Motion cover beading attachment

[heavydamper64Participant @heavydamper64]

I’m making new motion covers for my 4″ Burrell SCC and will be fitting new 3/8″ x 1/8″ brass section beading. I’d like to rivet these on rather than drill and tap as it was on the previous ones.

Is there a good rule of thumb for determining rviet size and spacing or is it a matter of what looks right? I’d plan to cold rivet by hand, should I use brass or copper rivets?

[Julie AnnParticipant @julieann]

Brass and copper are not prototypical. I made my own beading from hot rolled steel strip and fitted them using steel rivets. Rivets were 1/8″ diameter on my 4″ SCC Burrell engines. Holes were predrilled in the beading before bending and fitting. Holes were spaced 1.5″ and the drilling was done on the vertical mill with the beading against a fence to ensure that the drilled holes were in the centre of the beading. An off centre hole is much more noticable than small errors in spacing. Results were acceptable:

Rivets were closed cold. The best technique is to use a ball pein hammer to flatten and expand the rivet and then use a punch, at a slight angle, to force the outer edge of the flattened rivet into the countersunk hole. That way, when the rivet is filed flush, the countersink is completely filled without marking of the beading from misaligned hits if using the ball of the hammer.

Julie

[heavydamper64Participant @heavydamper64]

Thank you for your input, what’s the dimension of the beading you have fitted to your tender? I’m trying to get a feel of an appropriate rivet to beading size.

 

The engine I’m taking inspiration from has brass beading on the motion covers;

 

The current beading looks out of proportion to me.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Although I don’t have motion plate son either of my engines I did use brass beading as the tenders were also brass.

on the 2″ Fowler the beading is shaped from 1/4 x 1/16″ bar and 1/16″ rivits specified. I would say 1/8″ may be a bit big so 3/32″ would be about right on your 3/8″ strip.

If you are leaving it bright like your photos then also us ebrass rivits which only need a shallow CSK that should all but disappear when filed flush. If painting then copper would do and is easier to form.

I’d also suggest tinning the surfaces before riviting and then sweat them together once rivited.

[heavydamper64]

On heavydamper64 Said:

Thank you for your input, what’s the dimension of the beading you have fitted to your tender? I’m trying to get a feel of an appropriate rivet to beading size.

I started with 13mm x 5mm hot rolled section and ended up with 1/2″ by 5/32″ with rounded edges. Based on estimating from pictures of full size engines.

All the photos I have of fullsize SCC engines have steel beading, although to be fair they are agricultural engines rather than road, so don’t have motion cover plates.

My tenders are all steel due to cost if nothing else.

Julie

[Author]

Posts