# Fairbanks 80HP 3 Cylinder Model



## cfellows (Apr 13, 2013)

I can't seem to get excited about resuming work on my Bessemer model, so I've decided to tackle another engine model that has been on my list of projects to do for some time now.  This is the Fairbanks 80hp, 3 cylinder.







Castings have been available for an IC version and I've seen several of these at model engine shows.  Here is a video of one such model...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gqsi6Z2qsEI[/ame]

My engine will be somewhat smaller with a 3/4" x 7/8" bore and stroke.  And, although my engine will be four stroke in operation, it will be powered by compressed air using over head intake valves and my slave exhaust valve.  For those of you familiar with the IC model, and perhaps the original engine, my version will have the main bearings and caps contained in the upper crankcase half instead of the bottom.  While I want to adhere to the original scale dimensions as closely as I can, my model will be somewhat stylized and probably not have all the detail seen in the original.  However, I will try to add some bling and make it somewhat interesting.

Finally, I'm making a serious attempt to model each part in Alibre before constructing that part, so I should end the project with a complete set of drawings.  Below is the first installment showing the upper crankcase half.  It will be machined from solid aluminum or cast iron, yet to be decided.  If you download the 3D PDF, you can click to activate it, then rotate the part by holding down the mouse and dragging it around.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/29733857/Crancase%20Top.pdf

Chuck


----------



## jgedde (Apr 13, 2013)

Is the original a Diesel?  The local antique power association has a 5 cylinder Diesel that looks very similar.  I can sit and watch that thing run all day!  It's mesmerizing!  Each time it fires, each cylinder shoots a smoke ring.

John


----------



## cfellows (Apr 13, 2013)

jgedde said:


> Is the original a Diesel?  The local antique power association has a 5 cylinder Diesel that looks very similar.  I can sit and watch that thing run all day!  It's mesmerizing!  Each time it fires, each cylinder shoots a smoke ring.
> 
> John


 
I don't believe the original engine was a diesel... I think it uses low tension igniters.  I could be wrong.

Chuck


----------



## jixxerbill (Apr 13, 2013)

Wow chuck, looks like you are in for an adventure.. I wish you the best of luck and keep the pictures comming please. I'll be looking forward to every post...Bill


----------



## kuhncw (Apr 13, 2013)

Chuck, you've come up with another interesting project.  Nice job on the solid model, by the way.

Regards,

Chuck Kuhn


----------



## skylark (Apr 13, 2013)

I have just completed a 3 cyl. 4 stoke,  O-head cam engine of my own design, but I am experiencing quite a lot of viberations,  - its reving at some 9200 r p m. on a 16 x 8  master prop , ( 10 cc per cyl.) - 30 cc. My fireing  order is  1 - 3 - 2.   I am just wandering what is the fireing order on your engine. ?


----------



## Till (Apr 15, 2013)

cfellows said:


> I don't believe the original engine was a diesel... I think it uses low tension igniters.  I could be wrong.
> Chuck


This is the Engine pictured in the first post:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnRiq8nTkic[/ame]


----------



## cfellows (Apr 15, 2013)

Thanks, guys.  Didn't have the right materials on hand to start on the engine this weekend so SWMBO "pursuaded" me to build a doll bed for the granddaughter.  Now everything in the shop is covered with sawdust...  

Went down to the local metal supply store today and picked up a nice chunk of Aluminum.






Measured it up and mounted it in the bandsaw to carve off a piece.











Finally cleaned up the two edges with a 2" face mill.  So now I have chunk of aluminum that's oversized by about 1/8" on top and sides and almost an inch too long.

This is going to require a lot of hogging with an end mill and my experience with this sort of thing has always been mediocre at best.  Guess the secret is to take it slow.  If anybody has any hints or videos worth watching on doing this without a CNC mill, I'd love to see them...

Chuck


----------



## johnmcc69 (Apr 15, 2013)

Glad to see another one of your builds start Chuck, great job on the crankcase model. You're going to have lots of fun with Alibre.

John


----------



## cfellows (Apr 15, 2013)

Thanks, John.

Here's round 1 of the hogging process...






I first positioned the spindle over the middle of the cutout area.  Then I set the spindle depth stop to bottom out 1/8" above my final depth.  With a 1/2" roughing mill in the spindle, I used the drill press handle to apply steady downward pressure as I cranked the table back and forth a counted number of turns each way to establish the slot.  The resulting slots are undersize in depth, length and width.  I am planning to sneak up on the final dimensions by working from the inside out.

Chuck


----------



## cfellows (Apr 15, 2013)

One last picture for tonight.  I've got about 5 hours total into this so far.

I continued on with the 1/2" roughing bit...






I have the hollowed out parts to within about .015" of each line and .005" of the depth.  I'm very happy with the results.  I found that by going full depth in the initial slots, it was much easier to control the widening process.  The roughing bit cut pretty effortlessly at full depth and there was no tendency to dig in or pull the table against the leadscrew backlash.

I'm going to leave the openings slightly undersized until I finish the crankshaft.  Then I'll remove the final few thousandths as needed to fit the crankshaft to the crankcase.

Chuck


----------



## cfellows (Apr 16, 2013)

I got started on the next piece that I don't expect to be easy.  I'm calling this my first attempt fully expecting to make 2 or 3 before I get it right... who knows, maybe I'll get lucky!  This will be a built-up crankshaft.  I'm starting with a piece of hot rolled steel, 3" long x 1" wide x 1/2" thick.  The maze of layout marks looks a bit confusing.






Next I drilled 7/32" holes in what will be the opening between the webs.






This was followed by sawing out the waste and mounting it between centers in my lathe.  Forgot to mention that I had drilled countersunk holes on each end.






Here it is after I have turned down the connecting rod journals to 1/4".






And finally, the three crankshaft throws have been separated.






Next I need to clean up and size the thickness of the sawn ends.  Then I'll drill 5/16" holes through the other end of the webs for the crankshaft journals which will be made from 5/16" drill rod.  These will be loctited and perhaps pinned to secure them
.
Chuck


----------



## cfellows (Apr 17, 2013)

Picking up from where I left off yesterday, I decided to bore the mains journals in the lathe.  While positioning of the holes exactly isn't particularly important, getting them parallel to the connecting rod journals is critical.  So, I mounted them in the 4 jaw chuck and used a DTI to center and position them as close as I could get, probably within .005" or better.






After center drilling, I drilled a 3/16" hole through both webs, then enlarged the hole with a 1/4" carbide end mill.  Figured this would straighten out an wandering by the 3/16" bit.






Next I enlarged the holes with a letter N bit followed by a 5/16" reamer.  I also turned some clearance on the outside of the webs, leaving a small circular piece on each side to contact the crankcase.  Here's the three pieces slid loosely on a length of 5/16" drill rod.






I mounted the crankcase in the milling vise and indicated it to the centerline for the crankshaft.  I'm using a 5/16" ball end mill to cut the crankshaft main journals into the crankcase top.






Here's the upper crankcase with the crankshaft mains milled in.






And here we have the crankshaft parts sitting in the crankcase...






Next I have to figure out how to hold the webs at the proper angle while the loctite hardens.  One of the possibilities I've considered is using set screws through the bottom of the webs against flats in the crankshaft main.  Not sure I would even need loctite if I did that.  Anybody have any thoughts?

Chuck


----------



## cfellows (Apr 17, 2013)

Gonna put the crank on the back burner for now.  I drilled the holes for the cylinder barrels and will likely do the cylinders and heads next.  Kind of trying to keep my options open as long as I can.






Chuck


----------



## cfellows (Apr 19, 2013)

The 1 5/16" 12L14 steel round I ordered for the cylinders and heads hasn't arrived yet, so, today I started on the lower crankcase.  I began with a chunk of aluminum 5 1/8" x 3" x 1 1/4" thick.  The first step was to hog out the inside.  This picture shows the part after the initial hogging.  Like the upper crankcase, I used a 1/2" high speed steel roughing end mill.  I set the depth stop on the quill to 1" then I applied moderate downward pressure on the quill with one hand while cranking the table in the Y direction back and forth 13 turns each way.  I had to pause and vacuum out chips 3 or 4 times for each full depth pass.  I completed this part of the hogging operation in about 40 minutes. 






With the roughing end mill locked at full depth, I began traversing the perimeter of the opening taking about .030" at a time.  It took about another 10 - 15 minutes to work my way out to the lines.  I'm really happy with this method of hogging.  It's fast, very low stress, and the results speak for themselves.  The only downside is the rough finish left by the roughing mill, but these things are usually on the inside of the engine where no one will see them.






Here is a picture of the upper and lower crankcase together.  I still have to mill the indents on the sides of both top and bottom, but that will likely be about the last operation.  I also have to do some shaping on the ends of both the top and bottom.  Current plan is to have a 5/16" long piece extending from the ends of both crankcase halves that will form a 1 1/4" diameter boss surrounding the crankshaft.






Chuck


----------



## cfellows (Apr 19, 2013)

Here is a drawing of what I'm shooting for on this engine.  The drawing is subject to change, but represents my current vision.






Chuck


----------



## cfellows (Apr 19, 2013)

I started on the flywheels today.  I had a length of 4 1/2" diameter steel pipe that I'm cutting the flywheel rims from.






Here's the rims cut off and trued up except for the ID.






Thought I'd include a picture with the rims kind of where the flywheels will be.  I kind of like to get a feel for how these things are going to look.






I'll be making the flywheel centers from aluminum and pressing them into the steel rims.  These will be eight-spoked flywheels and I'm planning to make a video of at least part of the process.

Chuck

PS... The 12L14 for the cylinders and heads came in today.   :cartwheel:


----------



## aonemarine (Apr 19, 2013)

Lookin good Chuck.


----------



## cfellows (Apr 21, 2013)

We had to babysit the grand kids the past couple of days so I haven't had a lot of shop time.  

I dived into Alibre again this morning and made a preliminary attempt at a flywheel.  Doesn't look too bad, but the dimensions will need tweaking a bit.  This 3D drawing, particularly when you get into assemblies causes me major brain cramps!  Unfortunately, for me, it's too easy to fall back to Visio and 2D drawing.  I probably need to force myself to use Alibre as my only design tool.  That's the only way I'll ever get half way proficient.

Chuck 

View attachment Flywheel.pdf


----------



## johnmcc69 (Apr 21, 2013)

Looks great Chuck, you get this Alibre figured out, you'll be unstoppable.
Great work.

Doesn't matter what you draw 'em in Chuck, it's all about the finished product.

John


----------



## aonemarine (Apr 21, 2013)

Chuck the more you use Alibre the easier it gets. I dont know how your making you parts but for the fly wheels i found it easiest to draw the outer rim and extrude it to thickness, then extrude remove the inner details.


----------



## mikegw1961 (Apr 21, 2013)

Chuck

I found the easiest way to learn Alibre is to practice on something you already have drawings of. I have taken 4 different engines and drawn all the parts in Alibre and then assembled them 

Now I have a better understanding of how it works. Trying to design parts and figure out how to draw them is very hard

I hope this helps

Mike


----------



## Dave Sohlstrom (Apr 21, 2013)

Chuck

Have you updated to Alibre 2013 now named Geomagic design ( dumb name).

It has lots of new stuff.

Engine is looking real good.

Dave


----------



## cfellows (Apr 21, 2013)

Thanks, everybody, for the tips.  Dave, I haven't upgraded yet, but have been seriously considering it.  Are you talking about Geomagic Hobbyist edition?

Chuck


----------



## Dave Sohlstrom (Apr 21, 2013)

I run Pro but yes on personal it was upgraded also. 

Dave


----------



## cfellows (Apr 22, 2013)

Spent the day today getting the flywheel pieces ready for milling the spokes.  I have an old Atlas 4" 4-jaw chuck which I attached to my small rotary table so I could hold the flywheel centers for the milling operation.







Here is one of the 4" x 4" x 3/8" aluminum blanks for the flywheel centers.






And here's what they look like with the corners cut off.






I applied some adhesive backed sandpaper to my 5C collet holder  and mounted it in the lathe.






Then mounted the blank in the lathe with a live center pressing it against the sandpapered collet chuck.






Here's the two blanks after they're turned round.






I scribed circles showing where the recess will be turned.  If you look at the inside of the steel ring, you can see a shallow shoulder near the bottom.  The aluminum blank will rest on this when assembled.






After cutting the recesses, I centered the blanks in the 4 jaw chuck on the rotary table.






After centering the spindle over the centet hole in the blank, I moved the work in the Y direction about .28".  This positions it to make a radial spoke cut leaving about .030" extra meat for later clean up.   A few notes here.  The end mill is a 1/4" HSS roughing mill.  The spokes on these flywheels will be straight since I like straight spokes better than tapered and the Fairbanks looks to have straight spokes.  They are also easier to make, since I can make all the radial spoke cuts without repositioning the rotary table.






I positioned the cutter over the inner extreme of travel and set the right X-travel stop.






Then I cranked the table to the outer travel limit and set the left x-travel stop.






Here's a peak at the table lock which prevents the table from rotation during the milling operation.






And here's an overview of the setup I'll be using tomorrow to make a video of the spoke cutting operation.






That's it for today.

Chuck


----------



## aonemarine (Apr 22, 2013)

Thanks for that Chuck, I learned a few new tricks.


----------



## cfellows (Apr 22, 2013)

Got most of the work done on the flywheels today.  Also took some videos which I'll have to edit and put together over the next few days.  Didn't go as smooth as I'd hoped and made me realize I didn't have everything figured out.






I still have some additional shaping and finishing to do, but you'll probably notice right off that the spokes on one are thinner than the other.  The thicker spokes were what I had designed, but I think I like the thinner spokes better.  Anyway, my options are 1) leave them alone and use them as they are, 2) cut the thicker ones down to to match the thinner ones, or 3) remake the thinner one to match the thicker one.  I'm leaning toward 2 and number 1 is really not an option, but will have to think about it.

Chuck


----------



## aonemarine (Apr 23, 2013)

The thicker spokes look kinda blockey....Blockey, is that a word?? Oh well if not, it expresses my thoughts...


----------



## cfellows (Apr 23, 2013)

aonemarine said:


> The thicker spokes look kinda blockey....Blockey, is that a word?? Oh well if not, it expresses my thoughts...


 
Yeah, I think blockey is a word.  Maybe it's blocky?  Either way, I know what you mean.  Gonna save me a lot of work if I just thin down the thicker spokes.  

Chuck


----------



## Lawijt (Apr 23, 2013)

So nice Chuck , it looks so easy........NOT!!!
But why you make the flywheels?? There are so much beautifull casting flywheels...
I follow this absolutely. I learn much from pictures.

Best regards

Barry


----------



## cfellows (Apr 23, 2013)

Lawijt said:


> So nice Chuck , it looks so easy........NOT!!!
> But why you make the flywheels?? There are so much beautifull casting flywheels...
> I follow this absolutely. I learn much from pictures.
> 
> ...


 
Thanks for the comments, Barry.  The Fairbanks engine I am modelling has an 8-spoke flywheel.  These are not commonly available anywhere that I can find.  Also, most sources for flywheels are very expensive, particularly when you include the cost of shipping.  I don't much like making them, but there doesn't seem to be any real alternative that's affordable.

Chuck


----------



## cfellows (Apr 23, 2013)

Thanks, everybody, for the comments and helping me decide on the thinner spokes.  I thinned down the spokes of the second flywheel.  The aluminum centers are a very close fit in the rims, enough so that I couldn't quite press them in with my fingers, but could easily work them in with my arbor press.  I was originally going to heat the rims and cold-shrink them over the centers, but I got the fit just a bit too loose.  So, I opted for Loctite 620 which I think will be more than enough.

I Loctited the pieces together today, then began cleaning and shaping one of the wheels.  Here is how it looks so far...






I'm including this second photo because I thought it was kind of neat and shows the contour of the flywheel quite clearly...






I still have to install the hubs and I'll probably use Loctite for those as well.

Chuck


----------



## Wagon173 (Apr 24, 2013)

This loctite seems to be something I need to pull out of my tool box and set on my bench.  You aren't the first one I've seen posting about using it to secure things.  I guess it makes sense though.  If I had a dollar for every bolt I've broken because someone used more than a few drops of the stuff on a previous job... *knuppel2*


----------



## Lawijt (Apr 24, 2013)

I understand that Chuck. Those are very heavy and will be a lot of shipping coasts. But when I see it now , it looks great.


----------



## cfellows (Apr 26, 2013)

I've got the flywheels pretty much finished.  The loctite is drying on the second one at the moment.

I decided to use shaft lock hubs that I've had good luck with in the past.  A bit more trouble to make, perhaps, but I had to make some kind of hub and these work well.  First a picture of the finished flywheel (unfortunately I took these pictures with my iPod and the quality sucks)...






To make the hub, I started with a length of 3/4" diameter cold rolled steel.  Would have preferred 12L14, but this is the best I had on hand.






I shouldered down a 1/2" length to 3/8" diameter drilled a pilot hole through the center...






After drilling it out with a Letter N bit, which is a bit smaller than 5/16", I mounted it in my milling vise and cut a radial slot through the shoulder through to the ID.






Next I used a 3/16" end mill to cut a a hollow in the shoulder, then drilled and tapped all the way through for a 4-40 socket head cap screw.






I apparently did not get a picture of the next step which is to cut a slot perpendicular to the slot across half way through the smaller diameter next to the shoulder, perpendicular to the radial slot.  Perhaps the attached Alibre drawing will make it a bit clearer.

Here's a closeup of the Hub loctited into the flywheel...






Chuck 

View attachment Flywheel Hub.pdf


----------



## aonemarine (Apr 26, 2013)

Wont be long now and it will really start taking shape.  Looking good Chuck!


----------



## cfellows (Apr 26, 2013)

aonemarine said:


> Wont be long now and it will really start taking shape.  Looking good Chuck!


 
Thanks!  I appreciate the comments and support.

After finishing the flywheels, I got started on the cylinders.  Started with 3 chunks of 12L14 steel, 1 5/16" diameter x 1 3/4" long.






Bored and reamed them to 3/4", the final bore size (so far ).  Also shouldered down the bottom to fit in the cutouts in the upper crankcase.






Man I love working with 12L14.  So nice to machine.

Chuck


----------



## aonemarine (Apr 26, 2013)

12l14 is nice to machine and great for models. You can all most feel the bit of lead in it when you cut it.


----------



## cfellows (Apr 27, 2013)

I dove into the rotate boss function of Alibre tonight and managed a respectable drawing of the cylinder, curves and all.  I would call it a rotational extrusion.  See the attachment for a 3D representation.

Chuck 

View attachment Cylinder2.pdf


----------



## FannBlade (Apr 27, 2013)

cfellows said:


> I dove into the rotate boss function of Alibre tonight and managed a respectable drawing of the cylinder, curves and all.  I would call it a rotational extrusion.  See the attachment for a 3D representation.
> 
> Chuck



Nice job!
I'm still fumbling my way through Alibre...your miles ahead of me.


----------



## cfellows (Apr 27, 2013)

Thanks for the continuing interest.  As someone suggested, modelling a real project is probably the fastest way to learn about 3D CAD.  I have requested a quote from Alibre on upgrading to GeoMagic Pro.  Don't know that I really need it, but it does have some nice features.

I spent some time working on the upper crankcase half today.  I'm beginning do some final shaping.  



























Chuck


----------



## cfellows (Apr 28, 2013)

Managed to get 6 or 7 hours in the shop today.  I Continued work on shaping the crankcase halves and except for some repair work, they are close to finished.

Started today with the bottom crankcase half.  Here, I'm using a 1.25" indexable face mill to remove part of the sides and create the bottom flange...






Next, I shaped the ends using a 1/4" end mill.  This particular end mill creates a small chamfer at the bottom.  I'm departing from the original Fairbanks a bit here.  I think it looks better for the boss on the ends to extend all the way down.






This picture shows the finished bottom half with the unfinished top half sitting on it.






Now I'm starting on the top half of the crankcase, removing material to create the flange which allows bolting the crankcase halves together.






Here's the two crankcase halves as they will look, finished, from the back.






Now I'm starting work on forming the raised frames for the crankcase access ports on the front.  I hadn't originally planned to add this detail, but in the end thought it would greatly improve the looks.






Heres a series of pictures of the finished crankcase halves.  I need to do some repair work on the bottoms of two of the access port holes where I fed the table a little too far.  I think some JB Weld and a file will  fix it, since the crankcase will be painted when finished.
















Chuck


----------



## aonemarine (Apr 28, 2013)

Now its really really looking good.  Figure out how to do the crank yet?  I was thinking of making 3 supports with bolt on caps, split at different heights, then drill all three with the required crankshaft degrees. The could be bolted down to a plate, sit the crank in place, bolt down the caps and solder it up.


----------



## Philjoe5 (Apr 28, 2013)

Nice work Chuck.  Excellent photo documentation that is appreciated.  

Cheers,
Phil


----------



## RManley (Apr 29, 2013)

This model is going to look amazing when done!  It's builds like this that make me want to start a new project, I then remember that I have at least 6 on the go and that my new years resolution was to not start anything new 

Watching with great interest 

Rob.


----------



## Lawijt (Apr 29, 2013)

It looks great Chuck...Really by the "bing" by the "boom" hahaha. The pics are very good for a novice like me. So I see how you fix the workpieces on the lathe & the mill.
Keep posting the fixtures please. I learn a lot from them.

Regards

Barry


----------



## johnmcc69 (Apr 29, 2013)

Looking great Chuck, great pics & write up. I can't wait to see this finished, but am really enjoying the journey getting there.
Great job with the CAD modeling, you're getting there. I look forward to seeing finished drawings of this.

Great build!!

John


----------



## cfellows (Apr 30, 2013)

Thanks, everybody, for the kind words.  I appreciate the comments, suggestions, and support.

I got started on the heads today.  They are being made from 1 5/16" diameter x 1 1/8" long 12L14 rounds.  While they aren't complicated, there are numerous holes and parts that will require fairly close tolerances.  For that reason, I was careful to get them all within .001" of the correct length.  I also used a file to clean up all the edges since unwanted burrs can cause errors in locating.  Finally, I was careful to keep the milling machine setup blown free of chips and debris while clamping things in place.

I'll start with a 2D drawing of what the head is going to look like...






I created a center hole in one of the heads to use as a datum in locating and centering the pieces in the mill.  I only drilled one head and used it each time to get the part properly located.  Once in place, there was no need to change the setups for the same operation on the other two heads.






I used my thumbnail on the edge of the center finder.  Once I could no longer feel the edge of the split, the part is centered, or darn close!






Here, I've moved the millng table over the correct offset from the center and drilled the holes for the head bolts, using the rotary table to evenly space them around the head.






Here, I'm locating the head to bore the hole for the valve assembly.  It will be 3/8" diameter by 11/16" deep, offset from the center of the head by .150"






I'm using 3/32" pins, which just happens to be the pilot hole diameter for 4-40 screws, in two of the head bolt holes to square up the head being clamped in a v-block.  People who are more patient (and probably smarter) usually make fixtures to hold multiple pieces for locating and indicating.  I figured I could get buy without the extra work.











And, here's the finished hole that the valve assembly will go in to...





And a couple of updated pictures of the full engine, so far...











Chuck


----------



## cfellows (Apr 30, 2013)

One more picture for today... Attached is a PDF of the Alibre 3D drawing of the head.

Chuck 

View attachment Head.pdf


----------



## kilocharlie (Apr 30, 2013)

Thank you, Chuck, for your generous efforts at documenting and posting the project. This is a great help for my efforts at a new twist on the Alpha-type Stirling I'm designing. Your workmanship is impressive, too.


----------



## cfellows (May 2, 2013)

Thanks, Charlie.

I started on the Valve cages today.  I started with 5/8" cold rolled steel.   Would have preferred to use brass, but didn't have any in the right size.






After turning all three down to the right length, I started the shaping by shouldering down the end that goes into the head to 3/8"






Then I drilled a thru 1/8" hole for the valve stem then enlarged the bottom end to 3/16" for the air inlet passage.






Next I reversed the piece in the 3 jaw chuck and turn down the boss which goes inside the valve spring (sorry for the blurry picture).






Here I've finished the external shaping.  Still need to drill the exhaust hole and mounting screw holes which I'll do later.






And here's what it looks like in the head.






Two more to go...

Chuck


----------



## cfellows (May 3, 2013)

Several smaller things done today.  Finished the other two valve cages, got a good start on the pistons (cast iron), and got the timing gear blanks all shaped ready for the gear teeth.  I'll do that later this evening or tomorrow.  Here's a picture of most of the parts I've worked on.






Chuck


----------



## cfellows (May 4, 2013)

Earlier today I cut the teeth in the timing gears.  Boy, every time I use my Arduino / stepper motor powered dividing head I appreciate it more.  Greatly speeds up the process and reduces the chance for error.
















The larger gear is made of brass and the smaller one is 12L14 steel.

Chuck


----------



## Lawijt (May 5, 2013)

Great work Chuck.


----------



## Niceonetidy (May 5, 2013)

Looking good chuck, and coming along at a great speed,

Cheers,

Colin


----------



## Generatorgus (May 6, 2013)

Chuck, I love those old FM engines, coming along nicely.
The gears look great.

GUS


----------



## Lawijt (May 6, 2013)

Really nice Chuck. The original is Diesel engine wright?? Will yours run also on Diesel fuell??

On the backside of my eyes I see the flywheels turning already with a beautifull sound.woohoo1


----------



## cfellows (May 6, 2013)

Thanks, guys, I appreciate the comments.

Gus, the original full sized engine was not a diesel... it used igniters and burned either gasoline or kerosene.  My engine will be powered by compressed air but will still be 4 stroke in operation.

Here's a couple more pictures.  The first one is the the crankshaft sitting in the crankcase with the Loctite hardening.  The two outer lobes are supported with 3/32" brass rods sitting on top of the crankcase.  I had calculated this was the height need to give me 120 degrees between throws.






And here's the crank after the Loctite has hardened.  I am planning to pin the connecting rod journals to the shaft with 3/32" roll pins before I saw out the middles.  The Loctite by itself is probably sufficient, but I tend to be overly cautious with these things.






Here's a shot of one of cylinder heads with the valve cage screwed in and the exhaust hole bored.  The hole in the head is 3/16" and the connecting hole into the valve cage is 1/8".






I still have to drill the air inlet hole.  To avoid interfering with the push rod, it will be offset from the center line and enter the valve chamber on a tangent.

Chuck


----------



## cfellows (May 6, 2013)

I pinned the crankshaft throws and cut out the waste today.  I guess it remains to be seen how strong it is, but it is dead-nuts straight.  I think it will be fine since I have main bearing journals between each cylinder.  Even if one of the joints came loose, I don't think it would bother anything.






I probably should clean it up some but I'm kind of afraid to do any more machining on it.  Might just leave well enough alone.

Chuck


----------



## Brian Rupnow (May 6, 2013)

Chuck--Learning when to leave "good enough" alone is one of the major milestones of model machining!!! Love your work.---Brian


----------



## Philjoe5 (May 6, 2013)

Great work Chuck and your documentation is appreciated.Thm:

Cheers,
Phil


----------



## metalmad (May 6, 2013)

Thats going to be a classic Chuck!
Pete


----------



## Generatorgus (May 7, 2013)

Chuck, Ya got to love that Loctite, but pinning the shaft was what I think a very important back up.
Just recently, when I removed the connecting rod from my Wyvern, I found a disturbing thing.
A failed Loctite connection.





I Loctited the big end bearing as well as the big end SS piece to the connecting rod ( the end of the conn rod is reduced in dia. and runs thru both pieces almaust to the crank pin. Because the connection looked a bit scary just Loctited I pinned the SS piece only, thinking that if that joint failed it would be a backup. I had/ have less than 10 inutes run time on the engine. On disassembly the bearing was no longer glued, thankfully the bolts held it together. THe SS part was stiil nice and tight.
As part of my do-overs I'll reglue it and pin the bearing also.
Oh Yeah, I glued and pinned the crankshaft, also, it's still nice and tight.


About cleaning the crankshaft up, what Brian said.
Looks good in the picture.

GUS


----------



## cfellows (May 7, 2013)

Thanks all for the words of encouragement.

Started working on the intake manifold today.  It will be built up of some turned parts, model plumbing fittings, and brass tubing.  Fiddly bits that I'm not fond of, but they are a challenge and they need to be done.
To make the parts that attach to the heads, I started with 1/2" x 1/4" brass bar chucked in the lathe.  and turned down a 3/16" nipple with a flange.







Here are the 3 parts with the lathe work finished.  Also shown is the plumbing parts tree that will contribute the elbows & tees...






In this photo I'm drilling the mounting holes in the flanges.  I'm using my small rotary table clamped in my milling vise.   This gives me better control on the hole location and ensures that all three pieces will be drilled the same.






I needed to radius the ends of the flanges and a) I don't have a filing rest, a problem I need to resolve some day, and b) the drilled holes in the flanges are not at the center of the radius.  So, I had improvise a filing guide for this occasion.  I guess the picture says it all.






Here I have one of the plumbing tee's mounted in my toolmaker's vise ready to drill the openings.  Both holes are drilled without removing the tee, but rather, just flipping the vise over on its side for the second hole.  Using the vise in this manner ensures that the drilled holes will be square to each other.






And, here's a preview of what the finished manifold will look like.  The pieces will all be soldered together in place on the assembled engine so they will be properly spaced and aligned.






Next, I'll cut the flats and drill the holes in the heads for intake manifold.

Chuck


----------



## cfellows (May 7, 2013)

Got some more work done on the heads.  In the first photo I'm Milling the pocket for the intake manifold piece.






After I milled the pockets, I drilled the intake hole in the middle of the pocket, then I loctited the brass pieces in the pockets to hold them while I drilled the pilot holes for the mounting screws.






After a bunch more milling, drilling, and threading, here's the progress for today.






Chuck


----------



## cfellows (May 8, 2013)

Ugh... Tapping!  This has to be one of my least favorite activities.  Today I made a drilling jig to accurately position the mounting holes in the cylinders and crankcase.  One end is shouldered down to fit snugly in the crankcase top.






And the opposite side has a recess that the bottom of the cylinder fits into.






I used this to drill the 18 cylinder mounting holes in the crankcase.






These are 2-56 screws.  I plan to cut the heads off to form studs and the cylinders will be attached with 2-56 model hex nuts.  Today I ordered 50 of the nuts and a bunch of 12L14 hex rod from American Model Engineering supply.  I had to order them by snail mail and I'm hoping they don't take too long to get here.

Chuck


----------



## hitnmiss49 (May 8, 2013)

Chuck,

It is really looking good. Hope we will see a video very soon. Here is a link where I purchase model size nuts and bolts. I have always received my orders very quickly from them. Their prices are quite reasonable. 
http://www.fastener-express.com/hex-nuts-stainless.aspx

Lonnie


----------



## cfellows (May 9, 2013)

hitnmiss49 said:


> Chuck,
> 
> It is really looking good. Hope we will see a video very soon. Here is a link where I purchase model size nuts and bolts. I have always received my orders very quickly from them. Their prices are quite reasonable.
> http://www.fastener-express.com/hex-nuts-stainless.aspx
> ...



Thanks Lonnie.  I looked at the website you listed.  Unfortunately, the nuts are not to scale.  For example, their 2-56 nuts are 3/16" across the flats.  The scale model nuts are only 1/8" across the flats.  Also, unfortunately, the scale model are also a lot more expensive!

Chuck


----------



## slaurenson (May 9, 2013)

Hi Chuck.

Have to say I am loving this build and your updates, the photo's are magic.. given that I am building my first ever double acting vertical steam engine at the moment, I am still surprised at my self when something turns out nice (how it should be according to the plans) and people say to me "Oh did YOU make that?" I can't imagine the feeling you get from producing something so beautiful.


----------



## cfellows (May 9, 2013)

slaurenson said:


> Hi Chuck.
> 
> Have to say I am loving this build and your updates, the photo's are magic.. given that I am building my first ever double acting vertical steam engine at the moment, I am still surprised at my self when something turns out nice (how it should be according to the plans) and people say to me "Oh did YOU make that?" I can't imagine the feeling you get from producing something so beautiful.


 
Thanks.

Finished drilling the mounting holes in the cylinder base today.  I used a bolt through the cylinder and the drilling guide fixture to hold the two together.  Then mounted the assembly in my toolmaker's vise to drill the holes.






I also drilled and tapped the cylinder head mounting holes in the cylinder.  Then I started making it purty.  I finished the shaping and contouring of the head and cylinder.  Heres another assembled picture.






Chuck


----------



## cfellows (May 10, 2013)

Nothing very exciting today.  I made the valves out 1/4" drill rod and cut the grooves for the e-clips with a dremel cutoff blade.  I also cut the o-ring grooves in the valve cages.






Now I am pondering whether to make a cam from solid or make a built up cam. 

If I make it from solid, I'll have to start with 3/8" rod and I'll have to devise some kind of cam grinder.  Also, I'll have to enlarge the bore in the crankcase to 3/8", a task I'm not real comfortable with.

If I make it from components, I can use 1/4" drill rod and the finished holes with no further modifications to the crankcase.  I can make 3 separate cam lobes and attach them with set screws, but they will be a somewhat larger than scale and because of the extra attachment lobe, it won't look as authentic.

Decisions, decisions...

Chuck


----------



## kilocharlie (May 12, 2013)

Chuck,
Your first photo on post #54, when you cut the gears - you mentioned the Arduino stepper motor setup that greatly reduced the chance of error in gear cutting. Could you post a photo of the setup, or perhaps photos of the machining sequence? Sounds like possibly an improvement over a dividing head and compound indexing. I'd love to hear more details and opinions from you. 
Thanks, - Casey.


----------



## cfellows (May 12, 2013)

kilocharlie said:


> Chuck,
> Your first photo on post #54, when you cut the gears - you mentioned the Arduino stepper motor setup that greatly reduced the chance of error in gear cutting. Could you post a photo of the setup, or perhaps photos of the machining sequence? Sounds like possibly an improvement over a dividing head and compound indexing. I'd love to hear more details and opinions from you.
> Thanks, - Casey.


 
Here's a link to the build thread I posted on this forum when I was making the dividing head.

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/f39/electronic-dividing-head-using-arduino-17896/

Here's a link to a couple of videos I made using the electronic dividing head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1Nk4_cjvbw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6CrFMwxbxQ

Chuck


----------



## cfellows (May 12, 2013)

A little bit more done on Saturday.  I finished up the pistons.






Time to start on the connecting rods.  Here's some 2.75" x .625 x 1/4 pieces that will be made into the rods.






Chuck


----------



## Lawijt (May 13, 2013)

Hi Chuck,

If you build the connecting rods , can you show us how you do it step by step please. It will be very helpfull.
Thanks.

Barry


----------



## kilocharlie (May 13, 2013)

HUGE THANK YOU, Chuck! I will be reading over the thread about the dividing head. Looks awesome. Great idea!


----------



## cfellows (May 13, 2013)

Lawijt said:


> Hi Chuck,
> 
> If you build the connecting rods , can you show us how you do it step by step please. It will be very helpfull.
> Thanks.
> ...


 
OK, Barry, ask and ye shall receive... 

I took some detailed photos of my process for making connecting rods. 

After cutting and squaring the blanks, I mark the center line and a crossing line where the rod cap will be separated from the rod.






Next, I drill the holes in the end for the screws that will secure the rod cap to the rod.






These holes are drilled with the pilot bit for the screw threads to be tapped later.






Next I cut the rod cap away from the rod body.  This is done in my mill / drill with a circular cutoff blade.






The next step is to tap the holes for the rod cap screws in the rod body and enlarge the holes in the rod cap to the 2-56 screw size I'm using to secure the rod caps to the rod.






Then I screw everything together to see how it fits and, of course, to get another picture...  






With the rod caps screws securely to the rods, I drill and ream the hole for the crankshaft end of the rod.






Then, I remove the rod caps, mark the location and drill the piston end of the rod.






Then it's time to contour the sides of the rod.  Here is a picture of the special vise I made a number of years ago to secure things so they could be mounted in the milling vise and milled on the side.






And here's what it looks mounted in the milling vise.  Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture during the process and had to back and take this picture after the rods were finished...  






And here's the rods after I finished contouring the sides.






Next I need to work on the piston end.  I used my bandsaw to cut of some of the extra material.






Then I mounted the rod on my rotary table to round the piston ends of the rods.






And here's what the finished rods look like...






Next I think it will be time to tackle the camshaft.

Chuck


----------



## kilocharlie (May 15, 2013)

Is the side milling fixture a vise jaw with a clamp on top? I might have mounted the rods through the holes with tight-fitting bolts, but I love your solution.


----------



## Lawijt (May 15, 2013)

Thanks for the explaining and the pictures Chuck. It looks great.
Now I understand how it works.

Barry


----------



## kadora (May 15, 2013)

CHUCK
Special vise is excellent idea i have to do one for my needs too.
Juraj


----------



## cfellows (May 15, 2013)

kilocharlie said:


> Is the side milling fixture a vise jaw with a clamp on top? I might have mounted the rods through the holes with tight-fitting bolts, but I love your solution.


 
No, the side milling fixture is just made up from some scrap pieces of hot rolled steel.

Thanks, Barry, Thanks Juraj.  I can post some additional pictures and dimensions if anybody is interested.

After a couple of days of mulling things over (and catching up on yard work  :cussing, I decided to make the cam from solid.

I lined up the block on my lathe carriage and clamped it in place so I could enlarge the camshaft bore to 5/16".







The boring job went well and after reaming, a 5/16" drill rod fits through with no slop.  The aligment is off about .015" from one end to the other, but it's not really noticeable and I can live with it.

Here I've got the cam blank mounted in the lathe and am in the process of turning down the diameter between the journals and the lobes to .150".






And here's a shot of the blank with all the turning done.






And the camshaft blank shown in the engine. 






I left the cam lobes about .25" wide and while I want them to look beefy, I think I'll narrow them down some till I find a width that looks suitable. 

 Now to figure out a cam grinding fixture.  I don't want something that will grind every cam I every build from now on, but I do want something that will give me a pretty accurate profile and finish without putting a whole lot of work into it.

Chuck


----------



## kadora (May 16, 2013)

Chuck more pictures please.
I am pretty curious how you design cam grinding fixture.
Juraj


----------



## cfellows (May 16, 2013)

I have he beginnings of a plan to cut the profiles on the valves.  I'm going to rough them out using an end mill then smooth them up on a grinder.
Here is the jig I fabricated to hold the cam while I'm working on it.











I can turn the nylon bolts to adjust the tension on the camshaft making it turn easy, not so easy, or not at all.  Next, I'll fabricate an indexing mechanism to adjust the angles on the cam lobes, probably a worm gear against the cam gear.

Chuck


----------



## kilocharlie (May 17, 2013)

It looks like you could slap a degree wheel on the end of your fixture and pre-cut the cam very, very close before final grinding. 

The only cam grinding machine that I have seen had the grinding wheel on an arm not unlike a chop saw and was geared to the lead screw.


----------



## cfellows (May 17, 2013)

Think I'm about ready to start cutting the cam profiles.  I finished the attachment and have it set up in the mill.











Chuck


----------



## cfellows (May 17, 2013)

Moving right along, I screwed up my courage and tackled the cam this evening.  I mounted the fixture in my milling vise and used a 1/4" carbide cutter (with some broken teeth it turns out).  I made 3 passes taking .020" per pass to create the flat on one side of the first cam lobe.






Then, leaving the tool height where it was, I repeatedly turned the worm  wheel crank one turn and made a pass with the end mill.  I repeated this 25 times around the blank until I had the lobe point formed.






Then I turned the worm crank until the cam as position back to the start of the first lobe.






Then I cranked the blank 120 degrees and moved to the next lobe where I repeated the steps for the first lobe.






After I finished the third cam lobe, I removed the cam from the fixture and dressed it up with a needle file followed by a touch up with 400 grid emery cloth.  And here's the result.











I'm definitely in the home stretch now.  My scale model nuts and hex rod arrived from American Model Engineering Supply today.  So tomorrow I expect I'll be back doing some drilling and tapping.

Chuck


----------



## aonemarine (May 17, 2013)

Nice job on the cam!  This is something I still need to to put some thought into making. I have some kind of indexing attachment for something that is very similar to what you have constructed. Just need to give it a whirl and test it out.
  Chuck, you make it look too easy.


----------



## Niceonetidy (May 18, 2013)

Chuck,

That is a really neat setup, the cam blank is self supporting too, very good idea,

Thanks for sharing,

Colin




cfellows said:


> Moving right along, I screwed up my courage and tackled the cam this evening.  I mounted the fixture in my milling vise and used a 1/4" carbide cutter (with some broken teeth it turns out).  I made 3 passes taking .020" per pass to create the flat on one side of the first cam lobe.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## deverett (May 19, 2013)

Bit late now, Chuck, on your excellent camshaft making, but Steve Huck also described the cutting of cams for his small V-8 with a grinding fixture.

However for others...  Have a look at http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/f31/small-v8-8892/index74.html#post139850 reply 734

Dave
The Emerald Isle


----------



## kadora (May 19, 2013)

Thanks Chuck for pictures of cam fixture.
Really professional job.
I have built this simple fixture but producing a camshaft
is time consuming .
Juraj


----------



## cfellows (May 19, 2013)

Thanks for the comments, guys.  Always appreciated.

I'm starting on what is hopefully the final "hard" piece(s), the rocker arm stands.  There isn't much room, only about .160" between the top of the valve cage and the outside edge of the head.  To maximize the thickness of the stand, I wanted to make it curved to match the profile of the head.  So, I started with a piece of 1.25" 12L14 steel in the lathe.  Also, the pivot of the rocker arm will be right over the edge of the valve cage, so the top of the stand will have to be offset inward from the base.  






The plan is to make 4 stands (1 extra) from the perimeter of the rod.  I'm starting by boring out the center.  In the next photo, I've finished boring out the center.  The smaller diameter at the bottom of the bore will form the offset on the top of the stand.






I'm now laying out the center the outside lines of each stand.  In this photo I'm doing two of the stands.











Next I stand the vice on end to rotate the bar 90 degrees so I can lay out the other two stands.






Now I've got the bar mounted in the 4 jaw chuck and my rotary table which I have standing vertically.






Using a 1/4" end mill I'm milling out the waste on each side of the stand.  I'll first mill all the left sides, rotating the rotary table 90 degrees for each one, then move the end mill to the other side and mill out the right side of all 4 stands.  











After cutting out all the edges, I went back cut an inset on each side of each stand so the bottom of the stand will flare out 1/32"






Here you can see the profile of the stands.






Now I'm milling the slot at the top of each stand that will hold the rocker arm.






Gotta run out now and have some dinner with my honey, but I may get back to these later this evening.  Next I'll drill the cross hole that holds pivot pin for the rocker arm.

Chuck


----------



## stevehuckss396 (May 19, 2013)

genius! Great idea!


----------



## cfellows (May 20, 2013)

stevehuckss396 said:


> genius! Great idea!


 

Thanks for the high praise.  Probably not deserved, but certainly appreciated!

Here's picture of the stands mounted on the heads.  The bad news is that I had to use socket head cap screws.  The good news is that the are pretty well hidden, recessed in the middle of the rocker arm opening.






They look a little bit blocky to me and I may try to slim them down some. 

Chuck


----------



## cfellows (May 20, 2013)

Not a very exciting day in the shop today.  Still these things need to be done for the engine to run. 






I made the valve keeper washers and fitted the springs to the valves.  So the valve assemblies are done.  I also made the exhaust manifold fittings and milled the flats for them in the heads.

Chuck


----------



## cfellows (May 21, 2013)

Another brief update for today.  I started on the rocker arms.  I'm making them a little more complicated that originally intended.  I think the results will be worth it.

I started with a piece of 3/16" thick cold rolled steel.  I cut the width down to .8".  The length is much longer than needed, but it's more about having a piece that's big enough to hold in the vise and other fixturing setups.






I've clamped the piece in my small horizontal vice which in turn is clamped in my milling vice so I can use a 3/32" clitting saw to put a groove in the sides.






Here I've turned the piece around to mill a slot in the other side.   I've also put a piece of 3/32" drill rod in the finished slot so it won't be crushed shut by the holding vise.






And the piece with the slots finished.  I made them a little deeper than I needed to, a case of the journey going so well, I lost sight of the destination!   :






I've changed setups here and milling the waist that will be on each side of the rocker arms.






Here's the piece with the waist and slots finished.  Next I'll need to part off the individual rocker arms and drill the cross holes.






Chuck


----------



## jwcnc1911 (May 21, 2013)

Very nice cam fixture Chuck!  Is that a "standard" or you have to make one for every cam?  I am definitely going to make something like this in the future.  How are you clocking the cam?  Counting revs on the handle and knowing the gear pitch?  That is quite fascinating.


----------



## Niceonetidy (May 22, 2013)

Chuck,

That is some great tooling you're making here. and the engine of course.

Look forward to more,

Thanks

Colin



cfellows said:


> Another brief update for today.  I started on the rocker arms.  I'm making them a little more complicated that originally intended.  I think the results will be worth it.
> 
> I started with a piece of 3/16" thick cold rolled steel.  I cut the width down to .8".  The length is much longer than needed, but it's more about having a piece that's big enough to hold in the vise and other fixturing setups.
> 
> ...


----------



## cfellows (May 22, 2013)

jwcnc1911 said:


> Very nice cam fixture Chuck!  Is that a "standard" or you have to make one for every cam?  I am definitely going to make something like this in the future.  How are you clocking the cam?  Counting revs on the handle and knowing the gear pitch?  That is quite fascinating.


 
Thanks, JW, this is the first one I've made and I used the cam and the timing gear from the engine that it's going into.  I should be able reuse the same fixture with future cams.  I may have to make or buy a worm gear for general purpose use.

Chuck


----------



## cfellows (May 22, 2013)

I spent the day today working on the rocker arms.  These fiddly little bits take a lot of time and the results are not as polished as I'd like.

Here are the rocker arms cut off from the one large piece I machined yesterday.






Here I'm parting off the 3/16" diameter rollers that will ride on the valve stems.






Here are the shaped and drilled rocker arms along with the rollers.






And here I've got the rollers installed in the rocker arms.






I cheated a little bit and used roll pins to secure the rollers.

Next I guess I'll tackle the pushrods and the adjusters at the top end for the valve clearance.

Chuck


----------



## Lawijt (May 23, 2013)

Nice work Chuck. Very nice that you make the pictures step by step.


----------



## cfellows (May 23, 2013)

Lawijt said:


> Nice work Chuck. Very nice that you make the pictures step by step.


 
Thanks, I try to do that if I'm using a method is is new to me or I think may be new to others.

Some of these smaller pieces take a bit to finish.  Today, so far, I've finished up the push rod and valve adjustment assemblies.







The pushrods are made from 3/32" drill rod and the end pieces are 3/16" square cold rolled steel, threaded 3-48 on the end.  The hex nuts are made from 5/32 12L14 hex rod.

I think I'm only a couple of days away from having this thing running.  Once I get it running, I'll disassemble it again and paint it.

Chuck


----------



## cfellows (May 24, 2013)

More cleaning up odds n ends today.  I made the two bearing blocks for the 2 inside main bearing journals.






I also installed the cylinder barrel studs and temporarily fastened down the cylinders with 2 nuts each in preparation for soldering the intake manifold.  One note I'd like to add, those little bitty 2-56 hex nuts are a wooly booger to install.  I won't be installing all the nuts until I'm at the final assembly, after painting!






Here I've finished soldering the intake manifold.






Here's an overall shot of the engine with the manifold still in place.  Next I'll remove it and let it soak in citric acid to remove the discoloration.






You can also see that I've drilled and tapped the hole for fastening the crankcase halves together and I've drilled the engine mounting holes around the bottom flange in the lower crankcase half.

One more piece to finish, the collar which keep the camshaft in place, and I think I'm ready for a preliminary assembly and test run.

Chuck


----------



## aonemarine (May 24, 2013)

Awsome work Chuck!!   What color are you going to paint it?


----------



## kilocharlie (May 24, 2013)

The look of it makes me want to build a steam boat for it to power, or perhaps an old mining stamp mill. It sure has an 1800's look to it. Your model is much more attractive than the original. What approximate scale is your model?


----------



## cfellows (May 25, 2013)

aonemarine said:


> Awsome work Chuck!!   What color are you going to paint it?



Haven't decided yet.  So far I've considered grey or a dark blue/green.



kilocharlie said:


> The look of it makes me want to build a steam boat for it to power, or perhaps an old mining stamp mill. It sure has an 1800's look to it. Your model is much more attractive than the original. What approximate scale is your model?



The original engine had a bore and stroke of 11" x 13".  That would would make mine a scale of about 1:14.  

Chuck


----------



## cfellows (May 25, 2013)

I've started assembling the engine.  Here's a video with just the crankshaft, rods, pistons, and camshaft in place.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVWMDgXU4VU[/ame]

Now on to finish the assembly.

Chuck


----------



## cfellows (May 25, 2013)

Crap, crap, crap!  :rant:

Got the engine running a little while ago.  That's the good news.  Unfortunately, there were some air leaks around the inlet manifold so I set about fixing them by tightening up the 2-56 screws holding the manifold on.  Never occurred to me that the screws were just a tad too long for the threaded depth.  Long story short, I twisted off one of the screws.  I did manage to get it drilled out, mostly.  Then when ran the tap in to clear out the the leftover bits, I broke off the tap.  And that ain't comin' out with any methods or tools in my toolbox!

So, guess I'll get started on one new head...   tomorrow.

Chuck


----------



## stevehuckss396 (May 25, 2013)

That sux!

I had a feeling there would be a video of it running today. Guess we have to wait now.


----------



## aonemarine (May 25, 2013)

That sucks Chuck!!  but thats how it goes sometimes.   Hey someone said the alum works on a carbon steel tap in a steel part...Care to test his "experience" ???


----------



## cfellows (May 25, 2013)

aonemarine said:


> That sucks Chuck!!  but thats how it goes sometimes.   Hey someone said the alum works on a carbon steel tap in a steel part...Care to test his "experience" ???


 
I think that only works in aluminum.  Not sure I'd want to try it on 12L14 steel.

Chuck


----------



## aonemarine (May 25, 2013)

cfellows said:


> I think that only works in aluminum. Not sure I'd want to try it on 12L14 steel.
> 
> Chuck


 
  I understand if you dont want to try, there may be something behind this though.....Leaded steel may develop a layer of oxidation protecting it.  Im just curious if it would work. If not we can consider the accusation defunct.


----------



## kilocharlie (May 26, 2013)

I have not heard of anyone burning out a 2-56 tap with a wire EDM....not saying it can't be done, but perhaps building another head is a better idea. My guess in the dark - if there are leaks, the 2-56 screws do not give enough pre-load.

A bolt is basically a tension spring. Torquing it into a block makes it stretch out longer. It's tensile strength makes it try to pull back to original length, giving a clamping force, or pre-load, measured in pounds or newtons. Re-usable bolts are usually torqued to 3/4 of their elastic limit - torque tables are published by the manufacturers.

I'd suggest a combination of more, bigger, and higher quality bolts. ARP is the best bolt producer out there today, you might contact them for suggestions as to small bolt quality.

Also, experience has taught me that all bolts get dressings. Mains and head studs get graphite / molybdenum assembly lube, which reduces torque by 30%. Flywheel bolts get Lock-tite, exhaust and wheel lugs get Never-seez, water pump bolts get water-resistant sealant, outside engine bolts going through a gasket get Honda sealant, electrical connection studs get dielectric silicone grease.

I may be stating the obvious to the master, but I always appreciate pedantic help in technical matters


----------



## cfellows (May 26, 2013)

kilocharlie said:


> I have not heard of anyone burning out a 2-56 tap with a wire EDM....not saying it can't be done, but perhaps building another head is a better idea. My guess in the dark - if there are leaks, the 2-56 screws do not give enough pre-load.
> 
> A bolt is basically a tension spring. Torquing it into a block makes it stretch out longer. It's tensile strength makes it try to pull back to original length, giving a clamping force, or pre-load, measured in pounds or newtons. Re-usable bolts are usually torqued to 3/4 of their elastic limit - torque tables are published by the manufacturers.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the comments and suggestions.  The problem was that the screws were too long for the threaded depth of the hole.  After I ground off a bit of the screw ends, everything cinched up nice and tight.

Chuck


----------



## cfellows (May 26, 2013)

Remade the head this afternoon, took me about 3 hours.  Had another near disaster when a #51 drill bit broke off in one of the final holes I was drilling and tapping.  Luckily I was able to fish the broken piece out.  The microscopic bits that were left behind made it a booger to tap, but I took it slow and used lots of lubricant.  Finished it up with no more mishaps.

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

Still got a few air leaks to chase down and fix, and a few more little pieces to make.  Then I'll take it apart and paint it before publishing another video.

Chuck


----------



## jcirafic (May 28, 2013)

Thank you for taking the time to document and share this build with us. Its inspiring to see such skill!


----------



## cfellows (May 31, 2013)

jcirafic said:


> Thank you for taking the time to document and share this build with us. Its inspiring to see such skill!


 
Thanks for the kind words.  I stumbled across this model of the Fairbanks built from scratch by Johan Van Zanten in the Netherlands.  Truly a beautiful model.  Wish I could find a video of it running...






Chuck


----------



## cfellows (May 31, 2013)

I've got everything painted and am slowly beginning to reassemble the engine.  Here is picture I thought the group might be interested in.  I've fastened the bottom crankcase half to the base with what looks like studs, nuts and washers. 






Well, there is in fact a washer, but the stud and nut are actually a 4-40 socket head cap screw with the head ground down to a hex shape.  Then a short, 3-48 set screw, which is very close sliding fit,  is loctited into the hex socket of the SHCS.   To add to the realism of the "nut", I spun it by hand between a folded piece of 400 grit silicon carbide sandpaper a few times to get rid of all the sharp edges.

The washers are 1/32" long slices from a piece of aluminum tubing I found in my scrap box.  The OD is 3/16" and the ID is just about a perfect fit for the 4-40 screws.
Chuck


----------



## jcirafic (May 31, 2013)

That's amazing-couldn't imagine the time and effort that went into building that engine. Thanks for the picture. Just inspiring.


----------



## jwcnc1911 (May 31, 2013)

Aw man does that suck!  In my experience, when you feel like you need to back off of a tap a little bit... it's too late!

This is a fascinating build.  It looks so huge until your hand in the video puts it into perspective.

My compliments Chuck!


----------



## Lawijt (Jun 1, 2013)

Here on this website more from Johan van Zanten. It is written in Dutch , but the pictures are beautifull.
http://www.stoommachine.info/modellen_v_zanten.html

Barry


----------



## cfellows (Jun 1, 2013)

Lawijt said:


> Here on this website more from Johan van Zanten. It is written in Dutch , but the pictures are beautifull.
> http://www.stoommachine.info/modellen_v_zanten.html
> 
> Barry


 
Wow, looking at the pictures of his crankcase is very reminiscent of mine.  

Chuck


----------



## cfellows (Jun 5, 2013)

The wife is out of town for a week visiting friends, what to do with myself...  :noidea:!  Joking! ;D  Went to the store and stocked up on chips, hamburger fixin's, and ice cream.  Now for some serious shop time.

Back to work on the Fairbanks.  Here's a couple of pictures of the paint job.  I decided to try some auto touch up pain from Autozone.  It's supposed to match standard auto manufacturer colors.







I found a color I like, but am less than pleased with the way it sticks.  You can see in the following picture where a strip along the edge pealed away.






I had considered stripping the whole thing down and starting over with another paint, but instead I'm going to reassemble the engine and touch up where I need to.

I'm also replacing the SHCS that I was using for head bolts with studs and nuts.  I looked high and low for 4-40 all-thread to make the studs and nobody but the local hobby shop carries them... and they were sold out!  I find it amazing that Home Depot and Lowes will sell you a refrigerator or clothes dryer, but don't carry 4-40 all-thread.   :rant:

Since .110" round rod is also difficult to find, I hit on the idea of using nails.  I found some finishing nails in my stash that were just a few thou too big so it's easy enough to trim the ends down and thread them with a 4-40 die.






These are the nails with the heads cut off.  Next, I'll cut them to length and thread both ends.

Chuck


----------



## ddmckee54 (Jun 6, 2013)

Chuck:

It's been my experience that most big box stores won't stock anything under 6-32, and you are lucky to find that.  It's getting hard to even find 4-40 taps at a regular hardware store anymore, let alone anything smaller.

Don


----------



## Lawijt (Jun 6, 2013)

She is still not arrived Chuck , Whaaaaahahahahaha (lol). Nice painting job. I like that dark green.
I hope for you that it holds on tha aluminium , or did you use a primer before painting??

Barry


----------



## cfellows (Jun 6, 2013)

Lawijt said:


> She is still not arrived Chuck , Whaaaaahahahahaha (lol). Nice painting job. I like that dark green.
> I hope for you that it holds on tha aluminium , or did you use a primer before painting??
> 
> Barry


 
Yeah, I used Plastikote filler and primer, but didn't really do any research or tests to see how well the paint and Plastikote work together.  I had to remove some of the Plastikote from surfaces that will remain bare metal and it stuck really well, i.e., wasn't very easy to remove.  On the areas where the paint chipped away, the primer is still there, the paint just came loose from the primer.

Chuck


----------



## cfellows (Jun 6, 2013)

If you have never worked with scale model hex nuts and bolts, you are in for a treat.  It requires the patience of Jobe to get them started and tightened, especially without dropping them.  Makes me appreciate socket head cap screws a lot!  I was fastening the two crankcase halves back together today with 1/8" hex screws.  Failing to find a SHCS the right size to use as a socket, I had spent close to an hour starting and threading in the 8 Hex bolts with two very small screw drivers delicately turning the screws 1 flat at a time.  I was almost finished when it occurred to me that I had not attached the two inner main bearing caps that secure the crankshaft to the top crankcase half.   Crap!   

Needing a faster way to remove the screws and reattach them later, I took a piece of thick walled brass tubing and drove a 1/8" allen wrench into the end about 1/8".






Worked like charm.  The improvised miniature socket let me remove the screws in under a minute and will no doubt let it go back together just as quick!

Chuck


----------

