Suter paddlewheel bearing blocks

[gbritnell]

Hi Eddy,
I'm sorry you couldn't make out how the paddlewheel was mounted to the aft frame extensions. The shaft rides in 2 bearing blocks that are located into cast brackets that allow the wheel to be aligned by the use of jackscrews. On my model I replicated these pieces all in one. I drilled holes into the aft extensions and turned two studs on my lathe with grooves machined into them and then epoxied them into the extensions. The grooves were to hold the glue as I haven't found very good adhesives that will hold metal to wood. I then slid the bearing blocks over the studs and secured them with nuts and washers. There's not much need to elongate the holes because in laying them out there shouldn't be much misalignment but if there was you could alway slot them a little with a file to allow some for and aft movement.
George

[derekwarner_decoy]

Hi George - I remember snaps of your Suter in the old PD site, but aren't these different? - not sure if it's because I am in the lower 1/2 of the world, but was the wheel rotating when these latest snaps were taken?

regards Derek

[gbritnell]

Hi Derek,
No, these are the same photos. I only took this set and have them on a disc. I would like to take some better shots now that I have learned to use my camera but the boat is in a display case on top of my china cabinet and I need one of my sons to help me get it down safely. When I get some more shots and close-ups I'll post them.
George

[Eddy Matthews]

Thanks yet again George - I think I have everything figured out now, and I've made a start on the frames to support the paddlewheel bearings. As with other bits of the model, some of this has been simplified to make it more robust for a working model, but I think it will still look reasonably accurate.