# Finished Elbow engine



## arnoldb (Oct 31, 2010)

I finished my elbow engine. The build log is here











And a short video:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bD_QPQwd7E[/ame]

Regards, Arnold


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## GordTopps (Oct 31, 2010)

Nice one Arnold th_wav :bow:

Regards
Gordy


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## kustomkb (Oct 31, 2010)

Congratulations Arnold!

You do some very nice work. I'd like to give this one a try some day.


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## winklmj (Oct 31, 2010)

THAT is a very cool engine. Definitely needs to be filmed in slo-mo to see how it really works. Nice job.


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## larry1 (Oct 31, 2010)

Great work Arnold. larry


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## Foozer (Nov 1, 2010)

And it looks so simple . . . when its done. Gonna have to give one a try.

Good work, looks nice

Robert


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## SBWHART (Nov 1, 2010)

Cracking Job Arnold

 :big: :big: :big: :big:

Stew


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## steamer (Nov 1, 2010)

Great Job Arnold! Those elbows are tough ones!

Dave


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## vascon2196 (Nov 1, 2010)

Nice job...those engines are really cool.

One day...one day.........

Chris


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## putputman (Nov 1, 2010)

Arnold, neat looking engine. I have never built that engine but from what I have heard, there is no room for error. Everything has to be perfect for it to run as well as yours does. Takes a lot of skill and patience.


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## arnoldb (Nov 1, 2010)

Gordy, Kevin, Mike, Larry, Robert, Stew, Dave, Chris & Arv - Thank you for your generous response 

For those of you contemplating building it - it's a fun engine to build, but a bit challenging with regard to accuracy like Dave and Arv mentioned. Stew's plans do allow for some minor adjusting which make things easier. Well worth a go - my video does not do it justice; it is an engine that begs to be seen running in person 

Mike - unfortunately no slow-motion recording on my digital camera, so the challenge is up to someone else 

Kind regards, Arnold


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## SBWHART (Nov 1, 2010)

Here you go Guys a nice animation of an Elbow you should able to work out how it works.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F58EKhapHY&feature=related[/ame]

Stew


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## m_kilde (Nov 2, 2010)

Hi Stew

Great job and a fine video.

The video almost works as a step by step guide


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## doubletop (Feb 17, 2012)

Missed this the first time round


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## Oakspring (Feb 23, 2012)

I've never seen anything like this.....it is SO TOTALLY COOL!! :bow:


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## AussieJimG (Feb 24, 2012)

I think the elbow engine must be one of the hardest of all to build. It is a high precision job and you have done it. :bow: :bow: :bow:

Not only that, but it looks a treat. Congratulations

Jim


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## vascon2196 (Feb 24, 2012)

Hi Stew,

Great job with the animation!

I just built this in SolidWorks from the same plans...I plan on building this engine next (wish me luck)

I noticed that when I modeled the pistons there was a discrepancy with the length of the piston diameter. I think it should be about 1.1 to 1.13 inches long instead of 1.25 inches long. When I bent the piston 90-degrees it seemed to interfere with itself....did you notice the same issue?


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## vascon2196 (Feb 24, 2012)

Here are a couple of screenshots of what I am talking about...I just want to work out any issues in SolidWorks before I make them cutting metal.

Thanks,

Chris


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## arnoldb (Feb 24, 2012)

Thanks for checking in Pete.

Oakspring, thanks; they are nice engines, especially to see running for real.

Thanks Jim - it was a bit of a challenge to build, but somehow I'm finding my current build of Elmer's Kimble a bit harder.

Good luck Chris - its a fun build, and from people's reactions one of the most popular engines in my collection.
 scratch.gif - where's the pictures you wanted t post?

Kind regards, Arnold


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## vascon2196 (Feb 24, 2012)

Ha!

I forgot to attach them!!! :-[



View attachment Doc1.pdf


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## Blogwitch (Feb 24, 2012)

Chris,

With a few engines (in fact at least 50%, maybe more), when made from the plans, they do require fine tuning and tweaking.

When I made my elbow a few years ago, I think it was about 1/16th on an inch I had to remove from the end of each piston, it all depends on the final radius of the bend you end up with.

This is where most beginners meet their downfall. They hit a problem with plan dimensions, and because of lack of experience, they don't know where to start looking when trying to solve it.

That is why you should NEVER take plan dimensions as though they were gospel, expect them to be wrong somewhere, and when the engine finally runs, you can give yourself a big pat on the back and a Cheshire cat grin.

John


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## vascon2196 (Feb 24, 2012)

Thanks John...I am a draftsman by trade and for me details are _everything_.

I can't help it!

So far I cannot find any of the 3-1/2" pipe anywhere locally so I know the flywheel is going to change right off the bat.

Chris


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## Blogwitch (Feb 24, 2012)

Chris,

What you mentioned is exactly one of the things I was on about, taking things off plans as gospel.

People will spend large amounts of cash trying to obtain the exact materials mentioned in plans, rather than having a little think about it and then using another way to solve the problem.

This is how I get around my flywheel problems when large diameter bar isn't available.

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=1809.0


John


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## vascon2196 (Feb 25, 2012)

Very impressive John! Those flywheels came out awesome!

Chris


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