# My build of Brian's double scale beam engine



## kvom (Sep 12, 2008)

I am going to build this during the fall quarter in the school shop. My intention is to deviate from the plans in "bling" aspects while following the critical dimensions. My intended mods include:

- Spoked flywheel
- avoid 90-degree edges (lots of use of rounding bits)
- eliminate visible holes and screws to the extent possible

As Guinevere sings in the musical "Camelot", "I do applaud your noble goals; now let us see if you achieve them." ;D I already have some ideas from Gail's build, and hope to plagiarize more as time goes by.  :bow:

Made a small start by cutting a piece of aluminum from the scrap bin to the approximate dimension of the base, squaring the 4 sides, and flycutting the top:







The flycutter is one I made earler as part of the shop curriculum.


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## Divided He ad (Sep 12, 2008)

Well you got me hooked Kirk, 

I like to see what people come up with when they intend to alter the plan. Personally my favourite kind of build as you may have seen? Is the type where you change the aesthetics but keep the heart of the plan ;D ( I am crap at rigidly following the plan!) 


Keep us informed, 



Ralph.


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## kvom (Sep 17, 2008)

I had a couple of hours during class to make some minor progress. I experiemented with rounding the edges on the base with a 1/16" corner rounding mill. The results weren't too bad, although the rounding is not all that obvious. I plan to see how the 1/8" mill works next time out.

I also was able to cut off a slice of 5" A2 tool steel for the flywheel (it was the only piece of round bar with the right diameter). Using reversed jaws on the chuck and a carbide cutter at low speed, I was able to face both sides to .400" thickness (will turn to final .375 later) and then bored & reamed the .500" center hole. I can't say that the finish is very good, but as I will be cutting away a good portion to make the spokes it shouldn't matter too much. I plan to use the chemical blackener on the wheel once it's machined, and may try the surface grinder on the sides of the rim for some bling. I am going to play with Marv's flywheel program and try different dimensions for the spokes.


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## kvom (Oct 8, 2008)

I started on the flywheel last night at school. The goal is a 6-spoke version with a 1" radius hub and a .25" radius rim. Previously I had faced the blank on both sides on the lathe.

My first task was getting the big Yausa rotary table mounted on the milling table and then getting it centered under the spindle. As this was my first time it took quite a while to get the DTI set up and the table positioned.

I then centered the blank on the table by use of a 1/2" end mill in the spindle passing through the 1/2" reamed hole in the center of the blank. Then I needed to clamp it to the table, also a new experience. The t-nuts for the rotary are smaller than those for the milling table, so it took a while before I got it set up securely.

I then milled out the space between the hub and the rim 1/8" deep using a 2-flute 1/2" end mill. As the blank is A2 steel this was not a particularly fast process, making lots of nice blue chips. Turned the blank over, reclamped, and did the same on the other side.

Next I needed to drill the holes next to the rim that define the spokes. Since drilling into the rotary table would be frowned upon, I found a round piece of aluminum in the scrap box, and reclamped the wheel on top of it onto the table. I then center drilled and drilled 1/4" holes around the rim.

By then it was time to clean up for the night. I am able to leave the setup, so on Thursday I can resume where I left off. I need to drill the 12 holes around the rim, and then trepan out the material around the spokes with an end mill. Once I do that I can clamp the spokes and clean up the edge of the wheel.

I hope to take some pics next time.


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## kvom (Oct 10, 2008)

I managed to rough out the flywheel last night. First drilled the holes defining the spoke boundaries:






Holes are 1/4". Then used a 1/4" 4-flute end mill to trepan the material between:






Given the hardness of the A2 material and the need to make 18 separate cuts, cranking the mill's handle was pretty time-consuming. Aluminum would have gone a lot faster 

Next time out I'll clean up the edges of the spoked with a corner rounding mill and start on another part.

As this was my first time using the rotab, I found it a good learning experience. There are quite a few of the other parts that will use the rotab as well. Luckily there are no other students using the mills this quarter, so that I can leave setups between classes.


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## kustomkb (Oct 10, 2008)

First time with a rotary  Looks great!
If I can make a suggestion; I think the step blocks should be moved closer to the back of the clamps so the clamping force is more on the part and less on the blocks, but the part turned out great in tough material so I guess I should shut up now


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## wareagle (Oct 10, 2008)

Looks great! Nice job!


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## CrewCab (Oct 10, 2008)

Looking good  8)



			
				kvom  said:
			
		

> there are no other students using the mills this quarter



Useful that you can leave your set up's etc but, it's a sad reflection on education imho

CC


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## Divided He ad (Oct 10, 2008)

I really got to try that flywheel spokes thingy ;D Looks pretty damn good from where I'm sitting ;D


Well I'm off out to see what I can do in my little shop, not necessarily a flywheel but making some chips all the same ;D 


Ralph.


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## Philjoe5 (Oct 14, 2008)

That's a great looking flywheel :bow: Keep us posted,

Cheers,
Phil


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## kvom (Oct 15, 2008)

This time I tried to make a finish cut on the outer rim. This was hard to do on the rotary as the rotary table slots weren't close enough to the center to enable me to clamp the wheel on the inside of the rim.

So my instructor suggested the following setup on the lathe:






I spaced the inner side of the wheel away from the jaws using 1/8" thick parallels, meaning that the jaws were contacting only 2/3 of the inner rim. I use the live center as a safety measure in case the wheel would come loose from the jaws (wheel has .50 center hole), and made only .01" cuts at a time until the perimeter was round..

The material is A2 tool steel, which I used becasue the school had a 5" diameter rod. Did the cuts at 170 rpm with a carbide cutter. I hand fed the carriage until the final pass, where I used the machine feed at .002/revolution, getting a nice final finish.

This material has a tendency to create burrs for every cut, so I have quite a bit of filing to do.

I tried out the 1/8" corner rounding mill on the top of my aluminum base plate. I do like the radius better than the 1/16", but these bits are finicky to position. I will need to calculate the bit's "compensation" in the XY and Z directions and use very careful indications for every setup in order to get a proper result. Last night I was working on a mill with no DRO, and being tired decided to pack it in until a mill with DRO is freed up (the other people were using the mills to finish their CXA toolholders, the first project that the beginning classes make).

On Thursday I intend to start on the beam. I was looking in the scrap bin for a suitable piece of aluminum when I chanced upon a piece of CRS that had exactly the dimensions called for (6 x 1 x .5). I will drill the holes on a mill with a vise, and then finish it on the rotary table.


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## kvom (Oct 17, 2008)

This time I started on the beam. I learned a lot on how not to machine it, and after 4.5 hours of work was still not finished. I started by drilling the center and end holes, plus three more on each arm for "bling". I had calculated the angle of the taper (5.7 degrees) and then calculated the drill sizes for each hole so that the sizes would taper at the same rate. What I didn't realize is that the spacing should also be proportional so that the distance between each hole's edge would be the same.

I decided to leave the middle hole of the three at 1/4". It won't look as good, but drilling it out larger might be worse.

Afterwards I clamped the bar on the rotab:






In theory to mill the tapers, I needed to tram the edges parallel to the x-axis using a DTI, the rotate the table 5.7 degrees. Since I hadn't milled the edges of the bar, tramming took a lot longer than it should. I finally got it to .008" in 3".

The mill doesn't have a table drive, so I had to crank it quite a few times. Because of the clamps, I could cut only two of the tapers this way.

By the time I finished this a mill with a vise and table drive was open, so I cut the other two tapers using the vise and angle blocks. Much, much faster.

Then it was back to the table to cut out the center hubs:






What's left is to reduce the arms and round off the ends.

I imagine this part should be able to be completed in 2 hours or so, not the 5-6 hours it will end up taking me. Were I to make it again, I would:

1) drill the holes
2) Mount on the rotab and mill the center hub
3) Back to the vise/angle bars to mill the tapers
4) Back to the rotab to round the ends
5) Mill the arms to final thickness.

Aluminum would be easier as well, as milling steel leaves a lot of burrs on every edge requiring filing.

Using the rotab takes a bit of patience. Every time you need to reclamp it's necessary to change out mill/collet for a drill/collet to align the part with the center of the table, clamp it down, then change back to the mill. This part would require a minimum of 4 changes.


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## kvom (Oct 22, 2008)

I managed to finish milling the arms of the beam to final thickness, and did a bit of filing on the resulting burrs.

I decided to try to make the two valve levers, using a slice of the mystery bronze rod that Cedge gave me when I visited a while back. The rod is 2" in diameter, so in theory I should be able to cut both levers from one piece.

I put the rod in the lathe and faced off the saw cut, then turned down about one inch to get an even disk. The material seemed to tear a fair amount, and the finish was only so-so. It might need a higher speed (lathe was at 520 rpm).

I cut off a slice about 3/8" thick, then mounted it on the rotary table and used an end mill to try to take it down to .25". Again the material tends to smear, sort of like the experience Brian had with his copper base. With such a small piece I needed to reclamp several times to cover the entire surface. 

I then drilled the shaft hole, centered it on the rotab, and formed the hub. Again lots of burrs and smearing. I did drill the other .25" holes, but ran out of time before trying to finish the final form.

I have a piece of .25" thick brass plate, so next time I'm going to make the simpler 2-hole lever from it. Assuming it machines better I'll likely start over on the 3-hole lever using that material, and save the bronze for something later.


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## kvom (Oct 24, 2008)

I somehow managed to get one simple part mostly done in only 5 hours:






Started with a strip of .25" thick 360 brass, squared on three edges, and then drilled the holes leaving enough material on each end to clamp on the rotary. Then for some reason. when cutting the round "relief" around the larger hole, it ended up off center. I guessed that somehow the rotab zero had shifted or the DRO coords had gotten changed. Put on the DTI and indicated the table again: showed dead on. Very confusing.

Back to the vise to cut another piece to try again. Reclamped, centered, and turned the mill around the hole with the motor off. Definitely still off center. Total confusion.

I had been using a piece of aluminum under the brass for clamping, and so switched to a piece of steel. This time it stayed centered. So the only thing I can figure is that the aluminum somehow how moved under the clamps or the pressure of the tool.

After getting the rounded ends cut out I needed to cut the side angles, which are about 5.25 degrees. I had to used the 5 degree angle block, so the sides didn't come out perfectly.  The material is much thinner than the angle block, so had to exercise a bit of ingenuity to get it clamped in the vise properly. A bit of filing and polishing should get it close (did some after taking the pic, so it looks better now than then).

It's a good thing I don't have to charge myself an hourly rate making these parts. : I'm hoping that the 2-lobed lever can be done with less effort next week.

The brass machines a lot better than the bronze I tried last time.


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## Brian Rupnow (Oct 24, 2008)

Kvom--You're doing great. I'm enjoying seeing somebody else build "my engine". Those little brass peices can drive you nuts!!---Brian


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## kvom (Oct 29, 2008)

Last night I managed to rough out the other lever. It still needs to be drilled and tapped for the setscrew, plus have the tooling marks polished out.






Although the edge profile is a little off, the hole positions are accurate to the plan, which is the important part.

Doing the rounding bits on the big rotab with big clamps is very tedious. I believe that a "rounding table", similar to what has been shown on other threads, would have made this type of work go a lot faster. I'm inclined to believe that making this part at Elmer's original scale would have meant a lit of work with a file instead of milling everything. maybe I'm wreong about that.

The mills with vises are being used for a few weeks, so as I had some time left I decided to start on the eccentric on the lathe afterwards. I turned some 12L14 stock down to the diameters for the non-eccentric portions, intending to turn the eccentric disk by offsetting the bar using a 4-jaw chuck. This would be done next time. I haven't tried to use a 4-jaw as yet, so it would be a good learning experience. That said, I think there might be better ways to go about this.

I'm now remembering Gail's approach of turning the eccentric disk separately and attaching it via pins or screws. That would also allow a retaining outside rim to keep the rod assembly from working its way off.


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## wareagle (Oct 30, 2008)

kvom, your project looks great and things look to be coming along real nicely.


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## kvom (Nov 5, 2008)

Yesterday I continued to try to make more brass "fiddly bits". I succeeded mainly in making scraps, but I did learn something very useful.

I cut two strips of brass from a .25" thick piece of brass wanting to make the straps that connect the levers to the beam. The plans call for them to be .06" thick, posing a problem on how to machine to this thickness.  I thought I would need to clamp these to the mill table and machine them in a couple of passes, but the instructor introduced me to the concept of soft jaws for the Kurt vise.

So I removed the two steel jaws and bolted in the aluminum ones. Then I clamped a 1/8" parallel between them and machined a slot 1/4" wide and .05 deep centered on the gap. With the parallel removed I could clamp the strips within the resulting notch. Worked a charm. I will take some pics during the next session. The design of the Kurt vise makes mounting these jaws fairly easy. To do the same on my Bridgeport vise will be a bit more difficult as the hard jaws are attached with threaded hole from the rear.

Although I succeeded making nicely machined thin strips I found that I should have machined the end radii beforehand, as the strips bent when I attempted it afterwards.


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## mklotz (Nov 5, 2008)

> To do the same on my Bridgeport vise will be a bit more difficult as the hard jaws are attached with threaded hole from the rear.



Although more convenient, there's no reason that soft jaws have to be attached to the vise. I have a collection of 1/4" thick aluminum "parallels" with various steps machined into them that serve as removable soft jaws.



> Although I succeeded making nicely machined thin strips I found that I should have machined the end radii beforehand, as the strips bent when I attempted it afterwards.



Instead of machining the radii, (rotary) file or sand them. You might want to take a look at my rounding over jig built for this purpose.

http://www.schsm.com/html/marv_klotz_38.html


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## kvom (Nov 5, 2008)

Good points as always, Marv.

A rounding jig is clearly more convenient for these parts than a rotab, and I will likely try to build one when my home shop is operational. Since the brass is .25" thick and I have a .125" corner rounding bit, it's quick quick for me to use in this situation.

I don't own a rotary file; need to look for one I guess.


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## Brass_Machine (Nov 5, 2008)

Waiting for more pictures. I am thinking of trying to build this one.

Eric


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## kvom (Nov 7, 2008)

Better luck last night with the valve linkage arms. I cut a strip of brass 4" long and about .5" wide from a piece of .25" thick brass on the bandsaw. After milling the two sides parallel and to final length, I used the corner rounding bit to form the profiles on each end. Note the soft jaws in the vise.







Next I center drilled, then drilled the through holes. Then *carefully* sliced the piece down the middle on the bandsaw:






Now reclamp each and mill down to final .063" thickness:






Flush with success, I decided to move on to the piston rod guide. Cut a similar size brass piece (4" x .5" x.25) and milled it down to 4 x .375 x .25. Then I center drilled each end with a tiny size 0 drill. On to the lathe where I made this setup:






With very small cuts @ 500 rpm I turned the center down to .25" diameter, leaving oblong sections on each end to facilitate clamping. Then back to the mill to drill the holes:






I'll finish the end profile on the rotab, but leave the bit on the other end until final assembly in case some further milling is necessary.

It's nice to know that I can make .25" brass rod from bar stock if needed.


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## kvom (Nov 14, 2008)

Spent the past two evening classes making the column. I might have gone overboard on "bling" but I wanted to try some different techniques. 6061 Al:


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## Maryak (Nov 14, 2008)

Kvom,

That is one very good looking column. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Regards
Bob


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## wareagle (Nov 14, 2008)

kvom, if you have learned enough to do a column that looks like that, I say you are getting your money's worth and then some out of your class!! That thing is smokin'!!! :bow:


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## CrewCab (Nov 14, 2008)

Kvom .............. 8) .............. nice work feller  :bow:

CC


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## Divided He ad (Nov 14, 2008)

Well that there is one nice piece of work :bow:  8) 

I like your style Kvom ;D 




Ralph.


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## Paolo (Nov 14, 2008)

Nice Idea!!! It seams to upgrade the project.... :bow:
Paolo


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## kvom (Nov 19, 2008)

This time I worked on the large/small ends of the eccentric rod:






The large end was mainly made on the rotab. This time I had a 4"x4" piece of .25" brass, and rather than cut out a blank for the piece, I used the entire piece so as to have lots of room for clamping. I used a small center drill to mark the center point of the hole and used this as a reference to center it on the rotab. The brass was then clamped to a sacrificial piece of Al.

I had calculated that the angle formed by the sides and the axis is 25.25 degrees, so having positioned a .25" endmill to cut the radius, I turned the outside curve over an angle of 230.5 degrees. once the curved portion was cut through into the Al, I drilled and reamed the .75" hole. Then having turned the rotab to the ends of the curve, I could use the table axis to cut the straight portions. These I did not cut all the way through, leaving about 1/16". I then cut through this kerf on the bandsaw and then finished milling the straight portion and threading the rod hole clamped in the vise.

The smaller end is pretty straightforward, although milling the blank to the proper dimensions is tedious. I don't have a rounding table, so I will probably just file the end radius once I have the threaded connecting rod to use as a handle.


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## Brian Rupnow (Nov 19, 2008)

Very nice work Kvom. When I built my first one for the beam engine, I bored the hole and chopped out everything else with the bandsaw, then filed it to shape.---Brian


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## kvom (Nov 26, 2008)

Last week I made a nice piece of scrap, trying to mill the cylinder cap on a too small piece of metal. So yesterday I decided to start on the cylinder, thinking that once it's done I can use it to ensure that the cap fits properly.

The instructor furnished me with a bar of brass of "unknown ancestry", saying that it had been in the school storeroom for many years. The bar has a cross section of 1x2" and was about 8" long, quite heavy, and with a dark brown surface patina. I cut off a piece with the bandsaw, and it is considerably harder than 360 brass. In any case, once milled it has a nice yellow-orange color very close to 10K gold. One person in the shop opined that it might be beryillium-copper.

I machined a piece down to 1x1x3.5". The metal seems to like low speed (500 rpm) and small cuts with a 4-flute 1/2" mill. Any more and it gets hot and throws off dark orange swarf. 

I then center-drilled each end and took it to the lathe to turn between centers in order to form the round end. I decided to leave this end at 3/4" diameter. Here again I turned it at 520 rpm and took small cuts.

Back to the mill to drill the cylinder bore. I set the mill's quill stop for a 2.25" depth, as the piece is longer than the plan's dimension, and I plan to mill some off the top at the end. Started with a 1/4" drill, then 31/64, and finally a 1/2" reamer. Even with lots of cutting oil it needed a lot of pressure to ream the hole. Finally I tried to square the bottom of the bore with a 1/2" 2-flute mill, but even with a lot of pressure on the spindle handle it's still not flat. I wonder if that matters (anyone?).

Next week I should be able to drill the valve bore and the other holes, and make a start on the cap.


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## kustomkb (Nov 26, 2008)

Looking great!

especially the column. Progressing very well. Engine and skills!


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## Brian Rupnow (Nov 26, 2008)

Nice stuff Kvom!!! Now I'm mad :'( :'(---your column is nicer than my column----Brian


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## kvom (Dec 3, 2008)

I finished the cylinder last night. Tried a recommended technique for drilling the valve bore. If I chucked the drill for the full depth there would not have been much of the drill shaft in the chuck jaws with corresponpondimng lack of rigidity. So I chucked normally and drilled about half depth. Then I lowered the knee .7" to clear, chucked the drill on the end, positioned it over the hole, and raised the knee. Now the drill was guided by the hole and I could finish to depth. A bit extra work, but the hole is likely to be straighter than it might be otherwise. Finshed off with a .25" reamer, then drilled the cross holes.

I started on the cylinder cap but didn't have time to finish. I turned the part that mates to the cylinder bore on the rotab (tedious) and could have done it much faster on the lathe, in retrospect.

We have only two more sessions of class before the break, so I won't finish the engine at school. Hopefully I will have my mill working at home next week and can make some progress here.


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## kvom (Dec 5, 2008)

Third try at making the cylinder head succeeded.

I took a slice of the "silver brass" 2" rod that Cedge gave me, mounted it on the rotab, and turned down the round portion. In retrospect this could have been done faster on the lathe, but the finish was definitely better than what I attained when trying to turn it earlier.

Then over to the mill to machine two parallel surfaces for clamping and to establish a reference for drilling the holes:






I then machined the sides square. On each side I first used a 3/8' roughing mill that I was given recently; definitely a plus in removing material quicker. I did discover that clamping the sides resulted in distorting the holes slightly, so to do it again it would be preferable to drill after the milling is done. In any case, I redrilled and re-reamed the pushrod hole.

Mounted on the cylinder:






My first "assembly". Needs a bit of filing yet, as well as lapping the hole for the pushrod.

I like the color contrast between the various types of brass I'm using.


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## CrewCab (Dec 5, 2008)

Looking good kvom ............. and from the sound of things you should be up and running at home shortly so, as you say, things will progress quicker ............... great thread, keep it coming 8)

CC


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## kvom (Dec 9, 2008)

A couple of more fiddly bits tonight. Made the piston rod end and then the inner half of the eccentric. I'm making the eccentric in two pieces like Gail showed. The first try I found a piece of stainless steel and messed it up trying to drill the setscrew hole. Went back to CRS with better results.

Compared to Brian I feel glacial.


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## kvom (Dec 19, 2008)

I made up an Excel spreadsheet listing all the parts in the plans and marking those I still need to make. Looks as if I'm about 75-80% of the way done, given that three of the parts are just the rods.

Looking for advice on assembly.

I'm thinking that in cases where the plan shows "sliding fit" but is supposed to be secure (e.g., the two rods forming the crankshaft), I should be able to make these a press fit. If I ream a .25" hole then a .25" piece of drill rod pressed into the hole should be a pretty tight fit and not really need to be soldered. Am I all wet here?

For rods that need to rotate within holes, is it "OK" to ream the hole with the next size reamer, which would generally give around .003" clearance? Or is that too loose?

Assuming I'm not in left field with these ideas then I ought to be able to avoid solder and loctite almost everywhere.


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## rleete (Dec 19, 2008)

Three thou is a bit loose, but it will work. I'd try to get it closer, though.


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## Brian Rupnow (Dec 19, 2008)

kvom  said:
			
		

> I made up an Excel spreadsheet listing all the parts in the plans and marking those I still need to make. Looks as if I'm about 75-80% of the way done, given that three of the parts are just the rods.
> 
> Looking for advice on assembly.
> 
> ...



Kvom--I soldered the crankshaft on mine.--That being said, probably a hard press fit will do.---I'm more comfortable with soldering than I am machining to "press fit" tolerances. ;D ;D I have a set of "on size" reamers. I find that stock peices of round cold rolled steel are always just a half thou. or so undersized, so that works fine for bearing surfaces. I think I read somewhere that drill rod was slightly oversized, but I'm not certain.---Brian


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## kvom (Jan 7, 2009)

First night back in the school shop. I finished the 2nd piece of the eccentric, with the offset hole and an outer rim similar to what Gail did. I'm undecided about how to attach the two pieces, although a small capscrew seems the most logical. The inner piece is not as tight a fit to the flywheel as I would like, so it looks as if I will need to use locktite there.

Then I started on the valve, and made a piece of scrap after 2 hours by turning it undersize. Started a second piece and after some "rough" turning realized that the two valve rounds are further apart than the drawing by .015". Maybe Brian or someone can tell me if this is a critical dimension. If not I can continue on tomorrow, or else start on V3.

Lucky for me the school has about 100' of 1/2" brass rod available, or this could be an expensive lesson.  8)

I'm also coming to the conclusion that trying to make precision parts on the lathe when you're tired and your feet hurt is counterproductive. I'm thinking that when I fubar a part, I should start making a different part before trying to correct the mistake the next time.


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## Brian Rupnow (Jan 7, 2009)

Kvom--I don't know how critical that will be. At this point I would take a "try it and see" attitude. Its easy enough to replace later if you gave to.---Brian


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## kvom (Jan 8, 2009)

I made the piston tonight. Since I had the cylinder already, I was able to trial fit while still on the lathe. Fit seems good prior to any lapping or run-in. I may have printed an old version of the plan as it shows the center hole thread as 2-64. Since the piston rod is 1/8", I went with 6-32 as I have that tap/die combination.

My attempt to salvage the valve was a failure, as it broke when I was turning down the inner shaft. I think for V3 I will fabricate it from 1/8" drill rod and three separate brass pieces threaded on.

I also cut a piece of brass for the crankshaft, and I am going to try this as the the first piece I make in the home shop.


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## kvom (Jan 23, 2009)

I finally had the chance for a "work" session on the new shop, and decided to attempt the valve once again.

I had 3' of 1/4" drill rod from Enco, so my plan is to make the two valves from this and connect them and the top piece with 1/8" brass rod. So after 2 hours or so of trial and error I finally had the first valve.  ???

Things started off smoothly. I cut of about 3" of drill rod with a hacksaw and chucked on the lathe with the rubberflex collet system. I made a clean facing cut, center drilled the end, and then drilled about 1.5" into the rod with a #38 drill. Then tapped the hole 5-40.

My next move was to try parting off about .4", but when the parting tool was just a few thousand into the rod the rod snapped off at the chuck. Seems even very slow cross feed put too much strain on the rod.  :'( Now I am wondering if I could have parted this with the end supported by the live center. That's an experiment for this afternoon.

My next though was to try to chuck a .5" length of rod, drill & tap, then face to length. My 6-jaw chuck wouldn't close far enough, and the collet chuck couldn't grip a piece that small.

Next try: put a .5" piece in a 5c collet mounted in a hex collet block, and clamp the collet block in the 6-jaw. This probably would have worked OK, but I didn't have the "pin spanner" needed to tighten the collet enough.

Final try was to chuck a 2" piece in the jacobs collet, drill & tap as before, then cut off .5" with the hacksaw. Now I could mount the .5" piece in the 5c collet and use the cam closer on the collet block. I put the collet block on the mill vise and used an end mill to reduce to size.

So 2 hours later I had made one tiny part. But I did learn things about the new-to-me lathe.

On the shopping list: 

small drill chuck with MT2 shank
pin spanner for closing collet blocks


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## Brian Rupnow (Jan 23, 2009)

Isn't learming wonderfull!!! Come on guy, I'm anxious to see that puppy run.---Brian


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## kvom (Jan 23, 2009)

Continuing on the learning curve, I made the second valve and connected the two with a piece of 1/8" drill rod threaded on both ends. Although I drilled and tapped on the lathe, the two pieces are not precisely straight, so I figured they would not work smoothly in the valve bore.

Back to the lathe to turn both valves and the connecting rod from a single length of 1/4" rod. Took a couple of tries for various reasons, but the last version looks as if it might work. At least I'm getting faster on the re-dos.

Added a new hacksaw blade to the shopping list.


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## ksouers (Jan 23, 2009)

Pictures! We need pictures!

Betcha the bandsaw repairs just moved up a few spots on the to-do list...



Kevin


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## kvom (Jan 23, 2009)

Waiting for my camera to be repaired. 

Since the shop is still a work in progress I can't really move a lot more stuff inside until the inspections pass. So I am working out of a rolling tool cart. I don't want to take the bandsaw apart until after the inspection. Anyway, cutting 1/4" drill rod is probably just as easy with the hacksaw.


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## kvom (Jan 25, 2009)

I just read ozzie46's thread on building this engine at Elmer's scale. He's a better man than I. He did post a copy of Elmer's plans, which I had not looked at previously. Reading it answered some questions I had about how the valves worked and how one would set the corresponding positions of the valves, eccentric, and piston to make it run.

I also discovered that the cross-drilled valve inlets need to be plugged at the outside of the cylinder, a fact that is logical in hindsight but was not to a newbie such as myself.

So I would recommend that anyone contemplating this version also get Elmer's plans.


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## kvom (Jan 27, 2009)

Went to class tonight and machined the crankshaft part on the rotab. I think I will try a press fit on the rods and/or loctite before trying any silver solder. I also got to regrind my HSS lathe bits with a lot more side relief, which will hopefully allow me to finishing turning the valve, version #5. As originally ground , I couldn't get the tool in close to the Jacobs collet without hitting the chuck.

I'm about ready to start fitting the various pieces together. The only big piece left are the support legs for the flywheel, once I come up with a design I like. I still need to drill mounting holes in the base.


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## rake60 (Jan 27, 2009)

Hummmmm

Is that camera fixed yet?

....... How about now? 

Looking forward to pictures!

Rick


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## kvom (Jan 28, 2009)

The camera shop quoted $400 to repair the Fuji S3, clearly too much to pay to fix a camera that sells used on eBay for around the same amount. Since the problem was with the battery power circuit, I tried it with the AC power adapter, and it does work in that mode. So for taking pics of models it is fine.

Anyway, here are the parts I've made to date. Not much to look at for 6 months effort. Still, 4 types of brass, 4 types of steel, and some aluminum.


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## Shopguy (Jan 28, 2009)

It's not like you've had a few other things on the go at the same time. Progress is progress. Your engine is coming along just fine and looking good. 
Regards
Ernie J


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## Maryak (Jan 28, 2009)

Very nice work. :bow:

Best Regards
Bob


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## deere_x475guy (Jan 28, 2009)

kvom, thanks for the great walk though. I have just read it start to finish, I wouldn't be concerned on the amount of time spent. It's what you get out of it that counts.


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## ksouers (Jan 28, 2009)

kvom,
I didn't realize just how much you've done until you laid it all out like that. That's quite a bit considering you were also building a shop and could only work on it during school hours.

However, now you get to finish it up in your own shop ;D


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## brian99s (Jan 29, 2009)

kvom,

Excellent work. You have inspired me to build Brians Beam Engine. Also, thanks for your excellent detail you provide on your post. I am new to machining and you process notes are very helpful! I just bought an 8" rotab so I guess I will start with the flywheel this weekend.


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## Brian Rupnow (Jan 29, 2009)

Brian99s---I hope you enjoy building the engine. It is a smooth runner, and gets a lot of attention.---Brian


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## kvom (Jan 29, 2009)

I made the flywheel support tonight. Rather than 1 piece I made each support from a separate piece of aluminun that I will bolt to the base from below. 

I also made the guide rod support with a little more bling than just a straight rod. I am going to use the top as the guinea pig for cutting threads on my 10ee.

Also finished drill/ream of through holes on the crankshaft. I need to see how a press fit of the drill rod pieces will go. I bought a small arbor press from Enco, so we'll see if it is up to the job.


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## kvom (Jan 31, 2009)

Some minor progress this afternoon after a couple of hours in the shop.






On the left are the flywheel support arms I made on thursday. 

Today I made the piston rod. It's not very exciting, but it gave me the change to try out the threading capability on the 10ee. I had previously tapped the piston for 6-32, not having a 5-40 tap. However, 5-40 is really the best thread for 1/8" rod. So first I threaded the piston end 6-40, first cutting partial threads on the lathe, and then finishing with the die. Doing it this way helps ensure that the die cuts straight along the rod. I then repeated the process on the other end for 5-40. Next time in the shop I'll attempt to make the piston rod end. I also used some fine emery cloth to "lap" the piston rod on the lathe, using the cylinder head as a check for fit. After a fair amount of polishing I have gotten a nice sliding fit through the head.

Having managed somehow to make a partial valve body and failing several times to turn a complete one, I drilled and tapped the end 5-40, threaded the end of a peice of 1/8" brass rod to fit. I'll cut the rod to length and thread it, then make the end of valve at the same time as the piston end.

I also learned that it is better to ream the cylinder and valve bores AFTER cross drilling, as the drilling results in burrs in the bores. I will need to re-ream them to clear the burrs before trying to fit the valve and piston.


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## kvom (Feb 2, 2009)

I had some shop time this afternoon as it's raining lightly outside.

Further exploring threading on the lathe, I cut ~7" of 3/16 drill rod to make the eccentric rod, chucked it, and cut partial 24 tpi threads in each end. I then finished the threads with a 10-24 die, using the partial threads to start the die straight on the rod. The rod is longer than shown in the plan, but I will be able to cut to fit as there are extra threads on each end.







I also did the same to make 10-24 threads on the top end of the piston guide support.

Unfortunately I had an "oops" as I began to drill the base. My "bling" column's base is wider than spec, and I had made the base wider as well. Unfortunately I failed to take that into consideration and drilled the holes too close to the edge. So I will have to make a new base tomorrow night at school.


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## kvom (Feb 5, 2009)

Had a few minutes to "trial fit" the parts that attach to the base:






Everything is fastened to the base from underneath with screws, as opposed to from the side as in Elmer's design. Since the bearing supports are two pieces I will need to deviate from the plan in terms of where to mount them. Basically the center of the bearing hole needs to be vertically aligned with the hole at the end of the beam when the beam is level.

The valve levers will be in pockets milled into the base rather than to the sides, as I am keeping the base rectangular for "esthetic" purposes.


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## kvom (Feb 6, 2009)

Had a session in the shop this afternoon making the connecting rod parts. 






I turned the end and rod from a single piece of .5" round brass bar. I cut the partial 10-24 threads on the lathe, then used a die to finish them. Then I clamped the rod in a 5c collet with the square collet block, mounted in the milling vise, and milled the flats on opposite sides of the end. Then drilled the hole for the crankshft.

Not having any square brass bar for the clevis I again used the .5" round rod. Cut a length with the hacksaw, faced both ends on the lathe, and then clamped in the collet block on the mill. I used a 1/4" end mill to create the slot, and then drilled the holes for connecting to the beam.

Back to the lathe to drill and tap the through hole for mounting to the connecting rod.

I believe that I have only the top bit of the valve to make, and then it's a matter of putting it all together.

I got my Enco delivery today with boxes of 5-40 pocket head machine screws and 5-40 set screws, so I will have a number of holes yet to drill and/or tap.


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## kvom (Feb 7, 2009)

I had a couple of hours last night to work in the shop. The first task was to remake the piston rod end so that the connection to the rod would be a 5-40 thread to match the rod. Then it was on to fitting the valve and piston in the bores of the cylinder.

The piston already fit fairly well, so I mainly had to clean up internal burrs in the bore from the inlet holes. A little touchup from a needle file and some spindle oil lets the piston slide up and down pretty well. I think that when it's all together running it with a drill, as Brian did, will polish the bore pretty well.

The valves were a much tighter fit, and as well there were burrs from the holes. I ran the 1/4" reamer down the bore once more to clean things up. Then I "polished" the valve rounds with some fine emery cloth and Scotchbrite until they would enter the bore. The fit is still sticky, but I'm going to try the toothpaste lapping technique next.

I'm wondering what is the best way to plug the air holes on the outside of the cylinder. I don't want to do that right away as leaving them open will make the "tuning" easier as then I can see the position of the valves during operation. If I solder the holes shut then I will likely need to ream off the excess in the bore as well as mill the outside of the cylinder block.

I also need to figure out how to construct and attach the air feed tube. I'm thinking that I can thread the hole. If I screw in the feed tube after the valves are in place it won't hurt if if extends a little bit into the valve bore.


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## Brian Rupnow (Feb 7, 2009)

kvom---When I built mine I made little brass plugs and soldered them into the outside of the cylinder to plug those holes, and I soldered the air inlet in place. When I went to test run the machine, I just played with the valve timing untill I got lucky and it ran.---Brian


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## kvom (Feb 7, 2009)

I did a bit more lapping of the valve bore this afternoon. It's not quite there but getting smoother. Most of the interference seems to be at the bottom.

I then decided to put together my 2-piece eccentric. I built it this way for two reasons:

1) To mill a retaining flange to keep the eccentric strap from "walking", and

2) I didn't have a lot of confidence in turning a 1-piece on the 4-jaw.

So I had two pieces, each with a 1/4' reamed hole. I needed to be able to screw the two together with a 5-40x1/2" capscrew. In order ensure that the holes for the screw would like up with the crankshaft passing through the assembly, I decided to baptise the 1-ton Palmgren arbor press I recently bought from Enco.

I used the press to push a short length of 1/4" drill rod through the reamed holes giving a nice press fit. I was then able to secure this assembly in the mill vise. Having calculated the offset of the screw hole I drilled through the outer piece with a #28 drill. This established the proper hole for tapping 5-40 threads in the inner piece. I then separated the two pieces, tapped the inner hole, and enlarged the hole on the outer to match the major diameter of the screw, and finally drilled a countersink for the head of the screw.


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## kvom (Feb 8, 2009)

It's a lot easier to make progress when your shop is 30' away rather than 30 miles! ;D

This morning I put together the crankshaft. The press fit is fairly tight and would probably hold when running, but I drilled and tapped holes for setscrews. Then I did a trial fit of the various pieces that connect to the crank:






The shaft spins very freely in the Al bearing supports. I'm not sure how much space to leave between them, but probably .01 on each side will be enough. 

The eccentric is loose in the flywheel bore. While locktight would work I think it might be possible to drill a hole at an angle for a setscrew. I don't have a way to hold the flywheel to drill that hole, so I'll try to do that at school: clamp the wheel in a grinding vise and then clamp that in the mill vise at an angle that gets clearance. That way I can take everything apart for polishing once it's a runner.


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## Maryak (Feb 8, 2009)

Kvom,

Coming together very well

Best Regards
Bob


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## kvom (Feb 8, 2009)

I put some more pieces together this afternoon.

When I made the beam some months ago I drilled the end hole 1/4" instead of 1/8", so I needed to make some brass bushings on the lathe in order to attach the connecting rod clevis and the piston rod strap. This took a bit of time and filing.

Then I needed to get a smooth slip fit between the connecting rod and the support. Used emery cloth, scotchbrite, anbd finally toothpaste. Seems to be pretty good now, but we'll see when it runs.

I put the pieces roughly together:






Although the bearing legs aren't attached yet I could tell by trying to turn the crankshaft that something needs adjusting. Some calculations looking at the plan showed that I have made the bearing .313" too high. Tomorrow I'll mill off the extra and drill/tap the mounting holes.

Next todo items after that is ensuring a fit between the piston rod and the cylinder head, at which point I should be able to adjust the lengths of the connecting rod and piston rod so as to get the correct travel range for the piston. I also probably need to make some brash bushings for the beam, as there is a bit too much space between it and the sides of the column.

Saving the valve levers and adjustments for later.


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## chuck foster (Feb 8, 2009)

looking good..............can't wait to see it running 

chuck


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## kvom (Feb 9, 2009)

This afternoon I reduced the height of the bearing legs and drilled and tapped mounting holes in them. Then I drilled through holes in the base to correspond and countersunk them on the bottom. I could then attach the legs to the base with 6-32 screws.






It's necessary to tighten the screws gradually to maintain the precise alignment of the crankshaft and the bearing holes, but once in place the cramkshaft turns very freely.

Since the legs are shorter than before, the flywheel would now touch the base, so it is necessary to mill a 0.2" deep relief pocket in the base. After a few trials we have a decent fit:






Before I put the pieces back together I think it's time to flycut the top of the base. I also need to drill the setscrew in the flywheel hub.

The piston/piston rod/cylinder head/rod support aggregation is still a bit stiff when worked by hand. Once i get the rest hooked up again I should be able to exercise the piston by turning the crankshaft with a motor, less work than manual for sure.


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## Divided He ad (Feb 11, 2009)

Now that's a very nice looking engine you got happening there Kvom  Thm:

You've certainly got a good eye  




> Once i get the rest hooked up again I should be able to exercise the piston by turning the crankshaft with a motor, less work than manual for sure.



Now I can't remember the thread where I read this but it is as I recall a bad idea to run an engine in from the crank side, Un-natural wear on the parts.... I remember reading that it is just better to oil everything up and run it on air to get the correct wear into the places it needs to be.


Hope this makes sense.... It figures right to me.



I'm looking forward to seeing this finished ;D



Ralph.


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## cfellows (Feb 11, 2009)

Coming together nicely, KVOM. Really looking great!

Chuck


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## kvom (Feb 12, 2009)

had a couple of hours in the shop this morning. My first thing to try was cutting down 5-40 set screws from 3/8" to around 3/16" in length. I clamped them in a 1/8" 5C collet in a hex collet block, then put the block on the lathe held with the 6-jaw chuck. It didn't work too well with a parting tool, but the hacksaw does work.

I also "broke in" my new Enco 5-40 die and diestock on some 1/8" drill rod. I'm using the lathe to cut the threads 80% and the die to finish. The threaded pieces will be used to hold the parts together. I bought some 5-40 hex nuts, but I don't think they look very good given the first piece. I think I may end up making some brass nuts from the 3/16" square stock I have. In the meantime the zinc nuts will do to get it running.

The next job was to mill the pockets in the base for the valve levers:






The, drilled the through hole for the rod connecting the levers:






Finally, flycut the top of the base:


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## Maryak (Feb 12, 2009)

Kvom,

I don't know when the hex nut came into being but I would say there is a fair chance that the nuts and bolts used on beam engines were square headed.

Best Regards
Bob


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## shred (Feb 12, 2009)

FWIW, My usual small-screw-shortening method is to screw them into a pre-tapped piece of scrap, then press the end sticking out into a bench grinder. Zips 'em down in no time, then unscrew them to repair the thread on the end.

Long ago Bogstandard had a great post on making and using studs for better realism on model steam engines that you might want to check out if you're into that.


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## kvom (Feb 12, 2009)

I think that grinding is the right way to shorten screws a little. While I have been waiting to get the final inspection on the garage I haven't had access to my bench grinder.

I'm going to make a couple of the brass squares nuts tomorrow just to see how they look.


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## kvom (Feb 15, 2009)

Because of weekend family commitments, I got to spend only a couple of hours in the shop. Main accomplisment was to drill and tap holes for setscrews for the valve levers and the beam. Got a trial fit on the levers, and started to try to adjust the length of the valve. I also cut the rod to support the center of the beam in the bearing legs.

I think a few more hours will permit me to assemble the entire engine altogether and try to operate it manually and adjust the valve linkage/eccentric rod.

I will still need to plug the two holes and fabricate an air feed tube. I did purchase a regulator valve and gauge to allow me to control the air pressure to the engine.


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## kvom (Feb 16, 2009)

Got a couple more hours to play this afternoon. I did make some square brass nuts out of 3/16" square rod drilled and tapped 5-40. I used the square 5C collet I bought for making nuts for TB3, clamped the rod in the collet and hex collet block, and chucked the block in the lathe. After drilling and tapping I parted off 4 nuts. The nuts are .2" thick, and unfortunately the single parting tool I own is .11" thick, so I waste almost as much brass in parting as for the part itself.



I need to make another 6 I think.

I then assembled the flywheel/crankshaft/bearings with the column/beam and the cylinder piston. The cylinder has a pretty good sliding fit now and the mechanism is easy to operate by turning the crank. I did get quick a bit of rubbing between the crank lever and the connecting rod end. I slipped a steel washer between them, and this seemed to remedy the situation. I also needed to mill the crank thinner than the plan to get a smooth operation and for the connecting rod to line up properly. I discovered that I have some binding of the mechanism when I screw the column down tightly to the base. I think it's because the bearing holes for the beam shaft were not drilled perfectly. If I leave the column a bit loose then everything turns OK.

Then I did a trial fit of the valve levers, straps, and the valve:



Then finally a trial assembly of the who shebang:




The eccentric rod is quite a bit too long. I need to determine the proper positions of the valve during the rotation in order to set it properly. It's threaded on both ends to allow fairly easy adjustments. I believe the brass head portion of the valve needs to be shortened or raised, since when it touches the cylinder head the upper hole is still blocked. The rod connecting it to the valve body is threaded, so I hopefully can adjust it according to Elmer's drawing.

Still a fair amount of work to do, but at least the end is in sight.


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## kvom (Feb 23, 2009)

I got it put together with the eccentric and valves adjusted so that it "ought" to work with some air applied. I now need to solder in the feed tube (sitting on the base) and plug the two valve holes with solder. I bought some solder today and have a mapp gas torch, but I will practice a bit on scrap first.

Although it works OK when cranked by hand, I will need some additional fixups when I take it apart for bling. The eccentric clevis tends to walk off the lever rod, so I want to thread the end of the rod and make a retaining bolt. I also need to fix the pivot point of the column, where I drilled the holes slightly off, so that there is binding when the column is crewed down tight. I think I will drill new larger holes in the correct orientation and put brass bushings in with loctite.


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## chuck foster (Feb 23, 2009)

looking good :bow: :bow:
you should be very proud of this new beam engine you have built, and thanks for the photos and details.

chuck


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## Maryak (Feb 24, 2009)

kvom,

Great looking engine :bow: Thanks for taking us along with you during the build.

Best Regards
Bob


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## kvom (Feb 25, 2009)

I got up my courage this afternoon and decided to try to solder the air feed tube to the cylinder and then plug the two valve holes. The air tube went fairly well. I melted solder over the back, set it into the intake hole, and then heated the assembly until the solder melted. It seems pretty solild, although there was solder that ran out onto the cylinder that needs to be filed off.

For the two holes I just cut off some pieces of solder, laid them over the openings, and heated until they melted. Of course I had some solder run into the valve bore, so I needed to drill it loose and then run the chucking reamer into the bore again.

Unfortunately one of these plugs seemed loose, as it popped up when I ran some air into the bore to blow out the swarf. So I had to drill it out and redo that one.

In retrospect, I think a better plan for the valve holes would be to drill them larger on the exterior and fabricate a plug that could be sweated on. Alternatively the cylinder could be made larger so that the hole could be tapped and plugged with a screw. I considered this, but there isn't enough depth to the holes for that to be secure.

I still have some nuts to make, some rods to thread, joints to loctite, and setscrews to cut down before reassembly for the first trial run.


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## rake60 (Feb 25, 2009)

My idea for soldering the valve holes was based on the *S.W.A.G.* method.
*(Scientific Wild A$$ Guess)* 

I took a sharpened #2 pencil and twisted it in the holes to leave a coating
of graphite. Then I cleaned the outside surface and used a tooth pick to
carefully lay flux around the holes but not into them.
Heated it up and touched the solder to the fluxed areas.
Still a little bit of solder protruded into the valve area.
A reamer turned by hand removed it without damaging the original bore.

Rick


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## kvom (Feb 26, 2009)

Found another "how not to do it" today. After re-soldering the lower hole I noticed that in soldering the upper hole the solder had dripped down and sealed the matching port into the cylinder.  :'( I tried to clear it by aiming my mapp gas torch into the cylinder bore, but no luck. So I had to drill it out, resolder, and re-ream the valve bore afterwards. This time I put a metal rod into the valve bore while soldering to prevent leak through.

On a more positive note I finished the last two brass nuts plus threaded the lever crank rod to prevent the eccentric rod clevis from walking off, and I also made a brass washer to go between the crank and the connecting rod, replacing the oversize steel washer. I have a couple more minor things to adjust before I can reassemble and "hopefully" put some air to it. I have school this afternoon, so maybe tomorrow will be the day.


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## Philjoe5 (Feb 26, 2009)

Nice looking beam engine. Good luck with your first run up.

Cheers,
Phil


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## kvom (Feb 27, 2009)

I got most of the little bits put back together this morning. I still had a lot of binding, and finally tracked it down to the piston rod guide. I took that off and found that everything turned pretty freely afterwards. I hooked up the air and set it to 40 psi, but nothing happened other than oily air escaping. One turn to shorten the eccentric rod and away it went.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3ESY51yruU[/ame]

The engine runs steadily down to 20 psi. Below that it slowly grinds to a halt. I believe the guide rod will cease to bind once I get the beam pivot oriented properly; then the column will not be slightly twisted.

I think I'll leave it as is for a while, then it's disassembly for some polishing. I think I am also going to blacken the flywheel.


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## Maryak (Feb 27, 2009)

Kvom,

Congratulations on a successful build. :bow: :bow:

I see your now looking for the bling fairy. 

Best Regards
Bob


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## chuck foster (Feb 27, 2009)

awesome job kvom :bow: Thm:

chuck


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## kvom (Feb 27, 2009)

I went out and fiddled with it some more.

AFAIK this engine should run equally well in either direction, but it does so only in one. Also, the exhaust on the up stroke of the piston is escaping around the edge of the cylinder head, indicating that the upper valve opening is closed on the upstroke. A few adjustments of the valve position/length didn't help and actually made the engine not work. 

The cylinder head needs to be a little loose or the piston rod binds. I think this is because the mating surface on the head is not exactly straight. OTOH if it were screwed down tight the exhaust would have not place to go. 

I'm not going to mess with it the rest of the day so that my kids can at least see it working.


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## Shopguy (Feb 27, 2009)

Looking good. Always a great feeling when an engine goes for the first time. Keep up the good work. :bow:
Regards
Ernie J


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## ksouers (Feb 27, 2009)

kvom,
Congratulations!  :bow:

Looks like a great runner. Bet it'll get real nice and slow when you have it tweaked out properly.


Kevin


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## rake60 (Feb 27, 2009)

Beautiful work kvom! :bow:

Rick


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## kvom (Feb 28, 2009)

Thanks for the feedback guys ... getting it to run was very satisfying.

I did determine via more inspection of Elmer's plan that the direction the engine turns is determined by which side the eccentric is set at half stroke. So given my setting it will run in only one direction.

I obtained a 2.5" cube of aluminum from scholl this week, so that will be the crankcase for the Kerzel 2V CO2 engine that I plan to build next, also double the size of the original plans. Watch for another build thread at your local friendly HMEM website.  ;D


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## Brian Rupnow (Mar 2, 2009)

Kvom---Congratulation!! Really nice job. ----Brian


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## malcolmt (Mar 2, 2009)

Hi KVOM
First class job. It looks wonderful running in the video.

    :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:

It's been fantastic to watch the build process, very well documented.

Thank you for sharing.

Kind regards

Malcolm


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## cfellows (Mar 2, 2009)

KVOM,

That's a nice looking and nice running engine. You did good work.

Chuck


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## ariz (Mar 12, 2009)

congratulations kvom!!!

awesome engine, and it runs like a clock. perfect :bow:

I hope to fix mine and to see it running... :-\

this thread was very instructive to me
thank you


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## deere_x475guy (Mar 14, 2009)

Congrats on an awesome build and thanks for taking the time to document it like you did. I really enjoy reading threads like this and learn a lot.


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## kvom (May 5, 2009)

Today I took the engine down to its individual parts for polish and some minor fixups. The first fix will be to drill and loctite some brass bushings in the column to correct for the pivot rod holes being drilled off-center originally. This error caused the pistod ron support to bind, as the column needed to be twisted slightly for the beam to operate.

I also need to mill flats on all the rods where set screws are used.

I just bought some cotton wheels and polishing pastes which will be used on my 6" bench grinder, This will be a whole new learning curve to master.


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## CNC-Joe (Nov 2, 2013)

kvom said:


> Spent the past two evening classes making the column. I might have gone overboard on "bling" but I wanted to try some different techniques. 6061 Al:



Hi Kvom,

- I am just catching your build.
- Love the machining work on the column.
- Can you give some info on how you machined the sides of the column?

Nice build!  Brian Rupnow really puts out some nice design and well done plan sets.  Very impressive.  Wonder what CAD system he uses...


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## Brian Rupnow (Nov 2, 2013)

I use Solidworks. It may not be the king of 3D software, but its what I learned on, and I love it!!!  Brian Rupnow


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## CNC-Joe (Nov 3, 2013)

Thanks for the reply, Brian.
- Looks to me that SolidWorks does a great job, and certainly you have it well mastered.
- The quality of your prints, and the 3-d models are all of excellent quality.
- Thank you for sharing your designs with the rest of us - it is greatly appreciated what you contribute to this community!


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