# Ruby Kit Difficulty



## Jerm (May 7, 2009)

Hello esteemed steamers.

I've been thinking about getting into Live Steam for a while (as in: since I was three) and I'm about a day off from buying a Ruby, only I'm not sure whether to go kit or RTR. I do like to build things and one day I do plan on building a steamer of my own design, but I'm curious as to the difficulty of the kit as I've read both good and bad things in my research.
So the question I put to you is: how bad is it? Now, this differs per person so let me give you a brief about my situation.
I do not have a lathe (though, from what I understand I shouldn't need one), I don't have a drill press. I do have a table saw, jig saw, band saw, but I doubt these are necessary.
In terms of technical skill, I'm quite at home building with styrene, passable with wood. I've assembled some battery powered kits from IP Engineering which include assembling axles, sliding gears into place and the like. My soldering is rubbish (at the moment), though I did manage to fix some burnt out components on my razor years back. I installed a DCC decoder in an On30 Porter with much frustration and it's far from elegant. But it work. Again, I'm not sure how much/if any soldering is required on the Ruby.
Is it as simple as a Meccano kit? Just screw everything together? I am aware that there is of course some tweaking and tuning that must be done and that's fine. However, I don't immediately have a source of air to test the valves on.


My current line of thinking is going RTR and thus have a working specimen I can study, examine and learn from and put that knowledge and an eventually growing collection of tools towards building the next steamer. THE steamer.

Any input would be immensely appreciated, thanks.

*Edit*: One other thing. I like the idea of having a pressure gauge which the kit is lacking; any thoughts on the practicality of adding one one? 


_ PS. I'm not a forum person which is why I barely post, that's just my nature. Sorry 'bout that.
PPS. I am also well aware of the search function for the forum, but I haven't turned up a suitable answer utilizing it._


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

You can do it, great introduction to steam. Pretty much "bolt together." There are some performance changes that can be found in the informational "sticky" on the Ruby eccentrics.
Please post your build!


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

Howdy Jeremy, and welcome to MLS! 
If you haven't already, check out the Live Steam Class[/b][/b] in the Articles Archive. It was based upon the Ruby kit. While the series was never finished (unfortunately) due to other things consuming the series author, it still contains much valuable info. For example, Dave Hottmann, author of the section on valve timing, uses a simple weed sprayer to generate air pressure.

As for the rest, while I've never built one, the biggest problems I've heard about are a misaligned hole here or there, or a threaded hole filled with paint. You therefore may have to invest in a metric tap or two to aid construction.

Keep us informed on your progress and post any questions you may have. Several people here have built Ruby kits and can probably help.


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## monsterhunter (May 25, 2008)

I put one together and it runs great.  There is some tweaking involved.  It's not like putting together a plastic model kit, but it's doable.  You may need a file or two to open up holes in the frame, but other than that it's pretty straight forward.  I bought the kit because it was cheaper, and I'm glad I did.  I'm finally starting a steamer from scratch, and building the ruby was a great introduction to how an engine goes together.  It's so much more satisfying to get it running having built it from a kit.  Take your time, and make sure everything is true from step to step.   I printed out the instructions I found on this forum as a guide. Here's the link:


http://archive.mylargescale.com/articles/articles/SteamClass/ch4_01.asp
 
It was a great help.
Good luck.
Dan


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerm I also vote for the kit. I got the Lumber Jack kit. I was hesitant to bend the copper but as soon as I started I realized how easy it was. And go step by step as a short cut or not taking care will effect the end result. Every time you run it you will feel accomplished. GO FOR IT. Nick JR


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

I recently bought a Ruby--not the kit, the assembled ruby. It's great, and a lot of fun. But even if you don't build it from a kit, you've got some tweaking to do to get it running well. 

I love mine and am absolutely delighted that I bought it. It was fun to work on, fun to kitbash, and I learned a lot in the process. It's probably worth pointing out that it's never going to be a very strong puller, and run times will always be fairly short. Roundhouse makes a couple kits too--a LOT more money, but by all accounts a lot more loco.



Go for it! You'll love it. I'm saving for my next LS loco


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## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

A few years ago, back in naught five to be exact, a group of high school students in Diamondhead put together kits for a science project. If they can do it, you should be able to...









_*Jobush photo*_


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

I've only been steaming since Dec last year. My first engine was a Ruby kit. I also like to build things and putting together the kit was totally fun for me. It came with metric taps for cleaning up some of the threads that were cut too tight and the parts are very well labeled even though the instructions are a little bit hard to follow in some places. If you just closely follow the valve and eccentrics adjusting in the manual, you shouldn't have any problems running it on air using a squirt bottle with a hose on it,,, although it will run smoother on a compressor or at least a tank of compressed air. 
The hardest part I had was finding steam oil, but that issue worked itself out once I went to the accucraft site and found a bottle there. 
You don't need to solder, or cut anything. Its all bolt together and adjust or remove paint. I did have to shim my frame a little and tap out a few holes and ream some paint out of some holes, but it was generally a pleasant experience (for me) all the way around.


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Since no one else has answered your question about a pressure gage, I will chime in. The gage is very easy to in stall, it simply screws onto the manifold at the rear of the backhead. I find it to be quite useful. I have one Ruby which I converted to a Forney and a kit which is waiting for my grandson to show an interest in building.


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## Jerm (May 7, 2009)

Thank you all for the replies, encouragement, anecdotes and links. I think tomorrow when I call my "local" dealer and place my order it will be for the kit. 
And I do promise to post pictures of the build in progress.


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

Order....check prices in particular with our sponsor!


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## Bill4373 (Jan 3, 2008)

There's a Ruby 2 listed for sale in the Steam in the Garden website.....www.steamup.info


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## dmk092 (Jan 5, 2008)

I did it. I had absolutely no experience in Live Steam, machining, or really anything at all relevant. I DID have some parts that were a little off (holes not completely thrreaded, or holes slightly misaligned) but Accucraft was wonderful about sending me replacement parts for things I really should have been able to fix myself.


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## Jerm (May 7, 2009)

Okay, placed my order yesterday and now it's just a matter of waiting. Dealer said it'd be about two weeks. Just a smidge under two weeks would be nice because as the fates would have it, I have a much needed vacation day booked exactly two weeks from the order date and I can't think of a better way to spend it. 

Thanks again all for the input. I'm going to try and participate here more often now (or, you know, at all).


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## Jerm (May 7, 2009)

As luck would happen, this morning - my day off - the FedEx truck appeared in the driveway. I've been working away at it and have the chassis assembled, currently working on the side rods. (pictures coming in a bit) 

Have a small problem. I can't seem to get the piston rods into the crossheads. They only go about half way in and it's the same for both sides. Any thoughts? 

*Edit*: Disregard. The answer has been staring me in the face for two hours.


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

Jerm 
I had the same problem. 
2 -things to try 
1- back off on the set screws until they are above the cross heads and you can see a couple of threads. 
if that doesn't work 
2 - using a little 120 grit paper gentle sand off the paint on the rods until the rods can be pushed snugly into the cross heads. Don't use too much pressure or you'll bend them, and don't sand too much or they will be too lose.


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## Jerm (May 7, 2009)

Thanks for the input, probably would have saved me a ton of time. In the end, I realized that since I could see half of the nub through the crosshead hole, I could use a small object - in this case a needle file - as a lever to pull the rest of the rod through.

Got the chassis running on air yesterday - sort of. It's been a small headache. With some adjustments it ran fine for about five minutes than it started to skip and stall. I fought the problem for several hours then again this morning and tried everthing; resetting the timing, cleaning the valves, oiling the valves - the works but to no avail. It simply wouldn't move except for one rotation than stop again. This afternoon I reset the timing again and low and behold it worked fine... for five minutes again. Than I noticed something. Nothing had changed (mechanically) since yesterday. And what had changed had been changed back or improved. But, I did notice that after five minutes of running the plastic tube connecting the compressor to the valves was fogged up with condensation. I've got everything sitting in the sun, now, and drying. If I'm right (and I really hope I am) it should run fine again tomorrow. And the next test will not be done in a cold basement.

Sooner or later, I'm blogging all this.

Sooner or later.


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

Jerm, 
If that doesn't work, then while it is running or trying to run, make sure that cylinder assembly is not moving. I encountered a similar problem with mine and found that on close observation that assembly was moving ever so slightly causing the timing to be wrong (I suspect). 
My solution was to add locktight to the screws holding the assembly on the mounting plate and then tighten it back up and set the timing again. The problem was solved.


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## Jerm (May 7, 2009)

Good thinking, thanks. I'll watch for that. I gave it another run last night; this time in the hot (by Ontario standards) outdoors instead of the cold basement. It took it a bit to spit out the moisture (assuming that's what the problem was) but then purred along quite nicely; much to my relief. Going to give it another quick run tonight and if all is good and the stars are right, I'll press on with the boiler. And I'll be sure to watch for any movement where there shouldn't be.


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## Jerm (May 7, 2009)

Gents, we have arrived. I now have a working Ruby... sort of. I have yet to actually boil water, which isn't as bad as it sounds. I've run 'er on air through the lubricator feed and I was able to get a fire lit; so in theory it should work. I was not able to maintain said fire, but I chalk this up to a) inexperience, b) the wind at the time, c) in retrospect, once I did get the fire lit, closing the smokebox to keep out the wind probably would have been a good idea. " align="absmiddle" border="0" /> 
Tomorrow night I try again, putting these thoughts into action.


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