Free plans for a larger, simpler, beam engine

[Richard Hed]

If anyone wants Elmer's Beam scaled up by about 1.75x and converted to metric I can supply the plans (I haven't got round to building it yet though!).

I'm interested too, however, I have a really lot of irons in the fire and a lot on my plate at the moment, but progress is made a bit at a time.

 

[Richard Hed]

[QUOTE="Richard Hed,
When you say "Cornish" I thought you were talking about Cornwall which is in South of England, correct? But the rest of your post you are talkking about much further north, Hadrians Wall is North of Yorkshire, right? Apparently Cornish refers to some place else than I Always thot.

Hi Richard,
Cornwall is about as far west as you can get in the UK but its also about as far south as well. Norman lives a bit further north of me up in Newcastle. I believe he is one of the few Haggis wranglers left.
[/QUOTE]
I lookt on the map and found Cornwall is a county not a city. I thot it was a city about halfway to London on the map. So does the word Cornish refer to Cornwall or is it a different place? I have English friends int the Philippines (don't call them "British", they get upset) and they tell me all kinds of storys bout England unless they are from Scotland. It always surprises me to find such divisions in such a small place as Britain. (British Columbia is about 10 times larger than Britain, at the same approximate latitude, and has about 5-6 million peeps in it, most in Vancouver.) In the USA, we are a bit provincial but not anything like Britain or the continent. We are more sectional than provincial but I find Europe and Britain to be more provincial. Am I tooting too much smoke? It IS legal here after all! LOL

 

[BaronJ]

Anyone have a video link that works if this engine running? The links here are old and don’t work anymore. Lol

There is a similar engine and pump at Blists Hill Telford. I understand that it is steamed occasionally but I've not been there to see it in steam.

 

[BaronJ]

Hi Richard,

Cornish tends to refer to the people of Cornwall, or a product produced in Cornwall or by the Cornish people.

Like the famous Cornish and delicious pasty ! Traditionally a savory meal at one end and a sweet or pudding at the other. The pressed bead around the bottom edge being the place where it would be held and identifying which way up it should be.

The idea was that in the dark, a Cornish tin miner would be able to have a meal in the mine without poisoning himself from the arsenic that would be on his fingers, by eating down to the bead on the rim and then throwing the rim away for the rats that often infested the mines.

Actually "Arsenic " was a much sought after byproduct of tin mining in those days.

 

[goldstar31]

Again in the 'Good Old Days' Anti- fouling paints for ships contained 99% arsenic. It came in wooden barrels and was made up in Dunston. Gateshead. One comedian doubted what it was, wet his fingers and dipped then into the open barrel- and sucked them
Big panic, this was part of a large local factory and a quick phone call to the University.
All was well, it would take 'a lot' to do any damage.

Fast forward to my climbing days where I read that it was usual for Tibetans to consume some arsenic.

Apparently( my memory ain't what it it used to be) signs of the substance appear in one's hair.

Back to gold again, John???
My dear old wife long gone found a source of gold- in the rotten teeth which she had extracted.
Melted the bits, centrifugally cast them( No flies on my Missus) and made into cosmetic ingots.
Wouldn't assay as it was alloyed with platinum.

I keep prattling on about dental amalgam- and get nowhere
Back to my Myford and jet washing the patio- no together of course !

N

 

[rrocky]

I to would like to build this scaled up beam.

Hi I would like a copy of the beam engine also thank you Peter ([email protected])

 

[Steamchick]

Hi All,
Lots of mitherings, ditherings and wanderings in this thread, but very interesting...
Perhaps I can add some musings.
I was taught that the first successful beam engines were the Newcomen "Atmospheric steam" engines, that didn't have these new fangled wheel things, as "pumps needed to go up and down" (say it in a rolling Cornish - or similar). So Newcomen made his pump engines in buildings - like the South African building - with the pump outside - as that's where all the water should be... The simple action was to fill the cylinder with steam - beneath the piston - from the boiler as the pump-rod dropped, and the weight of the pump-rod forced the pump piston to push the water to the surface. The Pump-rod and pump piston were then lifted up again by the steam condensing - inside the cylinder from a squirt of cold water - thus allowing the atmospheric pressure on the outside of the engine piston to push it down, lifting the Pump-rod on the other end of the beam, so the weight can pump water on the next stroke. Actually, this was the stroke of genius, as it is the first well recorded successful use of steam as an engine.
http://www.animatedengines.com/newcomen.htmlThomas Newcomen, The Prehistory of the Steam Engine L. T. C. Rolt, David and Charles Limited, 1963 is a highly recommended read. (I must get it!).
Watt plagiarised many ideas from others and came up with a workable low-pressure beam engine, with tremendous help and support from Thomas Boulton. Many different designs followed, mostly to get-around patents - which were used to restrict knowledge to the most profitable benefit of the originator's sponsor. (all sponsors need their payback - nothing has changed since Egyptians set the rules of society!)
Trevethick followed, by the use of High pressure steam, later Stephenson and Timothy Hackworth made Steam Locomotives a real business, and a part of modern day transport history.
The first engine is really Hero's turbine, the Aeolipile described by Hero of Alexandria : "a Greek mathematician and engineer who was active in his native city of Alexandria, Roman Egypt" ca.10 – ca.70 AD. But this appears to have no practical application, other than a demonstration of the "power from steam".
There are earlier references to Egyptian door-opening engines connected to steam boilers, - which were probably atmospheric engines like Newcomen's, directly acting on a lever so turn rotate the door on its hinges. (The whole mechanism being under the floor of the door opening). If it was successful, maybe there would have been other uses for the engine? - or other records? - even if no archaeological remains somewhere. Possibly many records of Hero and others were lost if they were in the Library of Alexandria, when it was burnt down. But Ancient Egyptian records were carved in stone on Temple walls.
Enough of my musings: But a post-script: I am a direct descendant of the Chickens of the North-East of England who worked with George Stevenson (as Engineers from Ryton, driving Pumping engines in Mines, later, on Locomotives), Robert Stevenson and Timothy Hackworth (both on locomotives on the Stockton and Darlington railway - through railways to London and on to the railways to Liverpool and North Wales from London).
So much history, yet so little I know!

 

[goldstar31]

Hi All,


******* with George Stevenson (as Engineers from Ryton, driving Pumping engines in Mines, later, on Locomotives), Robert Stevenson and Timothy Hackworth (both on locomotives on the Stockton and Darlington railway - through railways to London and on to the railways to Liverpool and North Wales from London).
So much history, yet so little I know!

Nope. George Stephenson was born in Wylam- along with Hedley and Hackworth. As far as I can gather he had no connection with Ryton which was, at that time in County. Durham. It is now in Tyne and Wear.
What was in Ryton was the experiments of Charles Algernon Parsons who lived there.
Wylam was in Nortumberland. Whether it is now in Tyne and Wear- I don't know.
To confuse your musings- you can throw a stone from what was and possibly still is, the Parish of Ryton to Stephenson's Cottage-- but the rarely tidal at that point River Tyne is between!
There was a pump at Clara-vale Colliery which was part of Stella Coal Company and the foreman electrician was Isaac Palmer who married my Aunt Mary. My father was one of the blacksmiths and was a farrier with the pit ponies for Stella Coal Colliery.
You see I went to Ryton Intermediate Council School until I was 14- then the normal school leaving age.

As for Hero, his invention was the first jet engine. There is a toss up whether the first of modern jets. The Italians were certainly there too and I recall the experiments using coal by Lorin and Babst.

There is a tiny bit of Ryton on the North bank of the Tyne. It was accessible by ferry from Ryton Willows.
Again, the Blaydon Races were never held in Blaydon- it was held in Ryton at the bend called Cromwell- who also crossed there.

 

[gunner312]

Wow. I would like to maybe get started with this one if you could send to to me.
Thx

Me too, I've always wanted to build a beam engine.

 

[Richard Hed]

Hi Richard,

Cornish tends to refer to the people of Cornwall, or a product produced in Cornwall or by the Cornish people.

Like the famous Cornish and delicious pasty ! Traditionally a savory meal at one end and a sweet or pudding at the other. The pressed bead around the bottom edge being the place where it would be held and identifying which way up it should be.

The idea was that in the dark, a Cornish tin miner would be able to have a meal in the mine without poisoning himself from the arsenic that would be on his fingers, by eating down to the bead on the rim and then throwing the rim away for the rats that often infested the mines.

Actually "Arsenic " was a much sought after byproduct of tin mining in those days.

Those titbits are always soooo interestink. And thankyew for those titbits. Send more. BTW, did you get the files? Can you use them? Let me know and I will send more or A-CADs if you wish.

 

[Richard Hed]

I'm going off Ron Callender's book on gold ming. AhaH, John!
According to him, gold is found roughly on the 3 degree WEST line. So that includes Cornwall( as you say) but into Welsh Wales- look you, boyoh, where the Queen's wedding ring was mined, into Argyll , up into
The Grampians where I used to breed haggis- and these have two legs shorter than the others so they can run around mountains without losing height, and up into the Black Isle, north of the Loch Ness Monster. We sort of passed Killwining and apparently there was gold found whilst Edinburgh Royal Infirmary was built. Not far from the Roslyn Chapel,Knights Templar, The Apprentice's Stone--- and Dan Brown.

Apart from a teeny bit of artistic licence, it's all true. WE had a house North of the Highland Line. My wife 's ashes are scattered looking into the Lairig Ghru or as you Sassenachs would have it, the Foreboding Way.
Slange Va

Norman

I heard this story about the Haggis with the mountain legs tried to go home when winter came. they turned around on the mountain and couldn't stand upright, went tumbling down the mountain and all died in the rocks below. Can you tell me if this is true?

 

[goldstar31]

I heard this story about the Haggis with the mountain legs tried to go home when winter came. they turned around on the mountain and couldn't stand upright, went tumbling down the mountain and all died in the rocks below. Can you tell me if this is true?

I trained mine to walk in an anticlockwise direction. You can't have dead animiles cluttering up the mountains and frightening the Long Grey Man of Ben MacDhuie. Think of the Kelpies.

I once had a discussion with a French Professor of England about the origins of the haggis.
Then I let him into the secrets of the Grande Alliance with les Grenouilles. Then we got into a serious discussion about English wheeling the wings of his Delahaye car. He had a pair of Hotckiss ones. None of the tatty American stuff. Jean Claude B had 'classe' He used to swop me 5 litres of good red wine from the Loire for the the same 140 SAE oil which was unobtainable in la Belle France.

Icidentally, 'haggis' is actually a French word.

Ca Va?

Norman

 

[Richard Hed]

I trained mine to walk in an anticlockwise direction. You can't have dead animiles cluttering up the mountains and frightening the Long Grey Man of Ben MacDhuie. Think of the Kelpies.

I once had a discussion with a French Professor of England about the origins of the haggis.
Then I let him into the secrets of the Grande Alliance with les Grenouilles. Then we got into a serious discussion about English wheeling the wings of his Delahaye car. He had a pair of Hotckiss ones. None of the tatty American stuff. Jean Claude B had 'classe' He used to swop me 5 litres of good red wine from the Loire for the the same 140 SAE oil which was unobtainable in la Belle France.

Icidentally, 'haggis' is actually a French word.

Ca Va?

Norman

Har har har, that is funny, but except for the haggis that you trained and the oil wine trade, I haven't got a clue as to what you sed.

 

[BaronJ]

Those titbits are always soooo interestink. And thankyew for those titbits. Send more. BTW, did you get the files? Can you use them? Let me know and I will send more or A-CADs if you wish.

Hi Richard,
I replied to you this morning !
But yes I did get the files. See my reply.

I was never very good at history, in fact at school I hated it. The teachers at that time had their favorites and I wasn't one of them. It was the same with metalwork, I could never do anything right ! The result was I wasn't allowed to touch the lathe or any of the machines, so I got myself transferred to woodwork, at least that way I got to use the lathes and other machines in there.

Sorry, I had to add this edit because I understood the Scottish folk law that Norman eluded too. But I'll let him explain. ROFL.

 

[goldstar31]

Har har har, that is funny, but except for the haggis that you trained and the oil wine trade, I haven't got a clue as to what you sed.

For many years France and Scotland were closely allied. Bonnie Prince Charlie and the '45'. Relations between England and Scotland were rarely happy hence this Berwick on Tweed thing.
We had the Virgin Queen Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots at hammer and tongs and that was the time of the Tudors- Henry the 8th and that. It wasn't until Elizabeth died that James the 6th of Scotland took the English throne and became James the 1st. This is 2020 and Scotland still wants independence!
It's a bit like France and Spain today.
Some of the places mentioned earlier are from the Gaelic. I had property in the Scottish Highland in the Savoie district of France and in the Balearic Islands of Spain. This is Catalonia and wants to leave the poor regions of Spain.

 

[Richard Hed]

Hi Richard,
I replied to you this morning !
But yes I did get the files. See my reply.

I was never very good at history, in fact at school I hated it. The teachers at that time had their favorites and I wasn't one of them. It was the same with metalwork, I could never do anything right ! The result was I wasn't allowed to touch the lathe or any of the machines, so I got myself transferred to woodwork, at least that way I got to use the lathes and other machines in there.

Sorry, I had to add this edit because I understood the Scottish folk law that Norman eluded too. But I'll let him explain. ROFL.

I hated hystery and other subjects too, but as an adult (not me, I'm just 12 years old), I realize that hystery is quite a mystery and very interestink. the problem with the schools is that they are trying to get conformallity in peeps to be factory workers. Real hystery is quite different -- for instance, we are taught that RE Lee is the greatest general of the Civil War, in fact, that is just propaganda for the losing side, sort of an easy let down. Truth is that Ulysses (one of MY heroes) NEVER lost a single battle! NOt one. However, there are two that he did not win either--they were ties. Also, Ulysses captured THREE intact armies. No-one else did such a feat and certainly REL should have captured at least ONE army, but he did not. The only other person to actually capture a complete army was a southern general in Alabama or thereabouts of 12,000 men. Ulysses first capture was Fort Donelson with 15,000 men. His next capture was the pivotal importance of Vicksburg on July 4th 1863 of 35,000 men--one day after the overshadowing Gettysburg fiasco. (General Eisenhower said Lee should have been fired for that, but look who's talking--Eisenhower should have fire Mongomery!) His last capture was Lee at Appomatox of 65000 men.

The worst indictment against Lee was his own beliefs: Lee believed in Union, he believed slavery was a sin and should be done away with, he believed Virginia should stay in the Union--what kind of man could he be? A traitor to himself, a traitor to his own beliefs. He should have been fired after Gettysburg, it is my belief that Longstreet should have been put in command. Certainly Longstreet could have handled Gettysburg better. Oddly enough (He was best man at Ulysses' wedding), Longstreet embraced the decision of the war after it ended, became a republican (how loathesome that would be in THIS day.) And workt for Ulysses in some government capacity.

 

[goldstar31]

I've been to the USA but never went to Gettysburg as I lost the address

 

[Richard Hed]

I've been to the USA but never went to Gettysburg as I lost the address

Very funni. I live on the Left Coast, in the Soviet of Washington. I would like to see it, but realistically, I thimk gettysburg is QUITE overrated -- the best place would most likely be Chickamauga/Chatanooga, the least importance given to a VERY important battle. Peeps have all heard of Vicksburg and Gettysburg and Antietam and Shiloh, but Chatanooga/Chickamauga was CLEARLY a very important battle, one in which General Rosecrans initially kikt the heck out of Braxton Bragger at Chatanooga but in which Bragg nearly wiped out Rosecrans at Chickamauga. There were 35000 casualties (kilt and wounded and captured). George Thomas, a southerner fighting for the Union, did not get routed, he earned the name "the Rock of Chickamauga" for his good work exactly as stonewall Jackson had earned his sobriquet. Over all, there were Several major battles as important or possibly MORE important than Gettysburg. they are Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Antietam. also, in importance and death toll was Shiloh. Ulysses had to come to the rescue at Chattanooga, relieving Rosecrans and putting Thomas in command. It's more complicated than that, but it's one of those things us Armchair Generals (I'm General Hed, or better yet, the Hed General) thimk we could have done better. Chattanooga was starving to death as Ulysses came to the rescue. He IMMEDIATELY fixt the starvation problem which seems to us ridiculous that the commanding generals could not have done for themselves. It seems that Ulysses was simply CHARMED as from the moment he took over (he was suffering from an accident and a NEAR broken leg in which he had to be lifted onto his horse and carried over rough hills). He took the place by a lot of fortuitous accidents, providence. BTW, he never got a single bullet or shrapnel wound, but he had a couple wounds from horse falls. It is HE who really ended slavery and HE who helped to stop the second civil war which very few people have even heard about.

Also of very high importance was Sherman's March but that is not a battle as such, but a "Campaign".

 

[rc87woody]

There is a similar engine and pump at Blists Hill Telford. I understand that it is steamed occasionally but I've not been there to see it in steam.

That doesn’t help.

 

[rc87woody]

Did anyone ever scale this up more? Any files or plans for it?