# building the stuart 10V



## ronald305 (Feb 25, 2012)

Hi guys 
 I finally got the nerve to ask some questions here so I can get some advise anyway bare with me here, this will be my first attempt at building the Stuart V10 engine, I have ordered the correct BA taps except the 1/4X32 and the 5/16X26 taps because I don't want to order the wrong ones, my question for this part is how do I know if I have the correct ones, does each one have any letters in front just the BA taps I know where to purchase them just want to make sure.
 my second question would be and probably silly since I don't have a bridgeport and a 12X36 lathe I only have a minimill and minilathe can they be built from these two machines that is all for now thank you 
        Ronald


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## Tin Falcon (Feb 25, 2012)

> I finally got the nerve to ask some questions here.


Good for you we like folks to get involved we do not bite or flame newbies. 


> I can get some advise anyway


yep no exxta charge. 



> this will be my first attempt at building the Stuart V10 engine,


So the way I read this you are building your first engine and have purchased a Stuart 10v kit?
A carvat. while Stuart markets this engine as a beginner engine and others have done it as a first build it may or may not be the best choice as a first build for you. 
I did something similar when I started out. I purchased a PM research 2B kit and a 3b kit . I chose the 2B as a first engine. I broke off a tap in the head and the engine sat for a long time before the tap was removed and the engine completed. I did start and complete a couple of simple bar stock engines in the interim.
Casting kits are great the have a great look to them and all the material is there. The downside is castings are harder to set up and if you goof up a part and it happens in the beginning you need a new casting. sometimes in this hobby the fastest path to success if fail early and often. It is not really failure but part of the learning curve and part of the tuition paid to pass the class. So it may be best to set that fine casting set aside for a few months , or longer and build a couple of bar stock engines first. Build your skills and confidence then tackle the Stuart. 
your choice man we will help you either way. 
as far as taps buy good quality name brand taps I prefer either spiral flute or spiral point taps over hand taps. 

You should be within the size envelope of the minis for this kit. 

And when you get a chance please post an introduction in the welcome area. tell us a bit about yourself your shop etc. 
Tin


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## steamer (Feb 25, 2012)

The 10V can be built on a 7" swing lathe like the minilathe.  A milling machine is a bonus.
I would get Smith's book on "Building the 10V" as he outlines all the setups to make the engine with nice photo's too.

The book is a wise investment, and is really pretty short money.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270725081325+


Dave


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## ronald305 (Feb 25, 2012)

steamer  said:
			
		

> The 10V can be built on a 7" swing lathe like the minilathe.  A milling machine is a bonus.
> I would get Smith's book on "Building the 10V" as he outlines all the setups to make the engine with nice photo's too.
> 
> The book is a wise investment, and is really pretty short money.
> ...


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## coopertje (Feb 25, 2012)

Welcome Roland!

I am looking forward to follow your process on the 10V! I have a 10H in progress, its on hold now because of some other projects but I will finish it for sure this year. I second Daves advice, this book is gold if you are new to machining, and a new spare cast from Stuart is much more expensive!

Regards Jeroen


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## ronald305 (Feb 25, 2012)

thanks Dave & Jeroen 
   I have the book on the 10V by Andrew Smith and as soon as I ever get started I will keep you posted 
            Ronald


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## Xlmyford (Feb 25, 2012)

Hello.
Some good advices how to set up the castings,using a lathe only,you can find here
http://homews.co.uk/page42.html
If you ask me,I would buy the best taps you can get.
Unlike most other sellers in model engineering business,Rotagrip is selling British made HSS,not cheap far eastern carbon steel(what ever that means)crap.
http://rotagriponline.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=275&Itemid=29
Just in case,you don't want to spend a lot of money on taps that might never be used again;
I don't know where you are living,maybe in a metric country.
It's not unusual to change to metric threads and use the suitable taps and dies,if you own them already.
Cheers,Ralph


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## Sic Semper Tyrannis (Feb 25, 2012)

I am building one too!


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## machinerguy (Mar 20, 2012)

It may be a little late, but I only bought B.A. taps for mine because it came with bolts. All other threads are Imperial ( packing gland, eccentric shafts, int. & ex. ports). If I had to buy/make hardware, they would all be American # sizes.


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## krv3000 (Mar 21, 2012)

HI if you go to workshop shed or google harold hall ther is a set of pics on haw to billd a stuart 10


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## AlasdairM (Mar 23, 2012)

In case they are of interest, other sites with builds of the 10V are:

http://www.rootprompt.co.uk/category/stuart-10v/

http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=3885.0

http://www.raynerd.co.uk/

http://www.tudedude.co.uk/index.html - (this is the 10D but quite a few bits are same to 10V)

I would wholeheartedly endorse Tin Falcon's suggestion that you try building a simple oscillating engine or similar first. I also bought the 10V as my "starter" project about 2 years ago, with the idea to teach myself how to do things as I went along. Shortly after making a mess-up of some of it, I bought replacement castings (for the ones I had damaged beyond use/repair) and put the kit to one side.

Made a simple oscillator from stock - was huge fun, meant not too costly to replace "practice pieces", and actually worked!!

Now am back on the 10v whilst getting sidetracked with other things as well 

Good luck, and enjoy ;D

Regards, Alasdair


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## tomol409 (Apr 6, 2012)

The thing about Stuart castings is that they a made from superb cast iron. But watch out for the malleable iron crankshafts which can tie themselves into pretzels, they are so soft. Some of the set- ups have a lot of overhang which courts disaster as some have experienced. Remember the old saying "Soflty, softly catchee monkey".  Don't rush, and take thinks slow and steady and you will get there with all bits intact. I once made a Clarkson engine. The iron was so chilled I had to use TC for nearly everything. Plenty of brilliant sites with photos of all processes, so you can't really go wrong.


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## Jeff02 (Apr 6, 2012)

ronald305  said:
			
		

> my second question would be and probably silly since I don't have a bridgeport and a 12X36 lathe I only have a minimill and minilathe can they be built from these two machines that is all for now thank you
> Ronald


Hey Ronald and Welcome.
I have built a couple of 10V and the 10H, both were built on the machines below.


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## pkastagehand (Apr 20, 2012)

I built the 10V as my first engine. I had done other machining prior to starting it but had not built an engine yet. I had no milling machine so if any milling was done it was with a milling attachment on the lathe. After breaking a BA tap I switched and started using off the shelf machine screws in the nearest size. Taps were more readily available (as in locally). Since this was BI (before internet) finding mail order parts and tools was a bigger issue.

I think I wrecked the crank shaft that came with it; caught and bent or something (this was all over 35 years ago). So made a new one from drill rod. I never did do the packing glands so it leaks a bit. But it has little friction so I can blow into the steam inlet and make it run with lung power. I also put a plexiglas cover over the steam chest so folks could see the D valve move.

Paul




Vertical Steam Engine by stagetech56, on Flickr


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## compspecial (Apr 20, 2012)

Hello Ronald and welcome, I love the 10v too because they are such a traditional design they could have been scaled from a full size engine. I think B.A. is still popular because of the scale hexagons on the bolts. 
                          Stew.


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## mulac321 (May 8, 2012)

Has anyone noticed that the 10v is no longer being sold as unmachined kits on the Stuart website? Also missing is the twin 10v and 10h. U can still by spares luckaly, I have a small pile of misss machined con rods from my 10v which has been shelved till I'm a little more talented  

Calum


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## Jasonb (May 8, 2012)

Stuarts are in the process of being sold. They are not casting anymore stock until the deal is done then production will start again.

J


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