# A little ugly but it runs..



## shred (Oct 20, 2007)

Just got it running.. and unlike the hapless lady in the famous Winston Churchill quote, it will get more beautiful..







Elmer's Engines #32 "Tall Vertical Open Column"*

- Roy

*LEGO(tm) minifig not included.


----------



## Bogstandard (Oct 20, 2007)

Nice one Roy,
Looks great. Hope it runs as well as it looks.

Now about this little man thing.......... :twisted: 

John


----------



## wareagle (Oct 20, 2007)

shred, I have to admit that I am confused.  Where's the ugly part?Because it looks great to me!  Nice work, and thanks for sharing!


----------



## Tin Falcon (Oct 20, 2007)

shred:
 nothing wrong with that engine I like the lego guy wiping. My son actually built a running engine from lego. Paint and bling do not make a great engine . yes nice touches and eye catching. but there is nothing wrong with concentrating on building good running engines.
Tin


----------



## shred (Oct 20, 2007)

Lucky for me most of the ugly bits don't show on my poor-quality cell phone camera. :wink:  I need to trim and finish several of the parts, but I wanted to make sure all the bits fit together first, and I have to figure out how to nicely cover the time the end mill went the wrong direction than it was supposed to, or the part came loose in the vice.     Some decorative lagging may be in order..

They make a little Lego(tm) wrench that looks about the right size to turn a small bolt, but I didn't have one handy..


----------



## Cedge (Oct 20, 2007)

Shred
I like your results and ugly it aint. You've done a marvelous job of it and should be feeling justifiably proud.

We all encounter run away cutters,vise marks  and such more often than we'd like to admit, but I've been polishing metal for a long time and learned that a bit of rubbing makes a lot of it go away. If the screw up is beyond polishing, then it's back to new metal and blue words, quietly mumbled so that the grandkids won't get too educated, too early. 

Don't let the bling fool you... my mistakes and recoveries are certainly there to be seen. They just hide behind a curtain of visual misdirection..LOL.  I just try a bit harder next time and pray the machine tool gremlins are off breeding elsewhere. Anyone know any ancient incantations or recipes for burnt offerings that work for this?

Steve


----------



## rake60 (Oct 20, 2007)

Looks great to me Roy!

As for those gremlins Steve I know there must be a whole generation
of them living in my shop.

Or it could just be proof of Edward A. Murphy's often quoted statement:

_*"If there's more than one way to do a job, and one of those
ways will result in disaster, then somebody will do it that way."*_

You could replace the word "somebody" with Rick on many occasions.

Rick


----------



## Cedge (Oct 20, 2007)

> Or it could just be proof of Edward A. Murphy's often quoted statement:
> 
> "If there's more than one way to do a job, and one of those
> ways will result in disaster, then somebody will do it that way."



Rick...
I gotta be blood related to Murphy somewhere back down the line...LOL

Steve


----------



## Sprocket (Oct 20, 2007)

I like the engineer... somebody has to be in there to keep it going.


----------



## Bogstandard (Oct 21, 2007)

> Paint and bling do not make a great engine



But it sure convers up a lot of mistakes, and we all make them.
It is just admitting to them that is the hard part.
Or if it can be made to work and look right, it was never wrong in the first place.
That is why I use such a lot of brass. It's dead easy to rebuild with silver solder and remachine or repolish.

John


----------



## wareagle (Oct 21, 2007)

Covering up mistakes?  Nah...   I just tell everyone that I planned it that way!  :lol:


----------



## Tin Falcon (Oct 21, 2007)

I usually admit to my mistakes. most of the time I do not really have to as far as the models go. One of my engines is a mirror image of the print. Another is about a half inch longer than the print called for. I guess it is a matter of adapting to how the engine grows or develops. We are in charge so can say decide if a piece is scrap or a part. Is a particular mark a character trait or a mistake? Like I said before and likely  will repeat later. 

*The home shop is like a college engineering lab. No mistakes just learning experiences!!
Tin*


----------



## tattoomike68 (Oct 21, 2007)

That engine looks great, if you want to have an ugly engine contest I will give you a run for your money.   8)


----------



## shred (Nov 6, 2007)

Got it cleaned up into a much more presentable (and better running) state.  I still want to do something else to the flywheel and plumbing but I haven't decided just what yet.






and the obligatory video: TallVerticalOpenColumn.wmv

The most interesting part of this engine is the straight-line motion links instead of a typical crosshead arrangement, hence the video focus on that.

- Roy


----------



## 1Kenny (Nov 6, 2007)

Hey Shred, 

Your engine has a great sound to it. Noticed little guy put on his best uniform for the show. Tell him he did a good job polishing the engine.

Kenny


----------



## lugnut (Nov 7, 2007)

Cool shred, I like that little engine.  and  the video in a format that my puter would play.
Thanks
Mel


----------



## Bogstandard (Nov 7, 2007)

Well done Shred,
Looks good, and runs very well, an engine to be proud of.
What more could one ask for.

John


----------



## Ralph (Nov 7, 2007)

Imagineering at its best !!! Looks and sounds great Roy. Thanks for sharing


----------



## rake60 (Nov 8, 2007)

Very well done Shred!

Looks and sounds perfect!

Rick


----------

