I done did it again. Found this on Brass Trains website. Couldn't resist. Pulled the trigger. There were only 100 made and this one is pristine. Never run. It arrived today, and I just about couldn't stand waiting until after work to get it to the work bench.
So I opened her up and had an adventure. These all shipped dry so it needed lubed and a .005" shim in the gearbox which got done. I replaced the 35 year old neoprene tubing with silicone fuel line. Fired her up and Ka Boom! The valve gear was out of time, or maybe the crank pin was loose in the main driver. It unwound enough to bang the eccentric into the crosshead guide and bend the hell out of the little rod. Much swearing occurred. Strange because it passed the roll test when I had the gearbox out. Note to self: The roll test won't betray a loose crank pin. First time that has ever happened to me with one of these models. They're usually pretty bullet proof. The can motor that came in these sure has a bunch of torque! The new tubing slipped a little, so I thought it would function as a safety of sorts. Second note to self: A shock load can happen fast enough to cause damage, safety or not, just like in larger industrial drives! One for the war stories book. She's all back together and running properly. Phew!
So I opened her up and had an adventure. These all shipped dry so it needed lubed and a .005" shim in the gearbox which got done. I replaced the 35 year old neoprene tubing with silicone fuel line. Fired her up and Ka Boom! The valve gear was out of time, or maybe the crank pin was loose in the main driver. It unwound enough to bang the eccentric into the crosshead guide and bend the hell out of the little rod. Much swearing occurred. Strange because it passed the roll test when I had the gearbox out. Note to self: The roll test won't betray a loose crank pin. First time that has ever happened to me with one of these models. They're usually pretty bullet proof. The can motor that came in these sure has a bunch of torque! The new tubing slipped a little, so I thought it would function as a safety of sorts. Second note to self: A shock load can happen fast enough to cause damage, safety or not, just like in larger industrial drives! One for the war stories book. She's all back together and running properly. Phew!