# First engine



## coffeebean16 (Jun 12, 2020)

First engine. Air powered wobbler. Got the plans and instruction from mrpete222 on YouTube.


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## minh-thanh (Jun 12, 2020)

Congratulations !
Personal opinion, grind clean scratches of  bit  milling will make the engine more beautiful


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## ZebDog (Jun 12, 2020)

Congrats on your first build


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## aka9950202 (Jun 12, 2020)

Well done.  What is your next project? 

Cheers, 
Andrew in Melbourne


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## Don Pittman (Jun 12, 2020)

good job...it will only be a start of a long rewarding past time.


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## Tim Wescott (Jun 12, 2020)

minh-thanh said:


> Congratulations !
> Personal opinion, grind clean scratches of  bit  milling will make the engine more beautiful



But, if it works, it's automatically pretty -- you can only make it look better after that.

(Coming from an experienced design engineer who's been sold a few too many _really good looking_ failures over the years).


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## Pthunberg (Jun 13, 2020)

Very nice congratulations. That was the first engine I built also.


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## Peter Twissell (Jun 13, 2020)

Good start.
There's an old saying in engineering:
"If you can't make it good, make it shiny".
The saying refers to anything made for a customer, preferably one that you're never going to see again.
I prefer another saying, common among motorcyclists:
"Chrome won't get you home".
Function comes first. I'm much more impressed by something that works than something that just looks good.
Either way, if you're happy with it, you've succeeded!


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## coffeebean16 (Jun 13, 2020)

Flame eater from “steam and sterling 2” is next in the list.


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## Cogsy (Jun 14, 2020)

Great first engine but I wouldn't recommend a flamelicker as your second. They can be very difficult to get running and many of them end up as paperweights even when attempted by seasoned machinists. But it can be done so if your heart is set on it then go for it! Good luck.


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## minh-thanh (Jun 14, 2020)

Maybe I'm wrong, but I usually make the engine run and then make it look better., Anyway, I'm also happier when the engine run and  it look better.
Of course I am a new person.


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## rsmith111333 (Jun 14, 2020)

coffeebean16 said:


> Flame eater from “steam and sterling 2” is next in the list.View attachment 117107


Where can I get the drawings to
Make this ?  Thanks


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## Tom 1948 (Jun 14, 2020)

Wobblers are good builds to get familiar with basic machining.  I am still learning myself and I have been doing it for a few years. On my builds I try to make them run on as little air pressure as possible. Its a personnel challenge. I have been able to get some down to a pound or less of air pressure. You got to work at maintaining a good seal while reducing the parasitic  drag. I approach it as if i was building a high performance race engine.


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## Steamchick (Jun 14, 2020)

Of course you'll get some 'criticism' - but it isn't meant as such, just advice so you can learn and improve, as we have done. My advice is as follows. The mating faces between the cylinder and mount needs to be polished smooth. This is so the ports seal as the cylinder passes back and fro between them. Lubricate the  cylinder/support faces with Molybdenum as this will ease or prevent scuffing between the aluminium faces. Any scoring will cause leakage which isn't any good for sound running. To linish faces of the aluminium cylinder and column, use progressively finer grades of wet and dry paper, lubricated with water or light oil or parafin, and with the abrasive paper flat on a good surface, work the part in a figure-of-eight pattern, while applying some, but not heavy, pressure. When you get to 1000 grade paper you can finch with grinding paste or toothpaste... Clean the finished surface thoroughly before re-assembly. Lubricate the surfaces and the central pin when re-assembling. Ensure none of the grindings get into the cylinder or on other parts. Cleanliness IS next to God lines for running engines..


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## coffeebean16 (Jun 14, 2020)

rsmith111333 said:


> Where can I get the drawings to
> Make this ?  Thanks


I got mine on amazon. But they are available from multiple sources. I have volumes 1&2. There are at least 3 available. I’m very satisfied with the books. Step by step instruction and full drawings showing every dimension you need to know. Between the two books I have several years of work if I were to build every plan set. But I’m not retired.
Dave


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## Master (Jun 14, 2020)

Great job coffeebean16.  I've made three Flame Eaters.  One runs great the other two look good on the shelf.  Besides that the good runner is dirty from running.  My good friend said about small engines "making them is easy, making them run is difficult.


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## Pthunberg (Jun 14, 2020)

You might want to have a look at some of Elmer’s Engines. The plans are available free on the internet. Some of the parts can be kind of small, but then so are the materials required. I have completed 4 of his engines. Great way to learn machining methods and so far all have run well.


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## Danuzzo (Jun 15, 2020)

I like your engine, Coffee. Similar design to my first engine which is currently in progress. Hope I can get mine to work.


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## coffeebean16 (Jun 15, 2020)

Danuzzo said:


> I like your engine, Coffee. Similar design to my first engine which is currently in progress. Hope I can get mine to work.


Danuzzo,
Couple things I found helpful.
Make your piston to fit your bore. It’s much easier to make a new piston than a new block. I polished with compound to get a fit that pops when you cover the ports and pull the piston out.

sand and polish the mating surfaces between the block and the upright so you get a fit that doesn’t allow light to get through. I know the finish(or lack there of) of the rest of my project drew some attention. I paid close attention to those two in order to make them as airtight as possible.

If you have questions I’d be happy to tell you about my build. Obviously I lack the experience of the other members here.

dave


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## Master (Jun 15, 2020)

I've made about 25 engines. (They are addictive).  So far compression hasn't been a big problem.  I seem to run into issues with carburetor air leakage.  Can't seem to get the right gasket material.  On these small engines it doesn't take much to create a problem.


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## Richard Hed (Jun 15, 2020)

I'm wondering if anyone has ever heard of this "Double-cross over " engine.  It has two cylinders, and four pistons in which two piston rods are hollow in which the other two piston rods travel.  The Pistons travel in opposite directions and the cylinders have no end caps.  Really weird.  I am drawing it up, but to make it will have to wait.  It doesn't look all that difficult to make, however,


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## Richard Hed (Jun 15, 2020)

coffeebean16 said:


> Danuzzo,
> Couple things I found helpful.
> Make your piston to fit your bore. It’s much easier to make a new piston than a new block. I polished with compound to get a fit that pops when you cover the ports and pull the piston out.
> 
> ...


I have accidentally made cylinders a few thou oversized.   That's why I always make the cylinder bore first, in case I over do it.  Then I can make the piston to fit.


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## Danuzzo (Jun 15, 2020)

Thank's, Dave. I do have the piston /cylinder portion complete with a very good fit. Only thing left to do on the cylinder is to drill the intake/exhaust bore. It's been  a slow process; but, I am enjoying it.

I may take you up on your offer to answer questions. At this point I am trying to conceptualize the best process as to the intake/ exhaust bores on the cylinder and the mount. Need to look at it some more' before I go asking dumb questions.

Edit: Thank's Richard. I did not see your post before I posted this one.


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## coffeebean16 (Jun 15, 2020)

Danuzzo said:


> Thank's, Dave. I do have the piston /cylinder portion complete with a very good fit. Only thing left to do on the cylinder is to drill the intake/exhaust bore. It's been  a slow process; but, I am enjoying it.
> 
> I may take you up on your offer to answer questions. At this point I am trying to conceptualize the best process as to the intake/ exhaust bores on the cylinder and the mount. Need to look at it some more' before I go asking dumb questions.
> 
> Edit: Thank's Richard. I did not see your post before I posted this one.


I’ll look for the video that I used as instruction covering just that. Works out to be very easy but stressful because of the potential to need to remake parts. Give me a few hours and I’ll get back to you with it.
Dave


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## coffeebean16 (Jun 16, 2020)

Danuzzo,
Check out this on YouTube 
Tubal Cain builds an oscillating steam engine part 4/5 at minute 18:00

he describes how to locate the ports with transfer punches. 
worth watching the entire build, that’s how I built mine. He gives dimensions in part 6. I drew up a set of plans and wrote an order of operations from part 6 that I took into my shop.


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## lathe nut (Jun 16, 2020)

Danuzzo, congratulation on your hobby, that was my first engine also, your new hobby that take more of your time the more you get hooked, a  money and tools, will be the money pit,  but you can find a way to pay for them with small machine jobs that people need and looks like for some things they need getting a little harder and longer to get that is where the Home Shop will win, when I started years ago it was because I wanted something for a use I needed so hacked and sawed until it come to the part where I needed something machined, no home shop where I lived, went to professional, they would not even make the piece I needed, so I started looking for a lathe and found one, then I had something that I could not believed with out now, then started looking at what others were building that was simple and found the wobble engine, will attach pic of it, I did not even have a piece big enough to make the flywheel so I used an old cast handle off of a steam valve, my intentions were to make this one out of 1/2" stock then make another on larger by 1/2" increments until I got to 4" square and mount them all on a board with an air manifold, then I found the little steam engine  Rudy Kouhoupt has an excellent book and simple projects, (by the way the one lathe I found has now turned into 12 lathes) never enough lathes ?, will attach pic of the first two that I made, have fun, there is a well spring of wisdom at this site.


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