Wood Shop

I think I would like to start this report with some eye candy.  And I will lump together many projects in this one entry rather than constructing many of only an image or two.

Archeology

Victor Humphreys is holding a stained glass window from a heavyweight Pullman car that Buzz Morisette has expertly restored.  This and a few others, were found in a forgotten dusty corner of an IRM storage boxcar by Roger Kramer, painted over and looking poorly.  Buzz stripped, cleaned, and refinished this to be glowing example of the carbuilder's design and craft.  Victor did some research.

Apparently these were stripped from a car we did not acquire, one in very poor shape and destined for the scrapper's torch.  It is a good thing these were saved, even if we had no car that needed them.  This is from Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe 1332, the SAN MIGUEL, built as a library buffet car in Pullman lot 4254.  The car was converted by Santa Fe to a coach combine, used as the caboose on some branchline mixed trains and regrettably was not saved.  But a STUNNING example for display someday at IRM.

Bushings

In the most recent TMS Project entry I mentioned the work being done to renew and rebuild the trucks.  John Faulhaber is holding a brake lever showing the three new hardened bushings installed.  Thanks to some expert work and machinist skills from Rod Turner, all four of these levers are complete, and additional replacement of bushings continues.  Installing each one of these new bushings is not a trivial home hobbyist workbench project!

On Track

Lorne Tweed is cleaning and repairing window tracks for our PCC project, CTS 4223.  A dusty pursuit, and one requiring quite a bit of time and patience for each set.  30 plus sets required!

14 Windows

Buzz Morisette continues on 14 windows for ATSF 1400.  The gluing, sanding, and assembly is about done, ready to begin painting and glazing.

Cooperation

Ted Anderson stopped by, from our Pullman Library.  Any project usually involves a lot of input and effort from several different departments at IRM.  The Wood Shop is creating new windows for the Steam Department (N&W 2050), and Ted is using cadd files created by us to print full sized templates for the new sash.

Tricky

Victor Humphreys is focused on cutting some tricky two tongued tenons for one of our current projects

Some Assembly Required

Victor and John F have made the first assembly of a new door, to test fit and see how it is beginning to shape up.

Mortises

Simon Harrison has moved into the big time now, doing WOOD WORK in the WOOD SHOP.  Just kidding, many different projects are done in all the shop spaces.  Here, he was cleaning out 36 mortises for the Illinois Central 3996 windows.

New Wood

Buzz Morisette arrived in the shop carrying an armload of new hardwood.  He immediately set to work measuring and laying out the cuts for the work to be done.

Quarter Round

Before long the sounds of machines operating filled the air and Buzz was making quarter round for the new ATSF 1400 windows.  I should note that special moldings like these, even 'common quarter round' in hardwood, are not to be found for sale.  So, with a table mounted router and correct profile bit, teamed up with the table saw, Buzz shuttled back and forth between them and produced an armload of the needed pieces.

Machine Work

We really are lucky to have such a well equipped wood working shop and it has made possible work like never before in IRM history.  But realize that the machines cannot do everything.  Victor Humphreys hand sands a profile to remove small defects, allowing us to use the router to plow out unneeded wood accurately

A Chiseler

Another example of hand tool skills is the use of a SHARP chisel.  First you have to sharpen and hone the chisel, then it becomes much easier to pare small shavings in tight corners.  The PHANTOM managed to catch me in action, a rare event.

As seems to be the pattern right now, Saturday seems to be the busiest day in the Barn 4 Shops and there was a lot of activity on many projects.

Prototype

In the previous post we mentioned that a prototype brake shoe had been made using 3D printing, but had no opportunity to get a picture.  Lorne Tweed and Alex Randow are examining it closely at the start of the day.

Windows

What would one of these entries be without WINDOW work?  Alex Randow and new volunteer Keith Letsche were hard at work on the aluminum framed sash for Cleveland Transit System 4223.  Keith was masking frames as soon as they were cleaned and ready, and Alex applied clear protective finish.

Many Windows

As each frame was coated with the clear finish, Alex placed it in this drying rack.  I think the count was sixteen at the time I snapped this picture, but the day's work was not done yet.

Strategy

John Faulhaber and Henry Vincent were caught in a strategy meeting, discussing plans for a potential new building on Main Street.

VIP Visitors

We were delighted to welcome Andrea and Ted Anderson (of Pullman Library fame) to our informal lunch table.  It is always a treat to hear the stories from two such charming people.

Trolley Base

Richard Schauer and a few others have been working to restore trolley bases for eventual installation on the CTA 2000 series rapid transit cars.  These parts are quite heavy, but Richard paused long enough to let me snap a quick picture.

There was work on a number of other projects.  Some of the wood work included John Faulhaber, Victor Humphreys, and I completing 36 mortises for a set of new windows we are making, these destined for Illinois Central 3996.  And of course the indefatigable Tim Peters continuing on restoration of several doors for the Chicago Rapid Transit 1797.

All Hands on Deck

Henry Vincent is shown with a new shop jig we made.  The last assembly steps required ALL HANDS with Henry, Tim Peters, and myself doing the dirty work.

Windows

Yes, this is an all too common picture caption.  Buzz Morrisette has been making fourteen new sash for caboose ATSF 1400.  All of them are glued up and assembled in what seems an amazingly short time.  Maybe he has Santa's elves working now that the Holiday rush is over, or he just works that much faster than I am able to.

A Day in the Sun

Chicago Rapid Transit 1797 has been the subject of several recent switch moves to rearrange cars in Barn 4.  With clear skies and maybe 55 F it came out in the sum for steam cleaning of the underbody by Tim Peters and Frank Kehoe.  The vapor cloud can be seen under the car at the right.  Hard to believe but now, 24 hours later, the first snow of the season is piling up outside my window here at home.

Windows

Yes, windows again.  Lorne tweed worked to apply clear finish to several of the completed sash for Cleveland Transit 4223, and Simon Harrison also contributed his labor to the cause through the day.

In other work seen in the shop, Henry Vincent made some more progress restoring a large very old vintage photo mural of a PRR steam locomotive. Roger Kramer and I worked on mortising windows for IC 3996, and Victor Humphreys helped me milling stiles on the table saw as well as a hunting trip to our material yard to locate potential replacement trucks for ATSF 1400.

Perhaps one of the biggest news items concerns Chicago Surface Lines 3142, a true workhorse of our summer Museum operations.  Since its initial restoration that car puts on a lot of miles and we were well aware of the impending shortage of replacement cast iron brake shoes.  For two years this has been in the process, with many hundreds of hours invested in the shop and by members at home.  Remember that brake shoes are CONSUMED in operations and this is not normally covered by restoration funds.  In this case the tab could well run to $8,000, or we face the possibility of the car not operating this entire season.

Our efforts to date have come to several dead ends for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the disappearance of small foundries suited to make these specialty castings in small quantities.  But we made a lot of progress this week.  Lorne Tweed has taught himself to use AUTOCAD and created a file for the brakeshoe pattern.  This was converted to a stereo lithography file and a plastic prototype was created using a 3D printing process in nearby Crystal Lake.

With this tangible sample in hand it was fitted to the car, and needed adjustments were defined.  The next steps will be to furnish this prototype to a foundry who will use modern laser tracing to mill a new pattern for the shoes and get them cast.  HERE'S HOPING - - -

Between the Doors

We found Bill Wulfert working in the shop area known as TIM PETER"S RAPID TRANSIT department, and caught him off guard looking between some CRT 1797 doors that have been restored and look about ready to go back on the car.

Windows

Of course, windows seem to be a perennial topic or theme of ongoing work.  Jon Fenlaciki worked on additional windows he is restoring for Chicago Aurora & Elgin 451.  He has done MANY, MANY of these and the end is in sight!

Windows

You guessed it!  More window work as Ray Schmid works on another coat of clear varnish for two restored sash to be installed in Michigan Electric 28.

Truck Work

Jeff Brady has been working on the truck rebuilding for one of our TMS project cars, Milwaukee Electric 972.  More disassembly work in almost infinite detail reveals that pins and bushings need to be renewed.  These are hardened sleeves and - er - pins that join things like levers and castings which need to move freely in the completed truck assembly.  Brake rigging is an example.

I usually try to resist making a lot of short entries on the BLOGS but I guess I have to break my own rules this time.

Window Work, Again

Roger Kramer and John Faulhaber are shown using the router, cutting copes on the top and bottom rails for the current work order for nine new windows for Illinois Central 3996.  Previously in the day, cheek cuts or tenon stop shoulders were cut on all of these.  Mass producing multiple copies makes the involved tool set up more productive as any cut can be reproduced accurately.

Door Work

Tim Peters is working on the many door panels found on and in Chicago Rapid Transit 1797.  They get stripped of old paint, repaired where wood parts have deteriorated, and all joints re-fit and re-glued.  Using epoxy based adhesives for this means one step equals one day, allowing time to cure the epoxy two part mix.

There was a pretty good turnout of volunteers on this last day of 2011.  [Note to self - remember to type 2012 from now on].  I guess the hardy volunteers are not the type of late night revelers planning to celebrate the turning of the calendar until the wee hours of the morning - or maybe they are?

Mortises

Buzz Morisette is quietly working in the background, under the radar, making new sash for caboose ATSF 1400.  He has fabricated a whole stack of new parts and here is cleaning out the mortises in one of the stiles.

On to Gluing

Time to mix the glue with the frame on the workbench dry fit and assembled.  It is always a good idea to study the directions on the can.

In the Press

Later in the day we see that Buzz has completed three new windows and they are glued up, in the press for 24 hours.

Beading

When we make a new window sash the job does not end there.  After sanding and painting, we find we have also made a number of small beading strips to be used for holding in the glass.  Victor Humphreys is cutting and mitering each one to fit.

Glazing

It is finally time to add the panes of glass.  Victor is installing eight of them in the new windows for Norfolk and Western 2050.

Window Tracks

There was lots of other activity, and here Eric Lorenz is giving us a 'clinic' on restoring the window tracks for Cleveland Transit 4223.  There are many pieces needed to install just one window (five if I remember) and all of them need to be restored.  Clean off corrosion, straighten and repair, replace lost or missing parts.  There are many windows for this car, so any hardy volunteers that want to learn a new skill - come on out on a Wednesday or Saturday.  The shop is heated and work continues through the winter months.

Hardware

Time Peters continued on the new windows for Chicago Rapid Transit 1797.  The windows are mostly glazed, fit and painted; so now, shiny brass hardware gets installed on each sash.

As I said many other projects saw work being done, but here is a bit of trivia.  At least two of our vintage woodworking machines were manufactured by GREENLEE in nearby Rockford, IL.  It can be a challenge to date when any of these were built but other research has yielded the following formula.

(First three digits of the serial number) minus 68, divided by 12 and added to 1900 equals the date built. 

It seems very convoluted but has worked - dating our mortiser for 1925 and our glue press (seen above in this report) for 1924.