Hi all,
I know a few of you have been following my oscillating engine described in Work In Progress. The engine is now finished apart from giving it a decent wooden base, it has been tested and runs very well. The bore is 3/16" dia and stroke is 1/2" giving it a cubic capacity of 0.226cc!
I followed my own plans rigidly with the exception of a couple of non-critical material changes. I used cast gunmetal for the flywheel as I had that closer to finished size, and I used mild steel for the crank and pivot pins instead of silver steel.
Although I did have problems bending the frame, I still think it's a valid method and if approached with a bit more thought and care, a better looking frame than mine will be achieved. However, as long as the same basic dimensions are kept, there is nothing to stop people from working out a different way of constructing the frame. Indeed, I will be making another variation with all the same parts except for a different frame, this time I will make the engine in a horizontal configuration using brass or steel angle and a bearing tube soldered into it. I originally planned to make a pair of these but I think I'll try this slight modification on the next one.
I am now therefore confident to release the drawings which I will attach to this thread in case anybody else wants to have a go at it. It was a nice little exercise, took me around 20 hours or so, and could be a break from a larger project or a good place for the beginner to start. At least in this scale it costs peanuts if you have to make more than 1 component!
I should stress that I am the only person that has used or seen these drawings so there could be mistakes. If anybody notices anything please shout up, also, if there are any questions I'll be glad to answer them.
Below is a picture and video of the finished engine mounted on a scrap piece of wood for the time being!
Nick