The parts of stage 2 before work commenced
The bits were held whilst being painted by screwing to scrap wood.
These small parts were baked in the oven for around 20 minutes at 200 degress Farenheit between coats of paint and again after the final coat. Be warned , that is 200 Farenheit which is definitely NOT 200 degrees Celsius. Do not get the oven too hot.
Stage 2 components after painting and baking.
Fitting the pistons took quite a while. They seemed very stiff so I extracted them to find the cause. With 'O' rings removed they slid easily so I refitted the 'O' rings and left well alone. I guess they will free up as the loco runs.
The combined cylinder covers and trunk guides were fitted in place with silicon sealant. As described in the instructions the ten fixing bolts needed shortening. To get them all the same length I cut a piece of steel bar 10mm long and drilled and tapped this 4mm. Each screw was screwed into the bar and cut off using a junior hacksaw with the bar end as a guide.
The piston rod gland packing is an 'O' ring. I found it best to push this into the cylinder cover and screw in the brass gland before inserting the piston from the top of the cylinders. I had previously failed completely when I tried to push the 'O' rings home with the piston rod in place.
When fitting the cylinder assembly to the loco I found that the little ends needed a touch with a file before they would enter the cross heads.
There is still quite a lot of work to get stage 2 complete as neither valve rods or piston rods have yet been adjusted for length and the reverser has not yet been fitted.
Here is Action Man inspecting progress at the end of the day.
8th May - The reversing stand has been bolted in place today, the reach rod drilled and cut to length.
Engine ready for valve setting.
Piston rod length has been adjusted too. The next step was valve setting. I had to take a break from this as my eyes got tired peering into holes in the cylinder block. I found it best to put the loco up on blocks and turn over the crank axle with a spanner. It got a lot easier when Rosalie helped by turning the axle whilst I squinted (as it says in the manual) at the valves. I think it is now right but will check again before fixing the top cover on the cylinders.
I then used the lathe turned up an adaptor to fit the steam inlet to the cylinder block so I could connect an airline. I was hoping I would be able to get the engine to turn over on air with the chassi on blocks. It is very stiff and I hoped running would free it off . Having connected the compressor I could only get small kicks out of the engine. I really do not think my compressor is man enough for the job. It could only hold around 30 psi against general leakage. The instructions suggest 50 or 60 psi will be needed until the engine is run in.
I then tried running the loco up and down then length of board seen in the last picture. This seemed more promising so I layed a temporary track made from scrap wood along the shed floor. It still would not run convingly though I could get it to go a yard or so.
The tests did reveal a tight spot with the engine binding in one particular position. This was traced to one of the cross heads being a tight fit in its trunk guide at the top of its travel. After easing this with fine emery paper and cleaning off any trace of emery dust things are working somewhat better. I am still only getting a couple of yards travel in the forward direction but backwards it will run the full length of the temporary track.
Here is the completed stage 2 set up for an air test.
This picture shows the temporary track along the floor of the workshed.
