# Three, Three, Three Projects In One.



## Troutsqueezer (Aug 31, 2010)

Guess you have to be kind of old to remember that commercial, and live in the States. Anyhow...

I started an Upshur Hit and Miss build thread some time ago. It's lost in the archives now and I'm not going to revive it even though I'm still working on it. Instead, I'm going to post progress on three engines I'm building simultaneously. It's fun making a part for one, then making a part for the next, another part for the third and back to the first engine again. Keeps my mind from obsessing over a single build. While I'm waiting for parts or tooling for one engine, I can work on the other two. 

As mentioned, the first engine is the Upshur build which I have referenced to in earlier posts. The second is Elmer's #4 Beam - it's small and cute. Third is Monsieur Bog's Paddleducks, lots of little parts to make for that one and it looks like fun. My wife liked it when she saw a picture so it's as much for her as for me. 

Here is a pic of all three. As you can see, I've got the engine block for the Upshur nearly finished. The cylinder in the foreground is cast iron and is part of the Paddleducks build. The flywheel and base is Elmer's Beam. 







I tried to be fancy with the finish on the cast iron block. I used a Dremel grinding wheel trying for that swirly effect. It took on a different character than what I was shooting for but it looks good enough. 






Close up shot of the flywheel for Elmer's Beam. I had an experimental brass flywheel hanging around but it was too small for the engine. I turned a piece of aluminum to get the desired diameter. The brass adds weight and the aluminum adds size and together they look happy, so it came out well. 






I don't think this will be a build thread per se, as I don't plan on documenting all the steps I take. I'll just post some progress pics from time to time. Thanks for looking guys. 

-Trout


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## bentprop (Aug 31, 2010)

Love that flywheel,Trout,the different materials really make it stand out.
Re the "bogster" block,I hope you didn't do that on the mating surfaces.Could give you some sealing problems :-\.


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## cidrontmg (Aug 31, 2010)

I´ve done a number of such two-metal flywheels, but always with an aluminium hub and bronze/brass rim. An alu rim won´t add much to the inertia of a flywheel, a lead rim would ;D But it wouldn´t look as nice.


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## zeeprogrammer (Aug 31, 2010)

3 nice projects to watch! Yay!



			
				Troutsqueezer  said:
			
		

> Guess you have to be kind of old to remember that commercial, and live in the States.



I remember. 



			
				Troutsqueezer  said:
			
		

> I don't think this will be a build thread per se, as I don't plan on documenting all the steps I take. I'll just post some progress pics from time to time.



Now I'm disappointed.


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## Troutsqueezer (Aug 31, 2010)

bentprop - I've considered the possibility of leakage on any sealing surfaces for the Paddleducks block and will take the necessary steps to avoid that if the problem presents itself but I appreciate the heads up. 

cidrontmg - Elmer stated that any metal could be used for the flywheel so I figured a percentage of brass coupled to some aluminum would offer more momentum than aluminum alone. Don't have any brass nor steel in 2.5" diameter hanging around so had to make do. If anyone wants to send me some large diameter brass, I'm open to it. ;D

Zee - you know how much work it is to document setups for an engine build and I've already done two in the last 9 months. I'll fully document my 50% scale Big Boy locomotive when I get started on that. Besides, I'm no Metal Butcher (where is he, anyway?) I'm lazy this year. More drinking, less documenting. *beer*


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## zeeprogrammer (Sep 8, 2010)

Troutsqueezer  said:
			
		

> I'll just post some progress pics from time to time.



 stickpoke stickpoke

;D


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## Troutsqueezer (Sep 8, 2010)

OK.... I get it! ;D

I am pretty proud of my Upshur Hit-N-Miss cylinder I made last weekend. I'll take a pic tonight.


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## b.lindsey (Sep 8, 2010)

It driving me crazy Trout....I am old enough and grew up here in the States, and I can hear the jingle in my head but can't for the life of me remember the product? Help me out please before i fry my brain... :big:

Bill

BTW...all three projects look great !!


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## Lakc (Sep 8, 2010)

b.lindsey  said:
			
		

> It driving me crazy Trout....I am old enough and grew up here in the States, and I can hear the jingle in my head but can't for the life of me remember the product? Help me out please before i fry my brain... :big:
> 
> Bill
> 
> BTW...all three projects look great !!



It slices, dices, and makes Julienne potatoes. ???


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## rleete (Sep 8, 2010)

It was for a breath mint, b.lindsey. Can't recall the brand, but I remember it well. One of the first commercials I got sick of seeing. It played for weeks and seemed to be on all the time.


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## Troutsqueezer (Sep 8, 2010)

But it wasn't just a breath mint! It was three, three, three mints in one! It's a breath mint! It's a candy mint! Its a... its a...  what was the third one? Must have been a sore throat mint but that doesn't have the right jingle. 

I forget the brand name too but rleete is right, it played so often that 40 years later it's still in my brain (or what's left of it). I think there was a famous set of good- looking triplet gals doing the pitching. It played around the same time as Katie with her Ice Blue Secret commercials.


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## b.lindsey (Sep 8, 2010)

Google to the rescue...maybe.... See if this is what you were referring to...though it was only "two mints in one" instead of three, but hey 40 years will do that to ya. :big:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8zwnXjIjPM[/ame]


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## mklotz (Sep 8, 2010)

Damn, one can find anything on the net...and therein lies the problem. There's a huge number of things that one should never be able to find again.


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## Troutsqueezer (Sep 11, 2010)

Progress is slow but steady. Got the cylinder for the Upshur Hit & Miss made. It's not pushed all the way into the block yet. Need to sand the sleeve down a teeny bit to get a good fit. 






Also made the column for Elmer's Beam. It's going to be a dainty little engine. Still need to round off the tabs and drill a couple of holes.


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## zeeprogrammer (Sep 11, 2010)

Awesome looking cylinder. It's just missing one tiny little thing.
How about a quick description of how you made it? Especially those 'slots' (?) going down the side. I'm particularly interested in knowing how you cleaned them up.

I saw in another thread that you've been at this hobby for just about a year. (Did I get that right?) Your work is pretty amazing. I may need to come out your way for tips and techniques. (That or a flatbed that I can put your shop on.)

Remind me again what your lathe and mill is. I think we have the same X2 mill (HF).


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## Troutsqueezer (Sep 11, 2010)

Gonna make me work, huh Zee? OK, fair enough. I have to type fast because the wife and I are about to take a trip down to the bay area (San Francisco) to look at a Kubota tractor I've had my eye on. Now that's my idea of something fun to do! Been wanting to buy one for twenty years and I may get that chance today. 

For the cylinder, I started with a 1.5" aluminum rod about 5 inches long. I milled the slots first about half the length of the rod. I held it in the vice to do this just as you would squeeze anything in a vice. Rotating it 180 degrees to mill the opposing side was easy because the rod would center itself on the first slot as it rested on the bottom of the vice. You and I have the same mill but I have added the $40 air spring kit and DRO's on all axes. 

From there it went into the lathe and again, mine is the same as yours, complete with crappy tailstock alignment. I ground a bit especially for the grooves. I'll post a pic later today or tomorrow but suffice to say it is kind of a wedge-shaped device. I took it slow and easy, using a weld magnet (what else?) jury rigged with a dial indicator to track the carriage movement as I incremented over .094" from groove to space to groove. If you look close at the pic you can see I was pretty sloppy with that process as some of the fins are thicker than others.  For depth control I cut the first groove to the same depth as the horizontal slots and was lazy for the remaining grooves/slots and put a light behind the workpiece and eyeballed each slot to match the depth of the previous slot. I'm using the terms slot and groove interchangeably here but I am talking about the fins. I knew the depth wasn't a critical dimension. After that I drilled a hole for the piston down the center starting with a .25" drill working my way up to a .5" drill. Then I set the lathe up for boring and bored out to fit the steel sleeve. I went the easy route on the sleeve and ordered the correct size tube from Metals On Line for a mere $2.49 or something like that. I used the sleeve to gauge the bore as I got closer to the finished size. For cleaning up the slots I ran some fine sandpaper between the slots as it turned on the lathe and followed up with Scotchbrite. That did the job as there were few, if any, sharp overhanging edges to clear out. 

I started this hobby around August last year. Have you noticed that when you see parts others have made on this forum that they usually look very nice and everything looks to be precision made? I think it is because of the nature of machining and the close tolerances compared to other hobbies. When I look at the parts you've made, Zee, I think your parts look pretty amazing as I do with most members here. But then, just to put things back into perspective I look at Cedge's website and George B's stuff and other folks' stuff and I realize I've only scratched the paint off the surface.


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## zeeprogrammer (Sep 11, 2010)

Well I thought we had the same lathe and mill (I do have the extension and belt drive...but no DRO).

So...same equipment but far different results! I appreciate your compliment of my work but there's no comparison to your excellent results.

Interesting you have the same tailstock issue. How are you able to get good cylinders/piston fits? Am I off-base to be thinking that I 'must' do something about mine? Or maybe mine is in even more off. I'm hoping it's that I'm just not being precise enough (he says hoping it's an easier problem to take care of than grinding the base of the tailstock). Still, I'm in the process of tweaking/adjusting the lathe anyway.

Thanks for the description of what you did. That helps a lot.

Yes...Cedge and George are in an entirely different class. You look to graduate far sooner than I can hope to for myself. :big:


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## Troutsqueezer (Sep 11, 2010)

I can take my tailstock and even tho it's tightened to the ways, I can twist the darn thing ever so slightly and see it move. So I twist it to align the live center or bit or whatever I have in the tailstock to the center of the workpiece. There is usually a small circle or sliver sticking out from the workpiece after I 've done some facing on it to reference to. I can see Dean and Marv cringing as I write this. :big: But hey, that's what you do with Harbor Freight lathes. Ha. 

I also have a boring head and will bore on the mill for most of my cylinders. 

As for graduating sooner than yourself, I don't think so. You ask the right questions. I just blunder along. Where do you think I've picked up a lot of advice from? Your 65 page threads, my friend. 

-Trout


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## doubletop (Sep 11, 2010)

Oh Damn; so all us new guys have been watching each others threads expecting them to contain good advice?

Just think what we might achieve if we all knew what we were doing? ;D

Pete


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## Troutsqueezer (Sep 11, 2010)

Come to think of it, maybe this is why I've gone to showing the finished parts now instead of documenting the setups. ;D

Good advice and Troutsqueezer posts don't belong in the same sentence unless it's someone giving me the advice.


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## krv3000 (Sep 11, 2010)

I'm still trying to figure out wot end of a hammer to hit things with ;D


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## zeeprogrammer (Sep 11, 2010)

Troutsqueezer  said:
			
		

> I can take my tailstock and even tho it's tightened to the ways, I can twist the darn thing ever so slightly and see it move. So I twist it to align the live center or bit or whatever I have in the tailstock to the center of the workpiece. There is usually a small circle or sliver sticking out from the workpiece after I 've done some facing on it to reference to. I can see Dean and Marv cringing as I write this. :big: But hey, that's what you do with Harbor Freight lathes. Ha.
> 
> I also have a boring head and will bore on the mill for most of my cylinders.



Ah. I've noticed that too. Happy for the confirmation. Interesting...when I posted my reply I wondered if you made your cylinders on the mill. Trouble is the cylinders for the loco are too small. (Marv or someone is going to kick in here and tell me to make a small boring cutter.)



			
				Troutsqueezer  said:
			
		

> I just blunder along.



You blunder well.


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## kustomkb (Sep 12, 2010)

Hey Dennis,

Your parts look great. Can't wait to see the results of these. It's nice to see you go the extra mile to put a super fine finish on your parts.


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## Troutsqueezer (Sep 12, 2010)

Thanks for the compliments guys. The grained finish is easier to put on than the polished finished I did on Elmer's Twin a while back, that's for sure.


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## cfellows (Sep 12, 2010)

Nice work on all these projects, Trout!

Chuck


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## zeeprogrammer (Sep 26, 2010)

Troutsqueezer  said:
			
		

> I'll just post some progress pics from time to time.



Sigh...
stickpoke stickpoke
 ;D


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## mklotz (Sep 26, 2010)

zeeprogrammer  said:
			
		

> Sigh...



Hey, that's my line! 

And make yourself a small boring bar. That's what broken taps are for, don't you know. You'll quickly find that a regular bench grinder is too big for this scale of toolmaking so build a stand for your Dremel like the one I showed a long time ago. 

And Trout, here's a "cringe" for you to go along with the sigh. Learn to get your facing tool on center so you don't have those telltale "pips" to, cringe, manually align your tailstock to.


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## Troutsqueezer (Oct 1, 2010)

Ah, here's that thread, only one page back. Sorry I didn't realize there were three responses since my last post. Guess I need to pay closer attention. 

Thanks Chuck, that means a lot coming from you! 

Zee-ster....had I seen those twin pokes I would have moved quicker... or maybe not... ;D

I don't know, Marv, if learning how to get my facing tool on center is the real problem here. It may have more to do with pure laziness. :-[ "Pips", now there's the terminology I was looking for! That's it...for centering the tailstock, I use the _pip alignment_ method. 

I did get some stuff done whilst obsessing over my tractor. 

On the Paddleducks I made the two gland pieces along with the packing nuts that go with them.

Pretty straightforward, turning the basic shape and threading the hole for the pack nut before parting off completely. 







Also before parting off I screwed in the pack nut and drilled through the whole assembly to ensure the hole was centered, thanks to Bogs for that tip. 






Pretty as a picture. Wait.... it is a picture. 






For the Upshur Hit and Miss crankshaft I cut a piece of drill rod to the correct size and machined the cheeks out of brass because I like the way they look and they are much easier to machine. I think brass will be strong enough for this application. I cut a couple of small pieces of silver solder and placed them around the shaft. I did bevel the brass around the shaft on the outsides of the cheeks to provide a small trench for the solder. 






I intended to solder both pieces of the shaft at the same time but that didn't work out so I ended up soldering just the one joint first. Also, the solder rings were too big causing more solder to leak through to the other side of the joint than desired. That caused me more work on cleanup. Like a DoDo I forgot to add flux the first time I heated it up. Doh! Good thing I caught it before I burned the entire assembly to hell heck. Here it is after proper brazing. 






Task completed, except for cleanup. 






Spiffed out and ready to go. 






I'm almost there! Well....maybe not. 






Till next time, fellow modelers... *bang*


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## zeeprogrammer (Oct 1, 2010)

Ahhhhhhh....the pics are certainly satisfying.

That's a good looking crankshaft! I like the use of brass.
My next project includes this kind of crankshaft so this was very helpful.

How did you take out that piece of rod? I think I'm supposed to know but can't think of it for the life of me.

See? You might not provide build pictures but that doesn't stop us from asking questions.


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## winklmj (Oct 1, 2010)

Looking good.


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## Troutsqueezer (Oct 1, 2010)

Thanks Guys. 

To remove the rod section I mounted the crankshaft in the milling vice and used one of my "steel only" end mills. Those would be the ones that are on the verge of becoming too dull to continue using (as end mills anyway). I made small passes until I had cut thru completely. Then I used the side of the end mill to get close to the cheeks. To get a smoother finish on the inside of the cheeks I used my small bench belt sander, the kind with a 1 inch wide belt, and very carefully touched the brass to it. Had to keep a close eye on that and use a very light touch because that belt sander can take away brass very quickly.


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## Brian Rupnow (Oct 21, 2010)

Troutsqueezer---I'm not sure how I missed this thread, but I'm glad I discovered it. I almost built the Upshur, but decided on the Kerzel instead. I will stay in touch now that I have found it. I have absolutely no idea of how you can work on 3 different engines at the same time. That would drive me crazier than I already am!!!!---And I cut that section of crank out with the bandsaw, then used my parting off tool extended out a ridiculous distance to clean up the finished diameter and face the insides of the throws.


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## Troutsqueezer (Oct 21, 2010)

It's slow going working on three at once. Notice its been three weeks since I last posted to this thread. I'm notoriously slow but I am steady. Almost ready to post the next round.


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## steamer (Oct 22, 2010)

Keep at it Trout....it's coming along fine...

Dave


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## zeeprogrammer (Oct 22, 2010)

Troutsqueezer  said:
			
		

> Notice its been three weeks since I last posted to this thread.



Yep.

Not that I should be pointing fingers (note the use of plural - er - as in I have them).

I'm gasping down around page 4.


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## Troutsqueezer (Oct 22, 2010)

Zee I really think you should start in on the A3. I've been thinking about it ever since 1hand's post and once I start to think about something, often I don't stop until I've completely burned out on it. Just think, a five year long project...small but can pull a couple people around a track...hmmm.... Thm:

How many pages would that build thread be? 

Thanks Dave, I'm still hanging in there. Looking forward to getting the hit and miss to fire up. Right now I'm making the connecting rod for it which is fancier than parts I've made to date for any engine. There's a lot of setup to it, so I'm having a good time.


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## 1hand (Oct 25, 2010)

Troutsqueezer  said:
			
		

> Zee I really think you should start in on the A3. I've been thinking about it ever since 1hand's post and once I start to think about something, often I don't stop until I've completely burned out on it. Just think, a five year long project...small but can pull a couple people around a track...hmmm.... Thm:
> 
> How many pages would that build thread be?



Think ya both should start one, I'm going to need a support group to get through this one! scratch.gif

I can give you guys the tender wheel wheel measurements so you could get started before your book shows up!! :big:

Matt


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## Troutsqueezer (Oct 25, 2010)

I do have to finish these three first, then my engine shelf will be well populated. I was thinking I'd keep an eye on your progress for the next few months to see if it really is something I am equipped to tackle. Plus, I can avoid making the same mistakes you're about to make. :big: Kidding, of course.


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## 1hand (Oct 25, 2010)

I hear ya trout!! Theres a lot of A3 projects over at live steam. I should be able to get a feel for the task from theirs before we tackle it here on the home front.

http://livesteam.proboards.com/index.cgi?

Matt


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## zeeprogrammer (Oct 25, 2010)

stickpoke

Hm...

doesn't look like a boomerang
doesn't smell like a boomerang
doesn't feel like a boomerang

but my back sure hurts.


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## Troutsqueezer (Oct 29, 2010)

What does a boomerang smell like anyway? 

Time for the next update. Maybe past time. Oh wait, I'm in no hurry. 

Every engine needs a piston or two and that goes for the Paddleducks too, so I made a couple. Dainty little things. 







Pistons have to have something to go up and down in so I made the cylinder for Elmer's beam. Zee, I can predict you're gonna ask how I made it...I used the milling machine. :big:






Somehow a piston has to connect to the crankshaft so I made a connecting rod too, for the Upshur. That took a few evenings out in the shed, in the cold shed, that was in the rain. 

First I milled the boss(s) - I guess that's what they're called. Here's the setup. 






Here's the closeup.






Onward to the end that gets the wrist pin. 






All grained and ready to test fit. Where does it go?






Oh, it goes here. It's a little tight between the crankshaft cheeks. I need to mill down the bosses slightly for a looser fit. Also the diameter of the wrist pin end is too large, I may have to mill it down. I'll see how it fits up inside the piston. Another time. 






Then I made a....a....what is this?






Parted it off, whatever it is. Any guesses?






Its a..... its a......steering wheel knob. Goes on my tractor. I discovered I can use my lathe for something other than model engine parts.






Till next time, fellow Earthlings...


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## Maryak (Oct 29, 2010)

Troutsqueezer  said:
			
		

> What does a boomerang smell like anyway?



Depends where its' been before it comes back to you. :

Best Regards
Bob


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## rleete (Oct 29, 2010)

Troutsqueezer  said:
			
		

> I discovered I can use my lathe for something other than model engine parts.



Is that legal?


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## cfellows (Oct 29, 2010)

I like your connecting rod. Nice job.

Chuck


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## Troutsqueezer (Nov 19, 2010)

Posting in general has been kind of slow on this forum lately so I thought I would chip in, even though there's not much to report. With the weather turning colder and rainier now, I expect shop time to pick up. 

I've made several smallish parts for my Elmer's beam engine. This is a dainty little engine and the size of some parts have been a minor challenge to make. I've made more than a few wall parts lately, something I've manage to avoid till now. I haven't taken many pictures but here are a few. 

I made the beam from aluminum. It was straightforward machining and presented no problems. Rather than machine a boss around the center hole which would have required me to set up my RT, I opened the hole to 1/4" and press fit a piece of brass. Easier to do and it will add to the appearance, I think. 











This valve took a couple of tries to get it right. It called for turning a 1/4" brass rod down to 1/16" dia with some 1/8" dia sections in between. At first I set the rod up on the lathe using a live center on one end intending to machine the entire length in one go but when the diameter of the rod thinned out, the part would start climbing up over the cutting tool, bend, then break. I wound up inserting most of the rod into the chuck with only about 3/4" sticking out and I would turn that part to spec then pull the rod out from the chuck a little more and continue the process, eventually making my way to the full length of the valve. I did not part it off from the main rod yet, the idea being to use a collet to mill the square end. 











Valve, piston, support rods are in place now. Crankshaft and eccentric are up next.


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## winklmj (Nov 19, 2010)

Troutsqueezer  said:
			
		

> Then I made a....a....what is this?



We call those "knuckle-busters". The engine is looking real nice.


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## kustomkb (Nov 19, 2010)

Looking good Dennis, nice work.


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## Troutsqueezer (Dec 26, 2010)

This one's done. A couple of minor details to tweak, like the brass stand needs a notch so it can slide under the flywheel area. I think I'll steer away from building engines this small from now on. Some of the parts were so tiny I could hardly manipulate them, much less see them. 

Can't have too many on the ol' shelf, right? This is number four for me. 

Video coming, probably after the first of the year, I have to write the script. 

Thanks for looking. 

-Trout


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## Metal Butcher (Dec 26, 2010)

Mr. Trout, Congratulations on your nearly complete beam engine build! :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:

You kept me in suspense for quite a while! stickpoke

Don't ever do that again! :rant:

Edit. Forgot to say, The engine looks great! ;D

-MB


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## zeeprogrammer (Dec 26, 2010)

Looks great Trout.
I'm looking forward to the video.
Gee I hope it's not another 6 weeks till then. ;D


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## ttrikalin (Dec 26, 2010)

Kudos on the engine, a beauty!

 write the script huh? Can't wait for the video!

take care, 

tom in MA


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## Troutsqueezer (Dec 27, 2010)

Thanks for the compliments guys. 

MB, I've spent so much time following your farm engine thread that it has left me with precious little shop time! ;D

Zeep-ster, now now... you've said before that my videos were worth the wait. You know, it's not easy cutting my avatar out and gluing it on a stick.  :big:  Sorry....couldn't help that...

It's not easy to come up with an entertaining video of a stationary model steam engine...that is, beyond the attraction of the steam engine itself. I'm currently programming my robot to do a happy feet dance, perhaps incorporate that somehow. Maybe I'll glue a certain someone's avatar pic onto the robot's head. There ya go.... ;D

-T


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## zeeprogrammer (Dec 27, 2010)

rats


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## b.lindsey (Dec 27, 2010)

Beautiful work Trout and I like all your personal touches to it also. What did you use for the base? Is that Corian or something similar?

Bill


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## Troutsqueezer (Dec 27, 2010)

Thanks Bill. The base came from a plaque I received from work. There used to be an engraved brass plate on there that said something about thanking me for saving the company $35 million by yada yada yada. I saved them 35 mil and I got a plaque. Well, I found a good use for it anyway. ;D


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## Troutsqueezer (Jun 4, 2011)

This topic is so old and I am so slow at building that I got a warning before I committed to post asking if I'm sure it would be a good idea to reply to something this ancient. That tells me right there I am s-l-o-w..... :big:

Anyway, here's the updated pic on the Upshur. Got a long way to go yet. Did the fuel tank this week. Have to put in the nipple still. Carb is up next. 






With all the queries here lately about whether or not H.F. machinery will cut it - this is all Harbor Freight stuff here.


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## zeeprogrammer (Jul 3, 2011)

Aha! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one. But I'm so slow compared to you...I'm moving backwards.

Most of my stuff is HF too. Goes to show...it's the operator that matters. Nice skills.

That's some beautiful work.


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## cfellows (Jul 3, 2011)

Are you saying it will be an antique before it's finished? Oh, well, it's a beauty! Nice work.

Chuck


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## Troutsqueezer (Jul 4, 2011)

Thanks very much guys. 

Admittedly, I have been distracted by the task of restoring a tractor to like-new condition for the last 9 months, only working on this and other small machining projects in between. Also, I have the tendency to burn myself out on hobbies by doing too much too fast and letting it consume all my free time. I don't want this to be the situation with model engines because I want that hobby to last through much of my retirement years. 

-Trout


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## cfellows (Jul 4, 2011)

Troutsqueezer  said:
			
		

> Thanks very much guys.
> 
> Admittedly, I have been distracted by the task of restoring a tractor to like-new condition for the last 9 months, only working on this and other small machining projects in between. Also, I have the tendency to burn myself out on hobbies by doing too much too fast and letting it consume all my free time. I don't want this to be the situation with model engines because I want that hobby to last through much of my retirement years.
> 
> -Trout



Don't hold out on us, Trout. Let's see some pictures (and video?) of the tractor! 

Chuck


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## lazylathe (Jul 4, 2011)

No matter how long it takes trout, it is beautiful work!!!
 th_wav

Oh yeah... and we also want to see the tractor!!!
 th_wwp

I am in the same boat as you...
I have all the stock to build an engine...
Then i bought the Stuart to restore, now that is done.
Then i get out the plans for the engine and SWMBO says "Let's go to the antique store"
So off we go and i find this 1940's oscillating desk fan!!
Very retro and cool, needs a lot of work though.
So the engine is shelved again as the fan is in pieces...
LMAO!!!

Andrew


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## Troutsqueezer (Jul 4, 2011)

Appreciate the comments Chuck and Andrew. I believe towards the end of this week I'll have that tractor picture worthy. I'll be sure to post a pic. 

-Trout


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## Troutsqueezer (Jul 10, 2011)

Let it be said, so shall it be done: 












Before pic:






-Trout


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