Building a twin cylinder inline i.c. engine.

[Brian Rupnow]

Today I cleaned up and mounted the rocker arms, and got this far on the "Timing baseplate for inline" and simply ran out of steam. First I was going to do it in the four jaw on my lathe. I mounted the four jaw, mashed a finger while doing so, then found out that although I could center it okay, I had no good means of setting it parallel to the face of the four jaw and centering it. Finally I did come up with a way to mount it in my three jaw, but that can be tomorrows job.

 

[Nerd1000]

Today I cleaned up and mounted the rocker arms, and got this far on the "Timing baseplate for inline" and simply ran out of steam. First I was going to do it in the four jaw on my lathe. I mounted the four jaw, mashed a finger while doing so, then found out that although I could center it okay, I had no good means of setting it parallel to the face of the four jaw and centering it. Finally I did come up with a way to mount it in my three jaw, but that can be tomorrows job.

Hi Brian,

I often use a set of parallels to align flat parts in the 4 jaw. You just put them between the part and the chuck. One can center on a hole at the same time by placing the point of a dead centre in the hole, and supporting its tail with another centre in the tailstock, then indicating off the dead centre. This also provides enough pressure to stop the parallels falling out while you adjust the chuck jaws, though in particularly difficult cases I might tie them to the jaws with elastic bands.

Of course you must remove the parallels before starting the lathe, lest they fly out and hit you in the face.

 

[Jasonb]

Usual way to set a thin piece of work parallel to the chuck face is to use a pair of parallels when setting the part up BUT REMOVE them before starting the lathe, I also prefer to do the turning first while the part is an easy to hold rectangle.

Also looks like some of those screw holes are going to come close to the edge of the hole and you don't seem to have a step in the bore for the edge of the bearing to sit flat against on your drawing.

I did the OD and IDs all in one setting to ensure they were concentric and also the face that goes against the crankcase so the mating surface is at right angles to the bores & OD

 

[Brian Rupnow]

I tried the trick with parallels, but Just didn't have enough hands to hold the parallels and the part and tighten the tailstock. I thought afterwards that it would have been nice to have four 1" thick magnets. The part which actually would have been held in the jaws was only 3/16" thick. After fumbling around and mashing a finger, I gave it up and found a different way to accomplish what I needed to do.

 

[dsage]

You can buy these, but if you know someone with a 3D printer you can make them. I made a few of various heights. For 4 or 3 jaws. The magnets hold it in place. No need to remove it when you start the lathe. It can't go anywhere. It doesn't have to be that fancy either. Just a star shape. It doesn't have to go around the jaws.
Make it out of wood too. The magnets are readily available.

https://royalproducts.com/product-line/royal-chuck-stops/

 

[Jasonb]

As nerd 1000 says bands or masking tape or wire through the holes will hold the parallels in place while you adjust the part's position

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Fortunately for me, there is more than one way to skin the cat. The piece turned out well in the end, and I'm now ready to proceed with another part.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Nothing ever goes quite as quickly as you thought it would---but it does go. With a couple of pieces of cold rolled in place to simulate crankshaft and camshaft and some bearings, the plate fits into place very nicely. I'm not sure what I will make next. --Some gears would look good though.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

We've got gears!!! Beautiful, steel gears. No extra teeth, no half teeth. I get excited every time I make gears. Especially 15 tooth and 30 tooth gears, because there are no "partial turns" of the handle on my rotary table. Just three complete turns for the 30 tooth gear and 6 full turns for the 15 tooth gear. I do use a divider plate and sector arms just to make sure that I don't overturn or underturn and end up with funny shaped teeth.

 

[jamesmattioli]

I tried the trick with parallels, but Just didn't have enough hands to hold the parallels and the part and tighten the tailstock. I thought afterwards that it would have been nice to have four 1" thick magnets. The part which actually would have been held in the jaws was only 3/16" thick. After fumbling around and mashing a finger, I gave it up and found a different way to accomplish what I needed to do.

Ciao di solito io uso questo sistema, mi sono sempre trovato bene, posso montare quello che voglio e bloccarlo in maniera ottima, ovviamente non deve girare veloce.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

No "Jeopardy" on T.V. tonight so I came down to the bat cave to do some more modeling. I purchased a double ended coil for an Arctic Cat snowmobile thru Amazon, and tonight I modeled it and the mounting bracket and hung it off the back of the engine. I may also put a fan on this engine to cool the cylinders--haven't really decided yet.

 

[peterl95124]

We've got gears!!! Beautiful, steel gears. No extra teeth, no half teeth. I get excited every time I make gears.

I feel your joy !!!, wishing I could do as well, my only gear, a 116-T 32-DP starter ring, does have a couple "odd" shaped teeth, hoping it will work anyway !!!
Peter.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

I'm getting close to making a decision about the crankshaft. It has major diameters of 3/8", for both the con rods and for the main bearings. It is a long "Skinny Minnie" and ends up about 8 3/16" long from end to end. I go tomorrow to see the surgeon about knee replacement surgery so I may not get to this part of the engine build for a few months.

 

[cheepo45]

Hi Brian,
I had Knee replacement surgery a few years ago. After the first week I was able to spend about 45 minutes in the shop before I had to sit for a couple of hours. I actually got quite a bit done during my recuperation. The more active you are the faster it will heal.
Wishing you the best. We will miss following your engine building journeys.
Scott

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Thank you Scott. I hope that I'm not laid up for too long.--Brian

 

[phred]

an old saying, "look after your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone"
Good luck with the surgery, speedy recovery!

 

[Steamchick]

Hi Brian, good luck with the knees. I have been told by many that the pain is horrid before and after the op. But after months of R n R, you will appreciate the new knees as pain free. And they all say it is worth the extra pain for a few months.
I count myself very lucky to be OK with 70 year old knees still. Thanks to a specialist when I was 32 telling me my knees were already knackered, and how to manage them so I would not need a wheelchair by 70. I did what he said and I'm still walking - carefully.
Good luck Brian.
K2

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Yesterday I went for a meeting with my surgeon. Nice young guy, seemed amazed that I have been waiting 20 months since I first met him to talk about having my knees done. Never did actually get a date for my surgery, other than that it will be "soon". So---I came home and decided to work on my engine. I made the gear case which covers all three gears on one end of the engine. Before I finished the gear case I had to make up the mount for the idler gear. I seem to have lucked out and got the idler mount in the right position. The gears mesh well, no "tight spots" that I can see when rotating the dummy crankshaft. There is a ton of work in that gear cover.

 

[Wonk]

The key to success on the knee replacement is LOTS of physical therapy. Don't just do it with the therapy folks. Do it on your own. I've had both mine replaced and would walk laps around the inside of the house about once every hour. Also used a stationary bike 5-6 times a day at least. Starting out 15 minute sessions could only do about a half revolution forward then back, eventually making that full revolution. Another key at the beginning is to stay ahead of the pain. Lots of bad press on pain pills as deservedly so, but if you take the prescribed dose at the prescribed intervals you can take the pain of therapy. If you wait until it's hurting before you take the meds you're fighting yourself.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

After much fiddling and filing and clearancing the guard bolts into place and doesn't foul any of the gears inside the guard as they rotate. I still have to mount a set of old school points and ignition cam to the outside of that guard.