# Inverted Hit n Miss engine



## cfellows (Mar 28, 2012)

These are pictures of an inverted hit n miss engine I completed almost a year ago. The engine was designed and built to run on compressed air, and while it runs good, I decided it would be more fun and more exciting if it was converted over to internal combustion.

















Currently the engine has a bore and stroke of 1" x 1.5". I plan to make a new cylinder with a bore of 1.25", leaving the stroke at 1.5". I'll also make a new, thicker head and a shorter connecting rod to reduce the compression ratio to around 5:1. New intake valve assembly, new exhaust valve assembly, simple needle valve fuel mixer, new cam, ignition, 10mm spark plug and few other odds and ends should do it. Stay tuned...


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## AussieJimG (Mar 28, 2012)

Looks like a good project. 

I do like your projects Chuck and I will be watching all the way (and maybe commenting as well).

Jim


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## smfr (Mar 28, 2012)

Wow, Chuck, you're bringing out all the old engines now, and they are all beauties!


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## crab (Mar 28, 2012)

I'll be tuned in Chuck.
Bill


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## cfellows (Mar 30, 2012)

At the last minute, I decided to leave the bore size at 1". I wasn't sure the crank disk and crankshaft could take the additional power from a 1.25" bore and I figured I might as well use as much of the existing engine as I could.

So here is the original cylinder sitting on the head.






And here is a picture of the bottom of the head. Socket head cap screws are used up from the bottom to hold the cylinder in place. A socket threaded to accept the spark plug will be silver soldered into the center hole. The spark plug will be on the bottom of the head and will not be visible. I'm hoping I don't have fouling problems from this arrangement.






Here is the head from the top, cylinder side. I cut a deep recess in the middle to lower the compression ratio. This should bring it down to 6:1 or so. The recessed holes on the outside corners accept socket head cap screws which hold the cylinder/head assembly to the engine base.






I got roped into helping SWMBO paint the spare bedroom so may not have any updates for a couple of days (1 day to paint and a second day to recuperate!) :'(

Chuck


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## AussieJimG (Mar 30, 2012)

You could try Mr Bean's method: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9MAmWnOznI[/ame]

Jim


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## compspecial (Mar 30, 2012)

Hi Chuck, your energy and quality of your work is amazing, I find this conversion to I.C. very interesting. Hope you get your domestic duties over with soon. 
                            Stew


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## Ken I (Mar 30, 2012)

Hi Chuck, just signing in for the ride.

Ken


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## cfellows (Mar 31, 2012)

Well, my efforts at silver soldering a brass plug into the head to accept the spark plug were less than successful.  :-[ Couldn't get the solder to melt and I overheated the brass plug, partially melting it. I think I will now remake the head all in one piece.


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## Don1966 (Mar 31, 2012)

Hi Chucking I want to go on this ride too. That's a nice engine I never seen a conversion like that before. I have also done what you did with the silver soldering i kind of get the jitters when it comes to that.

Regards Don


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## Don1966 (Mar 31, 2012)

Sorry about misspelling your name Chuck this dog gone IPAD spells like it wants to. I didn't see it till after I posted it.

Don


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## cfellows (Mar 31, 2012)

Don1966  said:
			
		

> Sorry about misspelling your name Chuck this dog gone IPAD spells like it wants to. I didn't see it till after I posted it.
> 
> Don



Don't you just love the iPad completing your words for you? Most of the time it does pretty good, but sometimes, it really misses the boat!

Chuck


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## Don1966 (Mar 31, 2012)

Yea I do, but sometimes it just does what it wants. My wife is already wanting the new IPAD. I use mine for work and I am at work now. I use it mostly for manuals and drawings and I can connect to my office and home computer to retreive things I need. There are also plenty of reference APP's that make my job easier.

Don


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## cfellows (Apr 1, 2012)

You'd think I'd have learned by now that painting a room is always followed by hanging pictures, rearranging furniture and washing windows followed by a general house cleaning. My part of the labor includes hanging pictures (usually 2 or 3 times each), moving heavy furniture (usually 2 or 3 times each), washing windows (usually at least twice), and vacuuming the house.

But I did manage to squeeze in a bit of garage time to work on the new head for my engine. I decided to break into my jealously guarded collection of brass for the project. Here's a few pictures.

Here's the bottom and top, respectively, after the first set of operations. The spark plug will go into the center from the bottom...











Next I decided to make the head a little more organic, i.e., curvey...
















And the finished product...











Still have a little filing and polishing to to do and drill the holes for the intake and the exhaust.

Chuck


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## coopertje (Apr 1, 2012)

Nice work Chuck! As many others like your projects and work a lot :bow:

Related to the head, would it not have been more easy when you first drilled the holes for in and outlet and then make the nice rounded shape? I find it more easy to locate them on a square piece then on a round....

Looking forward to your progress, regards Jeroen


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## cfellows (Apr 1, 2012)

coopertje  said:
			
		

> Nice work Chuck! As many others like your projects and work a lot :bow:
> 
> Related to the head, would it not have been more easy when you first drilled the holes for in and outlet and then make the nice rounded shape? I find it more easy to locate them on a square piece then on a round....
> 
> Looking forward to your progress, regards Jeroen



Thanks, Jeroen. You're right about the holes. One of my big failings is I tend to jump first and think later. It's not uncommon for me to make things harder for myself by being impetuous. But, it also keeps things more interesting!  :-[

Chuck


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## metalmad (Apr 1, 2012)

Hi Chuck
I love that fixture plate on your R/T
Looks like a must have to me :bow:
Pete


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## cfellows (Apr 1, 2012)

metalmad  said:
			
		

> Hi Chuck
> I love that fixture plate on your R/T
> Looks like a must have to me :bow:
> Pete



Thanks, Pete, but that's not a fixture plate... that is the rotary table. 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am5774rnjtU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am5774rnjtU[/ame]

Chuck


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## Troutsqueezer (Apr 1, 2012)

Chuck, the plain fact is: You do good work. I like the curves in that piece. 

I've decided to make all my engines from here on out with extra pizazz. I care as much about the looks as the operation. After all, I spend more looking at them than running them. This one should look good up there on the shelf.


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## cfellows (Apr 1, 2012)

Thanks, Trout. A few months ago I had the same revelation... my models spend more time on the shelf than in the shop running, so why not make them pretty. Been trying to follow that mantra ever since.

Chuck


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## mnay (Apr 5, 2012)

Chuck,
I am still new on the forum and have learned much from you and others. Thanks for taking the time to document you ideas and share them with the rest of the world
Mike


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## cfellows (Apr 5, 2012)

Thanks for dropping in, Mike. Unfortunately I do make mistakes and hopefully you and others will recognize them and point them out.

Speaking of mistakes, I seem to have fallen into a pattern of starting on a part before I have fully thought it through. This usually either results in remaking the part, or working harder on subsequent parts to integrate them with first one.

Such is the case with the head on this cylinder. In trying to figure out how to attach the intake and exhaust manifolds, I finally decided I need to remake the head with some different dimensions. And, adhering to my new philosophy that I'll save the good material for the final pass, this time I'm using aluminum assuming I'll have at least one more go at it after this one to get it right!   Actually, I'm using aluminum because it's cheaper and I can't think of any good reason not to.

So, here is my new 2" x 2" x 3/4" blank ready for further machining. Stay tuned...


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## RonGinger (Apr 5, 2012)

I like your rotary table, very nicely made. 

Can you say a bit about the center bearing? Is there any kind of ball bearing in there, or just a simple, well fitted plain bearing?


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## Don1966 (Apr 5, 2012)

Chuck I have done the same thing many times. The bad part about it is when I use brass and have to throw it into a pile in the corner. That gets very expensive after a while and hell I have only built three engines. I ruin many a cylinders, chaulk it up to learning the hard way. I guess I should start using alimunium huh, a lot cheaper. I am still here watching with interest. 

Don.


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## cfellows (Apr 6, 2012)

RonGinger  said:
			
		

> I like your rotary table, very nicely made.
> 
> Can you say a bit about the center bearing? Is there any kind of ball bearing in there, or just a simple, well fitted plain bearing?



Thanks, Ron. Here is a link to a thread here which has some pictures of the table disassembled along with descriptions. I use this table in my mill more than my other two, geared rotary tables. 

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=7714.0

Much easier to set up and center work on this table. Also much faster to put a radius on a part. Just have to be careful not to climb cut unless they are very shallow or the bit can grab the work and spin it out of control very quickly. I got the idea for this rotary table from Model Engineer's Workshop, Summer 1990. Don't know if that's the first issue, but it's the earliest one I have.

Chuck


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## cfellows (Apr 6, 2012)

A few more pictures. I got the head pretty much finished today (and this will be the final one). First a picture of the bottom. The round part will extend down through the base and the spark plug will be threaded in from this side. I greatly increased the diameter of this so the thickness below the combustion chamber would be greater.






More work done on the top. The threaded hole coming in from the side will be the exhaust side.






Another shot of the bottom after drilling some holes and shaping the sides. The side with the long flat section will be the intake manifold side.






And the top...






Had to bore out the hole in the base to accommodate the larger circular portion on the bottom of the head.






Here's the base with the head bolted in place. I also had done a bit more shaping after I took the pictures above. There is now a raised ring, 1/16" thick and 1/16" high that encircles the cylinder.






And a picture of the base and head with the cylinder sitting in place.






I also plan to fancy up the cylinder, do some kind of curvy profiling on it, but haven't decided on a design yet.

Chuck


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## Brian Rupnow (Apr 6, 2012)

Chuck----What the heck kind of boring tool is that???


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## cfellows (Apr 6, 2012)

Brian Rupnow  said:
			
		

> Chuck----What the heck kind of boring tool is that???



It's a home made boring head I put together a number of years ago...

Chuck


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## Brian Rupnow (Apr 6, 2012)

You Sir, are a very clever and talented guy!!!


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## Captain Jerry (Apr 6, 2012)

Chuck

I know lots of people that have something in common with your engine. They have got their head where their butt ought to be.

Jerry


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## rhitee93 (Apr 6, 2012)

Chuck,

I am following along with interest on this hoping to learn what I can. Just building an engine to a set of plans is a challenge. Converting one from compressed air to IC is beyond my comprehension at this time.

I know it isn't part of this build, but how did you make the curved section of the base?


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## cfellows (Apr 6, 2012)

rhitee93  said:
			
		

> Chuck,
> 
> I am following along with interest on this hoping to learn what I can. Just building an engine to a set of plans is a challenge. Converting one from compressed air to IC is beyond my comprehension at this time.
> 
> I know it isn't part of this build, but how did you make the curved section of the base?



The bottom part of the base is just quarter inch thick angle iron.  The bottom side of the L is cut off to about,half an inch wide.

Chuck

Edit: The angle iron used in the base is 3/8" thick. The corners are mitred and welded on the inside. A 1/4" thich plate is welded on top.


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## cfellows (Apr 7, 2012)

Got the beginnings of the exhaust manifold and valve assembly.






The exhaust valve and cage will bolt down on top of the piece in the picture. 

Chuck


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## rhitee93 (Apr 7, 2012)

cfellows  said:
			
		

> The bottom part of the base is just quarter inch thick angle iron.  The bottom side of the L is cut off to about,half an inch wide.
> 
> Chuck
> 
> Edit: The angle iron used in the base is 3/8" thick. The corners are mitred and welded on the inside. A 1/4" thich plate is welded on top.



Wow, I would have never guessed that. Thanks!


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## Don1966 (Apr 7, 2012)

Chuck you make it all look so easy that is looking good. I like the way you rounded the corners it gives it some appeal. Are you going for the Victorian look? I am still glued to you progress you keep it interesting.
I like your style

Don


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## cfellows (Apr 7, 2012)

Don1966  said:
			
		

> Chuck you make it all look so easy that is looking good. I like the way you rounded the corners it gives it some appeal. Are you going for the Victorian look? I am still glued to you progress you keep it interesting.
> I like your style
> 
> Don



Thanks, Don. After you do a number of these things, you kind of get a rhythm going. Not really going for a Victorian look per se. Just trying to pretty it up where I can. I started out making engines all square and blocky, happy just to get them to run. But over the years, I've figured out they might as well be pretty as well as functional. That makes them fun to look at even when they aren't running. Also gets more comments from people who haven't a clue about what they are or what they do!

Chuck


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## cfellows (Apr 7, 2012)

Well, Photobucket seems to be inaccessible and I haven't a clue how to post pictures from FLICKR, so will have to attach them.

Here is the exhaust valve cage mostly finished. The second picture shows it attop the exhaust valve bottom assembly.

Chuck


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## cfellows (Apr 7, 2012)

Well, Photobucket seems to be inaccessible and I haven't a clue how to post pictures from FLICKR, so will have to attach them.

Here is the exhaust valve cage mostly finished. The second picture shows it attop the exhaust valve bottom assembly.

Chuck


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## cfellows (Apr 8, 2012)

The only thing left on the Exhaust Assembly is the valve itself and retainer pieces. Here's a few pictures of the assembly.





















Think I'll tackle the intake assembly next, probably tomorrow.

Chuck


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## AussieJimG (Apr 8, 2012)

It's coming along well Chuck, and I am enjoying the ride.
Thanks.

Jim


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## NickG (Jul 1, 2012)

Looks good Chuck, I was just thinking about possible designs for an inverted ic engine for my first one the other day ... Will be interesting to watch the rest of this.

Nick


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## cfellows (Jul 1, 2012)

NickG  said:
			
		

> Looks good Chuck, I was just thinking about possible designs for an inverted ic engine for my first one the other day ... Will be interesting to watch the rest of this.
> 
> Nick



This has been on the back burner for a couple of months now. I do plan to return to it, but can't say for sure when. Been busy with house projects for a while now but looks like they should all be pretty much finished. Now I just have to see if I can rein in my tendency to follow every little whim that comes my way. The internet (and youtube) can be very distracting!

Chuck


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## Captain Jerry (Jul 1, 2012)

cfellows  said:
			
		

> Now I just have to see if I can rein in my tendency to follow every little whim that comes my way. The internet (and youtube) can be very distracting!
> 
> Chuck



Amen!

I have very little self discipline. There are very few deadlines in my life and the only schedule that matters is 5 o'clock refreshments.

Jerry


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## NickG (Jul 2, 2012)

Know what you mean chuck, i've got a list of projects that keeps changing as I look on here and youtube, things get swapped around but unfortunately nothing seems to get started for me!


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