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Post by Boomerralph on Apr 26, 2004 15:59:24 GMT -5
I am just beginning an A3 in 1 1/2" scale. I have started the tender construction, and am currently making drawings for the engine. I don't rust myself to scale up the engine from the book, so I am redrawing things as I go. Any advice, or suggestions from the group would be appreciated.
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Post by Bluechips on May 23, 2004 13:43:20 GMT -5
Hi all
I am on the verge of starting the A3 in 3/4 inch. But I will probably build simultaneously in 1 1/2 inch. I think it best for me to follow Kozo's instructions very carefully as a discipline in building the 3/4 scale first. He does not spell everthing out for the 1 1/2 scale a3.
I have an old worn 13 inch Sheldon lathe and a very nice 16 inch X56 inch lathe, a small horizontal Rotex mill and a Kondia 9X49 inch mill that I picked up nearby for pennies. Machine tools have come wwwwaaaaaayyyy down over the last 25 years, thanks in part to CNC and the Chinese.
I hope to get to know each one of you.
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Post by Slartibartfass on Jul 29, 2004 15:40:18 GMT -5
Hi all,
Just signed up for this forum.
I got bitten by the Live Steam bug recently and I'm in the process of getting ready to start my 3/4" scale A3 switcher.
I must be totally nuts.... No machining experience whatsoever! But the Kozo books are great.
Malte
a.k.a. Slartibartfass
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Post by vmiranda on Aug 23, 2004 11:09:07 GMT -5
Hey all,
I am also going to attempt to climb the a3 mountain, in the 3/4 size. I have a sherline milll, a chinese mini lathe and an Atlas/craftsman 6 inch lathe.
My progress so far is that I got the book about a year ago. last night I drilled a hole in a wheel blank. At this rate the schedule is 8 years for the tender...
I have read this whole site last week.
cheers.
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Post by Bill Holland on Aug 23, 2004 22:18:21 GMT -5
Just keep plugging away, all good things take time.
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Post by Slartibartfass on Aug 24, 2004 10:50:33 GMT -5
I also have "only" a Sherline mil and lathe.
I will get the riser blocks in due course to expand the size range on the lathe to 6-1/2" from the initail 3-1/2" which hopefully is sufficient for the tender wheels.
Malte
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Post by Scott on Jul 31, 2005 21:49:30 GMT -5
Hm, nearly a year since the last post! I just ordered the A3 book, and have about half of the issues of Live Steam with the New Shay articles... Relative newbie in machining too, with a 7x10 import lathe and 12 speed mill-drill.
cheers- Scott
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Post by Dan Gledhill on Sept 16, 2005 23:55:28 GMT -5
???Hello, What's up with the Jamie A-3 build and photograph website series? I would like to see more and have been waiting patiently for a year. Thanks Dan
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Post by Gerry Vandervlis on Oct 3, 2005 20:13:20 GMT -5
Hi All, Under this heading; I am wondering how many of you have started on an A3 boiler. I have the copper to make one, but am also considering schedule-40 6"well casing. Any comments?
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Post by Dan Gledhill on Oct 9, 2005 11:41:29 GMT -5
Hello Gerry, What sort of metal is in a 6inch well casing?I'd be a little leery if it's not copper or good quality steel. Dan
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Post by liamlocomotive on Oct 18, 2005 13:34:16 GMT -5
Schedule 40 is NOT thick enough for a boiler.
You will need at least schedule 80. We use on that size on all of our steam pipes here at work. A-106 is the right spec for a boiler barrel in steel. It's pressure vessel quality material and is seamless.
Besides the extra weight will help you when running.
Andy Pullen
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Post by Doug E on Oct 19, 2005 11:35:18 GMT -5
Andy,
I am interested in your comment that schedule 40 pipe is not thick enough. In 6", schedule 40 has a .280 wall thickness, 80 has a .430 wall thickness. The .280 by previous designs and published data is plenty adequate for a 6" boiler. Can you let us know where you are coming from on this?
Thanks,
Doug E.
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Post by pkastagehand on Oct 19, 2005 11:59:26 GMT -5
In the Kozo book chapter on converting from 3/4" to 1-1/2" scale he specs a 6.5 inch ID with .125 wall. But he is specifying 70 psi rather than 100 as for the 3/4".
So I was a bit surprised about the suggestion for using sched. 80 too but I'm pretty new to this and am not building that big anyway.
Were you thinking for a much bigger boiler Andy?
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Post by liamlocomotive on Oct 20, 2005 6:34:26 GMT -5
I am thinking of the factor of safety. We use only schedule 80 pipe for steam lines here at work. Our mains go up to 16" diameter and they do let go on occasion. 110psi steam coming out of a blown line sounds like a jet engine at full power. I don't care how well you take care of your boiler; there will be corrosion. I would rather err on the side of safety.
Alot of states are requiring certified materials for boilers nowadays. Like I said before; A-106 is a good spec for model boiler making. It's pressure vessel rated seamless steel pipe.
Well casing may be cheap; but it may not be suitable for our purposes. What is the spec on it? I would not use a hunk of steel pipe unless I was sure about it's "pedigree" so to speak. I have some 12" and 14" schedule 80 steel sitting here on the floor for my big engine's boiler. I'll use it because I know what it is.
Andy Pullen
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Post by liamlocomotive on Oct 20, 2005 13:34:48 GMT -5
I've made a bit of an error in my statements....My A-5-a boiler is built from a length of double extra heavy 8" pipe. I turned the outside diameter down to 7.62" to get the proper diameter. All my sheets are made from 1/4" 285C boilerplate.
A schedule 40 piece of pipe will work, though you do want the proper material made for a pressure vessel. Read your state's boiler code. Find out what you need where you will be running. Maryland is pretty strict in its regulations.
My statements regarding schedule 80 pipe is due to my experience. As I said; that's all we use at work for steam pipes. That's mainly due to corrosion (external). We're running 110 psi and the longest main runs about a mile.
Andy Pullen
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