Building a Willamette donkey

[Frederic Testard]

I've recently started to build a Willamette donkey. I found the original on Chuck's Fotki site at this address :
http://public.fotki.com/ChuckDoan/prototype_pictures/willamette_donkey_engine/
I guessed the overall dimensions from plans in the Gazette and Timbertimes of analog models. It happened that they were compatible with a reuse of an empty aspirine container, and this is how everything started looking a bit miserable.











The donkey job will be to hoist small boats for basic repair works on a diorama closely inspired from Dave Revelia's "Boat repair diorama" featured for instance here
http://www.modvid.com.au/html/body_revelia-boat_repair.html
and also in the 2004 Logging, Mining & Industrial Annual.

[Frederic Testard]

After some pondering about the fact of buying expensive rivetting tools or trying to scratchbuild one with the material available at home, I decided to use 'manual method' and to drill a myriad of holes, to be filled with adequate castings. As a math teacher, I often use a basic drawing program that allows to create precisely sized pdf files which when printed make excellent templates. This is how I did the drilling templates below.



The two thin ones were taped to thin sheets of styrene and using a scriber, I marked the location of the holes. Then I MEKd them to the boiler and when the MEK and styrene were dry and solid, drilled the holes.





The wider one was directly attached to the boiler, holes were drilled through the paper and the paper was then removed.



More holes were then drilled to insert the various devices located all around the boiler. Some of the locations were guessed but with the help of pictures and the dimensionnal hint of the space between rivets, it doesn't look so bad.

Here is a shot of a S scale model I had done ten years ago.



The model I'm currently building is an O scale one.

[finescalerr]

That is pretty much the way I would have gone about it. Then somebody like Paul, Marc, Jacq, Marty, or one of the other guys shows how to do it in a way I never would have thought of. So now I'm waiting for somebody to ask, "Why didn't you simply ...?" But heck with that; nice job, Frederic! --Russ

[Ray Dunakin]

Looking good so far!

[NORCALLOGGER]

Frederic,
Great looking start.  Being able to use a drawing program to produce your templetes must save a lot of layout time, time better used drilling rivet holes .

Are you going to drill the tell-tale holes in your stay-bolts? I'm sure Russ will expect to see them .

Later
Rick

[scrappy1]

here's a awesome site

http://wegmuller.org/logging/index.html

[Frederic Testard]

here's a awesome site

Thanks for the hint. Some very interesting plans and sketches there, plus the photos.

Rick, it certainly would be a shame not to try making Russ the happiest of the men, but for an ignorant like me, "drilling the tell-tale holes in the stay-bolts" is quite an esoteric sentence...

[marc_reusser]

Frederic,

this looks like a great project. I am a bit concerened that the Willamette is a much bigger machine than would be needed...but no big deal. I will see whay I have pre-scanned that I can pull out to help you.

Below are some images from the 1925 catalog (my original not the OSO reprint...so no copyright problems)

[marc_reusser]

Duplex Loader

[Frederic Testard]

Thank you Marc. I agree on the fact it's a bit oversized, but I had the luck to have Chuck's pics with all their details available, so it seemed a good compromise. And it will fit easily in the space available on the dio.
Thanks for the pics. Even it it were not to build a model, I love these beautiful technical drawings.
Let me wish you a good recovery from your biking problem...

[Frederic Testard]

Watching more closely Marc's pics reminds me of asking a technical question : what's the use of the sprocket chain visible on the first pic and located on the side opposite to the engineer?

[marc_reusser]

Frederic,

I am not familiar enough with the technical aspects of the machines to be able to tell you what those chains were for.



Here is more along the lines of what I thought a setup like yours would use/need.

[marc_reusser]

Here is a spec sheet for that one.

[marc_reusser]

AHD Details

[marc_reusser]

AHD Details 2