# Philp Duclos "Victorian" IC engine Project



## Cedge (Apr 30, 2009)

Winter is past and the shop is much more environmentally friendly, so the time is here to begin a project I've been studying ever since I bought the "Two Shop Masters" book at cabin fever. The book has plans for a number of engines, but this one caught my eye, so it jumped to the top of my build list. I've never messed with small IC engines until now so I'm curious as to how the project will go. You're invited to come a long as I attempt to take on the "Victorian", designed by the late Philip Duclos. 

The project began with a 4 1/2 inch piece of 6061 aluminum, faced off to length and counter bored on one end. It was them moved to the mill and two flats were added to create a set of datum points for positioning the work piece as things progressed. The piece was turned over in the vise and marked for a hole which has to be bored perpendicular to the length of the work piece. once this hole was center drilled, the work piece was moved to the lathe. A threaded hole was also placed on the "back side" which was supposed to help secure the piece to a face plate when it returned to the lathe.

Things didn't quite work out that way due to the length of the slots in my new face plate. The bolt hole couldn't be used if the work piece was to be centered on the center drilled hole. A few minutes of head scratching was under taken and a simple strap was the solution I came up with. Not extremely elegant, but at least it worked....(grin) 







Since I only have two hands and the setup required more, I enlisted the tail stock and a dead center to help hold things while they were secured and rough centered. The dead center was fitted into the center drilled hole to get things close and to apply pressure as I was securing the work piece. This got things close, but the engine will have a crank that is suspended on both ends with close tolerance sintered brass bushings. This means things have to be dead nuts or binding will become a problem... especially since the two support points are going to be located in separate and independent components. 






Once things were close to being centered on the center drilled hole, it was time to get everything where it needed to be. Since it is rather difficult to put a DTI on an irregular shaped object, I had to find a way to get a measure from a specific point of interest. In this case it was the center point of a somewhat tricky multiple step boring operation that has to run perpendicular through the length of the engine body. 

To achieve this, I employed my friendly "wiggler", mounted in the tail stock and mated to the center drilled hole. The wiggling motion gave me a fair visual reference of how far out things were, but it's almost impossible to spot which way the work piece needs to move. 






In order to get the center drilled hole perfectly centered, I used a DTI and measured the ball at the end of the wiggler. First indications were showing about .030 run total indicated run out (TIR). With a few gentle taps of the brass hammer, things quickly moved to within a couple of thousandths of the lathe centerline. The last couple of thousandths were a ticklish bit of adjustment but the final reading indicated a TIR of .0005. That should be more than close enough to work. 






The engine body is now ready to be drilled and bored. Lots of parts yet to make, so this promises to be a long thread. 

Steve


----------



## cfellows (Apr 30, 2009)

Hey Steve,

The Victorian is one of my favorites by Duclos. I'm anxious to see how this build goes!

Chuck


----------



## mklotz (Apr 30, 2009)

Steve,

I don't want to come across as a safety Nazi but I have two critiques of your setup.

I would round off the exposed square end of that strap so that, just in case, if you come in contact with it, you'll get a bump and not a laceration.

When I mount stuff to the faceplate like that, I try to arrange it such that, if things do go pear-shaped, nothing can be thrown free from the rotating plate. Instead of a block under the back of the clamp as you have, I use clamps whose riser is a bolt threaded into the back of the strap. When I do have to use blocks, I try to drill them so they can be locked down with a screw or, in extremis, a piece of safety wire or leather boot lace.

Another way to get things centered is to use the pointy end of a double-ended edge finder. This solves the problem of having a visual clue as to the direction of misalignment. (You can get a quantitative measure of the misalignment by putting a mike across the displaced parts of the edgefinder.) Even better would be a pump center with a DI bearing on it. Then you can see and measure the offset as you are correcting it.

I'll be looking forward to further details on this undertaking.


----------



## RobWilson (Apr 30, 2009)

Hi Please excuse my ignorance but what dose the engine look like ?
Rob


----------



## Cedge (Apr 30, 2009)

Marv...
Concerns and advice duly noted. Unfortunately, options were somewhat limited as to what would work and still allow the face plate to turn in the clear. I'm running the setup at about 150 rpm specifically to keep things from going awry, but you can bet I'm using all three eyes while it's in motion. I'm also consciously keeping myself as far from the chuck as is possible. I've already drilled the 1.125 opening to 1" with no slippage so I need only a light boring to finish this cut. The tricky part is in the upcoming blind bore cut needed to create a larger cavity in the center of the bore. I promise... I'll use all the caution I can muster, but everything is pretty locked down and pretty stable, so it should go well.....(counting fingers yet again)

Rob....
I thought about posting a photo of the completed engine but decided not to take the chance of violating the copyright that HMS holds. The body of the engine looks almost like Grecian vase with the water cooled cylinder mounted on the top. The front has a pair of exposed gears and the flywheel and flyball governor are supported by a separate stanchion. The plans call for a rather fancy flywheel, but mine will probably be of a bit different in design. The engine is definitely an unusual design. 

Steve


----------



## cfellows (Apr 30, 2009)

Here's a link to a picture of the Victorian built by Robert Kipp and displayed at GEARS in 2006. The Victorian is in the second row on the left.

http://216.197.127.227/Gallery/exhibitorpages/kipp.html


----------



## RobWilson (Apr 30, 2009)

Thanks Chuck , that's a great engine design, i will have to follow this post
Cheers Rob


----------



## Cedge (May 4, 2009)

After a couple of days delay due to soccer games and a local engine show, I managed to get back in the shop today, for a few minutes. 

The work piece will eventually become a contoured body for the engine which will house the crank and piston rod. This required, what was for me, a bit of a challenging bore cut. The first cut was your typical straight through bored measuring 1.125 in diameter. The outer cut will soon accept a plate with a "oilite" (sintered) bronze bushing and measures 1.8125. Neither were difficult, although the larger diameter was an interrupted cut. 

The challenge came in when the third cut was made. The cut had to be centered within the work piece, it would be 15/16 inch (.9375) wide and 1.975 (1 /78) inches in diameter. OH yeah..... it would be made completely in the blind with only a couple of witness marks and the dials to guide me. NOOOOOO Sweat....right?

The delay getting back in the shop gave me time to do some mental machining and by the time I began I felt like I had a fair grip on the procedure. The photo below shows the completed cut. 






The recently acquired boring bars offer me the ability to mount HSS cutters at 45° or at 90° and are significantly more rigid than the cheap carbide set I bought so long ago. The added plus of being able to easily adjust the cutter depth was indespensible for this particular job. The huge honking tool holder seems to help dampen vibration a bit.... even if it looks funny. 






Yeah... the cutter does look a little odd too. Duclos suggested the strange looking end grind to reduce chatter and it really did make a noticeable difference. The sides also have a tapered cutting edge which made for encountering the side walls of the cavity with very little chatter. The double edge is there because the cutter would be running to corners in both directions of travel. The "cupid bow" end minimized tool contact and further reduced chatter. This is an idea I'll be experimenting with when doing other types of bore cuts. 






For those considering doing a Duclos project, be prepared to follow his instructions to the letter. After having taken on this, my second of his tutorials, it has become obvious that he has boiled procedure down to it's essence. He offers up no wasted steps and you skip one at your own peril. He makes things as easy and common sense as they can be made. Case in point....

Since the cut is being made in the blind, he suggested using tape and a couple of witness marks to keep you in control of things. He also takes you step by step while making sure you properly zero the dials, taking into consideration the adjustments to compensate for the tool size. In short, he's been there, done that and doesn't want to abuse a newbie, but he is never condescending about it. 






From here the work piece will be transfered back the mill for a couple of steps before it comes back to the lathe for shaping. 

There were some concerns about the face plate setup. It proved to be quite stable, however, I was still quite cautious about my proximity to it and the lathe was run no higher than 180 RPM to make sure it all stayed stable. This was my first time using a face plate and I must admit it won't be my last choice anymore. It certainly offers quite a wide range of possible setups. More tools in the arsenal...eh?

Steve


----------



## Maryak (May 5, 2009)

Steve,

Faint heart never won a fair lady and you've won one here :bow:, (not me, the engine). ;D

Thanks for the tip about the tool tip must try it next time I have a chatter problem.

Best Regards
Bob


----------



## Jasonb (May 5, 2009)

The same tool profile is often suggested for working between the webs of crankshafts and I used it with good results.

I was doing a similar machining job at the weekend on the cylinder for my TE, there is an annulus around the liner for the steam to pass from the boiler to the regulator at the top of the casting, pic of the setup here

Jason


----------



## Cedge (May 5, 2009)

Managed to get the mill work done and then moved the engine body back to the lathe to begin shaping it. Contouring began with lots of rough cutting to get some generalized dimensions. I chose to free hand the contours, rather than sticking totally to Duclos's stylization. This proved to be an interesting exercise in both patience and eye hand coordination. To avoid any sharp edges ort corners, I used a rounded end cutter that is used for everyday roughing cuts. 

As you can see.....things sometimes have to get to looking pretty bad before they get better....(grin)






Here is the work piece as the foot of the engine body began to take shape. Notice the roughing cuts..... not pretty and a bit brutal, but they did move a lot of metal fast. 






Here the contour of the lower half is beginning to take on its final shape. The roughing cuts were refined a bit and then I broke out the files to fine tune things. A bit of sand paper was then used to remove the file marks. The base end was contoured first since the other end will be rounded and will no longer lend itself to being chucked in the lathe. The flat surfaces of the base will chuck just fine.






Lots to do. Gears and bushings to order, a crank to turn and a platform and support to shape before I begin the upper engine section and governor. One perfect part at a time.... one perfect part at a time.... one perf....

Steve


----------



## steamer (May 6, 2009)

Looking Great Cedge.

I've always loved that engine.

Dave


----------



## Cedge (May 6, 2009)

Today saw the engine base contouring completed and the crank bearing plate fitted. The rest of it was mostly touching up the final shape and polishing out tool marks. Not alot of excitement, but a nice feeling of accomplishment. Below are the front and rear views. If you look closely, you can also see the opening for the connecting rod in the top of the base. 

Steve


----------



## cfellows (May 6, 2009)

Holy Crap! Nice work!  :bow: :bow:

Chuck


----------



## cobra428 (May 6, 2009)

I second Cfellows emotion :bow: :bow: NICE
Tony


----------



## Maryak (May 7, 2009)

Steve,

Beautiful. :bow: :bow:

Oh to have even half your patience. :'(

Best Regards
Bob


----------



## Cedge (May 11, 2009)

Ok... more soccer games, mother's day and then it was back in the shop to have some more fun. The "Victorian" has a separate bearing support which is spaced some distance from the main engine body. The control mechanics, such as the governor, cam and gears occupy this space, along with the flywheel. 

Duclos offered up a drawing for this support, but the engine I see in my mind's eye wanted something a little less busy while offering a clean view of the flywheel though the support. As is the case with most things I build, changes begin to creep into the design so that the finished engine is "mine". Bogstandard once brought this into focus when he told me to never doggedly follow the drawing, but to use it as a spring board. Basically, the critical dimensions are to be respected , but changes are fair game anywhere that they won't effect proper operation of the finished engine. This idea fits my creative process, so no apologies if my engine is not a "true Duclos Victorian".... eh?

The process began with several sketched ideas to test the style I'd want. I used a piece of aluminum of a similar width to that which I'd be using to machine the piece and drew my ideas with a pencil. They ranged from more complex than the original to quite a bit more simplified. The sketch shown below won out in the end. Even then it was to change in details as I watched it emerging from the metal.






The next step was to lay out the work piece. I did this in the vise, using the DRO and the wiggler point to locate the critical points such as the bearing location and screw holes for the ignition points. The circular lines were then marked out accommodate these points while creating the look I wanted. 






Once the mark up was complete, I used the 5/8 end mill to cut the various radii, giving me escape spaces for the smaller end mill I'd be using to cut the circular lines. 






Since a lot of metal needed to be removed and being a bit on the lazy side, I used the carbide saw and trimmed away the excess metal. This cut down on the number of passes the cuts would require, which is more than a blessing when using a manual rotary table






The center point of the main curves were drilled 3/16 to fit the dowel pins I use to index things on my handy dandy manual rotary/indexing/rounding table. After centering the table in the vise, the work piece was placed on the dowel pin and clamped down atop a two pieces of lathe tool blanks. These are ideal for use as spacers and give plenty of clearance for the end mill to penetrate or cut below the lower edge of the work. 






The photo below shows the work piece after the external and internal curves were cut. The piece is centered on the upper head of the support, where the bushing will eventually fit. Light cuts were used to keep control of things and to get the best finish possible so that final edge sanding and filing would hopefully be minimal. 






The plans call for using 1/2 inch aluminum for the support, but one of the changes I wanted to incorporate was a flared "foot" at the bottom. I chose to use a piece of 3/4 in. metal to allow the change. Since I intend to hide the attaching screws beneath the base, there was no need to give them a flat puchase. This allowed me to use a 1/2 in radius router bit to cut a .125 deep contour at the bottom. making the edge come to a sharp edge which would easily blend into the base. 

The photo below shows the piece after the contour had been cut and the flycutting operation was in progress to resize the majority of the metal to the called for 1/2 inch thickness. This process allowed me to smoothly transition from a flat surface to the flared foot with a minimum of hand work.






Here is the support, shown during a quick mock up to check elevations. I'll be installing the bronze bushing once the final tool mark removal is completed. You can clearly see the flare and the "foot blending" idea. It might not suit everyone, but I think this piece is a step in the right direction if I'm going to personalize the engine anyway.







Steve


----------



## steamer (May 11, 2009)

I like it Steve!

I like that rotary table too....did you make that?

Dave


----------



## arnoldb (May 11, 2009)

Really looking very nice Steve :bow:
Regards, Arnold


----------



## bearcar1 (May 11, 2009)

Steve, that piece of artful creativity just knocks me out! It has the Art Deco look about it and I think will lend itself quite nicely to the overall Victorian theme of that unusual engine. Well done, BRAVO!! Thm: :bow:

BC1


----------



## cfellows (May 11, 2009)

All I can say, Steve, is masterfully done!

Chuck


----------



## Cedge (May 11, 2009)

Thanks for the encouraging words, guys. They'll be needed as this one progresses....(grin)

So far no major road blocks beyond a couple of misprinted dimensions, but I've spotted all but one in time to move the location. Luckily, it looks like it won't hinder anything and there is already a plan B if it does. 

Still lots of parts and pieces to make, but I've got the general idea of how things are supposed to work together, so maybe it will all go well. No one part is all that difficult, but, dear god, the thing sure has a bunch of them. It looks like the crank and con rod will be the next pieces to get made....a rather long single piece crank instead of the multi piece versions I'm used to.

Steamer
I'd be lost without my handy little table. It sprang to life last year after Marv Klotz shared a similar tool, he'd made, with the board. I took that basic idea and ran with it to make the one you see in the photo. It's quick to set up, lets me do many of the things a standard worm driven rotary table would, including indexed hole patterns on the mill. Not quite as critical as it once was since the new DRO has the bolt hole pattern function built in. 

BC1...
Thanks for the feedback. You voiced exactly what I hoped I was achieving. You assured me it was happening.

Steve


----------



## gilessim (May 12, 2009)

Very nice work there Steve, as always, I have one question (may sound stupid!) but with the wiggler point, do you have it spinning and then pull down on it to mark the points, or is it stationary?, I have one and I've never thought of using it like that!

Giles


----------



## georgeseal (May 12, 2009)

Giles,
You can use it either way with everything stationary it will just point to where you want.
If you have a center punch mark and bring the centered, spinning point into the hole then with draw it should be still concentric.
If it is spinning in a small arch then you are not centred on the hole

Hope this helps


----------



## Cedge (May 12, 2009)

George's technique is an expansion on what I did in the photos. I used the needle with the mill turning about 500 rpm to pin point the critical locations and then I dropped the quill down so the needle "drilled" a mark. I then used a standard compass to scribe the circles. 

The reason for spinning the wiggler is that your eye can detect even the tiniest of movements. When the needle stops wiggling, it's dead on centered with the chuck or collet. Then you can lower the quill and the needle will "drill" the mark accurately.

I've found all sorts of uses for the wiggler of late, although I've not used it to scribe circular marks.... yet. 

Steve


----------



## Cedge (May 16, 2009)

Whew.... its been a good week. After visiting with John, Tom and John, the newly found gang of local model engine machinists, I was chuffed when got back in the shop on Thursday and began to tackle a job I'd never done, using some tools I hardly ever use and some new tricks yet to be discovered. 

I needed a crank shaft and this Duclos guy said it needed to be a solid one piece version. To make things even more challenging, I've decided to add a couple of items to his design, one of which the motor will need to drive. This meant instead of ending up with an abbreviated "L" shaped crank, I'd be making a more difficult but more conventional -U- type with a one inch throw. Did I mention that one length of the shaft on this thing is nearly a full 6 inches long or that it has to align within .001 across 3 different bushings? 

Since I had exactly no hot roll flat stock, I wound up using a 1 inch piece of Drill Rod....Silver Steel, for you UK guys. The long shafts would have to be turned to .375 +.002/-.000. so we're talking seemingly endless interrupted cuts over a nearly 10 inch steel rod, with no going over the mark allowed. No pressure..... for a first time attempt..... eh?

After a bit of head scratching, I broke out the dreaded 4 jaw chuck. In fairness, I only dreaded the 4 jaw because it was so difficult to change over when I was using the mini lathe. I'd learned any number of work around tricks to avoid the hassles of installation. The new C4 lathe has adequate room to easily access the chuck so that excuse was no longer valid. I decided to conquer my bias and get used to using the darned thing. 

It took a bit of experimentation to get a feel for how much the jaws moved when adjusted, but my trusty Dial indicator and DTI soon had the 1 inch Drill Rod centered and then properly offset for cutting the specified dimensions. The cutting began with the long 6 inch shaft section. I've seen photos of any number of crashed crankshaft projects, so I wanted all the support I could get on the chuck end of things. That long shaft looked much longer when the cutting tool began to draw first blood.







Interrupted cuts can be a little unpredictable, even when working in close to the chuck. Step out a ways from that safe haven and things can go pear shaped real fast and real bad if you get too aggressive. I kept the cuts fairly light until the interrupt was down to a minimum. I can tell you there was a sigh of relief when the cutter stopped thumping and began cutting a nice smooth 1/2 inch round shaft. 

It's always good to spot a moment where things are still fixable. This photo shows just such a moment. With plenty of metal yet to be removed to reach the .375 goal, I stopped off the machine and broke out the Micrometer to check the setup for any taper. All was well with a measured taper of .0013. Still time to make a correction if needed, however I chose to leave the problem for the polishing stage that would come later.






Once the long section was turned down to dimension, the short section near the chuck was undertaken. It was a much more stable work zone and the cut went quickly. I learned that the dials on this lathe are a lot more trust worthy than my smaller one. Less backlash and the additional mass greatly add to the confidence levels. 






Once removed from the lathe, a quick trip to the bad saw removed the large end pieces so the shaft could be test fitted to the Engine body and the support. This also allowed me to prove my modifications would still work in the blind well described earlier in thus thread. The good news is all things are as the should be. The crank lobes have close but adequate clearance and the two bushings are dead on. 






The next cut began with me holding my breath. The interrupted cuts were taken in light passes until things began to decrease in violence. The thin shafts were not making me feel any better about my chances of success, but I kept cutting, thinking each pass could be the one that turned things into a pretzel. Here is my solution to the problem. 






Since the shafts on this crank were so long, I chose to use a trick I learned on this board some time ago. Rather than try to trust the project to the 4 jaw and end up with no way to support the long section, I made up an offset turning jig so that I could work close to the chuck and still keep the other end supported. this would give me a bit more stability which would hopefully prevent a crash and burn. I would be working within a confined space, not too different from doing a cut off and making some potentially nasty interrupted cuts with a lot less metal keeping things together. 






The jig was made on the mill and the hole was placed at .500 from the center. The screws were added to lock things down and worked like a champ. The long end was supported with a similar jig which I center drilled to give the center a purchase and prevent any chance of the end whipping about under the stress of the thumping and bumping such a cut creates. The screws have small brass tabs to prevent the shaft from being scarred. 






Once again the loss of the infernal thumping signaled that the cutter was now past the gap and cutting a nice smooth round. The sense of relief was strong as I began to move in on the desired dimension of .375. 






A bit of filing edges and some clean up on the lathe were then the order of the hour. The crank looked cool inside the engine body and proved to be completely usable as modified.... so far....(grin).

Steve


----------



## kustomkb (May 16, 2009)

Looking really nice, very artistic!

Thats quite the chunk of metal to swing like that 

What RPM did you run at?


----------



## Maryak (May 16, 2009)

Steve,

Yet another way to machine a crankshaft. :bow: How difficult was it to set up the jig on the tailstock end so that all was in parallel. ???

Best Regards
Bob


----------



## itowbig (May 16, 2009)

i like those jigs must make some looking good


----------



## BRI (May 16, 2009)

Wow thats some nice work Bri


----------



## Cedge (May 16, 2009)

Thanks guys.... having you looking over my shoulder is actually helping the project along. 

Kevin
The long shaft was turned at speed ranging from 100 at the start to 150 rpm as things began to smooth out. The independent power feed was a real blessing since it took quite a number of light passes to keep it all from going pear shaped. The journel cut actually went pretty well with beginning a speed 125 rpm and finishing up around 250. 

Bob
I cant take credit for the jig idea. It was posted here on the board long ago. My only additional contribution was the tail stock support. It was actually easy to align since the work piece was mounted solidly in the chuck. All I had to do is leave the screws loose on the shaft and line up the center drilled hole with the dead center point. Then I gently secured it and checked the shaft with my dial indicator to make sure all was straight. I might have just been lucky, but I didn't have to readjust it.

Itow....
I thought about making several up to accept different sizes of cranks, but then it dawned on me that as many as I might try to cover, the next one I make would probably not be a size I'd planned for. I'll just make them as I need them.

I took tonight off and went to a minor league baseball game. What a waste... all I did was sit there thinking about how I was going to mod the con rod that the extra crank section will require....(grin)

Steve


----------



## steamer (May 17, 2009)

Looking great! 

Dave


----------



## Cedge (May 18, 2009)

I'm still simmering the ideas on the con rod, but it hasn't slowed progress on the engine. There are plenty of parts to make while I'm finalizing it's design. 

Having met some local model machinists of recent, I learned one of them likes cutting gears. I approached him about the gears for this engine and he's agreed to cut them if I supply him with required gear blanks. Hopefully we'll get together later this week and I can learn a bit about it. 

The instructions for the Victorian give information based on ordered gears and fitting a cam ring to them, however Duclos hinted at making a single piece cam/gear if once could cut one's own gears. With that in mind, I took off in that direction.

The gear blanks were first turned on the lathe to match the given specs. I chose to use brass instead of steel for visual contrast against the aluminum. I needed one with 56 teeth at 1 13/16 diameter and another at 15/16 diameter with 28 teeth. 












After carefully hitting the required diameter for both sizes, the larger blank was moved top the mill and securely placed on the manual rotary table. Now how does one cut a 247 degree arc on a manual indexing tool? DRO to the rescue. The piece was centered and the first cam ramp was to be milled at the "Zero" angle on a given radius. To do this, I asked the DRO to create a bolt circle with a beginning point of 0°. Once the first ramp point was milled, I then asked for another bolt circle with a beginning point of 247° at the same radius. I couldn't have asked for easier and I learned something new.

The results can be seen in the photo below. The points were gently milled to round the edges and a file smoothed it all out. A roller will follow the inner circle and will actuate a lever when it rides up on the raised came section. This will eventually control the exhaust valve on the engine







Again, everything gets a test fitting. The bushings will be getting trimmed and once the teeth are on the gear blanks they will mesh for alignment. Things seem to be moving relatively quickly on this project right now, but I'm keeping all my fingers crossed.

Steve


----------



## Cedge (May 21, 2009)

The Victorian project begins to take on the look of an engine as the cylinder is fitted to the base. The cylinder will be water cooled, so there will be a water jacket yet to be fitted to the outer flanges. 

Turning the cylinder was pretty straight forward, although cutting the Durabar gray cast iron took a bit of experimenting to find out what the metal liked. I found a sharp HSS cutter and low RPM gave me the best results. Chatter was a bit of a bear in the confined area of the lower neck, but file finishing the cast iron was easy and rendered up a nice contour. 






Even with a good set of boring bars, the bore of the cylinder will have tiny ridges that will create friction and wear on the piston rings. In order to prevent this, lapping the bore is a must. I used a softer metal for the lapping hone, in this case, copper being the metal of choice. The bore of the cylinder is .750 inches so the 5/8 copper plumbing pipe made a convenient sized lap and was long enough to give good control. It is an inexpensive section of repair pipe from the local Ace Hardware store and a handy source of copper for various other uses as well. 

The abrasive I used is a metal polish containing microscopic grit called MAAS. I've used it for finish polishing metals ranging from aluminum and brass to cast iron and stainless with excellent results. 

By running the lathe at about 400 RPM and keeping the lap moving at all times, the bore quickly smoothed out. The copper pipe felt as if the bore had huge ridges, even though none were visible. As these invisible ridges disappeared, the copper lap began to feel silky smooth, as I moved it back and forth within the bore. A thorough cleaning to remove any remaining grit followed and is a step not to be skipped. 






Here is the final product of the lapping process. It took less than 10 minutes and will give the cast iron piston rings a nice even surface upon which to seat. 






As I said before, its beginning to look a little more like an engine and less like a steam punk funeral urn...(grin)






Steve


----------



## bearcar1 (May 21, 2009)

Now THAT, is going to be a beauty!!! Uncle Fester, rest his soul, would be proud. ;D Just make sure he isn't inside when you're finished. Rof} Truly an outstanding example of art combined with mechanics.


BC1


----------



## hitandmissman (May 21, 2009)

That is coming along great and will make a fine addition to your collection.


----------



## Cedge (May 25, 2009)

Things have been moving along nicley and I'm learning all sorts of new things from this project. The Victorian requires a pair of spur gears with a ratio of 2:1. I considered several options to supply them and friends like Tim (Zuesrekining) graciously offered their help, if needed. The options ranged from a simple online order (to easy) to having a local friend cut them (involute cutters are damned expensive). I finally chose to cut my own gears using Duclos' instructions for single tooth cutting technique. Thanks go to George Seal for pointing me to the references in his first book.

I recently acquired a small rotary table, complete with an indexing plate, neither of which I've used until now. It's too small for much serious work, but the MT2 taper was perfect for using my tail stock drill chuck to hold a mandrel, so onto the mill table it went. Things were a little crowded with both the vise and the RT, but it was workable.






After cutting a practice gear in aluminum, it was time to get serious. The cam gear blank was mounted and the first cut was begun. It would require several passes of 56 cuts, so patience was the order of the day. The tiny cutter is shown mounted in the flat angle fly cutter I made up to hold the tool. The blank has just begun to receive the first round of cuts. The cutter mimics an involute cutter but is less critical than required for the high level of accuracy of what are rather expensive commercial cutters. (one quote was $120.00 for the needed pair)






As thing progressed, making the gears was proving to be feasible. The photo below shows the gear getting it's second pass. There were two gears to cut, one with 56 teeth and another with 28. 






The gears were on and off the mill several times for testing and then returned to fine tune the cuts. I mentioned patience.... the excitement sags a bit after 5 or 6 times around a 56 tooth gear. The routine of make a cut, reset the hole count scissors on the RT, lock out the indexing pin, count off the complete turns and then settle the indexing pin in its new hole.... well you get the picture. 

Here is the almost final test fitting. I say final because this is where the first required remake of a part came about. Just after this photo was taken I moved the small gear back to the mill to take off another .003 inches to chase away the last of the binding between the pair. 3/4 of the way around the blank I managed to drop count on the completed turns of the RT and planted the cutter dead center of a tooth. Scratch one gear. It was SOOOOOOoooooo close to being finished. Nope.... no throwing, but I did vent a bit. At least it wasn't the cam gear. That one would have really hurt. Tomorrow, I'll cut a new blank and go back at it.






The photo below shows the gears and the cylinder's new water jacket. (thanks Tim... your help with the arbor press was a life saver) The cylinder head is likely to be the next major project, along with the piston and the idea I've gotten for con rod. 








Steve


----------



## ksouers (May 25, 2009)

Steve,
I can see this is going to be another beautiful engine!
Sorry about the gear. If it's any consolation I'd have messed both of them up. A couple times.


----------



## shred (May 25, 2009)

There's not some trick you can play like feeding in one of the other axes per notch to avoid excess trips around the RT? I don't know if that would be preferable or not however, not having cut my own gears.


----------



## ChooChooMike (May 26, 2009)

cfellows  said:
			
		

> Here's a link to a picture of the Victorian built by Robert Kipp and displayed at GEARS in 2006. The Victorian is in the second row on the left.
> 
> http://216.197.127.227/Gallery/exhibitorpages/kipp.html


WOW !! Robert Kipp has some beautiful engines shown on that page !! :bow:

Here's the Victorian image :




I love the Fairbanks Morse one too :


----------



## Maryak (May 26, 2009)

Steve,

A support collar behind the gear and a centre support on the front will help to cut the gear in one pass, which is the way I was taught, even with a single point cutter and even on steel gears. 

All the burrs etc. are then removed once only. Mating the gears is best done with brasso.

Hope this helps. ??? ???

Best Regards
bob


----------



## Cedge (May 26, 2009)

Bob
Okay... I'll admit I'm often a bit of a skeptic and being my first gears, I naturally took the cautious approach. After posting the loss of the first small gear, I chucked up new metal and managed to eat a second one, while making multiple mind numbing passes. Since the setup was already at the depth I wanted to reach, I decided to put your suggestion to the test. I made the cuts in one pass. 

It worked like a champ and the cutter didn't seem to care that it was doing a bit of heavier lifting. It actually gave a much cleaner cut with far less burring and flash to deal with. The gears are now nicely messed and the metal polish is quickly working the burrs out and things are getting smoother. Success is not far away. All I can say is thank you for the push. 

Steve


----------



## Maryak (May 26, 2009)

Steve,

Glad it worked :big: :big: :big:

Best Regards
Bob


----------



## bearcar1 (May 26, 2009)

Could you please give a short synopsis of the use of 'Brasso' to bed/seat the gears Please. I have never had the occasion (read: courage) to cut a gear. How is the polish applied to the gear set and how is it bedded? I apologize for the sidebar, but I am curious and just know that the time for my having to perform this task is approaching rapidly.

Thank you

BC1
Jim


----------



## Cedge (May 26, 2009)

Jim
Cutting the gears leaves a bit of burring on the teeth and in the gaps. Once the gears are meshed, you can feel the friction / binding they cause in the fit. Bob uses Brasso while I used a metal polish called MAAS, which has a bit of microscopic grit in it. Simply apply the stuff onto the gear teeth and run them against each other. Right now I'm doing it by hand, but will later turn them slowly under power so that they can finish lapping (bedding) against each other. It will soon create a nice smooth running fit. 

Having a fine metal polish in the shop is almost like having another right hand. It can be used for all sorts of fine finishing. I use it not only for polishing metals, but also for lapping bores, lapping surfaces and removing scratches from my plastic lens glasses. Crest tooth paste is also good for these things, if you have nothing better. 

Steve


----------



## bearcar1 (May 26, 2009)

Thanks Steve, that makes sense and I had an idea that is what was happening but having zero previous experience in the matter, had no idea as to exactly the method was performed. I hope that when the time comes I will be able to have remembered that small trick.

BC1
Jim


----------



## deere_x475guy (May 27, 2009)

I am absolutely in awe Steve that parts are looking great.

Enjoyed the chat this evening and looking forward to talking again.

Bob


----------



## steamer (May 27, 2009)

Steve,

Great job!, your well on the way!

Dave


----------



## Cedge (May 29, 2009)

You guys are still here?....LOL Okay we'll keep going. It's a little hard to stop when you know you're being watched. 

The project cleared a couple of hurdles over the past two days. The rings were turned from the remaining small piece of Durabar cast iron and then I launched off into uncharted waters. Cutting the rings was no big deal. Lots of care was taken to get the dimensions right and the end product was 2 small rings measuring .750 x .0625 with a wall thickness of .0312. That is 1/32 of an inch for those who are still getting used to decimals. The darned things even felt fragile. 

Now.... the rings had to be split. Thank the gods for good advice from a local friend and machinist who builds IC engines. On my recent visit, he showed me a couple of tricks I didn't know I needed. One was the easy way to split a cast iron ring that looks like it would fall part under any sort of stress. The photo below shows how the the ring splitting was done. It was slipped over the end of a MT2 taper and then gently struck with a piece of brass. It split cleanly and happened so fast that at first I thought the piece had broken. 

The photos were taken after the rings had been completed, so bear with me when you see the gaps are already opened.







The other trick my friend John shared with me was his method for heat treating the rings to prevent warping or uneven heating. He showed me his little aluminum "can" that he made for just that purpose. The rings needed to be expanded so they will spring against the cylinder walls. This is done by placing a spacer in the gap and then placing the rings inside the "can" and closing the lid. The can was then placed in the kitchen oven at 500° for an hour and then left to cool, unopened. The aluminum spreads the heat evenly and cools the same way, preventing warp and relieving any stress the machining might have induced.






Once the rings were cool, the ends of the gaps were filed to allow the rings to fit within the cylinder bore with .003 left in the gap for what I assume is expansion clearance. The end result was a beautiful fit. The piston was then turned and the grooves were cut to fit the original inner diameter of the rings, plus .001 (who really cuts a .0005 pass on a hobby lathe?) The copper wire in the ring groove is there to keep the piston from disappearing down the cylinder bore while I'm handling it.






I then moved back to the lathe to turn the basic shape of the modified connecting rod. Once the contour was as I wanted it, the piece was moved to the mill to give it the flat surfaces. Yes.... I know the vice is more stable in the middle and yep... that small end is probably a great place for a machinist jack, but I was only removing .010 per pass for a total take of .0625. No harm, no foul.... and it worked out fine. The big end was still very firmly attached to a nice solid supportive piece of brass hex bar which.






The big end got the same treatment, along cuts for the bolt heads. The piece was then cut off the hex bar before drilling the end cap bolt holes. Brass was chosen for the connecting rod due it's wear properties, since the crank design made installing a bushing impractical. 






The big end was made longer than its final configuration so it could be cut away. The end cap bolt holes were drilled prior to the separation so things could be cleanly re-mated. My handy dandy carbide saw blade made easy work of the cut. The setup is much more stable then it appears and the blade was introduced slowly and advanced into the cut in quite small increments. A final pass with an end mill put the mating surface to rights and once bolted together, let me drill and ream the journal bearing surface in the proper spot. 






The con rod was then fitted to the crank shaft for a test fit and with a bit of oil, proved to be spot on. Just enough friction to let me know it was a good fit and little enough to allow for an easy lapping fit with a bit of metal polish, just to slick it all up.






Another couple of steps out of the way. The piston and con rod will get some attention tomorrow as the wrist pin is fitted and the crank is tested int he crank case. I'm a wee bit concerned that the modification to the con rod might require some clearance adjustments to the inner bore, but that remains to be seen. Tomorrow should tell more of that story, as some of the assembly process begins in earnest. 

Steve


----------



## Maryak (May 29, 2009)

Very nice Steve, :bow:

To heat or not to heat piston rings. Let's not go there. You had a good result :bow: and it's a well proven method.

Best Regards
Bob


----------



## steamer (May 29, 2009)

Steve,

Looking great and going quite fast!

I'm intriqued with your ring splitter technique.  Did you hit the ring radially or axially?

Dave


----------



## gbritnell (May 29, 2009)

Steve, everything is coming along great. No matter how long I have been doing this I still learn tips and tricks from everyone. Great photo work also.
gbritnell


----------



## Cedge (May 29, 2009)

Bob... 
If you noticed, I went out of my way not to recommend heat treating the rings. I simply said "I" needed to heat treat mine....(grin). I too have seen that old saw get out way of hand on other boards.

Dave...
You want to strike it axially so it rides further down the taper. Pressure stays even around the ring and it splits cleanly at a point of its own choosing. I simply assume that point was the weakest.

GB...
Thanks for the kudos. I'm glad someone else is learning too. I certainly am. Many of the tricks used in this project were firsts here. 

My concerns for the crank proved out. The big end bolts are going to need a wee bit more room to clear the walls of the crank case. It looks like a small adjustment in a couple of places will put things right, but I've yet to reassemble it all just yet. I want to fit the piston first, so the con rod stays centered in its normal orbit. That should tell the rest of the story. Nothing major... just the sort of tweaking that any project requires.... so far....(grin).

Steve


----------



## Cedge (May 31, 2009)

No major parts made this weekend, as I began fitting things together so they work properly together and catching some of the small items, like spacers, that I've needed to make, up to this point. 

The crank case was relieved enough to miss the crank bolts and the crank now clears the walls for a nice smooth rotation. I can highly recommend having a rotary file bit in your tool box. It saved me hours of hand filing work in awkward places and positions. 

Once those thing were all taken care of, it was time to assemble the parts and pieces in a semi permanent state. The photo below shows the connecting rod installed along with the temporary piston. Installing it became almost second nature while the crank case was being expanded. It was a little tricky since the end cap had to be held onto the crankshaft with a piece of copper wire while the nuts were being inserted from the top of the engine base. The copper wire was then removed to allow things to rotate. 






The gears still needed to be bedded in, so once the cylinder was fitted back on the base and the small gear was secured tot he shaft, it was time to see just how well things were really fitting. The little engine was placed on the lathe bed and the crank shaft was secured in the three jaw chuck to give it a spin. Since the lowest speed on my lathe is 100 rpm, that is where things began. The final run speed was at 500 RPM and if you look closely, the camera shows no hint of vibration in base. Smooth as silk.






The whole process took a while, with several grades of polishing materials being used. I began with a gray stick compound which is typically used for quick scratch removal and as things began to settle in, progressed to my preferred finishing polish, called MAAS. It's similar to Flitz or Semi-chrome and leaves a super fine finish without leaving unwanted grit behind during clean up. A bit of cutting oil was added to the mix just to make sure there was enough lubrication to prevent any chance of binding as the metal worked against itself. The gray slurry in the photo is oil and MAAS after about 30 minutes of run time at about 500 rpm. The gears are now feel close enough to finished to attempt to run the engine when the time comes. 






Even with the temporary piston and no rings, the engine is already proving to have very good compression. After a squirt of light oil into the bore I placed my thumb over the hole and was delighted to see strong spray of oil mist escape as the compression easily lifted my digit and them sucked it back hard enough to leave an imprint of the bore on the thumb pad. 

The bearing cover was drilled and bolted in position using 4-40 hex head cap screw. Like others on the board, I dislike using socket head screws on an engine like this one. It just deserves better.






Tomorrow, I'm off in search of band saw blades. The last one in the place gave up the ghost while cutting the material for the cylinder head. That certainly slowed progress a bit.....(grin). Hopefully, I'll be back in the shop later tonight to at least begin gathering materials for the governor build. 

Steve


----------



## zeeprogrammer (May 31, 2009)

Wow!

And thanks for the discussion on polishing.


----------



## bearcar1 (Jun 1, 2009)

That's going to wind up a PoM for certain when it is finished. Anyone want to make any wagers to that effect? ;D Beautiful work, disgusting how simple you make it look, but beautiful just the same. Thm: Thm:

BC1

Jim B.


----------



## Cedge (Jun 2, 2009)

Today I gambled a bit and took on a project that saw the cam gear back on the mill for a bit of careful, and I do mean careful, modifications. With all the work in making it one piece, cutting the gear and running it in for smooth operation, this step could have burned a whole lot of work. 

The cam on the rear of the gear actuates a rod which controls the exhaust valve in conjunction with the governor. A roller runs inside the rim of the cam side of the gear which rides up on the cam when the engine is ready for a power stroke. This action is somewhat hidden in the original design, so I decided to reveal things a bit so the action can be seen. 

The operation began with some careful calculations and a couple of drawings, just to prove the idea was going to fit in the limited space and accommodate the cam. Once everything checked out, the gear was placed on the rotary indexer and drilled for creating six spokes.






As thing progressed, it didn't look much like spokes, but everything was fitting where it was supposed to be and unwanted metal was disappearing at a nice pace. 






The whole gear is about the size of a silver dollar and the interior of the cam ring is a radius of only 3/4 inch and drops to 19/32 inch where the cam runs along the rim. Did I mention that the central hub robs both dimensions of 1/4 inch radius? Like I said, things were tight and large movements were not on the menu. As The last cut was made and 6 small spokes emerged, I got the chance to breathe again.






Once the gear was off the mill, I began hand filing the spokes to reshape and contour the corners and edges. I enjoy file work and the time it gives me to think ahead consider any other changes I want to add. The session was quite peaceful and soon the small gear was taking on a nice old fashioned look. Three of the spokes were completely independent and were quickly knocked out. The remaining three were a bit more of a puzzle. The one center of the cam is heavily attached the cam by about half the thickness of the spoke. This required some very delicate file work, especially since half of the spoke was embedded in a solid mass. 

The outer two spokes just miss the ramp to the cam and gave little room to maneuver. This is where patience and a steady hand come in handy. 






Here is the reverse side, showing the cam and the embedded spoke. Now all it needs is a bit of final polishing to improve on the current hand filed finish. 






I think the results were worth all the sweat and the open look should make the engine even more interesting to watch when it's running. Ya just gotta love a good challenge like this one....(grin)






Steve


----------



## arnoldb (Jun 3, 2009)

Now that's "gearing up"  Well Done Steve :bow:


----------



## gbritnell (Jun 3, 2009)

Great work on the cam gear Steve. It adds character to the engine.
gbritnell


----------



## steamer (Jun 3, 2009)

Oh I like that! ;D :bow:

Dave


----------



## PhillyVa (Jun 3, 2009)

Man I really like that :bow: peek-a-boo look :bow:

Regards

Philly


----------



## Maryak (Jun 3, 2009)

Steve,

Your a braver man than I. Congratulations on a very successful mod which has really enhanced the look of the engine. :bow: :bow:

Best Regards
Bob


----------



## cfellows (Jun 5, 2009)

Very nice touch to add the spokes!  How come you didn't make them curved spokes???? :big:

Chuck


----------



## deverett (Jun 6, 2009)

Cedge

It has been a while since I last read of your progress, and have just managed to catch up on how you are making out with your project. Like everyone else, I am in awe of the quality of the work.



			
				Cedge  said:
			
		

> ... lapping the bore is a must. I used a softer metal for the lapping hone, in this case, copper being the metal of choice. The bore of the cylinder is .750 inches so the 5/8 copper plumbing pipe made a convenient sized lap and was long enough to give good control...



One question about the laping: You are using a 5/8" copper tube as the lap in a 3/4" bore. What did you do to get a good fit with the tube in the bore? Would you mind please explaining your lapping process for the dunces around here.

Dave
The Emerald Isle


----------



## Cedge (Jun 11, 2009)

Dave
Sorry for the delay in responding... for some reason I simply missed your post. Lapping doesn't require a snug fit to work. In fact a snug fit could cause binding in the bore. I want the softer metal to make contact with the bore at a single point so that I can control the action. All the lapping is for is to remove the tiny grooves the cutting tool left, so single point contact with the polishing compound works great. 

Steve


----------



## Cedge (Jun 11, 2009)

I got a phone call, today, chiding me for the long silence on this thread....(grin). Worry not.... I've been steady at it, between taking care of family obligations and attending small local weekend tractor and engine shows, so without further delay....here goes.

This installment begins with a slug of rather ugly cast iron which was turned oversized to allow me a bit of room for creativity. I'm steadily drifting away from the original Victorian design, more and more, as I add small touches of my own. The critical dimensions are still those Duclos prescribed, but the devil is in the details of the final product.... as you will soon see. 







That slug of iron is the genesis for the engine's cylinder head. The first attempt went well, right up to the moment I was counter drilling flat spots to seat the acorn nuts I'd chosen to use instead of socket head bolts. I'd already completed a lot of polishing and hand finish work when I was bitten on the arse by an old adage. Measure twice and cut once. Add in the mistake of seeing one end mill with my eyes and my hand grabbing the next larger one and things went pears shaped.... real fast. I managed to open an unwanted hole directly into the combustion chamber, ruining hours of work. This is why you'll possibly notice two versions of the head in the photos. 

The photo below shows the head from the bottom side where the combustion chamber and the valves can be seen. The valves are 5/16 inch in diameter and 1 1/32 inches long. The seat angle is 45° and only 1/16 inch in length. Yep.... we're working tiny here. The valves were successfully lapped and the cast iron cooperated, giving me a nice tight seal. Too bad, this head would sadly die only half an hour later...(grin). 






Here you see the cylinder head from the top, with the valves in place. You also get a first peek at the newly reshaped water jacket and cylinder. More on that change to he original version in a moment. 






Sometimes, serendipity or perhaps, even more rarely seen, synchronicity enter the picture. The tulip contour, along with the need for a little added metal in one section of the head lead to several interesting "obstacles". The use of a ball end mill along the corners of all vertical areas also added to the fun. The Tulip shape required a bit of an under cut to the bottom edge of the head. When everything combined, the end result was a series of odd looking edge lines around the head, once it was turned back to the final dimensions. 

None of this was predicted when the cutting began.... it just came to be as things progressed. The photo below shows the end results. I typically do a lot of hand filing to get the look I like, so my first thought was "no biggie... it can be filed away". As the filing began, some very nice clean flowing lines began to present themselves to my eye. They were pleasing in a natural sort of way so I began to try to figure out how to use them instead of removing them. I liked the results and they are now part of the design. No straight edges in my world...(grin)






Once again, the obligatory test fit photo..... (grin). The valve springs and keepers are now in place, all the head ports are drilled or threaded and the acorn nuts are installed. The head will have a lot of brass attached to it as the carburetor, muffler, oiler and the cam roller assembly, so I toned the head down a bit after it was all  polished. It received a gun blue treatment which was then lightened to a "Hematite" silver using a gentle 0000 steel wool rub. The lower neck was also given a bluing, but left darker to help highlight the tulip contour.






As I mentioned early on, this engine is destined to become "my" engine, but will remain a tribute to the skills and generosity of Philp Duclos. I dunno.... but I think he just might approve... eh?

Steve


----------



## bearcar1 (Jun 11, 2009)

th_confused0052 That is one beautiful piece of creativity that is becoming a work of art!! Holy Cow, that just rocks late 1800's. Good gosh man, I'm having brain cramps over a simple mechanism and you're generating that type of out of this world artisanship. I think I will take up another hobby, I am so envious. :toilet: BRAVO!!!!


Cheers
BC1
Jim


----------



## radfordc (Jun 11, 2009)

Cedge  said:
			
		

> Dave
> Sorry for the delay in responding... for some reason I simply missed your post. Lapping doesn't require a snug fit to work. In fact a snug fit could cause binding in the bore. I want the softer metal to make contact with the bore at a single point so that I can control the action. All the lapping is for is to remove the tiny grooves the cutting tool left, so single point contact with the polishing compound works great.
> 
> Steve



What a BFO (blinding flash of the obvious). I had never considered that a "single point" lap would work. Thanks for the tip.

Charlie


----------



## Cedge (Jun 11, 2009)

Jim
Thank you for the kind words. Keep in mind that just over three years ago, I'd never even touched the dials on a machine, lathe or mill. Duclos did the heavy lifting on the design, I just added my own eye candy. I never was real good at following instructions anyway...(grin). I love this stuff and can't resist letting artistic sins, from my wayward past in the graphics and design fields, from slipping into things. There is nothing there that anyone else can't do, given patience and a slight bend in the direction of insanity. 

Steve


----------



## Maryak (Jun 11, 2009)

Steve,

You do great work. :bow:

At the risk of repeating myself, instructions are for the guidance of wise men and the blind obedience of fools. I consider your flair to fit in the first part. :bow:

Best Regards
bob


----------



## kustomkb (Jun 12, 2009)

Beautiful!


----------



## deverett (Jun 13, 2009)

Cedge  said:
			
		

> Dave
> Sorry for the delay in responding... for some reason I simply missed your post. Lapping doesn't require a snug fit to work. In fact a snug fit could cause binding in the bore. I want the softer metal to make contact with the bore at a single point so that I can control the action. All the lapping is for is to remove the tiny grooves the cutting tool left, so single point contact with the polishing compound works great.
> 
> Steve


Steve

Thanks for the info on lapping. I did not realise you could 'get away with' using such a loose fit in a cylinder for lapping. Next time I need to lap a cylinder, I'll try your loose lap method. Perhaps I had better try it on a test piece first, though!

Dave
The Emerald Isle


----------



## steamer (Jun 16, 2009)

Looking good Cedge! and I do think Phil would approve.

Looking forward to more pictures!

Dave


----------



## gbritnell (Jun 16, 2009)

Absolutely outstanding work Steve. Your ingenuity just adds to this build. It's going to be one unique and beautiful engine when finished. I'm sure Phillip Duclos would heartily approve.
gbritnell


----------



## RobWilson (Jun 16, 2009)

Hi Steve , you engine is very pleasing to the eye,great build thread, great work on those gears :bow:
This engine is going on my build list.
great work regards Rob


----------



## Cedge (Jun 21, 2009)

This installment deals with a re-engineering project that I'd been mentally toying with ever since the engine build began. The original design called for a very simple governor that strapped two springs to the flyballs to force them to collapse at low RPM. Functional, but with its square shafts and those springs hanging out like sore thumbs, I decided I wanted something a bit more complex and visually mechanical. 

The redesign began with a pirated copy of Bogster's Crap-O-cad V.3.0 which I nabbed while he wasn't looking. This highly technical program gave me a chance to think the basics through while enjoying the fact that Bogster was out for one copy of his best...(grin). From this simple sketch, I launched off into the creative voids.






The first thought was to use a simple pair of simple straps running from the ball rods back to the lower tensioner, but space was a wee bit tight in there between the rods and the crank shaft. The connectors were finally made at a 90° so that they could fold up neatly and still allow full travel of the flyballs. When expanded, the linkage almost appears to be a small eagle with its wings spread. The spring was hand wound, but it is a shot in the dark which will probably have to be adjusted a bit once the engine is running. I made several of differing tensions to deal with that when the time come. 






I then began the flywheel which is seen here in its first fitting. The rim is hot rolled steel which donated to the cause by Zuesrekning. Thanks Tim. The center is brass which was press fitted (.004 overlapped dimensions) using my patented 4 pound press. Can you say small sledge hammer? The final version will be a 6 curved spoke flywheel which will allow the works to be seen and contribute to the opened up look I've been chasing. 







Since the first photo gave a small insight into the thought process in use, the last one will give another peek. Here the fuel tank is getting a bit of experimentation and visualization. This type of thing helps me get a better image in my head of how I will want to secure it when its time comes. The tank is a small steam engine boiler that is doing stand in duty until I've made the real deal. I had planned to use a hexagonal tank, but once it was tried out , it was immediately and definitely apparent that it was not meant for this project.







The ignition system will be ordered on Monday and the carb and exhaust muffler are yet to be built, but the project is getting closer to completion than I expected to be by now. Hopefully this one will be running before Labor Day when I'm supposed to exhibit some of my engines.

Steve


----------



## Jasonb (Jun 21, 2009)

Thats comming along nicely, I like the governor. A more rounded tank would suit the curved feel of the engine, maybe something like the hemispherical ended tanks you get on the ball hopper engines?

Jason


----------



## ozzie46 (Jun 21, 2009)

Man, that is absolutely beeuuutiful! :bow: :bow: :bow:

 Ron


----------



## zeeprogrammer (Jun 21, 2009)

Awesome governor. I just stared and stared at it.


----------



## roadrage17 (Jun 22, 2009)

The only word that comes to mine is 

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW

 :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:

Thats a beautiful engine

best regards 

RR17


----------



## Cedge (Jun 26, 2009)

Guys...
I really appreciate the encouragement and the kind words. The last post ended with a couple of teases, like the flywheel blank and tank test placement. The flywheel has come a ways since then. I modified the 5 spoke instructions given in one of the Duclos articles to make it a 6 spoke version. This took a little rejiggering of hole sizes and placements, as well as the radii of the spoke curves, but nothing brain stretching about it.

The project kept getting delayed by family matters, including an 8 hour middle of the night round trip drive to retrieve my son and his broken arm from a wilderness camp in the Great Smokey Mountains. Nicholas is doing fine and seems to ignore the pain as if it were nothing. I finally got back on course late yesterday and made up for some lost time.

The photos below show the flywheel just after it was mounted for testing the wedge lock which secures it to the shaft. This is basically a cone that has been split at 90° so the 2-56 screws can force it to squeeze the crank shaft. Quite an effective way to mount a flywheel. All the hand filing work is now done, but the flywheel will see quite a bit of hand polishing yet, before the job is done.

















I think I'm on the right track with the engine, but will be visiting a local model IC engine guy tomorrow, just to let him critique the project so far. Not having messed with IC engines, I'd like to be sure I'm on track for a runner.

For those who are curious about making curved spoked flywheels, I posted a write up back in October on the subject. You can check it out at http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=3169.0

Steve


----------



## zeeprogrammer (Jun 26, 2009)

Beautiful beautiful. Still can't get over the governor.
Thanks for the link to the curved spoke flywheel. Very interesting.


----------



## cfellows (Jun 26, 2009)

Boy oh Boy oh Boy! What a pretty engine. Splendid work, Cedge!

Chuck


----------



## Cedge (Jul 5, 2009)

Thanks Chuck and Zee...

I've been a bit busy with the project and the photos suffered for it. I'll try to do a bit better as I go along. With the flywheel only needing a bit of polishing, I moved on to the redesigning the cam linkage, which is one of the gizmos that makes all the other goodies work together. It's job is to hold the exhaust valve open until the RPMs drop enough to require another power stroke. At that time it allows the exhaust valve to close, creating enough vacuum to draw fresh fuel into the cylinder chamber.

The original design called for a single rod which slid within a pair of brackets attached to the outer wall of the cylinder. Since I'm in for a penny, I figured to go for a pound and add a bit of complexity to the visual aspect of the linkage. It still operates just as the original design would, but with a little variation on the look of the mechanism. 

Two more small parts will still have to be made to complete this section of the build. 






Here you can see the cam roller which runs inside the spoked gear. It is made of hardened drill rod to allow it to take the pnishment of beating against the slope of the cam lobe, also located inside the gear ring. 







From there I made a quick jump over to the carb, while I sorted out how I wanted to go about completing the linkage assembly. The carb is a simple aspiration type which atomizes gasoline while mixing it with air in the proper ratio for efficient burning. This one does it by use of a tiny #60 drill hole and a darning needle for metering the flow of fuel. 

The hard part was drilling a #60 hole 5/8 inch to mate up with the needle's location. Luckily, I had access to a sensitive drill chuck which made things a bit easier to control. Remember.... #60 is the smallest drill in the standard drill index many of us have and brass has a tendency to grab a bit and either break it off in the work piece or drag it deeper into the material than wanted. 

Thje length was dicated by Duclos to allow the fuel droplets and air to have time to mix well before entering the combustion chamber. The ball cut and the wide flare on the end were added as a bit of whimsy. 






The next direction, while still cogitating the linkage's last steps, was to tackle the exhaust section. Duclos had a nice design and I almost went with it, had I not attended a large show where hundreds of hit and miss engines were on display. After seeing the variety of different styles, I came up with something original, while keeping to totally functional as a muffler. Unfortunately, I did not get any photos before I press fitted the top into the canister. 

The exhaust brass stack was the reason for the redesign. I simply wanted to have the vertical stack in hopes that this engine might be capable of blowing the classic smoke rings that hit and miss engines are famous for. 






Here you can see all the items together. The little engine is becoming rather complex looking, but I enjoy all the wonkiness of exposed mechanical devices, so this one suits my tastes just fine. 






I'm sorry for the longer dleays in posting these photos, but these small parts often take more time than the larger more dramatic pieces. Hang in there and I'll post more in a few days. There are still about a dozen pieces to build and fit, so the saga continues, even if at a somewhat slower pace. 

Steve


----------



## Maryak (Jul 6, 2009)

Steve,

Very very nice work. :bow: :bow:

Best Regards
Bob


----------



## gbritnell (Jul 6, 2009)

Steve, 
Excellent, excellent work!
gbritnell


----------



## 90LX_Notch (Jul 6, 2009)

Steve,

What a piece of eye candy! That is beautiful.

Bob


----------



## b.lindsey (Jul 6, 2009)

Simply beautiful Steve, thanks for all the great pics too. By the way, did you make it up to Denton?

Regards,
Bill


----------



## DavesWimshurst (Jul 6, 2009)

Outstanding work Steve,
And thanks for the anamorphic views of your shop. :
Dave


----------



## 4156df (Jul 6, 2009)

Steve,
Beautiful work. You're both an artist and a craftsman.
Dennis


----------



## bearcar1 (Jul 6, 2009)

OH  My   GOD th_confused0052

That has got to be one of, the most, gorgeous pieces of artwork I have seen in a long, long while. Fantastic. I to hope that it will blow the smoke rings for you. Just incredible, the workmanship and artistic flourishes you have labored hard for. 

BC1
Jim


----------



## PhillyVa (Jul 6, 2009)

Steve,

You've made a very interesting engine....No a :bow: *Masterpiece* :bow: The lines and look keeps the eye moving around...just a wonderful piece of work.

Regards

Philly


----------



## rleete (Jul 6, 2009)

Just let us know ahead of time when it will be finished. No sense getting anything done that month, as it's a sure PotM winner.


----------



## vlmarshall (Jul 6, 2009)

rleete  said:
			
		

> Just let us know ahead of time when it will be finished. No sense getting anything done that month, as it's a sure PotM winner.



You're not kidding, there. ;D :bow:


----------



## rake60 (Jul 6, 2009)

Beautiful craftsmanship Steve! :bow: 

Rick


----------



## Cedge (Jul 7, 2009)

Guys...
I want to take a moment to say a few words of thanks for all the kind words and the amazing amount of moral support I've received during this project. If it seems I'm sometimes a bit slow to respond to some of the kudos, it's basically because I'm at a loss for words with which to respond. I've found it a humbling experience, as well as a source of inspiration, to push me to try to do the best work that I'm capable of doing. To hear such high praise from the likes of some of the members on the boards is both exciting, a bit startling.... and yes sometimes even a bit embarrassing.... as a relative new comer to the hobby. 

We all know there are other boards on line where rivalry jealousy or a persona desire to be top dog sometimes leads to even the best of projects being put down in order to achieve some sort of unstated agenda. I've yet to see any of these evils rear its ugly head here. The chance for sharing this project has really made what is already been a whole lot of fun, even more so. If I've missed thanking you as an individual, please take this as my attempt to remedy my oversight. I'm in truly awe of the people who make up this board and our sister forum for the friendly atmosphere we've all managed to foster here. 

Steve


----------



## ariz (Jul 7, 2009)

chapeau :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:

fantastic work!


and because english isn't my native language and often I can't find the words I wish to use, I borrow the words of Cedge about this board: I agree totally with him!

thank you all


----------



## Cedge (Jul 14, 2009)

I promise I haven't abandoned you guys on this project. I've been working my way past a couple of small engineering problems, mostly dealing with lack of room, before I can advance to the next stage. Between designing my own feedwater pump and making it fit the rear shaft and coming up with a usable check valve design that I like, I'm spending more time erasing pencil lines than cutting metal. The feedwater system will probably warrant its own thread before all is said and done.

With a bit of luck I might be able to get some fresh photos up this weekend. There have been some small advances but none worthy in and of themselves to earn a post. 

Patience... its still happening.

Steve


----------



## bearcar1 (Jul 14, 2009)

Steve, there is nothing in this world more satisfying than the looks of a beautiful engine such as the one you are in the midst of battle with. Whenever I see this header I jump right on that message to see that artistry unfold. Today sadly there are no new developments , however the prospect of other similar threads is something that I am looking forward to. You and this engine most certainly do deserve all of the support that has been shown. :bow:

BC1
Jim


----------



## Cedge (Jul 18, 2009)

BC....
Sorry about that.....LOL. I guess I still have a bit of a missed engagement between posting this stuff and realizing the truth of so many people reading it. I'll refrain from posting false alarms from here on out.

As I said earlier, most of what I've been doing was small steps which were taking up more time than expected. This posting documents some of them. 

The modified linkage for controlling the cam and flywheel assembly changed quite a few of the dimensions given on the plans. This required making few adjustments along the way. The photo below shows the foot which opens the exhaust valve during the engine's freewheeling mode. This action is what makes a hit and miss engine "miss". With the exhaust valve held open it can't deliver any compression. 






That odd silver ball on the front of the cam was not there for decoration only. It served as a pivot point for the catch arm that holds the valve foot down. This piece was supposed to be installed much earlier in the build, but I didn't like the original design which called for a piece of 1/8 inch flat bar. Once the foot was installed, I had to come up with a custom arm to fit the new linkage. This photo shows what I came up with. 






If you look closely you'll see a small rod has been added to the slide linkage This rod is the remains of a broken cobalt drill bit and is where the arm catches the linkage when the gear cam is activated... assuming the governor is at full extension. As a side note.... you might want to know that drill rod (silver steel) and cobalt do not solder very well at all....so green Loctite was used to secure the joint.

Here is the completed linkage assembly. For the curious, take a little time to study the relationships between all the components and the operational sequence of the little engine will begin to reveal itself.






With the front side of the engine completed, that free swinging end of the crank shaft needed attention. The plan is to mount a small water pump behind the engine body and drive it with an eccentric mounted on the shaft. In order to accomplish this, the shaft had to be stabilized. A place to mount the pump was also on the list of things needed. The bushing was installed and the face of the piece was turned to "fit" the large opening in the rear of the base. This will let me use it to mount he pump as things progress. 

While it doesn't look like much of a step, this piece had me sweating a bit. When a shaft is supported at two points, as this one has been until now, you have little chance of binding. When that same shaft is supported at 3 points, things can begin to bind in a hurry. Even a slight misalignment will cause problems. The large hole in the base is centered at 1.812 inches from the bottom of the body. This is also the location of the hole center in the front support where the points are located. 

Since the body is contoured and lacking any abundance of reference points I had added one the plans never called for. That small flat spot you see in the photo below was a god send. I was able to us it to help square the work piece when it had to be put back in the mill vise. More than once it saved my bacon and is now one of the tricks that is being used regularly on other projects. 

By using the flat spot, a DTI and my now much beloved DRO, I was able to nail the 1.812 inch measurement perfectly and mill the slots for the plate into the round body at exactly the right place. 






The photo below shows the pump in its early stages. The bore is 5/16 with a 3/4 inch stroke. The plunger has been made and fitted with its o ring and the water hammer chamber is fitted. You'll see flat spots on the upper section which I mentioned above. Since the area will be removed when the pump gets its end cap, they won't interfere with anything. The simply make it easy to keep things square.






Here is what it all looks like at the moment. The mock up fuel tank is about to be replaced with the real deal and the round mounting plate and wooden plinth are almost ready for final finish and the pump build is well under way. The ignition system should be here next week and hopefully the first test firing will also be made before next weekend. Lots of little items to finish tying down and still more polishing to be done, but the project is quickly coming to completion. Keep those fingers crossed that the darned thing will run....LOL







Steve


----------



## Maryak (Jul 18, 2009)

Steve,

This really is one hell of a build and a source of inspiration for me, :bow: :bow: :bow: and many others I suspect.

Best Regards
Bob


----------



## georgeseal (Jul 18, 2009)

Guys,
Steve has taken a well designed engine and truly made it his own engine.

Philip would have been proud of what he has done to his design

By sticking to the orginal crictical deminisons every thing else is in Steve's words just BLING

Well Done Steve  :bow:  :bow:  :bow:


----------



## bearcar1 (Jul 18, 2009)

SUPERB! is the word! Whimsical art meets function. All combined into one mans interpretation of an engine design. It absolutely knocks me out th_confused0052 to see such graceful style and mechanics so eloquently melded together. I just do not have enough words to describe what is on display here. I'm quite certain that it will run, appreciating all of the meticulous work that Steve has thrown into this project, there is no way it won't. BRAVO!!! :bow: :bow: :bow:

Bc1
Jim


----------



## arnoldb (Jul 18, 2009)

Steve, words fail me so - double WOW -GREAT job!!!! :bow: :bow:  Thm: Thm:

Regards, Arnold


----------



## Cedge (Jul 19, 2009)

Thanks guys.... 
George, you almost "got it" with your last post. This project was begun with the idea of making the engine "mine", but the real message is that it doesn't matter if you're building one of Elmer's, Chuck Fellow', Jan Ridder's or even a Philip Duclos engine design, you don't have to be chained to copying every move they made. 

The critical measurements were faithfully followed or at least allowed for throughout this whole project. Those are the important data points that make the engine capable running when you are done. Not everyone will want to go to the extremes I've gone to with this project, but never be afraid to make cosmetic changes to your engine so that it becomes uniquely yours and different from all others in whole world.

This is not to say that I'd make such changes to a historically accurate rendition of a specific engine or fall too far from original with a casting kit, but not every engine we build need be slavishly like every other. If only one builder takes that message to heart and runs with it, this whole long thread will have been a resounding success in my mind.

Ok... enough of the ramblings ....a few more hows are probably in order after the long gap in this thread. The cheesy little toy boiler that has been standing in for the real gas tank is now officially retired. The following photos show the beginning of the new one. This tank will be for the aspiration carb and will be replaced with a look alike once I've got time to work out the vapor tank system I want to add before all is said and done. Since my self imposed deadline is looming near, this one will have to do for now.

In the first photo, The work piece has been bored to the desired size and the first end cap has already been soldered, fitted and trimmed. I realized I needed photos just in time to share the second end cap as it was undergoing the same process. 







The end caps will both be fitted with a porthole sight glass, so the huge hole is not there by mistake...(grin). This one has been cleaned, fluxed and the solder is already wrapped around the center section. I flattened the solder so it could be wrapped close enough to take full advantage of the gap I left for it to fill in the bore. 






This trick also meant a much cleaner solder joint and much less clean up than trying to feed solder into the provided gap. Note there is a wide space between the two pieces. This proved to be handy as it let me see when the solder melted. As it flowed into place, the gap disappeared and the pieces mated quite close together. 






Also note that the dimensions of the pieces are not final. I left some "fat" so that I could put the tank back in the lathe for clean up. 







The clean up required several very light passes, but the solder lines all but completely disappeared. A bit of polishing has already begun to remove tool marks and the piece is headed back to the lathe to fit the glass, which will come in the next installment. 






Here is the obligatory mock up/ test fit to see how things are going to look. 

Steve


----------



## zeeprogrammer (Jul 19, 2009)

Still speechless.
Very beautiful.


----------



## Cedge (Jul 24, 2009)

After a short break for a busman's holiday at the beach, with all my young ones, I finally got caught back up on my sleep and hit the shop, ready to work. I'm getting the first feelings of melancholy that a project nearing its end seems to cause. I like having something to work on and I almost feel sad to see one finishing up. Anyway.... Rounding the clubhouse turn and getting ready for the sprint down the home stretch. 

The last installment had the gas tank in its early machining stages. Since I planned to use glass ends a bit of machining to the ends was required to accept "O" rings and the glass disk. Then I had to turn up a couple of outer rings to clamp the "O" rings and glass firmly in place in order to hold the fuel. 

Everything was bound not going to go perfectly, even though the 2-56 tapping went very smoothly. The first test fit found me wringing 2 of the 2-56 stainless screws off in one of the soldered ends. Note to self.... double check Z axis DRO before you begin drilling as you just might have moved the drill bit in the chuck.... Yeah he did....LOL. The DRO's proved to be worth every dime as I placed 32 bolt holes in a circular pattern with accuracy in the .00015 range.

You never know where you'll find your materials. The glass used in the tank ends came from a pair of ... oooops... three cheap watches purchased at Walmart. It's only 1/16 thick but it's tested to withstand pressure to 100 ft. They do not, however, stand up well to ham handed tightening of hex head cap screws. I managed to break the first one I installed. 






The wire that has served the tank so well is now history and the supports are well on their way to getting bolted on. The 1/8 inch square brass had to be annealed before being bent to create a nice snug friction fit around the tank. The ends will bolt to the engine body and will hold the tank 1/4 inch below the carb jet to prevent siphon action, something that would cause severe flooding and an engine that doesn't run. additional bracing will be added to give the supports some added rigidity. 






The pump has been trimmed up in preparation for fitting. Yeah... the copper wire is back in a new application, but it certainly proved handy when trying to get a look at elevations and such. The required eccentric is on tomorrow's list of projects, along with finishing the pump's end cap and the beginnings of the plumbing fittings.






The pump has to have a water supply and the engine "needs" a means for cooling the water, so a reservoir comes in handy. The screen will act as a cooling surface as water cascades over it to air cool. The screen is from a kitchen drain strainer and was a very cheap source of stainless mesh. 






It all is beginning to come together as small details are developed. The electronics have arrived and the plug will be drilled and tapped tomorrow, as I begin tearing the engine down for wiring and final polishing. The wooden round base has already been hollowed out for the ignition system and I've begun marking out to locate the mounting holes for the engine body and the end support. It sounds as if I'm multi-tasking, but it's more like all the final steps are dependent on each other at least being there so the next can be started.






Keep those fingers crossed as this thing gets closer to its first smoke test. 

Steve


----------



## steamer (Jul 24, 2009)

Awesome build Steve.  I like the flanges on the ends of the tank.


Dave


----------



## Engine maker (Jul 24, 2009)

If your looking for glass ends for fuel tanks you may want to try this. Flat mineral glass watch crystals. Diameters go up by .004" to way bigger than you may care to use and thickness is 1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm, 2.5mm and 3mm. 3mm works out to be right at .120". I get them at: http://www.ofrei.com/WatchMaterials.html
You have to search around a bit to find the page to order by size instead of by brand, but look and you'll find it. I think the last time I ordered some they were 3 for $10. 
Here's a pic of the Engine and tank I used them on last.

And here's the page with the thick glass listings, It's kind of hard to find
http://www.ofrei.com/thick-mineral-glass.htm


----------



## kustomkb (Jul 25, 2009)

Itsa Beauty! ;D

What a beauty! :bow:

Coming together so nicely.


----------



## arnoldb (Jul 25, 2009)

Truly beautiful job Steve ! :bow: :bow:
Regards, Arnold


----------



## hitandmissman (Jul 25, 2009)

That has really turned out great. I wish I had half your talent.


----------



## bearcar1 (Jul 25, 2009)

Man, I'm telling you that engine just screams 'circa 1800's' Victorian era. In my minds eye it captures my imagination and sends me to scenes from a Jules Verne movie aboard "The Nautilus" submarine with all of its flourishes and embellishments. Truly a wonderful piece of artistry to behold Steve. Fantastic. :bow:

BC1
Jim


----------



## Cedge (Jul 29, 2009)

Guys
Your sharing in the fun has made this project a treat. I've been watching for old Jules to come calling to reclaim his property, but so far the coast is clear. The engine really has taken on a Verne-esque quality, as the small finishing details are added. I might never build another IC engine, but the one I've gotten from this project is just crazy enough to fit me and the collection to a "T". If that measure constitutes success, then it has been just that... a success.

The project has reached the point where all the work is small stuff, some tedious and delicate, some of it almost downright boring. Progress is ongoing but at a much less dramatic and slower pace.... thus the gaps in time between posts. Most of the work has been permanently mounting and fitting things, fine tuning assemblies and the delicate tweaking of parts that involves. 

Since I've been pretty open in this thread, I'm almost obligated to share the very near disaster that sneaked up on my a couple of nights back. After mounting the engine to the base and making some adjustments to the 3 bearings to loosen things back up, I began the process of fine tuning the long train of components that run from the governor to the very top of the engine. 

3:30 AM is not the best time to be doing things that require ones fullest attention, but then it's also a time when your judgment concerning such things is not at its highest. The engine was chucked in the lathe so I could observe the governor under power and make the needed adjustments to various parts and pieces. Part of this process required that I position the cylinder section atop the base between "running" the engine the lathe. 

Everything was going fine and I'd been religiously removing the cylinder section between each test run. Then a serious case of cranial flatulence descended on me. For some reason, without thinking, I reached for the lathe's start switch and flipped it on before removing the cylinder. 

Remember the cam gear? ......yeah.... the one with all the spokes and teeth and time. When the dust settled, there sat an engine with everything nice and square, with the exception of the the cam gear, which now sat at an odd angle of about 25° off plumb. The cylinder was hanging from the rear of the engine in an even more distressing angle. I'm not sure how long it took me to react, but all the the chaos was long completed, before I could even begin to move to stop it.

Now... long experience has taught me a number of things, among which is the fact that adrenalin and shock do not contribute positively to making sound decisions. As I began to untangle the damage I slowly took stock of things. I then moved the engine to my work table where I sat and stared at it until the obscene expletives ran down in my mind. Only then did I begin to run a rapid mental train of options for fixing the problems.

Luck didn't totally desert me, as it became obvious that everything was still "intact". No broken spokes were evident, but the center hub was listing badly and there was some indication that the cam ring or gear might have suffered, but only some testing would tell the tale. I began by grabbing a 5/16 transfer punch (among any shop's most versatile tools) to use as a Tommy bar. After carefully placing the gear in the mill vice, this let me gently manipulate the center hub and carefully nudge things back in position by eyeball.

I then paused and took stock of my options, once again, deciding the lathe definitely offered more potential tricks than anything else at hand. I mounted the gear on the small arbor I used during the gear cutting adventure and turned on the lathe. Things were looking up as I noted the eyeballing had been quite surprisingly effective. It wasn't perfect, but well things were well within the range of repairable, assuming I could come up with a means to push it all back into position. 

Once again that mental options train left the station, as I smoked things over. If you let ideas stew long enough they tend to distill themselves and something will usually bob to the top. One of the tools I use quite a bit is a small rollerl on a bar that can be clamped in the QTCP. This tool lets me remove the wobble from work pieces that were removed and then placed back in the lathe for further work. It has the added benefit of being able to apply pressure to a work piece either from the side, or from the end, in order to bring the piece into square with the center line of the lathe. It might not be an industry acceptable text book tool, but then I've never read the book anyway.

Long story made at least a little shorter, it worked. The tool was applied to the end of the work piece and cranked it in using the compound. This quickly got the end face running square to the lathe centerline. I then moved it to side of the cam ring and, with gentle movements of the cross slide, began to remove the unwanted distortion and restore concentricity to both the gear and the cam ring. I reinstalled the gear to the engine and it ran smoothly..... not even any chattering. 

There is a fair level of violence taking place when the cam actuates the exhaust linkage. As a result, I will eventually make this gear afresh so that I can shake the lack of "trust" I'm feeling. I'd rather invest the additional time and effort than chance more damage in the future, due to a failed spoke. 

Okay...quite a long winded tale, but if you're still awake, I'll share something a bit less morbid. The tank mounts are now completed and bolted down in their final form. The square bar stock just wasn't giving me the warm fuzzies, so I'd been avoiding the final step of drilling and taping the holes to secure them. Another of those "long time experience"s thing is that when I procrastinate over something like this, for some reason, everything is not quite congealed into a final satisfying from. I've learned to let the process run its course until an idea finally surfaces that meets all the requirements. Such was the case here. 

The curves were "right" but the hard lines of the bar stock were bothering me on some level. The idea finally surfaced and the solution was dead simple. I put a piece of 3/16 round stock in the mill and made up a few inches of 1/2 round brass. This formed easily and gave me a bit more grip on the tank surface while giving it all the missing curves this engine has been demanding. Once the bending, polishing and drilling was completed, the end results were what you see below. 






I've still got to fabricate the filler cap and the drain that goes to the carb, but that should be only a few minutes work. The pump is in one of those "idea stews", at the moment, but is nearing its turn for my hands on attention. There is a bit of plumbing yet to be done and the electronics still have to be to fitted, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel and no trains are in sight... for now....LOL The tank definitely now adds a nice look to an already "interesting" machine. 






Steve


----------



## Deanofid (Jul 29, 2009)

I've always admired Phil Duclos' designs, and you're doing a beautiful job on this one, Steve. Very nice work!


----------



## bearcar1 (Jul 29, 2009)

Good heavens man! I'm having stomach ulcers and brain spasms even thinking of the sheer terror that flashed forever in your mind in that one instant of "Oh S**t!" Not oops, or ah crap, but HOLY Saints of everlasting doodoo! Man alive, that story has given me a few more grey-ish ;D hairs. Glad to see you were able to get it all sorted out. BTW: what time DID you finally call it quits that outing? "Nah Honey, I just got up, go back to sleep" (yeah right, in a pig's end :big It is amazing what the same lines that are curved and not square will do to ease the starkness of a part. Well done, well done indeed!

BC1
Jim


----------



## Cedge (Jul 29, 2009)

Jim
I missed seeing sunrise, but not by very much. I was back in the shop by 10:00 AM, although I did manage a couple of much needed cat naps that day. For a few seconds there I felt in distinct need of an emergency draw string replacement for my rectal orifice...LOL

I was amazed at the difference the new supports made, too. I could visualize the effect in abstract but when the metal was fitted, it was crystal clear that the engine wanted to go there. When little engine speaks.... me listen.

Steve


----------



## arnoldb (Jul 30, 2009)

Nicely done Steve :bow: - looks a treat!

And nice recovery!

Regards, Arnold


----------



## Philjoe5 (Jul 30, 2009)

An awesome engine Steve, thanks for the build progress. :bow: I'd guess we all have gone through one or more of those Oh S___t experiences. You made a nice comeback, congratulations.

Cheers,
Phil


----------



## ariz (Aug 9, 2009)

one of the most beautiful engines I had ever seen 

many compliments :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:


and for the bad event on the lathe... I don't know how I have had react, surely not as calm as you.
terrifyingly :'(


----------



## Cedge (Aug 17, 2009)

For those of you who have been following this thread with such enthusiasm, I've got a bit of sad news. The build is at an end. I know... I'll miss it too, but when the last part is bolted on, the build phase is pretty much at an end. There are two small 2-56 holes left to drill and tap and then all the construction is completed. I'm waiting to take those on until I'm sure a specific adjustment is in the right spot and only a running machine will tell me if it's correctly positioned.

The additions I've made since the last post haven't been large enough to warrant their own postings and the pump is due to have its own short thread, so I decided to concentrate on finishing things up. That required reworking a couple of pieces to add strength and correct a couple of items I didn't like the Duclos solutions for. 

It also required a bit of wiring to incorporate a bit of modern electronics into an old style design. Below is the ignition box for the engine. John Ernhardt kindly contributed the beautifully made Amish made oak box to the project. I almost hated to put holes in it, but the electrons needed a way to get to the little engine and old style brass lug type terminals seemed a good way to let them travel. 







Here are the internals of the system. They consist of 3 AA 1.5 volt alkaline batteries, a small on / off switch for them and an ignition module complete with coil from www.cncengines.com . Roy Sholl is the proprietor and I can tell you that he couldn't possibly have been more helpful. He was available for questions and patiently answered each one even when I must have sounded like a total rube. The kit was easy to work with and the instructions were quite clear and left no room for confusion. This little module is one powerful little trick and will throw an amazing spark, as I learned while tracking down a arcing short to ground, caused by me. Even though I've not quite gotten the engine running as of yet, it certainly isn't due to a lack of fire. 






The other item that was added since last was the cooling system. Since this is a water cooled engine some method of delivering coolant was required. The original design called for a modified cat food can which was elevated to cylinder level. I didn't think that idea would quite match where I've tried to take this project, so a whole new means of delivery was in order. I went through numerous mental designs before finally deciding to keep the pump dead simple as possible. Out the window went all kinds of ideas for eccentric straps, lever actions and such. 

The winning design wound up being a spring loaded pump shaft driven by direct contact with an eccentric. The flow was a wild estimate since the darned thing still had to fit beneath the rear shaft. This space limitation finally lead me to a Hobson's choice of a 3/8 bore 3/8 stroke. You'll notice that this item was held until very late in the project, giving you some idea of how long and how many times the idea was changed, altered re-modified and scrapped resurrected and generally over cogitated. Here is a photo of what I finally did.






The "balloon" shaped dome is a water hammer column which was added to give the rigid pluming a bit of added protection from vibration. I can't stop the engine from shaking the pipes, but I didn't want the pump adding to it. The flanges are machined fit and required no gaskets although the threads going into the pump and the water jacket are treaded and required a bit of blue loctite to stop a couple of very persistent leaks..... 6 complete plumbing tear downs worth....LOL.






The brass mesh in the small tank serves as a cooling screen where water trickles down the sides and is exposed to ambient air temperatures to cool it. It is then recirculated to the pump. The copper lines were bent and shaped and then threaded with a 1/4- 28. Soft copper is an interesting metal to work with since it is soft and gummy but tends to work harden very quickly when you begin to torture it. What felt like metaling chewing gum can very suddenly become quite brittle and hard to thread. 

Here is the result of the first successful test of the cooling system. I say first successful because it took a bit of trial and error to get the right design for the check (clack) valves it required. I even managed to hide them inline using the same designs as I used in the flanged joints. Once valve is locate at the tank base and the other is inside the flange that screws into the water jacket. Look closely and you can see the water flowing onto the screen mesh. 






The rest of the photos are of different angles of the engine. 












I've already begun the effort to get it dialed in and early indications are that it will eventually run. I've managed to get it to produce a bit of smoke and at one point had it giving me a bit of a popping from the exhaust. I've got to get he timing and fuel mixture sorted out, but I have some local help lined up should it prove to be beyond my kin. 

This has been a marvelous project and sharing it has been pure joy. You've all been extremely supportive and the enthusiasm has been gratifying. The next time you see this engine will be in the video section, once it is up and running. Thank you all for taking this trip with me. Without you peering over my shoulder there were a couple of times I might have shelved the project. The fact that you were here kept things moving along, and for that I am very appreciative. 

Until the next build....
Steve


----------



## CrewCab (Aug 17, 2009)

Simply stunning Steve 8)

CC


----------



## ozzie46 (Aug 17, 2009)

Absolutely Beeeaaaaauuutifill!!! :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:



 Ron


----------



## gbritnell (Aug 17, 2009)

Steve, I'm totaly impressed. Your redesign, your build series, your innovation on this project is nothing short of modeling excellence. I like the others can't wait to see it running. If I may ask, what type of little snags are you having in that department? I too have one of Roy's ignition modules and it works great. I use a 4 battery set on mine. I don't know how much difference it makes?
gbritnell


----------



## zeeprogrammer (Aug 17, 2009)

A very beautiful engine Steve. Great work.
One thing I really like about this engine is that it's chock-full of very interesting assemblies and details. I find myself admiring one area and then another area gets my attention and I sit and stare and admire that one. It's just one ooh after another. Can't wait to see it run.


----------



## GailInNM (Aug 17, 2009)

It is a beautiful piece of work Steve. It makes my work look so utilitarian.

Thank you for the delightful journey that you have taken us on during the build.
 :bow: :bow: :bow:
Gail in NM


----------



## bearcar1 (Aug 17, 2009)

True excellence at the highest level Steve. My God man, this engine just reeks of uniqueness and I can only imagine in my worst dreams the aggravations and frustrations that you have had to endure in what has been a wondrous road to follow. All of your creativity and perseverance is finally going to be rewarded when that beauty decides to kick over. BRAVO! Thanks very much for sharing the ride with us all.

BC1
Jim


----------



## PhillyVa (Aug 17, 2009)

:bow: Cedge :bow:

I'll nominate this for engine of the year. It's just beautiful and excellent workmanship.

Regards

Philly


----------



## b.lindsey (Aug 17, 2009)

Beautiful Steve and the highest calibre of craftsmanship. Your added touches definitely enhance the Duclos original design !! Sorry to see the thread end but thanks for taking us along for the ride.

Bill


----------



## cfellows (Aug 17, 2009)

Truly a thing of beauty! Amazing how many shiny pieces have to be bolted on to the basic engine to make it run!

Chuck


----------



## joe d (Aug 17, 2009)

Steve

Simply outstanding in every respect. :bow: :bow: :bow:

Joe


----------



## arnoldb (Aug 17, 2009)

Steve, _*STUNNING*_ Job!
Thank you for taking us along for the ride !
Sincerely, Arnold


----------



## Maryak (Aug 17, 2009)

Steve,

A marvellous piece of craftsmanship. :bow: :bow:

Best Regards
Bob


----------



## ChooChooMike (Aug 17, 2009)

GEEEEEZZZZZZ, Steve, I'd forgotten about this engine !! 

WOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!! That turned out uber-beautiful !! :bow::bow::bow::bow::bow:

Definitely an engine-of-the-month/year !

<going back to my whimpering corner> 

Mike


----------



## vlmarshall (Aug 17, 2009)

:bow: I love the look of this engine! It's my new wallpaper at work. :bow: 

But, at the risk of sounding like a jerk; I don't like the wiring, it looks too modern.

I can't wait to hear it run.


----------



## Cedge (Aug 17, 2009)

Vernon...
No argument from me....(grin). I'll be digging up some fabric covered wire for the final touch. I simply grabbed what I had on hand to introduce the electrons to the little fellow. They'll travel in true old fashioned style when I'm done.

All the kind words are enough to make one's head spin. I'm pleased that the engine has met with such a positive reception. One never knows how things will go when starting a build log. This one has, for me, been a total mind blower. 

Windii...
I've penciled in the Dallas N.C. show and should have this engine with me when I arrive. I've gotten tied in with a group of guys who attend many of the local shows and they're pushing for me to do the North Carolina circuit with them in October.

A short update to today's efforts to get it running. John, who I mentioned earlier was gracious enough to host me and the engine today as we tried to get the timing and mixture adjustments sorted out. While we were able to get it to hit, it just wouldn't take off on its own. After a good bit of troubleshooting we discovered that the intake valve is apparently not seating properly. 

Since I've lapped the valves for the 3rd time and still have some leakage, I'll be doing a bit of surgery to the heads tomorrow to install a pair of brass seats. This should make it easier to get a proper seal and hopefully a running machine. It really really tried to run today, so I'm quite optimistic about things. We tried it on Coleman fuel and Propane, both of which were "successful" but at very different mixture settings. The Coleman fuel is my choice for the time being. 

Tomorrow, the two 2-56 holes will also be drilled and I'll be adding a check valve to the fuel line to keep a nice fresh supply at the intake at all times. I'll also be attempting to modify the tank for use as a vapor carb. If I do it right, I can easily switch from aspiration to vapor or vice versa, whenever the mood strikes.

Getting closer...
Steve


----------



## steamer (Aug 17, 2009)

Keep at it Steve, she's beautiful... :bow: :bow: :bow:..We want Video! ;D

Dave


----------



## rake60 (Aug 18, 2009)

*BEAUTIFUL Steve!*

Believe it or not I'm at a loss for words!
Speechless!!  :bow: :bow: :bow:

Rick


----------



## Deanofid (Aug 18, 2009)

Totally and completely stunning, Steve. Great work. Superb workmanship. Thanks for sharing the build with us.

Dean


----------

