This project is helping you learn the value of fixturing in machining.
Tom
Your right. This project has already taught me a lot. It has also given me the opportunity build some of the tools, equipment, and fixtures I have wanted to build but haven’t gotten around to!!
I’m positive I will learn a lot more as I proceed. I’m getting to do a lot of new operations as well. One of the next parts will be the Cam. This will require a rotary table which I haven’t used before.
After taking the summer off from my project I finally have gotten back into the shop. I had a few hours available today to do some machining. I started back with machining the Cam. It started out as a piece of 1.5” cold roll that I turned down to 1.25” and parted off to 1” long.
I then had to drill two holes as well as open the top portion up so only the bottom portion of the holes where threaded for 8-32 set screws. Then I tapped the holes using a small tap handle the I built last spring.
After those holes where done I needed to stand it up vertical and drill a .500 hole directly inline with the two holes but .250 off of centre to give me the cam action. My DRO made this a easy operation. I drilled the hole out and finished it with my .500 reamer for the perfect fit on the crank shaft.
I got a few of the small parts done last weekend. I started off by making the Air Tubes that fit between the Valve Body and Cylinder. I made these out of 1/4” A2 Drill Rod instead of just using cold roll like that plans called for. I like the look of Drill Rod better then Cold Roll. They are .500 long with a .125 hole to allow the air to pass through.
Then I machined the pin that will connect the Valve Rod to the Valve. It is made out of the same 1/4 Drill Rod. The fun part of this one was the cross drilled hole through the end of the pin. #60 Drill.
This is the Rod the connects to the piston and passes through the back side of the cylinder to the slide that the connecting rod attaches to. 1/4” drill rod with 6-32 threaded holes in each end.
The final part from this weekend was the Valve Rod. Made out of .125 Drill Rod with both ends threaded.
All simple parts machined this weekend. But a few off the list.
Made some more progress on the bar stock steam engine. I finished up the three pillow blocks that will support the crank shaft. They are made out of 3/8” thick aluminum plate. I first cut the blocks a bit larger then required. Then I milled the blocks to the final width, but I left them slightly oversized for the height.
I them found the back left corner and started off by plunge cutting the hole for the bushing with a .625 end mill using a vise stop for repeatability.
Once that was done in each block I set them back up and used my boring head to take the hole out to a press fit for oil lite bushings. I overshot my target dimensions slightly on the first one. Found out that the dial on the boring head isn’t perfectly accurate. So from then on once I was close I would advance the cut with a dial gauge on the boring head. That solved the problem. Luckily the first block is still useable. Tom G told me to do a lite knurle on the bushing to help make it a press fit again.
I then located and drilled the two mounting holes into the bottom of each block. Then I plunge cut two holes on the face of each block to give me the radius at the bottom the blocks and open up the tops of the mounting holes.
I then was able to use my rotary table for the first time to cut the upper radius on the pillow blocks. I started off by plunge cutting all the way around the radius. Then moved in to the finished size and did a final cut.
Once that was done I cut the excess material off with my vertical band saw. Then I finished the pillow blocks up on my mill using a fixture plate I made when I machined the connecting rod.
The final step will be to polish them to a mirror finish at a later date, and press in the oil lite bushings.
