Help finishing engine

[gridley1]

Hi everyone. Several years ago I thought I could achieve a dream I've had since I was a kid; to have a real steam engine. Oh, sure I have several toy steam engines, but I wanted something big enough to ride. I saved my money and bought lots of castings, made wheels, cut, threaded, formed, etc. and even had a Bob Oliver code boiler made for my 1/2 scale case. About 4 years ago I ran up against a brick wall (figuratively speaking) and reached the limit of my expertise. I'm a good mechanic, but I'm no fabricator. I don't know how to align the gears as well as several other things. What I need is for someone to finish this thing for me. I'm not stupid, I know people want to be paid, but I can't afford to take it to a machine shop and say, "here, finish this". I have a ton of money in it now, but it's useless taking up space in my shop in its unfinished state. Any takers? Let's talk. Maybe this engine could be done by Labor Day Weekend. John

[Bill Wehrman]

Hi John, have you had any interested parties yet? It is 1/2 scale? Bill

[gridley1]

I've had a few guys write in private but I wasn't very clear maybe how much work needed to be done. I started back working on it myself the other nite and am making some progress on aligning the gearing. I guess the biggest problem is that everything is so heavy, I'll probably buy a cherry picker to lift and hold some of the things in place. I just need to get to it. It'll be slow going but I'll get it done later rather than sooner You guys will be the first to know when it's done.

[Casemaker]

John,
its been a few days....time for an update....did the cherry picker help ?