Echo by Maury S - FINISHED - Cross-Section

[dgbot]

Great work Maury, makes me wish I had bought the kit when I was in better shape.  Maybe down the road so I will be watching and learning from your log.  Remember enjoy yourself and have fun.

David B

[Maury S]

The axle construction is in the next installment, so I'm finishing off the wood details on the pumps, stanchions  etc.  Nothing will be glued to the model since lining up the axles thru the rhodings, etc. will be critical.  I don't want to get ahead of David and Greg because it will inevitably lead to me taking something apart.

Maury

[Maury S]

I had some time to do some metal work.  The rhodings are bearings that support the chain pump axle.  You can't install the cisterns 'til you line up the axle between the bitts and the top of the cistern.

I started by lining up the 1/16" tubing on top of a 1/32 x 1/8 strip of brass.  I silver-soldered the pieces together for about 2".  I then used regular solder to fill in the gap and create a single piece.  The regular solder is much softer and melts quickly (way too much solder went on).  I had a lot of filing to do to bring it into shape.  Once I was happy with the cross-section shape, I cut off 1/32" slices to make the rhodings.  A 1/32" brass rod (axle) fits into the tubing.  A really good learning exercise with soldering.  I blackened them (1:8 dilute Blacken-It), but they came out pinkish, not black.  Maybe the apple cider vinegar I used to prep them.  Anyone have this experience?   I'll re-try with white vinegar and see what happens.

Maury

[tlevine]

The problem is most likely the soft solder.  I believe Stay Brite will blacken.  Most soft solder will not.

[Maury S]

Thanks Toni,  The pieces were totally covered with a "silver" soft solder before I filed it down.  That's most likely the problem.

Maury

[gjdale]

Maury,

 

I've had success blackening soldered pieces using Birchwood Casy Brass Black. I normally use the silver bearing solder paste, which I believe is what you have used here?

[Maury S]

In real life, the spaces between the frames would have been filled-in.   Those pieces are not included in the plans provided.

 Maury

[Dan Vadas]

Hi Maury,

 

Just found this build log - good work so far .

 

It makes me all the more inspired to do a similar cross-section, but of "Vulture" rather than an Echo. It'll be a nice companion for my full model .

 

 Danny

[druxey]

And take a lot less time, Dan!

[Maury S]

Thanks Danny.  It sure has been a big help in advancing my skill level (as following your Vulture log).  Looking back, the greatest challenge so far was getting the elm pumps installed since my locker was a bit too narrow to allow a straight run.  Measure 3 times....  A few adjustments to the plans along the way (I got too far ahead of the instructions) required some minor revisions but I think all that is straightened out.  Next for me will be aligning the axles for the chain pumps...getting the rhodings set properly on the bits.  As for Druxey's comment, I'm 2 1/2 years into the project...seems longer than your Vulture build.

Maury

[dvm27]

That's exactly what I did, Danny. I constructed a cross-section of my Swan class Pegasus model. It was a lot of fun and actually fits on a shelf above my desk.

 

[Dan Vadas]

Hi Maury,

 

Thanks for dropping in to my Vulture log from time to time .

 

I'm 2 1/2 years into the project...seems longer than your Vulture build.

 

 

Vulture took me a week under 4 years to build. I'm guessing that some of the "delay" in your build has been in waiting for further developments from Greg and Druxey? I suppose that's one of the "hazards" of doing a Group Build .

 

To give you a "kick start" on the next step, and maybe a tip or two in their construction, here are the posts where I build the Pump Brakes on Vulture, to save you the trouble of finding them in my log. I'd say they would be similar to the Echo.

 

Greg - lovely cross-section, that's almost exactly what I had in mind  .

 

 Danny

[Maury S]

Toni Levine inspired me to take on the pump cranks (I've been putting this part off for months while I did some work on the Cutter Cheerful).  The axle is 1/32" brass rod, the side parts are 1/64 x 3/32" strips that I filed down after drilling out the evenly spaced (10/32") holes for the axle.  I drilled them a bit under-sized and reamed them to fit in case there was any wobble in the drill bit.  The outer parts were silver soldered first, then the rhodings inserted on the center (see black parts in pic.) and then the two parts soldered together.  Cleaned up with a file and ready to blacken and mount on the bitts.  The outer ends excess will be cut off when installed.  Thanks again to Toni for illustrating how she did hers.  My soldering is getting better, but coffee in the AM is a detriment to steady hands.

Maury

[druxey]

I guess Toni got you all pumped! (Sorry about that.) Your work on the axletrees, cranks and rhodings looks excellent, Maury.

[dvm27]

Nice work Maury. Like the way you soldered everything with those rhodings in place.

[tlevine]

Looks great Maury.  Gosh, it's been awhile since I inspired anyone!

[Maury S]

Thanks for the comments and likes. All blackened and in place.  I guess I'll have to make the other one now.  (Toni, don't kid yourself, your work has inspired a lot of us!)

Maury

[mtaylor]

Beautiful work Maury.  The details in that photo are wonderful.

 

 

Toni, you inspire more of us than you'll ever know.

[Maury S]

Both cranks are done.  One works, the other is hung up on one of the bitts. 

Maury

[mtaylor]

Ouch on the hanging one.   Can it be solved with an adjustment?  They still look great.

Edited September 7, 2015 by mtaylor

[tlevine]

Anyone who would try and turn the crank ought to have their hand severely slapped.  Maury, looks great.

[dvm27]

Toni's right. Just position them inboard (like Toni did) and no one will ever know there's a clearance issue. Are you retrofitting the cistern rhodings? I see you have the surfaces shaped to receive them.

[Maury S]

Greg,  OOPS!  I'll work on the rhodings...I was wondering why I made so many extras!

Maury

[druxey]

You should have four left over, Maury. Let's hope so!

[Maury S]

Yeah Druxey, But how do I get them on?  If I took the axle off, I still could not get the rhodings around the bends...so I'd have to take the axle apart.  I think I have to make new ones in pieces that can be set in place.

Maury

[dvm27]

You could mill a veritcal slit from the bottom of the rhoding  to just even with the top of the axeltrees. Once you've slid the rhoding down into place the remaining slit opening should be almost inperceptible. 

[druxey]

Some rhodings were open above, allowing one to slip the axletree down into it. Obviously this won't work on the cistern ones, but Greg's solution should do the trick. I guess it's a case of festina lente - make haste slowly!

[Maury S]

Greg,

I was thinking of building up some rhodings from paper, but I like your suggestion much better.  Maybe just a hacksaw to cut thru the bottom will be wide enough.  I'm not sure my smallest mill bits are small enough.

Maury

[dvm27]

Whatever floats you boat Maury.  Hacksaw or small slitting blade (.020-ish) on your table saw would do fine.

[Dan Vadas]

Or perhaps one of those very thin blades you can get for a Dremel etc - they are only 0.14mm (0.005") thick.

 

 

  Danny