# Duplex Factory Steam Engine



## enginemaker1 (Mar 27, 2010)

I've been building this engine for almost two years now. The work has been slow, mostly done in the winter. Sorry I didn't start the post sooner. Will give updates as I continue.

Tom


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## ozzie46 (Mar 27, 2010)

Very very nice.

  Ron


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## gbritnell (Mar 27, 2010)

Excellent build so far. You'll have to explain to us how you did the fluting on the cylinder heads and steam chest covers.
gbritnell


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## Jeff02 (Mar 27, 2010)

Man, you giving me some GOOD ideas. 

Great looking build, thanks for sharing!


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## BAH101 (Mar 27, 2010)

Very nice Thm:. I can see the bling fairy getting pretty frustrated with you , but it will be well worth it


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## enginemaker1 (Mar 27, 2010)

This is how I did the steam chest and cylinder head.

I first make the cylinder head blanks.




I then setup mt dividing head on my bridgeport and set for 12 divisions.
I used a 60 degree carbide threading cutter in a fly cutter holder and set the tool on center of the head.
Set my depth and cut along the face till I got close to the center and set a stop.





I did the same for the steam chest but I just used a large round stock as you can see in the pics.













To finish I cut my shoulder and drilled my holes then cutoff.

Tom


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## GailInNM (Mar 27, 2010)

Very nice, Tom.
Those heads and covers really enhance the already good looks of your build. :bow:
Thank you for sharing your technique with us. I suspect that it will be copied many times.
Gail in NM


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## deere_x475guy (Mar 27, 2010)

Great looking engine and thanks for sharing.


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## zeeprogrammer (Mar 27, 2010)

Beautiful work.
I'm glad someone asked about the heads and covers.


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## SBWHART (Mar 27, 2010)

Cracking bit of work Tom top class

Very cleaver way of fluting it looks very good.

Look forward to following the rest of the build

Stew


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## black85vette (Mar 27, 2010)

Very nice work. Great details and bling. What is the size of this engine?  :bow:


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## itowbig (Mar 27, 2010)

cool one day ill make pretty things out of metal


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## SAM in LA (Mar 27, 2010)

Pretty fancy machining.

The fluting looks wonderful.

This will be a unique engine when completed.

I'm looking forward to seeing more of your build log.

Thanks for sharing.

SAM


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## Philjoe5 (Mar 27, 2010)

Outstanding work. This is a unique engine with many distinctive features.  :bow:
Thanks for sharing this amazing build.

I have a question about the extension on the steam chest opposite the valve rod side. I have seen this on some engines before. Is it decorative or does it actually serve as a guide for the valve rod?

Cheers,
Phil


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## 4156df (Mar 27, 2010)

Tom,
Thanks for sharing your technique. I've been wondering how you did the heads since you first posted the picture.
Dennis


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## enginemaker1 (Mar 27, 2010)

Thanks to all for the kind words.

Phil, That actually supports the steam valve rod, But it dose look good don't it.

black85vette, It's about 18 inches long. the flywheels are 6-1/2 inches in diameter x 1-1/4 inches wide.

Tom


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## kendo (Mar 27, 2010)

Hi Tom
     Absolutely brilliant, now that's some bling going on there. Looking
     forward to the rest of the build, gotta add this one to my favourites 

                         Ken


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## steamer (Mar 27, 2010)

That looks like it might be a Hendy.....Is it?

Dave


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## enginemaker1 (Mar 27, 2010)

Yes it is Dave. Can't look up year, 20's 30's, has no serial number.
14" x 5' complete with face plate, 3,4, and 6 jaw chucks, collets, steady rest, and taper attachment.

Tom


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## steamer (Mar 28, 2010)

Cool!

Ran a 16" one once at the museum....nice lathe.

Dave


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## enginemaker1 (Aug 22, 2010)

The following pictures show the progression of the steps I used in making the connecting rods.


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## 4156df (Aug 23, 2010)

Tom,
Very nicely done. Thanks for posting.
Dennis


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## Deanofid (Aug 23, 2010)

You sure are putting out some nice looking work, Tom. 
Thanks for the update on your build.

Dean


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## enginemaker1 (Aug 23, 2010)

Some pics of milling the sides of the ball to fit the connecting rod guide for the wrist pin.






.











Tom


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## doubletop (Aug 24, 2010)

Tom

Standards to aspire to. I wouldn't know where to start

Pete


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## njl (Aug 25, 2010)

Yep I'd second that Pete, lovely work, maybe one day if we keep trying!

Nick


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## enginemaker1 (Aug 26, 2010)

Some new pictures on how I made the connecting rod end caps.
First I used my ball turning tool to cut the .750 rad on the end of the bar stock.








Then turn the 1.242 dia.




Cut off the end to mount in the v block.




I then mill to width and flats for the bolts.




I then drilled the bolts holes.




I then used a slitting saw to cut off the end cap. I will finish milling the end caps and mount to the connecting rod to ream the holes. More pics to follow.

Tom


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## enginemaker1 (Aug 28, 2010)

I finished my connecting rods today. They turned out ok. Some of the dimensions didnt work out like I planned. After installing them I found that I will need to cut a recess into the base plate to clear the corner of the end cap. 
Tom


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## Deanofid (Aug 28, 2010)

Really looking good, Tom. It's going to be a beautiful engine.

Dean


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## larry1 (Aug 28, 2010)

Tom,  Great work, beatiful engine. larry


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## enginemaker1 (Jan 22, 2011)

I'm sorry for not posting much progress on this engine. Work has been busy, then all the snow came to the northeast. The following pics show the some of the parts that I made for the tubing fitting that will connect the main steam line to the governor.

Tom


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## 1hand (Jan 22, 2011)

Tom,

That's going to be a work of art!!! Nice job! Thm:

Are these modified plans your using? Where you get them?


Matt


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## enginemaker1 (Jan 23, 2011)

Thanks Matt

I've been drawing the plans as I go. When I finish the engine, I will put the plans into into book form.

Tom


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## compspecial (Jan 23, 2011)

Pardon my ignorance. but I've never seen a 6jaw chuck before. are they independent or self centering? They would certainly have a good grip on the work!
                      Stew


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## GWRdriver (Jan 23, 2011)

compspecial  said:
			
		

> I've never seen a 6jaw chuck before.


Hi Stew,
The first ones I saw were made by Buck in the USA and Pratt/Bernerd in the UK. They are self-centering and typically have an "adjust-tru" feature so they can be clocked in at -0- runout for a given diameter of work. I usually keep mine dead-on for 1/2" diameter. They do grip the work well and some folks elect to spend the money on a 6-jaw rather than collets. I bought mine 25 years ago and they were never cheap and are far less so now. Imports can now be had at less painful prices.


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## compspecial (Jan 23, 2011)

Thanks for the info GWR, that's something else I've learned!


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## enginemaker1 (Jan 23, 2011)

I did some work on my eccentrics and did some pics. I'm planning on using stevenson valve gear so I made four. next I need to spend some time on my CAD station to layout and draw the slide link. Hope to have it soon. 

Tom





Mounted a arbor into four jaw chuck and set offset to .125.





Turned .874 diameter for eccentric strap.






Drill and tap for set screw.


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## Jeff02 (Jan 23, 2011)

What are you using to bend such nice un-kinked 90s in brass tube?

Thanks!


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## enginemaker1 (Jan 23, 2011)

Bending brass tubing is a pain.  :redface2:

 I tried so many ways till I finally found one that work for me. The tubing diameter I use was 9/32. I had some long springs with just the right internal dimensions. I slipped it on then used a standard tubing bender to fit the OD of the spring. 

 If you look at the picture above you can see the ripple from the spring on the inside of the tubing radius. I made three elbows and found no cracks.

Tom


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## enginemaker1 (Jan 26, 2011)

I was able to spend some time on making the eccentric straps. The following pictures show how I did it.


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## Philjoe5 (Jan 26, 2011)

Nicely done Tom. I have a question. Typically I've seen two mating parts made from dissimilar metals to prevent galling. But the use of brass eccentrics and straps seems to be fairly common from what I've seen. Is that because the motion is pretty limited so galling isn't a problem?

Cheers,
Phil


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## enginemaker1 (Jan 27, 2011)

Phil

I understand what your saying, but I only seem to have that problem with aluminum.
It just might be that the motion is slow. I used the same material on the Mine Engine and the Factory Engine and it has not been a problem.

Tom


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## enginemaker1 (Feb 1, 2011)

I started making the valve slide links. As you can see in the pics I first machined the location of all the holes. Then cut the arcs. After I cut the first one off, I moved the plate to the other hole on the center pin and started all over.

Tom


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## enginemaker1 (Feb 6, 2011)

Here are the final pictures of the slide link. I still need to do finish polish to remove tool marks, but that will come at a later date. I also had put sometime into making the connectors for the slide link. 






















Tom


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## enginemaker1 (Feb 16, 2011)

I've added some more pictures to show how my stevenson valve gear is progressing.

Tom


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## gbritnell (Feb 16, 2011)

Tom,
Outstanding work. One of the things that steam engines have over I.C. engines is all the exposed linkages and such. The quality of your work on all these pieces is exceptional. Keep up the good work.
gbritnell


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## enginemaker1 (Feb 18, 2011)

I know how you guys like pictures, so here's some more. I was able to whip out three oil cups for the main bearings. Nothing fancy, I know that I could buy them but what the hey. 

Tom


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## enginemaker1 (Feb 19, 2011)

gbritnell

Thanks for the words if inspiration. Sometimes the length of time that it takes to complete such an engine gets discouraging. responce from others give the motivation to keep going. 

Thanks to all on this forum.

Tom


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## Philjoe5 (Feb 20, 2011)

Tom,
I've been looking for an oil cup design I really like and believe I've found one. :bow: Many thanks for posting,

Cheers,
Phil


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## 1hand (Feb 20, 2011)

Tom,

Outstanding!!!! This is turning out to be one of my most favorite engines for future builds.

What size are the brass acorn nuts, and where do you source them from?


Keep up the great work!
Matt


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## Metal Butcher (Feb 20, 2011)

Top quality workmanship Tom! :bow:

And a lot of it! 

-MB


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## Troutsqueezer (Feb 21, 2011)

Now I have to go out and upgrade my equipment, sheesh....

First class work there, man. :bow:


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## tel (Feb 21, 2011)

Very tidy work indeed! Thm:


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## enginemaker1 (Feb 21, 2011)

Thanks all for the great comments.

Matt - The brass Acorn nuts are 10-32 size. I just happen to get get them from the local True Value hardware store. As you can see in the pics I wasn't able to get enough and one or two of them are two piece with a brass cap. If I can't get some more I may have to make my own. 

I started to make a lot of brass hex head screws to replace the socket head screws. Should look nice when completed to fill all the empty holes you see in the pictures.

Tom


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## 1hand (Feb 21, 2011)

enginemaker1  said:
			
		

> Thanks all for the great comments.
> 
> Matt - The brass Acorn nuts are 10-32 size. I just happen to get get them from the local True Value hardware store. As you can see in the pics I wasn't able to get enough and one or two of them are two piece with a brass cap. If I can't get some more I may have to make my own.
> 
> ...



Thanks Tom,

I love the look of the brass fasteners!

MB hooked me up on a link yesterday.

http://monsterfastener.com/sizelist.aspx?type=Cap Nut

Matt


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## dgjessing (Feb 21, 2011)

Beautiful! :bow:


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## enginemaker1 (Feb 22, 2011)

I must be crazy! I started making my brass hex head screws for my cylinder head and bearing caps. A total of 68 screws. I know I could buy them, but I just wanted to do them myself. I've done just about everything. I think they look a lot better then the socket head cap screws I had in there.

Tom


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## 1hand (Feb 22, 2011)

That really makes it pop!

Matt


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