# PLRW 0-4-0 Build (Ruby bash)



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

Hi Guys,

I am pleased to bring you a build log for the Pittsburgh Limestone Railway's #5, a though little 1:20.3 Scale 0-4-0 with tiny 26" drivers. The heart of number 5 will be an Accucraftt Ruby that I assembled from a kit two years back. This will be a major overhaul that will include a new boiler and addition of a tender. The major upgrades will allow full R/C of throttle, Johnson bar, burner, and a Servo driven water pump. In the end I hope to end up with a nimble little switcher that can work some long hours sifting cars all the while being controlled from the comfort of my lawn chair.









First I'll start with a shot of the ruby as she exists currently. Just finished her off season assignment helping Santa with package delivery around our tree. Yes that's a New Bright tender behind it.









My plan is to get the tender mostly finished before taking the locomotive apart since I want to limit the steaming withdrawal. Below is the frame work for the tender. It's all red oak I cut down on my table saw. I glued everything together with Titebond 3. Holes we drilled in the bolsters and T-nuts added from the back side.










Having built the frame and deck I turned to my old friend FeeBay to Find some acceptable trucks. I found a great pair at a better price of $15, but I have no idea who made them. They were a very soft white metal casting. I had to be careful not to bend things when I took them apart for painting. They are fully sprung and with the addition of some Sierra Valley 24" wheels they look pretty good.










Well , I think that's enough For tonight. I'll be posting my take on Rivets in the next segment.


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## pickleford75 (May 3, 2012)

thats looks very interesting........ looking forward to seeing the changes on your ruby


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

Thanks Picklefrod, I can see it all in my head just hope it turns out like my vision.









OK, It's time to make the tender sheet and all of those rivets. This is my fist time out on all of this, so I spent quite a while searching and reading all of the great threads here on rivet work. I'm making most of the tender from .025" brass sheet. Stock this thick needs something more substantial than those tracing wheels that the fabric stores sell. I also didn't want to purchase "The Riveter" since it didn't look all that beefy in the photos either. I settled on a tried and true method that I'm sure many before me have used. On my lathe I made a male and female die set that I could mount into my drill press. I took a piece of 3/16 steel plate and drilled a hole to size for the female die. This hole did not quite go through so the die wouldn't be tempted the pry the plate and drill press table apart. I chucked up the male die and centered the female die below it, then secured the plate in position on the drill press table. (screw out front) Next I clamped a piece 1x stock along the back so I could get all of those rivets along the edge in a nice straight line. I did have to relive the area around the dies so the chuck would clear when pressed down.










This next Photo shows a close up of where the magic happens. You can see the tiny 1/16 hole in the bottom die and how it's edges were turned down so that it would not hit the previous rivet when creating the next. Also a scrap of wood I laid out 1/8 inch marks on can be seen which was used to keep every thing spaced properly.










Finally an action shot! You can see some rivets already produced. It was quite easy, just pop the last rivet out of the die, slide the sheet and line up with the marks. I did all of the rivets at the edge of the sheet in about 45 minutes.










The next phase was a bit more tricky but with a bit of thought, it proved just as successful. It was time to do all the vertical rows of rivets that travel across the width of the sheet. This includes those intimidating staggered patterns too. I tackled this problem the same way I would if I was cutting things on a table saw. (which is how I cut the brass sheet to size) First I removed the back fence from the first operation and clamped down a steel rule perpendicular to the path of the old back fence. Next I grabbed one of the miter gauges from the table saw. To get things aligned with the previous rivets along the edge, I placed one of the already formed rivets in the die then pushed the miter gauge up against the steel rule guide while holding the brass sheet squarely up against its face. Once things were lined up I drew a pencil mark on some tape that corresponded to the 1/8" marks on the rule. As you can see this worked extremely well. I just lined things up laterally and then slid my pencil mark to the next interval I wanted a rivet at. The 3/4" square wood stock on the top acted as a clamp to keep the brass in position for each row of rivets.










Below is the finished sheet which I am quite pleased with. I can say I am no longer afraid of rivets but I am looking forward to the day my CNC mill is running and having it punch them all for me, only having to position and clamp the sheet once.










In the next segment I'll cover bending the sheet and getting the tank soldered. I don't know why I've waited so long to do this, It's great fun!


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

I'm a little surprised that you can do the rivets on .025 stock, I have only done it on .01 and .015 stock. Yours are looking very good and you won't have to layer a thicker stock under them. Keep up the good work.


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

with a rig like that, you can probably go even thicker especially if you anneal the stock first.


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## snowshoe (Jan 2, 2008)

Looking forward to your build log. Should be a fun project.


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

Posted By placitassteam on 03 Feb 2013 01:56 PM 
and you won't have to layer a thicker stock under them.
That's exactly what I wanted to avoid. I think they formed really well and with relative ease. I have some closer pictures of them coming soon. You could probably do a bit thicker but the .025" seems plenty sturdy for our needs. Thanks for the coments guys. I stopped by the store and stocked up on brass supplies today, more fun to come.


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## mocrownsteam (Jan 7, 2008)

Winn,

I fabricate all my cabs and tenders out of .025 and use an automatic center punch (modified per Vance Bass article in Steam in the Garden some years ago) in my drill press. Works the treat!

Mike McCormack
Hudson, Massachusetts


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

Hey Gang, 
So far so good, The first photo shows how I bent the brass. I clamped a rod of the correct diameter to the table top as squarely as I could. Then I used the two wooden blocks the apply tight even pressure on each side and bent it right around. The back corners were fairly easy but the front 180 deg. bends were a bit more challenging. They came out well enough. but next time I may experiment with a more controlled method of bending. 










The next photo shows how I held everything for soldering. I sat it all on a chunk of 2x4 with some .025" spacers to hold the floor up a bit. Next the tank was clamped down tight at the front end. This held things pretty well. The vise held the sides tight against the floor. Notice the wood strip that not only protects from scratches but insulates the tank and keeps heat in the tank, instead of going into the vise jaws. Last I had to figure a way to pull the back of the tank in tight. This was accomplished by the use of a bungee cord. It's the red cord you see running around back again with a wood block to add pressure and keep the heat away from the cord.










It all worked pretty well. It's not the most elegant looking job but the rear compartment even holds water without leaks.







I don't think it looks bad sitting on it's new home.










More to come tomorrow. I might actually be on a roll.


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## Mk (Jan 7, 2013)

There's nothing wrong with that, I think it looks beautiful. Keep on the good work!


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## Mk (Jan 7, 2013)

I used the same tecnique with my smokebox's rivets, I see that the metal around the rivets are standing up a bit, but nothing wrong with it. I had the same problem when I experimented on 0.048 copper plate when I used a round rivet punch and then I switched to a block with a small point on it and that worked great.


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Randy looks great. Rivets are fun aren't they? The real fun part is the flair of the top.


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

Thanks Marinus and Jason. I've been doing lots of thinking on that top flare, and I think I have a plan. I'm just waiting on a few pieces of bras to arrive. In the mean time...

Here is a neat method I came up with to cut some tubing in to C channel. I mounted my Dremel in a pipe vise and propped it up to the right height. Then I clamped the brass in a little X Y axis vise I had and made sure I had the piece parallel to the disc. I was amazed how well this worked. I only tried to cut one wall at a time and then flipped it for the other side. It only took about 20 seconds per cut. I barely wore the disc at all.










Next is a shot of the channels installed. They will hold the wood slats that keep the coal back in the tender. (aka r/c stuff) I also soldered in a cross brace at the same time to keep the front tank sides from flexing. While I did this topside work I sat the tank in a shallow (about 3/8") pan of water to keep the bottom safe from the heat. I also filled the back part of the tank fairly full with water. Worked great.










I hit another big mile stone with the completion of the butane tank. This was my first attempt at silver soldering and It looks to have worked well. I won't know for sure until my hand water feed pump arrives and I can do a proper hydro test. The photo below shows most of the parts pre-assembly. The 2 jars in the back ground are the citric acid I used to make my pickle bath.










Below is the finished tank. Yes, I'm a fan of the citric for pickling. One half hour and it shined up very well. It looked like a lump of charcoal before. (sorry no pic) I found a bread storage box that is long and narrow (for those future large boiler projects) and seals tightly to keep the solution in. It's the perfect size. The valve for the tank was stolen from an extra ruby tank I had. My original had damaged threads when I got it. I will be soft soldering a short length of copper tube over the hole in order to connect a hose once it passes the pressure test. Also you can see the beginning of a new boiler and a disassembled Ruby in the back of this photo. I can't believe the amount of steam oil I had to clean off of things a I took them apart!


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

Hey Guys, It's been a while but things are progressing. Fist big update is that the butane tank passed pressure test.







The picture below is my testing set up. The hand pump came from PM Research. Then I created an adapter to the 1/2 Pipe fitting, and from there it's hardware store parts. I did machine the M5x.5 plug and soldered it on to the end of the copper tube. This get screwed in to the ronson vale port on the tank for testing. It held at 200 PSI. 

Look for another up date on the tender soon.


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

Now that we've celebrated one passed pressure test, it's back to work on the tender. Below you can see how I painstakingly soldered on each tender flare plus some angle for the tender top to rest on. I kept the bottom in water to assure previous joints wold not heat and separate. Although this method worked quite well, next time I will make the flares part of the tender side. They will get bent to their angle and then the tender sides bent in to shape. It would be stronger with less mess and work.










The next two photos show how I finished off the top. First I cut some corners out of .01 brass, then bent, formed and carefully soldered into place. The white is a printed template that I glued on with silicone (since it can rub off easily) and the ground them to shape on the grinder. 
Second picture shows my set up for cutting a slit into some 3/32 tube to top off the flare. Once again I held the Dremel in a pipe vise and set up some guides. Toward the bottom of the picture you can see blue tape around the tube connecting a piece of flat stock. This is how I ensured the the tube did not rotate as I pushed it though causing a spiral cut around the tube. Worked great.

















Finally here is the tender as she sits now. I'm fairly happy with how it has turned out metal work wise. At least is not too bad for my first go at this. You can seen the servo driven water pump in place and the butane tank also in place sitting in a custom made saddle. It just needs some nuts and bolts through the straps. There 3 of 6 AA batteries in their eventual place as well. I ordered 6 Rechargeable NiMh batteries from batteryspace.com and am working on making my pack. 










Well that's all for this installment. Next I'll shift focus to the business end of the loco, as I need to figure out where the back edge will be so that clearance can be checked and a draw-bar made to connect the two halves. Thanks for tuning in.....


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

Finally back to it. I've made two good steps forward by completing a frame extension and a fake fire box. Below you can see the newly fabricated frame extension laying next to the ruby chassis where it will get mounted. It was made from K&S .064" bar stock. Two c shapes were formed from 1/4" wide strip and one was drilled to match the former rear bumper holes. The other was soldered to the frame brace at the front of the cab. Then each of C shapes were sandwiched and soldered to their respective frame extension. This gives me a bit more length for the bigger cab and adds the angled connection from top to bottom of the frame that makes it look more Americanized. 










And here it is installed...










The fire box was made from .024 brass sheet. Four pieces were cut and embossed with rivets. The end plates were bent over a wooden form. The form is barely visible under the one plate in the photo. The block of wood on top was used when clamping it all together to hold while bending. Once ready, everything was silver soldered together. 










At the base of the fire box you can see a chunk of the original cab floor (bolted on to the frame in the above photo) which I cut out and notched in to the bottom of the firebox. This allows the fire box to bolt right down to the cross-member where the cab bolted. I cut a slot in the one side if the box to allow the reversing rod to pass through. 











Next up are cab supports and a fake steam chest casting/cover to support the boiler front. Getting excited about getting to the boiler, I already have some of it done.


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

That is very cool Randy! really captures the flavor of a firebox! also nice work incorporating the reverser as it passes through!


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## BigRedOne (Dec 13, 2012)

Neat! I like the round lip to the tender. Thanks for the pictures.


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## snowshoe (Jan 2, 2008)

That looks great so far. Cant wait to see how you do the boiler.


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

Thanks guys, I was really hoping to get this built much faster, but I just have too many things going on all the time. Should have some time this winter though. Oh, forgot to admit that I screwed up some of the fire box rivets. I was punching out the middles of the stays and moved right on to the rivets without thinking. Fortunately I remembered after the first side. I'll just fill those in with JB weld before paint.


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## gordini (Jan 12, 2012)

Nice work, i am watching this. In the first post first pic there is a cardboard support bridge, i have see it again but now i gotta ask, where did you find it? is it available? 

www.thomasworkbench.com


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