Building a Kitsap Caboose: Difference between revisions
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File:Kitsap Live Steamers Caboose 19.jpg|Two of the dimples have been prepared for filling. | File:Kitsap Live Steamers Caboose 19.jpg|Two of the dimples have been prepared for filling. | ||
File:Kitsap Live Steamers Caboose 20.jpg|The dimples have been filled with "Bondo". Once set, the filled dimples will be sanded smooth. | File:Kitsap Live Steamers Caboose 20.jpg|The dimples have been filled with "Bondo". Once set, the filled dimples will be sanded smooth. | ||
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=== Roof === | |||
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File:KitsapCabooseBatteryBox8.jpg|The Kitsap kit ships with two three roof sections: a long section, the roof for the cupola, and the short section behind it. I wanted a removable roof so that small kids can ride in the caboose, so I took the advice given in the instructions to cut the long roof section into two parts as shown in this photo. | |||
File:KitsapCabooseBatteryBox9.jpg|I used a low-cost sheet metal brake from Harbor Freight to bend all the roof sections. Here is the long roof section after begin cut in two parts. This is the longest section and the hardest to bend in this jig. I used all the C-clamps I could round up. The bending operation worked smother and easier by spraying lubricant (WD-40) on the sheet metal where it was begin bent. | |||
File:KitsapCabooseBatteryBox10.jpg|The short roof section cut from the long section has only about 3 inches of support to cling to. Three holes were drilled in the roof section on the left and right sides where it would sit on top of the roof beams. I first made stitch welds across the front of the caboose on the outside, underneath the roof section. You can see the "dots" of weld going up the photo. Then the six holes were fill welded with the wire welder, making sure the weld wire went all the way into the hole, attaching to the roof beam, and then filling the hole. The welds were ground flat with the roof. This resulted in a very strong roof section. | |||
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Revision as of 22:49, 13 September 2015
Tools and Supplies
- Low-cost wire welder (110 Volt AC) from Harbor Freight
- Lincoln "tombstone" welder (220 Volt AC)
- Lincoln Innershield NR-211-MP flux core welding wire, 0.035 inch
- Harbor Freight drill pres/mill
- Welding rods
- Self etching primer
- Rustoleum ComfortGrip spray can handle and trigger
Build Gallery
Frame
Laying out the base and other parts for the Kitsap Live Steamers caboose kit. Photo by Daris A Nevil, April 2015.
Bottom view of the floor shows stitch welds. These welds were made using a red Lincoln "tombstone" welder (seen under the table) with 1/8 inch 6011 rods. You must be very careful to prevent warping during welding, even with this thicker material. By careful I mean make short stitch welds (1/4 inch) and allow to cool between welds (10-15 seconds). Use lots of C-clamps to hold materials tightly together during welding.
The four sides have been welded together and to the floor. Be sure to use a square to align the sides. Note the angle iron on the upper edge was welded in sections. This was a grave mistake on my part, as it causes severe warping of the sides. I later removed these and replaced with one long piece as the instructions suggest.
Body
A box full of detail parts from Precision Steel Car.
The instructions suggested clamping the steps to a section 1x1 inch angle aluminum. I chose instead to use magnetic holders, which worked quite well. In the background you can see where I blew a hole in the side of the caboose while welding. This was easily fixed later by filling in with a wire welder.
Roof
The Kitsap kit ships with two three roof sections: a long section, the roof for the cupola, and the short section behind it. I wanted a removable roof so that small kids can ride in the caboose, so I took the advice given in the instructions to cut the long roof section into two parts as shown in this photo.
I used a low-cost sheet metal brake from Harbor Freight to bend all the roof sections. Here is the long roof section after begin cut in two parts. This is the longest section and the hardest to bend in this jig. I used all the C-clamps I could round up. The bending operation worked smother and easier by spraying lubricant (WD-40) on the sheet metal where it was begin bent.
The short roof section cut from the long section has only about 3 inches of support to cling to. Three holes were drilled in the roof section on the left and right sides where it would sit on top of the roof beams. I first made stitch welds across the front of the caboose on the outside, underneath the roof section. You can see the "dots" of weld going up the photo. Then the six holes were fill welded with the wire welder, making sure the weld wire went all the way into the hole, attaching to the roof beam, and then filling the hole. The welds were ground flat with the roof. This resulted in a very strong roof section.
Battery Box
I decided to model the caboose after the Santa Fe caboose #999187 located at the Comanche & Indian Gap Railroad railroad. I needed a battery box in place of the tool cellar. Here my nephew Stephen is setting up to weld the box together. Note that this battery box was built from scratch, and is not part of the Kitsap Live Steamer's kit.
The dimensions of the box is 6-1/2 inches deep, 4-1/2 inches deep, and 3-3/4 inches high. After installation on the chassis the box looked a bit over-sized, so you may need to adjust for your taste. The battery box is large enough to hold a standard gel-cell battery. The battery will power the lights on the caboose. The two front braces were cut from 1/2 inch square steel tubing. It is cut down to about 1/8 inch high, so that the side ribs show prominently like the prototype.