Samson - March progress and the brake gear is coming together...

Samson – March progress and the brake gear is coming together…

Whilst the current focus for the team is on preparing for the season opening next week, completing the RHEC, working on a number of capital projects (such as the Band Hall and Bakery) and responding the needs of the site, there are still tangible signs of progress on other projects, including Samson, which David Young is currently progressing from home until the frames arrive here and our machine shop is set up in the late spring.  He has not been idle and progress on the brake gear (which will fit to parts of the frames that will later be difficult to access) is remarkable:

Below: This is the main brake handle shaft.  The bronze runs inside a casting mounted on the frame side (check back to the black & white photo in previous posts to see this).  The square thread of the shaft moves up and down within this.  The brake handle is fixed to the upper (narrower) section of the bronze seen below.  At the bottom is the jaw which fits the crank and derives the fore and aft motion of the brake pull rod (which is a doubled item, sandwiching the wheels).

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Below: Here are the machined brake cross-shaft cranks, with the crank from the vertical shaft and two smaller cranks for the pull rods.  The cross shaft will be machined when access to a larger lathe is possible.

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Below: Progress on the patterns has also continued, with the complex reverser quadrant and pump assembly seen here, along with the eccentric straps and bearing cap (and core box).  The shelf is now looking decidedly full!

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