What I am working on

[-steves-]

Tiny little update, got the cylinder tops and bottoms drilled and tapped etc, so that little job is now jobbed

Looks like some really difficult tasks on the way with the conrod, the eccentric, piston, etc on the way, not looking forward to those bits, lol

[Stilldrillin]

Looking good. Progressing nicely, Steve! 

David D

[Rob.Wilson]

   ,,,,, Nice going Steve 





Rob

[-steves-]

Looking good. Progressing nicely, Steve! 

David D

Thanks David & Rob

I will admit, its harder to do, harder to setup and takes far more setting up than I could have ever have imagined. At times like this, I see someones homemade engine, such as your one you did not so long agon David, and think, wow, that must have taken months of hard work to get to that, you just dont give it the credit its due till you have a go at a few of these smaller tasks.

For anyone thats tackled anything engine related, my hat off to you all, 

[saw]

You are doing well, a bit of advice, just take one stepp and try to do that as good as you can.
We are not judging your project, the only one is mayby you 
To force too much can ruin your whole engine so take it easy

[sbwhart]

Looking very neat Steve 

Just carry on nice and steady has you have bin and you'll get their and produce a real great engine.

Stew

[doubleboost]

Hi
Steve
Coming along very nicely

[arnoldb]

Looks very good so far Steve 

Like Stew & Benni said - take it one step at a time and work carefully. 

Good parts result from 50% positive attitude, 40% setup and 10% machining 

 , Arnold

[-steves-]

Thanks very much everyone for the kind and helpful words

Took a bit of time out tonight from it and decided to see if I could make a new piston / conrod for one of my old mamod SE's.

All turned out reasonably well in the end, had it running and all is well. Deciced to make both ends brass and thread them, they are tight fits, so hopefully everything should be good. I am aware this is not the most exciting stuff to most people, but for me, its the first thing I have made that does something and works, lol 

Despite how they look in the pictures, they are actually the same length...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qbvzy_aezA

[Stilldrillin]

That thunders along nicely Steve! 

David D

[-steves-]

That thunders along nicely Steve! 

David D

 

[-steves-]

Well, despite having my lathe working much better than ever before I made a couple of MAJOR BOO BOO's with the Stuart 10V

1) I went to mill the steam chest face, forgot to put the Z lock on and ended up with a lot more metal removed than anticipated, so much so that it has far more taken off one side than the other, not the end of the world I thought, a few modifications here and there and its not really a problem.

2) Much smaller, yet bigger and catastrophic mistake.... I drilled the steam chest for the eccentric guide rod, centre drilled it and all that and the first hole was no problem. however, that hole continues at the top of the steam chest dome. Now this was using a 2mm (ish) drill, having it quite a way out the chuck in the tail stock as I needed the length to reach the top of the steam chest, the drill was so flexible that it caught on the rough surface and put it off centre and continued to drill off centre, no problem I thought as the rod will still move ok. What I didn't take into account was the brass block which moves the steam from top and bottom on the eccentric, this needs to run flat at all times creating a steam tight seal, this now can not happen as the rod moves at an angle and is lower at the top than the bottom. Its a great shame as the outside of the chest was near on a days work and looked super by the end of it, but it just wont ever run like it.

My options now are to order a new steam chest and do it all again, remembering to file the inside of the steam chest before drilling it, and drill the eccentric rod hole first with the bigger drill it needs and then use that thicker drill to create a "dimple" in the top of the dome for the small drill to start from.

Very gutted at the moment and no sure what to do next, I think a call to Stuart may be needed to order a new chest.... I am more gutted about all the work that went into it, and now it has to be binned...

The other option is to have it as a decoration piece only as it would still turn by hand, and probably air/steam if it were under enough pressure, lol

Oh well, the saga continues, lol....

[AndyB]

Hi Steve,

We have all done it!!!!

Don't be disheartened; you may be able to rescue it by drilling oversize and plugging, then restart your proper holes. I did that with a broken tap in an aluminium casting.
And if you can't, don't bin it, there is a lump of metal there that is crying out to be made into something, even if it not part of this engine!

It is all a learning curve and you seem to be getting on much better than me! But! Take your time and work out what can go wrong before starting and that will give you loads of ideas about which way to go and what you have to check before you start.

Only my tuppence worth...

Andy

[doubleboost]

Hi
Stive
Like andy says drill it out and put a plug in it
Or turn a fancy brass bit for it and screw it in
John

[saw]

Hi Steves.
Sorry about your'e mess, but we have all been there. 
The steam chess is a little tricke part of the casting to machine, but I belive that you can repare by follow the tips you have got here. 
If you can't do it, you can always order a new one from Stuart.   

[BK]

That's a real bummer mate,  but, as has been said, try the plug and redrill trick.

[mklotz]

After you've plugged the existing hole, you might want to consider turning a steel rod the diameter of the required drill, putting a point on it, and using it as a center punch to mark the plug so the drill starts at that point.

[-steves-]

After you've plugged the existing hole, you might want to consider turning a steel rod the diameter of the required drill, putting a point on it, and using it as a center punch to mark the plug so the drill starts at that point.

 Now why didn't I think if that  I was thinking, well there is no way I can centre drill it, or use a centre punch as none will fit down the hole, I just never even considered doing that, this is just a total new way of thinking 

Thank you 

[-steves-]

Right, bit of an update...

Spent the weekend doing lots of things, but found little time for my engine, but time I did find...

I managed to make the piston and the connecting rod to the crosshead, so that bits done and seems tight yet smooth. I also managed to make the main "bearings" or at least drill them out and machine them down to the correct size and bolt them in place, the good news was a bit of 9/32 bar rotated nicely in them so thats more good news.

I had turn up in the post this morning my new valve chest and the new slide vavle, as I decided it was best to give it another go and see if I can make this right as I "think" I know what mistakes i made last time, I just hope I don't repeat any of them...lol.

I also "hashed up the crankshaft, and i have my step father seeing if he can supply more heat to it and fix it, he said he will have to strip it apart and have another go. if all else fails then another order to Stuart models for some 9/32 steel bar and 2" of 3/16 x 3/8, hey ho......I reckon i should have just bought a complete spare engine at this rate, lol. Yes I can buy the bar cheaper from Ebay, but cant get a small amount of the 3/16 x 3/8 anywhere other than Stuarts

[-steves-]

Well bit of an update but without any pics tonight...

Progress so far....

Finished the cylinder off, I finally grew the necessary items to take on drilling the steam ways, and all went well, certainly better than expected. Also finished off the inlet and exhaust holes.

Started the con rod, got the top end fitted to the cross head, got the pin made to join those and all is good there. Just got to do the bottom end of the con rod to do as and when the necessary parts grow sizeably enough. Same goes for the eccentric rod and cam.

Still have the crank to finish off, though I have made all the parts, it just needs loctiting, drilling and pinning.

After that, see if the thing runs I guess, then if it does, lots of cleaning up and tidying up. All going well, should be done by the end of the year (ish, give or take)

Might post some pics up as and when I get the chance to.....

[AdeV]

Yes I can buy the bar cheaper from Ebay, but cant get a small amount of the 3/16 x 3/8 anywhere other than Stuarts

Couldn't you just buy some bigger (cheap from ebay) bar & turn it down to size? Surely cheaper than buying scrag ends from Stuarts? And good turning practice too...

If you don't already have a set of dial calipers (or digital - but dial is better, no batteries to go flat & you can read between the marks for extra accuracy) then a set is well worth getting; also, a 0-1" (or 0-25mm) micrometer would be a wise purchase too. I can't remember where you are, but if you're anywhere near Merseyside you're welcome to borrow mine in the interim.

Nice looking engine BTW... I've not dared try one yet - it's all very well doing a monster project like that sump, but there's no real "10th mm" or "thou" accuracy needed on that, not like a tiny little engine...

[-steves-]

Yes I can buy the bar cheaper from Ebay, but cant get a small amount of the 3/16 x 3/8 anywhere other than Stuarts

Couldn't you just buy some bigger (cheap from ebay) bar & turn it down to size? Surely cheaper than buying scrag ends from Stuarts? And good turning practice too...

If you don't already have a set of dial calipers (or digital - but dial is better, no batteries to go flat & you can read between the marks for extra accuracy) then a set is well worth getting; also, a 0-1" (or 0-25mm) micrometer would be a wise purchase too. I can't remember where you are, but if you're anywhere near Merseyside you're welcome to borrow mine in the interim.

Nice looking engine BTW... I've not dared try one yet - it's all very well doing a monster project like that sump, but there's no real "10th mm" or "thou" accuracy needed on that, not like a tiny little engine...

In the end I bought a few pence bit of scrap cutoff for less than a pound from a local metal dealer and turned it down in the mill to the correct size, much easier than I expected. I have re-made the crank webs now am happy, more or less, with the result, as always, you look back and think, I could have dome that better, lol.

I have a set of digital verniers, as well as a set of metric and a set of imperial micrometers, but to be fair, I am not 100% sure on how tight to clamp them to get the correct readings, so tend to stick to the digital verniers for now. I am sure I will work things out as I go along....

That sump is an amazing bit of work, very very well thought out

If I can take on a set of castings as a first project then anyone can, though the running bit remains to be seen, lol, it just might need some tweaking, who knows  I truely believe this little 10V is a brilliant learning curve on so many things, even though at times, those learning curves can be very steep as a first step....all is good

[AdeV]

On the very end of your micrometer's twist handle, there should be a smaller twisty bit which, when the anvils touch the work, should start clicking like a ratchet handle. That gives you a constant pressure, and - in theory at least - constant readings. One of my mikes is a bit on the stiff side, so the ratchet doesn't work as it should do.

If you don't have the ratchet handle on yours, get 'em sold off on eBay & buy a set that do.... Calipers are great for rough & ready readings, but when you need to be certain down to that last 0.001" (or less), then you just can't beat a micrometer.

I'm sure you'll get a runner out of this project, just don't give up until it's going! Easier said than done, I know...

Cheers!
Ade.

[-steves-]

Thanks Ade, they do indeed have those ratchet bis on, each set is a set of 4, roughly from 0 to 100mm and 0 to 4", I did wonder what they were for, they also came with some fixed length bits, which I guessed were for setting them up, but again, I had no idea how to do that or if they needed doing, I will have a play with them and see how I get on

[ncollar]

I think you are very good at following directions. Real nice build, love your write ups.
Nelson Collar