1/4 Scale Gade Build

[cheepo45]

Hi Everyone,
Now that the fishing season is slowing down, and it's too hot outside to do lawn work, I cleaned the cobwebs from my shop and actually did some work. I milled the base casting and the main caps, and match drilled and tapped the holes to bolt them together. here are some pics. I am quickly learning that castings require a lot of "fudging" to get things aligned as closely as possible!

 

[vcutajar]

Glad you are back on the Gade build. You have to be prepared to do a lot of compromises with castings.

Vince

 

[idahoan]

Hi Cheepo

It is good to see progress on your Gade build; this sure is a nice running model when completed.
My buddy built one a couple of years ago and I have some castings ageing on the shelf.

Keep the updates comming

Dave

 

[cheepo45]

Hi Everyone,
Sorry for the long delay on this build. I had some problems with measurements on my Mill-Drill which led to a mistake on the base casting. It is fixable, but I put it on the shelf while I installed a D.R.O. and changed the belts to link belts. Then I built an Elmer's # 30 to confirm that the machine was working better (and to have something new for Cabin Fever!)
Everything seems to be working well, so I have resumed work on the Gade.
Here are some pictures of the cylinder machining.
I don't get much shop time in the summer, but I will try to post as often as I can.
Does anyone know the HMEM record for the longest build time? I may be in the running!
cheepo45

 

[idahoan]

Hi Cheepo45

Good to see more progress on the Gade; I started on my Pacific almost a year ago and still have a long ways to go. Life got in the way and with other projects taking front seat it has sat idle for better than a month (or maybe more) now. Hopefully I will be able to get some shop time on it in a week or two.

Dave

 

[cheepo45]

I finally got back to my Gade build. I made some valves today.
First I rough turned the o.d."s to about .040 oversize and left the stem length about .030 on the long side.
Next I drilled a really small, shallow center in the end. (.025 deep) and brought up the live center.I will face off the .030 extra length and the center later.
Then I used a .030 radius cutter and .005 cuts to take it to size. I had to move the tailstock to get rid of a little taper, but I got it to .0002 over the length of the stem.
I used a boring bar with the lathe turning backwards to cut the 45 degree face, then parted them off.
A quick face cut and a little polishing and I've got some valves!
cheepo45

 

[2manyhobbies]

Hey Cheepo - Glad to see you are back at it! The valves look good.

 

[cheepo45]

Thanks, 2manyhobbies. I also have too many hobbies! At this rate, I should be done in another 5 years or so
cheepo45

 

[cheepo45]

Hi Everyone,
I have been working on some of the small parts for the Gade lately. Here are some pictures. I'm glad to be done drilling all the #60 (.040) holes in the .094 drill rod pins!
I hope to see some of you at the Cabin Fever Expo in April.
cheepo45

 

[cheepo45]

Hi Everyone,
I have made some more parts for my Gade project.
I have completed the piston and pin, and I am working on the crankshaft.
The piston machined really well. I used a 4 jaw chuck and dialed in the I.D. of the piston casting as close as I could. With some careful machining, I got the O.D. .0005 smaller than the cylinder I.D. for a nice snug fit.
I just started on the crankshaft. Some builders have expressed concerns with the cast crank breaking. I'm going to carefully machine it and see what happens. The casting I got is somewhat warped, so I set it up on a surface plate and marked the ends at the same centerline as the rod throw to make sure the casting would clean up. It looks like it should be ok. I drilled the centers by clamping it to a right angle plate by the rod throw area to compensate for the warpage. I am using a cutoff blade with a relief ground in the center and radii on the edges to machine the rod journal. so far it is going well.
Thanks for everyone's patience on this long running project. I hope to post more soon.
cheepo45

 

[2manyhobbies]

Hi cheepo
Nice work! 0.0005" is a very tight piston fit, usually you would like to see a little more, maybe 0.0015-0.002" this clearance helps accommodate the different rates of expansion between cast iron and aluminum. Maybe 0.0005 in an engine this small is acceptable? Just though I would mention this.
Brad

 

[cheepo45]

Thanks, Brad.
Glad to see you are still on the forum. The piston clearance is from the plans. Both the cylinder and piston are cast iron, so I hope it will work ok.
It seemed a little on the tight side to me too, But the general rule of thumb for gasoline engines is .001 clearance per inch of bore size with an aluminum piston. The newer engines are even closer than that. When I get it running (someday!), I will run some 2 stroke oil in the gas for a little extra lubrication.
cheepo45

 

[deverett]

Hi cheepo

Is there any advance on the plans for the cylinder head jig mentioned in reply #11 back in 2012?

Dave
The Emerald Isle

 

[Jasonb]

I've got that one sorted Dave

 

[2manyhobbies]

I had not been on in quite a while, but I subscribed to this thread, and got a PM from another member, so I decided to catch up. I forgot that the casting for the engine was CI, I believe I made my piston out of AL, but I would have to look and see!

Jasonb - Did you make a drawing for the Cyl. head fixture?

 

[Jasonb]

No, I have a 1/2 scale to make but will use a different method to hold the head, much the same as I did on the Domestic. Same principal of threading the hold down holes and spacing the head off.

Having it in the 4-jaw means all the holes can be done in the lathe and I prefer to turn the valve seat rather than use a countersink. Could be done with your jig if a square block were used rather than round.

 

[cheepo45]

Nice Fixture, Jason.
cheepo45

 

[cheepo45]

Hello everyone,
I have actually made some progress lately on the Gade motor.
The crankshaft is completed. The base casting is machined, and the connecting rod and main bearings are done.
I actually have some parts that move now!
Here are some recent pictures.
cheepo45

 

[ksbowhunter]

Looking good Cheepo. I haven't really got started on mine yet as I have a few others I want to get done first. I recently picked up a 1/2 scale maytag upright and a 1/2 scale John Deere.

 

[jschoenly]

Cheepo,

Great looking build. These Gade's are always a nice looking engine and I am a fan of the air cooled engines.

I saw a while back posting about the longest running build... Well I start my first engine, a Lil' Brother Air Cooled with Jay Peters when I did some work grinding castings for him. He helped me a while and I later had some help from my late friend George Luhrs on the engine to keep it going. Long story short, the engine is still in process and it's been 20 years now. It is funny how school, projects, shows, life, etc cranks along. You are making great progress! Keep it up!