# Stirling engine build



## Mitchg07261995 (Feb 14, 2013)

Ok, in my machining class my teacher is allowing me to make a model stirling engine
I started the project this week and have completed the main shaft and started the flywheel today
The main shaft is .250" thick and 2.125" long
Flywheel is supposed to be 3" in diameter and is 3.5" in diameter at the moment, i already have drilled the .250" hole in the center, faced off one side of the fly wheel and cut a groove .240" deep into the front
Ill upload some pictures of my work that i completed this week in a little while
Thanks!


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Feb 15, 2013)

here is the other side, i will complete this side on tuesday


----------



## Chriske (Feb 15, 2013)

Nice...! Which one are you going to build..?

Chris


----------



## Longboy (Feb 15, 2013)

Well thats a start. Good teachers give leadway for students to develop their own projects. A brass flywheel will give it some heft and you can probally leave it at 3.5 inch dia. as you have nothing to clamp to to turn its diameter in one shot its length now. I see no stub hub for the lathe jaws to grip and you have a taper finish where the hub wheel transitions to its tire. If you put 3 equal distant holes in the hub you can then grip the flywheel internaly with expanded 3 jaw chuck on the lathe and turn the dia. to your 3 inch size. This also depends on the size of the machines in your shop if the jaws fit into half inch holes. Slotted or drilled holes just beyond the flywheel hub will give your engine a more dynamic appeal at rest and in running as the holes reflect light and give a sense of motion over a solid metal flywheel. Dave.


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Feb 15, 2013)

Chriske said:


> Nice...! Which one are you going to build..?
> 
> Chris



im not sure what the name of this engine or who the designer is, he had us copy the print for the engine out of a book full of stirling engine plans


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Feb 15, 2013)

Longboy said:


> Well thats a start. Good teachers give leadway for students to develop their own projects. A brass flywheel will give it some heft and you can probally leave it at 3.5 inch dia. as you have nothing to clamp to to turn its diameter in one shot its length now. I see no stub hub for the lathe jaws to grip and you have a taper finish where the hub wheel transitions to its tire. If you put 3 equal distant holes in the hub you can then grip the flywheel internaly with expanded 3 jaw chuck on the lathe and turn the dia. to your 3 inch size. This also depends on the size of the machines in your shop if the jaws fit into half inch holes. Slotted or drilled holes just beyond the flywheel hub will give your engine a more dynamic appeal at rest and in running as the holes reflect light and give a sense of motion over a solid metal flywheel. Dave.



I asked my teacher on how i should turn down the od, he said to finish the other side, then go to the mill drill and tap for the set screw and drill the 6 wholes in the flywheel and then use the main shaft to hold the work so that i can turn the od down to 3'', this way i can also avoid the teeth marks of the chuck from being cruntched into the material


----------



## Chriske (Feb 15, 2013)

Mitchg07261995 said:


> I asked my teacher on how i should turn down the od, he said to finish the other side, then go to the mill drill and tap for the set screw and drill the 6 wholes in the flywheel and then use the main shaft to hold the work so that i can turn the od down to 3'', this way i can also avoid the teeth marks of the chuck from being cruntched into the material



Supporting the flywheel by that thin main shaft, it could be the flywheel will start to  vibrate messing up the surface you're about to finish.
In case this happens just put the flywheel in the lathes chuck protecting the flywheel with thin aluminum leftovers.

Let's hope for the best...

Chris


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Feb 15, 2013)

Chris, will it help some if i run the lathe in back gear?


----------



## Chriske (Feb 15, 2013)

Dunno,

Just try it, my guess is it will not.
But what will help, if the six holes are done, use these holes to screw lead leftovers in close contact with the flywheel. The lead will absorb the vibrations.   BALANCE...!

Chris


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Feb 15, 2013)

Chriske said:


> Dunno,
> 
> Just try it, my guess is it will not.
> But what will help, if the six holes are done, use these holes to screw lead leftovers in close contact with the flywheel. The lead will absorb the vibrations.   BALANCE...!
> ...



not sure if we have any lead stock, i could take .025'' passes and just go lighter i guess... we will see next week


----------



## Rivergypsy (Feb 15, 2013)

You could try boring the recess in the face with square edges rather than 45deg, then you could get your chuck jaws in there to finish it. Some ally packing on the jaws will stop damage...


----------



## Chriske (Feb 15, 2013)

That's what I thought to at first but one side is already done...pity...


Chris


----------



## franscubitt (Feb 15, 2013)

Hey good going I am looking forward to seeing more on this as Stirlings are my Favourite!
Wish I had a bigger Lathe, I would have a go myself.
Please keep us up to date.
cheers Frans


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Feb 15, 2013)

the square reliefs would be cool, i do however like the look of the 45 angles more, ill find a way to get the job done
more updates to come on tuesday evening


----------



## Longboy (Feb 16, 2013)

Mitchg07261995 said:


> I asked my teacher on how i should turn down the od, he said to finish the other side, then go to the mill drill and tap for the set screw and drill the 6 wholes in the flywheel and then use the main shaft to hold the work so that i can turn the od down to 3'', this way i can also avoid the teeth marks of the chuck from being cruntched into the material


 You will find this will not work. With a .250 inch dia main shaft there is not enough surface area for the jaws to hold when your working cut is at 3.5 inchs. Your cutting tool will out leverage the jaw grip at its radius to the axle centerline......but most likely is that the set screw will loose its grip first ( even with a milled flat) and gall the main shaft axle first if the lathe jaws hold as a set screw has less grip on the main shaft...... Since you have an unfinished face, you can square cut the wheel to tire about 5/32nd deep ( looks like a 1 inch wide flywheel) to around 2 inches dia. from centerline so the jaws have a much more favorable leverage to the cut. Turn down your diameter to the 3 inches and revisit the wheel square cut and finish with your taper cut. Dave.


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Feb 17, 2013)

Longboy said:


> You will find this will not work. With a .250 inch dia main shaft there is not enough surface area for the jaws to hold when your working cut is at 3.5 inchs. Your cutting tool will out leverage the jaw grip at its radius to the axle centerline......but most likely is that the set screw will loose its grip first ( even with a milled flat) and gall the main shaft axle first if the lathe jaws hold as a set screw has less grip on the main shaft...... Since you have an unfinished face, you can square cut the wheel to tire about 5/32nd deep ( looks like a 1 inch wide flywheel) to around 2 inches dia. from centerline so the jaws have a much more favorable leverage to the cut. Turn down your diameter to the 3 inches and revisit the wheel square cut and finish with your taper cut. Dave.



I see what you mean about the chuck, i was planning to use the 1/4'' collet like my teacher who was a machinist in a local machine shop with the cnc's for over 10 years suggested
The flywheel as it sits now is about .948 and needs to be faced down on the unfinished side so that it is .750 thick


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Feb 19, 2013)

as promised, here is the update.
basically all i did today was face down the opposite side of the part and the thickness is now at .750''
I dont have any pics because i left class early for a dental appointment and left my part in the locker


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Feb 25, 2013)

ok, so last thursday I drilled and tapped for the set screw and tapped the whole for 6-32 set screw, attempted to cut the relief on the opposite side but had a hell of a lot of chatter because I was not set up right, so I started turning the od down and used wd40 as lube and it worked great!
Today I decided to take a break from the fly wheel and from using the lathe and went to the bridgport mill, used a flycutter at 3600 rpm, and the max for the machine is 4200... got a damn nice finish, way better than with the end mills any way here are some pics of my progress








still got this side todo


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Feb 25, 2013)




----------



## Swifty (Feb 25, 2013)

You need to chuck on the outside diameter of the flywheel to turn the recess in. Use some aluminium can packing under the jaws, or hold it direct. You have already turned the outside dia while the wheel was mounted on the shaft, you can do the same thing to take a light cut to remove any jaw marks. A little bit smaller on the OD won't hurt.

Paul.


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Feb 26, 2013)

Swifty said:


> You need to chuck on the outside diameter of the flywheel to turn the recess in. Use some aluminium can packing under the jaws, or hold it direct. You have already turned the outside dia while the wheel was mounted on the shaft, you can do the same thing to take a light cut to remove any jaw marks. A little bit smaller on the OD won't hurt.
> 
> Paul.



thanks for the tip paul, that is what i will do. I believe I am still over the 3'' which is the finished diameter of the wheel so any jaw marks will not hurt right now, If those chatter marks were on purpose they would be way cool lol


----------



## franscubitt (Feb 27, 2013)

What part is it you have milled? looks a lovely finish.
The Flywheel will come out fine if you grip with thin Ally you wont get any marking and it shouldnt chatter.
Keep the updates coming they are great


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Feb 27, 2013)

franscubitt said:


> What part is it you have milled? looks a lovely finish.
> The Flywheel will come out fine if you grip with thin Ally you wont get any marking and it shouldnt chatter.
> Keep the updates coming they are great



I used a fly cutter at 3200 rpm, the cutter had 3 carbide inserts.
More pics to come later tonight, today i started making the displacer cylinder standard and is almost done, the head is complete and has been polished on the buffing wheel with some rouge


----------



## Swifty (Feb 27, 2013)

Mitchg07261995 said:


> I believe I am still over the 3'' which is the finished diameter of the wheel so any jaw marks will not hurt right now,



The 3" diameter is in fresh air, 1/16" or more either way won't make much difference. However, if you are fairly new to machining, it's good practice to aim for a specific size when machining parts that don't matter as much. This allows you to see how tool bit, machine dial, feed rates etc all combine to give the desired size. Later on, you won't have to worry about things that are a nominal size, that run in fresh air, but you will have had practice at obtaining sizes that do matter.

Paul.


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Feb 28, 2013)




----------



## Chriske (Feb 28, 2013)

Mitch,

Forget about polishing parts this very moment. Use every minute of your time to make the engine's parts.  Concentrate on the parts needed to have your engine run. Next do the supporting parts and last use the time you have left to make your parts look nice and shiny.

Every year again I have to point this out to my own pupils. Shiny parts look attractive indeed, but is not important. What if you run out of time at the end of the schoolyear.

If in the end you have to defend this project  in front of a jury/teachers, they will not bother at all if things are glossy or not. Most important : do you know all there is to know, are you familiar with the machines in your shop, the techniques,  do you know your engine, will it run..? Why do some parts have close tolerances and other don't, etc...

Again : very last point on your wish-list should be: make it shine.

Chris


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Feb 28, 2013)

Chriske said:


> Mitch,
> 
> Forget about polishing parts this very moment. Use every minute of your time to make the engine's parts.  Concentrate on the parts needed to have your engine run. Next do the supporting parts and last use the time you have left to make your parts look nice and shiny.
> 
> ...



ok, ill put off polishing for now until the end of the project. Dont want to run out of time, then I would be stuck with a pile of metal looking at me all summer


----------



## franscubitt (Mar 1, 2013)

Still itd\s looking good and the main thing is you want it to run by Summer so you can test it all holliday long!!   cheers Frans


----------



## Chriske (Mar 1, 2013)

Mitch,

We still don't know what engine you're making.
Why not make a scan of  that page and post it here..?

Chris


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 1, 2013)

Chriske said:


> Mitch,
> 
> We still don't know what engine you're making.
> Why not make a scan of  that page and post it here..?
> ...


 oh yeah sorry about that lol, if i remember ill bring the plans home on monday and get a scan of them  
Mitch


----------



## Swifty (Mar 1, 2013)

Mitch, I agree with Chris, I'm not a great fan of "bling", in fact I think that it is a little offputting. We're making model engines, the real ones weren't polished to see your reflection in them. A lot of time can be spent to polish out some scratches, where a rub with a bit of fine emery paper can produce a nice look in a short time. Although not available to everyone, a nice sand blasted finish looks great.

Paul.


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 2, 2013)

Swifty said:


> Mitch, I agree with Chris, I'm not a great fan of "bling", in fact I think that it is a little offputting. We're making model engines, the real ones weren't polished to see your reflection in them. A lot of time can be spent to polish out some scratches, where a rub with a bit of fine emery paper can produce a nice look in a short time. Although not available to everyone, a nice sand blasted finish looks great.
> 
> Paul.



sandblasting does look great, luckily we have a sandblasting cabinet in my class so maybe when all the parts are done... Ill decide later on
Mitch


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 4, 2013)

The engine that I am building is called the "Stirling Hot Air Engine" designed by Ray J. Colin
Luckily I remembered to bring the prints home today, sorry for the low quality pics, I dont have my cam at the moment so I have to use the web cam on my lap top













Today I started making the displacer piston, It is almost finished at the moment, O.D. is 1.125'' length on the sheet says 2.500" but my teacher and us did the math and found out it should be 2.125'' long. Right now it is 2.493'' so ill ask my teacher some more questions before I decide to shorten the head of the piston down to 2.125''
I buggered it up. I drilled and tapped for a 6-32 screw and accidently snapped the head of the bolt in the top! :fan:
I decided that It should be fine so I face it down so it is all flush, and proceded to drill and tap a 6-32 hole on the other face which turned out perfect 




buggered up end..




finished opposite end...





As far as the fly wheel goes, I think ill set it up on the rotary table on one of the mills tomorrow use an endmill to square up the grooves that I cut into the face and do the same to the other side that I got the crappy finish on


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 7, 2013)

Ok, finished 2 parts today! 
I finished the power cylinder and Piston for my stirling engine 
























the cylinder piston fit is perfect! When i put the piston in the cylinder with the screw in the top of the piston and blow into one end while placing the tip of my finger on the very top of the screw no air escapes! 
going to make the other two pieces for the piston tomorrow, the part that holds the piston the the connecting rod and the actual connecting rod


----------



## franscubitt (Mar 9, 2013)

Are the Power piston and liner both Brass? That plan looks nice , I have not yet made a seperate power and displacer but yours is giving me ideas, just need to tell my Wife a bigger Lathe is nessesary to continued happiness
Keep up the good work


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 9, 2013)

franscubitt said:


> Are the Power piston and liner both Brass? That plan looks nice , I have not yet made a seperate power and displacer but yours is giving me ideas, just need to tell my Wife a bigger Lathe is nessesary to continued happiness
> Keep up the good work



the power piston is made of 6061 aluminum and the cylinder is indeed brass


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 12, 2013)

WOOO! Class went by quickly today, got one part completely finished so that means the other 2 parts are done  and also got 3 other parts started and almost completed  
Here is a picture of all the parts that I have, completed and uncompleted




Here are the parts that are still not done yet 




Here is what I did today (power cylinder cap)




what got finished...power cylinder piston, cylinder and cap assembly













I am going to remake the 1/4x2.125 drive shaft sometime in the next week, finish the 3 smaller pieces of aluminum tomorrow *fingers crossed* 
maybe the flywheel on thursday.
Im not sure what kind of finish I want on the parts, but I am thinking
Brass parts will all be polished, aluminum parts with be sandblasted (not the pistons though lol) and the steel/stainless steel parts will be taken to the wheel with the bristols atached so that maybe I can get a finish that looks like a casting. Thoughts, ideas, or advice?
mitch


----------



## Chriske (Mar 13, 2013)

Mitchg07261995 said:


> the power piston is made of 6061 aluminum and the cylinder is indeed brass



Hi Mitch,

For that power piston / cylinder good combination to be used in a stirling-engine are cast-iron, stainless steel together with bronze.
I would not use aluminum for that power piston at all, it's way to soft, it will jam.
Coefficient of expansion is a very important issue here...! 


Chris


----------



## aarggh (Mar 13, 2013)

franscubitt said:


> Are the Power piston and liner both Brass? That plan looks nice , I have not yet made a seperate power and displacer but yours is giving me ideas, just need to tell my Wife a bigger Lathe is nessesary to continued happiness
> Keep up the good work


 
Just remember Obi-wan, with a bigger lathe comes a requirement for a bigger mill!

Greatly enjoying this build Mitch! Good work.

cheers, Ian


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 13, 2013)

thanks Aarggh, today i finished the displacer cylinder standard, and sandblasted a couple parts including the one that I made today. 












As far as the power piston and cylinder, im a little confused, as the plan shows the alcohol burner goes under the stainless displacer cylinder that I have not made yet so heat should not be to much of an issue with the power cylinder? sorry for the dumb question, i dont really know a thing about stirling engines except that they run on a difference in heat


----------



## Longboy (Mar 13, 2013)

Chriske said:


> Hi Mitch,
> 
> For that power piston / cylinder good combination to be used in a stirling-engine are cast-iron, stainless steel together with bronze.
> I would not use aluminum for that power piston at all, it's way to soft, it will jam.
> ...


 An aluminum piston in this application will be fine. Dave


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 13, 2013)

Longboy said:


> An aluminum piston in this application will be fine. Dave



thats what i was thinking thanks Dave!


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 14, 2013)

.... today sucked, for some reason my teacher was mad at me for something so he made me clean every machine in the shop, and organize all the drill bits so i literally got no work done today  maybe monday will be better


----------



## aarggh (Mar 14, 2013)

Don't take it to heart Mitch, quite possibly he had somethng crummy happen and you were just unfortunately the one to bear the brunt!

cheers, Ian


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 15, 2013)

aarggh said:


> Don't take it to heart Mitch, quite possibly he had somethng crummy happen and you were just unfortunately the one to bear the brunt!
> 
> cheers, Ian



thanks for that Ian, but when I went in the class room he had written "Mitch cleans all day" on the board lol
i know monday will be better
we have a cool tiny mill like the ones from sherline that i was talking to him about today, he says that know one has used it in the class and that no one has even turned it on... im thinking of asking if i can buy it from the class? then i can take some of my work home and get some more time in  what should I offer? ill have to look at it more closely but it looks really clean, has some dust from sitting so long, and does not have a vice? it does have a plastic part in it now but it is mounted with screws and the machine does not appear to have a endmill, or collet with it


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 18, 2013)

well, today I plan to make the main layout for the base of my engine which measures 6''x 4 and 5/8'' wide. I dont have the plans for the engine as I forgot them at my house and I am at my grandmothers house :rant:
I already have the aluminum plate for the base with the lines marked into the face with the blue layout fluid, I plan to use one of our flycutters at about 3000 rpm (what I have been using, and it has worked out for me) with some wd40 as a cutting fluid 
pictures to follow tonight


----------



## franscubitt (Mar 18, 2013)

Hi Mitch
Did you make an offer on the milling machine? It sound like you are doing well, we need pictures please
cheers Frans


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 18, 2013)

franscubitt said:


> Hi Mitch
> Did you make an offer on the milling machine? It sound like you are doing well, we need pictures please
> cheers Frans


 
Hey Frans! I made an offer on the mill which is indeed a Sherline, my teacher said sorry but it is not for sale  But hey that is fine with me 
I did not make progress on the mounting plate today, I started but fudged it up so it sits in the scrap pile now :'( 
Hopefully better progress tomorrow, I have 8 weeks left in this class before the end of the school year, maybe it is time for me to come in on friday's which is my off day from this class


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 19, 2013)

Today I went back to the lathe and started work on the displacer cylinder. It is being made out of 361 stainless steel
not close to being done yet but, any progress is good 





now the part it self 




and the other kids in my class were cutting steel on the band saw for the base which is .250 thick, so i think ill just leave the thickness alone and make the base 6'' long and 4''5/8'' wide


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 19, 2013)

ok, so far i have 6 parts complete out of 24...
flywheel is almost complete, i have 3 other parts that could be finished in 4 hours (length of my class) i think im gonna buy a small alcohol burner so that i dont have to make one, the base plate should take a couple days, i hope to have the displacer cylinder complete in a couple weeks


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 20, 2013)

got some more work done on the displacer cylinder today, i now have 8 hours into this one part! mainly because of freakishly slow feed rates. Lathe is in back gear turning 55rpm the whole time and the feed rate is .0007'' per rev








part is about .600 to long on the side with the flange, I am ready to part off the extra stock, face that end down to a finished length of 4.000'' then I can drill the wholes in the cylinder, Im planning on starting with the whole in the side that way i prevent taking the part out of round if i do that after boring the i.d. for the piston
I.D is supposed to be 1 and 3/16'' 
this is going great


----------



## Hopper (Mar 20, 2013)

Mitch,
What is the diameter of the power piston and what is its stroke?
And what is the stroke on the displacer piston?

I want to build a similar engine so would like to get the bore/stroke ratio right for each cylinder unit.

Thanks


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 21, 2013)

Hopper said:


> Mitch,
> What is the diameter of the power piston and what is its stroke?
> And what is the stroke on the displacer piston?
> 
> ...



your in luck Hopper. i took all the parts i have made, the stock for parts to be made and the plans home with me again today.

Diameter of power piston: 11/16''
I cant find the front page so i cant say what the stroke of the pistons are
diameter of displacer piston is =1.125"
I.D of discplacer cylinder is 1.1875
sorry that i cant remember the stroke, ill see if someone in my class has the first page tomorrow and ill get back to you


----------



## aarggh (Mar 21, 2013)

You're doing a great job on all this Mitch! I'm enjoying watching your progress mate. It's a shame the teacher doesn't want to let go the lathe, you could always guilt him into it by using your youth to your advantage, just occasionally pass by him and the lathe with a pathetically wistful expression, glancing at the lathe, and don't forget to sigh every now and then! In all seriousness, if there's any possibility of buying any tools or machines from there, don't feel at all awkward about holding back in letting him know you really, really, really want it. Your display of genuine keenness might be the tipping point.

cheers, Ian


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 21, 2013)

thanks for that aarggh, i am really enjoying this build and cant wait to work on the displacer cylinder tomorrow. After tomorrow its spring break for me so i wont be able to make any progress for a whole week, lol this is when i wish i had my own machines at home so i could work when i want and as long as i want. Ill keep your tips in mind  my teacher bought another cnc lathe for out class with some of our cash, i believe it is a haas as the other cnc's we have are haas machines, we have a mini mill, 2 vf1's and a haas vf4.
Ill learn the cnc stuff next year, so right now all the 1st year students are working on southbend lathes, and good ol' bridgeport mills. We have a huge lathe in out class that I want to work on, it is a american pacemaker, i cant remember the size of it i believe that its 18x72? ill have to look again, but the thing will do 15rpm and faster


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 22, 2013)

the displacer cylinder is almost done! put another 4hours of work into it today, got the over length down to 4.0015 and it is supposed to be 4.000. I know that if i try to fix it, ill accidently make it shorter than 4'' so im leaving it.
As to Hoppers question, i got the paper that tells the stroke for the power and displacer cylinder
Power cylinder: 1''
Displacer cylinder: 1.250''
What else i did on the displacer cylinder: drilled the 3/16'' whole in the center of the cylinder 2'' down from the face, and started drilling the i.d, i got the first drill done which was 11/16 in diam. i plan to use a 1'' diam drill next, then finish it to 1.1875'' with the boring bar













well thats all for the next week because of spring break


----------



## franscubitt (Mar 23, 2013)

Wow Mitch looking very nice, hope u have nice spring break.
Whats the weather like where you are?
cheers Frans


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 23, 2013)

franscubitt said:


> Wow Mitch looking very nice, hope u have nice spring break.
> Whats the weather like where you are?
> cheers Frans



Thanks Frans, i might be going to ride dirtbikes next week with my uncle so spring break will be fun
As to the weather, we got 1.5 feet of snow over night and its still snowing


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 25, 2013)

well... since i cant work on the engine due to spring break i went to the antique store tonight and found a fuel burner for $4.25  tested it and it works great and is just short enough for the displacer cylinder to go over it when mounted to the standard 
I have been thinking, 6 weeks left of the class their for this year when i get back next week, and the last two weeks will be spent in the computer lab, maybe i should show up for the morning and afternoon classes on tuesday so i can get more work done on this engine and have it running by the end of the school year. I have also been thinking about how i could save some time building this... Im thinking that for the engine stand ill keep it ats its raw stock thickness of .250'', width of 6'' and trim down the front and back so that it has an over all length of 7''. It is at 7.125" currently, so all i have to do is trim the ends on the mill down to 7'' drill all the mounting wholes (10 of them) and be done 
what do you guys think?


----------



## Hopper (Mar 27, 2013)

Mitchg07261995 said:


> your in luck Hopper. i took all the parts i have made, the stock for parts to be made and the plans home with me again today.
> 
> Diameter of power piston: 11/16''
> I cant find the front page so i cant say what the stroke of the pistons are
> ...



Thanks Mitch. I think the stroke is probably about one inch, ie crank offset of half inch?


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 27, 2013)

not sure about the crank off set, it does not say anything about it in the plans


----------



## franscubitt (Mar 28, 2013)

No Way you can keep that white stuff! I keep telling my wife I want to live somewhere always warm!
We are suffering from no picture withdrawal symptoms so when you go back update us please.


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 28, 2013)

haha, most of the snow has melted away by now but has left the mountain bike trails extremely muddy, here is what my bike looked like yesterday when i got the the top of the hill by US285 









here is a view of denver colorado with my little brother in the distance




any way...
back to the engine build, since in am on spring break and dont go back to my machining class until next tuesday april 2, i cant make really any progress. So here is where I am as of now




here are the finished parts that I have




here is the raw stock for a couple more parts




parts that are almost complete 




here is the alcohol burner that i was building...




here is what i bought at the antique mall for 4 bucks


----------



## ZebDog (Mar 31, 2013)

iust came along this thread it looks like an interesting build. i will be watching keep it up guy good work


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Mar 31, 2013)

ZebDog said:


> iust came along this thread it looks like an interesting build. i will be watching keep it up guy good work



Glad you like it Zeb  im itching to get back to my class on tuesday


----------



## franscubitt (Apr 1, 2013)

Thanks Mitch it looks like you enjoyed your bike ride! parts are looking good keep up the good work
I love that spirit burner, I recon it was a bargin
cheers Frans


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 1, 2013)

Thanks for the kind words Frans. The burner was a steel at $4  I love mountain biking a bunch 
Ok, I did get a part for my engine today. I got a foot long piece of 3/16 od brass tube for the tubing, i just need to get a tubing bender for it, cut everything to length and silver solder it to the 2 different parts when i get the engine done.
Im back to my machining class tomorrow and hope to get done with my 316 stainless steel displacer cylinder


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 2, 2013)

today was great! i finished my displacer cylinder  i now have 16 hours into this one part, and have about 104 hours into this engine
got some really cool chips when i was boring the inside diameter of the cylinder












here in this pic you can see some real long chips


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 4, 2013)

Ok, did not get much done today on the engine. But my friend Jared in my class who is making the same engine as I am gave me the main bearing support that he made, all i have todo to it is make a piece to raise it up to the height that I need.
Here are the pics of the main bearing support 











and of course the flywheel goes between the two halves, i would have it set up this way but i cant find the right size allen head driver for the set screw


----------



## robcas631 (Apr 4, 2013)

Great job Mitch!


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 4, 2013)

ok, I made a little more progress on my engine today
I made the push rod guide that fits into the back of this piece 




since then i have sand blasted it
here it is now, this part is 100% ready to go
the part i made today has an outside diameter which is not visible as it sits that is .004 smaller than the whole in the part in the photo above. I press fitted these to parts together on the arbor press that we have in class and it has an extremely tight fit that i am very happy with








here are the parts that are ready to go for the displacer cylinder




piston inside bore 




with newly completed part








I just need to make 2 more parts for the diplacer cylinder assembly then that section is done


----------



## robcas631 (Apr 6, 2013)

Excellent!


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 7, 2013)

thanks a bunch robcas!


----------



## franscubitt (Apr 8, 2013)

Wow very nice you are making me very desperate to see this baby running! going to be awesome.
Keep up the good work Mitch
Cheers Frans


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 8, 2013)

thanks Frans  hopefully it will be running soon  im thinking of making the power cylinder stand tomorrow in my class. More pics to come, everyday gets me closer to a finish engine and i am loving every bit of this build


----------



## ZebDog (Apr 8, 2013)

good job mitch. I to am itching to see this baby run


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 8, 2013)

Thanks Zeb  I started work on the power cylinder standard today and got it almost done but accidently made the whole to large that the cylinder sits in. Id like it to be a press fit so ill remake it tomorrow, luckily I made it out a of a 5''x4''x.250'' thick 6061 alum, and the part is 3.5''x1.125''x.1875 so i dont have to get the thickness as it is already there, ill just start on a new one tomorrow using the same piece of alum


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 8, 2013)

here is the part that i made today
oversize, but hey. I have room to fix my mess up


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 9, 2013)

Well, Im not going to get anywork done at all on my engine tomorrow do to school being canceled because of a snow storm we are getting tonight


----------



## robcas631 (Apr 10, 2013)

Just go slow...it will work out!


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 10, 2013)

got some more work done today, one more part is finished the whole in the top just needs to be enlarged a little. Maybe .002'' im going about doing this by sanding it till the part that goes in the whole is a press fit 
















i modified the piece that my pal gave me, I need to make the space in between the part a little more wide so im taking about .010 at a time till i get the clearence for the flywheel that I need








thats all for now 
Mitch


----------



## hobby (Apr 10, 2013)

Mitch, a big hardy welcome to the forum,
It is great to have you show us your progress on your school project, as watching your progress from one part to another, it is easy to see you are achieving better machined parts as you continue, you are doing a great job, most of us have the conveniaence to work with our own tools in our own shops, but you are limited both in time and tool usage, so you are achieving a great wealth of machining ability, under the limited circumstances your under, your making great progress in the machining of parts, keep up the good work.


----------



## AussieJimG (Apr 10, 2013)

That's coming along well Mitch

Jim


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 10, 2013)

Thanks a bunch Hobby, I love doing this work it is so much! It it so much fun to get to know how to make stuff on the machines that we have. We are pretty well stocked on material and machines. My teacher is a great help! Some times he does have a little fun and makes jokes with us. I am learning a bunch of stuff from my class and here on the forum! I used the harbor press a little more today and I cant wait to make one next year 
Thanks again for all the tips and the support
Mitch


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 16, 2013)

no work made today on my engines, spent the whole day tramming milling machine heads, cleaning and cutting 32 pieces of alum for the Skills competition that is taking place tomorrow through friday


----------



## robcas631 (Apr 18, 2013)

Where can I get these plans?


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 18, 2013)

robcas631 said:


> Where can I get these plans?



My teacher has a book in our class room with plans for model engines, he pulled them out of that. I can probably get a scan for you and anyone else that might be interested.


----------



## franscubitt (Apr 19, 2013)

Hi Mitch, is it my imagination or is the last plate blueish?
Yes Please I would love a set of plans and if any cost can happily PayPal you.
Cheers Frans


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 19, 2013)

The bluish coloring on the last part is just some layout die that I have not removed yet. The plans are in my locker at school so ill try to bring them home on monday and get them scanned. If you do build it, it would be awesome to see another one being built


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 23, 2013)

Made some more progress on this engine today, warning the post ahead will be vary picture heavy (39 pics) showing the progress that I have made today along with close up pictures of the plans for the engine.


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 23, 2013)

here is what I did today...
cut the 1.500 steel round stock for these 2 parts 








here is the stock




got most of the lathe work done on these parts












the aluminum part is part of a connecting rod, needs to be threaded 5-40 on the front, it has a 1 degree taper running down the shaft
the brass piece has an internal thread of 5-40 and is the mating part of the connecting rod
here are the parts that I have that are ready for milling








I tried making the main shaft again but the final dimension was about .005 under size




so I made another which is pressed into the flywheel and I will remove it and harden it tomorrow, it is the correct dimension in every way and i have it running true to with in .0003'' 




I drilled the oil holes in the flywheel standard
I know they are not centered but I am happy with the result








I got the brass tubing needed for the engine












and for the people interested in the prints for the engine


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 23, 2013)

I got 2 more parts completed today, the displacer cylinder connecting rod, and the main shaft. Plans call for aluminum for the connecting rod but I made mine out of steel, the rod and shaft have been hardened in out furnace at 1500 degree's farenheit for 15 minutes then quenched in a bath of oil for 2 hours
pictures to come in a little while
Oh yeah, I have also started on one of the crank disks and is almost complete, I just need to drill the hole for the crank pin and drill/tap for the set screw


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 24, 2013)

OK here are the parts that I completed today
main shaft, connecting rod.
Main shaft,




hardened and running perfectly true
Connecting rod, also hardened and finished completely today




overall length is 3'' and 11/16", it is 1/8" thick and has a 1/8" hole at the top and 3.250" over along the center line is a 3/36" hole
Here is one of the 2 crank disks that I started today, all that is left todo is drill the crankpin hole and tap it, then drill/tap for the set screw at a 45 degree angle 












Ill true up the back side of that part tomorrow, drill and tap all holes and maybe harden it over the next couple of days
Here is the flywheel, main shaft, standard assembly, and the crank disk 
















and the final picture is my overall progress with all parts that I have that are either finished, or almost finished 




thanks all for looking! ill post another progress report tomorrow


----------



## Hopper (Apr 24, 2013)

Thanks for posting the plans. Very nice.
Looks like you are making good progress. Can't wait to see a vid of it running. 
Have fun.


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 24, 2013)

Your welcome 
I hope to make the other crank disk today and drill all holes for both, Im loving this build so much  it has taught me alot and improved my skill greatly. Yesterday when I was parting off the crank disk I almost broke the tool. Lathe was going in back gears, I was feeding extremely slow with plenty of oil and pulling away from the part to break chips. But the part grabbed to the tool made a loud "pop" so I pulled out real quick and my teacher looked at me smiling a little and said with a slight laugh "you break the tool?" which I did not then he said "you okay?" i said yes, but anyway he is a great teacher 
P.S the parting tool was on the exact centerline of the part


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 24, 2013)

I finally finished the flywheel today


----------



## AussieJimG (Apr 24, 2013)

That's looking good Mitch, you are right on track.

Jim


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 24, 2013)

im just glad the flywheel is done


----------



## franscubitt (Apr 25, 2013)

Wow thanks very much Mitch, its looking superb, cant wait to see this baby running.
Thanks very Much for posting the Plans, I will print tomorrow, Just have to work tonight! One of the bad things about
Being your own Boss!!
Just one quiry, the Flywheel shaft is steel, is that running in the steel side plates? or did you have to bush the side plates?
Good luck and your flywheel is awesome, I love it!!


----------



## canalzombie (Apr 25, 2013)

It looks like your aluminum displacer is one solid piece of stock.It needs to be a thin walled cylinder.(It is one of the more perplexing issues for Stirling builders). Your engine will probably work, but it will perform poorly. The displacer must be lightweight and airtight. It will be moving incredibly fast displacing , or moving the air back and forth from the displacer cylinder to the power piston. (I had to mention this...I don't know if anyone else noticed it and just didn't mention it).


----------



## vridhisharma (Apr 26, 2013)

Great collection. I appreciate your post.


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 26, 2013)

franscubitt said:


> Wow thanks very much Mitch, its looking superb, cant wait to see this baby running.
> Thanks very Much for posting the Plans, I will print tomorrow, Just have to work tonight! One of the bad things about
> Being your own Boss!!
> Just one quiry, the Flywheel shaft is steel, is that running in the steel side plates? or did you have to bush the side plates?
> Good luck and your flywheel is awesome, I love it!!



it is running in aluminum side plates


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 26, 2013)

Here is what I made yesterday...









It holds up the displacer standard like so...


----------



## ZebDog (Apr 27, 2013)

i have to agree with canalzombie about your displacer piston it does look like solid ali having looked at the pics the plan does say hollow. 


you made a great job of the flywheel well done.


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Apr 28, 2013)

ZebDog said:


> i have to agree with canalzombie about your displacer piston it does look like solid ali having looked at the pics the plan does say hollow.
> 
> 
> you made a great job of the flywheel well done.



true it does say hollow, i am not sure about doing this... It does not show any dimensions for it, just the external dimensions. 
Do i just go at it nice and slow with the boring bar and leave the side walls .050 thick, the crown .250 thick and the center were the connecting rod goes in at least .250'' thick?


----------



## ZebDog (Apr 29, 2013)

the wall thikness of .050 is ok i would go to .125 on the crown and the end for the conecting rod .025 as you say
be carefull when boring the wall as it may colaps in the chuck jaws i had this happen to me. Don't worry about the wall thikness being a little thicker the idea is to make it as light as possable 
good luck


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (May 1, 2013)

Ok, today started out not so good but got way better by break time in my class... I tried about 5 different cutter bits before finding one that would not give me any chatter, or loud squilling when cutting my newest part...
I made a new Displacer piston today, 2.500'' long, 1.125'' diameter and I hollowed out as shown on plans, I will have to modify they design of the pushrod to be 5'' long and theaded 1/4x20 at the top


----------



## franscubitt (May 2, 2013)

Hey looking great Mitch, I am trying to get myself a bigger lathe with a milling attachment so I can also make one.
keep up the good work


----------



## BillyHill (May 2, 2013)

Mitchg07261995 said:


> Your welcome
> I hope to make the other crank disk today and drill all holes for both, Im loving this build so much  it has taught me alot and improved my skill greatly.



Hi Mitch, I'm a new member here at HMEM but a long time machinist. I just started reading your build thread today and it's been awesome. I'm currently designing my second motor (first was a finger motor I did without a lathe) and some of the things I've learned in this thread about engines are going to help me with my future builds. 

As for you, I'll tell you as a 3rd generation, 3+ decades machinist your attitude (i.e. passion) towards this project can take you a long way if you keep at it. Pops told me two things about this profession when I was a kid; 1) The more you learn the more you realize you don't know, and 2) I'd never get super rich but I'd never be out of work either. So far he's been right on both counts. 



Mitchg07261995 said:


> Yesterday when I was parting off the crank disk I almost broke the tool. Lathe was going in back gears, I was feeding extremely slow with plenty of oil and pulling away from the part to break chips. But the part grabbed to the tool made a loud "pop" so I pulled out real quick and my teacher looked at me smiling a little and said with a slight laugh "you break the tool?" which I did not then he said "you okay?" i said yes, but anyway he is a great teacher
> P.S the parting tool was on the exact centerline of the part



I've found that lowering the parting tools slightly from center-line helps keep that underwear-changing grabbing from happening. 

Keep at it. Thm:


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (May 3, 2013)

BillyHill said:


> Hi Mitch, I'm a new member here at HMEM but a long time machinist. I just started reading your build thread today and it's been awesome. I'm currently designing my second motor (first was a finger motor I did without a lathe) and some of the things I've learned in this thread about engines are going to help me with my future builds.
> 
> As for you, I'll tell you as a 3rd generation, 3+ decades machinist your attitude (i.e. passion) towards this project can take you a long way if you keep at it. Pops told me two things about this profession when I was a kid; 1) The more you learn the more you realize you don't know, and 2) I'd never get super rich but I'd never be out of work either. So far he's been right on both counts.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the kind very words, What you said is so true. I have realized how much more there is to learn than what I know already, and I love learning new things about machining  I will take your tip into mind when I part off another part, by setting the tool just slightly below center line, dont want to do any more underwear-changing from that happening again


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (May 10, 2013)

well, i wont be able to finish the engine this school year. today we spent the whole day cleaning our shop, getting things put away and accounted for and we had to turn in our parrallel kits and our tool boxes with dial caliper, micrometer, and 6 inch rule


----------



## franscubitt (May 10, 2013)

Oh Hell thats not so cool, when does the next term start? and can you continue with the motor then?
cheers Frans


----------



## AussieJimG (May 10, 2013)

Have you joined a local model engineering club? Chances are one of the members will help you or even let you use some tools under supervision. And you get to know some of the like-minded lunatics in your area.

Jim


----------



## jwcnc1911 (May 10, 2013)

Where are you located?  Do you know any one with a shop?


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (May 11, 2013)

Frans: I believe the new school year for me starts again in august and I plan to continue working on it when I get back
Aussie: I have not joined any model enginering clubs in my area because I dont know of any
JW: I unfortionetely do not know anyone with there own shop


----------



## AussieJimG (May 11, 2013)

Try Googling "Men's Shed", Model Engineering Clubs in your area, look up the phone book, go to the College and ask the teachers, go to the local tool shop and ask and to the local hobby shop. Look for model aircraft clubs.

By August you can have this finished and be on to the next engine. Don't wait!

Jim


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (May 12, 2013)

AussieJimG said:


> Try Googling "Men's Shed", Model Engineering Clubs in your area, look up the phone book, go to the College and ask the teachers, go to the local tool shop and ask and to the local hobby shop. Look for model aircraft clubs.
> 
> By August you can have this finished and be on to the next engine. Don't wait!
> 
> Jim



thanks for the tip Jim  ill start searching


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Oct 10, 2013)

Well after about 5 months of not working on this engine, my pal Jared talked me into finishing it in class. I have about 4 or 5 parts left to complete
Today I started making a connecting rod that is about 2'' long and threaded 5-40. And I made a ring that is a very tight press fit onto the displacer cylinder so that I can have a better way of attaching the 3/16 brass tube to the cylinder


----------



## jwcnc1911 (Oct 10, 2013)

I followed back in April/May and hope to see you complete it.  You will be glad you finished it!  There is a special feeling of completion and satisfaction with seeing a project all the way through to the end.


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Oct 11, 2013)

now that is for sure jwcnc1911! 
I made an alcohol burner last week, not really to any specified dimensions, I just went by feel and what I thought would look awesome
Here is the burner...




Here is the holder for the burner




The burner is just a loose slip fit into the holder




This the burner can be rotated to any degree that I might need




and here is how it will sit on the finished engine right underneath the displacer cylinder.


----------



## ZebDog (Oct 13, 2013)

It's been a long time.. glad to see ya back with this project


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Oct 14, 2013)

Indeed it has been a while, Im glad to be back at it! 
more work to be done tomorrow


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Oct 15, 2013)

made two more parts that should be completed tomorrow or in a few days, Ill post pictures later on tonight of what they are, I am busy tracking down all the parts that I have made for this engine. Looks like I have everything but Im looking through old photos to see if im missing anything


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Oct 16, 2013)

here are the pics as promised before


----------



## jwcnc1911 (Oct 16, 2013)

Coming together nicely!  I love rounded corners on a metal base like that.  Looks like it will be running in no time!


----------



## ZebDog (Oct 16, 2013)

thanks for the update pics your doing a grand job I LIKE IT


----------



## AussieJimG (Oct 17, 2013)

It won't be long now until we see the video

Jim


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Oct 18, 2013)

Thanks for the compliments guys! It is starting to shape up nicely  I was not able to do any work to this engine today because it was a shop clean up day, Ill post again monday night with the part I will start and maybe complete.
Last night, me and my father ordered some 1/4 idx 5/8 odx .196 bearings for the flywheel standard piece, so ones those come in I will modify the side plates that I have for the bearings or just make new sideplates


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Oct 19, 2013)

Ok, im now thinking that because technically I am supposed to be learning the cnc machines, I am going to complete this engine on the Haas sl10 and the Haas vf1 that my class has, maybe Ill make another one of this engine scratch.gifscratch.gif


----------



## AussieJimG (Oct 20, 2013)

If I had access to a Haas, there is no way I would use anything else.

Jim

That should have been: A Haas, a Haas, my kingdom for a Haas. (sorry about that)


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Oct 23, 2013)

ok, i made 8 parts in the last 2 days, 4 of which were redo's because the crankshaft had up and down wobble, and i made 4 really tiny washers and a new crankshaft out of 1/4 stainless steel
picks to come in a little bit


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Oct 24, 2013)

and i also did some extra work to the alchohol burners stand


----------



## AussieJimG (Oct 24, 2013)

That's coming along nicely Mitch

Jim


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Oct 24, 2013)

thanks Jim, I think im going to make more spacers today, just in case i need some later


----------



## franscubitt (Nov 12, 2013)

Well done Mitch its looking really sexy, cant wait to see this baby running
Making me very envious, wish I had the time to do the same, being self employed means I have a crappy Boss !!!
Cheers Frans


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Nov 17, 2013)

thanks a bunch frans, i have been sidetrackd for the past couple weeks working on our christmas project. We are supposed to make 800 screw drivers  but they are all going to be made on our haas sl10 cnc lathe, i just have to make a special to aid in the putting together of the screw drivers. Ill post a pic of one of the screw drivers when i can


----------



## franscubitt (Nov 19, 2013)

What on earth do you need 800 Screwdrivers for? even I havent lost that many 
keep us updated, Christmas can wait, Striling comes first


----------



## Mitchg07261995 (Nov 19, 2013)

lol, we are selling over 500 hundred of them to help fund our class, we have a total of 1600 parts to make, production should start in the next couple days


----------



## franscubitt (Nov 22, 2013)

ok Great idea I hope you sell them all, post us a picture of one when they are finished,
Pity I am a but far away to pop over and buy one :wall:


----------



## AussieJimG (Nov 23, 2013)

C'mon Mitch, don't let Franscubbit get away with that!!! Sell him a bunch on the Internet. I assume that you will put them on Ebay.

Jim


----------



## franscubitt (Nov 26, 2013)

Let me know if you do,
If its going to help keep your class going its worth every cent to help people do what you are doing!
I met an amasing gentalman last week, only "81" and mending old Petter and Lister Engines, wow I would love to go
and work for a week with him just to learn a little as people like that are really scarce..
Cheers Frans


----------

