# My Baby Hit and Miss



## Tad Wicks (Aug 16, 2010)

I figured that I would post some pictures of the engine and pumping unit I built about seven years ago. It is a .75 bore and 1 inch stroke, timed ignition, atmosphere intake and runs on pump gas. All my own design, it took two years to build and one more to make it run. There are two videos also. Thanks; Tad



























[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmTtyqenWj4[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBdzb5AzMwA[/ame]


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## rudydubya (Aug 16, 2010)

Beautiful work Tad.  :bow: Did you machine it out of a solid block, or is it a casting? What sort of machinery did you use to make it? I like the way you put the governor on the opposite flywheel and transferred the action over to the other side. Clever and nicely done. Also, is that a microswitch or sensor at the end of the white wire, and what is its function? And what ignition system are you using? And the holes in the flywheels? Etc., etc. Pardon all the questions, but I'm really impressed with your work and would love to read more about it and how it was made.

Regards,
Rudy


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## bearcar1 (Aug 16, 2010)

Oh BRAVO! Tad. Well executed and such a smooth consistent runner as well. What sort of ignition did you implement in building?

BC1
Jim


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## cfellows (Aug 16, 2010)

Wow, Tad, that's a stunning build and very nice runner. Thanks for sharing.

Chuck


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## SAM in LA (Aug 16, 2010)

Tad,

Welcome aboard. wEc1

Well done.

I, like many others, would like to know all about your build.

Regards,

SAM


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## zeeprogrammer (Aug 16, 2010)

Beautiful Tad. I'd like to know more too.


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## Maryak (Aug 16, 2010)

Tad,

That sure is a very very nice engine and pump. :bow: :bow: :bow:

Best Regards
Bob


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## Tad Wicks (Aug 16, 2010)

Hi guys, I sure do appreciate the compliments. I guess I can start out by saying that I had almost no milling experience or tooling before I started on this engine so there was a lot of redoing done. I was given an old, old, old Bridgeport that had been dropped and broke the head, I brazed it all back, trued it, added DRO when Sargon had a sale, but no ballscrews and I have a 13x38 Supermax lathe. The block started out as a chunk of 1018 steel and I kinda whittled it into shape, my expertise is welding, primarily TIG welding, so I roughed the water tank, Tig welded it into place then finish machined it, the sleeve is made from a small block Chevy wrist pin, cast iron piston, ductile rings from scratch, aluminum rod, ball bearing mains, stainless valves, cast iron guides (a later addition), valve springs from guitar strings, I learned to cut gears for the timing gears and the pump jack, I made my first spark plugs from porcelain, it uses a C&H CDI with tungsten points, ( I tried an ignition from a fellow in Florida but it just would not work with points where the C&H works very well) that is the delrin block on the side of the engine with the white wire. It is just grounded through the pushrod. I tried Hall effects but they kept burning up, they would last less than a minute and I got tired of soldering them so I went to points instead which is probably the Achilles heel of the whole engine with all the oil about and very low voltage. I use 3 in1 oil for lube and it runs on pump gas. The holes in the flywheels, the flywheels started out as solid, so they were drilled for set screws and then I decided to cut spokes, that exposed the holes in the rim, the holes in the governor side are for the brass shafts that the weights slide on, they have a screw slot below the surface and thread into the hub. When I cut the spokes it made the flywheels to light so I cut them smaller and shrunk on a rim for weight, they could be a bit heavier yet, this thing makes gads of compression and it could be slowed down more yet with more rotating mass, it runs at about 900 rpms and hits about 15 revolutions, any slower though you couldn't see the pump pumping. The pump has a 2 inch stroke x .250 diameter bronze piston with teflon leathers and integral check valve, stainless polish rod, brass stuffing box with graphite string packing.The pump jack is lubricated by knurled grease cups made from .250 brass rod. The curved spokes on the pulley were cut on a rotary table and then eased by hand. The building wasn't really the big hurdle, making it run right was, it almost went in the trash on many occasions, I just had to walk away but I was finally successful. I have displayed and ran it Cabin Fever Visalia CA. 2005, WEME 2008? and Pioneer Day festivities old engine show here in Paso Robles Ca, several times. Thanks ever so much for the interest, I will be glad to answer any questions that I can. Tad


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## kustomkb (Aug 16, 2010)

Beautiful work Tad. Very nicely done!

Good stick-to-it-ivness too. :bow:


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## Troutsqueezer (Aug 16, 2010)

Very nice. I like the curved spokes very much. Do you have any plans for the pump? I've got an Upshur hit and miss underway and I wouldn't mind trying my hand at building a pump to go with it. 

-Trout


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## larry1 (Aug 17, 2010)

Tad, Great work on engine and pumpI think they are really grear. larry


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## Longboy (Aug 17, 2010)

Very nice Tad. What makes your rig stand out is not so much the H&M engine as many are seen, but the accessory's they can drive engineered by modelers to show their grunt. You can never go wrong by showing this additional eye candy! :bow:   Dave.


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## putputman (Aug 17, 2010)

Nice engine Tad. Very good runner.



> I made my first spark plugs from porcelain



I would like to hear more detail about these porcelain plugs.


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## Tad Wicks (Aug 26, 2010)

Troutsqueezer, I never did make any real drawings of the pump, or the engine, it was all done by guess and by golly, I do have the drawings for the curved spoke pulley, I would be happy to post it or send it to you. I was thinking of starting a thread on how to cut the curved spokes on a rotary table without CNC.
 Putputman, my plugs were made 10-32 thread, steel base encased porcelain. The porcelain came from a friend in Phoenix, it is a high pressure, space age, incredibly durable material. I have since changed to 10-40 thread so that I can buy my plugs, it is just a lot easier.
 I found two more videos of the engine and pump before the flywheels were altered to add extra weight to them. It ran considerably faster then. Thanks Tad


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## SAM in LA (Aug 26, 2010)

That sure is a nice setup you built.

SAM


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## GordTopps (Aug 27, 2010)

Nice work Tad :bow:

Regards
Gordy


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## Speedy (Sep 1, 2010)

very nice engine and sounds great also!
looks like it wanted to hop off the table on the second video you posted!


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