Michael

Druxey,Nigel, and Mark, thanks for looking in yes ouch indeed. 
I did a test cut this evening with the sharp nosed bit sideways and am going to cut the cam form as a single piece about 1 inch long.
 

 
  I am going to use the main gear that is normally used to set the headstock in back gear because it is a 60 tooth gear so I will set up an indent so as to lock the spindle in the 6 degree increments, the height of the cam is .022" from the cylindrical body so mapping out the 22 cuts using the gear to index I will be able to form the lobe then clean it up with files and wet and dry polish the hole thing then drill and ream for the 1/8th shaft
 
part off the cams and then locate them and set up a dial to position them drill for the pins then when doing the final assembly use some loctite as well as the pins
 

 
cams made on lathe.pdf
 
Thanks for all the likes
 
Michael

Ouch! At least there was no personal damage beyond pride.

MarkT, Steve, Nils, Ed, Mark, Druxey, Matt, Bob, Jack, Row , Denis, and Remco. thanks for your kind remarks


 
Mark I thought I was on track to make these in pairs  112 degrees rotated from each other. First turning up a trial piece to   the major diameter of the lobes, then using the taper pins I fitted the piece to some 1/8th diameter drill rod rough filed them at 90 degrees like this. My thinking was that I could then use the rotary table and the mill to finish each lobe by following a table of offsets and rotating the piece.
I drew the rotary table to how the process would work.
 

 

 
camshaft template.pdf
 
The part was then set up in the mill
 

 
The first lobe worked well and after removing the pin and flipping it over end for end I was ready to cut the second lobe.
After making the initial cuts to remove the bulk of the material for the second lobe i was getting ready to make the final circular cut around the back side of the lobe when I realized I had cut the wrong side of the rough block of material basically leaving both lobes in the same plane. In order to satisfy myself that this was actually the case I went to rotate the table to get a better look. the cutter was still rotating and I grabbed the wrong handle because I had not pulled it off which I normally do when working the rotary. I gave the lower handle a full turn and instantly uttered a censored word!
 

 
not only dit the cutter eat into the work bending the shaft but also snapped off a bit of the cutter.
 

 
the result
 

 
So now I need to rethink the whole operation.
 
Next I am going to make a long single lobe and then part off the individual cams and pin them separately, I can salvage the rest of the cutter it will need a bit of regrinding on the end but that is not much more trick that sharpening a drill bit.
 
A long winded answer to you question.
 
 
Mark  the buttons are some drill rod turned to the diameter that I want the finished curve to be, the smaller diameter slides into the hole and the larger diameter pushes up to the material that will be shaped
 
Once the two diameters are made I part it off and then heat it to cherry red and quench in water the button is then to hard to be affected by the file.
 
Matt I think that the splashing will do the work.
 
Row, Hmm the pressure is on, the original notion was not to add them, But I am thinking it might be better to add some.
 
Off for a swim at the local pool to warm up and console myself it was chilly in the shop this morning -2 degrees Celcius, -30 outside  probably cooled my brain down and that is why I forgot to remove the mill handle.
 
Oh well these test are there for us to learn from, no point in getting too cranked about it.
 
Cheers Michael
 
 

Nice work. Like the way you made your lathe work as a shaper, well worth placing in the memory banks, sometime a mill is not the proper tool. Enjoying as well as learn from your machine work.
jud

Thank you all for you kind comments regarding the notes on the way I go about drilling holes. and thanks for all the folk who liked it.
 
Pressing on with the con-rods the first order of business was to make a brass split holder for some of the following operations this was made from 2 pieces of 1/4 x 3/4 inch bar stock before I drilled and reamed the 1/8th hole through the joint I added two small slivers of .0015 shim stock to spread the bars so that when the con rod which  is 1/8th is placed between them the allen head cap screws will have that .0015 missing so that the bars squeeze the shaft of the con rod holding it firmly.
 
The first three picture show the stage 2 of shaping the rods the round ends have now been reduced to the correct width.
 

 

 

 

 
The next operation was to drill the holes for the split big end these are clearance for 0x80 bolts
 

 
After the holes were drilled the assembly was taken back to the lathe for the slitting saw to cut the big end into the two parts. they are temporarily held together for drilling out to .156" for the bushing. here they have been drilled and the hole for the wrist pin followed by indexing 1.004" (I'm not sure how it got to be 1.004" I'm just following the drawings)
 

 
The area marked in blue is to remind me that I will need to shape the keeper later and remove that areas marked with some files using a hard button to ensure that the curvature is maintained. I also need to turn up some steel bolts for the big end, and make the split bush, I will do this by soft soldering a couple of bars together then turn the bushing in the lathe then unsolder them ready to fit the rods.
 

 
removed from the jig so that I can get the second one to the same stage.
 
I'm tired time for a nap.
 
Michael
 

 
 

Jud this is what surprised me the most as well, I am following the same practice as many of the model engines that have been built by the model engine builders and the most important thing is to make sure that the cylinder liner is well polished when using the O rings which is opposite to using cast iron rings. There are a number of tutorials for making cast iron rings down to 3/8th diameter but it takes a bit of practice and some really good cast iron bar stock to be able to make them successfully.  
 
JKLee and Omega
Yes it is a different area of modelwork but basically one only needs to focus on the task at hand and break it down into incremental chunks small chunks I admit. The way I see it is that each time we change materials or scales we encounter new challenges and have to consider using different tools for some tasks.
 
Remco the short answer is no, that said I think that the basic issue with drilling small holes is one of sequences.
 
1)  When drilling into wood with very small drills 1/32 and down to the small #'s 60-80 the wood is not a consistent homogenous material, it is organic and full of subtly different hardness's and textures and this is I believe the main reason for breaking the bits when using a drill press or milling machine, the other issue is the speed of rotation of the bit, the smaller the bit the higher the speed the machine needs to run, this is counter intuitive to the way we use them by hand in pin vices which is technically a snails pace by comparison. I think the difference is that when using a hand held pin vise we use much less pressure and can "feel" the drill cutting, remember our fingertips are one of the most sensitive parts of our bodies with the possibly the most nerve endings. 
 
2) When drilling metal the key is to ensure that the start is exactly centered, and I mean exactly, this can only be accomplished by using a centre drill to spot the centre first my centre drill for the small drills cost me $27 for a tiny 1/8 shank centre drill this means the for every hole I have to do a number of things first decide on where the hole is going to be, this entails laying out the position on the material and fixing the material solidly to the drill press or mill, I tend to use the numbers and not a centre punched divot, by that I mean indexing from two or more sides depending on the shape, the centre drill takes the place of the punched divot.
 
3) The way I index is to use an  edge finder or centre finder to set the datum on at least two edges then I can simply set the dials on the table to 0 and them index them to the two coordinates x and y that is the centre of the hole, I do this regardless of the size of the piece I am drilling, it is a habit. The quill of the mill also has a dial so that I can set the tip of the drill to 0 at the surface that way I know how deep my hole will be if I am not going all the way through. if I am going all the way through I sometime use some wast material as a support so that the drill does not catch and snag on exit one of the biggest causes of broken drills in the smaller sizes, the other is the drill bending because the start was off centre from the centre axis of the rotation of the drill as it gets deeper the bending forces increase often snapping the drill.
 
4) The next important thing regarding wood or metal is ensuring that the drill flutes do not get clogged with the material what you are removing out of the hole, it has to go somewhere so raising the drill out of the hole frequently allows it to escape (this is usually centrifugal force that throws it off the drill) sometime the material is "gummy" some brass and some aluminum can be this way and so a lubricant (Varsol or Paraffin works well) is needed to keep the bit slippery, a cutting oil for steel. Obviously one doesn't need the lubricant on wood but it can clog the bit even more quickly than metal, so small "pecks" (frequent raising of the drill to clear the wood off the drill) a small fine stiff brush can be very helpful to clear this debris out of the flutes.
 
The last thing to remember is the depth to diameter ration of the hole deep holes are more difficult to drill for all the above reasons
Finally use the best quality drills you can afford and I always use a centre drill to spot the hole, this means that if I am drilling a number of holes I can drill all the centre spots first (following all the numbers on the index map drawing) then go back and follow all the numbers again with the drill this is the fastest way when I an drilling multiple holes to the same depth. Or I can change the drill from the centre drill to the hole size drill with each cut, it depends on what I am drilling and for what purpose I choose which way to go.
 
I hope this answers your question.
 
All of what I just said applies to using a drill press mainly, and also ensuring that the work is rigid (clamped in some way is also very important) when working freehand or using a hand held drilling devise drill or Dremel type tool similar conditions apply but they are not quite the same, and I take my hat off to all the steady hands out there, drilling treenail holes. I cringe when I read of using a # 70+ drill bit by hand.
 
 
Omega actually this really applies to your Ingomar yacht model 
 
 
Michael

Firing that gun, without warning those down range and thinking about their probable reaction reminds me of a fisherman who was not where he was susposed to be. Rigulas missiles used 2 jato bottles at launch as well as having the jet engine running at full power.  The fisherman had been hearing that for 5 minunts or more and was used to it. The jatos go off with a blast and a roar with lots of smoke and he did not expect that. Then because those missiles were remotly controled by a sheperting fighter with a wingman as cover, those jets arivied at moment of launch and take control from the launching ship. There is a lot going on, lots of noise and smoke. The noise was gone by the time the smoke cleared and we could see the fisherman, he was at the stern of his boat pulling on the starter rope like mad, got her going and left. Happened at the Missile Range off of the Califorina coast aboard the USS Helena CA 75, 1960 or 61. I was watching from Mount 36, it was a grandstand seat. Anyway the probable reaction of those down range if not warned when seeing that, bale of hay charge go off, whould have been somewhat like what that fishermans was feeling at launch. Bale of hay,is the turm fo firring a propelling charge without the projectal, not a blank.
jud

You can try the fans.  What someone (I think it's RustyJ's Winchelsea build) did was make a box with holes in it.  The shop vac plugs into it and all sanding is done on top such that the sawdust is pulled into the box and then the vac.   If your vac has an exit port that accepts a hose, run a hose out of the shop so the dust goes outside.  Or, get a shop vac that uses a bag and a filter.  I have one of those and work in the house.  There's no dust going anywhere. I also set it up to suck up the dust if I'm doing massive sanding with frequent stops to vacuum up any that falls by the wayside the rest of the time.

I would take that hull to someone with a milling machine, you will endup with a uniform cavity. Could be importent when you start adding your own details.
Or, secure that hull on a movable saw table and slice it into rib paterns or bulkheads to trace.
jud

tons and tons and tons
from really long pipe clamps to tiny C-clamps, medium size spring clamps to cloths pins
and somehow there is never enough

Charlie -
 
I had a similar situation with a cargo hold I wanted to incorporate into a solid hull.  What you want to do is a lot more complex, but maybe this might work.  Like you, my biggest concern was maintaining a consistent thickness while carving out the hull.  I think the photos pretty much explain what I did.  The pegs were 3/16" long, but you could make them any length you wish.  Once the area was hollowed out, the rest was pretty straight forward.  I ended up installing mirrors behind the cargo to give the illusion of depth.  I hope this helps.  Good luck!
 
BobF

I would take that hull to someone with a milling machine, you will endup with a uniform cavity. Could be importent when you start adding your own details.
Or, secure that hull on a movable saw table and slice it into rib paterns or bulkheads to trace.
jud

I’m happy to see the topic discussed since one seldom sees baggywrinkle, or any chafe gear of any kind, depicted on a model. Probably this is due to its not being shown on rigging plans.
I have used brown paper glued over bits of line on the model to simulate leather chafe gear but the only baggywrinkle I put on any of my models was on ship in a bottle models of schooners. As a joke I made the baggyrinkle on THOSE models out of a tiny slice of  rope yarn. Thus it was made out of real baggywrinkle.
I hate to be the guy that suggests a technique I have not actually ever tried or seen done, but here goes: On a large scale model one could almost make real baggywrinkle? One could shave off 1/32” rope fibers from the yarn of a tight laid natural fiber line, and drag a thread dipped in glue through the pile of fibers. When dry the thread could be spiraled around a quarter lift or wherever.

Mine arrived about 3 weeks after I put in the order. I got the serving machine 2.5. The power supply is shipped separately from China because Australia uses a different (240 volt) system.
 
I found that the machine worked much better after I lubricated all the shafts (where they go through the `posts') with fishing reel grease. This grease is designed to use with small gears and worked particularly well when I engaged the power option which would not turn very well on the very lowest settings before greasing.
 
I also made an addition/modification to the machine by adding another shaft to hold my seizing cotton rather than having it sitting loose in front of the machine. There was just enough room on the `feet' of the `posts' to add a couple of right angled brackets that I cut and folded from some scrap perspex. I used the same diameter threaded rod as was used in the other shafts on the machine.