Ageless 9 and 18 Radial

[xpylonracer]

Any tramming error will show up whatever size tool is used, I would say that Tormach is trammed exactly in all directions.

 

[rlo1]

Made a little progress on the cylinders - These cylinders sure do generate a lot of chips!

 

[rlo1]

Finishing up all the holes and threading on the crank cases, Here I am thread milling 6-32 front cover threads on the 18cyl front crankcase.

 

[rlo1]

Turned down the top end of the cylinders to final ODs. Made a couple mistakes on the way, oh well I have more steel.......

 

[Richard Hed]

Made a little progress on the cylinders - These cylinders sure do generate a lot of chips!
View attachment 123891

Nice pile of chips, I have to dump my chips about once a week.

 

[rlo1]

Set up a little Gcode routine for my CNC Lathe. It 1st grooves the fins on the OD, 2nd it bores the ID and finally it hones the ID for a nice finish. Each cycle is 22 minutes. Only ruined one during setup so I have a few spares. I also trimmed the sharp edges on my Sherline lathe. My gun blue kit arrived today so I will be studying up for that process next.

 

[Tim1974]

Just a heads up I think you drilled the holes to soon ment to have heads on first ?

 

[Tim1974]

Ok so you see holes come later as to line up when head and head gasket are tight sorry to say it but I think you have made a big boo boo

 

[R Degen]

What kind of bluing did you use ?

 

[kvom]

If holes are accurate I don't see why fit will be a problem. OTOH, drilling them before grooving would eliminate the inside burrs.

 

[johnl]

The cylinder heads are threaded on to the cylinders. To achieve the correct orientation when installed on the crankcase the holes must be drilled in the correct relationship to the intake and exhaust manifold mating surface. This must be done after the cylinder and head are assembled for the final time.

 

[xpylonracer]

I see the important point you are making but it will be possible to add a shim to or skim the head if necessary without too much change to critical dimensions/volumes.

 

[R Degen]

That is why there is a fixture in the plans to put the holes in after the head is screwed to the cylinder or the threads would have to be clocked or timed with the holes. Randy

 

[Tim1974]

What kind of bluing did you use ?

It’s a black oxide finish

 

[rlo1]

I believe you are all correct, thx for pointing it out. I may need to cut more cylinders if this turns into a bigger issue. For now I am moving forward with cylinder head work. I am thinking about some options that might allow use of the drilled cylinders. If I match them up at a certain point it may address this problem.

 

[xpylonracer]

After boring and threading the heads you can fit to the cylinder and mark the position of any important feature to align on final assembly, You will need to identify each assembled cyl/head so they remain together.

 

[mayhugh1]

I believe you are all correct, thx for pointing it out. I may need to cut more cylinders if this turns into a bigger issue. For now I am moving forward with cylinder head work. I am thinking about some options that might allow use of the drilled cylinders. If I match them up at a certain point it may address this problem.

If it were me, I'd pair them up as best I could so and then assemble them with a permanent grade threadlocker to seal the threads and hold the pair together in proper alignment. A downside might be removing the valves later if necessary for later maintenance. I think the stems are short enough to reinstall them after the heads are assembled, but I'm not positive. To make yourself feel a little better, you can make a fixture to pressure test the combination after assembly a lot quicker than re-machining all the cylinders especially if you've already honed them. The pressure test is a good idea in any event. I tested my head assemblies this way. - Terry

 

[rlo1]

I like the pressure test idea. I also like the matchmaking idea for early on for the cylinder/heads. I just ordered the head aluminum. I think I will match them up early so they are matched sets. I made a test block for the cylinder head threads. It turned out pretty good with decent thread fit.

 

[mayhugh1]

I like the pressure test idea. I also like the matchmaking idea for early on for the cylinder/heads. I just ordered the head aluminum. I think I will match them up early so they are matched sets. I made a test block for the cylinder head threads. It turned out pretty good with decent thread fit.

Keep in mind that Ageless recommends torquing the heads to the cylinders really tight to prevent leaks. He doesn't recommend the use of Loctite with the recommended assembly order due to fears of it setting up too quickly under the heat of torque. But it may be your best alternative so long as you select the parts to mate without requiring a really stout torque and instead allow the Loctite to do the holding and sealing. - Terry

 

[rlo1]

Thank you Terry. I like the pressure test idea to see how tight I need to torque the heads to eliminate leaks. Once I get the internal valve seat machining done I may locktite everything together as you mentioned, the plans say not to locktite so thus I am still contemplating it . I think I will mark them with match marks to ensure the marks line up and the torque is set. I need to look up the torque recommendation. I think it is called out as "as tight as possible" per the plans. For now I ordered the copper pipe to make head gaskets and I need to fabricate a test rig for pressure testing.