# EE-1 Nightmare with steel



## ralphbrades (Jan 3, 2008)

Well....

Some of you may have noticed that I seem to have been absent from this particular forum -this is the reason why.












Not unnaturally it has taken some time to saw all this lot, (plus the more than occasional hacksaw blade). Nearly all the pieces are there and the remainder will not take that long (hopefully). To give you some idea of the scale of the frame plates -they are 68cm long... The wheel blanks at the bottom (for the bogie wheels), are 5.8cm in diameter.


The next step is designing the welding jigs!!!

regards


ralph


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## dltrains (Jan 2, 2008)

Coming along nicely Ralph. Your not saying you're hand cutting all that are you? Some power tools for some of the rough cutting I hope. 

Dave


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow Ralph, glad to see you are stilll at it. That is pretty amazing work with a hack saw. When you complete this project you will be eligible for a a medal for courage and persistance!


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## ralphbrades (Jan 3, 2008)

Yes Dave...

All hand cut with a number of 18TPI blue hack saw blades. The curves were made by chain drilling and grinding smooth -the final shape was done with "Seconds" and "Fine" grade hand files. 

Now you know why it has taken such a long time!!!


regards

ralph


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## david bunn (Jan 4, 2008)

Ralph,I admire your dedication but why chain drill and grind? Surely a coping saw with a metal cutting blade would be easier. 
Regards 
David


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## ralphbrades (Jan 3, 2008)

David, 

Firstly I'm somewhat of a traditionalist and Secondly -*it is 3mm thick cold rolled steel...*











As you will have gathered, a piercing saw was used to cut the slots on the bogie mounting plates.


regards

ralph


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Amazing work!


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## dltrains (Jan 2, 2008)

Ralph, 

As you can tell by my responses I really do admire your work. I also understand your use of hand tools.Sometimes the power gets in my way ( errors are quickly made by a slight slip ) and therefore I too use hand tools when power is available. I did think you may have used a grinding wheel,on your drill, or milled the curves. Your perserverance is to be commended. 
Really coming along great. 

Dave


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

That, ladies and gentlemen, is one PATIENT man... 

Looks great. You have my deepest admiration for that level of effort. I'm not sure I've ever wanted anything bad enough to hand-drill 3mm steel to get it. 

Later, 

K


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

That, ladies and gentlemen, is one PATIENT man...


Actually MAD.


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## Dave Ottney (Jan 2, 2008)

All I can say is Holy Cow!!! What a major project, I'll be watching this. And I thought cutting plastic and brass was tough. 
Dave


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## Havoc (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks very good Ralph. Can't wait to see more, but now I understand why it takes so long. And doing it by hand for 2.5" isn't that crazy. You would need a serious miller to have a table long enough to do that in one go.


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Awed, I am. That's all I can say. That is a _lot_ of good work.

Les


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## ralphbrades (Jan 3, 2008)

Now the fun begins.... This is "the spine" -the main motor mounts for the loco. On this will sit the three gear boxes and the quill drive. The spine is made fro the three sections of 3mm steel in the picture above. On this sit three pieces of 20mm sq U channel made from aluminium. On each end of the spine are silver soldered two vertical M6 bolts and underneath it two stubs of M6 threaded bar. Six M3 bolts are silver soldered through the spine plates to hold the aluminium channel.











On the underside is the "secret".... The spine is actually an articulated mount and when the spine meets a curve it moves and compensates for the angles. Thus the wheels meet the curve flat on. In the shot below the big gear wheel (75mm across) is actually the gear wheel that will form the "Bull Gear" to the Quill drive.











regards

ralph


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Uhhh, are you saying there's a mathematical/dimensional relationship between the (fixed?) center of rotation on the bull gear and the tangents the driven gears will follow as each truck turns?? That is, will the driven gears 'swing' around the arc of the bull gear, staying in mesh? 

Wow.

Les


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

HACKSAW??? Around here them things are like Ouija boards, the more you try to control them, the weirder the results.... my hat is off to you sir!


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Wow, Ralph. All that energy and dedication. Reminds me of those guys you see in the movies who are digging themselves out of prison or a stalag or something.  
Seriouslly, looks terrific!


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## astrayelmgod (Jan 2, 2008)

"it is 3mm thick cold rolled steel..." 

Any idea what this baby will weigh?


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Wow, very impressive work! Obviously a labor of love.


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## ralphbrades (Jan 3, 2008)

Les, 

Actually it is worse than that.... The 8mm dia axle for the driving wheels sits centrally in the 13mm dia tube of the Bull Gear. Power for the loco is transmitted to the driving wheel by compressing and stretching springs. The are 6 springs going clockwise and 6 springs going counter clockwise on each axle i.e. two wheels with opposing directions of springing. When the loco corners, the central axle pushes the outer arms into the corners and when it straigtens, the outer axles push the arms -thus centreing the whole system again. 



The maths is something else....

Building the gearbox is going to be a "job and a half" as they will all have to sit in roller bearing and the motor has to be stepped down in 3 stages. The main problem is that the motor HAS to produce 223 Grammes per Centimetre torque at the shaft -this is then multiplied by 12.5 :1 by the gearbox. Finding something light and easy to work with that has the tooth strength to take that has been a major problem.


regards

ralph


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Now we know what a craftsman is. Wow nice work Ralph. Later RJD


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Ralph is a Doctor of Countertop Engineering.


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## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Torb,

Ralph is one of those rare birds: an educated engineer who actually gets his hands dirty. Those are _rare._ 

I, OTOH, have my 'BS' degree in Shade Tree Mechanikin'. (Yes, the BS means what you think it does.)









Les


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

My first degree was AAS. Really! Was glad I didn't get Associate of Social Services


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