First engine- an EZ

[pont]

Hi all,
I'm working on my first engine- an EZ. I choose that engine because I don't have a mill and I wanted something simple to start with.

I'm using the metric plans which I downloaded from here.

First the flywheel

Then the crank, I took a larger piece of aluminium and marked where I had to drill. I made a mistake, the first time I marked it, so I made it twice.

Then turned to the required diameter

And another problem- I had chosen a piece with too small diameter.The center of the drill was too close to the edge and the result:

But the problem was solved with some patience.
Now I have to dril the holes in the flywheel and the crank and make the thread.I'll post the pictures tomorrow.

Cheers Petar.

 

[lazylathe]

A great start Petar!!!

Will be following along with you!

Andrew

 

[vcutajar]

Hi Petar

Great start. Do not worry about making things twice or even more than that. It happens to me also. The trick is to take it slow. I usually make mistakes when I am in a rush.

Vince

 

[ShedBoy]

Good start Petar

What Vince said, I could nearly build another motor with all my failed parts, but it wouldn't work. Will be following along.

Brock

 

[Deanofid]

You've made a good start, Petar! ;D

 

[pont]

Well yes, actually I make my mistakes, as you, when I'm in a rush and I'm too excited.
Here are some new pictures...and new mistakes ;D

You may wonder why there are so many holes in the flywheel, well when I started making the thread I broke the tap.I was wondering how is that posible, I mean the diameter of the hole was appropriate...Then on the other day I saw that I had taken 4 mm tap not 3mm ;D :-[ Then I decided not to drink beer any more while working on it ;D
The second hole is not on the right place, I made a mistake with the measurements.

I also managed to make the spacers and the rods

 

[Blogwitch]

Petar,

Even though you are making mistakes, you are making progress.

Mistakes happen to everyone at some time or another, so it is best to get them out of the way now, while you are learning from your mistakes.

Get a couple more engines under you belt, and you will be flying with the best of us.

There is no rush in what we do, so slowly make one good part at a time, and you should end up with an engine you are proud of.

Well done :bow: :bow:

John

 

[pont]

Thanks for your replies guys. I don't wont you to get me wrong- I'm not complaining and I hadn't thought the work will go smooth all the time, I'm just sharing my experience
Just wondering about the frame, I don't like the one with the two aluminium plates (as it is in the plans).Thinking for a wooden base, but not sure about the frame, I want to use rods which will connect the cylinders and the wheels to the base.I'll have a look at some other similar projects to see if I can find something like that.

 

[Rayanth]

Petar, thanks for bringing my attention back to this little engine, I am looking for a first project myself in a few weeks after I finish getting the new lathe cleaned up and some material somewhere. This loos like it will fit the nicely. I'll be following along to learn with you =)

Ryan

 

[pont]

The valve is almost ready, I made it from an old screw and now it's with slightly bigger diameter, because the hole in the cylinder is not drilled yet.

 

[Deanofid]

Then I decided not to drink beer any more while working on it

Now, that's a classic! :big:

 

[b.lindsey]

Petar, you are making good progress on this and thanks for sharing the mistakes as well as the triumphs. Even in these few posts your thought processes are already changing as in the case of leaving the valve slightly oversized until the mating hole is drilled. The little mistakes are frustrating for all of us, but the gains in knowledge and experience remain...keep up the good work!!

Bill

 

[pont]

The so called valve body is almost done. I found an old block of aluminium with similar sizes in the workshop so I'm using it for both the cylinder and the valve body.

Cutting the two pieces

Then facing the cutted side of the blocks and...so far so good

Now the difficult part- marking and drilling. I decided to drill the hole for the valve to 5.8mm, then to drill the other smaller holes and after that to ream the valve hole to 6mm

Drilling the small ones

And finally reaming

 

[pont]

Well I made some progress. I made a little mistake with one of the holes- I had drilled it on the wrong side of the block so I had to drill it again and ream the hole for the valve one more time just to make sure that the it's smooth.

The old hole had to be blocked so I turned a 3,04mm brass rod…

…and then I let it spend the night in the freezer

In the morning I set it gently tapped with a hammer

The piston and the cylinder were ready so I started making the places where the connecting rods will be attached to the piston and to the valve. They had to become flat. First cutting nearly to the half with the hacksaw then I put it on the lathe and I took a square steel block ( from which I make some of my lathe knives) which I used to scrape the metal by moving the knife forward and backward. All that is just because, as you know, is difficult to make it absolutely flat with a file.

I knew it would be difficult for me to explain it so I made a clip. You will se that I hadn’t blocked the spindle, that’s because I couldn’t figure out how to do it. That’s why I decided to scrape it roughly to size and then to make it flat by working slowly and more precise.

http://www.youtube.com/v/nMNsQTtUv0o?version=3&feature=player_detailpage

This method is slower but way easier and it’s very simple. Of course it will be faster and easier if you make a knife especially for that.

As you see I’m trying to be exhaustive because mostly inexperienced people like me will try to make this little engine and this could be some kind of a guide for them, from where they can learn not only how to make some of the parts but what mistakes to expect.

 

[rhitee93]

Nice series of posts, and you are right, your build log will be valuable for other first time engine builders.

It looks like you got great results using your lathe as a shaper. Neat trick

 

[vcutajar]

Nice one Petar. I would never have thought to make the flat that way.

Vince

 

[pont]

Hi all, I couldn't manage to finish my project so far because I was too busy going on holiday The last several days I worked hard on it and it's nearly finished...I hope it will work. I bought the materials for the frame, I made it simple, as it's in the plans, because I couldn't think if something better.I had some ideas, as I said in some of the previous posts, but I decided that it would be to difficult for me.
So, I bought the material and gave it to a friend who have a mill to mill it to the exact dimensions.

I made a small pipe which conects the valve body and the cylinder- this reduces air leakage.The thread is from the valve body side.

This is it, I have to mount the base and do some other things but I want to see it runing first And of course I have to polish everything.
I made a new valve because I hadn't done the old one well.
I glued the piston crank to the crank, so I have to wait a little before the test.

Petar

 

[ironman]

Nice build thread. Great job.

Ray

 

[pont]

Wooo hooo it's running

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB5_cfrjC_s&feature=player_detailpage[/ame]

I'm really happy.Now I'll rest a few days.I'll post a picture when everything is done.

Cheers,

Petar

 

[SilverSanJuan]

Excellent work! Congratulations! I can't wait to get started on my first one.

Todd