# Topsy Turvy Hit & Miss Engine Build



## Harold Lee (Sep 18, 2011)

On March 20th 2010 in a comment on Captain Jerry's Steam Donkey build blog I mentioned that I wanted to complete my Steam Tractor and a Topsy Turvy before I tackled building a steam donkey (page one comment number eight)... Well that was eighteen months ago and like many others this past year has been a year of dealing with unanticipated issues and challenges which has sidetracked any progress on these projects in my machine shop... 

I am also in the process of building a Steam Tractor and have obtained a tremendous amount of instruction from Dennis' build of his steam tractor. On the one hand while I so much appreciated the astounding craftsmanship of his build i was very intimidated by his level of skill and workmanship to the point that I was reluctant to post any of my projects. I am a retired electrical engineer and not a machinist by trade and it has been a hobby for me over a number of years and while I clearly lack the skill of so many on this board, perhaps, like dennis and others, I can provide some encouragement to others. That being said, I have decided to post my build progress of my Topsy Turvy Hit & Miss. I have already completed the base and the body of the engine. The departure I have made from Philip Duclos' plans is using 6061 T6 aluminum instead of CRS. I have built three of his Odds & Ends engines and used 6061 on them as well. They all work very well. I am also considering making this one with two flywheels like another engine displayed on this board. I have not decided if I will construct the flywheels from scratch or use cast iron flywheels from Martin Models. All of the flywheels I used on the other hit and miss engines have been scratch built from 12L14 with very good results. 

I will post pictures in my next entry and would really appreciate any tips or comments that will help...

OK Harold... Deep Breath... Here goes... Deep end of the pool...Jump!!!


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## bearcar1 (Sep 18, 2011)

Ya' know Harold, I think that the intimidation factor is just a part of the human mechanism we all have to a certain degree. Though it is true that the level of craftsmanship that some members here possess far surpasses many of us (and yes that model that Dennis built IS something to be envious of), I truly believe and have witnessed just as high marks in admiration given to the builder that has even the most rudimentary of skills. *THAT* in itself I think sets HMEM off from many other sites, the appreciation given for the efforts that one puts into a project. By all means post up progress of your engines, please. I guarantee you will not be disappointed in doing so. That TT engine sounds like a real nice project, although I must admit, I have always been a bit partial to the P. Duclos designs. 

BC1
Jim


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## chuck foster (Sep 18, 2011)

looking forward to seeing your build of this engine.
don't be shy just jump in head first at the deep end..............if you get into trouble there is lot's of guys here to help.

chuck


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## Harold Lee (Sep 18, 2011)

Here are a couple of pictures of my progress to date. I have built the base and the body of the engine. I cut the stock to size on my 7 inch Logan shaper and all of the milling on my mini mill. It seems that in Phil's designs he dimensions his holes on one part and then on the mating part he says "locate from part such and such". I believe this is a very good way to make sure parts match up but I like to indicate both parts and drill and tap on my mill. If in the future I need to make a replacement part I have a better chance of them fitting together. 

One departure I made is the OD of the the cast iron sleeve that serves as the cylinder, Phil says to make the sleeve .0005 larger than the bore on the body and then press fit them together. I have always had better luck with shrink fitting using the following technique. I made the sleeve .0015 larger than the bore. I placed the body in the oven at 350 and the sleeve in the deep freeze and let them soak for about an hour. after that I wrapped the body in a towel and brought it to my shop. I took the cast iron sleeve and it literally dropped into the body with a sizzle. After it cooled I pressure tested the water jacket space and it sealed with no problems. I hope this will work out ok.


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## chuck foster (Sep 18, 2011)

looking good so far, and i think .0015" fit is nice and tight, you should have no problems with that.

so you use a shaper?? 
i had a shaper but i traded it for something i thought i needed and now i wish i had the shaper 
they are great little machines.

keep up the good work :bow:

chuck


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## rudydubya (Sep 19, 2011)

Looking forward to following your build, Harold. Looks like a good start.

Rudy


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## Harold Lee (Sep 19, 2011)

Thanks to all for the encouragement... Regarding the shaper Chuck, I took a high school machine shop class in the early sixties. The shaper was one of those machines that I fell in love with. The simplicity and the almost hypnotic rhythm made it a favorite of mine. When I set up my machine shop I made sure it included a shaper which I purchased from a retired school teacher from Hillsboro, Illinois who had bought it and completely restored it. My second favorite machine is my 1942 Burke #4 horizontal mill which I drove from Illinois to Alabama and bought from an eBay listing. it took me almost 8 months to completely tear it down and rebuild it but I really enjoy it as well. These heavy machines are a stark contrast to the light machines we purchase today and while I have a number of them that are made offshore, If I have a project the first thing I consider is how do I do this on my shaper or my horizontal mill. To date I have made all of my gears for my Hit & miss machines and while Phil Duclos recommends purchasing the gears for the Topsy Turvy, I plan on making them myself as I have collected most of the 32 and 48 pitch involute gear cutters. 

Today I plan on drilling the holes for the Spark Plug, the intake and exhaust valve assemblies on the main body. I'll post some pictures when I complete the work.


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## Harold Lee (Sep 19, 2011)

Any one looking in my scrapbox will probably disagree with the following comment but I tend to be a measure twice and cut one kind of a guy. Since I am retired and have more time than money, I tend to work more slowly and in many cases in a redundant fashion. When I drill holes I tend to do the measurements twice. First I lay them out on the part using a height guage and a surface plate. I then use an optical punch to locate the hole and make a light punch mark on the part...
















After I set the part in the mill I use an indicater to locate the center of the hole and hopefully the center drill will exactly match the layout lines and punch mark.






Once I find one I try to use a dial indicator to locate the subsequent holes...






On the following picture you can see where the layout lines and center punch marks are...






OK... The base is complete except for the machining the crank bearing caps and drilling and reaming for the bushings. 






The next task I will attempt is the crankshaft. It is probably one of the most difficult parts on this project... I'll report on that in the future...


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## lazylathe (Sep 19, 2011)

Slow and steady wins the race!

I agree with your methods!
I like to do things once as i hate remaking parts.
The reason i make parts twice is because i get excited and want to rush through it...

Looks great so far!!!
Keep up the good work!

Andrew


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## chuck foster (Sep 19, 2011)

excellent work!!

i use to rush into projects and make parts as fast as i could only to find that the parts were wrong and i had to make them again.
now like you i take my time and measure twice and the parts usually turn out right.

as for the crank, are you going to make a one piece crank or a multi-piece crank???

any who nice work and please keep the progress reports coming. ;D

chuck


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## Harold Lee (Sep 19, 2011)

Chuck - I am going to try to make a one piece crank. I am somewhat concerned because of the overhang of the parting tool used in turning the connecting rod journal. On the Odds & Ends cranks I made them one piece but they it was only a one inch stroke. This one is a two inch stroke.

I am using a 1/2 X 2 inch hot rolled steel bar. I am using a 9X20 grizzly import lathe and I am a bit worried about the rigidity of it. Got my fingers crossed...


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## kustomkb (Sep 19, 2011)

Beautiful work Harold.

Is that from "Two Shop Masters"?


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## dalem9 (Sep 19, 2011)

Harold May I ask what book you are building your engine from.Thank you very much .Dale


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## Harold Lee (Sep 20, 2011)

Kevin & Dale - Yes... The plans for this engine is in the "Two Shop Masters" book. I ordered mine from Village Press but it is available from a number of places. The first part of the book is about Frank McLean's designs which are mainly shop related tools. The last half of the book contains the final designs of Philip Duclos and include the Topsy Turvy as well as the Victorian Engine that Steve (cedge) built in a blog on this forum. He made a number of enhancements to the design and made a beautiful engine. In my opinion Philip's barstock IC engines are at the top of my list and his photography and step-by-step narration make it possible for the less experienced machinist to build a well running engine. Here is a link to one source for the book if you are interested.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0941653609/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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## cfellows (Sep 20, 2011)

Harold, that's one of my favorite engines by Duclos, or anyone for that matter. Looks like you got a good start on it.

I've found that using a 3/16" wide cuttoff blade works really well to reduce chatter. I drill and saw out the slot first then use the 3/16" cutoff blades to clean up the edges and the journal. I use 3 blades... one with a flat nose to work on the journal, and one each of a left mitered and right mitered for the two sides. You only need about a 5 degree bevel to clear the journal while working on the sides.

Here's a series of pictures that shows the process and tools I've used. Look at the beginning of this thread...

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=10746.15

Chuck


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## Harold Lee (Sep 20, 2011)

Chuck - Interesting that you mentioned the tools you used. I used a parting tool and and a left and right tool for the shoulders on each side. I have only completed the rod journal but in my estimation, that is the most difficult part. Here are a sequence of pictures from my work last evening and today. First I did a layout of the part ( see previous picture) and then took it to my bandsaw and did the rough cuts.











After the sawing, I took a 3/8 end mill and cleaned up the saw marks inside of the journal since I felt it would be more difficult to do on the lathe.






After this I did a layout of the holes on the surface plate and then put it in the mill where I used an indicator to locate the positions.






At this point I put it on the lathe and on the slowest speed and with the parting tool set a few thousandths below center using with plenty of cutting oil I started to take 1/2 blade wide at a time until I was deep enough that I was no longer getting an interrupted cut. I went very slowly and while there was some chatter it was minimal.











I then turned the journal down to .377 and then used the two tools on the sides to clean them up and form the spacers.






After this I polished with a LOOOOOONGGGG narrow strip of 360 grit then 400 and finished with 600. I sped up the lathe and it was downright frightening since I was having to move the cloth and my fingers closer to the part than I would have preferred. The other thing is I used an 8 inch long strip and could only use about 2 inches in the middle of it.






I was very pleased with the results. Since the connecting rod will be reamed to .375 , I want to take it about .0005 under. I was very pleased that it was dead nuts on.






I am not done by a long shot since I have to turn the rest of the crank but I believe it is going to be fairly straight forward. Think I take a tranquilizer and unwind the rest of the day.

BTW Chuck- I see you live in Round Rock. In 2006 I retired from that big company that is just South of you on Burnet road. Spent a lot of time there in the Labs.


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## Harold Lee (Sep 20, 2011)

One detail I forgot to mention in my post was in regards to the rigidity of the lathe. I used my Grizzly G4000 9X20 lathe and the only change that I have made to improve the stiffness is what is known as a "John Pitkin donut clamp" I am using the AXA 100 series toolholders and found for this particular job there were no problems with my equipment for this task.
 ;D


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## bearcar1 (Sep 20, 2011)

That is looking good so far Harold. One thing that jumped out at me that obviously was not a problem, was the drilling of the centers for the main shaft without any support between the journals. I would have thought you would have used a couple of large washers and a bolt to act as a clamp across the opening to prevent any sort of flexing during the C drilling operation. 
 And yes, tranqs' do wonders after a job such as this. Looks good, keep the faith.

BC1
Jim


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## Harold Lee (Sep 20, 2011)

Jim,

I think you are correct. If I did it again I would put a bolt in it to stiffen it up. I also thought about putting a parallel wedge in it. I don't think it ended up being a problem but it was certainly a potential problem and I would not take a chance in the future. You will se by my next post that I did use a bolt when I turned the shafts...

THank you so much for your comment.

Harold


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## pete (Sep 20, 2011)

Harold,
Your doing a hell of a great job on that engine. I've always thought that was a very good looking design by Philip. Both He and Rudy are still missed as writers for Village Press at least by myself. About the only thing I see with your techniques is if your locating by using the coordinate system there's no real need for center punching and doing so could throw your locations off slightly. I do everything the same way you do other than the center punching. I just use a center drill once I'm at my coordinates so I have a positive location for the normal drill to start.

Pete


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## Harold Lee (Sep 20, 2011)

Pete,

Thank you for your comments.. You are correct... I have had a center punch move the center drill a few thousandths.. On my crankshaft I did the layout and did not use the center punch. I'll do that in the future and just use the layout line to confirm the location but not try to draw the center drill to it.

I completely agree with you on Philip and Rudy. They are my favorites as well. I have built Rudy's marine compound, his walking beam, and about 90% complete on his steam tractor. Regarding Philip, I have built three Odds & Ends and now this. I have all of their "Shop Wisdom" books as well as the "Steam & Stirling" books from the 70s and 80s which had some of Philip's early works in it.

I have posted youtube videos of all of them... Search on hlee1946 and my videos should come up...

Thanks Again for your input and help.

Harold


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## pete (Sep 20, 2011)

Harold,
I even tried to delete the marking out step but every once in awhile a mistake could and would creep in. Probably people more experienced than myself can do it, But for now the marking out is a definate nessesity for me just as a double check. Before DRO's and CNC became commanplace Moore jig borers and jig grinders used much the same methods as You and I do. They actuly had wells cast into the machine at the dial indicator locations and also used removable and very precise rods much like micrometer setting rods to extend the reach of the dial indicators.

Pete


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## Harold Lee (Sep 21, 2011)

Today I completed the turning operation on the crankshaft. I was very pleased with the results and then got in a rush and made an UH OH... But I get ahead of myself...
After turning the connecting rod journal I sawed off the centers, put a 3/8 bolt and nut on it and started turning the rest of it. Notice the left crank web. I started sawing and was concerned that it would be too close to the finished dimension if the saw moved. I moved it over and restarted the cut. When I finished the webs to final dimensions everything was ok.. 







The first thing I did was turn both ends round and then started turning them to size... Here is a question... Should I have loosened the bolt holding the web before I made my finish cut? My thought was to relieve any stress that had built up by removing all of the metal. Even though this is HRS I was wondering if it would make a difference. 






After turning it to .377 ( .0025 over ) I completed it by hand with a file and two grits of cloth. 






At this point I wanted to clean it up for pictures so I put it on the belt sander to remove the scale on the crank throws..... RUH ROH.. It did that and in the process I nicked one of the shafts.






Look on the left shaft and you can see the flat spot... 






At this point I was going into failure mode after two days of work but I realized I needed to make a keyway cut for the flywheel and this is a perfect place for it. So I climbed back on my emotional roller coaster and continued... I then milled off the edges of the crank webs on the shaft end for the counter weights. 






My next step is to make the two crank counter weights and bolt them on...


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## chuck foster (Sep 21, 2011)

looking good harold ;D ;D

i think i have the plans to build this engine and it is on my long long list of engines to build.
i will be copying these picture and words into a file so that if and when i get to building this engine 
i can reference your work to help out my build.

thanks again 

chuck


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## Harold Lee (Sep 21, 2011)

Chuck - Thank you for your encouragement. I was very intimidated by this project for two reasons. The body of the engine is really sticking out on the lathe when the "guts" are bored out. I found out I had to go very carefully and take small cuts. I used a 1/2 boring bar and had to go slow. The crankshaft was the other reason. The two inch throw meant the tools fir cutting the connecting rod journal is really hanging out as well. If I had a old South Bend or a Logan I would not be concerned at all. The 9X20 hobby lathe is much lighter yet it can be coaxed into doing the job. Moving forward, I feel much more confident since the remainder of it is essentially more of what I did on the Odds & Ends engines. I'm sure there are some issues lurking in some of the darker corners ahead but I'll deal with those as they come up....

Thanks Again,

Harold


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## nemt (Sep 22, 2011)

Hello Harold,
Nice engine that Topsy Turvy. I made one myself. I work metric, so I took 32 mm for the inch. So it became some 25% bigger. It runs very well.
By the way, you said that you turned a diameter 0.0025 over and finished with a file and cloth. Why is that???
I prefer to use the sharp lathe tool.
Then you get a cylindrical diameter! now you are not sure of that. Just an opinion.

Nemt


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## Harold Lee (Sep 22, 2011)

Hello Nemt,

When I made my Odds & Ends engines I found that the diameter of the shafts would vary by .0015 and produces a finish that had a wavy pattern in it. I have my lathe mounted on a wooden bench and assumed it was a combination of the mounting and the limitations of the lathe. I have replaced the headstock bearing with $80 P6 bearings. Looked for gear train noise and cannot determine the source of the problem. I even replaced the motor thinking perhaps it was introducing a harmonic due to balance or a shorted winding. Regarding the taper, I have purchased a ground test bar ( $280) and have a precision level ( $65 )but have not been able to get repeatability over the length of the shaft. I have adjusted the tailstock multiple times. When I bored out the body of the engine ( no turning between centers) I get diameters that vary less than .0002. I have come to the opinion that I have a cheap Chinese lathe that was built on a Monday morning and have come to accept the limitations and developed workarounds. In the past I owned a 12 inch Atlas lathe and know that this is not normal but at this point I do not know how to fix it other than turn oversize and finish by hand. Any ideas or advice would be appreciated.

Thank you for your comments.

Harold


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## Harold Lee (Sep 22, 2011)

Nemt,

After reading my previous post and giving it some further thought I just wanted to add a few comments. At the beginning of this thread I said I was not a machinist by trade. I have been a hobbyist for a number of years and my formal training was in my metal shop class in my junior and senior years of high school in the early 60s. That being said, nowhere in my post did I take any of the responsibility for some of the issues; choosing to put it all on the machine. I know there are other factors like tool bits and how they are ground/honed. I am sure they add to some of the issues as well. I have always heard that anyone can make good parts on a good machine and it takes a machinist to make good parts on a poor machine. I think when we hit our limitations in a particular approach we look for ways to get around them... 

Thanks again for your comments.


Harold


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## pete (Sep 22, 2011)

Harold,
Since I don't want to to post unnecessary information in this post maybe if you started a new thread with a bit more information about your lathes problems we could collectively figure out and solve the problems?

Pete


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## maverick (Sep 22, 2011)

Harold,
 In my experience, "sneaking up" on a dimension with files and such is perfectly acceptable.
 It may not be the most efficient, but if you are happy with the part it's fine. 

 Regards,
 Mike


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## Harold Lee (Sep 22, 2011)

Pete - I am interested in discussing my lathe issues. Where would be a good place to start a thread?

Mike - In my previous build of my three Odds & Ends engines I did it the way I did this one. While it worked for me, if there is a better way to do it I would sure like to understand it. I think most of us are here to not only share our work but also to have people share their expertese with us. I am certainly open for suggestions/ constructive criticisms.
Thank you.

Harold


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## pete (Sep 22, 2011)

Harold,
Probably in the "Tools" forum.

Pete


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## Harold Lee (Sep 22, 2011)

I completed the two counter weights for the crankshaft. Since I didn't have any stock that was the proper size, I used the cut off pieces from the crankshaft. The stock was .5 thick and I had to reduce it to .267 to exactly match the crankshaft throws. Time to break out my favorite machine and cut it down to size.










After getting the size on the shaper, I then did a layout and transferred the part to the mill for final milling of the detail.










I individually fitted each weight to the crank web and both were a "push fit".. Here are both of the hanging from the crank without being attached.






Another view.





The next step is to drill, tap and attach the counter weights to the crank and then turn them down to a 1.25 inch radius. 
Before I proceed with the turning of the counterweights I would like some advice. I can put a lathe dog on the crankshaft and turn it between centers. The problem is the webs will be hung out between the centers and I could have issues with turning them... Chatter etc...
The other option is to put a .375 MT3 collet in the lathe (which I have) and put the crank throw right up against the headstock and turn it that way. I could additionally put the other end in a center in the tailstock if I needed additional support.

Comments or suggestions?


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## chuck foster (Sep 22, 2011)

hello Harold ;D

your engine is coming along very nice :bow: :bow:

as for the crank counter weights i would put the crank into a collet on one end and use the tail stock on the other end.
but i think i would also put the nut and bolt back in the throw area just like you had it when you were turning the long ends of the crank. (hope that makes sense) ???

you want the crank supported as much as possible so it won't flex or chatter when you take a cut off the counter weights.

hope this helps 

chuck


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## pete (Sep 22, 2011)

I'd agree with Chuck, And especialy so about the spacer. I'd also use the fixed steady on the tailstock side. That's a fairly long overhang. It might be overkill but there's no such thing as a part being held too rigidly. Due to the shaft size and the interupted cut your going to need to take light cuts, But I'm sure you already know that. BTW, Nice shaper.

Pete


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## Harold Lee (Sep 22, 2011)

Chuck and Pete - Thanks for the advice. I had not thought about putting the bolt back in the crank but it makes perfect sense. I will also put a live center in the tailstock and "steady up" the loose end. Best Regards...

Here is a video of my shaper cutting the counterweights. It is music to my ears!!!

Harold

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot48I0i7bFs[/ame]


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## Harold Lee (Sep 23, 2011)

After I fitted the counterweights to the crank, I put dykem on the counterweights to make sure they went together after the machining was complete on them. I did not want to stamp or permanently mark them since they will be permanently assembled and the holes plugged.

First I located and drilled the 4-40 clearance hole. I then used a 3/16 end mill to recess the hole .40 deep. This will give clearance for a 4-40 X 1/2 socket head cap screw and leave .320 above for pressing in the plug.






The next operation was to locate , drill and tap the holes in the crank webs. they are .450 deep. 












Here are the parts before assembly...






The next step was to put it in the lathe and turn it down to a 2 1/2 diameter. I turned it to size first as I wanted to make sure the screws did not loosen up. Since the is an interrupted cut I initially took .01 off per pass and as I approached the final dimension I only took .005 per pass.
















After this was complete, I tightened up the screws for the last time (DOH!! Should have put some loctite on them. DOH!) and pressed the plugs in on my arbor press. I then put the assembly on the lathe and turned the counterweights down to the finish size. I then took a .002 final cut to blend everything together.











There is a slight color difference because I used 12L14 to turn the plugs. My current plans are to paint the crankwebs a hammertone black...











I think it is Miller time!!!

The crankshaft is complete except for a keyway slot and a setscrew grove. Those will be done later in the build. I wanted to complete the crankshaft so I could bore the body for the crankshaft bushings. The lip on the inside edge of the bushing depends on the clearance between the crankshaft webs and the bearing walls on the body. I needed to get the crankshaft complete before moving forward. I think that will be the next step...


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## ShedBoy (Sep 24, 2011)

Nice crank :bow:. I have to agree with you, that shaper does make a nice sound, very soothing. I am liking this build
Brock


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## Harold Lee (Sep 25, 2011)

This next step will be drilling and reaming the engine body for the crankshaft bushings. I clamped the body in three places on the table and located the position. I also put an adjustable parallel in the throat while I drilled the upper support to prevent any flexing and misalignment. After center drilling I used a 31/64 drill.











For drilling the lower side I removed the parallel since it was against the table and clamped to it. I had to plan ahead when clamping the body since the drill and reamer had to go through the holes and needed to be positioned so they would go into the T slot and not into the table.











As with all small equipment, my mill did not have enough head room to put the 1/2 reamer in the chuck. I did not want to move the body so I had to cut the reamer shank in my metal bandsaw to make it shorter. 






After cleaning up the holes I was then able to measure the clearance for making the bushings. The bearing pillars were 1.112 and the crankshaft was .948. That gave me a clearance of .164 which would be .082 lip on each bushing. Allowing for clearance I plan on making the lip .080 which will give me .004 clearance when assembled.











The next step is to make the bushings...


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## Harold Lee (Sep 25, 2011)

The bushings and the final work on the bearing caps are the last machining work to be done on the main body of the engine.

I starts with some 5/8 bronze stock. I don't know why the bronze has the wavy pattern that is does but all of the bronze I have looks similar.






The bearings were fairly straight forward to turn to size, drill ream and part off. 





















After this I did a secondary operation to face them to the .080 thickness on my 7 inch lathe. And then I fitted them and verified that they were dimensionally correct.






A trial fitting showed they would work as desired.






Up to this point I have left the bearing caps at the full thickness in order to have as much material for drilling and reaming. Since all of this is complete, I will now take the caps to the final dimensions. This consists of taking off .125 from the ends and chamfering the top edges at a 45 degree angle.






A reassembly shows the final configuration. The plans call for a oil hole to be drilled through the cap and bearing but I am still trying to decide if I will build it according to the the plans, drill and tap for an oil cup, or drill and tap for a grease cup.. I'll decide later. meanwhile I feel this operation is complete and will move on to other parts.


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## danstir (Sep 26, 2011)

Very nice looking build and thanks forr all the pics!


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## pete (Sep 26, 2011)

I'll say the same as Dan did.

Pete


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## Harold Lee (Sep 26, 2011)

Pete & Dan - Thank you very much for your encouragement. I am hoping that my build will inspire others since I believe "if I can do it, anyone can". If that happens perhaps I'll be able to provide some guidance since I have been down the same road. Please feel free and jump in if there are hints, tips, or constructive criticism you can provide.


Today was one of those "light" days where I had other tasks but felt I needed to make something so I feel I was moving forward. Since I have the upper end crank and bearings complete I decided to make the governor spool since it was a relatively easy task. This is one that does not require any in process photos since it is just basic turning, drilling, reaming and parting tool work. The plans called for this part to be made our of cold rolled steel but I decided to make it out of bronze for two reasons. 1. it acts as a bearing of sorts since it provides the coupling between the governor weight and the arm which are both made from steel. 2. I just wanted to make something that was shiny. My kids call it "shiny syndrome".

















The one thing that is different when working with bronze is the tendency for the tools to dig in. A professional would have a special set of drills ground with much different geometries than the standard drills. I have found that you do not try to incrementally drill bronze since it will snatch the drill and make a mess of the part. I will center drill the part and very carefully and slowly drill the part until I am past the center drill depth. At this point it is fairly clean sailing. In this case where the final diameter was a reamed .376 (I have a .001 set of over and under reamers) I used a letter "U" drill (.368) and then reamed it to final size. If I am doing a real critical part, I will drill about .015 under, then bore the hole to true it up in the event it has wandered off a few thousandths, then ream the final few thousandths to size.


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## pete (Sep 26, 2011)

You asked for any tips? 
When it's possible due to hole size or length I always try to single point bore the hole slightly undersize using a boreing head after drilling and before reaming. A lot of people think a drilled hole has to be round and straight just because the drill bit is round and straight. That depends on the defination of round and straight. But to be honest, Drill bits do not drill on size, straight or round holes. Single point boring will straighten the hole and make it round so that the reamer has a straight round hole to follow. While I'm only a hobby machinist, Doing it that way is an industry standard on anything critical because reamers tend to follow what the drill bit does. That always made logical sense to me anyway. YMMV.

Maybe there's a lot more to do, But before you paint, You'll need to slightly round off the sharp corners on any edges of machined parts because paint doesn't want to stick on those sharp edges. Due to surface tension it wants to pull away from anything with a sharp edge. You may already know this but I thought I'd mention it. If you look closely at some of the pictures in your book you'll see this was done. 

Pete


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## Harold Lee (Sep 26, 2011)

Pete - I agree with your assessment on drilling holes. I have found that they are neither straight or round. In the case of a spool I feel I can get away with it but cannot be said of other parts. When I make critical parts like flywheels, gears, etc. I always do the drill, bore, ream route. 

Regarding the painting the model and removing the sharp edges, I did not know that. My model does have some unbroken edges and I'll have to remove them before painting. Any tips on doing that other than filing? Will the polishing wheels that look like a coarse scotchbrite be enough to break the edges? 

Thanks for your input and advice.

Harold


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## pete (Sep 26, 2011)

Harold,
Even a strip of 220 grit emory cloth used between your hands and worked back and forth over the edge a bit will work fine. It takes very little to just break the edge a tiny ammount for the paint. IMO, Heavy rounding off of the edges would look bad. I think a file would take too much off. It's also very easy to go too fine on the metal surface. The paint needs some surface tooth to allow it to grip. I'd highly recommend the book "How Not To Paint A Locomotive" by Cris Vine. It's well worth buying no matter what your planning on painting. Without a doubt the best book I've read on the subject. IMO the smaller the object is, Then the better the paint job needs to be due to how the eye's tend to pick up any tiny defects on small surfaces.

Pete


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## Harold Lee (Sep 26, 2011)

pete  said:
			
		

> Harold,
> ...snip...
> I'd highly recommend the book "How Not To Paint A Locomotive" by Cris Vine. It's well worth buying no matter what your planning on painting. Without a doubt the best book I've read on the subject.
> ...snip...
> ...



On one of my trips to Portland I looked through the book at Powells bookstore but thought I would never build a locomotive. I should have bought it then and will rethink my decision.

Thanks,
Harold


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## pete (Sep 26, 2011)

Harold,
I almost didn't buy my copy for the exact same reason you didn't. But I did read a few posts about the book and decided to take a chance on it. I'm glad I did. The product reference's are for U.K. manufacturer's but that's no big deal. It's the part preparation and painting tips you want anyway. For a subject that's pretty dry I thought it was very well written and surprisingly entertaining. You'll learn a lot. At least I did.

Pete


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## cfellows (Sep 26, 2011)

Harold, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that you're doing a first class job on this project. That is one dang nice looking engine.

Chuck


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## Harold Lee (Sep 27, 2011)

cfellows  said:
			
		

> Harold, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that you're doing a first class job on this project. That is one dang nice looking engine.
> 
> Chuck



Thanks Chuck... I have to say, Phil Duclos designed some really good looking engines and his narrative on construction is really good. I am looking forward to seeing it run but that will be close to the end of the year. I have a prior commitment coming up where I will be taking about a three week hiatus from this project...

Harold


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## Harold Lee (Sep 28, 2011)

Sometimes a couple of short easy parts will do wonders for the ego after slogging through a bunch of difficult and critical components. Today I was in a light "git-er-dun" mood and wanted to knock out a few easy and quick to machine parts. In fact so easy to machine I might insult the intelligence of many on the board but I'll offer an apology now and post them anyway....

The first small project was the governor toggle arm support and the toggle arm. After this I made the cooling pipes and put them on the engine. 
..... SERMON ALERT!!!....
Please understand that many of the parts will have to be fitted in the final process so what is displayed is STILL a work in progress. I could not imagine an engine going together with all of the parts made to the print and not have to do a good bit of "Fiddling" to get them to play in a concert. My opinion is.. All of the parts are just that; individual parts until the last phase where they will all be taught to "play together in concert.
.... END OF SERMON!!!....

The toggle arm consisted of some lathe work, then a second operation in the mill to cut the slot, then third operation to drill and tap the pivot and a fourth to mill the small flat for the setscrew in the body...





















The next step is to construct the toggle arm... As with most of my builds, I do not have stock that is properly sized and I fire up my trusty shaper...






After this it is a layout, then sawing and filing to print dimensions...

The one variation I made to the plans is I use a 2-56 screw for the pivot. The plans call for a 1/16 cotter pin but I prefer to drill and tap and use a cap screw.






The other thing I did was to make the two water cooling pipes... It is as simple as using a die on a piece of 1/4 inch brass pipe and then parting it off to one inch...


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## rudydubya (Sep 29, 2011)

Looking good Harold, nice work. Good photography too.

Rudy


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## danstir (Sep 29, 2011)

Thanks for the thread! As a result I bought "Two Shop Masters" and received it last night. After a quick read through, interrupted by a few "your not listening to me" comments I can hardly wait to get started on some of the engines. I will definitely have this thread bookmarked.


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## Harold Lee (Sep 29, 2011)

Thanks a bunch Rudy. I am enjoying the documentation process with the only drawback of having to wash the cutting oil off my hands to keep from getting it on my camera. 

Danstir - I really like the book. There are a number of challenging engines in there as well as his Shop Wisdom book. Of all the model engine designers, Philip Duclos seemed to have the widest range. At one end is a very stark engine that was functional but not pretty IMHO. They would have a very unique mechanical feature like having no gears or his internal combustion oscillating cylinder. The other end of the spectrum would be very ornate decorative design like his Victorian. I have built his Odds & Ends design as well as working on this one and am very impressed. His instructions are very valuables as well and I would recommend following them on the difficult parts like the engine body and the crankshaft. If I can help please let me know. I know there are others on this board that have built this engine and I'm sure there is a wealth of experience available...


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## moconnor (Sep 30, 2011)

Hello Harold,

You are doing a great job of building and documenting your engine. Your Odd's & Ends engines are also beautifully done. I am really enjoying following along as well.

One tip that I can offer relates to the Governor Toggle Arm Support and the method that you used to find the center. Using an edge finder on a round part is not the best way to locate the center. It is unlikely that you will start out on the centerline, so there will be some degree of error. A better way is to use a dial test indicator, like a Starrett "Last Word" or similar type and sweep the diameter of the part, adjusting for the centerline.

Thanks for taking the time to share your work.

Kind regards,
Mike


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## Harold Lee (Sep 30, 2011)

moconnor  said:
			
		

> ...snip...
> One tip that I can offer relates to the Governor Toggle Arm Support and the method that you used to find the center. Using an edge finder on a round part is not the best way to locate the center. It is unlikely that you will start out on the centerline, so there will be some degree of error. A better way is to use a dial test indicator, like a Starrett "Last Word" or similar type and sweep the diameter of the part, adjusting for the centerline.
> ...snip...



Mike - thank you for your comments.... I did realize the issue of locating a round part but had not considered using a DTI... That seems to be the best way...
What I did was to locate the center and crank the table back and forth when the wiggler first indicated I was over center. At that point I indexed in to the center of the part and locked my axis. I then went the other way and found the edge. I took a reading and divided this by 2 and then indexed back that distance. It sounds complicated as I describe it and I am sure your suggestion is easier and probably more accurate. I'll certainly use that the next time.
Thank you again for taking the time to help me.

Best Regards,
Harold


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## mklotz (Sep 30, 2011)

Actually, it's easy to accurately find the center of a circular piece with an edge finder if one uses the Osborne maneuver.

For the benefit of those unfamiliar with the procedure, here's the writeup that accompanies my program of the same name.


```
In his book, "Home Machinist's Bedside Reader #2 (pg. 159)", Guy
Lautard describes the "Osborne Maneuver" for accurately centering round stock
in the milling machine using nothing more than an edge finder.

	It works like this. Accurately measure the diameter of the stock. 
For description purposes, let's assume that the y axis is along the 12-6
o'clock line of the stock and the x axis is along the 3-9 o'clock line. Align
the edge finder by eye to the 3 o'clock position and locate the edge of the
workpiece. Now move by half the diameter towards the center of the stock along
the x axis. Now, use the y axis controls to find the edge of the stock near
the 12 o'clock position. Move half the diameter towards the center of the
stock along the y axis.

	Now do it again. Use the x axis controls to find the edge of the
stock near the 3 o'clock position. Move half the diameter towards the center
of the stock along the x axis. Use the y axis controls to find the edge of the
stock near the 12 o'clock position. Move half the diameter towards the center
of the stock along the y axis.

	As you repeat this procedure again and again you will approach the
center of the stock with ever increasing accuracy. (In mathematical terms,
the procedure converges to the center of the stock.)

	The question becomes, "How often do I have to do this?". The answer
is, "Probably fewer times than you think!". I wrote OSBORNE.EXE to examine
how fast the process converges. For example:

OSBORNE MANEUVER
 
Workpiece diameter [2] ?
Initial offset [0.1] ?
 
iteration: del1,del2,error= 1: 0.10000000, 0.00501256, 0.10012555
iteration: del1,del2,error= 2: 0.00501256, 0.00001256, 0.00501258
iteration: del1,del2,error= 3: 0.00001256, 0.00000000, 0.00001256
iteration: del1,del2,error= 4: 0.00000000, 0.00000000, 0.00000000
iteration: del1,del2,error= 5: 0.00000000, 0.00000000, 0.00000000
iteration: del1,del2,error= 6: 0.00000000, 0.00000000, 0.00000000

	Here we have a 2 (we'll say inch but units don't matter) diameter
workpiece and we initially aligned with an error of 0.1". That is to say, we
initially aligned by eye to the x axis at the 3 o'clock position with an error
of 0.1". If your eyes are that bad, you need better glasses! After the first
iteration we're still 0.1" off the x axis (del1), but we're within 0.005"
(del2) of being on the y axis. Our radial error (distance from the center of
the workpiece) is the root-sum-squared of del1 and del2 or 0.100126". On the
second iteration, del1 becomes the del2 of the previous iteration and that
puts us within 0.0000126 on the x axis. The iterations continue in this
fashion with del1 always becoming the del2 of the previous iteration.

	As you can see, even with a hideous initial error we've converged to a
nearly unmeasurable error after only three iterations. You can use the
program to experiment with other combinations of workpiece diameter and
initial error. Personally, I do it twice and don't worry about it.
```


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## Harold Lee (Sep 30, 2011)

mklotz  said:
			
		

> Actually, it's easy to accurately find the center of a circular piece with an edge finder if one uses the Osborne maneuver.
> 
> For the benefit of those unfamiliar with the procedure, here's the writeup that accompanies my program of the same name.
> 
> ...snip...



This board is just incredible!!! - I did this one and a half times so I was not too far off... I think my little jog maneuver up front cut down on the coarse error. It is interesting how the center finder reacts to a curved surface over a flat surface. On a flat surface the finder goes over center and moves WAY OFF. On a curved part the center finder goes over center and as it moves on the curved surface it is not longer over center and will stop moving. It is a very "soft" indication and not nearly as obvious. now I am going to have to try this method as well just to satisfy my curiosity.

Thanks for the additional "rabbit hole" I'll have to traverse

Harold


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## pete (Sep 30, 2011)

It's real old school, But Zig Zag rolling papers in the blue package are almost exactly .001 thick. You can use these against your materials edge, Spin up your cutting tool and creep up towards that rolling paper using the table movements till it tears. If I'm using flycutters for example I hold the rolling paper with needle nose pliers just to keep my fingers safe. A dirt cheap edge finder. Another tip I got from the Machinist Bedside reader books.

Pete


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## Harold Lee (Sep 30, 2011)

OK...OK Pete and Marv... you made me go downstairs to my personal private room and dig through my books... I have TMBR number 3.... I just love not only his shop wisdom but also his "laugh out loud" stories. Truly, Guy Lautard is to machinists what Patrick McManus is to the outdoorsman..


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## pete (Sep 30, 2011)

Harold,
I guess were bastardising your thread, But if you don't have TMBR 1&2 you really should buy them. I'll agree 100% with your thoughts about these books too. If you enjoy those, You'll really like the Brownells "Gunsmith kinks" series of books. There's a huge ammount of really good info in them even if your not into guns.

For OT. Your latest engine pictures are looking real fine. I have no doubts Phil would be really happy with your efforts if he could see them. I'm thinking maybe a Project of the month once it's finished.

Pete


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## Harold Lee (Oct 4, 2011)

pete  said:
			
		

> Harold,
> I guess were bastardising your thread, But if you don't have TMBR 1&2 you really should buy them. I'll agree 100% with your thoughts about these books too. If you enjoy those, You'll really like the Brownells "Gunsmith kinks" series of books. There's a huge amount of really good info in them even if your not into guns.
> 
> Pete



Pete - I am not worried too much about wandering a bit. I think that is the way my mind works as well. Sometime I wonder what is the larger item in my budget. Books or machine tools ;-)

I do plan on getting the two TMBR books. When I bought the #3 I thought it was a later release and contained everything 1 and 2 did... I'll also look into the Gunsmith book. I am not a gunsmith but in the early 70s I bought a Kentucky flintlock pistol kit which I completed and used to shoot it a bit. Other than that my current guns are a pellet rifle and a Daisy BB gun for my grandkids to plunk with.... So many things so little time... Thank you for your comments.

Harold


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## Harold Lee (Oct 4, 2011)

Today's work in the shop consisted mainly of getting stock to size for second operations. The first one was getting the stock to size for the intake and exhaust valve bodies. I am using aluminum on this one. I have used it on two of my IC engines and have never had a problem. If these were made for "real work" I would use CRS or cast iron. On one of my IC engines I made them out of brass and it worked just as well.







I am cutting my own gears so I also turned the gear blank for the crankshaft.






It was a turn, drill, ream, and part operation.











Somewhere in that block of aluminum are the two valve bodies. My job is to dig them out....






Since I am making my own gears, I am going to deviate from Phil's plans on the timing gear/camshaft. He used an off the shelf gear and adapted the cam to it. I am going to make it in one piece.... More on that later...

Harold


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## Harold Lee (Oct 5, 2011)

Today was a day of cutting stock to size and making gear blanks. I shaped, milled, sawed, filed, turned, parted, bored, drilled and reamed...

Here is the boring of the ignition cam recess on the cam gear. It was .032 deep and .812 in diameter.






Here are the two gear blanks, the two valve bodies and the cam roller arm blanks. 











I am trying to decide if I am going to cut the gears on my vertical mini mill which I have always used in the past or cut them on my Burke#4 horizontal. The only issue I have on the Burke is I have to make some T nuts for the rotary table tailstock so I can turn the blanks on a mandrel. The advantage is I can start a cut and put the auto feed on and watch it do its thing. Hmmmm...


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## pete (Oct 5, 2011)

My vote? The horizontal for sure, Much more rigid set up and that power feed can't be beat. Your getting real close to that time consumeing job of doing the flywheel too. I'll be real interested in seeing your set up for that.

Pete


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## Brian Rupnow (Oct 5, 2011)

Harold Lee---You are doing very nice work there.---Brian


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## Harold Lee (Oct 5, 2011)

Pete - I think I agree with you. I have wanted to set it up but have just procrastinated. I think I'll bite the bullet and make the T nuts and get it set up... Watch this space...

Brian - Thank you so much. I really appreciate all of the encouragement. I have found that posting my progress does help to keep me focused and perhaps helps me to plan out the work better.

Harold


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## Harold Lee (Oct 6, 2011)

My project today was to make the cam roller arm. After layout, marking and drilling holes. I transferred the part to the mill to machine the part.











After cutting the basic "L" shape the next step was to mill the clearance on both sides of the part.






The slot was milled for the cam roller.






The work today took a bit more time due to my apprentice helper... I would like to caption this.. Hours to construct model - 600. Dollars spent on material - $375.00. Working with grandson in shop - Priceless!!!






All in all it was a successful day..
















Next task is to radius the roller tabs and drill and tap in two places... Perhaps Tomorrow..


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## Harold Lee (Oct 9, 2011)

Today I completed the cam roller arm. It consisted of putting a radius on the part... I have found on small parts and soft materials, The best way for me is on the mill and rotate the part by hand moving the table about .005 at a time.











I then turned the cam roller and the bronze bushing on the lathe. 






The next step was to tap the shaft hole and cut a 45 on each side per the print. I used a 45 degree block and then shaved off .050 on each side.






Here are the individual parts...






And here is the completed assembly...






The next step is the push rod anchor unit that will connect to this completed arm.

I am also rethinking my gears and would like some advice. The book calls for purchased gears and the crankshaft gear is steel and the cam gear is brass. I made both blanks out of CRS but I am second guessing myself and wondering if I should make another cam blank out of brass or cast iron and use that instead. Are there drawbacks for using steel for both? On my previous engines I have used steel for the crank gear and cast iron for the cam. No real science behind it though. Any comments would be appreciated.


----------



## Brian Rupnow (Oct 9, 2011)

In a real world working application, running steel on steel would eventually gall the gear faces and cause undue wear. For a model "demonstration" engine, you will be fine, just keep a bit of white grease on the gears so they slide rather than rub when mating.


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## Harold Lee (Oct 24, 2011)

When I first started on this odyssey I decided to show my progress; warts and all. I think I have a tendency to want to show the pretty side of things and try to "bury" the ugly ones. I was faced with this dilemma today. I have taken off about two weeks to make a trip to the Northwest and just knew I should have resumed with something simple. A screw or a bolt or a shaft which would have eased me back into this but NO, I decided to jump right in and declare this Day the "Gear Cutting" day. I already had the blanks made and based on recommendations for some of you I set up my Burke and went to work. The first gear was the crank gear which had 22 teeth. There is no way a 22 tooth gear can be cut easily on a rotary table without a set of dividing plates. Even then on a 5 degree/turn (72 turn) rotary table the only plates that will work are 11 holes and 22 holes. With a 22 tooth gear a person might as well just make the gear instead of the plate since it will take the exact same mental gymnastics. With blank on the mandrel and the .071 tooth depth set I carefully start out...






It actually went well but thinking about Brian's comment on using the same material on both gears could be a problem, but probably not, I decided to change the crankshaft material to brass. It only took about 20 minutes to turn another blank and run it through. Actually the mill was fun to work and I could do other things in the shop while waiting for each pass to complete. Just waited for the click as the auto feed would hit the stop and trip the lever.
















I just love watching these old machines!!!!

Next was the 44 tooth cam gear... With tables in hand I set out knowing this one would take twice as long..











While that was taking place I decided to go ahead and tap the two set screws on the crankshaft gear...






Two places 90 degrees apart...






That came out pretty good and I was happy with the finished gear and glad I had made a brass one...






Somewhere in the back and forth and the reading of the step tables, something went terribly wrong... This is shown with the completed steel crank gear that I will not be using but it does represent some wasted effort.











So that is my day.. Don't know if I'll try to make another blank and cut it tomorrow of move on to something else and come back to it. Anyone need a 24 tooth half finished gear with two gimpy teeth in it? Well that is the ugly side of my progress...


----------



## mklotz (Oct 24, 2011)

Are 22 and 44 teeth absolutely essential for some reason?

With a 72:1 gear ratio (5 degrees per crank rotation), a 24 and 48 tooth gear pair would be a lot simpler to divide out - less chance of error.

360/24 = 15 => 3 crank turns per gear tooth

360/48 = 7.5 => 1.5 crank turns per gear tooth


----------



## chuck foster (Oct 24, 2011)

thanks for showing your mistake..................i was beginning to wonder if you ever made any. ;D

the whole project and the write up look excellent :bow: thanks for the effort, so all of us can follow along.


chuck


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## pete (Oct 24, 2011)

It's not a totall loss, You learned what not to do next time. Just think, That could have been something with a really high tooth count and it gets ruined on the last tooth. It's not a matter of IF you'll make a mistake when cutting gears. it's exactly WHEN your going to do it. The replacment gear will be easy. You already know what to watch for. Marv does bring up a good and easier way to do things while still giving you that same 2-1 gear ratio to fit within your 72-1 R/T gearing. Maybe it's redundant at this point, But cast iron for the gears would work well with both of them using the same material.

Nicely shown mill set up. It's hard to beat a horizontal mill for work like this. Your Burke mill looks like it's a semi universal type with the capability to pivot the table in a horizontal direction. You've selected and bought some very desireable machine tools.

I could be wrong, But going by your pictures. The shaft dog should be fixed to that peg sticking out from your rotary table using something like a semi hard wire as tight as you can get it. This won't allow any rotation in the oposite direction of your gear blank. Possibly there's something to do this that I've missed in your pictures.

Pete


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## Harold Lee (Oct 24, 2011)

mklotz  said:
			
		

> Are 22 and 44 teeth absolutely essential for some reason?
> 
> With a 72:1 gear ratio (5 degrees per crank rotation), a 24 and 48 tooth gear pair would be a lot simpler to divide out - less chance of error.



Marv - You are correct and if I had thought that far ahead when I was drilling out the main base I probably could have done that and made the adjustment. The engine body was drilled and tapped for the cam gear which was located 1.033 from the centerline of the crank. At this point I am painted into a corner.. The 22/44 setup distance is 1.031 and the 24/48 would require 1.125



			
				pete  said:
			
		

> SNIP...
> Maybe it's redundant at this point, But cast iron for the gears would work well with both of them using the same material.
> 
> Nicely shown mill set up. It's hard to beat a horizontal mill for work like this. Your Burke mill looks like it's a semi universal type with the capability to pivot the table in a horizontal direction. You've selected and bought some very desireable machine tools.
> ...



Pete - On my previous hit & miss engines I did make the cam gears out of cast iron. I have a chunk and might go ahead and use that when I make my next one. CI is messy but I like cutting and milling it.

I bought my Burke on eBay and drove down to Alabama and brought it home in my truck. I spent about 9 months disassembling it, stripping the old paint off and then repainting it and rebuilding it. I really like having the universal table but have not used it yet. I also have a vertical head attachment but there in not much headroom due to the additional height of the universal table.

Good catch on the dog. I initially put a small machinist clamp on it but it got in the way. Each time I indexed it I made sure there was contact but on the next one I'll use some aviation safety wire. Thanks for the tip.



			
				chuck foster  said:
			
		

> thanks for showing your mistake..................i was beginning to wonder if you ever made any. ;D
> 
> the whole project and the write up look excellent :bow: thanks for the effort, so all of us can follow along.
> 
> chuck



Chuck - I appreciate your encouragement very much. Regarding mistakes, let me assure you I make many of them; fortunately not all of them are show stoppers.


----------



## swilliams (Oct 24, 2011)

Really enjoying your thread Harold. I've been wanting to build one of these and you've inspired me to make a start. 

looking forward to seeing more progress :bow:

Steve


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## mklotz (Oct 25, 2011)

Harold Lee  said:
			
		

> Marv - You are correct and if I had thought that far ahead when I was drilling out the main base I probably could have done that and made the adjustment. The engine body was drilled and tapped for the cam gear which was located 1.033 from the centerline of the crank. At this point I am painted into a corner.. The 22/44 setup distance is 1.031 and the 24/48 would require 1.125



Yes, I was afraid that might be the case. Ah, well, keep it in mind for the next one.


----------



## Harold Lee (Oct 25, 2011)

Today was one of those "buck up little soldier" days... I took to heart what Marv, Pete, Brian and others said and moved forward... Yes I do take to heart what the comments are and I hope all of you can see a little of yourselves in my work. Thank you very much for your constructive criticism. 
This morning I decided to "soldier" ahead and complete the cam gear... Based on Brian's suggestion I decided to make the cam gear out of cast iron...











It took only a few (20) minutes to cut and make the CI blank for the cam... After cutting and turning all of the diameters I did a second operation for the ignition point recess...






It was time to continue with the pressing in of the mandrel and mounting it on the mill..











Pete - Please note that I secured the dog to the table with a clamp... Thank You.. In my first attempt I tried to put it on the outside and it got in the way. While I do not like to think about this, it could have contributed to my Oh S***T!!! on my first attempt.











With all that being said. I completed the cutting of the 44 teeth and I am well pleased with it...






The next step is to cut the cam on the gear.... Notice from the drawing that this is meant to be two separate parts that are screwed together. This is due to the fact that Phil specified a commercial gear and made the cam to mate with it. If I mess up the cam cutting my fallback position is to turn the lobe down and make a separate cam to bolt on as the drawing depicts... More to follow...


----------



## pete (Oct 25, 2011)

Triple good job. The second one is more frustrating because of the "Do over" but it's always easier and better. Yours looks the equal to any commecial ones I've seen and way better than some lathe change gears I've also seen.

Apologys for the "I should have thought of this before". But it may have been better to cut your cam first and then the teeth. But I don't think you'll have any problems. Did you get the info I emailed?

Pete


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## Harold Lee (Oct 26, 2011)

pete  said:
			
		

> Apologys for the "I should have thought of this before". But it may have been better to cut your cam first and then the teeth. But I don't think you'll have any problems.
> 
> Pete



Pete - I had considered cutting the cam first but I would have to tear down my gear cutting set up since I need my rotary table to cut the cam. After that I would have to set it up again to cut the gears. If I mess this one up and cannot recover, I'll make a blank and cut the cam first since the RT will already be in the vertical mill.


----------



## pete (Oct 26, 2011)

Harold,
A good logical thought, And for sure that was the way to go. Probably You've already thought of it, But I've cut a few items like your cam on a R/T. I'd really recommend cutting a test sample first to get your R/T settings perfect. It would be really handy if these R/Ts came from the factory's with adjustable table stops for doing work like this. I can mostly laugh about it now, But my last fiasco with a R/T I went about 1 degree too far. If the design was supposed to have that built in divot the part would have been perfect.

Pete


----------



## Harold Lee (Oct 27, 2011)

Before I move on to cutting the cam on my gear I decided to make a few no-brainer parts to boost my confidence.... I decided to work on the left side of the engine and make the camshaft and the pushrod guide. The camshaft was a two setup operation. First I turned the shaft and drilled and tapped the 6-32 screw for holding the cam.







Next I turned the part around and chucked it in a collet and turned and threaded the back side that screws into the engine base.






The next part was the push rod guide... It was very straight forward and just a matter of marking, milling, and drilling holes as well a little file work to break the edges...






Here are the two parts mounted on the engine...






Ok... That boosted my ego a bit... Next I'll tackle the cam. More to follow...


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## swilliams (Oct 27, 2011)

The assembly is shaping up as an impressive ego boost Harold. Very nice

Steve


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## Harold Lee (Oct 27, 2011)

Thanks Steve.... This project was a bit intimidating since there were operations that I had not done before. Like the crankshaft, the engine body. But with the other parts taken one at a time they tick off and soon there will not be any more to make... I find the easy ones help to smooth out the difficult ones...

Harold


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## Harold Lee (Oct 28, 2011)

After the small "ego boosting" projects, it was time to cut the cam. The first step was to set up the rotary table on the mill and using a coaxial indicator to get the spindle centered over the RT.






My procedure was to mill the two endpoints and then mill the rest of the cam. The OD of the cam was 1.00 and the body diameter was .687. I indicated the mill and then moved toward the center .156 or half the diameter difference. The endpoints were at 0 degrees and 218 degrees using a 3/8 endmill. I wanted a .004 lip on the cam so I milled to a depth of .246






On my RT I used three clamps and moved one at a time to provide clearance for the mill. 






After cutting the body down I then set the RT to the two endpoints and milled straight out to provide the lobe.











After this it was a little file work to break the edges on the lobe and that part was done... WHEW!!!











Although I am very pleased with the results, If I did it again I would do things a little differently. When I milled the two endpoints there was a few thousandths of movement when I milled them due to the rigidity of my small mill. This caused two dimples at the endpoints. The next time I do this I will not index to the finished dimensions; rather I will leave about .005 and then take a finish pass. Although it would not improve the functionality, it would make a more cosmetically pleasing finish.

Next step is to locate and drill and counterbore the two screws for holding the ignition lobe.


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## Harold Lee (Oct 28, 2011)

I realized that I do not have the bronze material to make the ignition lobe so I decided to go ahead and make the countershaft bracket. After milling the material to size, I slathered it with dykem and did a layout of the part...






The first step was to locate then drill and ream the shaft holes. This was done before the part was machined to provide rigidity. I drilled and reamed a hole at each end about 3/8 deep.











The part was then placed in the mill and the center material was removed to finished dimensions.






The part was flipped upside down and the two holes were located and drilled. The extra thickness of the back was removed down to the 3/32 thickness.











All in all I was very satisfied with the results.
















Hmmm... Must be five o'clock somewhere...


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## jpeter (Oct 31, 2011)

One of my High School students made a Duclos Topsy Turvy. He didn't quite get it to the running stage but it was far enough along to win the Grand Award 5 or 6 years ago at the Michigan Industrial Education Awards Fair. This awards fair, after regional elimination, involves maybe 500 metal shop projects.


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## Harold Lee (Nov 11, 2011)

jpeter - I would have to say that was quite an accomplishment for a high school student. I was not a machinist in my profession but at 65 years old, this is taxing my abilities and patience...

That being said, I really love Philip Duclos' designs and think most of them are very aesthetically pleasing as well as running very well.


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## ShedBoy (Nov 11, 2011)

Looking good Harold. Starting to really look like an engine :bow:
Brock


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## Brian Rupnow (Nov 11, 2011)

Very nice progress. I am signing in just to keep from losing track of this thread. It looks very good.---Brian


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## Harold Lee (Nov 11, 2011)

Brock & Brian - Thanks for keeping up. Right now I am working on a short project which it taking up all on my machine shop time. I hope to be back on this about the middle of next week.

Brian - I have read your Ice House Cat story to every one that will listen (my family). We have had many belly laughs from it and you have brightened many days with your story. Thanks for sharing it.

Harold


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## danstir (Nov 14, 2011)

Looking very nice. Thanks for sharing you setups!


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## Harold Lee (Nov 22, 2011)

After a few week hiatus to do a "quick G job" for a friend, (note to self... there are no quick G jobs!!!) I was able to get back on the engine build. I actually built three parts. The first on was the governor trip arm. I did not think a series of photos was warranted since it consisted of milling the part to size, drilling and reaming the shaft hole and drilling and tapping for the setscrew.











The next part was the governor weight. It was a turning, milling, and drilling operation.





















The next big part is the flywheel. I turned it out of a 5 1/2 inch chunk of 12L14 CRS. I faced one side and using that for a reference I turned it around, chucked it in the four jaw, indicated it in, and completed one side.






To make sure the shaft hole is true, after center drilling it, I drilled it with a 27/64 drill, then I bored it to .010 under, and finally reamed it with a .375 reamer.
















After this step I machined the first side to dimensions...






I then flipped it over and indicated the second side in and machined it to final dimensions.
















The next operation will be to cut the spokes for the flywheel. I am a little intimidated by this step. On all of the previous bar stock flywheels I have made there were holes instead of spokes. On this one I actually have to cut the spokes and while it is fairly straight forward. I only have a four inch rotary table and the flywheel is 5 3/8 in diameter. 






That will be the next operation on the list...


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## pete (Nov 22, 2011)

Harold,
Very nice work as per usual. Your going to need a subplate bolted to your Rotary Table. The last time I did that on my 6", I just used some 1" thick aluminum plate with counter sunk allen head bolts into tee nuts in the table slots. Once it was bolted down I just flycut the plate by moving over on the X axis and then rotated the table around till the plate cleaned up. You could then drill and tap to hold the outer perimiter of your flywheel using the mills normal hold down set. It takes a bit of patience till you get the flywheel concentric with the table rotation though.

Pete


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## Harold Lee (Nov 22, 2011)

pete  said:
			
		

> ...SNIP...
> Your going to need a subplate bolted to your Rotary Table. The last time I did that on my 6", I just used some 1" thick aluminum plate with counter sunk allen head bolts into tee nuts in the table slots. Once it was bolted down I just flycut the plate by moving over on the X axis and then rotated the table around till the plate cleaned up. You could then drill and tap to hold the outer perimiter of your flywheel using the mills normal hold down set.
> ...SNIP...


Pete - Thanks for the suggestion. I was thinking along those lines but had not firmed it up. I have some 1/2 inch aluminum tooling plate and I will look at it for making the subplate. The one concern I have on the size of the RT is I need to rotate it while milling the outer edges of the spokes. I wonder if I will have enough oomph and rigidity. Any thoughts?

Harold


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## swilliams (Nov 23, 2011)

Looking good Harold

Another possibility would be to mount your 4 jaw onto your rotary table. If you can manage a suitable adapter plate without too much trouble you're set. I'm not sure how your chuck mounting works though, so may be too difficult.

patience, light cuts and a tiny bit of good fortune should make up for what's missing in oomph and rigidity. You only need to use a 1/4" cutter, you should be right.

Cheers
Steve


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## Harold Lee (Nov 24, 2011)

Steve - Thanks for that suggestion but my 4 jaw is way too big and too heavy to mount on the rotary table. I do have a four inch 4 jaw that fits it but it will not hold the flywheel. My lathe 4 jaw has the spindle threads as part of the casting so it would take some finagling to get it secured. I took Pete's suggestion and made a larger plate. In the past I have wished I had "just another inch" on my rotary table and this will give it to me.

I didn't show a step by step of the plate construction but I sawed it out of a piece of aluminum tooling plate, and finished it on the lathe. 






The two sets of holes are for mounting it on the lathe to turn the edges (outside holes) and the other holes are for mounting it on the rotary table. 











Since the flywheel is cut away on the diameter of the mounting holes I did not need to countersink the mounting bolts.






In retrospect I wish I had made it about a half inch larger and I could have drilled and tapped so clamp holes on the periphery but I was also concerned about making it too large and not being able to read the vernier dial on the crank.











I made three "witness" marks around the edge and used machinists clamps to hold the flywheel to the table. This was a pain because I had to move them one at a time as they rotated to clear the dial. After this it was a matter of locating the spindle and starting to make holes. I also put some tape in three places to serve as additional witness marks since it would show if the flywheel moved. I was not too concerned since there was no rotational force on anything at this point.






For each hole I indexed 60 degrees, center drilled and repeated. I then put a 15/64 drill in and indexed and drilled and finally a .250 reamer and indexed and reamed each hole. 
















This ended up being a a pain with having to move the clamps around and on the outer holes I would index, center drill, then drill, then ream. It made for a lot of changing drill but it only required moving the clamps around a minimal amount.






I was quite happy with the results...











A valid question would be "why the need to drill and ream the holes since they will be milled away?" The reason is, I wanted to use two dowel pins to align the flywheel on the mill table and wanted to have a close tolerance hole for the pins. Maybe a little overkill but at this point I do not want to mess it up.

The next step is to mill out the webs....


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## pete (Nov 24, 2011)

Harold,
I think that was a very smart move reaming all the holes. It should be real easy to check against both hole locations on each end of the spokes till there both lined up dead on for your table travel. Your method should be an easy way to ensure that there's no mistakes. That alone makes all those tool changes worth it in my opinion.

Pete


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## Harold Lee (Nov 25, 2011)

The next step of the flywheel build was to put the flywheel on the rotary table and cut out the webs. Since I was using a four inch table, I only cut .020 at a time and made multiple passes. The first step was to get the spoke edge true with the mill table travel. Using pins and an indicator I was able to get it within .002 which was probably overkill but at this stage of the machining I didn't want to take a chance of messing it up. After getting the first one indicated and true, I was able to get the subsequent slot alignment within .005 by just rotating the table 60 degrees and then with the indicator get it closer. The one issue I ran into is my larger table plate extended beyond the locking screws but I was able to use a pair of pliers to lock it down for the cuts.






in order to minimize a chance for mistakes, I cut all of the edges on one side first and then cut the second at the same time.






The end mill I used for milling out the slots was a 7/32 end mill. This gave me .032 clearance on the end holes which allowed a finish cut along the edges after milling. In addition it also allowed the .250 pins to have a close fit at the hub even after cutting the first slot. 






At this point it was just step and repeat... Notice by looking at the slots that the mill was smaller than the holes.






At this point it I centered the flywheel using the co axial indicator and then cut the outside edge. 






I was very pleased with the results.
















I still need to chamfer the edges of the spokes, locate and drill the hole for the governor pivot. The drawing calls for two 6-32 holes 90 degrees apart and a keyway slot. On my past engines I have always had trouble with this design coming loose and I am going to machine a taper lock hub. I actually went back and retrofitted all of my previous flywheels with this and have not had a single problem since. This technique is discussed in issue 11 of the "Model Engine Builder" magazine as well as "Steam & Stirling - Book II" from Village Press.


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## ShedBoy (Nov 25, 2011)

Nice wheel Harold :bow: :bow:

Brock


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## rudydubya (Nov 25, 2011)

Nice work Harold, I'm enjoying following your build.  And thanks for the reminder about that article in MEB issue #11, I had forgotten about it.

Regards,
Rudy


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## Harold Lee (Nov 25, 2011)

Brock - Thank you very much for your encouraging words...



			
				rudydubya  said:
			
		

> <<<SNIP>>>
> thanks for the reminder about that article in MEB issue #11, I had forgotten about it.
> 
> Regards,
> Rudy



Rudy,

One of the problems with using the taper lock is making sure the two tapers are exactly the same angle. The MEB article spends a good bit of time explaining how to "dial in" the angle using a dial indicator and calculating angles. I'm sure it works well but it requires a bit of fiddling and there are some steps that could produce angular errors. The Steam & Stirling article it much simpler and practically foolproof. While both articles recommend a four degree angle, since one is internal and the other is external and normally requires the compound to be reset, The method used in the S&S article uses the same setting and conventionally bores the flywheel then the taper is turned on the back side with the lathe in reverse using the same compound setting. This is the method I have used and will document it on this build as well. The only downside is to make sure the chuck set screws are tight to prevent the chuck from unscrewing. 

I'll post pictures of this method soon.


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## swilliams (Nov 25, 2011)

flywheel looks first class Harold. Bet that took some time :bow: :bow:


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## lee9966 (Nov 26, 2011)

Excellent job on the flywheel, and the step by step helps me a lot. I wouldn't have thought of reeming the holes to use dowel pins.

Thanks, Lee


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## rudydubya (Nov 26, 2011)

Harold Lee  said:
			
		

> <<<SNIP>>>... The method used in the S&S article uses the same setting and conventionally bores the flywheel then the taper is turned on the back side with the lathe in reverse using the same compound setting. This is the method I have used and will document it on this build as well. The only downside is to make sure the chuck set screws are tight to prevent the chuck from unscrewing.
> 
> I'll post pictures of this method soon.



Thanks in advance, Harold. Looking forward to seeing how you do it.

Rudy


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## Harold Lee (Nov 26, 2011)

Steve - Thank you... I started working on it last Friday but have other things to do so I am estimating I have 20 to 25 hours invested in it so far. I think I still have about 10 hours to go but since I am retired and use this to try to keep my mind active, I am not in a rush. 

Lee - I am glad the step by step is beneficial. One of the reasons I decided to post my build was not because I considered myself an expert but I have learned so much from others posting their builds that I thought anything I can add would help. I find myself getting so wrapped up in the machining that I have to remind myself to stop, clean up the swarf, and take a picture before continuing.


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## Harold Lee (Nov 28, 2011)

I cannot believe I spent the entire day on just chamfering the flywheel, but two sides X six spokes X both edges + six circumference pie shapes X two sides comes out to be a lot of chamfering.






















I was very pleased with the results. All of the setup has made some "rash" on the flywheel edges and I am contemplating taking a clean up cut after I am done and before masking and painting.





















The next step is to make and fit the taper lock hub...


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## Harold Lee (Dec 1, 2011)

Despite the fact that in my last post I was going to make the taper lock for the flywheel, I decided to make the connecting rod instead. My logic is that when the connecting rod and piston are complete I can assemble the bottom end of the engine and move on. As it presently stands, I cannot mount the flywheel since the model will fall over due the top heavy nature of the design. With that in mind I dug some 6061 T6 out of my stock and started machining...

First was to get the stock to size on my shaper.











The next step is to rough mill the connecting rod end cap.






Locate and drill the bolt holes. These holes are drilled deep enough to also drill the holes in the rod which will be tapped after the cap is sawed off. Even though I have indicated the holes, at this point the orientation of the cap to the rod is determined and will be constant moving forward.






Notice in the above picture that after removing the cap and finishing off the end, I have about .090 to remove to bring the rod length to proper dimensions.

Tapping the holes... At a later time I will also drill out the rod caps for a close fit clearance for the bolts.






At this point the parts are secured and a witness punch mark is placed on each part. 






The two parts are center drilled for turning the rod on the lathe which will take place after the rod is milled to rough finished dimensions and the big end and small end are located, drilled and reamed.





















At this stage the rod is put on the lathe for turning. The rod is tapered and after getting it to dimensions, I am going to need to do a lot of hand filing. (where is that taper attachment when you need it?)











Ok... Took a few hours and many stops to measure and clean the file but finally it is done.











I think I'll make the piston next...


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## pete (Dec 1, 2011)

Harold,
As per usual very well photographed and machined. This is a super well done engine and will be even more so once it's completed.

You need a Morse taper, Taper turning attachment for the tailstock. These have a center that can be offset. They were and are built even today. Arrand in the U.K. make them, Unfortunatly AFAIK they only make the dead center types. Royal at one time made a real high end one with a live center. They do show up on Ebay once in awhile but always go for big bucks. I've been searching for one of those types that would take something like a hardened tooling ball and has proper bearings for a live center. Sooner or later I'm going to have to build one I guess.

Pete


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## Harold Lee (Dec 7, 2011)

Thank you for your encouragement Pete... The Morse taper turning attachment sounds like a good solution. I have not seen one but can imagine what they look like in my mind. I'm guessing there is a Morse taper shank, some method of a positive registration in the horizontal plane and an adjustment like an adjustable boring bar... Wonder if a boring bar head could be adapted? Hmmmmm...

The next project was to complete the piston and fit the lower end together. The pictures I took of the piston turning were blurry so I'll pick it up with cutting the inter clearance for the rod end. The slot was drilled and bored to .375 on the lathe before parting off. I transferred the part to the mill and used a coaxial indicator to locate the exact center. Then using a 3/8 end mill I made the clearance slot. 











Since I wanted to ensure the wrist pin hole was exactly 90 degrees to the internal slot, after milling the slot using the Y axis, I then turned the vise on its side and then located and drilled, and reamed the wrist pin hole.











I was pretty pleased with the results. I have decided to use an O ring on this piston even though I have a set of rings, so I only made a single slot for it. The small v grove on the skirt of the piston is for trapping and distributing oil around the circumference of the cylinder.
















The tapered crankshaft interferes with the top edge of the cylinder liner and about .050 must be removed with a rile or burr for clearance. After that it all worked very smoothly.











The next project was to install the main bushing lubrication. The original design called for oil holes drilled in the top of the rod caps and then located and drilled through the bronze bearings. I hope to reduce the amount of oil slinging and decided to put grease caps and use grease.
















The next and last project of the day was to complete the governor pivot and calibrate the speed by cutting and adjusting the spring. I made a fixture for slotting the governor pivot. This allowed me to slot it using the Y axis of the mill and then move the fixture to the side of the vice and drill and tap the pivot pin hole. In this manner, the slot and pin would be exactly 90 degrees apart.






After installing the governor on the flywheel I put it on my lathe to check the RPM against the governor actuation. At 620 RPM the governor was completely retracted and at this point the engine would be firing to increase speed. At 740 RPM the governor was fully engaged and the engine would be coasting.











Since the pictures are difficult to see, I turned out the lights and forced the camera to flash. This strobe effect stopped the blur. 






Notice on the above picture (620 RPM) the brass governor spool is against the flywheel hub. On the picture below (740 RPM) the spool has moved to the left.






I am sure some fine tuning will be required once the engine is running but at least this puts me in the ball park.

All in all, a pretty good day...











I think I'll make the valve bodies next...


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## gbritnell (Dec 7, 2011)

Excellent work!! Your concern for the details is making for a great build. 
gbritnell


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## swilliams (Dec 7, 2011)

Yes, I agree with gbritnell, it's really coming together very nicely. Have you thought about what colour you might paint it yet?

Steve


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## Harold Lee (Dec 8, 2011)

@gbritnell & Steve, Thank both of you for your encouraging comments. I do think that the fact that I must show my work helps me to try to do a better job while I am working. Regarding you question Steve about colors. I really like the rustoleum hammered paints since the finish more closely resembles castings. I was thinking about a black for the flywheel and trim and either the bronze or copper for the body.

http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=29

I am very open to suggestions or recommendations as I do not consider myself to be any expert on color schemes. Feel free to jump in if someone has a suggestion.


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## Harold Lee (Dec 8, 2011)

In my last progress post I mentioned that I was going to make the valve bodies next. This morning I cleaned up my surface plate and got my two block of metal which I had previously machined to size. I then took a look at the flywheel and realized that I had not made the taper collet for holding it on the crankshaft. Doh!!! I put my two blocks away and decided to make the taper bushing. The first thing was to mount the flywheel on the lathe and set up the cross slide for a 4 degree angle. I have found that the best way to center the flywheel on the lathe is to push a mandrel into the flywheel and a mt3 collet on the headstock. At this point I clamp the flywheel to the faceplate and remove the mandrel so I can bore the angle. I have a regular faceplate for my lathe but when I put the collet in the headstock there is about a 3/8 gap between the flywheel and the faceplate. The first time I did this on a previous flywheel I placed .375 tool bits between the plate and the flywheel and then considered what I had done. Here was a 6 pound mass turning at 400 RPM just waiting to sling those tool steel missiles off at anything in a 360 degree arc. Since that included my head and body I thought there must be a better way. Fortunately my 4 jaw chuck is of the "old school" design where it is really a thick, heave faceplate with precision ground ways for the jaw to seat in. Since it is thicker, the flywheel will mount directly to it without any shimming.






BTW - I looked ant these pictures and it is not obvious but the tape in only on the edge and front face. The flywheel is directly against the faceplate surface.

Carriage bolts and large washers on the back make perfect clamps...











The next step is to set the compound slide to 4 degrees. I have made a "beefed up" tool post and did not put any angle markings on it so I took a 4 degree angle and clamper to the compound and with an indicator on the lathe ways set it compound for equal readings. I made the assumption that the edge of the compound was parallel to the compound travel.











Here are pictures of both ends of travel....
















I took .010 cuts until the OD of the taper at the edge was .510











At this point the flywheel was done. The next step was to turn the taper collet. 






After roughing the adapter to size and AFTER tightening the two set screws on the chuck that prevent it from unscrewing ( EXTREMELY IMPORTANT STEP!!! ). I ran the lathe backwards and machined the taper from the rear.











The advantage of this method is that both the flywheel and the collet are machined to exactly the same angle since the set up is not moved from one operation to the other.






After a few trial fittings an getting the clearance I wanted I then drilled and reamed the shaft hole, and parted it off.





















I then moved it to the mill and rotary table where I first drilled and tapped the first hole to hold the registration between the two parts and then made all of the holes and tapped them.











The last milling operation was to mill out the face of the collet for slitting it. I milled the face and then used a jewelers saw to cut the tapered part.
















Now I can start work on the valve bodies...


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## rudydubya (Dec 9, 2011)

Nice presentation on doing the split collets Harold. Thanks. On the final size of the holes in the collet for the screws into the flywheel, is a normal free-fit-sized hole sufficient, or do you have to allow a bit more for any contraction of the collet diameter as it's pulled into the flywheel?

Rudy


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## Harold Lee (Dec 9, 2011)

Rudy - Since the collet is reamed to the shaft size and fitted to the flywheel, there is only a few thousandths of shrinkage as the collar pulls up. I drill for a close fit clearance which in this case of a 2-56 screw is a #43 which is .089. This is the seventh flywheel I have done this way and have never had any problems with binding.


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## Harold Lee (Dec 9, 2011)

Today I made the bored the two valve bodies, made the valves and lapped them in. I centered the body in my 4 jaw on my small lathe and used an indicator to center it.






From there it was drill and ream the valve stem hole through the part and then drill the clearance, bore the body and cut the valve seat on a 45 degree angle.





















Next the two valves were turned and lapped. The picture doesn't show as well as I would have hoped but the lapped seat is "frosted" on both parts. My past experience has shown that if this happens, the valve will seat well and not leak.
















The print calls for a #60 drill 1/16 from the end to insert a music wire pin to hold the keeper and spring on. Trying to drill a hole in the center of a .125 shaft is like trying to nail jelly to a tree so I made a fixture which I have used more times than I care to count but it does the job and I keep my composure.
















The next will be to machine the valve bodies to size and make the end covers.....


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## rudydubya (Dec 9, 2011)

Harold Lee  said:
			
		

> Rudy - Since the collet is reamed to the shaft size and fitted to the flywheel, there is only a few thousandths of shrinkage as the collar pulls up. I drill for a close fit clearance which in this case of a 2-56 screw is a #43 which is .089. This is the seventh flywheel I have done this way and have never had any problems with binding.



Thanks Harold. Probably obvious to everybody except me.  When the collet is tight on the shaft, the collet will not be pulled into the flywheel, the flywheel will be pulled onto the collet...

Rudy


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## doc1955 (Dec 9, 2011)

Nice flywheel!
Shes coming along nicely your doing some nice work!


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## Groomengineering (Dec 10, 2011)

rudydubya  said:
			
		

> Thanks Harold. Probably obvious to everybody except me. When the collet is tight on the shaft, the collet will not be pulled into the flywheel, the flywheel will be pulled onto the collet...
> 
> Rudy



Yes, but once the collet is tight on the shaft you're done. No need to keep tightening. Thm:

Harold, very nice work so far! Can't wait to see it running! :bow: :bow:

Cheers

Jeff


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## Harold Lee (Dec 11, 2011)

Rudy, Doc and Jeff - I appreciate your encouragement. I am also getting anxious to see it run but that will wait a few more days (weeks?). One comment and a question regarding the collet. There are three holes that are tapped on the flywheel for tightening everything up. There are three holes that are tapped on the collet for removing the flywheel. While the following step would be purely cosmetic I was wonder if the three tapped holes should have short bolts put in them. If I wanted to remove the collet the three dummy bolts would be removed and the three longer bolts put in their place.... Pondering...

Today I was able to complete the valve bodies. The first step was to put a .125 mandrel in the valve stem hole and use that as a reference for truing up the part in the four jaw chuck.
After that the valve guide was turned to dimensions.












After this was completed the part was moved to the mill to locate, drill, and in some cases tap the holes.






After all of the holes were completed the part was milled to final dimensions and the sides were beveled.











At this point the valve bodies are complete. The remaining work on this part of the engine is to make the valve keepers and the valve cover plates.











All in all a pretty good day...


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## Brian Rupnow (Dec 11, 2011)

Very impressive work. I am following your build and enjoying it.---Brian


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## smfr (Dec 11, 2011)

That's really coming along nicely!


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## swilliams (Dec 12, 2011)

Absolutely. That's good steady progress you've got going there Harold. And looking great!

Steve


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## metalmad (Dec 12, 2011)

Looking great Mate
Pete


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## danstir (Dec 12, 2011)

Really turning out nice. I appreciate the write up.


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## Harold Lee (Dec 12, 2011)

Many thanks for the encouragement and kind words. Knowing someone is watching over my shoulder makes me want to be more careful and methodical in my work. I appreciate it.

>>>>> ERROR IN TOPSY TURVY DRAWINGS - PLEASE READ IF YOU ARE BUILDING THIS ENGINE <<<<<<

Rant on!!! Last night I was reviewing my work and looking at what was next and realized that there is an error on the drawings from the book. I have to imagine there has been many (dozens? hundreds?) of these engines made and I am sure others have run across this as well. I have to say I am very disappointed in Joe Rice, the editor and Village Press. I think the book is out of print now, but I sure would have appreciated an errata sheet when I purchased the book a number of years ago. Now to be fair to Joe, I know Philip Duclos sent his drawing to Joe on napkins and sketches on odd shapes of paper. As Joe once told me, the quality of Philip's designs, photographs and editorial made the fact that they had to hire a draftsman to redo all of his drawings was a small price to pay for his work. However I have to believe in the years following there wasn't someone that brought this to their attention. Rant off!!!






When I was making the exhaust valve body, the hole for the muffler was specified as a 9/32 (.281) drill yet the tap called out was a 3/8-24. The problem is a 3/8-24 tap drill for 75% thread ( I use in aluminum) is a 'Q" drill (.332). This should have thrown up a red flag but I looked at the print and after convincing myself (deluding myself?) that the thread was only 1/8 inch deep, I went ahead and drilled it with a "Q" to a .150 depth. In order to get enough threads in 1/8 to a bottom, I ground a tap flat and made the three threads (24 tpi/8). Imagine my surprise when I looked several pages later at the muffler drawing and saw the thread called out there was a 5/16-24. The tap drill called out for this is in fact a 9/32 drill!!!! DOH!!!






Not wanting to scrap the valve body, I am going to try to salvage this by making the muffler pipe diameter 3/8 instead of 5/16. The problem may be that the 3/8-24 thread will bottom out and might be a source of a leak in the exhaust. If it fails, then after I pitch a huge fit, I'll remake the valve body, a little wiser, but with a 5/16-24 thread. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know as I am really open to anything at this point except a gob of JB weld.


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## fcheslop (Dec 12, 2011)

Thanks Harold,I'm slowly collecting materials for my build.This thread has been a great incentive to do the build.
best wishes Frazer


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## Harold Lee (Dec 12, 2011)

Frazer - This is really an enjoyable and challenging project. While I am not a machinist by profession, it has taken me to the limits of my capabilities. I think you would enjoy the build.

I think I might have a way to move forward with my exhaust/muffler problem. I turned up a couple of test nipples to see what they looked like and the one that seems the most promising is this one:






It has a shoulder on it that is 9/32 which is the diameter of the clearance drill that was called out. This will (I hope) help to locate the muffler and give it a seat which will prevent any leakage of the exhaust.






It seems to seat firmly but only time will tell. The two parts that I am not going to make before my first run is the muffler and the drip oiler. These are not required for the engine so I will defer those until after run-in. This will however require me mixing 2 cycle oil in with the gas to provide lubrication in the cylinder and piston area.


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## fcheslop (Dec 12, 2011)

Hi Harold,Many thanks its a build I have wanted to do for a while and was fortunate recently when i was given a copy of the book ;D.Just finished Little Blazer and it was a nice build no probs.I have a few toy boats to finish then its on with Topsy.
Best wishes Frazer


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## swilliams (Dec 13, 2011)

Harold, my build is a fair way behind yours, but the one thing I had made early was the valve bodies. I put 3/8 x 32ME thread in mine. Too bad   Anyway I think I'll just tailor the muffler to fit, shouldn't be too bad. All the same, thanks for the heads up.

Currently getting stuck into the crankshaft. Reviewed what you had to say about it yesterday and then managed to turn the con-rod journal successfully. Just the two long ends to turn down now, hopefully I don't stuff it up after having done so much work on it.

Steve


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## Harold Lee (Dec 13, 2011)

fcheslop  said:
			
		

> SNIP...Just finished Little Blazer and it was a nice build no probs.I have a few toy boats to finish then its on with Topsy.
> Best wishes Frazer



Frazer - I really like the looks of the Little Blazer as well. I have yet to make a Stirling or a flame gulper and after I complete my steam tractor and the Pioneer IC engine, I am going to seriously consider the flame gulper.



			
				swilliams  said:
			
		

> Harold, my build is a fair way behind yours, but the one thing I had made early was the valve bodies. I put 3/8 x 32ME thread in mine. Too bad   Anyway I think I'll just tailor the muffler to fit, shouldn't be too bad. All the same, thanks for the heads up.
> 
> Currently getting stuck into the crankshaft. Reviewed what you had to say about it yesterday and then managed to turn the con-rod journal successfully. Just the two long ends to turn down now, hopefully I don't stuff it up after having done so much work on it.
> 
> Steve



Steve - I think the muffler having a 3/8 diameter will look just fine. That is what I am going to do as well. If you have made the con-rod journal, then you have done the hard part. The ends are much easier, just keep your knuckles away from the crank throws. I hope you are posting some pictures of your progress. As you know, we thrive on pictures...

My task today was to make the valve body caps. I first thought about starting from rectangular stock but with the need to make sure the cap is centered, I decided to make everything round and square it up later. This worked very well in my estimation. Since the large dimension of the valve body is 1.00 I needed 1.210 for the minor diameter. I used a 1.250 aluminum rod and turned the sprue which has a .001 clearance per the drawing to size. I then parted the part off.






After making two of them, I put the sprue which was .437 into a 7/16 collet and faced the back to .093 thickness.






A trial fit was made before drilling and tapping the four bolt holes.











My methodology on the holes was to locate the first hole on the body and then place the cap on and center drill it. I then drill a tap drill through the cap and to depth in the valve body. I then tapped the valve body and without moving anything, placed the cover back on and drilled the clearance hole. I then put a bolt into the hole and then the the one in the opposite corner the same way. with the two bolts through the covers, I then drilled and tapped the remaining two holes and then on the drill press I drilled the three remaining clearance holes. I am sure I was able to turn a 30 minute task into a 2 hour job but all of the holes lined up perfectly.





















At this point I bolted the covers on and scribed out the lines for reference.
















At this point I moved it to the mill for squaring the covers up. Even though I had scribed the lines I set up my dial indicator on the Z axis and set a reference by using a .003 shim and moving the mill until it just made contact and then I backed it off until I could slide the shim out. At this point I set my dial indicator to .003 . 






I then raised the head and took repeated .020 cuts until I was .001 above the body.






After all sides were complete I put the part back in the mill and took an additional .015 off the edge facing the engine block for clearance.






At this point it was assemble them and plan the next move.











I might be a little difficult to see but I decided to use studs and nuts on the bottom covers. My logic is as follows: The tapped holes are only 3/16 deep. If I put bolts in they would not go all the way to the bottom and might be a weak spot with a tendency to strip out. With the studs ( I cut them from all thread ) they will go all the way to the bottom of the hole and with a washer and nut would provide the most strength. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it ;-)


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## steamer (Dec 13, 2011)

Ok I'm starting to get a eye twitch!  Start that puppy up !

Great job Harold!

 ;D

Dave


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## Harold Lee (Dec 14, 2011)

steamer  said:
			
		

> Ok I'm starting to get a eye twitch!  Start that puppy up !
> 
> Dave



Dave - I agree I am getting a bit antsy myself.... I was looking at my to do list and after today, I have three parts left to make to get it running. The needle valve, the ignition cam, and the anchor bolt..... Well, also the gaskets, and a few day of fiddling... 

Today I made the carburetor intake pipe and the carburetor jet. The intake pipe was fairly straight forward. I actually drilled and reamed the 1/4 inch hole and then mounted it on a mandrel and finished it on the lathe.











There was a small milling job to put flats on the pipe for the jet and drill the hole.






The jet was 1 5/16 long and required a #55 hole halfway through and a #60 hole the rest of the way through. I have found the best way to put very small holes in things is by hand with a pin vise. Taking a cue from the watchmakers, I used a technique called "pecking" where the drill is briefly pushed in for a few seconds and then withdrawn. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes to make a jet and I have never broken a drill. The pictures aren't very clear but I'll post them anyway...
















Next step was to put the orifice hole in the bar.






Then thread it and make a nut for it...
















Doesn't seem like much for a days work but I dottered around a bit too and drank tea...


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## Harold Lee (Dec 14, 2011)

Couldn't stop so I made the needle valve while having the last cup of Earl Grey...











Ok.... That's an evening...


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## gbritnell (Dec 14, 2011)

Great work on your engine. I like some of the others can't wait to hear this thing pop. I have one that I built many years ago and I must tell you ahead of time that it likes to dance around a little. 
gbritnell


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## Harold Lee (Dec 15, 2011)

gbritnell  said:
			
		

> SNIP>>> I have one that I built many years ago and I must tell you ahead of time that it likes to dance around a little.
> gbritnell



I figured it would probably move around a bit. The governor is a single weight located on the flywheel seems like it would contribute to some of that. I was wondering if orienting the flywheel governor at some angle in relationship to the piston and crank throws would help dampen some of that out. I am sure that just the nature of the long stroke and the vertical, very top heavy design would also be a contributing factor.

The other thing that struck me last night when I assembled the carb is it almost seems too big for the engine. It almost looks out of proportion. I even went back to the drawings to make sure I had not misread them.


Steve - thanks for the peek at your engine. The crankshaft came out beautifully and you have all of the difficult parts behind you. I would encourage you to post your build here as well. Looking at your work on it I sure could have used some of your experience. I do have a question though. Was the part on the shaper the engine body, or was it the crankshaft that you were cutting to size?


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## swilliams (Dec 15, 2011)

Hi Harold

Yes the bit on the shaper is the main body, I made it from some 2.75" round I had already (pic below). I've found your enthusiasm for the shaper somewhat infectious, which has been great. I've pretty much decided to follow you on using the tapered collet to hold the flywheel. You are too generous about my build and modest about your own, it's a great engine you've nearly completed there. A few pics of mine below and really looking forward to seeing yours fire up!

Cheers
Steve


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## Harold Lee (Dec 15, 2011)

Steve - Thanks for posting the pictures... I have to tell you I just love to use my shaper. One of the limitations I have on mine is it is a 7 inch Logan and it doesn't have any T nut slots on the top. Everything must fit into the vise or be bolted to the side of the table. All of my "rough in" work for taking raw stock to size in on my shaper. The most valuable, most used tooling I have is a set of Starrett #54 hold down clamps. I can take material down to about 3/32 using the hold down clamps. Sometimes I start a pass and go do other things in the shop. Other times I make a cup of Double Bergamot Earl Gray and watch it work. Does wonders for lowering the blood pressure.

What type of shaper and lathe do you have?

Harold


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## swilliams (Dec 16, 2011)

Harold

One thing I don't have for my shaper is a decent vice. I should try and get one, then track down some hold downs (thanks to you showing me how useful they are).

The shaper is a Swedish made Torpex, which is essentially a copy of the early Royal shaper
http://www.lathes.co.uk/royalshaper/

My lathe is a Hercus, which is the most common Australian clone of the 9" Southbend. The reason they started cloning them was that patent laws were suspended during the second world war, despite the abundant misinformation about this point which can be found on the web.
"http://www.lathes.co.uk/hercus/index.html" 

I also have a Hercus milling machine, but mine is a later model than anything that is on the lathes.co.uk site. It has 3 tee slots and tapered gib strip on the x axis amongst other improvements

Cheers
Steve


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## Harold Lee (Dec 20, 2011)

IT'S ALIVE!!!​
I fired up my engine this morning and wanted to share with everyone. There is still much to do even in running it in but I have to agree with gbritnell. I jumps around a lot. At first I clamped it to my aluminum step bench and I moved all over the place. The compression on the engine is very high and I find that with Coleman fuel it knocks so I am going to have to use a higher octane slower burning fuel. I am also considering lowering the compression by shortening the piston. I have a a lot of other impressions about this engine and will share them after I have done a bit more fiddling. Let me also say that I built this engine out of aluminum and it might be better done out of steel for higher mass. I also recommend anyone doing one of these use loctite on every screw and bolt. I still have to make the muffler, and the drip oiler but here it is in the current configuration.

Sorry for the messy bench. Just click on the picture for the movie...


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## gbritnell (Dec 20, 2011)

Harold,
Let me congratulate you. All the hard work paid off. When I built mine it was made out of iron so it does have more mass but like I said it still likes to jump around unless you clamp it or make a base out of a heavy piece of steel. 
gbritnell


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## rudydubya (Dec 20, 2011)

Congratulations on the build, Harold.  Looking forward to following along with your tweaks. Would a little off-the-shelf octane booster added to Coleman fuel help with the engine knock?

Regards,
Rudy


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## fcheslop (Dec 20, 2011)

Congratulations Harold its always a nice feeling when they spark up.
best wishes Frazer


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## ShedBoy (Dec 20, 2011)

Well done Harold, sounds nice and crisp. Makes me look forward to hearing my first IC engine run. One day. Good work.
Brock


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## coopertje (Dec 20, 2011)

Congratulations Harold, runs very nice :bow: :bow: :bow:
And look at that flywheel, no swing at all! Beautiful engine, beautiful build and a pleasant log to read, you must feel so proud!

Regards Jeroen


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## nemt (Dec 20, 2011)

great runner! very well done. I like it.


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## swilliams (Dec 20, 2011)

Well done Harold, a sweet runner you've got there :bow: :bow: :bow:


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## steamer (Dec 20, 2011)

Way to go Harold!  Sounds Great!

Dave


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## Harold Lee (Dec 20, 2011)

Thanks to all of you for your comments and compliments. I really appreciate it especially coming from the group of experts that are represented here. 



			
				rudydubya  said:
			
		

> SNIP>>> Would a little off-the-shelf octane booster added to Coleman fuel help with the engine knock?
> 
> Regards,
> Rudy



Rudy - You asked about octane booster. I am not too familiar with it. but that is something I am considering to try to get the pinging under control. I have retarded the timing but it only helps a little. I was thinking I was going to get a gallon of the most premium fuel I could get and try that. If the octane booster is a possibility, tell me where to get it and what do I look for. Back in my aviation days, my Luscombe 8A and my Cessna 172B used 80/87 (red) . When it became unavailable and I had to use 100LL( green) I would buy an additive that I would put in my tanks, which I think the purpose of it was to put back in the lubrication properties to the valve guides that the leaded gas supplied. I could stand corrected but that is what I think I remember. 

As I stated previously, There were two parts that I deferred making until after my first run since they were not necessary for the running of the engine. Today I built the muffler shells...

The first operation was on the muffler body and I did all of the rear turning, drill and threading before parting it off and turning it around to bore the inside.

















At this point I used a 3/8 in collet and held the body by the stem to bore the inside.






The muffler cover was similar but the exhaust hole was reamed to press fit the baffle in later.











Here are the two completed shells. Remember there was an error in the drawing for the exhaust and I had to turn a sprue on the end to help locate the muffler into the exhaust valve body. This is the only deviation from the drawing for this part.
















Tomorrow I plan on making the baffle and put the parts on the rotary table for drilling and tapping the six screws...


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## rudydubya (Dec 21, 2011)

Harold, I'm not that familiar with octane boosters either, I was just wondering as I read your post if it would help with the ping. I used some once in my old Ford pickup and it seemed to help, but I don't recall the brand. I have read that some RC model boat, car, and plane and helicopter enthusiasts are using Coleman fuel in their higher-compression gas engines, some with an octane booster, some without. I do recall the Lucas brand being mentioned on one or more of their forums, but have no idea of its merits compared to others. Can probably be found at most auto supply stores.

That being said, this evening I started wondering what the octane rating of Coleman fuel might be, and it's apparently in the 55 octane range. I didn't know it was that low. Hope the question hasn't been a distraction, I'm enjoying following your progress.

Regards,
Rudy


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## Admiral_dk (Dec 21, 2011)

I'm not sure that I hear a ping from detonation - my first instinct suggest that valve / hit & miss mechanism, though I might be completely of the charts with that.

Try to disable the hit & miss mechanism first and see if it runs the way one would expect (and be ready to kill the ignition if the rpm rise too much)


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## Harold Lee (Dec 21, 2011)

Admiral_dk  said:
			
		

> I'm not sure that I hear a ping from detonation - my first instinct suggest that valve / hit & miss mechanism, though I might be completely of the charts with that.
> 
> Try to disable the hit & miss mechanism first and see if it runs the way one would expect (and be ready to kill the ignition if the rpm rise too much)



I am going to look into that as I, like you thought it might be a mechanical sound but the engine has so much compression that it is difficult to turn over on a compression stroke. I took the flywheel off and with my two thumbs on the crank webs i almost could not get the piston down. With the spark plug removed or the exhaust valve open the engine turns very freely. If you look at the run video it is coasting many cycles between hits. I am looking into both increasing the octane and looking into Rudy's suggestion as well as looking at ways to decrease the compression ratio. Thanks for your input as it is certainly worth looking into.

As I mentioned yesterday, I want to complete the two last parts before I tear it down for painting and final twiddling.

On my previous post, I completed the two outer muffler parts. Today I turned the muffler baffle. After turning the back side to dimensions I put the part in a collet on the mill and cross drilled the four holes.






After completing the holes I put it back on the lathe in a 7/16 collet to finish the front side. was a bit of turning work, a bit of filing, and a bit on 400 and 600 Wet or Dry.






The three parts were complete so the arbor press was next to press the baffle into the front body.






At his point the three parts were now two parts.






The next operation was on the rotary table to locate, drill and in the case of the rear shell, tap the 2-56 holes.






At this point the muffler was complete.











And here it is in its new home...











The next part is the oiler which is made up of 5 different parts. Four of which are fitted and soft soldered together. The stem, the sight tube the reservoir, and the cap.

Here are the first two completed parts...











And here is the reservoir..






Here are the first three parts just fitted together...











Perhaps tomorrow I'll be able to complete this and get it mounted... I'll keep you posted...


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## Harold Lee (Dec 22, 2011)

Today I completed the oiler. The cap and the needle valve were remaining. First I turned, taped and slit the threaded portion.
















Then it was a trip over to the soldering table and solder the top to the bottom so I could drill the holes in the top.






After that was completed it was back to the soldering table for connecting the drip sight tube and the feed tube.








[size=20pt]*IT IS DONE!!!​
At this point all machining is complete on the engine. What follows are a series of pictures of the completed engine.



















































At this point I am going to tear it all apart and paint it and reassemble it. Will probably take me a week so I'll probably not be posting any progress but if someone has questions, please post as I'll continue to monitor and answer any. Thank all of you for taking this journey with me. I know I learned a whole lot about machining and hope some of you benefited as well.

Harold

*


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## dreeves (Dec 22, 2011)

Harold, This is an engine at the top of my list. I got to say yours is a great bench mark for me to hit. 

Dave


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## ShedBoy (Dec 22, 2011)

That sure is a pretty engine Harold. What colour is it going to be?

Brock


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## rudydubya (Dec 22, 2011)

Harold Lee  said:
			
		

> SNIP>>>... Thank all of you for taking this journey with me. I know I learned a whole lot about machining and hope some of you benefited as well.
> 
> Harold



Thank _you_ for sharing, Harold. I had a fun ride and learned something in the process. Can't beat a deal like that.  

Regards,
Rudy


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## swilliams (Dec 22, 2011)

Very nice Harold


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## pete (Dec 22, 2011)

Harold,
A really well done engine, Every step was very well photographed and explained also. I'd bet Phil would say the same.

Pete


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## danstir (Dec 23, 2011)

Great job. Looks very nice.


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## gbritnell (Dec 23, 2011)

Excellent build!!!
gbritnell


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## Harold Lee (Dec 23, 2011)

Thank all of you for the compliments and encouragement. It feels good turning the home stretch on this project. In my last post I said I was going to tear down the engine and paint it. But before I did I decided to run it with the muffler and oiler installed. Frankly I am very glad I did. The muffler made a lot of difference in how the engine behaved. I think the back pressure of the muffler not only made it quieter, but it "detuned" the engine enough to almost make it a sweet running engine. Based on this I would say that one should have the muffler installed before running it. Here is a video I made with the muffler and oiler installed.





Brock you asked a question regarding colors. Here is my current plans:

The engine and valve bodies will be the copper or bronze hammered finish. It helps the model look like a casting. The flywheel center will be red with a polished rim. The governor, and the crankshaft webs will be black hammered, the muffler, carb intake pipe and the oiler will be polished. The rocker arm and governor arm will be polished as well.

One additional comment to someone building this engine, the 22 tooth main gear that drives the cam is installed with 2 5-40 set screws at 90 degree angles. I had a lot of trouble with these coming loose and rotating, Additionally they buggered up the crankshaft. Rather than putting two flats on the crankshaft and then using locktite, I drilled a 1/16 hole and used a roll pin to secure it. 

I'll post pictured next week when I get the engine painted and reassembled. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Harold


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## danstir (Dec 26, 2011)

Thanks for the video and the great build log. The engine sounds great!


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## Harold Lee (Dec 26, 2011)

danstir  said:
			
		

> Thanks for the video and the great build log. The engine sounds great!



Thank you for your comments Danstir. I really enjoyed taking everyone with me on this journey. As I promised earlier, I am posting pictures of the completed engine below. My son is a photography buff and helped me take them using his camera and a backdrop.

























































The paint is still green and I am going to let it cure for a week or so before I attempt to run again but I do have the pictures of it running "naked" so that will suffice for now. I am planning on posting a a few build comments tomorrow on a few things I learned and some deviations I made to the prints so someone can make a decision if it would be worth consideration if they build one.


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## ShedBoy (Dec 26, 2011)

Very nice engine Harold and a great thread. Thankyou for letting us follow along.

Brock


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## metalmad (Dec 27, 2011)

Wow 
is that nice or what :bow:
great job 
Pete


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## swilliams (Dec 27, 2011)

Very Nice indeed

Looking forward to your build comments

Steve


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## Harold Lee (Dec 27, 2011)

Again I am very appreciative of all of the comments and encouragement I have received from the group. Knowing there were people "looking over my shoulder" made me take a more deliberate and methodical approach since I would need to explain and in some cases defend my choices. I very much appreciated your constructive criticisms as well and I took it to heart in an iron sharpening iron manner. Thank You!


SOME FINAL THOUGHTS AND BUILD COMMENTS​

I wanted to document in one place some of the issues I dealt with in my build as well as some problems I encountered. A number of them are documented in more detail in my narration but since most of us are "bottom line" people, I thought I would put it all in one spot and then refer back to my build narration for more detail.

The first issue is perhaps more of a philosophical discussion regarding a choice of materials used in the construction of the model. In his construction notes, Philip specifies CRS for the engine body as well as the valve bodies. I used 6061-T6 aluminum instead. I have built three IC engines in the past and all were made from aluminum and I have had very good results from a durability standpoint. I have hundreds of running hours on the engines and have never experienced a failure due to substituting aluminum for steel. One of the other mitigating factors is the equipment I have to make my engines on. My mill is a Seig X2 mini mill, and my largest lathe is a 9X20 Grizzly 4000. In my estimation both lack the rigidity to machine larger chunks of steel to any precision. I do use 12L14 CRS when I steel is required. The Topsy Turvy is a one inch bore and a two inch stroke engine, and as such tends to jump around a bit when running. I also think this is further aggravated by the unbalanced nature of the governor. The greater mass of a steel engine would probably dampen this a bit but I found after I made the muffler and put it on the engine, it tamed the engine a bit. I still think it will require clamping it down when running but based on a few comments from other builders on this board, this is not unusual even for the steel body ones.

The second issue is not totally unrelated but I found that the screws and bolts tend to loosen up while running and would recommend a small drop of blue Loctite (the non permanent threadlocker) on the screws and bolts when assembling the engine. The only place I used the red Loctite (permanent thread locker) is on the cam screw where it screws into the engine body. The design of the engine with the ignition lobe inboard and the exhaust cam lobe on the outside places a bit if a stress moment on the shaft and will tend to loosen the shaft even though it has been tightened up.

The third issue is related to an error in the plans. The drawing for the exhaust valve body specifies a 3/8-24 thread for the muffler while the drawing for the muffler specifies a 5/16-24 thread. I'll just refer those that are interested to page 9 of my build log for more details rather than rehash it here.

The fourth issue is the means of securing the flywheel to the crankshaft. The drawing calls out two setscrews a 90 degrees apart which I have found on other engines to be inadequate. I have used a tapered collet which I cover on page 8 of my log. While I did not cover it in my log, it is imperative that the key way is cut in both the crankshaft and the flywheel, collet assembly. When the slot is broached, make sure the broach cuts along the split in the collet and make sure it is screwed to the flywheel to insure alignment since part of the slot will be entirely in the collet portion and part will be entirely in the flywheel hub on the engine side. I have found that when doing final assembly, a dab of blue Loctite on the key and on the three bolts, will help keep everything secure. If this is not clear, please let me know and I will post some detailed pictures of the parts. 

The fifth issue is related to the 22 tooth gear on the crankshaft. The drawing specifies two set screws at 90 degrees for securing it. I was completely unable to get this to work and it resulted in the engine loosing timing while running as well a buggering up the crankshaft. I used a 1/16 inch roll pin to secure it and it works perfectly. I was able to drill the hole through both the gear and crankshaft "in situ" by clamping the engine to my mill table and using a machinist clamp to keep the crankshaft from rotating. I then used an indicator to locate the center and drilled a 1/16 hole through both the gear hub and the crankshaft. I made my own gears and if I make another gear I will probably skip drilling and tapping the set screw holes and just use the roll pin for securing. I have removed it a number of times by just taking a 2 inch by 1/16 rod and driving the pin out.

The sixth issue is related to the bolts used to secure the valve body covers. Due to other interference issues the four holes for securing the covers are only 3/16 deep. Since bolts will probably not go to the bottom I was concerned about the number of threads holding the covers and perhaps a tendency to strip. This is further mitigated by the fact that I used alum inure for these parts instead of steel. To give me as much strength as possible, I used stainless all thread and cut four studs. this way I could take full advantage of the entire thread (I also used a bottoming tap) which I screwed into the body with some blue Loctite and then used a washer and nut on them. I mention this on page 9 of my build log in the section where I made the valve body covers.

The seventh issue is in regards to the use of piston rings. While it has been debated whether O rings are adequate instead of CI rings, there are two camps on this issue I used O rings on this engine as well as all of the other ones I have built with excellent results. A O ring will last dozens of hours of running and can be changed in about 3-4 minutes. They are cheap, and plentiful. I had two set of cast iron rings for this engine that I had purchased from Coles and they are still in my Topsy Turvy project box. At any point in the future I can make another piston and put the rings in in a few hours of work. Perhaps I'll put that on my future to do list right below the entry "organize out my sock drawer".

The eighth issue is perhaps considered a cosmetic issue but on the construction prints, the crankshaft bearing caps show a countersunk hole to serve as the oil reservoir for lubrication. I have found that these engine love to sling oil all over the place when they are run and I prefer to use grease as it will "stay put" better. I drilled and tapped the holes and used grease fittings. I think the cosmetically look better and also I like using grease better. If I was to stay with oil, I would still drill and tap and put oil cups on for cometic reasons as well.

The ninth issue is in regards to the securing of the governor catch as well and the governor weight. The drawing calls for using 1/16 cotter pins and bending them out to keep them in place. I prefer the look of bolts and I drill and tap for 2-56 bolts and use them instead. If I felt they would be subjected to a lot of wear I would make a bronze bearing but given the limited travel I think that might be a bit of overkill.

The final point is more of a self criticism than anything but If I was to repaint my engine I would probably leave the crank webs natural unfinished steel rather than the hammered black. I was hoping the black would set off the polished connecting rod but not sure I was successful.

FUTURE WORK

Wooden base that would integrate the ignition parts in it.

Small gas tank that would mount to the engine under the flywheel that would have a glass end for showing fuel level similar to my previous engines.

A cooling tower that would not look like a salvaged hairspray can(not that there is anything wrong with that  ) that would work and add to the aesthetics of the model.

Excuse me.... but I have a steam tractor to finish....


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## Brian Rupnow (Dec 27, 2011)

Very, very nice engine Harold. It looks good, runs good, and sounds good!!! You sir have built something to be very proud of.----Brian


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## fcheslop (Dec 27, 2011)

Hi Harold,many thanks for the info it will be very useful as Topsy is my next i.c build.Will you please post some detailed pics of the flywheel collet as I'm not quite certain and id like to know :big:.The finished engine is truly magnificent and a tribute to you're skill
Good luck finishing the traction engine build
best wishes Frazer


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## jpeter (Dec 27, 2011)

Very nice. 
Sometime just for fun you should make a shorter piston to reduce the compression ratio. You might find the engine becomes a lot less inclined to bounce around when it fires with the lower compression ratio. four to 1 might not be too bad for this style of engine.

Jim


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## Harold Lee (Dec 28, 2011)

fcheslop  said:
			
		

> SNIP>>> Will you please post some detailed pics of the flywheel collet as I'm not quite certain and id like to know SNIP>>>
> best wishes Frazer



Frazer - I will try to give you more detail. If this is still not clear please let me know what is lacking in my explanation/pictures and I'll try to fill it in. First off, I am probably misleading you by calling this a flywheel collet and that might be confusing. The books call it a "flywheel hub taper lock". I can never think of that term when I am typing so I just call it a collet. The lathe turning for the taper lock as well as the flywheel hub are documented in the build log on page 8 about 2/3 of the way down. This shows the turning of the 4 degree taper on both parts. 

To cut the keyway, I have a 3/32 broach, a 3/32 end mill, and I have purchased some 3/32 keystock from Enco although I could make the key on the mill. It is just too easy to purchase it by the foot. The mill is used to cut the keyway slot in the crankshaft. I do not show this step but here is a picture of it. This is done to the print.






The 3/32 Broach...






The 3/32 keystock






Additionally, I have made a hub for the broach out of CRS...











At this point I put the taper lock hub in the flywheel and put the three bolts in it to make sure the registration of the hub to the flywheel is correct but I do not tighten the bolts down as they would squeeze the .375 diameter hole and I could not get the broach hub in.






Then I insert the broach into the flywheel. Don't forget a generous bit of cutting oil..






Using my arbor press, I just push the broach through... did I mention some cutting oil? :-; 






Here are the parts after this operation...
















At this point everything is done and it is a matter of assembling everything with the key and giving it a good snugging up. As I mentioned in my build notes, use some blue Loctite on the three bolts to keep them tight.






Hope this answers your questions. Please let me know if you need additional info... Good luck...

Harold


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## el gringo (Dec 28, 2011)

Harold;

A pic of a Topsy is on the inside front cover of current MEB magazine. It has a "cooling tower' of sorts.

A heavy hardwood base with a larger footprint might help mitigate the 'jumping'.

Ray M


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## fcheslop (Dec 28, 2011)

Hi Harold,Many thanks for taking the time to explain the penny eventually dropped :big:.
best wishes Frazer


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## coopertje (Dec 28, 2011)

Hi Harold,

Congratulations (a little late :-[ ), it runs and looks beautiful :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:

Thans for taking the time to write-up the build, I will use the part of turing the crank these days to start to make mine.

Mmmm.....steam tractor??? Have some pictures, I really like steam tractors (and pictures) ;D

Regards Jeroen


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## Redbrown (Jul 14, 2020)

Beautiful Job Thanks for sharing it, I am building one my self and used yours for inspiration.


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## RonW (Jul 15, 2020)

Super job Harold. Two questions, the video has disappeared and two, can the photobucket logs be removed so you can see your beautiful work. Half the photos have the crucial part covered. Otherwise, excellent!!
RonW


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