Trevithick Dredger Engine ….Con Rods
by John
I had previously bent the brass U pieces which hold the split bronze bearings to the wooden connecting rods. I had also made the con rods and the bearings. Today’s job was to fit them all together.
Bending the U pieces on my shop made bender.
And the Jarrah con rods. The U pieces need to be shortened.
With the bearing in place, measuring the amount of shortening required (approximately).
Using an end mill to shorten the U piece arms. Note the paper between the workpiece and the vice jaws. That reduces the chance of the work moving. How do I know? Dont ask.
The holes are carefully drilled M4 through the U piece and the wood. Stainless steel square nuts on SS threaded rod. Then the bearing was reamed again to the finish dimension. I have yet to make the wedges which hold the pieces in position.
The (almost) finished connecting rods.
And a test installation on the engine. A bit of workshop clutter to add to the atmosphere.
And I had a bit of daylight on this beautiful summer day, so I made and installed the firedoor latch.
I am hopeful that I will have this engine running before I say goodbye as my subscription to WordPress finishes. Not exactly sure when that will happen, so if I suddenly disappear, do a search on YouTube for the video of it running on steam. Still a fair bit to do before that happens, but things are progressing!
