Heroine 1838 by ggrieco - FINISHED - Scale 1:24 - Western River Steamboat as she appeared before hitting a snag in the Red River

[Cathead]

Western river boats certainly weren't the King's navy. Great details, thanks for sharing.

[mtaylor]

Thanks, Glenn.   I was looking at the wear grooves in that shaft.  From your description it sounds like it was built and put to work with repairs on the fly. 

[kees de mol]

Very nice build

[ggrieco]

This last week was Spring Break for us.  I took a few days off so I didn't get much done.  I was able make a little progress on the paddlewheel.  They just need the buckets and they will be complete.  Hopefully, this next week will be a little more productive.

 

 

 

 

[tadheus]

Elegance in precision, very nice work Ggrieco.

 

I have a steam engine to your model.

 

 

 

 

 

Paul

[Jack12477]

Glenn, it's beautiful !  WOW !

[druxey]

Not much done this week, perhaps; but thanks for the eye candy!

[ggrieco]

This week I tried to finish up the Paddle wheels.  I just about made it, just the nuts on the starboard wheel to finish.

 

The buckets for the paddle wheels were 15 to 16 inches wide, 60 inches long and 1 1/2 inches thick.  Each was attached to the spokes with two U-bolts.  The U-bolts were about 3/4 inch in section with a 2 inch nut.  Some of the bolts were entirely square in section, some were round and as in the photo, some were a little of both.  I'm not sure if there was a reason for the nuts being put on flat side out.

 

The area around where the bolts went through the bucket was reinforced with a short plank about 14 inches by 8 inches by 1 1/2.  Sizes varied and the seemed to be crudely cut.

 

I made several attempts to bend the u-bolts by hand but I couldn't get them to sit properly against the spokes.  I made a simple jig to swage each bolt and it worked well.  I was able to make the entire pile of 96 in less than a half an hour.

 

 

 

 

The individual pieces of the buckets going together.

 

 

The completed port wheel (minus the throw-out bearing) and the almost complete starboard bearing.

 

 

 

 

 

Kevin and I had the pleasure of a visit from Mitch Michelson this week.  Mitch, we enjoyed the day and hope to see you again soon.

[michael mott]

96 U bolts, that's 192 threaded ends, a lot of threading and tapping on top of the woodwork, you were a busy man this week.

 

Michael

[Cathead]

Interesting. So the buckets were one wide plank, with one U-bolt per spoke. In comparison, both Bertrand and Arabia had two parallel planks, each with two U-bolts per spoke, like this:

 

Arabia: http://janetbtaylor.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/arabia4.jpg?w=300

Bertrand (my model): http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/10356-steamboat-bertrand-by-cathead-187-wooden-missouri-river-sternwheeler/page-7#entry344717

Bertrand (as displayed at the museum): http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/10356-steamboat-bertrand-by-cathead-187-wooden-missouri-river-sternwheeler/page-7#entry348901

 

These two also don't have any reinforcing planks, just the bucket planks, which appear narrower in Arabia and Bertrand than in Heroine, though I can't tell for sure. Your reinforcing plank is 14" wide, which makes the bucket plank a bit wider still, while the others look like 12" or less to my eyes. But the overall bucket would be wider on both the later boats, given the double planks.

 

Any theories on these differences in wheel configuration? Is it just that Heroine is a smaller boat and so used a simple one-plank paddle? Or was there an evolution to broader, two-plank paddles as being preferable?

 

EDIT: additional question: what's the diameter of Heroine's wheel overall, compared to the width of the bucket? On Bertrand, the wheel was estimated at 18' diameter, with each bucket about 2' wide overall. My eye feels like Heroine has a different ratio, but measurements will tell if I'm off.

 

Also, looking back at my Bertrand wheel, it hit me that I never finished one important detail: the U-bolts on the buckets! I'd meant to draw them in with a fine marker, as I didn't think I could get them right with wire at 1:87, but apparently never did and never noticed. Luckily the wheel turns, so I can still do it without too much fuss. Embarrassing.

Edited March 26, 2016 by Cathead

[GLakie]

Love those details Glenn! Nicely done! 

[druxey]

Thank you for our Saturday 'fix', Glenn. Outstanding work, as ever.

[Jim Lad]

Just catching up after a couple of weeks away, Glenn.  Senses overload from the abundance of magnificent photos.

 

John

[ggrieco]

Thanks everybody,

 

Michael, I hope I haven't let you down. I cheated a bit with the u-bolt nuts. The hole is undersized and they are driven on tightly-- no threads. 00-90 is the smallest tap and die I have - too large for the 1/32 inch rod. So far, all the other fasteners have been threaded. Sorry about that.

 

Cathead, Heroine's paddle wheels were 16 feet from spoke tip to tip. We haven't given the dimensions the full consideration that they need yet but your observations have started me wondering. I need to look back at the table in Adam Kane's thesis. I think he lists several vessels with the size of their paddle wheels. Hopefully, we can find a pattern.

 

Glenn

[dvm27]

Don't feel guilty, Glen. I have been using simulated nuts from Scale Hardware http://www.scalehardware.com/simulated-micro-hardware-c-47. You can't fake it any better than this.

[ggrieco]

Thanks Greg,

 

I've never seen this page before. I've been looking for a good source for fasteners smaller than 00-90. I have a feeling I'll be using this site in the future.

 

Glenn

[michael mott]

Oh Glenn.... I'm mortified.... simply mortified

Actually I had not realized the rods were that small a diameter, and if you mentioned the diameter in the text I missed it because of the impact of the pictures. And who need to struggle with 000 x 120 anyway.

 

Michael

[ggrieco]

I finally completed the paddle wheels to the point I can start tying the drive train to the engine.  This week I was able to get most of the pittman/crosshead assembly done.  Just the feedwater pump and reach rods to finish before moving onto the boilers.

 

 

U-joints for the reach rods.

 

 

Crosshead slides.

 

Testing the fit of the crosshead and end of the pittman.

 

 

 

Pittman ends freshly milled.

 

 

Straps soldered to pittman ends.

 

Finished pittman strap with bearing, wedge and keys before blackening.

 

 

 

After blackening with bolts added.

 

Flywheel end of pittman.

 

Crosshead end of pittman.

 

 

 

[dvm27]

The sheer excellence of your woodwork and metal work makes this one of the most enjoyable logs on MSW. It looks like this could be a working model with the proper engine.

[Jack12477]

I am in awe !  WOW !

[Cathead]

That is so freakin' cool! I agree with Greg, I keep expecting to see it leap into action.

[chborgm]

What can you say beyond what has already been said. WOW!!!!

[chborgm]

My grandfather was a stationary Engineer at the Duquesne Brewery it Pittsburgh,and he used to take me with him on Sundays when he had to check things.

The details of this bring me back to those trips. Wow again. Heat up a kettle and connect the steam.

[Mahuna]

I'm constantly amazed at the workmanship on your model - excellent!!

[druxey]

Thank you for your latest update, Glenn. Before I read the other comments, I too was thinking "She looks about ready to turn over!" That is beautiful work.

[EdT]

Truly amazing work, Glenn.

 

Ed

[captainbob]

If I didn't know it wasn't full size . . . wait is it? 

 

Bob

[mtaylor]

 I do believe we all looked at that thought "well, fire up the boiler and get this rolling on the river".

[steamschooner]

Glenn, Incrediblely awesome!

[albert]

Fantastic.