1/4 Scale Rider-Ericsson Pumping Engine

[b.lindsey]

I first saw this engine 12-13 years ago at the NAMES show where Mr. Myers was showing his casting kits. Should have picked it up then at the show but didn't, however it immediately went onto the wish list! I've had the castings for a year or so now but was letting them "age" while finishing up the Briggs project. I hope to do as much justice to this engine as Orrin did on his 1/4 scale model back in October of 2010 when it graced the Banner of HMEM. As my usual project go, this one is substantially larger than most as the finished model should stand some 18" high with smokestack. The contents of the kit are shown in photo 1. I began with the base for the engine and photo two shows the underside of the base after milling the edges square and flycutting.

 

[b.lindsey]

The legs that support the base and engine are just over 6" high and gracefully curved which looks nice but presents a few problems as to holding them for machining and making them come out as a matched pair. I opted to do this by drilling the mounting holes in the bottoms of the legs (photo 1 below) and mounting the legs butted up against each other on a piece of plate aluminum (photos 2 & 3) holding the top of the legs together with some wood strips and a c-clamp and adjusting as needed to get the still unmachined tops of the legs as even and horizontal as possible. While a relatively solid set-up, the top of the legs were still 6" above the mounting plate so a series of light cuts (.005") were made across both leg tops until I got down to good flat and "matched" surfaces for mating to the underside of the base (photo 4)

 

[b.lindsey]

Then it was back to the base to machine the mounting pad for the flywheel support bracket and the ring where the cylinder will eventually mount and drilling the 3 corner holes for mounting the legs (photo 1). These are through holes with threaded holes in the legs for a stud which sticks up through the base and the legs are then secured by nuts on the top of the base (photo 2). This will all need to be dis-assembled as there are additional holes which must be machined into both the top and underside of the base for mounting the cylinder and flywheel bracket. That wil be the next thing done then on to the mounting bracket.

 

[lazylathe]

Will be following this build closely!!! ;D
I have the same set of castings also "Aging"
Waiting for the right amount of expertise to attack the project!

Looking good so far!!

Andrew

 

[hitandmissman]

Looks like you are off to a great start. I will be watching this as I have the 1/8 engine from Mr. Myers.

 

[b.lindsey]

Welcome aboard Andrew and hitandmiss man. I have always thought this engine has one of the most fascinating motions of any and with the integral pump it actually does something as well. I'll try to keep this one shorter than my last project :big:

Bill

 

[rhitee93]

I'll enjoy watching this one.

 

[lazylathe]

Thanks Bill!!
Interested to see how you tackle the brass globes!! ;D

I also love the motion of these engines!
Fascinating. :big:

Andrew

 

[vcutajar]

Bill

I will be following your progress also.

Vince

 

[b.lindsey]

Today I got most of the flywheel bracket machining done. The first couple of pictures show the set up with the bracket casting lined up as well as a rough casting can be using a dial test indicator. The two bolsters were then machined with the larger one .200" lower than the smaller one. Then the tap drill hole was made in the smaller bolster and everything was then referenced from that point as the origin since that is how the print is dimensioned. The two flats were then machined at right angles to one another. One will attach to the base and the other to the cylinder casting eventually. This is shown in the last two pictures.

 

[b.lindsey]

The larger bolster was drilled to 1/2" and then bored out to .686-.687 in order to accept the B-88 needle bearings called for which arrived in the mail yesterday. There are still a couple of things to do yet, mainly finishing off the opposite side of this large bolster, pressing the bearings in, and drilling the holes on each of the two mounts for attachment to the base and cylinder. That's it for today's update.

 

[b.lindsey]

Short update today but still progress. The upper bolt pattern on the base for mounting the cylinder was drilled and will be tapped 6-32. The 6 bolt patterm on the underside for mounting the hot cap will be done tomorrow and that will finish up the base. In addition the flywheel bracket was finished up with the two holes drilled in each mounting foot, the far side of the large bolster finished to the called for width, and the two bearings pressed in.

 

[lazylathe]

That is some great progress Bill!!!

I have not yet studied the plans...
Do they call for the use of needle bearings?
I am sure they will make it a nice smooth runner!!

Also how did you go about marking out the bolt hole pattern?

Andrew

 

[moconnor]

Hello Bill,

Glad to see a build being documented of this kit as I also have one waiting in the wings. Great job so far, both on your progress and the documentation. Thanks for your efforts, it is appreciated!

Bet you are glad to have the school shop at your disposal for the larger castings. If I remember correctly, you have a Sherline lathe in your home shop. That cylinder looks like a challenge due to the length and cast surfaces for chucking/ clamping and a full size lathe will certainly make the job civilized.

I will look forward to your progress.

Kind regards,
Mike

 

[b.lindsey]

Andrew,

The plans do call for two Torrington B-88 needle bearings. I found these at Boca Bearings for arounf 6.95 each and had them within 2 days. For the bolt hole pattern, I drew it up in AutoCad (see the .pdf below). Since the pattern is symmetrical the dimensions shown are simply repeated, with only their signs changing depending on the quadrant you are drilling in at the moment. Coincidently, I had purchased a Machinist Calc Pro earlier this week and it can also compute bolt circles. I ran it through the calculator also and the results were identical.

Keep in mind the plans were drawn in 1977 and I don't think have been updated since. Mine still show the firebox as a sheet metal fabrication though the casting kit now includes a casting for that as well, so you are kind of own your on on that one as to mounting it, etc. I have also noticed that some oof the tap drill callouts as well as mating clearance hole callouts are not current standards. In one case a 7/64" (.109") tap drill is called out for a 6-32 threaded hole and the clearance hole on the mating part is shown as a #18 (.169"). Current standards call for a #36 tap drill (.1065") and a #25 (.1495") for a free clearance fit...or #27 for a close fit. I have gone through an marked the plans to the current standards. I'll keep you posted on any other similar things I find.



View attachment Bolt Pattern.pdf

 

[b.lindsey]

Mike, guess we were posting at the same time. Indeed the school shop will be used more on this build. The larger 13 x 40 lathes should handle the cylinder casting nicely as well as the 9" flywheel. I do still expect to do some of the smaller bar stock parts on the Sherline units at home...that way I can get some things done oveor the weekend also. Thanks for checking in...and hopefully this log may be helpful to others who have this one "waiting in the wings"

Bill

 

[Blogwitch]

Bill,

I too will be following along with great interest because I want to build something very similar from barstock sometime in the future. I have a couple of sets of plans, and the way you go about yours should show me how to tackle it.

BTW, it pays to have a look at the posts on here before buying programs. There are a lot about in the public domain.

Here are a couple I brought to the members attention less than a month ago.

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=17916.0

BTW, make sure you read the website instructions on the second one before downloading.


John

 

[b.lindsey]

John, I don't see any reason it can't be made as a bar stock project and had a similar thought as to doing that some day only in a much smaller version. Thanks for the links to the software also. The Machinist Calc Pro I referred to is a physical calculator which admittedly I bought mainly as a toy, though I already have gotten used to having it handy for things like tap and clearance dril sizes, bolt circles, and easy metric/inch conversions for linear, area, and volume which comes in handy when working with students and their projects. I can still do trig the old fashioned way with my $9.95 calculator and the DRO's here at school have calculators built into them including bolt circles, but this "toy" i can take from my desk to the shop or wherever. It comes in a nice rugged rubberized case too, Even so, I will definitely check out your software recommendation for inclusion on the home PC.

Bill

 

[b.lindsey]

Today's update covers some initial work on the cylinder casting. This was all done on the larger lathe at work. The lower portion that fits into the base was machined to diameter and length followed by machining the section above the mounting ring until it was the same diameter and the ring the proper height. Finally the lower ID was bored out to the proper dimension and a trial fit to the base and flywheel bracket. I hope to work on some of the smaller parts at home over the weekend on the Sherline equipment.

 

[b.lindsey]

Made some progress today on the beam pivot bracket. There are no set-up pictures since it is straightforward locating and milling and drilling so the below pictures only show the components and sub-assembly. More tomorrow though. The parts, especially the brass caps are just rough machined and not finished off yet and once assembled with screws the .251" through hole has to be drilled as well as a small #60 hole in each cap for oiling.