# Economic  Motor project



## Tom T (Oct 30, 2008)

hello all I have been away from this site for awhile got tied up restoring some engines but I am back to model engine building again. If your new here you can see last winters project by searching atkinson cycle engine supersize. 
I have started building a model of a engine built by Economic Motor Co. about 1883 it is a non compression engine of the Lenoir type. All I have to go by is 3 pictures and a 15 minute conversation with a guy on the phone that has built 2 of these. I am going to need your help when I get to the fuel system.
 ok here we go, I Had a 18 inch flywheel that was a raw casting I turned it true and bored it out to 1.250. The base is built up from 18 inch pipe and flat bar, lots of welding and grinding. Tom T


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## wareagle (Oct 30, 2008)

Tom, I really like the way you have done the base. It looks great! Will you be welding a majority of the frame work together, or are you going to use bolts?

Keep us up on the build progress!


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## Brian Rupnow (Oct 30, 2008)

Beautifull work on that base!!! It looks like a casting.---Brian


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## rake60 (Oct 30, 2008)

Tom that base certainly doesn't look like a fabrication! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Amazing craftsmanship and artistry there!
Please keep those pictures coming as you go.

Rick


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## BobWarfield (Oct 30, 2008)

Wow!

I love to watch these fabricated pieces turn out looking so gorgeous. And that's really a unique engine design. Never seen anything quite like it. What a good choice!

Cheers,

BW


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## Brass_Machine (Oct 30, 2008)

That is a very cool base. Great idea on making it. I may to try that some time.

Eric


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## Maryak (Oct 31, 2008)

Tom T,

Very nifty base :bow: 

Thanks for sharing 

Regards
Bob


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## Tom T (Nov 5, 2008)

Thanks for encouragement guys . I have made a little more progress. Here is a another picture.
Wareagle I will bolt most of it together because I will have to take it apart about a 1000 times before its done :


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## Brass_Machine (Nov 5, 2008)

Great progress. Very industrial looking. I like that

Eric


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## wareagle (Nov 5, 2008)

Tom, I am here to tell you that your fab skills are first rate! That is looking fantastic! :bow:


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## cfellows (Nov 6, 2008)

That's going to be a great looking engine, Tom. And I love the way you built the base. Great idea!

Chuck


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## Tom T (Nov 15, 2008)

I got the parts for the cyl built. The barrel slips up thru the plate, the fins are set in the slots in the plate and the round ring is pressed onto the top of them. The Cyl head will use the bolt holes in the barrel for the head bolts. 






This is what it looks like assymbled.    Tom


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## Brian Rupnow (Nov 15, 2008)

Absolutely gorgeous!!!


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## kellswaterri (Nov 15, 2008)

Tom, that build and the fabrication for it can only be described as Unique...I will be following this build with great interest.
All the best for now,
              John.


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## CrewCab (Nov 15, 2008)

Tom, the cylinder and fins etc are really superb, and the construction is intriguing, how did you lay out the baseplate, CNC, DRO or pencil and paper ........... just interested ........... and looking forward to the rest.

CC


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## seagar (Nov 15, 2008)

WOW !!!! Thank you for shareing.

Ian.


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## John S (Nov 15, 2008)

Awesome, colour me impressed.

.


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## chuck foster (Nov 15, 2008)

tom thats an engine very similar to one i thought about making. heres the link to the one i was considering
http://www.google.com/patents?id=Jj...kins+engine&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=0_1

very nice workmanship on your part :bow: :bow:

chuck


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## Maryak (Nov 15, 2008)

Tom T,

I was impressed with the base. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




I am absolutely blown away with the cylinder fins and their construction method 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	










Bloody marvellous :bow: :bow:

Can't wait to see this finished.

Best Regards
Bob


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## wareagle (Nov 15, 2008)

Tom, I am in awe! This is an unconventional project as we (model engineers) are used seeing. You are doing a first class job and I can't hardly wait to see the pictures of the final product!!


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## Tom T (Nov 15, 2008)

Thanks guys for all the nice compliments. 

CrewCab, I used a DRO to lay out the cyl head bolt circle and also spot drilled the outer fin groove. Then I mounted it on a spacer and cut the slots. No CNC in my shop {yet}. 

Chuck Foster, Thanks for the link. That is the engine. Economic Motor Co. acquired this patten. This sure gives me a lot more to work with. All I had was the pictures. I was just starting to build the cyl head and was just guessing at how it was built. Now I need to set back and study these plans.  Tom


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## rake60 (Nov 15, 2008)

Tom your fabrication are absolutely amazing!

Please keep them coming.

Rick


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## John S (Nov 16, 2008)

Not to take anything away from Tom's thread but just a note on fabrication that might help others.

Some years ago one of my customers sold a large 1960's woodworking machine for a very good price. On loading this they dropped it and smashed the large end casting beyond repair.

Because the new owner had seen the machine and knew what to expect i was asked if it was possible to make a new cover, casting was out the question given no patterns and the size so I fabricated one.

Being 1960's it was all curved surfaces with about 2" radii on all corners so I slit a thick walled 4" pipe lengthways into 4 slices and used these on the corners. All MIG welded, ground up, thick coat primer and sent out.
They then painted this same colour as the machine and it was indistinguishable from new.


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## b.lindsey (Nov 16, 2008)

Beautiful work Tom and the unique design only adds to it. I too will be following the thread with great interest.

Bill


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## Tom T (Nov 16, 2008)

Hey John, That is how I started out to do it. But I couldn't figure out how to bend the split pipe into a radius for the top piece so I decided to use a piece of solid bar and mill it flat on the bottom. I tried this but it just didn't work out. 
So I just used a piece of strap. Thank you for your input.  Tom


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## CrewCab (Nov 16, 2008)

Tom T  said:
			
		

> I used a DRO to lay out the cyl head bolt circle and also spot drilled the outer fin groove. Then I mounted it on a spacer and cut the slots. No CNC in my shop {yet}.



Thanks for the feed back Tom.

CC


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## Brass_Machine (Nov 17, 2008)

Tom...

I look away for a few days... and WOW :bow: those fins are awesome!

looking good. Keep it up!

Eric


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## Mcgyver (Nov 17, 2008)

very nice job Tom, with the price of castings fabrication is where we'll have to look. Its great to examples of how built up and bar stock construction can producing great looking and historically accurate models. thanks for all the pics


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## Cedge (Nov 18, 2008)

Watching this one come together with a healthy dose of awe!! Love those fins.

Steve


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## Tom T (Nov 24, 2008)

Hello all, My son and I started doing a little testing on this engine this evening to see how the fuel system might work. And I'll be darned if it didn't start on the first try. Shocked us both, went and got my wife and the video camera. Took a little movie. I am just holding my portable propane torch up to the intake pipe [no fire just gas]. You can here the engine speed up and then starve for fuel and miss a few beats. I am really surprised this engine will run at all. I don't even have a piston ring on the piston yet? I will post some better pictures and video soon. When I come back down to earth!!!!


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## jack404 (Nov 24, 2008)

Tom 






great going !!

from start to now how long has it been??

a few weeks??

sheeesh..

sounds great

jack


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## cfellows (Nov 24, 2008)

Very impressive. Very interesting to watch it run. How does that exhaust work?

Chuck


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## Maryak (Nov 25, 2008)

Tom,

That is just unbelievable 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	







Sorry but I don't have any words other than GOBSMACKED.

Best Regards
Bob


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## b.lindsey (Nov 25, 2008)

Tom,
Very very impressive. Thanks for posting the interim video too!! It may take a few days to come back down to earth but I am sure we will all be awaiting more on this elegant project.
Bill


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## crankshafter (Nov 25, 2008)

Tom.
Are you back down to earth!!!! if you are:


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## Brian Rupnow (Nov 25, 2008)

Very, very impressive!!!---Brian


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## wareagle (Nov 25, 2008)

Tom, you have done a marvelous job on this one! That is one awesome engine you have there!!! :bow: :bow:


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## dsquire (Nov 25, 2008)

Tom

Fantastic! :bow: :bow:

Isn't that a great feeling when it takes off running when your just getting ready to start it. Kinda makes you wonder what happened for a minute. I guess that's payback for the excellent craftsmanship that you did when sculpting it out of metal.

Cheers

Don


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## Tom T (Nov 25, 2008)

Well I am back thanks guys.
Jack its been 5 weeks , when I get started on one of these engines I spend every spare minute working on it.

Chuck it has a regular cylinder head with two valves one mechanical, one atmospheric. the exhaust just dumps out the side of the head under the base.

The way this engine works is the piston makes an exhaust stroke on the way down and on the up stroke it sucks a gas air mixture for half a stroke, fires and the other half stroke is the power stroke. I Will take some pictures of the bottom side so you can see how the valves and contact for the coil works.  Tom


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## Tom T (Dec 6, 2008)

Here is a few more pictures and a video. Built the fuel system, and I've got it running fairly well but sure could use a book on how to tune your non compression engine.  :


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## Brian Rupnow (Dec 6, 2008)

Mister, you sure do beautifull work. Engine runs great and looks great.---Brian


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## chuck foster (Dec 6, 2008)

now i REALLY WANT ONE :

chuck


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