Rootes75 Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 I love the improvised radiator, its all looking good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsfarms Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 I would certainly like to be your shop helper for a few days and learn a bit more about mold making! I am envious but happy for your success and skill set! Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 Thanks for your comments Chaps. Slow progress! Al, the man to follow for pattern making is Terry Harper (Tharper on here). His work is stunning and a joy to look at. Everything he does is just beautiful whereas the best that can be said for mine is 'functional'! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Well, Dad has had an exciting day. He has been to the foundry to pick up the castings! Here are a few shots for your interest: Time for a trip down south to pick them up and get the machining in progress. It is time we got the lorry back on the road. I feel a lot of polishing coming on! Steve 😁 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammoth Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Superb example of the pattern maker's craft. Perhaps there should be another one as a stand alone exhibit! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asciidv Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 (edited) Even the 'return' on the bottom tank seems to have come out well. The work Steve produces is just amazing. We are very fortunate to be able to look at these pages and see the exquisite skill and craftmanship coming out from a shed in a back garden. Edited July 3, 2021 by Asciidv 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 You are very kind Barry. I have just returned home from Devon where I saw the castings for the first time and have brought them back for machining. I must say that I am very pleased with them. It took Ben, at the Bridport Foundry, a whole day to make the moulds but his efforts were worth it. I have just put the patterns on the shelf ready for the next time someone does a Dennis Subsidy lorry! Steve 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted August 21, 2021 Share Posted August 21, 2021 More progress at last! I have started on the castings. I gave the bottom tank a skim to square it up. Then a skim across the joint face. The foundry had been concerned about shrinkage and so had made the flange extra thick and I had to take 1/4" off it. It all machined ok though. It is an awkward thing to hold but I managed to skim the water outlets and drill and tap for the studs. The main tube plate holes and the spigots remain. To turn the spigots, I have driven in some mahogany plugs and have centred them ready for turning. Ijust need to find a big lathe now! I started on the top tank this morning. Again, it is a most cussing awkward thing to hold. I could only grab the end flanges but although big, the casting is quite thin and not very strong forcing me to take only very light cuts. Why is it that no matter how big your machine tools may be, you can always find something a bit bigger than it is intended to work! The table does not have quite enough stroke so I had to machine the tank only so far before rotating the milling head to the other side of the centre line to catch the last four inches of the casting. Irksome but it all worked very well and remained aligned. I have drilled and tapped for the filler neck. As you can see, the casting is a bit shy of metal and could have done with another 1/8" on the boss diameter. I shall have to remember that for next time. It doesn't look out of the way, fortunately. Tube plate flange holes next. We should be back on the road in no time now! Steve 🙂 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rootes75 Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 Its looking really good, very good attention to detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 This earning a living rather gets in the way but I am making some more progress at last. There is a flange for the water return on the back. It was a puzzle how to hold the thing again and it was not particularly secure. However, with light cuts, I got away with skimming it before drilling the stud holes. The last operation before tackling the bolting flange was the overflow. For some reason, this enters the rear of the tank at a really awkward angle. My lovely new mill has all sorts of adjustments and it worked out OK in the end. What a joy to use! Of course, tapping it was tricky too with no space for a tap wrench. Fortunately, I found a socket which fitted the tap although it took a lot of care to get the tap straight. The end bosses on the bottom tank needed turning and I am fortunate that my local miniature railway, the Echills Wood Railway has a big lathe in the workshop which I could use. The wooden bungs in the ends worked out well. A trial fit on the core looked promising. Today's job is to mark and drill the bolt holes. More later! Steve 🙂 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted September 11, 2021 Author Share Posted September 11, 2021 Amazing work. Well done you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEd Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 Astounding work. I love seeing real detail and engineering like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 Looks like a Dean Smith and Grace lurking under the bright yellow guard ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 It is a DSG toolroom lathe. Not immense capacity for its size but very heavily built. It came out of industry not too heavily used and two members spent several days cleaning it up and repainting it. It now looks like new and is a joy to use. It is a great facility to have because I just couldn't justify having one myself. Steve 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog Blamer Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 Ah DSG. They and Holbrook's attitude to making a machine was "it looks a little light let's add more metal...still too light we'll add more". The resulting machines are built like a nuclear outhouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 Had a nice day in the shed today. To carry on the job, I need some bolts so I cleaned up all of those I took out. Very tedious! To align the holes between the tube plates and the tanks, I have turned up some transfer punches from silver steel an hardened them. I marked the first two holes and drilled them before bolting the tank to the tube plate. I then went around marking the other holes. Set up to drill on th emill. I marked each centre pop with a pen as I have been caught out before by drilling a casting inclusion instead! Then the same for the top tank noting that some of the holes are for 3/8" bolts and some are tapped for studs. There is another opportunity to get it wrong here but fortunately, I was concentrating hard enough. Both tanks are now finish machined and it remains only to polish the surface of the top tank. Unfortunately, the casting finish is very coarse which is disappointing. This will make the job very tedious. I did ask if they could use a different sand to get a finer finish but apparently not. Oh well. Back to it. Steve 🙂 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asciidv Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 Steve, if you have access to a buffing wheel, then these buffing compounds with grit makes short work of turning a rough casting into a smooth finish. I normally use the 80 grit followed by the 120 grit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 (edited) Thanks Barry. I have thought about investing in a buffing machine but my experience has always been that it is very difficult to maintain a crisp edge with them. As the crisp edge is such a feature of the Dennis rad and this would be the only big job I would have for one in the foreseeable future, I have desisted and had a go with a flap wheel instead. I did the back with a wheel in the pistol drill, keeping it moving to avoid grooving. That was fairly painless and I finished off with some emery in my hands. The badge was some coarse emery on a flat sanding block and it came up quite quickly. Then I had a go at the front. The flap wheels in the drill and in the angle grinder certainly took the surface off very quickly. However, it took a great deal of care not to groove the surface and then a lot of hand-rubbing with emery to take out the marks. So far it looks pretty good but will need some fine wet-and-dry paper to finish it off. Tedious but coming along. Of course, the big top surfaces remain.... As a bit of light relief, I thought I would make up the replacement studs. I have given in and used stainless for them as the originals have corroded so much and couldn't be removed. Studs are something of a pain, I find, as they are such devils to hold. The first end thread is easy but the second always difficult. To hold them whilst cutting the second end, I made up this holder. I have tried in the past to put a thread right through and simply back up the stud with a bolt but, unfortunately, this didn't work very well as both stud and bolt tended to screw right through when cutting the thread. To get over this, My locking bolt has a finer pitched thread than the stud so the stud cannot screw in during the cutting process. Once the thread is cut, simply back off the locking bolt and the stud will unscrew. This is a good trick to know! All done and I am getting closer to reassembly now! I have some cork gasket on the way for the main joint and am trying to pick up some jointing compound. I think it is going to have to be mail order again. Steve 🙂 Edited September 15, 2021 by Old Bill 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flandersflyer Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 On 9/11/2021 at 8:36 PM, Old Bill said: Had a nice day in the shed today. To carry on the job, I need some bolts so I cleaned up all of those I took out. Very tedious! To align the holes between the tube plates and the tanks, I have turned up some transfer punches from silver steel an hardened them. I marked the first two holes and drilled them before bolting the tank to the tube plate. I then went around marking the other holes. Set up to drill on th emill. I marked each centre pop with a pen as I have been caught out before by drilling a casting inclusion instead! Then the same for the top tank noting that some of the holes are for 3/8" bolts and some are tapped for studs. There is another opportunity to get it wrong here but fortunately, I was concentrating hard enough. Both tanks are now finish machined and it remains only to polish the surface of the top tank. Unfortunately, the casting finish is very coarse which is disappointing. This will make the job very tedious. I did ask if they could use a different sand to get a finer finish but apparently not. Oh well. Back to it. Steve 🙂 Are they using Petrobond...? Or greensand...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted September 26, 2021 Share Posted September 26, 2021 I think they are using a CO2 setting sand but I don't know what it is called. I understand that to get a better finish, an oil bonded sand would have been much better. Never mind, they have come out OK and the cleaning up process is just my time which is free. Mind you, I am pleased to report that I have finished polishing! I have been tackling the top tank, first with a flap wheel on the angle grinder. Then with coarse emery on a sanding block to pick up the high spots and finally, some 600 grade emery with a few drops of WD40 to act as a lubricant. The WD40 was a very good idea and give a nice fine finish without tearing up the surface. Flap wheel on the last face; Finally, I have picked out the letters. I will need to run the sanding block over them again to pick up the ragged edges but, essentially, the tanks are done (thank goodness!). Now it is a case of cutting gaskets and fitting the studs before final assembly. The end is in sight! Steve 🙂 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asciidv Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 I had the pleasure of seeing and handling these tanks in real life yesterday ( and stopping Steve from making further progress ). They are beautifully made, very light, without an ounce of aluminium anywhere in excess. They reproduce the originals to the last detail, even though it would have been a lot easier to cut a few corners and miss off some of the more trickier features. All from wooden patterns made in the traditional way. Just superb! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 Thank you Barry but you are far too kind. The last few pieces now before reassembling the thing. There is a strange aluminium spacer on the water pipe flange. This was corroded so I put it in the chuck and gave it a skim to clean. The last part was the radiator stay bracket. This is just an eye bolted into the top tank. Unfortunately, the original was just mild steel and broke off so I elected to make a new one from bronze. It was tough old stuff! Drilling bronze is horrible as it grabs the drill as it warms up. I managed to stall the mill with a 3/8" drill before I got through. The end has a nice radius which I machined as a series of flats before cleaning with a file. Unfortunately, I had to use my old mill as the nice new one has expired! Some sort of electrical fault which needs investigation. I wonder if the drilling upset it? Anyway, the result is nice and I made a brass nut to go with it. Reassembly next! Steve 🙂 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flandersflyer Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 (edited) On 9/26/2021 at 9:41 PM, Old Bill said: I think they are using a CO2 setting sand but I don't know what it is called. I understand that to get a better finish, an oil bonded sand would have been much better. Never mind, they have come out OK and the cleaning up process is just my time which is free. Mind you, I am pleased to report that I have finished polishing! I have been tackling the top tank, first with a flap wheel on the angle grinder. Then with coarse emery on a sanding block to pick up the high spots and finally, some 600 grade emery with a few drops of WD40 to act as a lubricant. The WD40 was a very good idea and give a nice fine finish without tearing up the surface. Flap wheel on the last face; Finally, I have picked out the letters. I will need to run the sanding block over them again to pick up the ragged edges but, essentially, the tanks are done (thank goodness!). Now it is a case of cutting gaskets and fitting the studs before final assembly. The end is in sight! Steve 🙂 Sodium silicate bound sand is used for cores... They should've used Petrobond for the external faces.... But it's turned out allrite... 🇬🇧🙂 Edited October 1, 2021 by flandersflyer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon_M Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 (edited) The 'strange aluminium spacer' may be there deliberately as a sacrificial corrosion point, cheap, easily replaced, and preventing corrosion on the tank face. I assume it faces aluminium on one side and steel on the other? Edited October 1, 2021 by Gordon_M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andypugh Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 2 hours ago, Gordon_M said: The 'strange aluminium spacer' may be there deliberately as a sacrificial corrosion point, cheap, easily replaced, and preventing corrosion on the tank face. I assume it faces aluminium on one side and still on the other? The 'strange aluminium spacer' also seems to have a crack through to one of the holes. I wonder if that will cause a weep? Maybe some sort of penetrating sealant (Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure?) might be worth trying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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