Barrel-Shaped Bearings! Pennsylvania A3 Switcher, Part 16

This episode on Blondihacks, I’m making locomotive bearings! Exclusive videos, drawings, models & plans available on Patreon!
/ quinndunki
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[@Blondihacks]

Hey everyone- a common question on this one is why the bores were done on the lathe instead of the mill. The answer is the same as it always is to this question- things like this are faster and higher quality when done on the lathe. Milling machines with boring heads are fussy, slow, less accurate, and less rigid than a lathe. It’s a last resort when you can’t do it on the lathe. Turning a bore for a bearing is what lathes are really good at! I have a whole section in my FAQ (linked in the description) about why things should be done on the lathe whenever practical. Check it out! Another common question is lubrication. There’s no facility for it in these boxes. Kozo’s design is to lubricate them via the space between the wheels and the boxes. This works fine with a needle oiler and for the light duty these wheels see, it should be just fine.

[@oldfarthacks]

Makes sense, the stability of the alignment of the headstock on the late to the bed is far better than even the top quality mill, this is due to the small distance between the spindle centerline and the cutting tool. Far more rigid. Besides that, the lathe is so often more satisfying to work with. The only thing that beats it is a shaper.

[@TimothySielbeck]

My oldest brother taught me that they are called bogies. The Army taught me that the pulley on top of a flag pole is called a truck.

[@TheSweatdrop]

Sorry for going off subject, but where did you get your leather apron? I like it.

[@James02876]

As a fellow software engineer, I think what appeals to me about the way you present the topic of machining is in how forethought and an understanding of the big picture aids in the elegance of every solution to any problem encountered. The way you faced the bearings then resumed the angles without losing concentricity is the kind of insight that separates the expert from the novice. Don't get me wrong, the humour, editing, and everything else is fabulous, but it feels like what I'm describing is much more rare, and much more satisfying, than just watching a demonstration.

[@robb1267]

5:20 Flat Bottom Drills make the rocking world go around! 🤣

[@oldfarthacks]

Well she is making a bad boy engine there so yes, indeed. She is becoming the Queen of Steam.

[@donpotbury2220]

My money went down on the genius side. I discovered your videos a couple months ago and am very impressed. Smart, safe and well executed. Thanks!

[@khenderick]

The engraving is indeed a nice touch 😊

[@donaldsutherland244]

Compulsively honest is a sign of an excellent teacher, someone who cares enough to say "Do as I say, not as I do" With a wink. You are generous soul! Again and again, thank you!

[@msb3175]

I'm a retired Conductor. Your videos and craftsmanship are outstanding and I enjoy comparing the difference between the model and 1/1 scale. This really shows why buying one of these in kit form or fully assembled is so expensive.

[@pileofstuff]

Good call on the access hatch detail. Your scale brakeman will appreciate it when they're oiling the journals.

[@standintallish5223]

I like the fact that you had just the right amount of humor to your videos. Well done.

[@jeremylastname873]

Actually, she still does. 😂

[@steveh8724]

@@jeremylastname873 add

[@Hyce777]

Quinn, Been loving this series, as full-size steam person. I have to say, I've been using your lathe tutorials this week refreshing myself on what I'm doing making some full-scale parts for one of our engines. Thanks so much for taking the time to making these well-crafted videos, they are much appreciated.

[@OscarSommerbo]

This video is 8 times as exciting as normal.

[@josephnicholas6159]

Flat-bottomed blind holes, you make the rockin' world go round.

[@RonCovell]

Quinn - what a shame that you had to scrap so many of those parts. I guess it happens to the best of them. I'm surprised that no 'adult language' was used. Nice touch with the detail work on the faces of those journal boxes!

[@oldfarthacks]

I would assume that she is not just dumping them in the scrap bin. Errors like that tend to find second lives. If nothing else, drill the hole the rest of the way through and used them with some rods for a slide system. Kitchen drawers anyone?

[@Priapos93]

What's your opinion of gilding on brass?

[@davidmorgan9783]

My father grew up in a house with a main passenger line across the street from him. As a child he would watch the trains go by and sometimes would see a "hot box" . That of course meant the bearing was bad and he would go to the depot near by and report the "hot box".

[@Jon651]

The journal boxes originally held wool batting soaked in heavy oil to keep the bearing inside lubricated. During routine inspection more oil was added, but occasionally one would get missed or delayed in refilling the oil and the batting would overheat and catch fire (a.k.a. a "hot box"). The job of the crew in the caboose was to keep vigil for hot boxes and signal the engineer to stop the train if they saw one, whereby they would open the journal box with a long-handled hook, remove the burning batting, and let the bearing cool before adding more batting and oil. The advent of Timken roller bearings nearly eliminated this issue for all practical purposes.

[@criggie]

I've seen this twice in the last 5 years, living nearish to a railway. Both times it caused grass fires by the line. So local rail-co installed an automatic axle inspector - as a train rolls through it takes a flash-photo of each axle, and presumably does something to look for damage/heat. Its really hard to film, I'm still trying.

[@steveman1982]

"rails are never perfect" Luckily they aren't, otherwise I wouldn't have to train models to inspect them :D Those faux hatches are a really nice touch!

[@jimsvideos7201]

Also if you want a twenty minute project, a brass foot for your optical center punch with an o-ring on its face will give you grip on non-ferrous surfaces. Thank you as always for the adventure 😊

[@Alan2E0KVRKing]

The shot of the bearings in a row, beautiful!

[@UpLateGeek]

Fun fact: The hatch is also useful for accessing the bearings when they catch fire because the company has cut back on maintenance and they haven't been greased.

[@droppedpasta]

Love watching machining, but I’m also enjoying learning about trains.

[@oldfarthacks]

You might like what Ed White does on his channel. He just finished up a paddle steamer engine build, including the paddles. He is not quite as tidy as Quinn about his work areas, but he does some really good work in the scratch built area. edwinwhite933

[@droppedpasta]

@@oldfarthacks Thanks, I’ll give it a look!

[@BetweenTheBorders]

Excellent work as always. The little hatch details should pay off tremendously. I don't know how you resisted the urge to say "This is called a journal box. It's a box that holds the journal" but that's why you're the professional. :D

[@davidschmidt6013]

lol

[@MrScarfacekesseli]

That last minute detail was spot-on. Well done!

[@bornstellar9429]

The master has failed more than the apprentice has tried comes to mind! Excellent work as always Blondie!

[@Self_Evident]

The upside to 64 tapping operations, is the opportunity to break 64 taps! :)

[@uspockdad6429]

Yay! Choo-choo video! Love this series.

[@robertlunsford1350]

Respect you knowing what a skateboard truck is.

[@2meterPeter.]

You are such fun to watch.

[@mikevansickle2735]

As a miniature war gamer i appreciate the hatch cover detail immensely! Hit the recesses with a dab of black ink or thinned paint, then rattle can clear gloss to prevent tarnish of that beautiful brass to maximize the wow factor and minimize selection of angel cooking methodology!😂 Of course the same black ink trick will work after you paint them, too.

[@c.a.mcdivitt9722]

For reference, if it's attached to a tank or other tracked military vehicle, it's still a 'bogie', even in the US.

[@g.tucker8682]

For large aircraft both terms are used - truck/bogie.

[@bryanlatimer-davies1222]

Why did the loco not sit down? It had a tender behind!

[@hippyjason]

Nice touch with the fake journal box doors. Totally transformed the look.

[@SethKotta]

Keep on truckin'. (assuming you haven't heard that a thousand times by now)

[@gregorythomas333]

Love the faux door...it breaks up the plain space and looks really nice :)

[@TheSkidrowyachtclub]

Having worked in the truck shop at CN Transcona, I can tell you that the journal bearing is made the same way, the inside top of the journal box is flat and the journal brass was curved just like that. On modern roller bearing trucks there is adapter with a curved top which sit between the outer race of the roller bearing and the truck side.

[@ssrattus]

Thanks Quinn!

[@misterdecaro]

Hi Quinn, thank you for sharing your journey, I am really enjoying your videos on this project. I also appreciate your references to software design, as I enjoy that too! At any rate, in my opinion, your journal boxes look great with the engraved square in them! A touch of personalized style! I will catch up with your posting of this journey soon, just enjoying all the neat stuff your do and really appreciate that you are self taught - thats amazing! Don't let the nay sayers get to you, thats always a problem with sharing information! Have a great day! Happy machining!

[@NeilABliss]

Those little artistic additions do add to the look.

[@mayberrywj]

The engraving on the hatch door was a very good addition....:)

[@steveskouson9620]

Quinn, that pulley on the top of a flagpole (or a mast) is another truck, for your list. steve

[@firebird8600]

Yay!! It's Blondihacks time!!!

[@JMFuller227]

I love the arrow at the end of the video pointing at the Sprocket hair! Until that showed up I thought it was a hair stuck on my phone screen 😅

[@pauldoyley8354]

Additional details look great!

[@bobgsmith]

It's always a good episode when the highly calibrated hose clamps come out. 😊

[@lampadophoros]

Great work, and very fine exposition! Thanks!

[@markwatters6875]

G’day mate, the door detail you added to the bearing boxes was brilliant. It makes a great job better. Have a good one 👍🇦🇺

[@michaelcarnasciali1311]

Top job Quinn 👍

[@ryanneumann5165]

Love the journal box "doors"!!!

[@tomblough3257]

Save some metal strapping from the next pallet shipment you get. Short pieces can be bent into wave springs to keep your vise parallels pushed against the jaws when working with repetitive parts.

[@mrsockyman]

Absolutely love the bomb style air blower 😂

[@capnskustomworks]

I was hoping you’d show the skate truck, that’s the one that “makes sense” with the same function! Haha! It made me laugh to think when ye were showing the fit for tilt that you’re making a high-precision, “purposefully sloppy” fit, and I love that. I think folks tend to think about tolerance only one direction, and that’s a great demonstration for it. I also love the engraving!!! Such a fun detail!

[@MonkeyButlerLabs]

"Mostly decorative. Other than being structural." 😂😂 I look for the same qualities in my home.

[@youtube.youtube.01]

I am inspired and impressed! Your skill for maching, narration, video photography and editing are extremely informative and more pleasant than reading!

[@heighRick]

Thanks Quinn helps a lot! ...and oooooh the mostly decorative other than being structural pieces are some of my favourite mostly-decorative-structural-pieces \o/

[@stefanshelenko4487]

I was waiting for BHR to be carved in the bearing journal boxes/housings. Love your content dude.😁🎉👍🍻🍻

[@MeatSim5]

Absolutely love the hatches!

[@VoidedWarranty]

Oh yeah! That reminds me! For hose clamps with a lot of closing power, fuel injection rated clamps!

[@ryleestatler7067]

I really like the little hatch, it makes it feel a little more realistic

[@terrytopliss9506]

Excellent Quinn,if you don’t make mistakes you never learn.👍👍

[@rexmyers991]

I learn just as much from your mistakes as I do your order of operations. The fastest 24 minutes in the world.

[@kencarlile1212]

I love the false door! And it's so cool to see all the details of the suspension and angles and whatnot of the wheels that I never really thought about...

[@delhatton]

It is fun watching you do on a micro scale what CEC does on a macro scale.

[@delhatton]

OOPS, I meant CEE.

[@JohnfromEngland]

I like the added detail you added

[@williamsanders6092]

I really liked the detail on the bearing carriers!!

[@johnapel2856]

The movement action with the bearings was interesting. And I am glad you used precision hose clamps. It would be stupid to use ordinary ones. Thanks, and Meow to Sprocket.

[@luckyirvin]

I really love surface plate work

[@lescrooge]

my ocd is pleased. great job

[@stevealford3182]

Nice finishing touch with the engraver! Every time you mention this or that will be painted I think of all that pretty polished brass and copper... but of course that's how it's supposed to be.

[@danielmclellan7762]

I love you and this tappy-tap-tapping

[@davidapp3730]

The way we would accurately lay out a hole when laying out the holes on the surface table was the following. Using the height gauge we marked the hole center as usual then scribed a box around the center. The box was a few thousandths wider than the center drill pilot. Then we would just start the center drill and check to see the box witness lines all around the hole. You can drill to within 0.005" or better using this method.

[@IstasPumaNevada]

I like the decorative hatch engravings.

[@stringmanipulator]

very nice as always, nice work and a bunch of valuable tips

[@andrewjames7616]

Thankyou 👍

[@joshclark44]

You make even boxes interesting

[@robindeputy]

I wish KZbin would allow me to click the 👍🏻 every time I learned something new. There would be a lot of extra clicks on this video.

[@artisanmakes]

I'd be lying is I said I wasn't jealous of that optical center punch. Such a cool way of doing it.

[@bensonyoutuber7944]

Impressive speed of part production.

[@clintchapman4319]

You've come a long way! Way to stick with it!

[@geoffbackman6347]

Quinn. The last detail of engraving really brought it together. Something so simple, is a really nice touch. Well done, and thanks for the video.

[@tweake7175]

Thanks for showing the mistakes. Reminds us its real world.

[@davidschmidt6013]

Never saw your channel before, but the word 'Pensylvania' caught my eye, (ex-pat from Pgh.) so of COURSE I had to investigate. Interesting channel. Well narrated and enjoyable. Retired Science teacher here, so I know another teacher when I see one.

[@joewhitney4097]

Nice work Quinn, great "jigging"🙂 for the bearing box and bushings.

[@mumblbeebee6546]

Love the little hatches!

[@AncientHermit]

A pretty looking outcome for sure.👍 Be well.😉

[@ferguscampbell2485]

The added inspection plate changes the piece from ho hum to a piece of art. I'm learning a lot from watching you make good pieces and mistakes. How to correct or scrap items. Please keep making these models and explaining the why and where-for of all parts.

[@Tetrafluoroethane]

Your little intro clips are fab Quinn.

[@matthewpering8091]

Quinn... When I made mine, I did actually make oil wells in the boxes, which I made small covers for. My thinking was not just that it would be aesthetically more pleasing, but the ease of oiling would help ensure that journals got oiled before (and during) every run. But the faux doors on yours are 1000% better than the bare 'canvas'.

[@oldvarmit]

Very impressive. Well done.😁

[@janhofmann3499]

Glue a piece Of round stock into the small engraving so it stands out like a handle. The boiler was a home run but these simpler parts generated so much scrap… better that way than the other😉

[@courtneygatlin6695]

Beautiful work!! I love your excellent narration!

[@boblow2186]

Great work. We enjoyed it. It’s all in the set up. 👍🔧🔧

[@petem6291]

Hey Quinn I think you do great work ,I like that detail with the engraving bit ....

[@BlackheartCharlie]

There are trucks for train wheels, trucks for hauling on highways, and one more that I know of. The hardware assembly at the top of a sailboat mast is called the truck as well. Capt. Blackheart Charlie Key West

[@Ioughtaknowbetter]

When I was taking my machinist apprenticeship you spend the first three months learning to be an Oiler at that time there were still pieces of equipment in the steel mills that used those stuffing boxes. They look pretty darn good

[@mcglk]

You're doing such beautiful work. It's a delight to watch.

[@maciejmarzec3618]

8:47 what a cute tiny rubber aerial bomb 🙃

[@transmitterguy478]

Great work Quinn!

[@michaelryan6884]

Very nice and that final addition was the icing on the cake!

[@HSkraekelig]

yes, definitely a +1 (X8 of course) for the engraving of the journal box. Fun fiddley bits!

[@rickkucharski3211]

I like the simulated hatch covers. It's all about the details.

[@paulthomas3782]

Fantastic series really enjoying this build thank you for sharing with us.

[@paulmorrey4298]

Thanks Quinn