# 18 Ton B Climax Build log



## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

As a followup to my prior post requesting feedback from you all, I started the build last Thurs.

I got some bevel gears on eBay and had some spur gear stock for the drive gears









I made a gear case which worked out ok but not great. I ordered a helical gear set which I may change out. as the gear box just bolts in with the four bolts shown. It should be easy. Shapeways has skewed bevel gears but not the ratio I want.









I am using Aster trucks which eliminates a lot of time. The frame is a simple box frame and my crossmembers are similar to the prototype.








I have three of the U joints and will only have to make one. The square stock is 4 mm and I didn't have any matching material but they were easily filed down to accept K&S 3/16" square tubing.









The cylinders are made using the same technique I use on most of my other builds. I start with 1" square stock and round one corner on the router and then bore it out in the lathe with a four jaw self centering chuck. I then wrap a piece of 600 sandpaper around a dowel to smooth out any machining marks.









Here is where I deviate from the norm. The Climax has a smaller valve chest and pronounced circular cylinder. In the Lathe, I trim 1/8" on both sides to 1" round. then on the mill, I remove 1.8" from the ends of the valve body mount. I then remove the small raised portion which is left with three passes with a 1/4" end mill, rotating the cylinder slightly between passes. the final rounding is done with a file and the 1" belt sander.









The ports and mounting holes are done on the mill/









The exhaust port is drilled and relieved and the four 4-40 threaded holes will be used for mounting the cylinder to the engine frame.


















The engine frame is much more complex than the main frame. I got a pretty dirty pice of brass from the metal yard which was good because the scribe marks show up better that way. I first scribe my center lines and cut lines and before i make any cuts, I drill all of my holes using the DRO on the mill.









The half circle for the crankshaft is done by drilling the hole before making the 22-1/2 degree cut.









The 22-1/2 cut is done on the crosscut fixture and parallel cuts are done against the rip fence. The uncut portion is finished on the band saw.









The finished blank is compared to the drawing









The fender is made by cutting a piece of .080" sheet stock to .400 wide, annealing it and bending it to shape. the solder is Staybrite


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## Beddhist (Dec 17, 2013)

Very interesting Bill. The first 3 pix don't show.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

How about now


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## Beddhist (Dec 17, 2013)

Yes, all there now. Thanks Bill.


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## seadawg (Jan 2, 2008)

Holy Moly, I wish I had a tenth of your abilities!! I'm just trying to figure out how to make a rectangular sand dome!

Please keep the pictures and the projects coming and maybe, just maybe, I might be able to glean a little insight to add to my skill set.


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Sweet. I guess when I get back it will be done? 

BTW, I have a few U joints from a ACC Shay. And other misc parts. Looks to be the same. Also have a few homemade ones that are about also. 

Jay


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

Thanks Jay but I finished the U joint yesterday


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

Well, I am making pretty good progress. I wanted to see how fast I could make a boiler and was able to knock it out in eight hours. Here is how I did it.
But first, I had to do some chassis work

I was missing one U joint so I turned the yoke on the lathe drilling out the inside of the fork and then cutting the fork shape out in the mill. the ring was turned on the mill and the center hole was bored out to match the Aster size. The holes in the ring are 1/16" and 3/32". The 1/16" holes receive the SS rod on the rt. which will be peened over. The brass spacers keep things centered. The 3/32 holes are a perfect fit for the 0-80 cap head screw which screws into the fork and the ring pivots on the screw head.


















The boiler is a T box design. It will be 2-1/2" deep by 3-1/2" wide inside. I measure out a piece of 3/32" copper plate to go all the way around and meet in the middle. I cut semicircles for the boiler tube on the band saw and anneal and bend to shape around a 4 x 4 cut to size. I then silver solder the ends together, hammer onto the 4 x 4 and gently hammer the sides to shape. I then remove it and finish up the hole on the rotary drum sander. This technique is shown in the threads for the boilers I did on the CP Huntington and Hot Rod Ruby









The tube end plates and flues are soldered in similar fashion to my other builds. The crown sheet is cut to size and set in place You can just make out the 1/16' copper pin which the sheet is resting on which will hold it in place for the solder process.

















The tube is set in place and a piece of broken brick is cut out to support it and keep it parallel to the box. Snippets of solder are set in place and fluxed prior to heating.

























5/32" stays are set in the water section of the box and 5/32 tubes are soldered in for the sight glass









Then it is tested and cleaned up

















And set on the chassis where clearances are checked.









This closeup shows how the engine work is progressing.


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## Skeeterweazel (Feb 11, 2014)

Thx for sharing your work.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

I will be using a ceramic burner here
The burner material is placed in a sealed and silver soldered box which is in turn soldered to a plate which will act as the bottom of the firebox. The box is sized to go between the frame rails.


















The floor is cut out for clearance









I need to have my stack threaded and a nut made for it. I haven't done this for a while so I took it slow and documented it for next time. The stack tube and diamond portion is at the top. The concave and convex washers were cut to shape on the band saw and finished on the drum sander and 1" belt sander before they were parted off. otherwise it would have been impossible to hold them. The tool for the male thread is simply a 60 degree point ground from a piece of tool stock. the nut tool is ground from an end mill (more detail in my Hot Rod ruby thread) The male diameter is .542 but it is irrevelant as long as the thread depth is correct. i want a fine thread and a loose fit. On the chart below the tools, I see that a 3/8" x 32 thread is 1/32" deep so I set my lathe for 32 TPI and make my cuts 1/32" deep.









On the male thread, I can see where I am going but on the nut I am going in blind. the nut will be only 1/8" thick so I will thread down to 1/4' and then part it off. I put a strip of masking tape to mark my cut.
Then I make the cuts only .005" at a time at 100 RPM I cut in in forward and stop the lathe when I reach my bottom. I then reverse the lathe and back out, advance the feed .005" and go again.









And here is the stack ready to install









The dome was turned out of aluminum bar stock. I may make it a little shorter. Still need to make a base for it.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

I have been doing more work on the engine than posting. as a matter of fact I ran it at a Steamup Saturday. I used a temporary fuel tank and still have a few things to do but it should be finished this week

I started by adding some lead in the front to balance







things out.

The buffers are Mahogany










The front of the 18 ton extends way past the boiler so i will be adding a tool box about this size.









It had some fancy steam piping. To duplicate the look and scale, i used 3/16" brass tubing and made the elbows and tee's from 1/4" brass bar turned down and the filed to shape on the lathe









They were then cut and silver soldered together like this









And installed on the boiler









I like to use a boiler blow down with the valve on the backhead where it is easy to get to. I make this mini valve for that purpose.









Here is the valve next to the lubricator which is a pass through like the Ruby but much higher for easier access.









The working Walschaerts linkage is complete with the reverse bar going back to the yet to be made Johnson bar.









Here is a good shot of the tubing. You can see that the upper portion id cosmetic but the lower pipes supply the steam to the cylinders.









The cab is Oak and Mahogany. I am going with a rustic look here. not sure about the polished brass with it but I can always paint it.









The roof is brass with a canvas type material glued on.









The bunker is water tight and will house the fuel tank. Rails for a wood load will be added.









here are some shots of the chassis and gears.


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Fabulous Bill, I love it!!! Thanks for showing us how to do things.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

I finished the fuel tank, wood load and chain box this week
Here are the photos of it so far
I would appreciate any feedback on it 
I think it is about what I was looking for which is an overscale 18 ton with big cylinders and Walschaerts gear and the rest fairly prototypical
Any suggestions or criticisms on the cosmetics will be appreciated.


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## Skeeterweazel (Feb 11, 2014)

I think it sucks. You should be embarrassed. To help relieve yourself of the horrendous transgression you should send this abomination to me! 
Ha!
It's great, of course. Love the cab. Would you consider weathering the brass? And adding a manufacture's placard and a road number of sorts. It looks too naked.
Thx. for sharing your work.
Marty


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

Marty
When you say weathering the brass, do you mean adding a patina or painting and weathering it?
I am thinking of getting a CLIMAX placard for the valve chest
It had a faded H&H on the cab that could maybe be done with pressure transfer ?
Maybe a number on the bunker ?
I was also thinking about a wood veneer to match the cab over the bunker inside the rivet lines ?
Thoughts ???


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Bill what throws it off to me is the small high cab windows. Maybe enlarge them in height? So hows it run? Any video. Always liked the Walscherts Gear on a Climax.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

Not a very good video but here you go.
Ran it for about 45 minutes with no problems.
Pulled 4.5 lbs on an un-chalked track before it started slipping.


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Bill;

I'm getting the message "Please sign in to view this video." Perhaps some YouTube permissions need changing?

Thanks,
David Meashey

P.S. The locomotive is gorgeous. It would look right at home on Steve King's 7/8ths scale layout in Rocky Mount, VA.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

It was locked
Should be ok now


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## steamermeister (Feb 20, 2013)

Great work. I agree with Kovacjr on the proportions of the side windows relative to the rest of the cab side. Maybe rather than build new larger windows into the cab it may be easier to break up the profile by using some strip wood (possibly 1/16 x 1/16) to frame a rectangle onto the open space.


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## scottemcdonald (Jan 11, 2008)

Beautiful work. Well done. I personally like the high sidewalls and small windows, Those exterior cab walls are just begging for a lot of logging "stuff" to be hanging all over it. 

Scott


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

BEAUTIFUL!! It certainly runs well which is no surprise as all of your creations do that. I still can't believe how fast you crank out these gorgeous masterpieces!!


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

Thanks for the compliments and feedback. Thanks to your input and some off line, I made some changes that I think make it look much better
I painted the cylinders, dome and made a larger stack top and painted it.
I lowered the windows and changed the width
I put some aging glaze in the brass pipes and wood buffers
Here are some photos and a new video


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Oh my! That wee lassie can really pull, can't she? What a joy to watch her run merrily along with six cars of logs. Another really fine locomotive.

Congratulations,
David Meashey


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## Joe Johnson (Jan 2, 2008)

Those last changes really dressed it up!!

Congratulations on a beautifully running engine!!


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## Skeeterweazel (Feb 11, 2014)

bille1906 said:


> Marty
> When you say weathering the brass, do you mean adding a patina or painting and weathering it?
> I am thinking of getting a CLIMAX placard for the valve chest
> It had a faded H&H on the cab that could maybe be done with pressure transfer ?
> ...


I like the "blacked-out" look better.
Looking at pix of Climaxes they have number on the cab and RR name on the bunker, or vice-versa. You'll come up w/ a cool way to dress it up. Link is just an example.


You know what your gear reduction is?

Thx.
Marty


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

Yes
It is 3.2 to 1
I wanted a lot of pulling power but I ended up with more power than the weight of the engine can handle.
It is still ok though because I have plenty of speed if needed. The start of the video is only at about 3/4 throttle and speed.
The ceramic burner will handle anything needed and was at reduced setting for the video.


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## steamermeister (Feb 20, 2013)

Nice work on the cosmetics. It looks razor sharp.


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## bille1906 (May 2, 2009)

I went through the Climax book last night and noticed that there are quite a few with cable wrapped around the front buffers. I took some picture hanging wire, painted it flat black, rust primer and a little grey primer to get the look.









I also moved the rear truck back and made running boards. I had originally thought the 18 ton didn't have them but it did so I went with metal boards with a grate non-slip

















And finally, I took the last video you will have to endure
I used all of my cars and she pulled them with ease.
it seems to light best through the stack but when I lit it , it burned the engine enamel off. I since have repainted it with 1200 degrees paint 
Other than that, another successful run. Boiler maintains steam easily. Could probably pull twice as many cars.


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## Skeeterweazel (Feb 11, 2014)

We want more videos, not less!


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