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Nothing to add, just a question. John, how much running time did you get from the AA's? BTW, thanks for sharing the circuit. A major contribution to mankind! Bill

Oscillators have gotten a bum rap because they have been used so much in cheap toys. But they have a long history of producing large amounts of power in a very compact and reliable package. Bill

How about going back to the gas engine beginning, when inventors had no idea what would work or what they were doing. Find something that you think will run and make it. You might start by looking here: http://douglas-self.com/ There are some some wild and crazy (also interesting) ideas out...

I think that Philip Duclos' "Maverick" engine used a ball less governor. Here is a photo http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/f14/couple-philip-duclos-designs-121/ And, I hope, a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z75HhdSK_1E Bill

Mineral spirits is a turpentine substitute. Very slow drying and the modern formulation in the states is nearly orderless. Also known as mineral turpentine, white spirits and Stoddard Solvent. Bill

Tin, I'm fine and not arguing anything. I construed this statement "so you need a con rod short enough not to bend under 60 pounds of compression force" to be an argument for short con rods, when in fact, shortening the rod increases other stresses that you were ignoring. It's a very...

Tin, your not considering the impact of the resulting angle. As the con rod gets shorter, the side pressure on the crosshead increases and the forces on the con rod change, becoming less compressive and more bending. Bill

The workable minimum for a con rod is 1 1/2 times the stroke. Shorter than that and side pressure becomes a problem. I don't think there is a max. Bill

I have yet to paint a model engine, but I've stripped a couple of full sized ones and repainted them. The castings were not smoothed, just minimal grinding. They were then covered with a thick coating of filler, which was sanded smooth and painted. By thick, I mean up 3/16". The end result...

WHAT!? You got a problem with a Merlin popping and farting its way off the apron? Bill

An item is worth what you think it is worth, no less, no more, unless you plan to sell it at a profit. That said, there has to be a special place in Hell for a fellow that makes offers, then walks away when they are accepted. Bill

Might be, but the Wikipedia list of Metric thread sizes lists them as "Preferred Sizes". The ASME threads are listed as "Sizes". Bill

There really is no metric standard thread. The "standard" simply states the thread description shall be in metric terms. Bill

Hudsons used single plate cork clutches running in oil. The corks were of the bottle stopper type and the oil was "Hudsonite", which came in a very small can, I'd guess about 4 oz. I would guess it was simply hydraulic oil. They were very smooth and able to handle the 308 cu. in. Twin H...

Googling "millport lathe" brought me to the Millport site. They are a supplier of industrial machines, but no longer list a lathe this small. During the '80's, some of the Taiwan manufactures made industrial equipment that seems to be of pretty good quality. I have a small Taiwanese...

Not only are all machinists not created equal, their eyes are not either. I find that vernier calipers are almost impossible to read. I know how, my eyes just will not cooperate. Same with Starrett mics. Nothing wrong with them, my eyes just do not correctly see the line alignment. As a...

Sometimes a chip breaker will produce tightly curved, broken chips. Is this what you have? If so, that is good. Bill

I have managed to find a description of the Otto slide valve and it is not purely slide valve. It depends upon a poppet valve for exhaust. The slide valve was part of a complex scheme to use flame ignition. As soon as other ignitions were developed, the slide valve disappeared. Not very...

I was thinking of something like this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmcSVNIkj_w Bill