burrell4040 Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Hi all, i have just joined up to this forum after being put on to it by a friend. If the subject of this thread is not allowed for whatever reason or is in the wrong area of the forum please remove it. Now, being my first post to the forum, i thought i should add a bit about myself before i get on to the build. I have always been interested in steam engines since before i can remember, i was brought up around the hobby without much choice, not that i would have chosen otherwise! My main interest under the steam category is road steam, i am not quite so knowledgable on rail steam but i am certainly no fool when it comes to it. The main things that got me hooked on all things steam was both my Dad and my Grandad having built miniature traction engines which were completed not long after i was born, my Grandad making a 3" scale Fowler and my Dad a 4" scale Burrell. My parents later came to own full size Burrell road roller 4040, built 1926 and went on to build another miniature, a 4" scale McLaren road locomotive. Now me and Dad are making another engine, a 6" scale Burrell (note the recurring theme of Burrells!), so there is no sign of the passion fading! On to the build, first some information. I have chosen to model a Burrell traction engine. It will be based on a general 8nhp engine with 3 speeds and front tanks. The rest of the details are yet to be decided and i will have a lot of time to decide most things! I have already made up the majority of the engine in Google Sketchup to get an idea of what sizes parts need to be made. Below should be 2 images which show roughly what i am aiming to model. (images from www.steamscenes.org.uk) I would like to add that i am new to using plasticard as a modelling material, in the past i have used cardboard to a moderate level of success but i am trying to get used to using plastic instead! First off, i started by making the crankshaft as this is a reasonably simple part to make but is complex enough to get used to the material a little, below are photos, apologies for the poor quality. Crank webs made up: Starts of the governor pulley: Governor pulley finished: Crank webs glued to the governor pulley, starting to take shape: First crankshaft end glued on: (Mostly) finished crankshaft. The eccentrics need to be added at a later date along with some high points which mark where the crank main bearings run: Next i set about working on the nearside crankshaft main bearing bracket. First off the basic flat parts of the bracket: Starting to come together a bit: Ribs added and starting to add small bits of plasticard tubing to look like studs and nuts: The finished piece requiring possible filling, filing, sanding and eventually painting. I did make a start on a flywheel but i have since decided to try to 3d print this part as i dont fancy cutting out 5 or 6 layers of spokes and then putting a rim on them! That is all my progress for now, constructive criticism is gratefully received. As i mentioned at the start of the thread, if this subject is not appropriate or accepted here, feel free to remove it, if not i will get more pictures up soon when i make more progress! Cheers, Josh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Although this is a railway modeling forum, I say it belongs here as much as anything. Road Steam, being so similar to rail, should be allowed. Already, your efforts surpass mine. What scale are you building it to? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nevadablue Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 I certainly hope it is OK, I want to watch. I love traction engines. Yes, scale? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WD0-6-0 Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Although this is a railway modeling forum, I say it belongs here as much as anything. Road Steam, being so similar to rail, should be allowed. Already, your efforts surpass mine. What scale are you building it to? Don't put yourself down too quickly Trevor, your wagons are easily the best wagons I've seen. Otherwise I completely agree, it's nice to have some variety but still appropriate modelling Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burrell4040 Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 Thanks for the positive feedback, the engine is not being built to a scale as such, just making it look proportionally correct at a size that is small enough to be convenient and big enough to be able to add details. Overall approximate size of the model will be around 380mm long, 180mm wide and 220mm tall or thereabouts. Cheers, Josh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sej Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Hi Josh, great stuff, very informative, looking forward to seeing how this progresses! Cheers Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold unravelled Posted February 4, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 4, 2016 That's a nice start, I'll look forward to watching progress. Rather than 3d printing, have you thought of lasercutting to fit in better with your established layering methods? It might be worth seeing if there are any maker, hacker or model engineering groups within reach who can provide access to a laser cutter. Local schools might be another option. Even if you have to go to a commercial outfit, having prepared cad files should keep costs down. The main problem with lasercutting is that plasticard melts and doesn't cut cleanly, but there are close alternatives such as rowmark which can be cut very cleanly. However these are more expensive and need stronger solvents. You might even find someone who has experience in cutting plasticard resonably well It may be that it cuts OK at low speed and power settings, whch would be all right for hobby use but explains why it's not used commercially. Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burrell4040 Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 That's a nice start, I'll look forward to watching progress. Rather than 3d printing, have you thought of lasercutting to fit in better with your established layering methods? It might be worth seeing if there are any maker, hacker or model engineering groups within reach who can provide access to a laser cutter. Local schools might be another option. Even if you have to go to a commercial outfit, having prepared cad files should keep costs down. The main problem with lasercutting is that plasticard melts and doesn't cut cleanly, but there are close alternatives such as rowmark which can be cut very cleanly. However these are more expensive and need stronger solvents. You might even find someone who has experience in cutting plasticard resonably well It may be that it cuts OK at low speed and power settings, whch would be all right for hobby use but explains why it's not used commercially. Dave Thanks for the feedback and suggestion, i did give laser cutting a thought early on but i would still be left with a considerable amount of work to what with somehow gluing the rim to the spokes and then a huge amount of filing and filling to get the spokes to have the tapered oval shape that they should be. It is certainly possible as a last resort though. I am going to go about making up the flywheel in SolidWorks at the start of next week all being well and look in to getting it 3d printed, if not i will look into laser cutting. Thanks again for the feedback and suggestion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burrell4040 Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 Hi all, no physical progress to show tonight but i have been very busy altering my existing SketchUp model to make it into what i am working towards with the plasticard version. Below are some screenshots of the general layout. I haven't included all parts because quite frankly they don't add much to the model and how it is manages to show off the proportions well enough as it is in my eyes. Some parts are very rough due to the limited capabilities of the program but you get the idea. Hopefully i will have some real progress to show again tomorrow! Cheers, Josh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium CF MRC Posted February 5, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 5, 2016 Will the three road speeds be selectable Josh, with the correct Burrell locking mechanism? Making the RH gear cluster will be entertaining! I presume you are using Little Samson drawings as a basis. Good luck with the project Tim Watson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WD0-6-0 Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 I believe, and he'll correct me if I'm wrong, that he's using his own drawings. His work with a pencil is very impressive Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burrell4040 Posted February 5, 2016 Author Share Posted February 5, 2016 Will the three road speeds be selectable Josh, with the correct Burrell locking mechanism? Making the RH gear cluster will be entertaining! I presume you are using Little Samson drawings as a basis. Good luck with the project Tim Watson Hi Tim, didn't realise you were on here too. Unfortunately i dont think im capable enough to make the gear selectors work, as much as i would like to although that will not stop me from having a go at it! I think with the gears i will just do what looks about right and not worry too much about the details too small to include. While i do have a set of 6" scale Burrell drawings from Little Samson Models, i am not using them for this build as this is based on an 8nhp engine using dimensions from parts i made from cardboard a year or two ago. Effectively it is a freelance, made with the correct proportions and details in mind without being too specific with sizes. Cheers, Josh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium CF MRC Posted February 5, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 5, 2016 Proportions look spot on for a 8 horse engine. Below is the sort of stuff I do on this forum: a bit smaller than 4" scale... Tim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burrell4040 Posted February 5, 2016 Author Share Posted February 5, 2016 Proportions look spot on for a 8 horse engine. Below is the sort of stuff I do on this forum: a bit smaller than 4" scale... Tim Thank you, i would like to think they look about right - close enough to my eye! That is very impressive, is that scratch built? If so what materials do you use? Cheers, Josh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium CF MRC Posted February 5, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 5, 2016 It's 2mm scale and scratchbuilt in metal: long way to go yet before complete. The build is described here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/65499-whats-on-your-2mm-work-bench/page-48 It started on page 41 of this thread. Tim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burrell4040 Posted February 7, 2016 Author Share Posted February 7, 2016 Hi all, been busy the last 2 days so not a massive amount of progress to report unfortunately. I have however been doing bits and bobs as and when i can. As a result of this i now have all of the component parts for one front wheel hub, (i have yet to make the other one), I have made a start on the offside crank bearing bracket, although this is on hold until i plan the best way to do it, i have cut out 75% of the layers for the first rear hub and most notably i have made and finished the reversing lever for the engine which i have to say i am extremely pleased with. I wont bother to add photos of the hub parts or the crank bearing bracket as they are still in flat plastic form, i will add photos of them as they are worked on. Front hub: The individual parts to the hub, the inner and outer covers and the two halves of the centre which require lining up and gluing together and the oil pipe adding. The yellowy looking stuff on these parts is Milliput filler to give the inside of the hub a nice radius like it should have. The slots in the hub will eventually be where the spokes go. I have yet to make these and a hubcap. When the whole wheel is completed i will drill a hole through the hub and think of a way to allow them to turn while still being attached. Suggestions appreciated, i am thinking of gluing on a collar to the end of the axle which will be concealed inside the hubcap as per the actual engine. Reversing lever: Here is my favourite part so far, a nice basic part to make. Very fiddly but enjoyable to make and i am very happy with the end result. The main pillar of the lever is made of two sheets of plasticard (0.5mm i believe) glued together to create a strong core. Little pads were added to either side along with a 3mm tube section to the top as a base for the handle. These parts were filed to give the correct look to how they should. The handle was then glued on the top with a small dowel holding it in the 3mm tube mentioned previously. the first two pictures show it mid construction, before the latch mechanism had been added and the taper applied to the handle, the last two pictures show the completed part ready to fit when all mating parts are made. I hope to get some more work done tomorrow ideally, hopefully have some more interesting progress soon. Cheers, Josh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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