The DR DRO on the K&T 2HL is getting some upgrades. I replace the 7″ display with a 10″ display, redesign the enclosure to make it smaller, and relocate one of the circuit boards. I also make some upgrades to the motor contactor for the machine and add some phase monitoring and overload protection.
This project has been a long time in the making, and today, it finally happens! I took the bed from my 1960 South Bend lathe to P&B Grinding to have the ways precision-ground back to flat and true. Years of wear had taken their toll, but with expert machining, this lathe will be one step closer to factory accuracy. Join me as we walk through the grinding process and bring this classic machine back to life!
When the boiler on the Reading 2100 steam locomotive (soon to be American Freedom Train 250) is fired up again, instead of coal, it will be running on oil. As a result, there needs to be a way to regulate the flow of oil into the firebox using a new valve that will be controlled by a power quadrant. The ball valve for the oil flow has a specially designed ball to feather the rate of oil flow at the low end of the curve. The problem is the valve opens counter clockwise, and ASR needs it to open clockwise. This entails machining a new key slot in the opposite side of the valve. This is a special valve that you can’t just buy a replacement ball, so if I screw it up, it’s a $2,400 bill to replace it.
Before I can fire this thing up and start making sparks, I need to fix the wheel guard and make a front cover for it. I finally make some sparks, but I have no idea what I am doing.
As part of the restoration efforts of the Nickel Plate Road car #90, the buffer plate pins, that connect part of each vestibule to the car body, need to be replaced. Of the 4, only one was in decent shape, another was machined on a volunteer’s CNC lathe at his company, and the last two, I made on machines in my home shop. Eventually, this rail car will be leased to other railroads for exclusion and tourist rail trips.
When the boiler on the Reading 2100 steam locomotive (soon to be American Freedom Train 250) is fired up again, instead of coal, it will be running on oil. As a result, there needs to be a way to regulate the flow of oil into the firebox using a new valve that will be controlled by a power quadrant. We have already machined a new bushing for the quadrant, the next step is to machine the control rod that will attach the handle to the oil valve itself.
Getting close to completing the DRO installation on the Kearney & Trecker 2HL horizontal milling machine. To mount the scale for the knee travel, I am going to build some standoffs that will bolt directly to the channel used for the powerfeed stop blocks.
