# What Are You Working On Today?



## rake60 (Aug 29, 2007)

How about some in-progress pictures?
We're all working at something.

My current project is a horizontal mill engine.  
It's almost done.





OK, so it still needs a flywheel, base and the entire support structure,
but that's "almost" to me.   :? 

What are you working on?
Rick


----------



## m_kilde (Aug 29, 2007)

Hi Rick

My current project is a side lever steam engine






Overall Lenght = 99 mm
Height = 94 mm
Width = 56 mm


----------



## tattoomike68 (Aug 29, 2007)

I hate to admit it but I am fixing a broken spatula from my womans job, Its her favorite for flipping eggs,pancakes and stuff on the grill.

I welded a piece of stainless to it and am making a new wood handle to go around the stainless.

Anything to keep the woman happy.  8)


----------



## Bogstandard (Aug 29, 2007)

Absolutely nothing, taking a break for a couple of days.
Manhandling that frame took too much out of my arm.
Ask again next week.

John


----------



## 1Kenny (Aug 30, 2007)

Been working on an Elbow engine. I am not very fast but this is a lot of fun. Trying to decide what to do with the column so it doesn't look so bulky.


----------



## Sprocket (Aug 30, 2007)

I've been working on a base for this. I made the flywheels bigger than the plans, so needed to lift it up a bit to clear. Haven't got a picture of that yet... maybe tomorrow.

Doug


----------



## rake60 (Sep 1, 2007)

Kenny that Elbow Engine is looking great!  
I keep looking at mine and thinking of ways I could make a better running
model.  Then I remember.......   Well I'm not ready to go back THERE
again just yet!  That engine was a nightmare for me.  Maybe I was just
rushing it a bit too much.

All of the projects are looking good!  
Best of luck on all of them.


----------



## georgeseal (Sep 2, 2007)

Well this is my latest project
from Home shop Machinist N/D 2005 by Walter Yeman.

base is 5" dia Teak that I got out of the trash at the local marinia

it is missing a Navy flag that I have not picked up yet.

George


----------



## Bogstandard (Sep 2, 2007)

Hi Kenny,
The elbow engine is lookin' good, if you look at my elbow engine build you will see what I did to get around the upright problem, you can remove about 50% of the material. I was going to make it with just a small base and two thick walled tubes going to the top bearing, giving it a bit of a 'suspended' look, maybe for the next one.

Just finished a small commision for a chap in Australia, who is building a steam powered paddle boat model.
Lots of hours work here, hand blending radii and removing all machining marks and still keeping within fine tolerances with square edges. The holes in the coupling flanges are all tapped 10BA and had to be perfectly square and fully interchangeable. This one is going to cost.





John


----------



## Cedge (Sep 2, 2007)

Today was spent wrestling with the Elbow. We declared it a draw abnout an hour ago.  This little devil is going to be a worthy adversary as I try to get ot all aligned.  I've still got to add a pair of airlines to the upper valve body so that I can continue to tweak things into position. 

Sadly, I might have to go back a step or 3 and rework the cylinders to add a bit of length. I've possibly underestimated the requirement after moving from the 5/16 in to the 7/16 in. radius, but it's not certain just yet.  Not a huge deal, as I'm pretty sure I can salvage the flywheel work if I have to rework things.

I can get a fair turn by hand but it appears that turning by hand does not really let the cylinders match their rotation like they do under running conditions, causing some binding.

We've entered the frustrating phase for the moment, but it's still a lot of fun.

This is where things are with the project right now:


----------



## Hal (Sep 2, 2007)

Cedge 

Maybe it doesn't run yet but it has _*STYLE*_.

Keep the pictures coming.

Hal


----------



## Cedge (Sep 2, 2007)

Thanks Hal.  Now all I have to do is beat it into submission...LOL I think I'm close, but having tossed out the drawings almost from the beginning, it's going to be trial and error until I can determine out if the current fight is due to some of the the changes I made along the way.  Like the old undertaker said... "remains to be seen".  

Steve


----------



## Hal (Sep 2, 2007)

Cedge

Your choice of components, complement each other very well.

What is the "black" metal or what metal did you use and what did you do to color it?

And another question while I'm at it.

How did you make your pistons/rods with the balls in the middle.

Hal


----------



## Cedge (Sep 3, 2007)

Hal
I made the cylinders from scrap yard steel and then applied gun blue to them. It's an easy way to attractively finish iron, although few people use it much these days outside of the firearms community.

The balls were made with a ball cutting tool that I recently made. There are a number of sites where you can see how they are made.  Make one is a fun project with the added bonus of being able to create balls of any size up to about 2 inches in diameter.  Mine can be seen in the "Tools" area of this site.

I cheated a bit on these. I wanted to conserve my drill rod so rather than turn them from solid 3/8 rod, I made the pistons from 1/4 inch and then drilled a 1/4 inch hole in a piece of 3/8 and turned the balls. When the cutter cut through to the drilled hole, the balls separated and were ready to slip onto the 1/4 rod.  From there the rods were bent for use as shown in the plans.  Doing it this way saved a lot of wasted metal and tedious cutting. 

Steve


----------



## rake60 (Sep 3, 2007)

Steve that is one impressive looking Elbow Engine!

The "frustrating phase" on my simple version was enough for me.   

I'm sure you will get it running soon.  
Keep us updated.

Rick


----------



## Cedge (Sep 3, 2007)

Thanks Rick
I'm not letting it see me sweat just yet.  As i recall from th elast time I messed with one, the elbow behaves totally different when air is applied, so the fact that I can turn the engine by hand has me hoping for the best. I think it's close, but I won't know until the air lines are finished.  That project is 75% done at the moment and should make a bit more progress in the morning.

Steve


----------



## compound driver (Sep 18, 2007)

Well today i took a break from the 2 inch agricultural in the boiler build and worked on my Fowler. drew up the wheel jigs and started making the spokes only 60 odd to go. 
Tomorow im machining the cylinder studs for the other engine and may even do some real work.

cheers Kevin


----------



## Cedge (Sep 18, 2007)

Frustration Phase continues....  I can get the little Elbow to turn under it's own power, only to stop before making a full revolution. It appears one particular piston is at fault, but I can find no reason for it to stop the action.  I'm scratching my head and studying things at the moment. 

I've checked and rechecked it forsquareness, checked it to make sure it isn't striking the base and checked it for length, diameter and nothing obvious has shown itself yet. I've tried the offending piston in several cylinders and it simply isn't happy in any of them.  I'll probably make another piston set to replace the one that is causing problems, but I'm not yet sure what changes to make.  

 I've enjoyed this build tremendously , but the test and adjustment part has become a real bear...LOL 

Steve


----------



## lugnut (Sep 18, 2007)

Steve, mine acts the same as yours.  It will spin easly by hand and I even pressed the flywheel up to spinning sanding drum and run it at about 3400 rpm.  But when the air is applyed to the thing it wants to just set there.  It will try to turn and even once ran for about 5 revs.  I think it is leaking too much air.  Now it's called My "Rachifrach" engine.  
Mel


----------



## Cedge (Sep 19, 2007)

Mel
I can feel your pain ol' buddy....LOL.  I've hand turned this little bugger enough to have totally worn it in by now.  Whatever is bothering it can't be too serious, but it's got me flummaxed for the moment. I can hand turn it both directions, but there is still a slight point of resistance that just doesn't want to go away. :roll:  I'm thinking of naming it "Censored" since its current name is not for the gentle ears of polite company.  :shock: 

Steve


----------



## Bogstandard (Sep 19, 2007)

Oh! ye of little faith.
I'm sure that if a one handed old fart like me can get one running, you lot should have no trouble.
Perseverence and patience is the cure.
May your gaps be little ones.

John


----------



## Cedge (Sep 19, 2007)

Bogster...
You're a black hearted soul, but I got the "small gap" comment....LOL.  I worked on this engine all night , while I slept.  The problem became a bit more apparent at about 5:00 am during the 1051st iteration of the same dream....(yawn)... but at least I have a direction to go now. There are still a number of things to try.

Don...
I'll have to admit your experience with this engine does make me feel a little less pain....LOL.  Neat little hand powered version you have there.  I'm told that Auto Zone sells a hand tool accessory that is based on the same design. 

Steve


----------



## Bogstandard (Sep 19, 2007)

Hi Steve,
I wasn't trying to be blackhearted at all (well, maybe just a little bit).
If I could do it for you I would, the problem is that not having it in my hands it is very difficult to give a prognosis. I can only tell you what I did to get mine running, and that has already been mentioned before. All I can tell you it will be just one tiny thing stopping it running, if it turns ok by hand it should go, unless of course the port timing is out.

John


----------



## Bogstandard (Sep 24, 2007)

Looking good, all the other ones I have seen have a proper crank, yours looks a lot easier to get a good working model, good work.
I am looking for little projects like this for the kiddies when I put on a display, so if anyone has any other little ideas for kids engines that won't take too long to make, all ideas gratefully accepted.

John


----------



## Cedge (Sep 30, 2007)

Being on parole, I'm shooting for a pardon for good behavior...LOL.  Thank you all for the encouragement. Here is the final version of the infamous Elbow engine.  After application of a bit of elbow grease and some hand rubbed wood work, she's all polished and cleaned up enough to join the rest of the collection. 

I'll be running her again, once I've gotten a larger air compressor, but for now that fun will have to wait. By then, maybe I can come up with a means to capture some video of the event, so I won't have to jump bail....(grin).

Steve


----------



## ed miles (Sep 30, 2007)

Unfortunately my main concern is the third quarter GST return. This is one of those government things that we all have to take care of regardless of which side of the border you live on. The only difference is the name of the tax.

Ed


----------



## Sprocket (Sep 30, 2007)

I spent my shop time this weekend making an oiler and grease cups (3)  for the engine I'm building. No pictures yet, hope I can get some on this evening.
I think it really is the last 10% of the project that takes 90% of the time.


----------



## Bogstandard (Oct 1, 2007)

Steve,
Now its finished cosmetically, it looks absolutely great, very 'Victorian' in it's looks.
Hope you don't mind, just one slight criticism, the only thing that looks out of place is what looks like a cap screw holding the brass cover disc in place, other than that, perfect.

Well done

John


----------



## Cedge (Oct 1, 2007)

John
I don't mind the input one bit. I gotta agree with you on that screw. It's bothered me from the time it was added, but I'm not quite sure how to get around it, yet. I've even considered a ring of small hex heads on the outer rim but that doesn't feel right either. 

I could stretch the ball idea a wee bit and make a disguised screw with a spherical head, but I fear it would look like a badly executed afterthought.  Still scratching me head over a viable solution here. Any ideas?

Steve


----------



## Bogstandard (Oct 2, 2007)

Hi Steve, 
Is it a primary construction screw or just holding the plate on?
Maybe a five or six pointed star shaped head (about half the thickness of the hex head on the bolt) slightly convex to give strength, and blacked to give contrast. This would then allow you to make a basic little peg wrench to tighten it. The Victorians had this sort of embellishment on a lot of their machinery.
Just a suggestion, the final choice is yours. It would take a couple of hours to make but the final result would be worth it. Just machine the hole off the cap bolt and reshape the remainder to whatever you want.

John


----------



## Bogstandard (Nov 2, 2007)

It is now a month since I spoke to Steve about that damned ugly screw spoiling his perfect elbow engine, and I don't suppose he has put it right.
This is the sort of thing I was on about.






This is a 3mm home made decorative bolt. When you look at it normally it looks like polished chrome, but blown up like this it looks awful.
So come on Steve, get rid of that 'orrible cap screw.
 :lol: 
John


----------



## 1Kenny (Nov 2, 2007)

That bolt gets me excited.

This is what I got done so far on the Rotary-Valve engines.







Kenny


----------



## Bogstandard (Nov 2, 2007)

Lookin' good Kenny, are those the original shape to the columns or are you starting to 'bling 'em up' with a few of your own ideas.

John


----------



## 1Kenny (Nov 2, 2007)

Yep, I blinged them up a notch. :lol:


----------



## Bogstandard (Nov 2, 2007)

Great, that means that your engines will be totally unique to you, different from all the other thousands made.
Keep it up.

John


----------



## Ralph (Nov 4, 2007)

Well I couldn't bring myself to start a new project today so I tinkered with an old one, and just added a little bling.






[/img]


----------



## Jones (Nov 5, 2007)

Ralph that engine looks great. How long did it take to do the engine turning?

I'm trying to work on my Upshur Horizontal farm engine, but a stupid bent drill (yes, it was bent when I got it!) has stopped construction.


----------



## lugnut (Nov 5, 2007)

Jones,  how rar are you with your Upshure  engine?  I've been building one also, but have kind of put it aside for a while and working on other things.  Hell my wife has me building stained glass bird houses for her garden club raffle right now.
Mel


----------



## Ralph (Nov 5, 2007)

Hi Jones,
    After disassembly it only took about an hour to do the whole engine. Funny thing is, it seems to run better now that its all dressed up. Or at least its easier to watch. Thanks for the compliment.


----------



## Jones (Nov 6, 2007)

Mel,
I have done the frame, the cylinder liner, most of the rest of the cylinder, the piston, the gudgeon pin (lots of work there  ), and I made a crankshaft but it ended up bent so I have to make another one.

How far along are you?


----------



## 1Kenny (Nov 6, 2007)

Looks good Ralph. Some of the old Indy cars had that on the dash and I always thought it was cool looking.

Jones, I took too deep of cut on one of my cranks yesterday and bent it too. Going to finish it up and make it a display.


----------



## lugnut (Nov 6, 2007)

Jones, Ive got every thing made except the Points, push-rod, sparkplug, exhaust pipe and cutting the gears.  Im going to try using some nylon gears that I bought online to get it running and then try my hand at cutting metal gears later.  Im going to have to disassemble and polish things up a little and make some bling-bling for it so John will be happy.  :lol:  It has been a eye-opening experience and Ive learned a lot from it.  This forum has been a big help.
Mel


----------



## Bogstandard (Nov 6, 2007)

> I took too deep of cut on one of my cranks yesterday and bent it too. Going to finish it up and make it a display.



Kenny, 
Words fail me (and that means a lot as usually I can't shut up).
DISPLAY - HUMBUG , get a new one made, to have gone so far and not give the poor little thing a breath of life is sacrilege. How would you feel if you broke a leg and they just put you on a shelf for the rest of your life. :lol: 

Mel,
I don't need to see bling to make me happy, just seeing them made gives me more joy than anything else. Model engineering is a dying art form and to see new people taking over and making things, however humble, and enjoying doing it, gives me hope that it will carry on for at least another generation.

John


----------



## 1Kenny (Nov 6, 2007)

Oh no John,

I am making another crankshaft for the engine. I was going to make a little rack for the bent crank to display it. That will remind me not to get in a hurry.

Kenny


----------



## Bogstandard (Nov 6, 2007)

Phew,
Had me worried there Kenny, thought you were taking the easy way out.
Good idea displaying it.
If you are any good at silver soldering, built up crankshafts are dead easy compared to fully machined ones, don't look as nice though.

John


----------



## Bogstandard (Nov 7, 2007)

Your skills are really showing thru now Jack. Nice bit of machining.
Please keep showing us as you are going along, I am sure everyone is waiting for the next instalment. 
Hopefully it will inspire a few of our members to try something a little bit more ambitious, once they see that even a complicated little engine can be fairly easily built if broken down into small stages.

Well done

John


----------



## rake60 (Nov 7, 2007)

Very nicely done Jack.

Beautiful fit and finish on your parts!

Rick


----------

