Minnie Horn Plates

[Bernard OwenParticipant @bernardowen87680]

[Bernard OwenParticipant @bernardowen87680]

Hi, I am about to start building a 1″ minnie traction engine, I have had the boiler made because that sort of work is a bit beyond me, could somebody tell me the best way to attach the horn plates to the boiler.

Thanks.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

You should have 4 stays each side that are either larger or hollow depending on how the boiler was made.

 

You need to set the boiler up on a mill though it could be done on a lathe and machine the 4 stays so they are true to the barrel and in the same vertical plane, and to teh correct height to give the width between teh horns.

 

While the boiler is set up drill and tap the stays, 4 BA from memory. You can then turn up some bronze studs to go into these tapped holes and hold the hornplates with brass or bronze nuts.

 

Jason

[John ShepherdParticipant @johnshepherd38883]

Bernard

Your boiler should have a series of 9 studs silver soldered to each side. The horn plates have corresponding clearance holes, spacers are fitted between the horn plate and boiler and they are held in place with suitable nuts.

These pictures may help:

http://www.becks-dampfseite.de/englminnie.htm

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

John, several of the commercial boiler makers make their boiler with just the 4 mounting stays like I mentioned, rather than the way it was done back when Mason wrote the book. Mine came from Blackgates about 20yrs ago and was done with 4 solid stays. You can just see 3 of the 4 brass nuts on mine, the other 5 painted black ar dummies

 

Hopefully it will also have a separate take off for the water gauge as off the manifold is not the prefered way now.

 

Jason

Edited By JasonB on 19/05/2011 17:49:39

[Bernard OwenParticipant @bernardowen87680]

Hi, my boiler was made by Blackgates Engineering and has 9 stays on it, can they be drilled and tapped into the firebox or do they have to be blind.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Bernard best to just check with blackgates but they usually make the 4 corner stays a larger dia and these are the ones that can be tapped right through which is more than adequate for the loadings a Minnie is likely to see.

 

If you look at this picture of my larger 2″ Fowler boiler you can see that the stays for fixing the horns are 3/8″ dia but the remaining ones are 1/8″, should be something similar on yours.

 

Full fat milk makes a good tapping fluid for copper

 

J

 

EDIT.

 

Just dropped the ashpan on teh minnie and as I said above the 4 corner stays are larger for drilling the remaining 5 are just 1/8″ copper rivits so SHOULD NOT de drilled

 

Edited By JasonB on 19/05/2011 19:23:32

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