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As for fuels a proper diesel engine will run on just about anything. I used to have a friend who ran his Mercedes car on used cooking oil.

I make clack valves for model steam locomotives and the 'give the ball a whack with a hammer ' isn't nowadays regarded as the way to get a seal. Instead, set a ball in a little holder and put it in the lathe with the valve face in the chuck, apply some oil and apply gentle pressure as it...

A great book on how piston engines were developed and the science behind them is Bill Gunston's 'Piston Aero Engines'.

Petrol/paraffin tractors were very common in the UK. Paraffin is heating oil or kerosene so does not attract the same tax as petrol or gasoline. It is still a lot cheaper here. Diesel is something quite different and you couldn't start a petrol/paraffin tractor on diesel, it ignites by...

Will it run on one cylinder? Remember it's a 4 stroke, I would have thought the other cylinder would fire on the stroke the other one doesn't, if you take my meaning. Anyway , I would suggest trying to get it running on one cylinder first.

I think the idea of the servo motor is that it is for a sewing machine and you want it to stop either needle up or needle down. I've now made a 4 tool toolpost for it but thanks for the idea on how to make a height adjust. I've been trying to find out who made the lathe, it's really well made...

Hi, the problem with mine was that it was a servo motor. There aren't any programmable parameters unlike the brushless DC motor variant. I didn't realise this and bought the wrong one basically.

I've put one on a 21/2 centre plain lathe I have. They work well, only problem is they stop instantly so the chuck could come flying off. What I have done is incorporate a bicycle free wheel into the countershaft unit I made.

I have used Press n Peel blue and electro etching using copper sulphate solution and 2 or 3 volts. I found you need the surface you are etching facing downwards so the etched particles fall away from the surface.

Hi yes , here is the link, it is easy to sign up and post ads. https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/members/login.asp

Hi, yes that's a quorn tool and cutter grinder, I have one that i made many years ago. I think you should advertise them on the Model Engineer website, the ads are free and will reach the right people , not dealers.

I find that the best grade of steel to use is the piece you've already got.

Hi, I would like to ask if anyone has tried using a conventional oil central heating boiler burner for a furnace? I am in the UK and can get kerosene for central heating easily. I have successfully used a waste oil burner in the past [Colin Peck's design] and cast a set of wheels for a 5 inch...

I bought a Reilang oiler years ago which was very expensive. It leaks through the alloy body! I ended up pouring some lacquer into it, shaking it and pouring it out, then letting it dry. That stopped the leak but I agree we should be able to buy a good quality oiler that doesn't leak and does...

I'm referring to the oil points that are flush with the surface. How do you get oil into them?

I have the same problem on all my machines, I can never get any oil into those little oil nipples which have a spring loaded ball. I just put the oil on the slides. I know that's not the right way to go about it so I will be happy to be advised on how to get any oil into them. I have an oiler...

Ok, thanks Jason. I have another photo of one by LBSC, it's on his 31/2 gauge 2-2-2 Grosvenor in the book 'Shop, Shed and Road'. Unfortuneatly he didn't include any description of it. It's a single cylinder one.

Hi Jason, I find your donkey engine very interesting because I am looking for a design for one for a 5 inch gauge locomotive I am building. There is a shortage of designs for ones that work. LBSC has a design in Shop shed and Road but I wouldn't be very confident that it would work and there...

I just used an old multimeter test lead as Jason suggests. The insulation is quite adequate for what we want and the diameter is only 3-4 mm.

With these low compression engines the fuel doesn't seem to matter much. I just use ordinary unleaded in my Rumely tractor engine and that works fine.