Finger engine revisited

[Bogstandard]

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=148.0

 

[Divided He ad]

Ahh yes! I recall seeing that vid' on you tube a while back when I was investigating tiny engines... Still thought your hands were massive!! :big:

I still want to build one of that size... I just want too much, finger engine, turbine, stirling, tiny...I just want to build them all!!! ;D

Oh well... soon, very soon I will be I'm sure


Ralph.

 

[Bogstandard]

Ralph,

You will get there, just take it steady and learn from your mistakes.

Back on track with the finger engine now.

I am now realising it was fate that stopped me from finishing these engines in my self imposed deadline. I now have plenty of time as one will be sent thru the post, and John S 1st is making a day of it and coming to pick up his engine, and getting a bit of set up training while he is here.

This extra time has really allowed me to give some of the bits a slight modification.
The flywheels got back very late last night, and instantly caused concern, the polished bits were all scratched, so on re-polishing I will be chasing my tail again, with having the blasted area needing cleaning again etc etc. During the day, with me pulling my hair out what to do, the better half just casually said, 'well why not just paint the middle bit to match the highlights'. Don't you just hate it when they come up with a perfect solution. Two hand painted coats done, two to do.

I am just trying out some very good quality man made fibre brushes. WOW, much better than shaving the old tomcat. I always thought, over the years, that they would never be able to match the sable and badger hair brushes. These are definitely on par or better than either, and they wash out and keep shape perfectly, and not one single broken or dropped hair. Got to get me some more of these.

Anyway, to carry on with the conrods.


Basic shaping has been finished, and while I was at it, I fitted a brass bearing sleeve in the little end. So this is the rough.

Now to the smooth.
These took over two hours to profile and polish, using a variety of cutting soaps and wheels. But now I am truly happy with the way they are.

Like all handmade bits, these are not an exact match with each other, but who cares, all engines will be truly individual.

John

 

[CrewCab]

Don't you just hate it when they come up with a perfect solution.

;D ;D ............... yup, but it's good they take an interest

In my case though I think it's so I can spend less time playing in my little hideaway and get on with important things like ...... "decorating"

John, those conrods are a work of art, many thanks for sharing all your tips and experience, it is really appreciated, I just try and store them away for now and hope to use them in the future.

The polishing kits sound interesting, do you have a link to a supplier?

atb

Dave

 

[Divided He ad]

Thank you John, I will carry on plodding along. Oh and speaking of mistakes to learn from... Those polishing mops don't half grab the workpiece!!!
Luckily no injuries to me just a reshape and re-polishing required! (good job you polish with the mop pulling the part away from you !)
Lesson learned, I plan to carry on tomorrow.( press lighter and grip harder!!)

Hopefully I can get a shine like the one you have on them there con' rods ;D
It is nice when you don't have to work to a deadline, means you can make alterations and adjustments that suit you when you think of them. This is the way I work best a little here, a little there. Stress is for work not my workshop

Can't wait to see the finished article.. But that doesn't mean you have to rush it


Ralph.

 

[CrewCab]

Stress is for work not my workshop

Ralph ................. good sentiment mate

Perhaps we should have Tee Shirts or Plaque's made up, I'm sure they will be an instant hit ;D

Dave

 

[Bogstandard]

Dave,

No thanks needed, I do it for myself as well, its called therapy. Keeps the single brain cell agile.

Ralph,

Any sign of the thumb manicure yet?
If you get your finish done by hand first, there should be no need to push hard. But if doing a lot of polishing on one part, you have to get asbestos fingers. What I do is get a few parts together, when one starts to get warm, swap to another part, that way you don't have to stop for cool down. I don't think you got a large felt pad with your kit, but they are the worst, the part heats up in seconds.

John

 

[Bogstandard]

Not much to show tonight, just one pic.


Managed to get four hand painted coats on before I had enough coverage. Red is always the worst, very little pigment cover in it. But they have ended up exactly as expected, garish, with a hint of sleeze. I would have preferred to have just the blasted centres, but fate said otherwise. Next time I will make some nylon blanking plates.

The cranks have been cut to length and the threaded rod inserts put in. When a spinner is put on either end, it will hold the crank, spacers, bearings and flywheel all as one unit, with no endfloat.
I am still turning over in my mind whether to give the cranks a going over, they are now starting to look a bit bulky for what I want it them to look like.

I have had one assembled very basically, and wonder of wonders, it worked rather well. So I now know I am not flogging a dead horse, thank goodness for that, I am not normally into flagellation, necrophilia and beastiality.

Decisions, decisions, my brain hurts.

John

 

[zeusrekning]

John everthing looks great but the flywheels are excellent. I kind of agree about the cranks but what are you thinking? I can't seem to think of anything myself. They people who recieve these are very lucky indeed. :bow: :bow: :bow:
Tim

 

[Divided He ad]

No polished nails yet John! I've mostly been polishing the base plate and the fingers have been out of the way
I also have tried the engine turning... Jury is out! I will post my progress soon, you can tell me where I went wrong then! :-\

As for your engine... Those flywheels (imo) are mighty fine ;D I think they will look great spinning round.

I don't know what to say about your crank's Except they look good to me! They are substantial and don't look out of place on your mock ups, But then that said I would be happy to create one crank to that quality ( haven't tried yet!) I'm sure whatever you do it will look good and as long as you like the end result that is all that matters ;D

Glad to hear about what your not into!! :big:

Ralph.

 

[Bogstandard]

Tim and Ralph,

Thanks for the good comments, I will be hacking the cranks at first light.

They are substantial

Ralph, that is exactly what I was on about. They need to be made to look a lot less 'mechanical', more of flowing.

Got the shape in my head, so away we go.

John

 

[bretk]

John,

Those flywheels are nothing short of spectacular! :bow: Are you sure you didn't design cars in the 50's ? :big: :big: :big:

-Bret

 

[Bogstandard]

Bret,
How old do you think I am, I was only a youngster then.

After a couple of quick appointments with Mr RT and Mrs Buff, the cranks have finally ended up resembling what I wanted them to look like. Not so overpowering and beefy.

The excess weight looks like they could just end up as quirky spokes in a custom flywheel. So into the recycle box for later.

Now cooking on gas, so if I don't have too many visitors today, things should progress rather rapidly.

Now happy John

 

[zeusrekning]

Now that is it!!! I had to look at the old picture , night and day difference.
Tim

 

[Bogstandard]

Glad you like the result Tim.

When I first started on the engine, the old ones were correct, but as it grew, the shape needed to change. I think it is called progress, but in my case regression.

Just making six spinners/clamps at the moment.

John

 

[cfellows]

I like where you're you're going with this, John. Can't wait to see the finished product!

Chuck

 

[Bogstandard]

As you can see Chuck,

I very rarely have plans to work to, just an idea, and make and modify as I go along. It really is a lovely way to work, no hassles keeping as per plans, and you don't know what you will finish up with until the very end. Most times very close to what the original vision was, but in this case, totally different.

I think you must work the same sort of way.

John

 

[Bogstandard]

Had a bit of a slack day today, but as you can see by the pic, they are getting very close.

I have just six small bearings/spinners to make for the bottom pivot on the fingery thing and that will be it. They will then be stripped, cleaned, final polish and lubed/assembled, plus final tweaks to make sure they work as expected.

You can also see why I am having to redo my shop, I am running out of space to do my calculations.

Have I enjoyed doing this build, you betcha!!
Almost 50% of the engine is hand worked.
I haven't enjoyed myself so much in years. A few of the older members will remember that I was basically working one handed for the last four years, and I never expected to get the mobility back in my right arm/hand. But now, even though it is not full movement, it has allowed me to do a lot of handwork that I thought was lost forever.
The joy that it has given me to find I hadn't 'lost my touch' is overwhelming.

I can't wait to get the new shop up and running. Then we will see if I can make decent engines or not. First will be the Liney radial, then I am preparing for an onslaught of the Stirling engine. Materials, ideas and plans are all in place. Just time and effort required.

I do hope that this series of posts has shown that with a little bit of effort and practice, a small mundane item like a finger engine, can be made to look different.

A 'studio' final pic soon. No vid, you have all seen how a finger engine works.

John

 

[Cedge]

Blingstandard
You've got more going on there than a redneck carnival...LOL. I've enjoyed watching these engines come together, nearly as much as you have. Glad to hear the arm is beginning to earn its keep again.

I can understand the joy of the freedom you have working from mental plans, as opposed to those on paper. It takes some additional thinking, sometimes, but there are no restrictions on where you go or how you finish up when you get there. My current project has been much like that. There have been some very interesting detours.

I'm awaiting the Halo project with bait on my breath...(grin).

Steve

 

[CrewCab]

Final Polish ;D ............ blimey John, your never going to get rid of the "King of Bling" title ........... how on earth are you going to get them to shine any more ............

Honestly though it's been a great read and very informative, please keep sharing, the tips n' tricks are invaluable

Dave