# Wood Beam Engine fabricated by SAM



## SAM in LA (Apr 27, 2010)

I finally decided that Elmer's #1 Wood Beam Engine would be my next project.

I'm using some unknown species of dark hardwood which my FIL picked up from the scrap pile of a floor installation and some white oak left over from the stair case in his house.

I went through the drawings and made my material and cutting list. There sure are a lot of small pieces of wood used in this engine.

I consider myself to be well versed (as a hobbyist) in the use of table saw (except when cutting very small pieces of wood) and other woodworking tools and have the scars to prove it. Yesterday, I added a new scar which will take a couple of weeks to complete. I split my thumb open on the table saw. :wall: A visit to the local Emergency room, some stitches and I'm good to go.







What do you think of my new surface plate that I built yesterday? ;D
I still need to cut the wood to length and do all of the joinery. Many hours will be required to complete the woodwork.
After getting blood all over the place I figured out a safer way to cut these small pieces.
First I run the piece through the saw standing on edge, like you would when cutting a tenion.  :idea:
[Photo removed to protect the innocent.]
Then I run the piece through on its side.
[Photo removed to protect the innocent.]
Much safer.
Why is it that your brain starts working better after a loss of blood.  ???
More to follow.
SAM
Warning, using tools can be dangerous. My way of doing things may not be the way you should do it. Remember that you are responsible for your own safety.


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## kcmillin (Apr 27, 2010)

Ouch, a table saw. Jeeeeeez. your lucky you still have a finger. You do still have a finger, Right?

This looks like a neat engine, nice change from metal, eh. 

Kel


PS. In your Avatar, Is that Doc Brown Showing Marty McFly how to work the flux capacitor. ;D :big: ;D :big:


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## Foozer (Apr 27, 2010)

SAM in LA  said:
			
		

> I finally decided that Elmer's #1 Wood Beam Engine would be my next project.
> 
> 
> Why is it that your brain starts working better after a loss of blood.  ???
> ...



Table saws, not my favourite piece of equipment. Push sticks and feather boards, keep them fingers away. 

Hope the wound heals up Ok, be careful, hobby not worth the lose of limb.

Robert


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## SAM in LA (Apr 27, 2010)

kcmillin  said:
			
		

> Ouch, a table saw. Jeeeeeez. your lucky you still have a finger. You do still have a finger, Right?
> 
> This looks like a neat engine, nice change from metal, eh.
> 
> ...



Kel,

That's me watching John DeLorean autographing the glove box lid on my car.

I still have my thumb. I was using a push stick in my right hand and reached across with my left hand to catch the piece of wood. Fortunately, I did not succumb to a terminal case of dumbas*, just a temporary case.


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## SAM in LA (Apr 27, 2010)

Foozer  said:
			
		

> Table saws, not my favourite piece of equipment. Push sticks and feather boards, keep them fingers away.
> 
> Hope the wound heals up Ok, be careful, hobby not worth the lose of limb.
> 
> Robert



Thanks Robert.

I lost 3 hours of production yesterday sitting in the Emergency Room and of course I'm working slower now.

Live and learn.

SAM


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## bearcar1 (Apr 27, 2010)

Sam, sorry to hear of your injury, they are always tough, both on ones ego as well as the body itself. If I may make a suggestion that would make me feel a whole lot better ;D, when you need to cut those small strips from the edges, do it so that the 'scab' is away from the rip fence and not trapped between it and the blade as you show it.. Thank you for your consideration. That engine has always piqued my interest for many years and I have seen one that was masterfully done and finished to a standard that made it appear 'just made', 100yrs ago. It was fantastic.

BC1
Jim


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## Maryak (Apr 27, 2010)

Sam,

Glad you came through with all the bits still attached even if some of it is stitched together. : Interesting engine, our ancestors sure knew how to combine wood and metal.

Best Regards
Bob


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## Saskford (Apr 27, 2010)

That engine was my last years project. You are right, there is a lot more woodworking to this engine than metalworking. If you do not want to bother with all the tenon joints you can use small dowels instead. It is a real fun build and will run very slow just like a full size version would. Sorry to hear about the injury, hope it heals alright.
Gary


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## Hilmar (Apr 27, 2010)

Same, 
  that cut in the third picture is not much saver as you say.
That cut should be mad on the outside. What you have is a arrow cut.
If cut twice the lower piece fly's out or wedges if cut once.
The larger piece could fly back at you
Hilmar


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## kcmillin (Apr 27, 2010)

SAM in LA  said:
			
		

> Kel,
> 
> That's me watching John DeLorean autographing the glove box lid on my car.



There is so many parts of that statement I am jealous of.
  1. You met John Delorean
  2. You have a Delorean
  3. Your Delorean is signed by John Delorean. 

Never sell that car. (unless its to me :big: :big: :big

Kel


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## SAM in LA (Apr 27, 2010)

kcmillin  said:
			
		

> There is so many parts of that statement I am jealous of.
> 1. You met John Delorean
> 2. You have a Delorean
> 3. Your Delorean is signed by John Delorean.
> ...



Kel,

That car is a hobby I have not had time to mess with for years.

I need to find the time to make it road worthy again.

So many toys, so little time to play with them.

SAM


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## Philjoe5 (Apr 27, 2010)

SAM,
Glad to hear you are in healing mode. I have a scar in the palm of my hand from a molding head cutter making friends with my push stick. Ouch!

A wooden engine, who'da thunk ??? Wow, I'll be checking in on this build. Thanks for posting.

I only saw a Delorean up close once, and that was in a museum in Massachusetts as I recall. Lucky you.

Cheers,
Phil


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## Jasonb (Apr 28, 2010)

> I consider myself to be well versed in the use of table saw and other woodworking tools and have the scars to prove it. Yesterday, I added a new scar which will take a couple of weeks to complete.



As someone who uses a table saw most days I would say you are not well versed. 

No Crown Guard, No Riving Knife that I can see, Trapping small slithers between blade and fence. But tehn again its different in the US, I could be shutdown or fined heavily for the first two items.

Not really having a go at you but for someone not used to using a saw they may try the same setup as they see in your pics and will likely also end up in hospital.

Jason


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## SAM in LA (Apr 28, 2010)

Jasonb  said:
			
		

> As someone who uses a table saw most days I would say you are not well versed.
> 
> No Crown Guard, No Riving Knife that I can see, Trapping small slithers between blade and fence. But then again its different in the US, I could be shutdown or fined heavily for the first two items.
> 
> ...



Jason,

You made a good point. "Well versed as a hobbyist not cutting small pieces of wood." is what I should have said. Unfortunately, the pieces I need are the small sliver's of wood. On the left side of the blade there is a 1/4" gap between the blade and the table top. The way the table top is made, I am unable to make a zero clearance insert around the blade. I tried using a piece of duct tape on the left side to prevent the wood sliver I wanted from falling. That did not work well. The riving knife is long gone, it did not work. I will remove the offending pictures from my original post.


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## SAM in LA (Apr 28, 2010)

Today was a good day. I didn't spill any blood, no visits to the emergency room and I got the flywheel put together.

I used my miter saw to cut the angles on the spokes and rim pieces. I used stop blocks and clamps to make sure that my hands were well protected from the carnivorous saw blade.

Once all of the flywheel pieces were cut to length I laid out the spokes and used bits of scrap and hot melt glue to make a fixture. The spokes were glued with 5 minute epoxy.




Then I epoxied the outer pieces to the spokes.





Another fixture was made so the two outer rings could be epoxied together.

Here is what the completed assembly looks like.






I still need to sand off the excess epoxy. Once the hub is mounted, I might use studs and nuts through the flywheel to make it look like it is bolted together.

Thanks for looking in.


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## kcmillin (Apr 28, 2010)

Looking Good Sam. I enjoy seeing wood come together in such a way. 

What did you use to get the flywheel round? Bandsaw, Lathe, handsaw.

Kel


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## SAM in LA (Apr 28, 2010)

kcmillin  said:
			
		

> Looking Good Sam. I enjoy seeing wood come together in such a way.
> 
> What did you use to get the flywheel round? Bandsaw, Lathe, handsaw.
> 
> Kel



Kel,

I chucked it up in the lathe and took very light cuts to get it round. Tomorrow I want to machine the hub and get every thing running true. I don't want it to look like a piece of furniture so I am looking for ideas on how to make it look like it was made a 100 years ago. Any ideas?


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## bearcar1 (Apr 28, 2010)

Square headed bolts and square nuts would be in order for fasteners. Square pegs doweling the pieces together wold also be of that time period. As for any 'weathering' or 'aging', have a look at Micro Mark, they carry a range of solutions widely used by model railroaders for achieving that look to their rolling stock. Parkerizing of the metal pieces would go a long way as well.

BC1
Jim


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## Philjoe5 (Apr 28, 2010)

Nicely done on the flywheel SAM. A neat method for building one up :bow:

Cheers,
Phil


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## SAM in LA (Apr 29, 2010)

Today I machined the brass hub and brass flange for the wooden flywheel. These two parts go on opposite sides of the flywheel and fasten together by through bolts.






I still need to drill six holes, 1/16 D, through the flange, flywheel and hub.

I mounted the flywheel to my four jaw, indicated the OD and skimmed both faces so they wouldn't wobble.






I may need to add weights to the flywheel. I'll find out when it runs.

Thanks for stopping by.

PS No blood was shed today.


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## Foozer (Apr 29, 2010)

Looking good so far.

No blood spilt is always a plus

Robert


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## Deanofid (Apr 29, 2010)

That wheel came out a beauty, Sam.
Too bad you had to get brown stuff on your lathe, but it was worth it!

Dean


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## zeeprogrammer (Apr 29, 2010)

Niiiice looking flywheel Sam.


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## Blogwitch (Apr 30, 2010)

I just wish I had the knowledge and skills to make stuff like that, but it has always eluded me. 

That is a very nice flywheel indeed, and I suppose when it is completely finished, it will look stunning. I can't wait to see what the rest will turn out like.


Bogs


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## SBWHART (Apr 30, 2010)

Great looking flywheel Sam this will be a very nice engine.

Sorry about your loss of blood hope its healing up well:- Table saws scare the c**p out of me.

Have fun

Stew


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## SAM in LA (Apr 30, 2010)

zeeprogrammer  said:
			
		

> Niiiice looking flywheel Sam.



Zee, Thanks.


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## SAM in LA (Apr 30, 2010)

bearcar1  said:
			
		

> Square headed bolts and square nuts would be in order for fasteners. Square pegs doweling the pieces together wold also be of that time period. As for any 'weathering' or 'aging', have a look at Micro Mark, they carry a range of solutions widely used by model railroaders for achieving that look to their rolling stock. Parkerizing of the metal pieces would go a long way as well.
> 
> BC1
> Jim



Jim, I like the idea of using square nuts and weathering the wood and metal. I will explore those options after it runs. (If it runs)

SAM


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## SAM in LA (Apr 30, 2010)

Philjoe5  said:
			
		

> Nicely done on the flywheel SAM. A neat method for building one up :bow:
> 
> Cheers,
> Phil



Thanks Phil.


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## SAM in LA (Apr 30, 2010)

Foozer  said:
			
		

> Looking good so far.
> 
> No blood spilt is always a plus
> 
> Robert



Robert, Thanks. The blood stains on the floor are a reminder to me to make sure I am being safe while working. th_rulze

SAM


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## SAM in LA (Apr 30, 2010)

sbwhart  said:
			
		

> Great looking flywheel Sam this will be a very nice engine.
> 
> Sorry about your loss of blood hope its healing up well:- Table saws scare the c**p out of me.
> 
> ...



Stew,

Thanks. My thumb should heal up just fine. Powered wood tools deserve respect, just as machine tools should. Usually with wood tools you are either moving the wood by hand or moving the flaying meat chopper by hand. With machine tools, the work is secured in a vice or chuck and you move the tools with levers and hand wheels. (there are exceptions)


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## SAM in LA (Apr 30, 2010)

Bogstandard  said:
			
		

> I just wish I had the knowledge and skills to make stuff like that, but it has always eluded me.
> 
> That is a very nice flywheel indeed, and I suppose when it is completely finished, it will look stunning. I can't wait to see what the rest will turn out like.
> 
> ...



Bogs,

Thanks. I wish that I had the skill and knowledge to make the things that you have.

SAM


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## SAM in LA (Apr 30, 2010)

kcmillin  said:
			
		

> Ouch, a table saw. Jeeeeeez. your lucky you still have a finger. You do still have a finger, Right?
> 
> This looks like a neat engine, nice change from metal, eh.
> 
> ...



Kel,

My Flux Capacitor isn't working right now.

My Mr. Fusion still works.












SAM


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## kcmillin (Apr 30, 2010)

Thats Awesome. Way too Cool!!!

Gotta get that car goin!

Kel


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## SAM in LA (Apr 30, 2010)

Today I only managed to drill and tap 6 holes through the hub, flywheel and flange.

I set up my rotary table. Earlier, I had made up a stub that fits in the center hole of the rotary table. By grabbing the stub in the drill chuck or a collet, I can easily center the rotary table to the mill centerline.











I then used a spot of superglue to hold the flange and hub together and clamped both to the table. I offset the table 0.406" and drilled my #33 holes for the 4-40 threads.
















Here is the finished product.






I will replace the screws with studs and square nuts or rivets after it is running.

Thanks for looking in.

SAM


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## Swarf Rat (Apr 30, 2010)

The more I see of this, the more I like it.


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## kcmillin (Apr 30, 2010)

Very Nice Sam. Congratulations on getting those pesky step clamps on such a small area. 

What did you use to center the hub on the rotary table? With those step clamps it would seem a dial indicator would not work.

Kel


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## SAM in LA (Apr 30, 2010)

kcmillin  said:
			
		

> Very Nice Sam. Congratulations on getting those pesky step clamps on such a small area.
> 
> What did you use to center the hub on the rotary table? With those step clamps it would seem a dial indicator would not work.
> 
> Kel



Kel,

The boss on the hub was very close in diameter to the hole in the rotary table. I wrapped a .005" shim around it so it was a snug fit.

SAM


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## SAM in LA (May 1, 2010)

Today I didn't make much progress.

Using my 4 jaw chuck, I turned two pieces that have offset bosses on them.

Both pieces will be chucked in my 3 jaw and cut off to length.

The brass piece will be eccentric to operate the valve.






The hole was drilled 15/64" and reamed to 1/4".

The Aluminium piece will be part of the crank shaft.

Ready to be cutoff in my 3 jaw.






Thanks for looking in.

SAM


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## Deanofid (May 1, 2010)

Good progress, Sam, even if it seems like less to you. We just get to see the end results and it looks like it's coming along at a good pace.
The brass hub on the wooden wheel sure looks nice.

Dean


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## arnoldb (May 4, 2010)

Good going Sam Thm: - I hope your injury's feeling a bit better.

Your build might just yet convince me to have a go at the "brown stuff" for modeling ;D - While I can and do work with wood when needed, building kitchen cupboards and such are nowhere near model engineering on the "fun" scale.

Kind regards, Arnold


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## SAM in LA (May 5, 2010)

Moving along since my last post, I have swapped the 4 jaw chuck out for my 3 jaw.

I cut the eccentric and crank arm off of the bar stock.

These are the tools that I will need for this operation. Getting all the tools out first helps me to make sure that I have planned the entire work process required.







I used my edge finder to determine the proper location for the setscrew on the eccentric.






I'm sure glad I purchased an extra long center drill.






I drilled a #43 hole so I could tap the hole 4-40.






Holding the tap in the drill chuck, then rotating it by hand sure makes it easy to tap a small hole.

Next up is milling the excess material off of the sides on the crank arm.






Using some drill rod, or as my brothers on the eastern side of the Atlantic say, silver steel, I turned some file buttons. The buttons for the large end are 0.400" OD and 0.250 ID and on the small end 0.286 OD and 0.125 ID. I heated the buttons to cherry red then quenched in water to harden them. By clamping the crank between the buttons in my bench vice, I was able to file the radius and taper between each end..

This photo shows the buttons mounted on short pieces of drill rod on the crank arm.






This photo shows the file buttons and the crank arm with the short pieces of drill rod going through it.






This is the finished crank arm.






And this is the finished eccentric.






Once the engine is up and running, I'll decide on what level of polishing, or perhaps coloring, will be used on each component.

Thanks for stopping by.

SAM

I changed the description from "crank" to "crank arm".


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## 4156df (May 5, 2010)

Sam,
Looking good. Very nice write-up.
Dennis


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## Philjoe5 (May 5, 2010)

Sam,
Nice progress you're making. Thanks for the update

Cheers,
Phil


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## Deanofid (May 5, 2010)

It's coming along nice, Sam. 
Keep up the good work!

Dean


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## kcmillin (May 5, 2010)

Well done, thats a fine look'n crank throw.

Kel


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## SAM in LA (May 6, 2010)

Today I was able to build the base.






I glued it together using some super glue and clamps.

Once the glue setup I mounted the base to the table of my Lathe/Mill.






Then I drilled 1/8" holes from side to side in three places and used some 1/8 steel rod threaded 5-40 on both ends.






I covered both sides of the base with painters tape to protect the surfaces and give me something to mark the hole locations on.






Laying out the hole locations makes it easier to keep up with them when drilling.

I'm in the process of deciding which parts should be made next.

Thanks for stopping by.

SAM


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## Deanofid (May 6, 2010)

You used super glue on the base?
I thought that was only for fingers...

Nice brown stuff there, Sam.

Dean


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## Blogwitch (May 7, 2010)

Sam,

You're really pushing me with all this woodworking stuff. I've got all sorts of different colours stored up above in my workshop roof. I must get some down and try a bit out.

I am doing a bit of patent work at the moment, which I can't tell you about, but it does involve a little of this brown stuff work, and it seemed to machine up ok. It was just like cutting a bit of soft metal. I even got it accurate to 0.001" (0.02mm).







Looking good BTW, I just wish my results wood turn out like that.

Bogs


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## SAM in LA (May 7, 2010)

Bogs,

Wood moves around if the moisture content changes. To reduce movement after cutting, some sort of sealant needs to be put on it. If you notice when you are at the lumber yard, the kiln dried boards have wax on the ends.

Primarily I use my wood working tools on the brown stuff. I used the mill as a drill press for the deep holes. When I drill the holes in the base to mount the machinery I may have to switch to my brown stuff drill press. I'm not sure there is enough travel in the mill bed to locate all of the holes. Though it sure would be nice if there is.

Working on SWMBO honey do's currently. Need to finish before SWMBO returns.

SAM


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## SAM in LA (May 7, 2010)

Deanofid  said:
			
		

> You used super glue on the base?
> I thought that was only for fingers...
> 
> Nice brown stuff there, Sam.
> ...



Dean,

I considered gluing myself back together but went and had myself sewed back together. I removed the stitches the other day and nothing has leaked out.

SAM


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## SAM in LA (May 7, 2010)

Today, I made a lot of wood swarf.

Cutting 4 degree angles and 1/32" deep dado's on these little pieces of wood sure burns up the day. The assembles are tacked together with glue, I still need to make the steel through bolts and drill for them.

My "A" frame doesn't look as nice as Brians, but here it is anyway.






This piece will be a support mounted on top of the "A" frame.






This piece will support the crank shaft bearings.






Here is the assembly.






Hmm.

I sure wished I had not run the plans through the washing machine. Something just doesn't look right.

Thanks for stopping by.

SAM


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## kcmillin (May 7, 2010)

Nice Work Sam. 

I cant wait to see how that frame setup works out for ya :big:

Kel


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## Brian Rupnow (May 7, 2010)

Sam---It looks great!!! And it DOES look as nice as mine----Just different stuff.


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## Philjoe5 (May 7, 2010)

Great work Sam. It's nice to have a metal head like myself see what's possible in wood. Thanks for the updates and pictures.

Cheers,
Phil


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## SAM in LA (May 8, 2010)

Phil,

It has been interesting so far.

I think the next parts will need to be the bearing blocks and then the cylinder.

SAM


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## hobby (May 8, 2010)

Sam,

Excellent craftsmanship,

I don't consider myself a metal worker in this hobby,
but a hobby machinists, and I like your work with machining wood parts as well.

It's nice to see other materials being machined and implemented into a project.

Great project building, your doing...


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## SAM in LA (May 10, 2010)

Well, today the bar moved quit a bit on my projects progress indicator.

The problem is it moved in the negative direction.

Three of the wood beams split/chipped while drilling the #44 holes.

Oh well, I can use the piece for kindling.

SAM


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## kcmillin (May 10, 2010)

Sam, sorry to hear about the trouble.

My father taught me a trick when In was a kid. When putting screws into wood, to prevent th wood from splitting, its a good Idea to put some bar soap on it. The bar soap i think acts like a lubricant of sorts. Not sure why this works, but when using this method I have great success, even with hardwood. This method could be used for drilling I suppose. 

also, high speeds are a must with small drills, especially with wood.

hope this helps.

Kel


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## SAM in LA (May 10, 2010)

Kel,

Your right about the speed.

 :wall:

I was running to slow.

 :'(

I am considering increasing the size of the fasteners from 2-56 to 4-40 if there is enough room.

 :idea:

Besides, I don't have any 2-56 nuts, I have a whole box of 4-40's.

SAM


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## Philjoe5 (May 10, 2010)

Thanks for the update Sam. I forgot one of the benefits of working with wood - mess up a part, heat up the living room ;D Tried that once with a bad aluminum part and I put the fire out :big:

Cheers,
Phil


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## bearcar1 (May 10, 2010)

Philjoe5  said:
			
		

> Thanks for the update Sam. I forgot one of the benefits of working with wood - mess up a part, heat up the living room ;D Tried that once with a bad aluminum part and I put the fire out :big:
> 
> Cheers,
> Phil





You must not have had the draught door open far enough Phil  Rof} Rof} Rof}

BC1
Jim


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## Hilmar (May 10, 2010)

Hi Kel,
  yes that what they used, Soap.
But Soap used on screws can cause rust and eventual failure of the screw. 
Also on some wood like: Oak, Cedar and some other like Cherry the moister will react with the wood and the Iron.It is the acid in the wood. The wood will turn black or even blue or gray around the hole. The acid will corode the screw to a point that it has no holding power.
  So use Wax, Candle wax, Past wax or so. No stain on the wood.
 Take an old oak chair, which was held together width an iron wood screw, apart you will have a two part screw. 
Hilmar

 PS: If the wood splits by drilling ,you go to fast, the drill can not clear itself or you push to hard.Go back to peg drilling.


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## SAM in LA (May 11, 2010)

Today the progress meter moved in the positive direction.

I made a new "A Frame" and a bunch of 2-56 threaded studs.

The local Hobby Shop had some 2-56 hex nuts in stock. I really need to order a box of the nuts on-line. The hobby shop charged $3 for 18 and I can get a 100 for $3 on-line.

A while back I ordered a 2-56 die nut. Today I got it out and found out it is a smaller OD than all my others. So, I made a holder for it that I could mount in my three jaw chuck. I held the 0.081" diameter steel in the tail stock chuck. To thread the studs, I turned the die nut by hand as I kept pressure on the tail stock chuck. Worked great, nice and straight threads with minimum fuss.












With all of the studs I made, I was able to assemble the main support structure today.






All of the studs will be trimmed after I make some square nuts.

I think it is time to make some bearing blocks for the flywheel so it can be mounted.

Thanks for looking in.

SAM


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## kcmillin (May 11, 2010)

Lookin good Sam. Nice trick with the small die Thm:

Kel


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## Deanofid (May 11, 2010)

I'm enjoying this project, Sam, even if it's brown stuff. ; ) 
Yer doing great!

It's going to look super with the flywheel mounted up.

Dean


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## rickharris (May 12, 2010)

SAM in LA  said:
			
		

> Bogs,
> 
> Wood moves around if the moisture content changes. To reduce movement after cutting, some sort of sealant needs to be put on it. If you notice when you are at the lumber yard, the kiln dried boards have wax on the ends.
> 
> ...



Not wishing to be picky but to clarify - The timber yard coat the end of the seasoning planks with wax to reduce excessive water loss which would result in the end cracking and splitting as it dries. In general even painted wood on both sides will change shape as it heats and cools - well seasoned hard wood which has been stored in the environment it will have to live in for a few weeks should be relatively stable. Of course cross bracing and using suitable joints will reduce any tendency to twist and warp.

That said central heating is the enemy of wood of any kind. Wood when cut may be 50% water by weight, when seasoned as little 10%. 

The wood in use in this project looks like Iroko, a kind of African teak known for it's oiliness and water resistance is should be ideal. 

Nice project.


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## arnoldb (May 12, 2010)

That's coming along nicely Sam ;D

Regards, Arnold


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## SAM in LA (May 12, 2010)

Rick,

Thanks for the clarification.

SAM


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## Philjoe5 (May 12, 2010)

Nice work SAM especially on those 2-56 studs made with the tailstock dieholder.  :bow: I note that you used 0.081" steel for the work compared to a major diameter for 2-56 at 0.086".  

Cheers,
Phil


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## SAM in LA (May 12, 2010)

Philjoe5  said:
			
		

> Nice work SAM especially on those 2-56 studs made with the tailstock dieholder. :bow: I note that you used 0.081" steel for the work compared to a major diameter for 2-56 at 0.086".
> 
> Cheers,
> Phil



Phil,

I was not able to find any 0.086" material. I have a box of nails that are 0.081" so that is what I am using.

Thanks,

SAM


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## SAM in LA (May 13, 2010)

More progress to report.

Today I finished 4 bearing blocks, the cylinder base and head. I may put a finer finish on them at a later date.






The base and head had a lot of small holes. Some were taped 2-56.






Taping some 2-56 holes. I held the tap in the drill check to make sure the tap was square to the work piece.






Both the cyl base and head will need to be set up in the four jaw check so a 7/8" diameter recess can be cut. I made a small dimple to mark the center of the future cylinder.

I machined the cyl base and head from one length of brass and cut them apart with my carbide tipped saw blade.






That's it for today.

Thanks for stopping by.

SAM


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## Deanofid (May 13, 2010)

Going on well, Sam!
 Thm:


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## kcmillin (May 13, 2010)

That brass wil look prety damn good with the wood. Nice Work Thm:
Kel


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## Philjoe5 (May 13, 2010)

Looking good SAM. Thanks for the progress report.  :bow: I'm with Kel - brass on that dark wood is going to look mighty fine!

Cheers,
Phil


----------



## SAM in LA (May 14, 2010)

Kel, Dean and Phil, thanks for the support.

I need to cut the brass tube for the cylinder to length.

 scratch.gif 

I'm thinking of turning a piece of wood to the same diameter as the ID of the tubing. This way it will be supported when I use a cutoff tool to trim it to the specified length.

:shrug:

Am I on the right track? What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by.

SAM


----------



## arnoldb (May 14, 2010)

Hi Sam - you're making good progress.

You are on the right track with your idea; it should work fine. Beware though - I think you might run into a problem with the parting tool "pinching" down the area where it breaks through, as the wood would still be a bit compressible there. You might have to clean up the "pinched" bit with a small file or emery paper wrapped around a smaller-than-the-cylinder dowel. You could also part to just over-length and trim to length with a normal toolbit running slightly into the wood.

Regards, Arnold


----------



## SAM in LA (May 14, 2010)

Moving right along.

I appreciate   the nice comments and words of wisdom from you guys.

I spent some time making more 2-56 and 5-40 studs. I ran out of the 2-56 nuts and refuse to pay hobby shop prices for any more of them. I placed an order today for a box of 100 and the missing drill bits in my drill set. My order should arrive the middle of next week.

It's finally starting to look like a beam engine.

Today, I mounted the flywheel bearings and support blocks to the base framework.

I decided to sleeve the bearing blocks with some oil impregnated bronze. The Bearing blocks will need to be shimmed when they are tightened down so the wheel will turn smoothly.











Next up will be cutting the cylinder and finishing the base and head for the cylinder.

Thanks for stopping by.

SAM


----------



## Philjoe5 (May 14, 2010)

> It's finally starting to look like a beam engine.



How true SAM. Thanks for the progress report. It's looking great :bow:

Cheers,
Phil


----------



## kvom (May 15, 2010)

When you get that one done, here's the next project:  :big: ;D


----------



## SAM in LA (May 15, 2010)

kvom  said:
			
		

> When you get that one done, here's the next project: :big: ;D



Thanks,

Looks like fun. I would be afraid of termites.

Years ago at a car show, a fellow had built a car with a wooden body. It was built up like a wood hulled boat. Really nice looking.

SAM


----------



## kcmillin (May 15, 2010)

These unlikely wooden objects are pretty cool. Wood is pretty strong stuff. My Shop Press's frame is made of wood, with a hydraulic car jack. It creeks and groans but does what I need it to.

Kel


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## Deanofid (May 15, 2010)

kcmillin  said:
			
		

> These unlikely wooden objects are pretty cool. Wood is pretty strong stuff. My Shop Press's frame is made of wood, with a hydraulic car jack.



Heck, my whole house is made of wood!


It's getting there, Sam. The brass on wood does make a nice match.

Dean


----------



## SAM in LA (May 17, 2010)

A bit of progress since my last post.

I cut my cylinder from a piece of brass tubing, trimmed it to the specified length and took a light cut with my boring bar to clean up the ID.







The cylinder Head and Base required a recess to locate the cylinder. I switched to my four jaw chuck and indicated the part. Previously when I was drilling the holes in the head and base, I made a light center drill cut which locates the cylinders center.






Two small flanges are needed to attach the piston valve assembly to the Cylinder Head and Base. One other flange is needed for the stuffing box. I made up a set of file buttons. This set was made with an integral post. I broke the post off the first time I tried to use it.






So, I made a second set with a hole drilled through and used a drill bit as the shaft.

This picture shows a completed flange with the buttons and two flange blanks awaiting there turn to be worked over with a file.






These little parts seem to take a lot more time to make than I estimated. Good thing this is a hobby.

This shot shows the flange on the cylinder end.






I ordered some 2-56 nuts which should arrive tomorrow, then I will be able to finish the cylinder assembly.

Thanks for stopping by.

SAM


----------



## Deanofid (May 18, 2010)

You're doing it up nice, Sam. These small parts can be time eaters, but the flange you show here looks very uniform. The result was worth your efforts!

If you've hardened your buttons and have trouble with them breaking, take a minute to temper them. I usually leave mine dead hard too, but if you have to squeeze them hard, or like with yours, they have a pin for jigging, tempering them will make them less brittle. After you harden them, run them up to about 300-400° f and quench them, and that will do it. If you're not sure of the color to watch for the temper heat, you can just put them in a toaster oven for about 30 minutes, then pick them out with tweezers and drop them in water. That will do it without the guess work of color.

Enjoyable thread here. Your project is looking good.

Dean


----------



## kcmillin (May 18, 2010)

Those flanges turned out really nice Sam. Well Done Thm:

Kel


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## Philjoe5 (May 18, 2010)

Nice file work on those flanges SAM. :bow: Work is inversely proportional to the size of the part it seems  The wood and brass combo is looking good. Thanks for posting.

Cheers,
Phil


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## SAM in LA (May 18, 2010)

Today the progress meter moved in the negative direction.

I finished filing the 3 flanges.






Next I made and aluminium dowel to hold the flange and brass tube together.






What looks like a silver washer is actually solder that I pounded into a thin sheet and trimmed it into a washer like shape. The washer shape of the solder seems to work OK. The next time I will make it a little thicker.

Here is a freshly soldered flange and tube. You can just see the aluminium dowel poking out on the top. Solder will not stick to the aluminium.






I set up to long tube in a v-block which is then held in the vice. I drilled the hole through the the side of the tube, then spot faced it with a 0.250 end mill.






I have everything lined up and clamped and its ready to be soldered/






I said at the beginning of this post my progress meter went into negative territory. I was trying to drill and ream the long tube. My drill bit got hung up on some solder and tore up the whole assembly.






Tomorrow is a different day. Here you can see the flanges after I filed the solder off






The next time I machine the long tube, I will spot face the tube so the level is above the centerline so I do not create a weak spot.

Thanks for stopping by to visit.

SAM


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## SAM in LA (May 19, 2010)

Today I will try again to fabricate the piston valve cylinder assembly.

If anyone has any hints or tips, please speak up.

The brass tubing I have is 0.250 OD, 0.049 wall.

This is what I plan to do different this time around.

Drill the tubing to the finished size of 3/16" before milling the sockets for the soldered joints.

Drill the cross tubes, the one with the flanges, to 3/16" ID before soldering.

Make the solder washers a bit thicker.

When everything has cooled off, ream the long tube to 3/16".

The last step will have to wait until a new 3/16" reamer arrives. Yesterday, to add insult to injury, my reamer broke. :wall: :redface2:

Thanks for stopping by.

SAM


----------



## arnoldb (May 19, 2010)

Hi Sam - sorry about the mishap...

Just a thought: From what I can see, you might be better off milling the ends of the short tubes to the same size as the outer diameter of the long tube. Then just drill 3/16th holes in the long tube where you want to solder the short ones on, and solder the short ones "on top of" instead of "into" the long tube. That way you'll have a minimum to ream out of the long tube - and no unexpected obstacles in it.

Regards, Arnold


----------



## SAM in LA (May 19, 2010)

arnoldb  said:
			
		

> Hi Sam - sorry about the mishap...
> 
> Just a thought: From what I can see, you might be better off milling the ends of the short tubes to the same size as the outer diameter of the long tube. Then just drill 3/16th holes in the long tube where you want to solder the short ones on, and solder the short ones "on top of" instead of "into" the long tube. That way you'll have a minimum to ream out of the long tube - and no unexpected obstacles in it.
> 
> Regards, Arnold



Arnold,

Good idea. If you look at the last photo, the parts look like what you describe. They ended up that way because they were soldered into a socket on the main tube and then I drilled through it. I will remake the short tubes.

Thanks for firming up the idea. That's what I like about this forum. Lots of good people and good ideas.

SAM


----------



## SAM in LA (May 20, 2010)

Things are looking up. I machined up another cylinder for the piston valve assembly. Per Arnold's suggestion I attacked this from a different direction. Rather than machining sockets in the "cylinder", I used a 1/4" end mill to cope the end of the standoffs.




I drilled the mating holes in the Cylinder of the piston valve assembly.








Building the assembly this way caused me to scratch my head in determining the correct sequence so everything would be aligned correctly. The coped ends had to be clocked to the flanges so it would all bolt together correctly. Here you can see the flanges on the base of the power cylinder.




I made a locating dowel out of AL because the solder wont stick to it. Sometimes I thought that solder wouldnt stick to the brass either.




You can see the coped end of the standoff in this picture.




This piece of tubing is the cylinder for the piston valve assembly. The holes will align with the hole going through the standoffs.




All of the parts of this assembly are ready to be soldered. Note the strong backs I used to hold it all together. All of the joints have been fluxed and I hammer forged washers of silver solder that are sandwiched between the joints.




Hold on..
How on earth are you going to get the AL alignment dowels out once this is all soldered up?
Im glad you asked, in fact I am more glad that I asked.
I tapped the dowel 4-40 on the flange end. Once everything cooled down, I unbolted the assembly and pulled the dowels out.
Here is the assembly.




Now I must confess, it didnt look like this when I finished soldering it. There is a couple of hours worth of file time and sanding. Im not sure if this is the finished version or not.









I know I left something out, I will think of it later.

Thanks for stopping by to visit.

SAM

I remembered what I wanted to say.

I still have to ream the bore to 3/16". Once that is done, I can consider this piece finished.


----------



## kcmillin (May 20, 2010)

Very Very Well Done Sam. :bow:

I like how you clamped it all together, very slick.

Kel


----------



## Deanofid (May 20, 2010)

Good show on the jigging and alignment there, Sam. That's using the old bean.



> I made a locating dowel out of AL because the solder wont stick to it. Sometimes I thought that solder wouldnt stick to the brass either.



Now, that's a good one. Funny. Sometimes..

Dean


----------



## bearcar1 (May 20, 2010)

Coming along quite nicely Sam. Keep up the good work. 

BC1
Jim


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## SAM in LA (May 23, 2010)

*Executive Summary*

The silver solder used has <1% Silver content so it can be classified as softer than melted butter. The flux used cokes up at temperature that is lower than the temperature which the softer than melted butter solder melts at.

*What I learned*

Well, I have been learning the hard way about soldering my pieces of brass together.
I had read a lot of the posts about silver soldering brass. I cleaned the joints up nice and shiny, used pencil lead on the areas where I did not want solder to stick and used flux where I wanted the solder to stick. I even hammered out the silver solder into a 0.010" sheet and cut washers out of it. That way there would be space between the joints for the solder.

I felt so good about the work that I had done and figured that it wasn't that difficult. Hey, I've soldered tons of copper plumbing over the years with no problems.

Here are the results.






Looks good, doesn't it.

Well let me tell you, do not judge a book by its cover. Even though the joints look good, they were crap. I was doing a bit of sanding on the assembly and a joint would come apart. I would look at them and there was solder stuck to both sides of the joint. From what I read, that indicates the joint moved before the solder solidified.
So, I cleaned the joint, fluxed it and soldered it once again, making sure that I did not inadvertently move it. Filed everything smooth and sanded the assembly once again. I reamed the cylinder to 3/16". When I was removing the reamer for the final time, another joint came loose. :wall: 

Something is just not right. I looked on the solder manufactures website and found out that this "Silver Bearing" solder contains less than 1% silver. I went down to the local Hobby Lobby and Home Depot in search of "Silver Solder. The solder rolls did not tell the silver content. I bought the different "Silver" solders and brought them home. I looked them up and they also had a negligible amount of silver. So I learned that the solders from Hobby Lobby and Home Depot are soft solders. I also picked up a new tin of self tinning flux.

The new flux does not coke up like my old flux does. So everything is soft soldered and cleaned up.






I will return the Home Depot and Hobby Lobby solders.

I ordered some Hard 75% Silver solder and some Medium 70% solder for the next time. I may end up making the piston valve assembly again using the hard solder.

Like they say, practice makes perfect and I sure need to practice.

Thanks for stopping by.

SAM


----------



## Brian Rupnow (May 23, 2010)

Sam---Nice work!!! You get a karma for perseverance. I find that silver solder does not "creep" like soft solder. I have had a number of my silver solder joints which looked really good, break under medium stress. On examination, I find that the solder adheres to both parts just fine on the surfaces that are "visible", but when they break it is quite plain that it has not migrated into the bores etc. where I wanted it to, for strength. My Webster was the most recent casualty of that---The crankshaft come unstuck from the crankshaft "throw" while running at low speed. And I've been too busy working on the pumpjack to stop and fix it.---Brian


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## arnoldb (May 23, 2010)

Hi Sam - good going, and like Brian said - onya for tenacity!

Another thought: From the joints I can see you are using soft solder - which used to be lead based in the past... Also, your figures for "hard" and "medium" silver percentages is a bit confusing - though it may just be me being dimwitted ;D.
What's normally referred to as "silver solder" in the builds on engines is actually "silver brazing" - the rods used for it looks like brass and the lower temperature versions with more silver content is , well, "slightly more silvery" but still brass-coloured. These all need parts to be brought up to near red-heat to solder though. All of these are very strong in joints; usually actually stronger than the base materials used. I'm not familiar with the versions of solder you're using, but it does not seem like proper "silver solder", and in that case, I may have made a grave mistake in advising you to solder to the top instead of "inserting" a bit. The soft solders are not strong. Maybe some more experienced members can intervene at this point ???

Kind regards, Arnold


----------



## shred (May 23, 2010)

You may want to order some "easy" and "easy-flo" silver-solder as well. The melting point of Jewelers "Hard" is approaching that of brass.


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## Blogwitch (May 23, 2010)

Sam & Brian,

If you get the right stuff, this is how strong a silver soldered joint really is. This is copper pipe to steel, the joint was twisted with a pair of mole grips until I started to feel the copper giving way.







Thjis was done with Tenacity 4A flux, and 0.5mm easyflo wire.

Bogs


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## Deanofid (May 23, 2010)

Brian Rupnow  said:
			
		

> I find that silver solder does not "creep" like soft solder. I have had a number of my silver solder joints which looked really good, break under medium stress. ---Brian



Brian, if you are having trouble with what you call "creep", which is usually called flow, using hard solders, you are not doing it right. There is no way an engine like a Webster will break a silver solder joint on the crank if you did it properly. 

Real silver solder, which is in fact a brazing alloy, will flow like water when it gets to the correct temp, and it will coat anything in its path that has been properly fluxed.

Sam, stuff called "silver bearing solder" is not hard silver solder. Most of it is 4% silver or less, and it melts at a low temp. 
Real silver solders don't melt until around 1100-1400°f. If what you have coming is called "Hard" and "Medium" solder, then it sounds like you've ordered jewelers solder, and it is also not the stuff we usually want.

The specific numbers of solder you want in the U.S.A are:
BAg1
BAg5
BAg7
and a few others will work for us. These numbers are standard in the U.S.A. and since you are from Loosyanna, you can get those solders just like I can. 

BAg1 is 45% silver, and contains cadmium.
BAg5 is a 45% silver replacement for the above, that does not contain cad.
BAg7 is 56% silver and cad free, too. It flows at the lowest temp of the cad free alloys.

The flux you need for any of these is usually just called white paste flux. You can also get stuff called black flux for if you have to heat something a fairly long time. 

This page has the proper products. If you want exact part numbers, I'll look them up for you.
http://store.sra-solder.com/section.php/19/1

Dean


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## SAM in LA (May 23, 2010)

Dean,

I looked at the site
http://store.sra-solder.com/section.php/19/1

I am thinking of ordering the 

WES5625 BAg-7 56% AG Wire Solder .025 Cadmium Free

and

FLS601 White Brazing Flux #601

What is the consensus on Solder Paste such as

PSHSTL1205 STL-1205-655 Easy Brazing Paste, 1 ounce

I really appreciate everyones comments and suggestions.

Thanks,

SAM


----------



## doc1955 (May 23, 2010)

Looking nice Sam I envy your wooden parts wood and I don't get along real well.
Very nice!


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## Deanofid (May 23, 2010)

Sam, the BAg7 (56%) is a good choice. Very strong, and it will start to flow a couple hundred degrees below most other high silver alloys. I use it, and BAg5 (45%) both. The 601 white paste flux is the proper one for these solders. It will take the heat for quite a while without pooping out.
I find the most use for 56%, as it works with my regular plumbers (Bernzomatic type) torches. Sometimes with 45% these torches won't make enough heat.

[EDIT] Forgot to add, the .025" diameter you mention is good. Thicker wire is okay, but it's easier to make soldering rings with the smaller dia stuff.

I've purchased from the same people in your link, (SRA). They're pretty quick to get you what you want.

They also have some thin sheet in a number of alloys, including the BAg7 you're after. If you can swing the extra scratch, you might find a good use for some .005" sheet. You can cut it in thin strips and put it between things, or wrap it around places easier than with regular wire. I don't mean it's totally necessary. You can always pound your wire into a flat piece. It takes a bit of hammering, as this kind of solder wire is quite hard.

Another company that makes these same alloys is Harris. You can order it through a welding supply.
Actually, any company that sells hard soldering wire as BAg-xx is making it to the U.S. spec.

Dean


----------



## shred (May 24, 2010)

I've used the BAg-1 from SRA and it works well. It's got cadmium in it, but I don't chew my solder much. The 601 brazing flux works pretty well too.
Get the 0.031" wire. I have some thick stuff from a welding store and it's a pain by comparison.

Here's their temp chart: http://sra-solder.com/brazing_wire.htm

I've also got some Jeweler's silver solder and it works ok as well, but takes a little more heat.

I've not tried the pastes but hear they have a somewhat short lifetime before becoming unusable.


----------



## Philjoe5 (May 26, 2010)

Looks like you've made quite a bit of progress since I last looked in SAM.  :bow: Thanks to you and everyone else for posting your experiences with soldering. It has created a discussion about silver soldering that's useful to us neophytes.

Cheers,
Phil


----------



## SAM in LA (May 27, 2010)

Just a note about the soldered piston valve cylinder that I tore up last week. I ruined it when I was reaming it to size after it was soldered. I just learned that I should have been using a spiral cutting reamer since it would be making an interupted cut. A spiral reamer should be used when reaming a hole that has a keyway, set screw or any other interupted cut. I just thought I would share this and perhaps I might remember for the next time.

SAM


----------



## Troutsqueezer (May 27, 2010)

Good information contained in this entire build thread Sam. Thanks for posting it. :bow:

Oh, and nice work too. 

-Trout


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## SAM in LA (May 30, 2010)

Here in the USA, tomorrow is Memorial Day. This holiday is in honor of all of the men and women that have served our country in the armed forces. Because of their unselfish service we remain strong and free.

I have been out of town for several days so I have not been able to get much shop time since my last build post.

I have been working on the wooden beams. The main beam (1) which goes across the top of the structure will link the piston rod to the flywheel via a wooden connecting rod (2). The third beam, valve beam (3), works the piston valve transmitting motion from the eccentric on the crankshaft.

The main beam has a bushing in the end for the connecting linkage to the main piston rod. A stud with nuts on each end goes thru the beam perpendicular to the bushing. This stud is there to help prevent the end of the beam from splitting.

In this photo, the main beam is the largest one.







The main beam pivot block is being tapped in this photo.






The main beam is mounted to the structure. Note that the pivot is clamped to the beam.






The connecting rod was a bit of a challenge. Both ends are tapered from the center 2 degrees and end with a relief that brass ends are fastened to. I cut a tapered block out of a piece of scrap AL.






Each of the brass end pieces will be fitted with a pivot pin to join it to the main beam and the crankshaft arm. Both of the brass ends are being machined together and were separated with a saw.






Here they are mounted to the connecting rod beam. I used a bit of epoxy and will either try and make a brass rivet or a brass stud to secure the brass to the wood.






This photo shows where these two beams are in relation to the other parts.






I have a lot of little connectors, pivots and brackets to make and the piston valve spool. So it will be awhile before this engine is ready to run.

Thanks for stopping by.

SAM


----------



## Deanofid (May 30, 2010)

Good stuff, Sam! The brass against the wood is very attractive. 
This engine is going to be a beauty.

Dean


----------



## ttrikalin (May 31, 2010)

Beautiful, very easy on the eyes. 

keep up the good job and thanks for sharing, 

t


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## kcmillin (May 31, 2010)

It is really looking good Sam. That is a very visually pleasing design. 

Well Done Thm:

Kel


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## SAM in LA (May 31, 2010)

Tom, Kel and Dean,

Thanks for the positive comments. ;D

I am surprised though, that no one caught the pipe wrench being used with a 5-40 tap. :big:

SAM


----------



## kcmillin (May 31, 2010)

SAM in LA  said:
			
		

> I am surprised though, that no one caught the pipe wrench being used with a 5-40 tap. :big:
> 
> SAM



Ya, I seen that. I was wondering what you were doing, I figure a little Extra torque was needed? Them stubborn little taps just wont cooperate sometimes, and you have to persuade them, or scare them into working. :big: 

Kel


----------



## SAM in LA (May 31, 2010)

Kel,

I was taking a humor break.

SAM


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## zeeprogrammer (May 31, 2010)

I like projects that use different materials. Looking great.


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## SAM in LA (Jun 3, 2010)

Over the last several days my build has been creeping along at what seems to me to be a snails pace.
I have been fabricating various brackets, linkages and pivots. Even though these pieces take a lot of time, they have given me the opportunity to make some jigs and fixtures and practice silver brazing with proper materials.
Four of these links were required and needed the same off-set.




The brass used is 0.062 thick by 0.25 wide. To bend the off-set I fabricated a jig out of some scrap AL I had. The two pieces are a mirror image of each other. The brass strip was placed between them and pressed in my bench vice. I used some file buttons that I made out of Drill Rod, as a guide when I rounded the ends.




Another opportunity to fabricate a jig was presented when I made this pivot assembly.




I could have machined the pivot plate from a solid piece of brass or silver braze the pivot blocks on to a piece of plate. My order of Silver Brazing wire and flux arrived. Brazing it is.




You can see in the photo a recess was cut in the bottom of the fixture and 2 vertical notches to hold the pivot blocks. A piece of .125 drill rod is used to insure that the pivot blocks are aligned axial.




I machined a pivot that connects the main cylinder rod to the main beam. This part is used to adjust the stroke of the engine. I turned this piece with a thread on each end. I needed to drill and tap a hole perpendicular to the axis. To hold the part securely, I threaded into a piece of AL which was clamped by the vice.




Thanks for stopping by to visit.
SAM

6/4/10 Deleted the duplicate posting.


----------



## kcmillin (Jun 3, 2010)

Great work on the jigs Sam. Those can be just as fun to make and the part you make with them. Thm:

Did you have any difficulty with heat when brazing with the aluminum jig in place?

Kel


----------



## arnoldb (Jun 4, 2010)

Very good progress Sam Thm: - your parts are looking good ;D

It's always the little things like the links that takes the most time to do.

Regards, Arnold


----------



## SAM in LA (Jun 4, 2010)

kcmillin  said:
			
		

> Did you have any difficulty with heat when brazing with the aluminum jig in place?
> 
> Kel



Kel,

Thanks.
I had to heat the parts a lot more than I thought I would.
With the proper flux, I was able to get the parts very hot without carbonizing it.
"carbonizing" is that a word? 
""carbonizing," is that a word?", is that a sentence?
The plate is 1/16" thick and the pivot blocks are about .125" x .25" x .375" so my propane torch was adequate. 
I could have screwed the blocks to the plate, brazed them and then removed the screws. 
That just seemed like the hard way to go on something this small.

Arnold, Thanks for the encouragement.

SAM


----------



## SAM in LA (Jun 4, 2010)

I failed to mention this in my last post.

I received my order from sra-solder.com.

I used what they call Easy Brazing paste, which is 56% silver and combines the metal and flux in a syringe for easy application. If stored properly, it should last me many years.

It was very easy to apply and when everything was hot enough it does flow like water.

It was much better than the "Silver Bearing" solder from Home Depot.

SAM


----------



## Deanofid (Jun 4, 2010)

Thanks for showing how you made the brackets, Sam. They look really good. Also, kind of 'old-fashion-y', which I think is a nice appearance. The brazing/soldering looks like it went just fine.

Nice work, Sam!

Dean


----------



## SAM in LA (Jun 26, 2010)

It's been a while since I posted to this build thread.

Life has gotten in the way of this hobby.

This past week, I made a little right angle bracket that supports the valve beam pivot. Pretty straight forward, a few well placed hammer blows, a few holes drilled and a little bit of filing.







Excuse the rubber band, it is temporary.

The piston valve body has given me fits. I believe this one is the fourth attempt. The previous ones were soldered up from tubing. Details of my previous efforts have been documented in earlier posts.

This valve body was made from round stock. I milled sockets in it and hard soldered the small tubes into. Since the body was thicker, it was much easier for me to get a good soldered joint without warpage. Next I mounted the valve body on a mandrel and turned down the areas between the inlet and outlet ports.






In the previous photo you can also see the piston rod which has two sealing areas.



The next photo shows the valve assembly mounted to the power cylinder.






It looks like all that is left is to make up a bunch of fasteners, pivot pins, and of course, make it run.

Wish me luck.

Thanks for stopping by.

SAM


----------



## Cedge (Jun 26, 2010)

Sam
That little machine is coming along beautifully. I'm rather envious.

Steve


----------



## Deanofid (Jun 26, 2010)

Looking really good, Sam. Hope you get some more time to work on it!

Dean


----------



## kcmillin (Jun 26, 2010)

Excellent work Sam. 

The valve body looks a lot better than the original design. 
Well Done Thm:

Not much more to do now.

I can't wait to see the video.

Kel


----------



## Maryak (Jun 26, 2010)

Nice going Sam. :bow: :bow:

Looking forward to the Pinocchio video. :

Best Regards
Bob


----------



## SAM in LA (Jun 27, 2010)

Cedge  said:
			
		

> Sam
> That little machine is coming along beautifully. I'm rather envious.
> 
> Steve



Cedge, Thanks for the kind words. You inspired me to turn down the areas between the ports on the valve body. In hind site, I wish that I had left more material on the valve body and put some curves in it.



			
				Deanofid  said:
			
		

> Looking really good, Sam. Hope you get some more time to work on it!
> 
> Dean



Dean, Thanks. I'm hoping to finish the bulk of it this week.



			
				kcmillin  said:
			
		

> Excellent work Sam.
> 
> The valve body looks a lot better than the original design.
> Well Done Thm:
> ...



Kel, Thanks. I wish that I had considered this method earlier. Though the path I took gave me many opportunities to practice hard soldering.



			
				Maryak  said:
			
		

> Nice going Sam. :bow: :bow:
> 
> Looking forward to the Pinocchio video. :
> 
> ...



Bob,

I am also looking forward to the video.


Thanks for stopping by to visit.

SAM


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## arnoldb (Jun 27, 2010)

Sam, good going, and great parts Thm: ;D


> Life has gotten in the way of this hobby.


That happens  Don't worry about it  - The rest if Life is more important Thm:

Regards, Arnold


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## SAM in LA (Jun 27, 2010)

arnoldb  said:
			
		

> Sam, good going, and great parts Thm: ;DThat happens  Don't worry about it  - The rest if Life is more important Thm:
> 
> Regards, Arnold



Arnold,

I wasn't complaining. I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Scout camp.  I took my son and 20 other boys to Scout camp. They had a great time and I got to sweat a lot. Its amazing the things you learn about yourself when you interact with children. Being at camp gives me time to reflect on what I have been doing and where I am going.

SAM


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## SAM in LA (Jul 1, 2010)

I'm still working on this engine.

Today I needed a boost, so here is a preview warts and all.





 woohoo1

Note the rubber bands and clamps to hold everything together.

Loctite will be needed to keep the fasteners from shaking out while its running.

My 6 HP compressor puts out 5 cfm @ 40 psig, and this little engine needs every bit of it.

Not the most efficient engine, but it did give me a boost to see that it will run.

I ran out of brass rod to finish making the bolts/screws and I want to dress up the brass columns.

Thanks for stopping by.

SAM


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## Brian Rupnow (Jul 1, 2010)

Good stuff Sam!!! The more you run it, the less air pressure it will take, as the bearing surfaces and cylinder "wear in". Beam engines are extremely finicky about valve timing. A timing change of as little as 1 degree seems to make a big difference in engine performance and air requirements.----Brian


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## SAM in LA (Jul 1, 2010)

Brian,

Thanks.

I have not fooled with the timing since it started to run.

When everything is finished, then I will fine tune it.

I just needed to see it run.

SAM


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## mklotz (Jul 1, 2010)

Looks great, Sam. But, good lord, man, slow it down. Those beam engines ran at a sedate, stately pace. It will look better and use a lot less air/steam.


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## SAM in LA (Jul 1, 2010)

Marv,

The engine is still very stiff so it needs to run at a higher than desired speed. I still have some alignment issues and need to install the braces to stablize the overhead structure. The timing is rough, I will fine tune it after I finish everything else.

SAM


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## Blogwitch (Jul 1, 2010)

Keep at it Sam, those fine tunings and tweaks will make the world of difference to your already great engine. :bow: :bow:

John


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## SAM in LA (Jul 2, 2010)

Well, this is it.

This video shows the engine running a lot slower than the previous one.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AChTQNhoEK4[/ame]


I made some fasteners and installed the braces for the overhead structure.

I used some Teflon tape to make some rope type packing for the piston rod.






I cut a piece of the tape about 2" long and rolled it up like a sausage. It really cut down the amount of air leakage past the piston rod.

I still need to come up with some rusty steel to fabricate some weights for the valve beam and the power cylinder end of the main beam.

I used oil as the finish on the wood. The moving pieces of wood are a white oak and the stationary wood is from the species "unknownium".

This engine was a real challenge for me. The most frustrating part was learning how to silver solder. I'm sure the next time I need to silver solder it will be much easier.

Thanks to all of you who helped me along with this project.

Thanks for stopping by.

Kind regards,

SAM


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## zeeprogrammer (Jul 2, 2010)

Looks awesome SAM.
Brass and wood go very well together.
Very nice.
I like that style engine.

Congratulations!


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## SAM in LA (Jul 2, 2010)

Zee,

Thanks.

I like the wood and brass too.

SAM


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## IronHorse (Jul 2, 2010)

Great job, nice engine, always like those beam engines.


IronHorse


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## SAM in LA (Jul 2, 2010)

Ironhorse,

Thanks for stopping by.

Regards,

SAM


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## Maryak (Jul 2, 2010)

Sam,
A Wobwass Bweam Engine wunning wiff all the awe and majesty, (most woyals have a wisp), such elegant machines deserve. BWEUTIFUL :bow: :bow:

Best Regards
Bob


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## kcmillin (Jul 2, 2010)

Great Job Sam!!

She is a real run one to watch, and easy on the eyes.

Well Done Thm:

Kel


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## Deanofid (Jul 3, 2010)

Wonderfully done, Sam! 

Dean


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## Blogwitch (Jul 3, 2010)

Absolutely woodnerful Sam.

A great looking and running engine, made from something not normally associated with what we do.

Very admirable indeed.

John


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## arnoldb (Jul 3, 2010)

Great job Sam ;D - Well Done indeed! :bow:



> I'm sure the next time I need to silver solder it will be much easier.


You Betcha! - It does get easier ;D

Kind regards, Arnold


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## GordTopps (Jul 3, 2010)

Wonderful SAM :bow:

I love beam engines, a truly gr8 example.

Regards
Gordy


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## SAM in LA (Jul 3, 2010)

Maryak  said:
			
		

> Sam,
> A Wobwass Bweam Engine wunning wiff all the awe and majesty, (most woyals have a wisp), such elegant machines deserve. BWEUTIFUL :bow: :bow:
> 
> Best Regards
> Bob



Bob,

Thanks for the endorsement. I never suspected that I was amongst woyalty.

SAM


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## SAM in LA (Jul 3, 2010)

kcmillin  said:
			
		

> Great Job Sam!!
> 
> She is a real run one to watch, and easy on the eyes.
> 
> ...



Kel,

I like the wood and brass too.

I may use a wooden flywheel on another engine if the future.

Regards,

SAM


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## Brian Rupnow (Jul 3, 2010)

Good job Sam!!! I like it.----Brian


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## SAM in LA (Jul 3, 2010)

Deanofid  said:
			
		

> Wonderfully done, Sam!
> 
> Dean



Dean,

Thanks.

When I think about what I went through to silver solder parts on my engine, then look at what you did on your engine, it sends chills up my neck.

SAM


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## SAM in LA (Jul 3, 2010)

Bogstandard  said:
			
		

> Absolutely woodnerful Sam.
> 
> A great looking and running engine, made from something not normally associated with what we do.
> 
> ...



John,

"woodnerful" Rof}

Your kind words mean a lot to an amateur like myself.

Thanks,

SAM


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## SAM in LA (Jul 3, 2010)

arnoldb  said:
			
		

> Great job Sam ;D - Well Done indeed! :bow:
> You Betcha! - It does get easier ;D
> 
> Kind regards, Arnold



Arnold,

Thanks.

Please note that I haven't mixed up anyones names so far today. ;D

Regards,

SAM


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## SAM in LA (Jul 3, 2010)

GordTopps  said:
			
		

> Wonderful SAM :bow:
> 
> I love beam engines, a truly gr8 example.
> 
> ...



Gordy,

I like beam engine too.

Thanks for the compliment.

SAM


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## SAM in LA (Jul 3, 2010)

Brian Rupnow  said:
			
		

> Good job Sam!!! I like it.----Brian



Brian,

I changed the engine timing a bit and it runs a lot better.

Thanks,

SAM


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## RichD (Jul 3, 2010)

Nice job Sam!
Nothing like that choo choo sound to make a gearhead smile.
Rich


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## SAM in LA (Jul 3, 2010)

RichD  said:
			
		

> Nice job Sam!
> Nothing like that choo choo sound to make a gearhead smile.
> Rich



Rich,

I like the sound of it too.

Thanks,

SAM


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## ttrikalin (Jul 3, 2010)

SAM in LA  said:
			
		

> Well, this is it.
> This video shows the engine running a lot slower than the previous one.
> [...]



I love it when it runs very slowly.  Means you made it very well. I like the finish. Thank you for this thread. :bow:

tom in MA


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## SAM in LA (Jul 3, 2010)

ttrikalin  said:
			
		

> I love it when it runs very slowly.  Means you made it very well. I like the finish. Thank you for this thread. :bow:
> 
> tom in MA



Tom,

Thanks.

Friction is this engines biggest enemy.

Getting everything square is the trick to having it run slowly.

I am planning to post more of the build log, once it is written.

SAM


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## SAM in LA (Jul 5, 2010)

Today I was able to get this engine to run smoothly at 48 RPM.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AWVbPX2B2A[/ame]

I did a number of things to achieve this low speed.

I was looking for some material to make a counterweight for the valve beam and a counterweight for the power piston beam. It turned out that the material was right in front of me all the time. The weights were hiding in a piece of 3/8" x 1" brass bar stock. I cut off three pieces, silver brazed them together and milled off the excess.







The valve beam weight is moved to achieve the minimum force required so the beam stays in contact with the eccentric.






I also used some powdered graphite on the area of the valve beam that contacts the eccentric.

I also added a weight to the power piston beam. This weight seems to help the engine get past the point where the crank shaft wants to stick at TDC.






What really freed it up though was when I loosened up the head bolts on the power piston. I discovered this by accident when I was checking to see if they were tightened evenly. I left them finger tight.






This was an interesting project and as I watch it run I see pieces that I know I can make better or little tweaks that may help it to run better. I may try to add some weight to the flywheel. Perhaps that will smooth out the rotation so it doesn't try to stop when the crank is TDC.

Thanks for stopping buy to visit.

SAM


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## kcmillin (Jul 5, 2010)

Great Job on the finishes Sam. She really runs good now.
 :bow: :bow:

Kel


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## Tad Wicks (Jul 5, 2010)

Major congratulations on a job well done Thm:, thanks for taking the time for all the illustrations. Tad Wicks


----------



## hobby (Jul 5, 2010)

Beautiful job.

That's so nice how you combined the materials together,
right choice of wood and metal, to make a very intricate model.

Great job.


----------



## Deanofid (Jul 5, 2010)

I love watching it, Sam. The longer I watch, the bigger my smile gets.
It sounds good too. Well done!

Dean


----------



## kustomkb (Jul 5, 2010)

Great job Sam!

It looks really nice.


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## PhillyVa (Jul 5, 2010)

Nice Job...
Looks Old School...
Sounds very cool too... Thm:

Contender for next POM woohoo1

Regards,

Philly


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## SAM in LA (Jul 5, 2010)

kcmillin  said:
			
		

> Great Job on the finishes Sam. She really runs good now.
> :bow: :bow:
> 
> Kel



Kel,

Thanks.


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## SAM in LA (Jul 5, 2010)

Tad Wicks  said:
			
		

> Major congratulations on a job well done Thm:, thanks for taking the time for all the illustrations. Tad Wicks



Tad Wicks,

Thank you.

I see that you are new to the forum. wEc1

SAM


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## SAM in LA (Jul 5, 2010)

hobby  said:
			
		

> Beautiful job.
> 
> That's so nice how you combined the materials together,
> right choice of wood and metal, to make a very intricate model.
> ...



Hobby,

Thank you.

I see that you are in contention for POM.

Good Luck.

SAM


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## SAM in LA (Jul 5, 2010)

Deanofid  said:
			
		

> I love watching it, Sam. The longer I watch, the bigger my smile gets.
> It sounds good too. Well done!
> 
> Dean



Dean,

Thank you.

Watching it run is almost hypnotic.

Congratulations to you for being nominated for POM.

Good luck.

SAM


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## SAM in LA (Jul 5, 2010)

KustomKB  said:
			
		

> Great job Sam!
> 
> It looks really nice.



Kevin,

Thanks for stopping by.

SAM


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## SAM in LA (Jul 5, 2010)

PhillyVa  said:
			
		

> Nice Job...
> Looks Old School...
> Sounds very cool too... Thm:
> 
> ...



Philly,

Thanks for the future vote. ;D

SAM


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## 4156df (Jul 5, 2010)

Sam,
I really like the combination of materials. You've built a great looking and running engine.
Dennis


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## SAM in LA (Jul 5, 2010)

4156df  said:
			
		

> Sam,
> I really like the combination of materials. You've built a great looking and running engine.
> Dennis



Dennis,

Thank you.

SAM


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## SBWHART (Jul 6, 2010)

Great looking and running engine Sam

Thanks for showing

Stew


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## SAM in LA (Jul 6, 2010)

sbwhart  said:
			
		

> Great looking and running engine Sam
> 
> Thanks for showing
> 
> Stew



Stew,

Thank you

SAM


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## SAM in LA (Jul 7, 2010)

I had a little time on my hands so I fiddled with the balance weights and valve timing.

I was able to get its speed down to 32 RPM. ;D

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXsl9gdlNBo[/ame]

I may add some weights to the flywheel and see if I can get it to run any slower. :-\

What do you think?

Any suggestions for further fine tuning?

SAM

This sure is addicting.


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## ozzie46 (Jul 7, 2010)

That is really nice work Sam. Looks sweet.

  32 RPM WOW!

 Ron


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## mklotz (Jul 7, 2010)

It looks to me like it has more force on the downstroke than on the upstroke. This seems a bit backwards. In the downstroke, the effective area of the piston on which the air pressure works is reduced by the area of the connecting rod so the force exerted (P*A) is less than on the upstroke. If anything, the downstroke should be slightly less forceful than the upstroke.

Perhaps you want to check your valving. Is the valve opening fully for the upstroke? Is there a minute leak in the upstroke valving? 

Regardless, it's a lovely engine. I've thought about building it many times but I don't have your woodworking skills. It looks much more authentic running slowly.


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## kvom (Jul 7, 2010)

This is a great looking project. Very well done.

WRT the uneven stroke, it occurs to me that the way the eccentric works the valve beam will displace a slightly different angle as the larger diameter of the eccentric will go higher on the beam than the lower.


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## arnoldb (Jul 7, 2010)

Sam, getting a machine running that slowly is an achievement on its own :bow: - you should be extremely proud of that.

As to getting it to run even slower, well, I might just put both feet in my mouth, but it seems that the weight (counterweight?) on the beam could have an influence here if your valve timing is properly set - because of gravity. If you move the weight closer to the pivot point, or make it lighter, it should make for a more "equal" stroke.

Regards, Arnold


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## SAM in LA (Jul 7, 2010)

arnoldb  said:
			
		

> Sam, getting a machine running that slowly is an achievement on its own :bow: - you should be extremely proud of that.
> 
> As to getting it to run even slower, well, I might just put both feet in my mouth, but it seems that the weight (counterweight?) on the beam could have an influence here if your valve timing is properly set - because of gravity. If you move the weight closer to the pivot point, or make it lighter, it should make for a more "equal" stroke.
> 
> Regards, Arnold



Arnold,

Thanks!

The position of the weight does indeed influence the velocity of the down stroke. I have moved the weight along the length of the beam and it seems to be in the sweet spot now. I have played with the valve timing eccentric and a small movement either way reduces the performance.

I'm thinking that I should add some mass to the outside diameter of the flywheel. This should increase the mass moment of inertia and stabilize the rotational speed.

Regards,


----------



## SAM in LA (Jul 7, 2010)

28 RPM

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

I know. :

Clean up the shop and then figure out what to do next.

SAM


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## kcmillin (Jul 7, 2010)

Thats pretty darn slow.

Well Done Sam Thm:

Kel


----------



## doc1955 (Jul 7, 2010)

Very nice Sam! :bow:


----------



## larry1 (Jul 7, 2010)

Sam great work, I think your work is really great,I really like your wooden beam, very pretty, also. larry1


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## SAM in LA (Jul 18, 2010)

kcmillin  said:
			
		

> That's pretty darn slow.
> 
> Well Done Sam Thm:
> 
> Kel



Thanks Kel.

I have not been able to duplicate 28 RPM since the one I videoed.

It must be the difference in humidity.

SAM


----------



## SAM in LA (Jul 30, 2010)

I put a new video together for my Wood Beam Engine earlier this month. I meant to post it but life interferred with my pleaseure.

I hope you enjoy it.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuAcO8d2BZM[/ame]

Highest Regards,

SAM


----------



## SAM in LA (Jul 31, 2010)

kcmillin  said:
			
		

> That's pretty darn slow.
> 
> Well Done Sam Thm:
> 
> Kel



Kel, I have tried to duplicate the slow speed (28 RPM) and have not been able to so.



			
				larry1  said:
			
		

> Sam great work, I think your work is really great,I really like your wooden beam, very pretty, also. larry1



Larry1,

Thanks for the kind words. I have enjoyed looking at beam type engines since childhood. I enjoyed making this one, which I think will be the first of many.



			
				doc1955  said:
			
		

> Very nice Sam! :bow:



Thanks Doc.



			
				kvom  said:
			
		

> This is a great looking project. Very well done.
> 
> WRT the uneven stroke, it occurs to me that the way the eccentric works the valve beam will displace a slightly different angle as the larger diameter of the eccentric will go higher on the beam than the lower.



kvom,

Good observation.

I'm not sure how, but if I was really motivated, perhaps moving the sealing surfaces on the valve spool may correct the timing.



			
				ozzie46  said:
			
		

> That is really nice work Sam. Looks sweet.
> 
> 32 RPM WOW!
> 
> Ron



Thanks Ron


----------

