# Redbeards Ruby-Heisler



## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hello again!
Well the pirates are finding it hard to keep AFLOAT in this economy, so they have decided to try their hand (and hooks) at logging.








I have decided to take my second Ruby kit and build a Heisler out of it. I will not be using a specific engine as a prototype, but will be using a combination of three different small Heislers I found online. Due to an incredibly threatening copyright notice, I will not be posting pictures of the three locomotives. They are all small (as in 14 ton) two truck Heislers that scale down to Ruby parts quite well. The reason for not using a single prototype is that most of the 14 ton Heislers did not use a steam dome. Also one of the three had the neatest walkways and rails I have seen on a Heisler. My plan is to use the Ruby boiler (hence the importance of using a steam dome), burner, throttle, fuel tank, cylinders and valves, and most likely the cab. (well....maybe just part of the cab) So I will be building the trucks and drive train, the frame, the crankshaft, and cylinder mounting system. This will be a bit more complex than the Mason or the railtruck so it may be a longer project. I will start by building the trucks. I cast 8 drivers for this a while back.









After a few hours of machining, boring, drilling and tapping, and finishing, they are ready!










I know this does not look like a "big" start, but I started planning this in April of 2008............ so it's a pretty big deal to me!
The drivers measure 1.31 inches, which scales up almost to 28 inches (which is what I was shooting for). Next will be the axles with ring gears, the pinion gear mounts, and drive shaft mounts. Then I will build the truck frames around these pieces. Since I am using so much of the Ruby, not everything will be built "just like a Heisler" but I think it will still turn out well! I did purchase Kozo 's Heisler book since I needed to understand the basics (geometry etc) of the Heisler engine before I could design one out of Ruby parts. I am pretty sure I can build this thing, but we will just have to wait and see what happens.

redbeard AKA Larry Newman SA #1956


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## Jack - Freshwater Models (Feb 17, 2008)

Larry, 

Interestng project! Heisler is my favorite geared loco but the spiral bevel gears would stop me from building one. I suppose plain bevel gears might work??? Did you make your driver pattern? How did you cast the drivers? I hope you share more photos as the projects moves along! 

Jack


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Way to go Larry! I'll be watching this with great interest. I'm with Jack, how did you do the drivers? I know you are a jeweler so I'm guessing that has something to do with it.. Thanks for posting.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Jack and Winn, 
Yes, I am going to use plain bevel gears.(I hope!) And Winn is correct about the jewelry techniques, a friend who has done a lot of live steam work gave me an extra driver at a steam-up. I made a mold from it and injected waxes to cast my drivers. As are most of the things I am doing in loco building, it was a "learning experience" ! I am sure that I could do a better job of it today than I did last spring. But they are here and ready so I am pleased. I plan on posting pics along the way.


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By redbeard on 05/11/2009 6:51 AM
Hi Jack and Winn, 
Yes, I am going to use plain bevel gears.(I hope!) And Winn is correct about the jewelry techniques, a friend who has done a lot of live steam work gave me an extra driver at a steam-up. I made a mold from it and injected waxes to cast my drivers. As are most of the things I am doing in loco building, it was a "learning experience" ! I am sure that I could do a better job of it today than I did last spring. But they are here and ready so I am pleased. I plan on posting pics along the way. 




The process is called 'cire perdu' [lost wax in English] for those not familiar with jewellers' methods of making fine small castings in almost any metal [usually gold or silver]. It works equally well for bronze in any scale! All the little details brass bits on your accuCraft/Aster models are made like this...as are those by Trackside Details and others.....

tac
http://www.ovgrs.org


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## dwegmull (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Larry, 
This sounds like a fun project! 
For your bevel gears, you may want to look at these guys: SDPSI (click on the shop icon. You might need to use IE to view their website correctly. Both Safari and Chrome don't work and I suspect that Firefox may have some trouble as well). 
They even have spiral bevel gears: https://sdp-si.com/eStore/Direct.asp?GroupID=2 


I'm curious: are you going to keep the piston reverser of the Ruby or build your own valve gear?


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, your construction articles are among the most informative and entertaining of the posts here. I am looking forward to following your progress. 

Larry (the one in VT)


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## Charles M (Jan 2, 2008)

Jack, 

If all that is stopping you from building a Heisler is making gears, Heislers used straight cut bevel gears. So no fancy spiral gears to make, unlike the gearing on a Climax . Hope this helps and gets another locomotive started . The world needs more steam. Good luck. 


Larry, 
Looking forward to seeing the construction process on this one. Should be a very interesting project. Good luck to you too ! 

Charles M SA # 74


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey David, 
Thanks for the steer to SDP, I have used them for several things in the past including sprockets and chain on the railtruck. But I found some steel gears at a local hobby shop. As for the reverser, I will probably use the Ruby reverser valve but that won't be decided until the engine is running on air. I am trying to utilize as much of the kit as possible. 
Larry 

Hey Larry, 
Has it gotten warm there yet? hehehe 
Larry (the other one)


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey, we really do get Spring in Vermont! However, the last time we steamed at my track, the wind blew over the passenger train. Twice. 
I'm not really wishing Summer to get here in a hurry--that means mosquitoes. 

Larry (the one in VT)


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## llynrice (Jan 2, 2008)

I understand your concern about honoring copyrights. Could you, however, point us to the web page(s) so that we might look at the prototype pictures ourselves.

Llyn


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi everybody!
Today I made mounting hubs for the ring gears and shafts for the pinion gears. I am using steel gears for some kind of radio controlled dune buggy. I used the basic technique from Kozo's book. I turned plugs to go into the ring gear, silver soldered (silver brazed) them into the gear, and turned them to size. Then I bored the axle hole, and drilled then tapped two set screw holes. The pinion gears I turned short shafts to fit into the pinion gear and soldered them on. Here are the pieces.









And here are the finished gears. (and no, they don't go together, one set is for each truck)










Next.......the gear boxes!

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Llyn, 
I sent you a PM. 
Larry


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey Larry, 

Are you done yet? Seriously, I love watching you tinker. It gives me hope, someday... Can't wait to see how she comes along.


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## lotsasteam (Jan 3, 2008)

Hi Larry! 
Could you let us know the item # of the gears you are using(brand) 
Thanks! 

manfred Diel SA #1313


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, 
Take good pix for Ron, could be another great article! You amaze me man!


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

How many of these Ruby kits do you have squirreled away? Is there an 0-4-4-4-0 Triplex in the future, for hauling King Cake to market? 
Keep the posts coming! 

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Manfred, 
What I bought was; 
HPI Racing (brand) #87193 "4 BEVEL GEAR DIFFERENTIAL CONVERSION SET" 
This set came with two ring gears and 4 pinion gears and cost me $10.00. 

Hi Jerry, 
Thanks for the compliment, really I just want more than I can afford so I figure out how to afford what I want. 

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Larry, 
Last kit for now, I know where there are more but no funding at the moment. Probably a good thing, will make me do the next one without any bought parts! This one will take a while though. 

Larry (the one who hates cold weather)


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Well I have been fighting a head cold for the past several days, so things are moving a little slow. Plus WORK keeps interfering with my train time.







But I do have the first gear box hashed out. Not finished, not pretty, but it works and it works smoothly. Took a piece of 1/2 inch by 1 inch brass bar that I had already, bored the axle holes in the center of the 1/2 inch side. Then I counter-bored the holes enough to press in a couple of sealed ball bearings. Kozo used bronze for the gearboxes so he did not need bushings or bearings. I found a local supply of these small bearings at a good price, so I am using bearings. Once the axle was located, I marked out the opening for the ring gear. Using the tried and proven "drill-saw-file" method I "milled" the opening. With the ring gear in the box on the axle I located the axis for the pinion by holding the pinion gear against the ring gear, moving it toward the ring gear teeth till it bound-up, marked that line, moved it away from the ring gear teeth till it started getting sloppy, marked that line. The I split the difference, but leaned a little towards too tight. Bored the pinion shaft hole, and slowly filed the inside of the gear box to the spot where the gears meshed freely. I turned down the male end of a 1/4 inch "socket set" flex joint to match the pinion shaft diameter. I am not sure yet what will be done to the opposite end yet. In the picture the two axles are approximately the correct distance apart, with the pinion shaft angle raised to clear the second axle, the flex joint and gear box turned nice and free.
















I still have a lot to do on this gear box, covers for top and bottom, cut off excess metal from the non-pinion end, and smooth all the edges and corners. Then I have to build a second one! More later!

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

I got the second gearbox roughed out and trial assembled this weekend. Here is a picture showing some of the steps.










And here is a picture of the two gearboxes. Much more to do and "more to come" !












Larry


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## dwegmull (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Larry, 
I'm impressed by the speed of your progress: I've been working on a simple servo bracket for two weeks... 
By the way, I noticed you've lined up your gearboxes correctly: as a kid I built a four wheel drive Lego car with the bevel gears on the same side... When I powered up the motor, the chassis split in half! Good times...


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

Looking good Larry! Your ability to create all this cool stuff with simple tools is terrific!! Me, my motto is, "Never use muscle when there's an electric or pneumatic motor to do the same job!" hehehe


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## rangerjoel (Jan 4, 2008)

Excellent progress photos, I really enjoy following your post. 
Joel


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi everbody! 

I borrowed a little time today and cut the four pieces that will be the truck sides. I drilled four holes in places I know will be cut off later, and bolted all four together to drill the axle holes and the pivot hole. The axle holes are "over-bored" for ball bearings (5/16 ") and the pivot bar is 1/4". Here is a picture of the four sides bolted together and drilled.










Next I cut the brass rod (3/16 ") for the inboard axles, and the 1/4 " steel pivot rod.











I have been worrying myself about not wanting to finish boring the drivers until I decide whether to press-fit them on the axles or use locktight as recommended in the Kozo book. So I drilled out some old plastic wheels, and trial fitted every thing. Here are two pictures of the truck so far.
(with the plastic wheels)




















More more more to come!
Larry


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## dwegmull (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Larry, 
Regarding the press fit versus locktight: all my fits are designed to be a press fit but when I screw-up they end up being locktight! 
Keep up the good work!


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

"Never use muscle when there's an electric or pneumatic motor to do the same job!" hehehe

Dwight, on this night I wish I had a nice heavy duty milling machine. I just spent two hours sawing and filing four blocks of brass for the bolster mounts on the trucks. Then when I went to take pictures to post I, realized I had measured the clearance for the blocks with the temporary wheels. They had to have about an eighth inch filed off. I did one of the four and took these pictures. "A" shows the block being sawed out of a piece of 1/2" by 1" brass bar. "B" shows the four blocks filed to what I thought was the right dimensions. "C" shows that they are too tall for the wheels I am using. "D" shows one block cut down and oriented on the truck side frame. These will be soldered together.











Too tired to file down the other three tonight, maybe tomorrow !
Larry


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Your perseverance in creating railroad "jewelry" with hand tools shows that an elaborate shop is not necessary to enjoy live steam in this scale. As for the goof with these blocks, it is easier to take off some material, rather than starting over or soldering on make-up. 
I really enjoy your postings, as I'm sure others do, too. 

Larry 
PS: a day or so ago, my part of VT was warmer than Miami, and the darn mosquitoes are arriving.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Today I got the blocks cut down, soldered the blocks to the truck sides, drilled and reamed the pivot bar holes, and trial fitted the two trucks to this point.










Next will be the brackets between the gear boxes and the pivot rods......I think! Once the gear boxes are secured, I will build the covers and finish them, then the sides get excess metal removed and the bolsters get built. Then.........


Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi everybody!
Well Memorial Day in NW Florida was rainy all day, so I worked on my trucks all day. The first thing I did was to build covers for the tops and bottoms of the gear boxes. I first cut four 1/16 inch thick plates to fit the gear boxes, then I marked where the ring gear protruded and "drilled and filed" rectangular holes to clear the gear.








In "A" there is a plate with the rectangle cut out sitting on the gear box. "B" shows how I notched the ends of a piece of rectangle tubing and folded the ends to form a box. "C" shows the box soldered to the plate. "D" shows the bottom of the box inside the rectangular hole in the plate. The three holes in the box are to vent the box so the solder does not "blow out", they also are where I started cutting out the part of the box tube in the rectangular hole. I cut these open with a small rotary bur. Next I cut off the excess metal on the gear boxes, and cut and shaped the truck side frames to look like "Heisler" truck frames. I also made the brackets which set the angle of the gear box. I have trial fit the rear truck to see how everything fits and how it looks. 
















These pictures show where the rear truck is at this point. All of the same parts are finished for the front truck but no assembly has been done. This lets me look at the one while I make the next group of parts. the bolsters are next, then I will build a quartering jig to mount the drivers to the axles. (tired of black plastic wheels!) More to come!

Larry


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## HMeinhold (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry,
your progress is breathtaking! My projects take usually >2 years from start to finish. Keep up the good work. 

Regards


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

I got the trucks put together !
I decided to paint







(Hi Dwight!) the components that will not easily come apart after the drivers are pressed onto the axles. Everything I read, said I would scratch and chip the paint, and I did. But this is far better than trying to mask parts and paint. All the pieces and parts are made and they all went together........... AND when I turn the shaft coupling, the wheels go round and round !!!!!!!!! 
Not perfectly smooth but there is no lubrication on the gears or anything else. I don't want to have to clean oil or grease off to paint the bare pieces. The side rods are .064 brass for now, they will be replaced with steel ones when I get the materials. (but I wanted to see the trucks move!) Here are some shots of the trucks. 
























I did a short video of the two trucks coupled together with a five inch long by 1/4 inch square rod. (was handy) Then I clamped another piece of brass to the bolsters and "pushed it back and forth" so you can see it work. 





 

This will probably be the last post for a few weeks, I am traveling a lot this coming month. I will be at a Rock and Gem show the first weekend in Birmingham, AL and I will be at the Big Bend Model Railroad Association's "Tallahassee Model Railroad Show and Sale" on the 20th of June. You can find me in the back where the live steam tracks are. For all of you Ruby-lovers out there, I will be using the biggest part of a Ruby kit to build this locomotive. (I promise!) But the trucks were the hardest parts for me to create so I wanted to build them first. Much more to come!

Larry


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, 
You must have been a jeweler, your stuff looks like gems!


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## highpressure (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Jerry Barnes on 05/28/2009 6:40 PM
Larry, 
You must have been a jeweler, your stuff looks like gems!

Jerry'
Larry is a Jeweler. You must come to Diamondhead & see some of his wares.
But keep your wife away from his area !!!!!


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

"But keep your wife away from his area !!!!!" 
Man it's nice to have friends! Hi Larry! 

And hi Larry! (the other one way up north) You mean you don't have mosquitoes year round? 

Hi Henner! Fast progress was because I knew I was going to be gone most of June, so I have neglected the rest of my life for a bit. 

Larry


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Somebody put an anchor on this guy to slow him down. His progress reports are making the rest of us look bad. 
About VT mosquitoes--they were so bad one year that we made the NBC national news, and someone proposed them as the state bird. 
And yes, my wife and granddaughter are enjoying wearing some of Larry's non-railroad creations. 

Larry in VT


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## afinegan (Jan 2, 2008)

Very nice work, One day when I acquire my machine shop tools and take a stab at this myself (had to come after my track ).. Will definitely use some of your methods in the future. Looking forward to more postings!


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey Andrew,
Thanks! It's good to hear from you and know who it is! (for those who were not there, I met Andrew at Diamondhead this year while he was burning up coal in his Ruby) I think maybe I should get a track up also, but building locos is just too much fun. Thanks again!


Larry

OK so I lied. I can't seem to stay away from this loco, I guess because there is so much to do. Now that the trucks are made I have a lot of components to make without the sage advice of Kozo. I am building a small (14 ton), "truss rod frame" Heisler. The plans from Kozo's book are all for a "diamond frame" (larger) Heisler. There is only one picture of a truss rod loco in the book, and no details. Plus I am building it using as many parts from a Ruby kit as I can. So the plans for the V-2 engine also don't apply. So I started wondering how to keep from getting too far down a "bad path", and save myself backing up. I did not want to build the frame until I was pretty sure that the dimensions will work around the Ruby parts. So I had the great idea of knocking together a wood frame to see how everything would fit together. Here is a picture of that frame. The actual frame will be about a half inch higher over the trucks than this picture, but I was looking for a fast, "down and dirty" way to check things.










I decided to use the Ruby cab, since these small Heislers had a separate tender at the rear of the cab. I shortened the cab by 5/8 inch, and moved the roof back so there is no overhang on the front.(more Heisler-ish) Then I moved the boiler back about 1/2 inch. This puts the rear dome up close to the cab. Here is a picture of the cab and boiler "balanced" on the wood frame.










I think that I will build the crankshaft and the cylinder mounts next, in case I need to adjust the frame dimensions for clearance. Then I will build the frame. That's all for now, I really have to get back to my other life...........................

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

The pirates are back!
After almost a month, I worked on the crankshaft this week. I built a mock-up from some scrap oak to get an idea of what I was going to make. I also mocked up a connecting rod in oak. Then tonight I knocked together a steel crankshaft. Still needs some cleaning up on the lathe but I was ready to get back on the pages. Here is a picture of the steel and the oak crankshafts and the oak connecting rod.











Crankshaft is made of 1/4 inch steel rod and 1/8 inch steel flat stock, silver soldered with "medium" solder. The rods will be duplicated out of 1/4 inch brass. Still have to work out a LOT of details. More later!!

Larry


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## Jack - Freshwater Models (Feb 17, 2008)

Larry, 

Looks like a good first try. You might want to try again with better fluxing and higher heat to get a sound joint w/o the mess on the shaft and webs. You should have minimal solder outside the joint when your done. You need to get some flux IN the joint and on the outside edges. 

When I do this I use drill rod (silver steel). The webs are drilled 2-3 thou oversize. A bit of the flux that matches the solder is first thinned with water and liberally applied to the crankshaft and crank. Then I assemble and clean the visible flux off with a wet piece of paper towl. Then apply thicker flux to the edges of the joint sparingly. I apply small bits of easy flo solder to the flux. I then heat gently to evaporate the water first and then increase heat til the solder runs and add more solder until the joints have a very small fillet of solder. 

Easy flo solder works at about 300-400 degF lower than medium so will flow much easier. In any case it takes a lot of heat! 

Thanks for the update! 

Jack


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## msimpson (Jan 5, 2009)

Hi all,

Redbeard helped me break in the new portable layout at the Tallahassee show. Both the Ruby Mason Bogie and the Railtruck ran long and hard, typically pulling 13 two-axle cars, 12 AMS ore cars and a Bachmann caboose. Well done and thanks! On the web, you guys only get to see how good these look. They run even better.

Larry was also a big help in set-up and takedown. Great guy. 

Say, Larry, I seem to be missing a pieces from my socket set. They didn't get mixed with yours, did they?

Regards all, Mike

P.S. Couplers. Pretty, shiny, brass couplers with corner holes for mounting. Gollum wants his precious couplers!


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey Jack, 
Thanks for the comments. As a jeweler, soldering steel is "foreign" to me. You wrote " A bit of the flux that matches the solder" what flux do you use and where do you find it. I am using "alpha fry" #53500 silver braze flux. (available locally) Jewelry suppliers don't carry any flux for ferrous metals. Advice is always appreciated. 
Larry 

Hey Mike, 
Thanks for the comments, and thanks to the Tallahassee gang for welcoming Harold and I again this year. Helping set-up is so routine for me since I set up and take down jewelry booths all the time. Also I like to see how tracks are put together and how well they function. The only "problem I see with your portable is that the sections are long for a truck bed. Of course this means fewer section and less assembly. Overall I would say "You done good!" I did not bring any sockets and don't have any in my tool box now, sorry. Maybe call that "other guy" that helped us take it down. I am getting a casting together this week, I'll let you know how things progress. 
Larry


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## msimpson (Jan 5, 2009)

Larry, 

Are you sure? Those look like flex sockets in the middle of your trucks? That was a joke, son. 

I will have the portable set up at the lake for 4th of July. This time with four of the straight sections -- 11 feet x 21. Working the kinks out. Yes, a little awkward and rough around the edges, but then so am I. 

And to those who are mystified by the "Gollum" remark, Larry cast some beautiful brass coupler pockets which I will be mounting on my Crickets. I would call them works of art but am afraid that woudl cause a price increase! Very, very nice. 

Regards all, Mike


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## Jack - Freshwater Models (Feb 17, 2008)

Larry, 

I'm not familiar with the flux you have. I use Harris Sta-silv with good success on brass, copper, stainless, monel and steel. I don't find working with steel much different than with any other metal though I haven't tried gold and it's many years since I soldered silver. I usually end up with a crank that can be cleaned with acid, washed, and brightened up with scotchbrite. Lots of heat and flux should make the solder flow rather than big gobs. You can also apply some flux to the solder to help. 

Jack


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Jack, 
In silver and gold work I use a boric acid and and denatured alcohol mixture, more of a fire-scale preventative than flux. The "soldering" I do in jewelry making is actually a type of welding and often there is little or no solder used. I'll look for the Flux you mentioned. Thanks again. 

Larry 

Mike, 

"Are you sure? Those look like flex sockets in the middle of your trucks? That was a joke, son." 

OK that one slipped by me! BTW the Ruby Forney is a Ruby Mason Bogie. 

Larry


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## Jack - Freshwater Models (Feb 17, 2008)

Boric acid AKA 20 Mule Team Borax "washing soda" also work fine! The Sta-silv maybe works a little better and is easier to use. In casting I used to use it for fluxing copper alloys. You may be using small flame intense heat? You need big flame intense heat like an air/propane torch or a medium sized oxyacetelyne torch. 

Jack


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Over the years I've always had success with 'Handy-flux'. Double checking in my Rio Grande catalog, I see they have a type 'B-1' for; Stainless Steel and Nickle silver, though for NS I've always used Batterns self pickling... 

I ilke the Handy because it stays under a flame... either my Victor J-27 with a #00 tip or my Smith mini's, I'm old fashioned and use oxy/acet 

John


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## Jack - Freshwater Models (Feb 17, 2008)

Oxy/acet is the way to go if you have the correct tip for the job. Silver soldering isn't all that complicated and most silver solder fluxes work fine. I think it is more a matter of good solderng technique. I worked in a surgical intrument company and though all of us in the shop soldered stainless steel we had one fellow who could do exquisite work due to his techniques. 

Jack


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi everybody,
The pirates haven't had much time to work on the Heisler, too hard to survive in this economy. But I did build another crankshaft, and a pair of connecting rods to connect to the cylinders. No soldering troubles this time, I welded the crankshaft. Here is a picture of the crankshaft, rods, and cylinders laid out flat. (since I have not built cylinder mounts yet) And the second picture is a little closer shot of the rods.


















Next will be crankshaft mounts and bushings and cylinder mounts. Then will come the eccentrics and the valve gear.








More to come!
Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Well I got to spend a little time this weekend working on the loco. Couldn't make myself work on the engine so I built a stack instead. I have been toying with an idea for making stacks and this one is the"working prototype". Here is a picture of the stack on the Ruby boiler, and a picture of the stack a little closer.



















If this works out the way I plan, I will be able to make Ruby stacks . We'll see.........

Larry


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, That is really looking great!!! Glad to see you back at it. If you ever need a track to run on, mine is available. My annual steam-up is on October 10 this year. Always room for another steamer. What you accomplish with a few simple tools boogles my mind.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey everybody! I am still here! I finally took some time yesterday to work on the Heisler project. The economy has made it very hard to do anything that doesn't produce income. Plus I am at a difficult stage of the project, the engine. I purchased Kozo's Heisler book before I started because I needed to understand how all the parts are supposed to work as a unit. I could not have done anything without it. But I am trying to build a "low buck" Heisler out of a Ruby kit. There is very little engine information that is applicable to twisting a pair of Ruby cylinders and valves into a V-2 steam engine. The basic angle info is the same, as is the timing angles for the valves. (I hope anyway!







) Pretty much everything else has to be "made up". I am a little odd in that I don't ever draw up a plan for something. I visualize what I want to make, and I mentally build it over and over finding flaws as I do and changing things around. Then I start cutting metal, and yes I make a lot of scrap. But I just consider the scrap as practice runs to make the piece better in the end. Anyway yesterday afternoon I turned a pair of eccentrics and eccentric bushings for the valve system. This afternoon I drilled and tapped the setscrew holes in the eccentrics and fitted the bushings into some 16GA steel that the eccentric arms will be cut from. All of this pretty much is like the original Ruby parts but a bit heavier since my crankshaft is larger than a Ruby axle. Also the eccentric arms will go directly to the valves unlike the Ruby where the eccentrics are inside the frame and the valves are outside the frame. So I don't need to change planes with the arms, they are inline with the valves. here are a couple of pictures of the pieces as made.



















The eccentrics and the bushings are turned from brass stock. The setscrew threads are 2-56. As soon as I make the crankshaft and cylinder mounts I will be able to cut the eccentric arms to fit. And I will post pictures as I make more parts. Wish me Luck !


Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Tonight I finished building the crankshaft mounts and bushings. The frame members are hard aluminum, the lower stretchers are 1/4 inch square brass, the upper tension rod is 2-56 threaded rod, and the crank bushings are bronze. The valve linkage arms are still not cut, but are shown in place as large flat steel strips. When the cylinder mounts are made I will cut the linkage arms to fit. The next thing to build will be the basic main frame. I need to have it's dimensions set before I build the cylinder mounts. The first picture is a view of the crankshaft assembly separately. The next picture is of the crankshaft assembly sitting in the frame rails. The third picture shows the crankshaft assembly in relation to the boiler.




























More to come!

Larry


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Very nice assembly, curious to see how the cylinders tie in with all the piping and piston valves.


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## Gerd (Jan 7, 2008)

Hi Larry, 

you're doing a great job on this Heisler as also done on your other Ruby-bash-projects. 
Can't wait to see the next steps. 

Regards, from Germany.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Jason, 
"curious to see how the cylinders tie in with all the piping and piston valves" Me too! Thanks Larry 

Hi Gerd, 
Thanks, I have admired your projects as well. Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

I cut and soldered the main frame section today. I am not doing the front section yet as the final length may still change. I need to turn down and shorten the "u-joints" before I know how short I can make the front drive shaft. This may push the front truck forward of the prototypical location. But I needed the brass frame so I could locate the cylinder assemblies and build mounts for them. The first picture is the frame section. (the front has a scrap of brass soldered across it just to keep the rails parallel) The second picture shows the cab and crank assembly located on the frame section.





















More Later! 


Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

In between rain and rain and rain, I got a little more done on the frame. Actually I built the brackets on the trucks for the pivots so I could have a sure location for the rear truck. I mounted the front truck temporarily on the scrap cross-member I put in to keep the frame rails parallel. I have shortened the front u-joint as much as I can, and it looks like I can keep the truck pretty close to the prototypical location.Now I can locate the cab front edge and mount the crankshaft assembly. THEN I have to figure out how to mount the Ruby cylinders.







Anyway here is a picture of the frame with the trucks located at least temporarily, and a picture of the cab and crankshaft sitting where they will go. 



















more to come! Larry


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## Gerd (Jan 7, 2008)

Hi Larry, 

your Heisler tuns out very great... 
For a long time, I found Heislers very ugly in comparsion to a Shay or a Climax... But this very small Heisler will be a real beauty. 
Well, my large scale Shay will be finished one day.... So why not building a Heisler next? Or a class A Climax... ... 

Please keep the progress come. This gives me a lot of inspiration. 

Cheers, Gerd


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Gerd, 
I also find the larger size Heislers to be less attractive, but they were and are work trains. The smaller Heislers were often seen in pictures very clean and well kept, most pictures of the larger ones were done in working conditions...a little odd I think. I have an idea (still in the background of my mind) for a Shay, but MUCH smaller than yours. Your Shay is looking very nice and I will keep following your posts here. Thanks again! 
Larry


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## Steve Shyvers (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, 

I read somewhere that the larger Heislers could induce seasickness because of the rocking motion caused by the large cylinders. Perhaps larger Heislers were not so pampered and photographed because the realities of driving them made them less liked by their crews. 

Steve


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

I had a very good work week, so I decided to take a whole day and devote to the Heisler project. First I soldered brackets to the frame to mount the crankshaft assembly.









Next I built the cylinder mounting brackets. I decided the rectangular tubing needed to be beefed up where it was through bolted, so I drilled it and inserted 1/8 inch o.d. tubing where the bolt holes go through the frame.









The next 3 pictures show the frame with the cylinders mounted. (no valves mounted yet- that's next!)


























The next two pictures show the cylinders mounted in relation to the cab and boiler. Good day at the train yard!


















Larry


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Awesome Larry!!!


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## AzRob (Sep 14, 2009)

Wow, that looks really awesome!


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

You sure do neat work Larry.


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## Gerd (Jan 7, 2008)

Hello Larry, 

that's some real great work and progress on your Heisler. This kicks me back to my water tank... Maybe I'll have some hours this evening to set some more rivets... If not, starting next week I'll be very busy in my workshop with different projects. 

Cheers, Gerd


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for the comments everybody! 
As is often the case when you work without a plan, a forward step creates many new questions to consider. The routing of the steam lines from the cylinders to the Ruby reverser valve should be my next step. BUT I have to decide where to put said reverser valve, and build mounts for it. I am leaning towards the traditional Ruby location of under the stack opening. But that means I need to firm up the front truck location to prevent interference. That means working on the drive shaft assembly before plumbing the valves. I need to run this through the old gray matter for a bit. 

More to come! Thanks again!
Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

OK, so I built the front drive shaft this morning. I made it as short as I could with the parts I am using. This does make the engine a bit longer than either prototype I am using. Has to be! Now I need to build the cross members for the truck mount so I can locate and mount the reverser valve. I might as well finish the front of the frame while I am working on it. Anyway here are a couple of pictures of the drive shaft. Looks like it will be another2 foot radius engine!

















More in a few days, gotta do some other world work!

Larry


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, That is looking really great! Figuring out all that geometry in space has got to be a real challange. The only problem I see with putting the reverser valve under the firebox is that it makes the steam lines longer causing more heat loss. If you do that you should insulate them as much as possible like I did on my Bogie. Keep up the good work, I'm really enjoying watching your progress.


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

larry 

Give Cliff at Accucraft a call and see if he has any Shay reversers. they would be your best bet and simplest install


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## Gerd (Jan 7, 2008)

Hi Larry, 

what about the hexagonal brass piece between the crank bos front plate and the first universal? Is it possible to shorten this section and to move the universal closer to the crank box? I guess a pin through the universal head on the crank shaft would work to connect them. 

Cheers, Gerd


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Winn, 
Thanks for the kind words and for the earlier offer to run at your steam-up. Right now things are too tight to consider a trip anywhere. I do plan on insulating all the steam lines. When I built the railtruck I found that "for me" the heat loss was less a problem than the condensation from a longer exhaust from the reverser valve. Hence the under the stack location. BUT Rule #1....Always welcome suggestions! 
Hi Jay, 
Thanks for you comments! I am actually not sure if I have ever looked at an Accucraft Shay reverser, so I am a bit unclear as to it's advantages. I am aware that stock Shays were pretty bad about condensation and "spitting" in the stack. Does the Shay reverser mount back where the cylinders are located? The group of steamers that pulled me into this hobby have a lot of Accucraft Shays among them, and most have added "Spitinators" to their engines. Part of my plan for this engine was to use as much of the Ruby kit as possible. Now that is even more of an issue due to lack of finances. 
Having said that - Rule #1....Always welcome suggestions! 
Hi Gerd, 
Yes I could probably shorten that coupler and the end of the crankshaft by 3/16 of an inch (about 3 3/4 scale inches) But my length is a bit over an inch longer than prototype. Coupler looks long but the shafts are touching inside. Besides, I built the truck mounts last night before I looked at any of these posts. Guess I forgot about... Rule #1....Always welcome suggestions! 
Thanks everybody! Larry


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## dwegmull (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Larry, 
I have a spare Shay reverser... If you decide to go that route, let me know and I'll send it to you. 
You may also want to consider making your own reverser. The design used in the Mamod locomotive is pretty simple and works well. I built one which is only 1/2 inch in diameter (hence the spare Shay reverser). If you are interested, I can post the drawings for it.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks David, 
I still have not a clue what a Shay reverser looks like, But I would love to see drawings of what you used. Even if I don't use it some of us out here probably will, and we appreciate your offer. Man is this a great hobby? 
Thanks Larry


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## dwegmull (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Larry, 
The 2D drawings are here: http://www.wegmuller.org/reverser/reverser_2D.pdf 
The 3D assembly is here: http://www.wegmuller.org/reverser/reverser_3D.pdf 
If you have Acrobat reader 8.0 or newer, you can click on the 3D drawing and spin it around, explode it, measure it etc... Missing from the assembly are a screw, nut , washer and spring that keep the two parts together. The transparent grey part is stationary, with four pipes soldered to it (input, exhaust, opposite to each other and two for the cylinders). The blue part rotates to open / close the flow of steam as well as swap the flow through the cylinders. In my application, this valve doubles as a throttle. If you only need a reverser, you can do away with the fancy shapes at the end of slots. To make this part you will need a mill with a rotary table, or some made skills with the X Y table ;-)


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks David, 
I just spent thirty minutes playing with the 3D drawings. I had no idea you could do this with Adobe. Thanks again! 
Larry


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## trainmax (Feb 16, 2008)

Looking good cant wait to see it in DH


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## dwegmull (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By redbeard on 23 Sep 2009 08:44 PM 
Thanks David, 
I just spent thirty minutes playing with the 3D drawings. I had no idea you could do this with Adobe. Thanks again! 
Larry 
Hi Larry, Just to clarify: the parts were drawn using Alibre design ("professional" version). It exports its 3D models to PDF. I guess other 3D drawing programs have the same ability...


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

I decided yesterday that I was ready to run the steam lines and hang the Ruby reverser valve. Started on that in the morning, by the end of the day I had about 4 sets of copper lines that just wouldn't cut it. So I picked it up again today and I got some lines that I can live with. The first picture is the bare chassis with only the components needed to route the lines. The lines and brass are just soldered and not cleaned up yet. I decided to solder the lines together and insulate them as a single unit on each side. 








The second picture shows the boiler set on the frame with the cab in the background.








Next will be pulling it apart and cleaning everything, reassembling the valves and cylinders. Then will come the valve gear, and hopefully an air test to see the motor run. May be a while, I have a busy couple of weeks coming up with work. I'll keep everything posted if I get to work on the engine.

Larry


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry: Very nice work. Way too cool. 2 questions; what did you use for U-joints and how is the drag/resistance thru the U-joints?

Bob


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## Steve Shyvers (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, 

Very nice job with the steam lines. Plumbing 1/8" dia. copper tubing looks deceptively easy, doesn't it? The last few weekends I've been working on the steam lines and axle pump plumbing for my coal burner, and, good grief, it's slow going. You've got the art of making smooth curves, I see. Keep up the good work. 

Steve


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## HMeinhold (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, Steve, 
I bend my tubes with this gadget: 
http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/dub/dub785.htm 
Larry, isn't it tough to leave the engine alone so close to having it run? 
Regards


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow, lots of replies to make! 
Bob, for the joints I am using 1/4 inch drive flex sockets from my favorite China-tool store. They were on sale for $5.00 for a set of three, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2. I figure if I just pitch the other sizes they are cheap enough. As to the drag/resistance through the joints I can't give an accurate opinion yet, I only have one drive-shaft made and it seems OK turning by my fingers as I pivot the truck through the full arc of travel. But the engine is still FAR from finished weight, and so far nothing is lubricated. I will try and remember to readdress this question further into the build. Surprisingly there is not as much travel in the truck-arc as I thought there would be. 

Steve, 
" Plumbing 1/8" dia. copper tubing looks deceptively easy, doesn't it?" What I did not put in a picture was the PILE of rejected copper tubes that are now in the scrap metal bin. But I knew this was going to be a "hard to please me" job since I would really prefer the lines were not out in the open. Instead they are "on Display!" But I did choose to build from a Ruby kit............. 

Henner, 
A while back you had a post that mentioned the bender and I DID buy one and I love it.(Great tool Steve!) The four tight bends coming out of the reverser were done with the bender. So were ALL of the bends on sets 1 and 3 of the rejects. The bends were good and everything lined up well, but the tubes were even more in your face with the sharp bends. Also the sweeping bends tend to not accentuate the front to back offset in the cylinders nearly as much as the angled bends did. (At least to my eye!)  Hopefully when they are insulated and painted flat black they will kind of fade into the background. That's my story and I'm sticking to it ! hehehe 
Almost forgot-
"Larry, isn't it tough to leave the engine alone so close to having it run?"

AGONIZING ! 

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

FINALLY back on the locomotive!
It seems like it has been forever since I bent the stem lines to the valves. I worked three LONG days in my shop to catch up some work and allow me to work on the Ruby-Heisler this weekend. I started on the valve linkage yesterday morning, and finished it this afternoon. I reassembled the engine only and hung it in the bare frame rails as shown here;











And here is a close-up of the linkage.









And after a surprisingly small amount of experimenting and adjusting, I got it to run on air. Everything is still very tight, and the valves need more adjusting, BUT it does run ! Since I had no book of instructions on how to build it I really was not sure it would run. I still don't have a very good camera, but I had to do a short video of the parts all turning together. The camera angle is odd because I only have two of the three hands I needed to film this. I do not have any reverser linkage yet so one hand was holding the reverser valve with a pair of needle nose pliers. Anyway here is the short low quality video of the engine running on 25 lbs of air.






Tomorrow it's back to work, but at least I know the engine will run!

Larry


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry Dude, 

Glad to see you back playing with steam. We discussed the number of takes building your pipes and also being a car guy, once I saw the picture my first thought was hand tuned headers. Vroom vroom... 

Rock this loco!!


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

IT"S ALIVE! Well, it is Halloween week. Congratulations. 
Hope to see you and your critters at DH next January. 

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Kent, 
Thanks ! Did I tell you I built an injected fuel dragster just after high school.....headers, I can see that! 

Hi Larry, 
I plan on being there and will have this engine in whatever level of completion it is. Really looking forward to it this year. 

Larry


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## AzRob (Sep 14, 2009)

Glad to see updates on this. Awesome. Looking forward to seeing it finished.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Well I have had to accept only having little short blocks of time to work on the loco. So it will be short bits and pieces for a while. Tonight I had a couple of hours, so this is what I did. I really need to have the reverser linkage made up to get the valves set and get everything running smooth. So I need the deck for the cab to mount the J-bar on. I built some simple but strong brackets to bolt the deck to.










Then I cut the deck from a sheet of .032 brass sheet, drilled mounting holes and the hole for the Ruby rear boiler stud. Also drilled a "location hole" for the rear truck pivot.










And here is the deck mounted with the boiler sitting in place to give a better look at the size of the locomotive. 










That's all for today, over 15 hours already. Need some down time. More to come.
Larry


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

looking good larry, take a break and have some grog


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## msimpson (Jan 5, 2009)

Great work, as usual, Larry. But, I swear you have added the sound track from a Singer sewing machine. Or maybe, Walter Mitty's "pocketta-pocketta"? I look forward to seeing more and in person. 

Regards, Mike


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, That is looking awsome! I sure hope you bring all your creations to Dimondhead as I would love to see all of them in person. See you in January.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey Winn, 
I am planning on being there with everything I can bring. Are you bringing engines? Mason bogie ??? I would love to see her. 
Larry


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Larry, I plan to bring all three of my locos. Wesley Furman and I are planning on driving down together. Looking forward to meeting some of the people from MLS.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Continuing the construction to allow the J bar to be mounted, I built the rear boiler saddle. Here is a picture of the saddle and a picture of the boiler in place.




















Next I built the cab mounts and trimmed the boiler opening on the cab to fit the new boiler height.










Next I built the linkage from the reverser valve back to the cab location and mounted the J bar.



















Now I could play with the timing and adjust the linkage and get the engine to run a little better. Here is a video of the engine running with the front truck hooked up.










 
That's all for today!
Larry


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## alcashj94 (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, 
just been watching those video clips, thats coming on well now! 

One thought crossed my mind - the valves now have a lot more side force on them than in the stock Ruby due to the eccentric rods acting direct rather than through rocker arms. Have you thought about providing a tail rod bearing on the end of your valve rod extensions, that should help prevent premature wear on the valve bores. 

Looking forward to more progress pics! 

Allan.


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## Alan in Adirondacks (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, 

Wow! Great work! 

Best regards, 

Alan


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Sweet. Hard part is over now. 

Is that running with those U-joints you showed earlier? Keeping my eye on that.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice work Larry, as usual. Looking forward to seeing pictures of it running on track. 

Howard


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for the comments everybody. 
Swilled some grog in your honor Kent ! M Simpson.........hmmmm I mean huuummmm ! 
Thanks Alan ! Hi Bob, Yes the front truck in the video was running with the 1/4 inch flex joints, seem OK so far but have not built rear drive shaft yet so I can't check it on a track......soon I hope. Hi Howard, You and me both! 
Again, thanks for the comments, I need them. 
Larry


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, a bit of grog is good for the engineer. As the story goes, in the 1930's in mid NY state, there was a boilermaker of some repute who traveled around to the numerous short lines doing boiler work as needed. If he was sober when he showed up, that was quickly remedied, for he did his best work when well fortified with "grog". 

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

What a week! After I repaired an exhaust leak on the van that I use to make a living, I decided to spend this afternoon working on the Ruby-Heisler. After a lot more experimentation with the valves I got it running pretty smooth. Hung both of the trucks on and ran it on air. So far so good! Next I took it out to my test track and made some laps using a long air line held up in the center of the loop. It ran great, so I got the camera and tripod. By the time I got the camera set up it was too dark to make a video outside with only one outside light. So I ran the chassis around a few more times and disaster struck, one of the bolts holding a side rod on the rear truck came off, and the rod dropped into the ties and flipped the chassis over. No damage but I lost the bolt and the spacer for the side rod. Hopefully in the daylight I can find it with a magnet. Bolt is no big deal but the spacers (8 of them) were nicely machined pieces. That's what I get for not checking everything for tightness. Next I took the side rods off the rear truck and ran the chassis with only 3 axles driven. No problem there, so I set up a 4 foot circle on the floor of my shop to make a video. Lot of difference in a 2 foot radius and whatever the next size is. ( measures to about 32 inch radius ?) I had to put some weight on the chassis to keep it on the 2 foot radius circle. So I figured the boiler and cab would add weight and style.( plus a coil of safety wire over the rear truck) Here is a short video of the "three legged Heisler" running in tight little circles on air.



More later!

Larry


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## Shay Gear Head (Jan 3, 2008)

*It sure doesn't take much to amuse us. Round and round she goes.*

*My question is what sort of swivel joint did you use in the air supply tubing?*


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

IT'S ALIVE! I sure do love your critters. Can't wait to see it a DH. 

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Bruce, 
I used that "manual" swivel..... I spun the disconnect on the air valve as it ran around. And if it took much to amuse us we would all be building space ships! 

Hi Larry, 
Thanks! I hope that when you see it at Diamondhead it's all hot and bothered.... I mean hot and oily! hehe 

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

I had so much fun making the first video I got my brother in law to help me make one outside on the bigger radius track. I did not need the weight on the back of the deck.
I still have not found the bushing for the side rod.







Here is a little better video that shows the redbeard dancing with the air hose............





 

More later!
Larry


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## JEFF RUNGE (Jan 2, 2008)

That reminds me of the old "fly by wire" airplanes.


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## Dave F (Jan 2, 2008)

Woooo... I'm dizzy.... 

That was great, heheheh


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Jeff, 

I was thinking the same thing, remembering my Cox PT-19 trainer.


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, that is very funny but way cool!! Reminds me of the first time I ran my Ruby on an oval of Bachman track. I was in the middle spinning around trying to keep it from flying off the track. My wife almost fell over she was laughing so hard!!


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Well I am starting to have trouble focusing on "job" work, instead of working on the loco! Working towards getting her HOT! I started on the plumbing today. Here is an overhead view of where things will go. The white paper is the size and location of the bunker. As you can see it is small enough to require some planning before I started mounting things like the lubricator and the fuel tank.











Here is a picture of the lubricator, I picked this up last year at Diamondhead on the flea market tables. I thought it was (and may be) a Roundhouse lubricator. When I started checking things I found that the union nuts that were on the steam lines were 1/4-40 threads. I would have guessed that Roundhouse would have a British thread. (but I was guessing, I don't know) Anyway I am not using the ends so it does not make much difference. I drilled and tapped the drain lug to fit an angled globe valve I got at the same time as the lubricator.










And here is a picture with the boiler and cab set back in place.












Next I will run the gas line from the tank to the jet body, and modify the stock Ruby burner. then I will be close to boiling some water! And I borrowed a big magnet and found my lost side rod bolt and bushing.









More later!
Larry


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks great Larry. 

Yeah on the magnet!!


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## weaverc (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry,
I just saw your new video. Looks like "Dancing With The Stars."
Terrific progress that's fun to watch.


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## HMeinhold (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry,
I can relate to your urge to get the heisler running! The first outing of my Betsy was with plastic piping and a borrowed burner...I just could not wait for everything being machined.
Regards


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

IT LIVES ! 


I did the modifications to the Ruby burner and temporarily ran a gas line from the tank to the jet holder and fired her up today!

Henner, even if your post was not advice, I took it as such and decided I had to get her hot. I still need several fitting and a gauge, but I decided they could wait a bit. I will order them soon, but for today I used flexible Viton line for one steam joint, and model airplane fuel line for gas. No gauge but the safety was checked on my rail-truck and it blows at 35 lbs. I just could not put it off any longer. So here she is on a cool dry Florida day.





 
Yeah there are a few steam leaks, and I don't have the side rods back on the rear truck, and a few other details......but SHE RUNS !!!

a very happy..........Larry


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## Grimm (Oct 5, 2009)

Congratulations! Very cool. 

Jason


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## StevenJ (Apr 24, 2009)

That defintiely looks great. I have a few questions though, being that it is a geared engine. Do you need to put any kind of reduction gear on there for the back axle or perhaps some sort of limited slip mechanism to prevent binding? It is possible if you don't, the driveshafts may bind while running. You going to add a boiler jacket, headlight, etc? I was just curious. It does look good.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Kent ! (now I just need 6 more hours in each day to get the engine together!) 

Thanks Carl ! See you at DH ? 

Intended or not, thanks for the "nudge" Henner ! 

Hi Steven, I am not sure what you mean by 
"Do you need to put any kind of reduction gear on there for the back axle or perhaps some sort of limited slip mechanism to prevent binding?" 
The drive shafts themselves have sliding "square shaft in square tube joints" (like a bush-hog drive shaft). Is that what you are asking about? 
Yes there is a jacket made for the boiler and every thing hot will be insulated as well. The "trimming out" will take quite a bit of time. I have a bunker to build, and a lot of pieces to simulate a T-boiler and the plumbing to go with it. Probably two headlights, the prototype had one on each end. And that is just what comes to mind this morning. 
Thanks ! 
Larry


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Steven, There is no difference in the speed of the front and rear wheels when going around curves because both trucks rotate the same amount. It is not like an automobile where the front wheels turn and the rear wheels are going in a smaller circle.


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## Gerd (Jan 7, 2008)

Congratulation Larry for your steam maiden run... Looks very good and this loco seems to become a real great work horse. 

Cheers, Gerd


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry: Good show on the first run. The hard part is over now. It started off so easy. Just a little turn on the line shaft. It looks like those u-joints did the trick.

Thanks, Bob


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Well here it is December already and I still don't have the Ruby-Heisler ready to got to Diamondhead. But most of my "other life" is caught up for the moment, so I worked on the trucks this afternoon. While I had the loco running, I kept getting more and more drag through the trucks, making it difficult to tune and adjust the engine. Turns out the drivers had slipped on the axles and therefore no longer quartered. After a lot of thought I decided to drill and pin the drivers.(my first "press fit" machining in brass was not tight enough) I drilled a 1/6th hole at the joint between the axles and the drivers on one side of each truck. Then I pinned the drivers on that side, re-quartered the trucks and repeated the process on the other side. Here is a picture showing the pin installed on one driver.










And the a picture of the driver with the pin sawed off flush to the driver. 











So now the drivers should not slip on the axles again, and I am ready to make the side rods that will stay on the locomotive. I made the first rods from brass just to get the trucks functional, but will now make a set out of 16 gauge steel. All but one of the fittings(actually the gauge) I ordered have arrived so I can also finish the plumbing. More when I get the next pieces made! The Ruby-Heisler will be at DH even if it is in pieces !


Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Side rods are more important than sleep! Just kidding, I am getting a little anxious about getting her ready for DH. I cut a couple of 11/32 inch by 6 inch strips of 16 gauge steel.










Next I cut the four side rods to length and drilled them at the proper distance for the trucks. 











Then I marked the rods to the shape I wanted. 











Then I filed the rods to shape, ground them smooth, and drilled the holes for the bushing diameter. 











And finally I bolted the new side rods onto the trucks and everything runs smooth and easy. 











That has to be enough for today, eyes don't want to stay open. More to come!

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Today I did not get to work on the loco until after supper. My gauge arrived today so I took the fittings I ordered and some copper tubing and mounted it in the cab.
The picture in the upper left shows how I drilled a hole through the original plug in the Ruby manifold, cut a shallow counter bore into the hex end, cut the threads off a 3/16-40 fitting and soldered the "stub" into the bored original plug. The picture in the upper right shows the fitting screwed into the manifold. the picture in the lower left shows the 1/8 inch copper tube soldered to the fitting. The picture in the lower right shows the gauge mounted.











More to come ! 

Larry


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Glad to see you getting back to the important little things in life


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## Gerd (Jan 7, 2008)

I'm also happy to see some progress on your Heisler Larry. 
I check this topic every day for some updates. 

Actually, I'm working on a small On30-Layout during the winter time as it's very cold outside in the workshops. But I hope to get back to my Shay project in spring by starting zhe steam engine. 

I whish you a merry christmas and if possible some spare time to get your Heisler finished. 

Cheers, Gerd


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey Kent, 
Thanks, I needed that! hehehe Only 20 days left to get ready for DH. Sure wish you could make it, but I understand about those pesky "non-important little things in life"(ie non train related things) that demand most of our time, effort, and money! 

Hey Gerd, 
Good to hear from you. Since I live in sunny Florida (where we have had our annual amount of rainfall in the last two months and it is currently mid 30's F) I am able to keep my shop above 50 F fairly easily. From time to time I go visit the Blue Ridge mountains in the winter to remind me why I live here and put up with the storms. No snow for me ! 
Larry


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

She's looking great Larry!! Congrats on your first run!


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## afinegan (Jan 2, 2008)

I cant wait to see this at diamond head, now I just have to convince my dad to go longer this year (we always went 1/2 the week, not the full week). I fixed my coal fired ruby problems (worn out slip eccentrics(I wonder why )), cannibalized my other ruby for parts and now she pulls a full load on steam cylinder exhaust alone (actually the fire gets too hot!, have to run her slower lol), back to the topic on hand. 

I still need to get my workshop setup in the garage!! and start building/modifying, too many "other" things in life distracting me hehe. 

Congratulations on your running heisler, feels great when something works good after a lot of hard work and research! Now you just need to remember to use the blue locktite hehe (the screw on my ruby that drives the water pump backed itself out while running on the white layout, found the screw thankfully, in the ties.) 

On a side note, I have a brass nut laying in my backyard(in the grass) that fell off one of my ground throws on my switches, after not finding it for a long while I guess I have to order another one from MR SVRR lol 

See ya in 20ish days 

Andrew


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## msimpson (Jan 5, 2009)

As always, beautiful work, Larry. Your wheel slipping problems hark back to early Mamods and other engines, where wheels were attached by press fits, sometimes of dis-similar metals. When the engines got hot, the wheels had a nasty habit of slipping off! 

Look forward to seeing her run at DH. Regards, Mike


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for the comments! I am feeling the crunch of getting her ready to go to Diamondhead. Lots of small issues that need a little time on each issue looks daunting with two weeks to go. Today I worked on the reverser linkage. What I did before was basically the same as the stock Ruby linkage. It worked but not very well. Also due to reversing the admission in forward, it was backwards. So I built a new linkage that looks more prototypical, has very little slop, and returns the reverser handle to normal direction.Here is a picture of the new linkage.










And here is the method I used to make the rod ends for the linkage. 











More Later I Hope !

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Diamondhead is fast approaching and I seem to be backing up........most of the "little" jobs I have to do require disassembly to some degree. First I still had one steam line fitting to install. This required taking the valve assemblies off the cylinders, and while they were of I decided to wrap the lines with cotton string for insulation. Here is a shot of the valve lines with the new fitting installed.










Next I wrapped the lines and then painted the string. 



















Now I have turned my attention to the cab. The stock Ruby cab has an arced roof. The Heisler has a flattened roof with wrap over the edge sides. I wanted to use the original cab and roof so her goes. I used a short piece of round steel conduit, two vise grips, and a small hammer. 











Here is one side of the Ruby roof that has been re-shaped. 











And here is the roof after reshaping, shown with a template showing the cab.











And here are a couple off shots of the cab and roof sitting on the loco. 











Side view 











That is all for today.
Larry


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Larrry, 

I have to say, I love your wrapped headers. I appreciate your NHRA roots. I regret I won't be at DH and see her run. However I am very excited about spending a long weekend at CF devoted to my Hornby Live Steam, 

Wanna swap videos?


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Kent,
I will swap videos with you if I have any. I do not have a camera, I use a borrowed one here at home and it only does video well with a tripod. So I may not have any good videos from DH this year. My buddy who did videos in the past won't be there this year. We'll have to see what happens. Larry


This morning I built a cab roof hinge based on Larry Herget's "Hinge Your K-27 Cab Roof" article in the "Informative Threads Index". Thanks to Larry for putting the article there and to Dwight for creating the index. I changed a few things to fit the Ruby cab and my modifications to the cab. Here is a picture of what I did. 











More Later !

Larry


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## msimpson (Jan 5, 2009)

Hi Larry, 

More nice work. Bob Pope says, "Don't force it. Use a bigger hammer." 

Regards, Mike


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## afinegan (Jan 2, 2008)

Ill bring my keychain video camera, a mini 8 digital, the little blue apitek mpeg camera and my Canon DSLR, I wish I could borrow my friends panasonic AG-HPX170 (I dont think he trusts me with a 3k+ camera(his baby)).

So whatever goofie, creative ideas you have we can do lol (maybe a ride with the pirate inside the truck cab?) lol - hope there us enough light at diamondhead for the little camera


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow! 
That will be COOL ! 
Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Seems like a marathon started here......... I bought a Ruby boiler wrapper at the DH flea market last year, so I insulated the boiler with 1/8 inch cork and installed the wrapper. This involved making boiler bands and making an extension of the wrapper to keep the smokebox the same size as the boiler. Given more time I would add some rivet detail to the smokebox and will probably change the hinge on the door, but DH is too close so I am doing things that will help the loco run better. (I hope!) Also I will make a ring to end the wrapper at the smokebox door and the cork won't show. The Tallahassee gang wouldn't know what to do if I did not have some bit exposed that might burn! Here is a picture of the boiler after "wrapping".










Next I had to cut the boiler opening in the front of the cab to fit the larger diameter of the wrapped boiler. 











And now I have to do the work I was supposed to be doing today..........but the loco got worked on!

Larry


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry: Coming along nicely. Thanks for showing how all this goes together. 

Bob


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Please say that it will not be painted by DH. I want to be able to check it over "in the raw". That's the only way to really appreciate all the little fabrications that you do. 

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Please say that it will not be painted by DH 

?????????????







Larry you are kidding aren't you ?????????

Yes it will be painted by Diamondhead (2011)

As of today, I can say it will be there......it may not be running...........probably won't have a bunker.........hope to have at least one beam and coupler mounted, but I am POSITIVE it will NOT be painted. I can not wait till January 11 gets here! Thanks for the vote of confidence!

Larry


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Just looks better all the time Larry!


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

"it may not be running..........._*probably won't have a bunker*_.........hope to have at least one beam and coupler mounted,"

OK it it won't have a PROPER bunker. I do not have time to build an accurate bunker before Diamondhead, but I am having a problem with temperature. Since the fuel tank does not fit in the cab it gets no warming effect from the boiler. Yes here in sunny warm Florida it is 26F this morning. So I ran the engine with the tank in a cut-off plastic bottle with plain tap water(about 70F) and it ran much better. I am thinking how can I make a quick and dirty water bath for DH? SPAM CAN ! Here is a picture of the shortened to fit can in place but not yet finished.











More later when I mount the tank and the can.








Now to head you guys off at the pass........Does this mean she is a Spam Can instead of a Ruby Heisler? 

Larry


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## wboylejr (Jan 2, 2008)

Naw, it's still a Redbeard Masterpiece. However, the Spam grease, when lit, will keep the tank warm for hours. Looks fantastic Larry, can't wait to see you at Diamondhead. The Tallahassee Bunch is counting down the hours! 
Bill B


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey Bill, 
"The Tallahassee Bunch is counting down the hours!" 
So am I but for the opposite reason, I am counting them as my work time dwindles and I am not quite ready! 
Thanks for the too kind comments! 
Larry


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry: I love that bunker. It looks perfect! Must have, do want.

Bob


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Well I got some more done on the Heisler, I built the front and rear beams and mounted them. I also mounted and sealed the "spam can". Here are pictures showing the front beam, and the rear beam with the "bunker" showing.



















I also built a quick chuff pipe. When I built the Ruby Mason Bogie, Al Cash sent me a drawing of the chuff pipe he built and I used it in that loco. I do not know where the design came from, but it is fairly easy to make. Once again THANK'S AL! Here is a picture of the drawing and of the pipe.




















I have to finish a batch of couplers now so I can mount two on the Heisler. This will probably be all I get done before Diamondhead, but who knows?
Larry


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Industrious devil, you. See you and your project in a week from today. 
I'm sure you will enjoy this--I'm looking at the 15'' of snow between the house door and the bird feeders, debating whether to trudge out there now or wait until tomorrow. 

Larry (the one from VT)


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

VT Larry, 

Do the right thing, feed the birds


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## afinegan (Jan 2, 2008)

how many times at diamondhead are people going to say, "I would just leave the spam can in there.." lol


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## msimpson (Jan 5, 2009)

Silly me. I thought a "Spam Can" was a British Pacific, made by Aster: http://www.southernsteamtrains.com/southern-bulleid-pacific.htm 

Still looking good Larry -- See ya' at trackside in DH, Mike


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Finished a batch of couplers and mounted two of them on the loco. Here are pictures of the front and rear couplers, taken as the pressure is building to check all the things I have done this week.



















I waited till we reached our high temp for the day....43F. I put 65F water in the bath around the fuel tank and fired her up. Here is a short video of the Ruby Heisler as she will go to Diamondhead.





 

(still unpainted Larry!) (you did feed the birds didn't you?) Gotta stop now and get my other life together for DH. Hope to see a lot of you there!
Larry


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## llynrice (Jan 2, 2008)

You must be feeling satisfied and relieved to have your project this far along in time for Diamondhead. Looks as if you'll be able to run it a bunch and get it well broken in. I look forward to seeing your loco under steam next week.


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, it's looking really good. Have a good time at DH.


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## Gerd (Jan 7, 2008)

That's more than great Larry - She comes along very nice and the overall look of the Heisler is perfect. 
I which you a good time at DH. 

This weekend, there's the big indoor live steam convention here in Germany, but this year, I can't be there in fact of a full order book and a a lot of work to do :-( (But this will create some budget to made some progress on my Shay this spring ^^) 

Bye, Gerd


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for all the comments! Sorry you can't all be on the warm Gulf Coast this coming week. hehehe (actually the predicted temps are a bit warmer today than a couple of days ago) The pirates made me "flag" her...........








AND








Back in a week or so !

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi everybody! 
Diamondhead was an absolute blast! My computer decided to give up the Sunday before I left so this is a bit slow in getting posted as I am getting everything installed and set up on a new CPU. Will post more later, but here is a shot of the Heisler running on the big track at Diamondhead.










Will have videos as soon as I can find software to download.
Larry


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Larry: That is really turning out nice. It looks perfect. I can't get over the spam can water tank. It's so retro.

Bob


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## D&RGW 461 (Jun 4, 2009)

Hello Larry, I must say that little jewel is even nicer in person at DH. very good job. BTW thanks for loaning me that #20 drill bit out there, you're a life saver ( not the candy ) LOL







Hope ya had as good of a time as I did in DH. Chris Sortina SA# 20


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

I saw you walk by the streaming video camera once, but never was able to see you run this little beauty. I hope you got some video of it's run!


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for the comments.I had a fantastic time at Diamondhead! I ran all 3 of my engines and enjoyed every minute.
Bob, after putting the tank on there were only a couple of times that I put any water in it. But the "graffiti"on the can had many pictures taken.
Chris, You are welcome for the drill bit loan, glad that worked out. And I think I had more fun than should be allowed.
Howard, Sorry you missed seeing the Ruby-Heisler run on the stick-cam, several friends did see it and called me while it was running, which is actually pretty cool. I made a few videos, but the room is so poorly lighted that they are pretty hard to see anything. The camera I used is pretty much point and shoot when doing video. ( it is a digital photo camera) I will post the best one of the batch here and will try to do one here at home while the sun is shining. 










 

Maybe someone was there with a video camera and will post a video. More later!
Larry


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, I really enjoyed meeting you in person and seeing your great Ruby creations running. DH was definitely a hoot.


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## FH&PB (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, I think the Heisler may be the ugliest loco design ever. 

But after seeing yours at DH, and then looking through your construction log again, you are changing my mind. What a great little loco you've built! Your construction techniques have taught me a lot and given me a lot of good ideas - thanks for sharing them, and for your great photography! 

Personally, I want to see it painted. You did such a beautiful job on the Mason Bogie, it would be a shame to deny this loco the same beauty treatment. 

Onward!


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Winn,
It was great to meet you in person, and great to see your beautiful Mason Bogie running.
Hi Vance,
Thanks for the great compliment! What's really interesting is that I also am not fond of the Heisler designs, except for a few of the smaller engines. When I get the rest of the pieces made, it will definitely be painted in the Redbeard Mining colors. This one will not be all green though, I am hoping to "hide" some things by having them fade into a flat black background.

I did make a short video on my short track at my shop. I tried to capture the crankshaft turning, but running the loco with one hand and the camera with the other is tricky at best. This is the best of several efforts. 





 

More later!
Larry Newman


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Many Thanks to Mark and Daniel for taking these pictures at Diamondhead, then sending them to me. 

Here is the Ruby-Heisler on the big track. 








Daniel risked his camera taking one of yours truly! 








A nice shot from the front.








And going away. 








The dynamite car! 








And one of my "other Ruby" ! 








More to come!
Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

The pirates finally got my truck unloaded so I could do some LOCO work.........
Time to "can" the spam can! 
Today I scaled some drawings to fit the locomotive as it is now. Then I started laying out patterns for the sheet brass. The bunker will be mostly built from .015 inch sheet brass. Here is an overhead shot of the outline of the bunker.










The bunker plan was modified when I determined that I needed a water bath for the Ruby tank. The prototype had the water tank around the outside and the center was the fuel (wood) bunker. I made the tank bigger to be able to put the Ruby tank inside and use water around it.

Here is a side view of the outline of the bunker. (note this does not have the hungry bars shown as it will be used as part of the sheet metal pattern)












Too bad I can't print the brass sheet and be done this quick!
More after I chop up some .015 brass!

Larry


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## Steve S. (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, it is amazing at what you have accomplished.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi everybody!
Thanks Steve! 


Today I started by making a paper (card stock) pattern of the bunker sides and back, and the base. Then I transferred the outlines to .015 inch brass sheet.










Next I "sheared" the excess brass using my trusty paper cutter. Then I finished cutting the pieces using a "nibbler" and a jeweler's saw. I flipped over the sides and back to mark the "rivet detail" locations. I punched the "rivets" using a modified (dulled point and adjustable blow) automatic center punch.










Using a bench-top sheet metal brake, I folded the flaps on the base and the sides and back piece into shape.










And they fit together AND fit the back of the engine!!!










Next step will be to create the round tank arm fronts on the bunker. More later!

Larry


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

That looks awesome Larry. Are you using that rivet tool available in Micromark?


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey Kent! 
How are ya? 
" Are you using that rivet tool available in Micromark?" 

No I am using a Harbor freight "modified" (dulled point and adjustable blow) automatic center punch, and using my eyeballs to keep them straight. Practice, practice practice...... 
Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Worked on the bunker a little tonight. First I cut a piece of brass to fill in the gap at the top of the back wall of the bunker. Then I folded up the flap on the front of the base, and cut a couple of pieces of 5/8 inch brass tube to be the front of the tank.










Next I soldered the pieces in place.




















More to come!
Larry


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Damn Larry, you sure look like you are having fun


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## D&RGW 461 (Jun 4, 2009)

Thanks Larry, I'm takin notes,but barely keepin up. You sure are quick.







Keep up the good work!!! Chris Sortina SA#20


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi all!
Thanks for the comments, Kent - Yes I am having fun! Chris - It seems very slow to me!
I am short on time, so I am posting one photo now, and later today i will post the progression that led to this point. 










More later!
Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Ok, to back up a little. Once I got the bunker to the Feb 3rd post, I realized that the fuel tank was too tall for the height of the bunker. So I figured out that if I moved the tank back 1/4 inch in the bunker, I could drop it 3/8 inch through the deck. Once I started cutting paper for the drop down box, things went so smooth I forgot to take any pictures. So it appears that the bunker suddenly has a dropped bottom. The bunker was built in two pieces to ease the problems of multiple solder joints melting the previous joints. In the top right in this picture I soldered a piece of brass over the tops of the tubes that make the tank fronts. In the top left I trimmed off the extra metal. Bottom right shows the dropped section on the bunker bottom to lower the fuel tank. Bottom right shows some brass angle soldered to the sides, to be used to attach the top of the bunker later.










In this picture I have soldered the two halves together. (Two views)


















Then the previous post shows the bunker sitting on the deck of the locomotive. Next I need to disassemble things down to the deck to remove it and cut an opening for the fuel tank drop down.
More later!
Larry


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## Tenn Steam (Jan 3, 2008)

And I thought the SPAM can looked good. 

Bob Whigham


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Bob! 

After a long week I took a little time today to work on the bunker. I cut a hole in the deck for the bunker to drop down in. In the first picture the bunker is sitting down on the deck and the fuel tank is sitting in place.This is as low as I could get the tank without major mods to the valve etc on the top.










Next I worked on a cover to hide the inside of the bunker. The next two pictures show this cover from the side and from the top.


















Eventually there will be a wood load on this piece of brass to camouflage the tank a little further. The next step promises to be a big pain (as it was with the Ruby Mason Bogie)......... I will build the hungry bars next !
More soon!
Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Today was a holiday so I worked on fun stuff instead of "work stuff". I built the hungry bars today, and as is often the case my picture making intentions were good but I got swept away and did not take enough during the construction. So I will try and talk through the process. The bars are built from K&S brass channel, tube, and rod. The channel is 3/32 x 3/64 and is "special shapes" #05016.The tube is 3/32 OD and 1/16 ID, and the rod is 1/16. The inside of the channel is very close to 1/16 inch. I used the channel to transition from the angled sides of the bunker top to a flat surface. This drawing shows how the channel is placed on the angled sheet brass.











First I mitered corners and soldered a u-shape from the channel to fit the top of the bunker. This was done with silver solder (high temperature) so soldering to it with lower temperature solder would not affect the solder joints. Next I soldered on some tabs out of the sheet brass scraps from the bunker. These were soldered to the channel with high temp solder. 











Next I drilled through the channel with a 1/16 bit and cut 1/16" brass rod for the uprights from the bar. These were pushed through the holes and soldered with "sta brite" solder. (450 F)











This is where I stopped taking pictures. Next I bent the top rail out of the 3/32 tubing, and drilled through one side of the tube to fit over the rods soldered into the channel. I bent another piece of the tubing for the middle bar, and drilled through it so it would slide down the rods. The I carefully soldered the rails to the rods.
The next three pictures show the bars soldered and mounted to the bunker.




























More later, 
Larry


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice job on the water tank Larry. That bustle rack is first rate.

Bob


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Larry, 
Way back when, I seem to remember you telling us about your soldering techniques, but would you tell me again what type/temp silver solder you use when this is called for. Also, is a butane micro torch sufficient for small sections such as you just did? Thanks. 
BTW, is your yard dry these days? 

Larry


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## llynrice (Jan 2, 2008)

That soldering job must have taken quite a bit of patience, Larry. And, it looks great! Did you create some sort of jig to hold all the pieces in place as you soldered one joint after the next? 
Llyn


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Larry, 
First - NO my yard is still a mud bog and right now it is 33 F. (but thanks for asking! hehehe) On this piece I used two different solders and techniques. Because there were so many small joints to make with the bars and tubes, I needed to be sure that the base remained stable and not shift during the subsequent solder joints. So the channels at the bottom are done with "easy" silver solder which is 1240 F melt and 1325 F flow. I used Griffith self pickling flux. (because I have it) This was done with my oxy-acetylene mini torch. The .016 tabs for the mounting bolts are done the same way. All of the rest of the joints are soldered with generic low temperature lead free "plumbers" solder. (450 F my locally owned hardware stocks this) I run this solder through a rolling mill repeatedly until it is reduced to about 1/16 inch in size. This helps with smaller joints and I can't find it in smaller diameter. For this solder I use Harris Stay Clean flux. I use a large hardware store propane pistol grip torch with this type of soldering. As to the butane micro torch, I don't know if it would be sufficient to heat the pieces quick enough to not over heat the metal. That's a hard thing to picture, but with a larger flame you can heat the joint in a second or two and apply a little solder after the torch is moved away. If the flame is physically too small, you have to heat the joints too long and it is easier to overheat the joints. One of the reasons I did not take a lot of pictures was that the first solder joints went so smooth that I did not want to stop. Soldering is a learning curve that I am still progressing along after 23 years of practice. One of the things I have learned is that what works for one person may not work for another. I approach things from a jewelers point of view and with a lot of specialized jewelers tools. I had to go buy a propane torch and "learn" how to do low temperature soldering when I started playing with these silly trains ! It was only after making several messes of things that I learned that for me the same basic techniques that I use in jewelry soldering will work, but they need to be even quicker than with silver work. (which has to be quicker than gold work) I hope that answers the questions, I have tried a couple of butane pencil type torches and found them far too small to suit me. But I am doing a lot of soldering and have several torches to choose from. 
Larry (the one in muddy Florida)


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Llyn, 
No jig on this piece, all of the holes were very snug and I cut and fit all the pieces to start with. Then I moved around and soldered a joint, crossed to the other side soldered a joint, moved to the back and so on. Only had to adjust the center tube once during the process. 
Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

I decided the cab windows were too tall, so I added brass above and below the openings to make them more like the prototype. Here is the cab.











Here is what I plan to add.










Since the added pieces will be soldered in place, I needed to strip the paint off the cab.











The panel on the left has the brass strips added.











And here is the cab reassembled.











Lots more little things to address, but later!

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Worked on the cab roof this afternoon. The prototype had a very low vent on the roof of the cab. I decided to not make it open since it is so low to the cab roof. First I removed all the original paint, and marked the location of the vent.











Next I bent a piece of 3/32 inch K&S brass bar into a square, soldered the joint with hard silver solder. I also soldered on a couple of 2-56 nuts with hard solder. These will be used to mount the vent.











From the high heat of the hard soldering the frame was annealed, (softened) and I was able to curve it to match the roof contour. Then I curved a piece of .016 inch brass sheet to match the same contour. I clamped the sheet to the frame with some small spring clamps.










Now I used low temp solder to solder the sheet to the frame. After it was soldered I trimmed off the excess sheet and ground the edge to be uniform on all sides.










Here is the vent mounted to the cab roof.










And here is the roof on the cab.











Next I will be re-mounting the roof as a lift-off. After running the engine a good bit I decided that I prefer a lift-off roof. More later!

Larry


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## Alan in Adirondacks (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, 

Beautiful! 

Best regards, 

Alan


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Alan!

I built a front magnet mount for the roof today. The rear already had a magnet mount,(I used it to keep the hinged roof shut). The first picture is 3 shots of the 2 mounts and how they are attached to the cab, plus a shot of the steel blocks that are fastened to the roof. The blocks are sections cut off a piece of 3/8 inch square stock. The magnets are 3/16 inch by 7/8 inch and 5/64 inch thick. They have been stuck to my refrigerator door for 4 or 5 years, they never were thrown out because they are so strong I figured there would be some use for them. I also added two pieces of brass angle (K&S 3/16 inch) to snug up the fit of the roof.











The next picture is of the finished cab. I don't think there will be any more changes to the cab. Hard to see in the picture but I soldered all of the "extra" holes in the roof. A little putty and primer and she will be pretty nice!











Not sure what is next, but I will keep you posted!
Larry


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## Dan Pantages (Jan 2, 2008)

This is why I keep looking at the threads on MLS. Larry, I am never going to build a “Ruby Heisler” but the pictures and descriptions you put up on the form are so helpful it’s great. Just something as small as the roof vent, I would have cut it out and then tried to solder the ring around it. The pictures of the way you did it and your description makes it doable for the less skilled of us.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Dan, 
That's the jeweler in me! I made a brass square bezel cup for a cabochon! We all work with the tools that we have, that includes some that are not "physical tools" and most of mine are jewelry based with a few drag racing nuances thrown in. The main thing is to enjoy the hobby where ever and however you can. I would not be doing any of this without the input of all the live steamers who share their talents. Thanks again! 
Larry


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## llynrice (Jan 2, 2008)

Your magnetic roof latch-down is a terrific idea, Larry. I'll have to try it out.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow! It’s been a while since I have been able to work on the engine. My business is requiring a lot more attention to make less headway. But I am planning to run this engine in April so I need to get some work done. I feel that the factory burner can be improved upon, but since I am not positive that “I” can do it, I am not modifying the old one and ending up with a failure and no working burner. So this is how I built a new burner. First here is a picture of my factory burner.










I have a few disassembled brass automatic center punches.(I used the body tubes to make stacks with) The working end of the punch had plenty of metal to turn the mount portion of the burner. This picture shows the brass piece cut to length on the lathe and the air holes drilled on the drill press.










Next a piece of 1/16 by 1 inch K&S brass was drilled to fit the tube, and the mounting bolt hole drilled. The shape of the original collar was transferred to the brass and scribed. If you look closely at the turned piece you can see where the knurling was turned off to provide a shoulder for the soldering step. Also note the pictures are a little out of sequence, the air holes are not drilled here.










The plate was silver soldered (1250 F solder) to the turned piece, and cut out on the scribed line. Then the piece is turned to the proper diameter on both ends. The burner end was drilled and reamed for the burner tube to fit. I am using heavy wall (.020 inch) ¼ inch brass tube for the burner. I drilled a series of 1/16 inch holes in the tube and then soldered a plug in the end.










Next the tube was silver soldered into the collar. Here is a comparison of the two burners. The new one is a little smaller diameter and a little longer. I will probably put a “radiant tent” of stainless wire mesh on the outside of the burner. The smaller tube should make getting the tent through the flue hole in the Ruby boiler easier.










I installed the burner in the boiler on the bench and hooked up the fuel tank. From a full cold boiler to pop off took five and a half minutes with the fuel turned down as low as I could keep it lit. This compares with the stock burner in this engine with the fuel turned up much higher. Here is a picture of the bench test.










Before I re-install the boiler I want to work on making a new exhaust pipe to calm the spits and maybe sound better. More to come!
Larry


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## llynrice (Jan 2, 2008)

That burner looks great, Larry. Did you wrap stainless mesh wrapped around the burner before you ran your bench test?


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## Shay Gear Head (Jan 3, 2008)

Larry,

Sounds like it is time for a Spitinator mounted in the steam chest under the smokebox!


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Now that is what a working workbench should look like--can hardly see the top. Curious--what is that rusty washer thingy in the lower left of the picture? Another torch holder? 

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Llyn, 
No I want to see how it works without it first, so I will wait until I have some track time on the burner before adding anything else. 

Bruce, 
I really want to try and preserve a little bit of stack talk so no Spitinator at this time. 

Larry, 
What you mean.....that's real clean for MY bench! What you are seeing is the mount end of a serious third hand, I have two mounted to the bench at my jewelry solder station. (btw I have the shop door open today.....71 F at 5:10 PM ..... finally!! ) 

Larry


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## Matt Vogt (Jan 2, 2008)

As impressive as always, Larry. Could you tell a curious rookie what makes the new burner more efficient? Is it more holes, so more individual flames? 

Thanks, we all appreciate the detailed build updates. 

Matt


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

"Could you tell a curious rookie what makes the new burner more efficient?" 
Hi Matt, 
You are of course assuming that it will be more efficient AND that I understand why. I am fairly sure that it will out-perform the stock burner. The stock burner does not burn the fuel as hot as it should. You get a good bit of yellow and orange flame in the flue. Also the flame is kind of lazy looking.....fluffy and soft in appearance. The new burner has a sharper more intense flame that is all blue-white. While it does not look like it, the area of the (46) 1/16th holes is smaller than the 19 slots in the original burner. Whether this all adds up won't be known for sure until I reassemble the loco and run it. I'll post again when I have run it! 
Larry (also still a rookie)


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## HMeinhold (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, 
my Betsy also has a burner tube made from brass. Over time it partially melted and sagged somewhat. If I made another one, it would be steel. Keep the pictures coming! 
Regards


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi all,
What a long day! Thanks for the heads - up Henner! I will keep an eye on the burner, this is exactly why I did not make it from the original burner. I put everything back together so I could test the burner. I have run it about an hour and it runs great! Here is a picture which shows all the pieces done in the last couple of weeks. 










And here is a short video of the Ruby - Heisler on its home track!





 
There is another video, but it is not "processed" yet and I am too tired to wait for it.
More later!

Larry


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## Gerd (Jan 7, 2008)

Hello Larry, 

looks and runs greate. I'm still impressed by your Heisler=) 

BTW - I've good news from my live steam project too... I'll post the latest progress soon. 

Bye, Gerd


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi again!
Here is the second video from yesterday's running.



Hi Gerd, good to here from you! I looked at your newest post and your Shay is looking real good. Keep it up!

Larry


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Steaming good! Looks like it is getting close to a green paint job. 

My 0-6-4 is a rolling chassis now. Time for Llyn to take some pix. 

Larry VT


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi,
I have not had much time to post due to some family issues, but I did attend a steam-up at Bruce Gathman's the second weekend of April. Many thanks to Bruce and Mary for hosting a wonderful weekend! And many thanks to Will Davis for allowing me to use this picture of his. Here is the Heisler on Bruce's layout.











I will try and post more this weekend.
Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

I have not had much time to work with any train stuff. I am spending a lot of time with my mother at a rehab facility while tries to recover from a bad fall. I took a few minutes yesterday to look at the Heisler. When I was at Bruce and Mary Gathman's steam-up I discovered a couple of serious mistakes that I made back when I started the Heisler. The back to back measurement of the drivers was too large for a track that was not worn. So Bruce graciously let me use his shop to re-gauge the Heisler. Many thanks Bruce! I was able to run after about 3-4 hour repair time.

Bruce e-mailed me this picture with this statement.
"You might like to post this photo and explain why you have such a happy look on your face."









At the time he took the photo I was wishing I was outside running and not having mistakes captured for the world to see. But now I can say that the "happy" look on my face is because I am going to need to make new drivers for the Heisler. Yet another "rookie" mistake, I did not pay any attention to any standards when I made the drivers and the trucks. I built them to fit the track that I had on hand, which happens to be a half MM over 45 MM. So now I have to make a new set of 8 wheels. Live and learn!
Larry


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry, welcome to the club! Way back when starting in 4 3/4" gauge, I carefully machined the parts for a pair of scratch-built tucks. First time on the track, they would not stay on the rails. All the fits were too tight to allow the trucks to equalize at rough spots in the track. After taking a file to those close fits, the trucks were fine. Just think of all the knowledge you are accumulating for your next project. 

BTW, we had snow here in VT on Sunday and frost last night. Gotta be tough to steam up here, but Llyn and I have gotten in a couple of sessions so far this Spring. 

Larry


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry: what a gorgeous machine. You have done a fantastic job. I guess it's ready for the paint shop??

Bob


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## trainmax (Feb 16, 2008)

Redbeard I wanted to let you know about this. I think you got left out last time I 
don't have your email.


Attention all you live steamers... The Bayou Live Steamers will once again hold its annual Memorial Day Steam Up. So mark your calendars and plan to attend.

When: Monday, May 31st (Memorial Day)
Where: Terry & Cindy's Place 
76592 Bob Levy Rd
Talisheek, LA 70431

You don't want to miss it this year, because we will have two tracks, you heard me, two tracks -
4 main lines to run on. It just keeps getting bigger every year!

There will also be BBQ food and drinks. So if you're a live steamer you don't want to miss it. If you're a sparky well I am sorry to hear about that!

Richard Jacobs
BLS Events Coordinator

PS: We got some bad feed back about the girls dancing on the tables so there will be none of that this year.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Richard! 
I sent you a PM. 

Thanks Bob, 
The new drivers will set me back a good bit of time, and I might have to make new axles as well. Then I have about 25 mostly detail parts to make before the paint goes on. Time and life are not getting along for me right now. 
Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Yep I'm still kicking!
Actually worked on the Heisler a bit today. I modified eight waxes to cast new drivers for the loco. The mold I made at the beginning of this journey did not allow for shrinkage and the drivers ended up too narrow. So new drivers are needed, and I thought I would show the process of casting a set of brass drivers. Here are the eight drivers in wax.










And here are two of them next to the originals on the loco. 










This is as far as I am going today, more later.
Larry


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Larry: If you have the chance, can you show the casting process of the new drivers. Would really like to see your foundry opertion.

Many many thanks, Bob


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Me, too! 

Larry


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Larry, 
Did you also allow for metal shrinkage when it cools? 
When I was casting jewelry we allowed for a 10% shrinkage from Master to production. This was the lost wax method, same as yours. 

I have a casting shop set up. From the wax models they get sprued to a tree (central sprue) and then immersed in Investment (a fireable plaster) and put in a kiln and ramped up to aprox 1400 degrees, held there for a couple of hours and then ramped down to aprox 900 degrees and held there as you melt the metal (I have an electromelt furnace, but have used Oxy/Acet torches) 
next is the tricky part depending on your casting machine. For years I used a centrifical arm, but now I favor a vacuum assist table, take the flask from the oven and set in the opening turn on the vacuum pump and pour the molten metal into the flask. After the button solidifies remove and quench in a 5 gal bucket of water. Use a wire brush to remove as much investment as possible. 

Spruing is very critical. You want the object to cool first and as it does it pulls metal from the spue into the object, so the sprue should be thicker than the thickest part of the object. For your wheels I'd bring the sprue in behind the wheel on an angle so that the low angle diagonal cut reaches from the tread to the beefier area where the connecting rod goes. Porosity (tiny holes) is often caused by a thin sprue cooling before the object, thus not being fed as it cools. 

I have kept this description brief, if you want a more detailed explanation PM me. I will be glad to help. 

If there is enough demand I could be persuaded into being a MLS foundry, but to keep expenses down I'd want to cast 40-60 wheels or the equivelent at a time. Electricity is at a premium during the summer here, so a winter operation makes more sense. The numbers used above are aproximations based on my gold and silver knowledge, but other non ferrous metals should be similar. 

John


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

I get it, I get it, you want pictures! I am pretty sure I said that I was going to do that already! HeHe couldn't resist. 
Hi Bob,
I am loving your Nina post. I am a jeweler by trade, so I have small casting equipment, not really a foundry. But pictures are coming!
Hi Larry,
Yes you too!
Hi John,
I am a jeweler who does only original pieces and never in quantity. So most of my equipment is small. I use both swing arm centrifugal caster and a vacuum caster. I prefer the centrifugal for everything except gold. I have already cast a couple sets of these wheels. I seldom "tree" waxes as most of my flasks are too small. These will be cast in 2inch diameter by 2 1/2 inch tall flasks, 2 wheels per flask. They are ready to be invested but I will wait till I have a full oven load of flasks due to the electric costs.

So here we go!
First I add a "sprue" which will become the path for the molten metal to flow through.









Next I will attach the sprued waxes to a rubber "sprue base". The dome in the center will become a funnel of sorts to direct the metal into the flask.
















Next I will put a "casting flask" or steel tube into the rubber base.
















That's all you get today, the next steps have to wait till I get a bunch of other flasks ready to fill the oven.( not all train parts) Same cost to heat 4 flasks or 8 flasks or 16, so I don't cast a partial oven load unless it is unavoidable. 


Larry


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Larry. I've always wanted to try lost wax. I have a book that shows all the homemade equipment to do it.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Ok Here we go again.........

First the equipment we will use.
Vacuum casting machine will be used for the investing process.










Then the flasks will go in the oven or kiln, which has a digital controller.



















Then the flasks will go on the casting arm.










First a rubber sleeve is placed on the top of the flasks that have the wheel waxes inside. This sleeve helps keep the mess down later.










Now I weigh the investment, which is basically a high temp plaster. The investment I am using is safe to 1500 degrees F. The investment powder and water must be accurately measured in insure the proper consistency for the type of casting you do.
Powder










Water










I mix investment in a deep sink that is not directly connected to my sewage line. The investment is mixed in a flexible rubber bowl.










Using a small hand mixer. Once the investment powder and water are mixed, I have to finish the process before 10 minutes passes. At 10 minutes the investment will be mostly solidified. So I use a timer to keep me aware of the minutes.










With 4 to 5 minutes left on the clock, (depending on the number and size of the flasks) I move the bowl to the vacuum chamber and vacuum out all the air in the mixture.










With about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes remaining, I release the vacuum, place the flasks in the chamber, pour the investment into the flasks, and vacuum the flasks for 45 seconds. (now you can see the reason for the rubber sleeves)










After another 10 minutes passes, I remove the rubber sleeves.










After 20 more minutes pass, I remove the rubber bases. In the one flask that is bottom-up, you can see the "funnel" formed by the dome in the rubber base.










Next the flasks are placed in the oven for the burnout procedure.










Most casters have their own burnout procedures. I use a 10 1/2 hour burnout cycle. This includes a 2 hour "hold" at the end to be sure the internal temperatures have stabilized, so the actual burnout is about 8 1/2 hours. My cycle has four ramps (or stages). 0 to 350 cures the investment and the wax begins to melt and drip out of the flasks. 350 to 450 completes the wax melting. 450 to 1350 burns up all traces of the wax, this is where the term "lost wax casting" comes from. (The wax is destroyed in the process, leaving a cavity that will be filled with metal.) 1350 down to 975, then hold at 975 for two hours to be sure that the internal temps are all stable at 975. I normally cast silver, gold, and brass at 975 degrees F. This stage was finished Saturday evening and the oven controller was programed to begin the burnout process at 8:30 PM, which has me casting at 6:30 AM Sunday morning. This way I am not in the shop for the heat and fumes from the burning wax.

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Now we zoom to Sunday morning at 6:30 AM.
The metal for each flask is VERY accurately weighed out using a ratio of the specific gravities of the wax and the metal. The brass I am using today has a specific gravity of 8.4, and most "jewelry" waxes have a specific gravity of 1. So for every gram of wax I need 8.4 grams of brass plus 18 to 20 grams extra to form the "button". (smaller weight castings I use 18 gram button, larger I use 20) when we get to a picture of the flask and crucible I will explain part of why the metal amount is so important. The "button" is formed by the "funnel" at the bottom of the flask. When the molten metal enters the cavity where the wax used to be, it begins to cool immediately. The button must be bigger than the thickest part of the wax. As the metal begins to cool and "harden", the thinnest places harden first, and the button must remain liquid until the metal within the cavity is hardened. If the button volume is too small and it hardens first, the flask cannot "draw" metal in to make up the small amount of shrinkage as the metal hardens. too small a button can cause separations in the casting if major and porosity if minor. The separations are easy to see and are sometimes refered to as "non-fills" and you toss them in the scrap pile. Porosity is a casters nightmare, because sometimes it is hard to see. A porous casting is also a bad casting. So metal weight is important and each flask has its metal weighed out to a tenth of a gram.









The metal is placed in the crucible on the casting arm, and heated with a torch.









When the metal is almost completely molten, the flask is taken from the oven, (still at 975 degrees F) and placed in the cradle of the casting arm.









When the metal is all molten, I add a touch of boric acid as a flux and drag any dross off the surface with a titanium poker. I could not photograph this as it takes too many hands. Then the casting arm is released, (oh, I forgot to mention the casting arm is mostly a big 3 inch wide flat spring that you wind up to make the arm spin) and the arm spins so fast that centrifugal force moves the metal into the cavity in the flask. When the arm begins spinning, you can not see it for 30 to 45 seconds.








As the arm slows the metal is hardening inside the flask. If I used too much metal the end of the crucible will become attached to the flask with the hardened button. So it HAS to be the correct amount of metal! After the flask has spun or cooled for 5 minutes, it is "dunked" into a bucket of water (the flask is still over 700 degrees) The hot investment will blast away from the flask and the casting from the steam created. This is the first look at the casting as it comes out of the water.










The remaining investment is cleaned of by whatever method you choose, I use tap water with a few drops of dish detergent in a powerful ultrasonic cleaner. repeat the process until all the flasks are cast.









Eight new drivers and nine new link and pin coupler pockets. I finished the casting before 8:30 and went in the house to have breakfast. 

That's how I cast my new drivers.

Larry


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry: Thanks a lot for going into this detail. This is a very interesting process. It looks like the burn out process is the costly part. I've recently aquired an old vacuum chamber, need to get it working.

Thanks again, Bob


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Now I finally understand the lost wax process and the equipment involved. The amount of intuitive skill required is impressive. Thanks for the presentation1 

Larry


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## Shay Gear Head (Jan 3, 2008)

Larry,

The new wheels look like they are going to be great!

The treads should cover anything from 44mm to 46mm track gauge. Which means it should run on my track ~ right?


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey Bruce, 
Yeah and its all your fault too .......................(just kidding!) actually it means that it will run on MY track. 
Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi everybody! Yep I'm still kicking! I was able to work on the wheel castings this weekend. Because I needed to make the waxes thicker than the original wheel mold I made, the waxes ended up pretty rough and not very true.










First I faced the backs off flat using my Chinese 7X10 lathe.










Next I faced the front of the wheel to the desired thickness, which is .260" for this engine. 











Then I turned the rim to the desired diameter of 1.400".










Finally I turned the wheel diameter to 1.270".










Each step was done eight times.










My next session will be to bore the axle holes and drill and tap the side rod holes. Wish I could predict when that will be!

Larry


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Good to hear from you. Progress is progress, regardless of how long it takes! 

That nor'easter last Friday blew many of the buildings off my track; pieces of the smashed water tank were all over the yard. Guess it is time to take things in for the VT winter. 

Larry


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

The wheels looks great. That is a skill I need to try. What bronze do you use?

Thanks, Bob


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Larry, 
Sorry to hear about the tank, that was a pretty impressive storm on the monitor. Glad I was down here in warm old Florida! (Where we don't ever have storms !!!) 
Larry (the warm weather one) 

Hi Bob, 
I am using "American brass" which is 33% zinc and 67% copper. Not too hard or too soft and cheap and available. As to looking "great" thanks, still a good bit of work to clean them up. Hopefully soon as Diamondhead is creeping up on me. 
Larry


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## trainbuffjr (Jan 11, 2008)

the new wheels look great Larry! will you be selling sets of these?


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

I spent a little time on the drivers tonight. I smoothed up all the rough edges, now they are ready to bore the axle holes and drill and tap the side rod holes.










Thanks for the the comment trainbuffjr, right now its tough for me to find any time to work on this engine so there are no immediate plans to cast wheels to sell.
More to come!
Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

SOOOO all I have to do is put those wheels on that locomotive!










The new wheels are a good bit wider than the old ones.










This means I had to make new axles as well...........










This is as far as I got tonight, hopefully I can do the other truck soon and press the wheels on. More to come !
Larry


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## Dan Rowe (Mar 8, 2009)

Hi Larry, 
Nice shots of your casting operation. I see that you can cast with vacuum which is the method I use. What is the largest flask that you can run on the centrifugal machine? 

For a one man operation it seams like that is the simplest method. I use a helper with the vacuum method to move the flasks while I do the melt with a hand held cruciable. 

I choose the vacuum method as i have 1/5 scale Shay cylinders on my to do list, which seams like way too much metal to spin. 

Dan


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## Shay Gear Head (Jan 3, 2008)

Larry,

Once the wheels are mounted you need to test it on the layout that made you do all this work!

I was once told that Heislers were like Modet T's in that they only were available in black!


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Dan, 
"What is the largest flask that you can run on the centrifugal machine?" 

On my casting arm I can use up to 3 1/2 inch diameter 4 inch long flasks. I do not have any larger than 3 inch diameter. (don't need them much for jewelry) The real limitation is that my crucibles are 7 ounce capacity. (that's gold capacity not brass) There are larger ones available for this casting arm though. 

"For a one man operation it seams like that is the simplest method. I use a helper with the vacuum method to move the flasks while I do the melt with a hand held cruciable." 

There used to be a "helper" cradle made for these surface casters that mounted the crucible in a pivot that lined the spout up with the center of the flask. I used one once at a casting seminar years ago, but don't know if they are still around. I'll try and find a picture and if I can't I will draw what I remember. I remember it worked pretty well in the class. 

"I choose the vacuum method as i have 1/5 scale Shay cylinders on my to do list, which seams like way too much metal to spin." 

When I have cast 3 1/2 by 4 inch tall flasks on my arm, it took all of the counterweights that came with the machine to balance it. I was casting 8 or so pieces in a flask. 
Larry 

Hi Bruce, 
"Once the wheels are mounted you need to test it on the layout that made you do all this work!" 

Are you really trying to take the blame for this? Thanks again for inviting me to your steam-up, you have a great track and are a gracious host. I hope to be testing the Heisler on my own small track very soon. 

"I was once told that Heislers were like Modet T's in that they only were available in black!" 

This too will change soon as you WILL see a "Redbeard green" Heisler ! 
Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Well, I worked on the trucks again tonight. Made the second pair of wider axles, tapped the holes for the side rods, and pressed the wheels on. 









WE HAVE TRUCKS AGAIN!

Larry


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## Nutz-n-Bolts (Aug 12, 2010)

This too will change soon as you WILL see a "Redbeard green" Heisler ! 

Don't change your style a bit Larry! I have followed this and some of your other posts, and you some awesome work. Thanks for sharing it.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Got everything back together, but it was already dark outside. Shot a short video, but it was too dark to see the engine well.






Larry


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## Shay Gear Head (Jan 3, 2008)

Only the "Shadow" knows - or at least the shadow on the wall knows.


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Yippie. Great show Larry!!


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice work Larry, as usual!! Cool video.


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Attaboy!! Appears to run really smooth. 

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Decided I needed to make a video in the daylight so you could see the loco better. 70 degrees and partly cloudy.
Thanks Bruce, Bob, Howard, and Larry!!






Larry


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry: Your Heisler has a perfect proportion and shape to it. When Kozo did his 3.5" gauge, I always thought the trucks looked too narrow and the overall appearance top heavy. Yours is right on the money. Great looking and runs even better.

Bob


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## Nutz-n-Bolts (Aug 12, 2010)

Hi Larry, Please forgive such an insane suggestion at this point in your build. I notice how well your Heisler runs and couldn't help but think what a set of 1/2" bore cylinders could do for power and control. The way you incorporated the engines it may not be that hard of a swap. Hopefully I could plant this seed before it hit the paint shop. Keep up the amazing work!


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Larry, 
A great bit of work, and great write up as you went along. 
I guess that all jewellers are not the same when it comes to trains! 
A fellow live steamer of mine put me in touch with their jeweller (she had made rings for them) as had offered to cast any parts for him. 
I went down to see her and she was quite happy to take on the project which was a bunch of small door handles. 
I explained that I wanted them in brass, which she said she had never used but saw no problem. 
Well it all went well until she called me after doing the first cast. 
Would I go and see her as she felt it was not working too well for her. 
I arrived to find her carefully polishing every door handle as though it was a priceless ring, although I had explained that I just wanted the castings as they came. 
The real problem though she said was the 'smoke' from casting brass. 
It was going to ruin her pristine jewellery room so unless I wanted the handles in gold or silver she felt that she could no longer attempt my work. 
MY brother in the UK who worked at an jewellery school in London doing casting amongst other things, and does his own at home, reckoned that she was just using the wrong brass and not familiar with how best to use it. 
Fortunately I found a casting company in the UK to do my castings for me. 
All the best, 
David Leech, Delta, Canada


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By David Leech on 23 Nov 2010 09:03 AM 
Larry, 
A great bit of work, and great write up as you went along. 
I guess that all jewellers are not the same when it comes to trains! 
A fellow live steamer of mine put me in touch with their jeweller (she had made rings for them) as had offered to cast any parts for him. 
I went down to see her and she was quite happy to take on the project which was a bunch of small door handles. 
I explained that I wanted them in brass, which she said she had never used but saw no problem. 
Well it all went well until she called me after doing the first cast. 
Would I go and see her as she felt it was not working too well for her. 
I arrived to find her carefully polishing every door handle as though it was a priceless ring, although I had explained that I just wanted the castings as they came. 
The real problem though she said was the 'smoke' from casting brass. 
It was going to ruin her pristine jewellery room so unless I wanted the handles in gold or silver she felt that she could no longer attempt my work. 
MY brother in the UK who worked at an jewellery school in London doing casting amongst other things, and does his own at home, reckoned that she was just using the wrong brass and not familiar with how best to use it. 
Fortunately I found a casting company in the UK to do my castings for me. 
All the best, 
David Leech, Delta, Canada 

I was thinking of approaching a local jeweller too, but wondered if they would shy away. I think they use dedicated crucibles for gold and silver. Maybe don't want to mix in brass. Smoke (?)


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Randy, 
"couldn't help but think what a set of 1/2" bore cylinders could do for power and control." 
I put 1/2" cylinders on my first Ruby project, and they were indeed great for the power and low speed control. The Heisler is not affected as much as the stock Ruby due to the gearing in the trucks. If money were not an issue I might invest in a pair, but they are not in my near future. And yes, it would be quite simple to change them to larger cylinders. Thanks! 
Larry 

Hi David, 
Casting brass is not in the normal repertoire of a jeweler. Some of the large manufacturing companies will cast their samples in brass, but even this is phasing out. 

"The real problem though she said was the 'smoke' from casting brass. 
It was going to ruin her pristine jewellery room so unless I wanted the handles in gold or silver she felt that she could no longer attempt my work." 
Without knowing the specifics of what alloy and what equipment the jeweler was using I can only guess about the smoke issue. First it has to be said that MANY of the available alloys of brass have lead (or worse) in them, so casting brass without a fume/smoke evacuation system is NOT SAFE. My shop has 3 (redundant is safer) systems to take fumes away from me and out of the shop. Plus when I work with brass I remove the filters from my buffing machine and run that fan as well. I have an incoming vent directly across from my work station, so fresh air is coming across me to the exhaust system. When I started making jewelry I figured I wanted to do this for 50 years, so in order to live that long, I needed to pay attention to what I exposed myself to. So far I have only been working with new brass, as I can not tell what is in scrap brass. The alloy I am using is only copper and zinc, but even with this mixture much care must be taken not to overheat the metal. You can easily "burn off" the zinc if you do not pay attention. When "we" (jewelers) work with yellow gold, we have it pretty easy as it is about as forgiving a metal as you can get. So the "smoke" may have been from the alloy used, (in which case it COULD contain lead or in some alloys arsenic or.....) or if used metal was melted, it could be any number of impurities burning off. My jewelry shop was "pristine" only on the day it was built.







It is a dirty line of work.








Larry 

Hi Bob, 
"I think they use dedicated crucibles for gold and silver. Maybe don't want to mix in brass. Smoke (?)" 
Yes we use dedicated crucibles for each alloy and color of each metal. (ie 10KT Yellow, 10KT White, 14KT Yellow..........all in their own crucible) plus I use separate crucibles for cleaning and reclaiming sprues and buttons from previous castings. No jeweler would ever melt brass in a gold or silver crucible. Smoke (?) see above. 
Larry


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

I looked into brass alloys once. There must be 50,000 of them.


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## Dan Rowe (Mar 8, 2009)

Bob, 
Brass has as you know a bunch of alloys and each time they are melted the alloy content changes a bit as some of the lower melting elements boil off. 

I only use 2 alloys silicon bronze and nickle silver. I mainly use silicon bronze because it has no lead or zinc and will remelt several times without much change to the alloy content. 

Here is where I get my bronze which has both alloy content info and material working properties and MSDS links. 
http://www.budgetcastingsupply.com/Metals.php 

The red brass is what is known as gun metal, but the lead content made me choose silicone bronze which is a bit harder to machine. 
Dan


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

I've been accumulating foundry parts for years. Need to get going on it. As an aside has anyone used that ZA-27 zinc alloy? Looks like it would be good for flywheels and ornimental stuff.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi !
I decided to steal a little time to work on the Heisler. (a mental health day!) For a long time I have felt that the performance was not quite as it should be. I recently realized that the tubing I used for the steam lines from the reverser to the valves was about 20 per cent smaller ID than the stock tubing. I had used standard 1/8 inch soft copper from a roll I have left from a previous occupation. I decided to replace those lines with larger ID copper lines. I am switching to 1/8 inch K&S tubing which is harder tubing. So I had to anneal it to make 90 degree bends. Here is a picture showing the difference in ID of the two tubings.











In order to solder in new lines it was necessary to disassemble a great deal of the engine. Here is the disassembled engine.











I bent up new lines. (no more "headers" Kent!)











Next I soldered the lines into the valves and the reverser. I also soldered the pairs together as I did on the first lines.











Then I took the assembly back out to clean and check it.











That's all for now. I need to test the lines for leaks and then reassemble everything to see if I have made a difference in the performance. More Later !
Larry


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Garsh Darn IT!! I loved those headers. Still looks great, I can't wait to see how testing goes.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Only allowing myself a few minutes on the Heisler this morning. (busy time of year for me!) I wrapped the lines with cotton twine.










And then I painted them with matte black latex enamel.











One paint dries I will trim the ends of the twine, and start the reassembly process.

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Well I got everything back together and then spent a good bit of time talking to a buddy about timing a v-twin Ruby engine. After adjusting the valves and the eccentrics I got the engine to run a lot smoother, AND a lot slower. By the time I got everything ready it was getting dark. So here is a very short video as the light is fading away. Started running as if it were out of gas or had a plugged jet, then I realized that the temperature had dropped to 45 F. So I put room temperature water in the bunker and she started running much better. Tried to make another video but it was too dark. Maybe I can sneak some time and do one tomorrow. Here is the slower running Heisler as the light is fading away.






More later,
Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

I shot a short video this morning with the Heisler pulling some cars. Looks like it will be running at Diamondhead in a few short weeks!






Larry


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## Nutz-n-Bolts (Aug 12, 2010)

What a difference. I guess timing really is everything.







Looks great !


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Great show Larry!! Truely great machine all around. Sweet the way it slowed down, but chugged along.


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

I had to add one more thing before I pack for Diamondhead. I made a pair of boiler braces.










Everything that is left now is pretty much just detail pieces, hopefully things will move along quicker now. Time to load the truck!
Larry


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

That, Sir, is a sheer wonder. What a fine job you have made of building a totally convincing Heisler! I'd be very proud to it on MY railroad, or anybody else's too. 

Please make certain sure to take many movies of it running at DH. 

Best 

tac 
www.ovgrs.org 
Supporter of the Cape Meares Lighthouse Restoration Fund


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## llynrice (Jan 2, 2008)

There always seems to be "just one more" detail to add on a project like this before it's time to declare the project done. It's not such a bad trap to be in when you enjoy doing major scratch building. Your engine is looking great and I hope you have a lot of fun running it at Diamond Head.


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## wboylejr (Jan 2, 2008)

Excellent work as usual Larry! See you this week at DH!!!


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Hello!
I made the trip to Diamondhead and had a blast! I made some videos and will post one here, the rest will probably go to the thread for Diamondhead pictures. Most of my running was at night and the light in the hall is poor even in the daytime. So I have to "lighten" the videos just so they can be seen. i arrived Sunday evening (Jan 16th) and was not planning to run that night, but had the chance to run next to a Jim Hadden built Heisler. The prototype of this loco is a much larger engine that the prototype I used. The video is not great but here is my Ruby Heisler running next to a larger Heisler. More to come!






Larry


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Super nice Larry. A great runner and a sweet look.

Thanks, Bob


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Great Vid!!! 

A work of art indeed. 

tac 
www.ovgrs.org 
Supporter of the Cape Meares Lighthouse Restoration Fund


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## maculsay (Jan 2, 2008)

Yep, Larry....your Heisler looked very nice running at DH. I saw one your runs on the streaming video camera. Glad you had a good time.


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## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

Ditto...


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Larry, 

I too watched the feed from DH as your engine and you had a great time steaming. Good to see you had a brown bottle of "cylinder oil" available to keep things going smoothly. I made it as far south as York for steaming at Cabin Fever that first weekend. Maybe DH next year. 

Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Bob!
Thanks tac!
Thanks Howard, glad you saw the Heisler on the camera!
Thanks Tom, it is always great to steam with you!
Thanks Larry, wish you could have been here. There were lots of those brown bottles of steamer lubricant around. 

I think we all should give Will "thumper" Lindley a big thank you and pats on the back for taking time and effort to keep that camera running. THANKS WILL!

Here is a video of a portion of the best run I got on the Heisler at Diamondhead. The total run time was 24 minutes with four water stops. This trip has convinced me I need to add an axle pump to the loco.







More to come!
Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow.......I can not believe that it has been over two years since I posted to this thread! It has been a tough two years, but I am still working and the Heisler has been run hard a lot of times. I just finished a new stack and am posting a couple of pictures here today.




















I feel the winds 'a changing..................

Larry


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

"I feel the winds 'a changing--" Sure--it's hurricane season! 

The stack is painted--are you gonna change your mind and paint the loco too? 

See the new stack and you at DH. 

Larry (North)


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## mocrownsteam (Jan 7, 2008)

Larry, 

Very nice work!!!!! Are the stack casting pieces going to be available from you?? I can silver solder, investment casting is a whole other ballgame! 

Larry Green, see you at DH. 

Mike McCormack 
Hudson, Massachusetts


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry Green; "The stack is painted--are you gonna change your mind and paint the loco too?" 

Paint? One day maybe....lots of other changes in the works first. See you at DH! 

Mike, I sent you a PM. 

Larry (South USA but North Florida)


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## Shay Gear Head (Jan 3, 2008)

Redbeard said: "Wow.......I can not believe that it has been over two years since I posted to this thread! It has been a tough two years, but I am still working and the Heisler has been run hard a lot of times." 
Jim Sanders has you beat on taking longer on finishing a loco. His scratch Shay still does not have footboards, as does not your Heisler. He built that loco in the very early part of the century! Or maybe it was the late part of the last century!


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

*Here we go......AGAIN!*

One day last month, (or was it 6 months ago......) those dang pirates just up and cut the back of the boiler off!












After I got the Heisler running fairly well I decided that one of the things that it needed was much more water capacity in the boiler. since the prototype had a tee-boiler I decided to convert the Ruby boiler to a tee-boiler. So I clamped the boiler in the vise and cut the back off. Not really.....First I found locally a piece of 3/4 OD copper to make a slightly larger flue from. Then I took step drill to the flue opening in the smoke box and freed the original flue tube from the front of the boiler. Sorry, I did not take pictures during the drilling process, so these were taken afterwards.

Here is the step drill.










And here is where the drill was located to drill the flue.










I had to cut the bottom of the boiler and spread it open to clear the drill chuck.










And then I clamped the boiler in the vise and cut the back off, this is what I ended up with.










More later,
Larry


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

After measuring the locomotive to see how deep the bottom of the tee could be I carefully measured and marked a piece of 2 inch copper for the vertical part of the boiler. Once again I did not take pictures during the process, (I really need to find a helper to operate the camera) then I used a 1 3/4 inch hole saw to drill the hole for the Ruby boiler to fit into.










I then used the step drill to drill a 3/4 inch hole for the flue.










The holesaw was not an exact fit for the Ruby boiler so I had to file the hole open a little to fit the boiler. After fitting the hole in the 2 inch tube to the boiler outside diameter I trial fitted everything together.










Here is a picture of the parts trial fitted showing the layout of the boiler.










The height for the top of the vertical part of the boiler still needs to be determined as do the fittings and burner mounts. Lots of work to do still!

More later,
Larry


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## llynrice (Jan 2, 2008)

Fascinating. I look forward to following this upgrade.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

Larry
The hole saw worked great for you
I have tried hole saws from home Depot in the past and they wouldn't cut brass or copper so I gave up on them but I guess if you get a metal cutting one, it does the trick. Do you remember where you got it?


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## redbeard (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Llyn, Just wish I could work on it every day!

Hey Bill, Yes I bought this one for the boiler job at the local True Value Hardware (a large one and an old fashion hardware store). It was their brand but it is a bi-metal blade.
Larry


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