# 1 more Poppin



## Naiveambition (Mar 10, 2014)

Well after finishing up the Fancy Wobbler, I decided I would try a flame licker.
Plans are from johntom and was shown the way through members of HMEM. Thanx again.

Anyways here Is progress so far.  Cylinder is bored and waiting reaming, cylinder head needs drilled, and was able to knock out the standard minus threading bearing caps.  A nice little list has grown for tooling needed to finish this engine so it may be a slow build. Trying to finish parts I can before I have to spend the money:hDe:


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## Naiveambition (May 10, 2014)

Some time spared to make a few more parts.  First off decided to start with the crankshaft.  Started by squaring up brass rods and sized them according to plans. Ordered a 5/32 rod for shaft, cut and loctite'd together, still need to file inside rods to size. Also. Made valve shaft with bushing, though they are not called for in the plans.  The drill had wandered and used a end mill to straighten them out, hence the bushings.


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## Naiveambition (May 10, 2014)

Finished crank and valve rocker. Still needs a little filing


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## Naiveambition (May 10, 2014)

Also finished flywheels.  Plans call for brass, but being so expensive I opted for steel. Doesn't turn the best so will have to do some polishing to make acceptable, still deciding if I am gonna paint them to give a little different look. Always liked the painted inside with polished outer.  Started with turning inside diameter, flipped and did other diameter, then used center to push against chuck, held with jaws from inside and turned outside ring down to size. 

These flywheels were somewhat easier, that i only needed one cutter since these don't have a shaft boss. ? For lack of a better term.  Still hard and burnt my arms many times,  I do not like turning steel but finally done.


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## Naiveambition (May 10, 2014)

How I turned outside diameter. Pardon the mess. But don't messes show ze masterpiece


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## Naiveambition (May 17, 2014)

Not much done this week but a little progress none the less.  Started out with making the flywheel hubs. First one was a dud since I tried to use a 5/32 drill since I don't have a reamer that size.  Trying to keep my cost down on this motor I took a chance and made a d bit reamer.  I think their called d bits anyways.  
  Started with turning a 5/32 rod from cold rolled steel and hardened it. Then ground the edge on the grinder to roughly a 35 degree angle. Worked good as long as I gave it time to cut, and frequent cleaning to prevent buildup around the cutter and causing it to stick.  Happy with results and a nice sliding fit.  

If anyone has any info on these style reamers I would like to hear from them. I'm sure it's not the correct way, but it did work. Tried looking for info and not much found. Making them was available but, the process of using them was skittish


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## Naiveambition (May 23, 2014)

Peckin away at the poppin.  This week I was able to make the cam, valve rod and, valve lever.

Cam was ground to size since I don't have milling capabilities yet, as with the valve lever.  Simple turning and parting so no in action pics,. Turned 7/16 drill rod, reamed 1/8. Nicest finish I've got from drill rodso far.  Seems to like heavy cuts. 
 Anyways 080 taped the valve rod, went 2/56 on other end though it calls for 080.  The drill bits wasn't working great. And need to remake valve rocker since the hole wandered off center.   Not really liking them tiny drills.  

Anyone know if u can sharpen the drill bits that small to make a difference?


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## Naiveambition (May 23, 2014)

Here's the need to finish this soon shot. It's nice to have a new dose of inspiration to keep pushing till finish.


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## Naiveambition (May 23, 2014)

And a side view ...


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## Naiveambition (May 23, 2014)

One of them can't sleep at 3 in the morning.  

Made a jig o transfer holes from standard to the head.  Turned down first step to7/8.  Left a knub on the back to grip in the chuck


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## Naiveambition (May 23, 2014)

Then back to the lathe to turn down to fit piston, I used 9/16 since I still need to ream and lap cylinder. Thought it would be smart to try the holes ans if all goes well can move on to lapping.


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## Naiveambition (May 26, 2014)

We'll drill jig worked great, but threading not so great. Broke a 2/56 tap on the first hole so scrapped it. Was steel I think and not grey iron as plans call for so ordered some 1/2 inch bar.  Turning was much easier ans was able to get my parting tool down to depth comfortably of 1/4 inch.   Here's pics of the fins, and some boring . Not finished to tired right now. Will try to get after shots


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## Naiveambition (May 26, 2014)

Start of boring. Drilled to 17/32 then threw in my modified harbor freight tool bar with the inserts they sell and works a charm.  Just milled it felt and put shims under it to center.


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## Naiveambition (May 28, 2014)

Finished out cylinder minus drilling, tapping, the parts I'm dreading.

This on turned out right on at .6250 so I'm happy with that.  Don't know what it is about these cylinders, out of all the pieces I've done I haven't launched a piece yet, but both cylinders came out of the chuck. Both got the fins , and the  cast iron broke a small piece of the fin. But I will suffice for now . If it bugs me too much after I get it running hopefully I won't launch that one too.*club*. 

Also did a quick lap with wood dowel, need toread more on lapping. I'm not sure if u can get super smooth both surfaces, and it not be under/over sized


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## Naiveambition (May 28, 2014)

Side shot of the cylinder.  Relatively happy with this . If u look close u can see my mistake in the fins where I lost count. Still learning but feeling comfortable so far


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## Naiveambition (May 28, 2014)

And had to remake hole jig to make sure my holes line up from the standard to the head. Needs holes yet but that for tomorrow


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## Naiveambition (May 31, 2014)

Finished out the piston, took 3 tries to get a usable one.  

Started by turning to dimension leaving plus .010 for lapping. Lapped cylinder and piston using valve grinding paste. Was so tight it took a while just for the compound to be small enough to fit in between piston and wall.  Happy to say it bounces when pulling a vacuumwoohoo1 .  Inside of piston was bored with a 1/2 inch end mill and boring bar to .040 wall thickness.


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## Naiveambition (May 31, 2014)

Started turning the con rod.  Started with a 3/8 tool steel or stainless, not for sure , was given to me.  Step turned down to 5/32 . Yeh that much wasted:hDe: but is what I had.  

Plans call for a 3 piece setup for con rod.  I'm trying to go for a more authentic style, so il see if this one works or not.  Will probably have to take some extra  clearance away under crankshaft.  Fingers crossed. Here's what I got so far. Next Is break out the milling attachment.  

Just a side note . Everything on this engine has been done on the lathe only with a taig milling attachment.  Hand drilled the flywheels and you can tell, .  I wish I would of Found a way on the lathe for more precise edges


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## Naiveambition (May 31, 2014)

All the way to this. 

Turned the radius free hand by starting step cut basic shape then carefully start at center and become a human cnc, turning both dials to shape the rod. Finished off with a file and emery.


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## Naiveambition (May 31, 2014)

Has a great day tapping. Boy it feels good to say that*beer*.  

Tapped the head, crank bushing , the standard, and the new valve rod.  All without a single issue.  Nervous the whole time I'll admit.   Also drilled head using drill jig.  Cool little jig.  Used on head , cylinder, and standard.  Will come in handy if I build another engine. U can see where I punched it and missed the spot, but this was before I made the jig.  Might be able to file since it is thicker than the plans call for


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## Naiveambition (Jun 21, 2014)

Got a few more parts wiped out.


Today was finishing con rod , and sleeve.  Con rod was turned and milled to size , then drilled holes for pin and crankshaft.  Not hard but time consuming.  I want my mill sooo bad.  

Also had to mill out base to fit new con rod. I like this one much better. So far this is the nicest one I've done and still needs tweaked out. I didn't turn bosses on it , so hoping I don't have clearance issues while running. 

30 strokes average flipping the flywheel, beautiful sliding of piston and no binds. I'm happy for today


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## Naiveambition (Jun 21, 2014)

Now all that's left is drill and tap an 080 hole in valve rocker.   Knowing what I know now of this model I would of went bigger on some parts to account for larger screws. Valve rod and con rod (piston end).  Not really like below 2/56

Anyways here' another pic


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## Petit (Jun 22, 2014)

Hi there, ive just started building a poppin engine of my own, as you have almost finished yours you may be the best person to ask. I was looking at the two piece flywheel arrangement and was wondering is the any reason why it has been designed as a flywheel n seperate hub with a nut on the back? Are there any benefits? I was wondering if i could just machine the flywheel as a one piece. Any help would be appreciated, your engine is looking great! 
Thank
Joe


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## Naiveambition (Jun 23, 2014)

Petit, thanx for the interest.   As for the flywheels I don't see a issue. As long as u have a way to connect the cam to the flywheel.  U would still need some type of adjustable fastener.  May offset balance.  
I used common thread 5/16' and a nut from the drawer to save some machining time.
Only thing I think I would change is making the hub to flywheel. Don't thread the whole distance, leave a 1/8 inch wide hub to fit exact inside bore of flywheel. If. U thread all the way to the the step, it has nothing to ride on and will wobble.

Hope this helps


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## Petit (Jun 24, 2014)

Ahh ok i didnt realised the hub was a means to attach the cam, thats ok ill machine it as its designed, i have 8mm brass nuts so will use them. I didnt actually realise how small the componants where on this model untill i started gather materials for it. Are there any parts that can be made larger? 
Joe


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## Naiveambition (Jun 25, 2014)

Finished up all machining on the poppin, I hope anyways, am trying to straighten the crank on the lathe. Loctite did not grab very good the first time, prob due to not enough clearance. Also needs to be pinned, so that's next if I don't muck it up.


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## Naiveambition (Jun 26, 2014)

Here's all the parts except for the spring.  This one I'm thinkin black with the stainless fasteners will look good. Still deciding on red or black for the recess in flywheels . Outside HUD will be posted steel.   Started the standard tonite

Petit, as you can see from the photos I enlarged the connecting rod  to handle 2/56 screws, I also made the valve rocker larger. The drill wandered on the initial hole and needed straightening, which left space in the center of the shaft easier to drill. Then turned to fit bearing on ends, Plans called for 080 I think and that's pretty hard to center, again 2/56 was thread used on both ends. Also made the piston yoke a little larger. I used 1/4 inch hex brass rod.     Would of like to make the rod shaft bigger right where it connects to the piston, for a little beefier joint, the rest would stay the same. But this is me , I have great luck with 2/56, and terrible luck at 080.  I'm really happy I did the crank like this as, I think it makes it look more authentic versus a model.   Now let's just hope it runs:hDe:


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## Naiveambition (Jun 28, 2014)

As of now I'm officially done except the spring. Will try later tonite when weather cools. It's so muggy I can't walk from inside to outside without my glasses foggin up.

Anyways finished painting and polishing , timing is set to look like it runs, but sure this will change. Hoping to get running without much trouble considering their reputation.


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## Naiveambition (Jun 28, 2014)

And another view of the  motor.  Need a better camera


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## Naiveambition (Jun 28, 2014)

An the last shot , hope to put video if it runs


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## Petit (Jun 30, 2014)

Looks good! I like the black detailing! I hope it runs!


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## Naiveambition (Jul 6, 2014)

Had a chance to start on the burner.   Started with 1 1/2 inch hex bar.  Bored out the center and made 2 caps, since the first is m.i.a. After bein launched out of the vise.    Loctite'd top to base 
  Holes are 5/16 with threaded inserts.  Wick made from and old rope,.   And removable for changing or cleaning


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## Naiveambition (Jul 6, 2014)

Finished photo. Fill and test coming up:hDe:


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## Naiveambition (Aug 20, 2014)

She's a running now.  

th_wav                      After rebuilding the crankshaft from bein bent , I manged to get its first life today.  Am thrilled that I can actually build a motor.  Also redone the fuel canister.   Made from a 5/8 bar bored out with soldered wick tube, .   Wick is a string from an old sweatshirt hoody.:noidea::noidea:.  Works good with Coleman fuel, and I don't need much wick out. Quite a small amount actually.   

So on to mounting it on a wood base.  By then hope to have video figured out. I only do stuff on the ipad so, we will see what happens


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## Petit (Aug 21, 2014)

Looks great, glad you got it running, inspired me to crack on with mine! Looking forward to seeing the video!


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## Naiveambition (Aug 30, 2014)

Well since my motor is running , it's time to make it pretty.

Started with head, being cast iron I will need to keep up on it so it don't rust. Thought a high temp clear, I still think it will turn color or burn so,


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## Naiveambition (Aug 30, 2014)

Finished  turned on. A wooden dowel cut down the center with a screw to hold it.


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## Petit (Aug 30, 2014)

Just out of interest mate what size bearings did you use?  I was thinking 8x4x4?


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## Naiveambition (Sep 1, 2014)

Hi petit, thanx for the compliments.  As for bearings I used the ones the plans call for. The company is still in business, but they are pricey I think. I'm guessing you are not from  the u.s. Mine was made with inch measurements, but in mm this is what they measure. 

 7.90 outside diameter,  
3.85 hole diameter and 
3.15 wide . 
 I'm sure your measurements would work, u just have to account for your differences in size, namely the crank, and the bearing cap holes.
   On mine I have an outer lip that keeps the bearing from sliding all the way thru.  I bought these since the non lip ones were on back order, but worked out fine. This way I don't have to rely on just the 080 thread to hold them in place. Here is a pic. Hope this helps


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## Petit (Sep 1, 2014)

Brilliant thanks, yeah i am from the uk so its easier for me to make the poppin to metric equivalents in some places. Ill have a look for the flanged bearings i didnt actually see that the bearings sizes were listed oops! Looking forward to seeing yours running!
Cheers
Joe


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## Naiveambition (Oct 1, 2014)

Well it's finally done.  After rough build, I tore it part for polishing.  Also made a base out of an old gunstock. Inserted a brass plate for heat protection under the burner.    Stained and  roughly 10, 15 coats of satin clear.  

I'm feeling proud that I was able to accomplish a vacuum engine, as this is only my third engine. I've built two wobblers and gave one away. Granted I was a little testy at times, but I've learned to not rush the job, no shortcuts. 

Cannot find out why my ipad won't upload video to YouTube,   It makes all the way to upload then just stops and says can't upload video.  If anyone knows how to fix this please respond.


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## Naiveambition (Oct 1, 2014)

Another view


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## Naiveambition (Oct 1, 2014)

View of rear


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## Naiveambition (Oct 1, 2014)

Side view with cam


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## Swifty (Oct 1, 2014)

Very nice looking engine, I'm keen to see the video when you can get it on.

Paul.


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## mattty (Oct 1, 2014)

nice engine, where did you get the plans from?


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## Cogsy (Oct 1, 2014)

mattty said:


> nice engine, where did you get the plans from?


 
The plans for the Poppin are free and can be downloaded at  http://www.john-tom.com/MyPlans/SteamPlans3/poppin/Poppin-vacum-engSm.pdf

It's a popular build, I'm in the middle of making one myself.


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## Naiveambition (Jan 22, 2015)

Well I've been building a second Poppin for my father , and rather than starting another post, I thought I would just post the pics here. 

My father has been visiting and leaves in two days, so that's the deadline.

This version I went ahead and did a few of the cosmetic touches. Using a 1/2 in ball mill.  I used a regular end mill to do the front two radius, on the standard. I laid it on its side and cut vertically

  The rear was done with ball end mill with the part vertical. Was not planned though, while cutting the center valley, my part slipped out of the vise and put a nice chewing on the corner:wall:
  Did manage to save it and I like it better*beer*Thm:     

The base was added/ needed since my alum. block wasn't big enough , I also added the corner detailing and brought it up to height and shape. Pretty happy with it so far.. Most likely will paint just the flywheels and polish everything else due to deadline.


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## Naiveambition (Jan 22, 2015)

Here's. Rear veiw


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## Naiveambition (Mar 28, 2015)

Thought I would post finished pics of my dads poppin. Remade the burner and I think it is a nice fit. Also made a stand for presentation. Tried to mimic the old hit and miss mounting blocks.  Was made out of an old gunstock again. I like using this style wood, as it provides a nice finish with a good amount of clearcoat. It's a slow process but I think it makes all the difference over other woods.

Runs nice and keeps vibrations down bein somewhat heavy. Hope you enjoy


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## Naiveambition (Mar 28, 2015)

Here's the backside. Only real change from plans is the center valley to clear the oversized con-rod. And a different way of using the spring.


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