Help a rookie

[Biret Agirtan]

Hi. Im very new to building engines.
I have never built one before. Not even a plasticware kids one. I want this to be my hobby for the rest of my life. However I have some challanges.
1. I dont have any experience or engineering knowledge.
2. I dont have the complex tools.
3. I dont have much space, living in a 2br home.

pleaae help me start building smaller versions of real engines. I am happy to follow instructions and work with many pieces long as I can use simple tools to put it all together.

Ideally I want the final product to lool and work like the real engine.

I understand there are many engine types and I dont mind any type.

Please help me with some specific rexommendations with where I can purchase a model project including parts and instructions that suit my situation.

thank you

 

[Rudy from Norway]

Biret, I was a newbie not long ago my selves and I found a lot of what we need to learn on Youtube. I can recommend Keith Appelton. He has over 1000 videos for beginners. I also like the videos by W5CFY / TinkerJohn. To learn about engineering in general Joe Pieczynski and "Build something cool" are real masters. Othervise I like to watch mrpete222 and Dave M among others.
When I had watched a lot of these videos I had a very much better foundation to know what I wanted to build an what kind of tools I needed.

Rudy

 

[tim]

hi biret
im new hear too and just starting to make my first engine im trying a Stirling for a start allthow i am a fitter and turner the parts are so small it will chalange me , i take it your looking at setting up a small work shop ? small lathe for a start would be my first toy of choice i have it all at work but cant allways do my own parts so would love to start getting my own gear to play at home . i would spend some time on this site and look at the downloads and start with something you feel you can do and learn from your mistakes like we all do , im happy to help you out if i can .

 

[rockets]

Hello Biret,

You don't say if you have a lathe or not, it's really the thing you are really going to need if you are to produce running engines, although I do know that it has been done without using bar stock only.
It's quite an expensive first outlay, but once you have one you can add bits as and when you need them. Online auctions can be very helpful here.
As for advice, you are in the right place, I've benefited from posting on here and I'm sure you will too.

The Youtube videos which have been recommended are all worthwhile, I would also point you towards DoubleBoost, he posts some great material on general lathe and workshop techniques.
Best of luck,
Rockets.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

He was going down grade, making ninety miles an hour when the whistle began to scream--He was found in the wreck with his hand on the throttle, and scalded to death by the steam. (From "wreck of the old Ninety seven")
The clue in that bit of song is the 90 miles an hour.--Run it slow and it won't jump off the track.

 

[minh-thanh]

Hi Biret Agirtan !
Let's start with simple projects :
http://www.john-tom.com/html/SteamPlans3.html
http://www.plans-for-everything.com/hen_steam_engine_plans.html

In the process you will learn a lot of things, as well as what you will need and should buy or made it.
When there are difficulties, do not understand .... please ask and you will have many suggestions, instructions ...

 

[Biret Agirtan]

Biret, I was a newbie not long ago my selves and I found a lot of what we need to learn on Youtube. I can recommend Keith Appelton. He has over 1000 videos for beginners. I also like the videos by W5CFY / TinkerJohn. To learn about engineering in general Joe Pieczynski and "Build something cool" are real masters. Othervise I like to watch mrpete222 and Dave M among others.
When I had watched a lot of these videos I had a very much better foundation to know what I wanted to build an what kind of tools I needed.

Rudy

thanks Rudy.Ihave subscribed for the videos. it looks like they cover all skills.

 

[Biret Agirtan]

Hello Biret,

You don't say if you have a lathe or not, it's really the thing you are really going to need if you are to produce running engines, although I do know that it has been done without using bar stock only.
It's quite an expensive first outlay, but once you have one you can add bits as and when you need them. Online auctions can be very helpful here.
As for advice, you are in the right place, I've benefited from posting on here and I'm sure you will too.

The Youtube videos which have been recommended are all worthwhile, I would also point you towards DoubleBoost, he posts some great material on general lathe and workshop techniques.
Best of luck,
Rockets.

Hi Rockets. Thanks for the advice.
I dont have a Lathe. I have never used one before. I think I will start off with projects where I can buy the whole kit and put it together using less tools. then depending on my skill, I will start investing in more heavy machinery.

 

[Biret Agirtan]

hi biret
im new hear too and just starting to make my first engine im trying a Stirling for a start allthow i am a fitter and turner the parts are so small it will chalange me , i take it your looking at setting up a small work shop ? small lathe for a start would be my first toy of choice i have it all at work but cant allways do my own parts so would love to start getting my own gear to play at home . i would spend some time on this site and look at the downloads and start with something you feel you can do and learn from your mistakes like we all do , im happy to help you out if i can .

Hi Tim,
do you know any projects/plans sold with kits that are big enough to keep me busy for a while but simple enough so that I can build without a Lathe? thank you again.

 

[Biret Agirtan]

He was going down grade, making ninety miles an hour when the whistle began to scream--He was found in the wreck with his hand on the throttle, and scalded to death by the steam. (From "wreck of the old Ninety seven")
The clue in that bit of song is the 90 miles an hour.--Run it slow and it won't jump off the track.

got you Brian

 

[Biret Agirtan]

Hi Biret Agirtan !
Let's start with simple projects :
http://www.john-tom.com/html/SteamPlans3.html
http://www.plans-for-everything.com/hen_steam_engine_plans.html

In the process you will learn a lot of things, as well as what you will need and should buy or made it.
When there are difficulties, do not understand .... please ask and you will have many suggestions, instructions ...

Thank Minh-Tanh do you know where I can buy a kit to build this?

 

[XD351]

Hi Biret,
Looking at your profile you are from Melbourne , i'm in Sydney .
Welcome to the forum !
There are kits that you can assemble yourself ranging from a stirling engine through to wobbler engines up to steam engines and they get more expensive as you lean towards the steam engine end of the spectrum - try ebay and search under model engine ,stirling or hot air engine or steam engine .
Have a search around on youtube for sterling engines ( also called a hot air engines ) and wobbler engines . I have seen wobbler engines made from wood , coat hanger wire and washers and made with not much more than a hand drill a couple of drill bits , a saw and a file !
Another couple of youtube channels to look at are " that lazy machinists " the host Marc is a retired tool and instrument maker turned teacher and he covers everything from the basics of safety right through to advanced machine operations and everything in between. Emma's spare room machine shop , Emma is in Brisbane and covers all sorts of machining and making steam engines , boilers and much more ! Last but not least Clickspring , Chris is i believe in Cairns and is more into clocks and ancient mechanisms but the work he does is just stunning ! When you can hand file gears you are doing pretty good and you will learn something from him i promise !

It may be well worth your while to have a look and see if your local TAFE has night courses on fitting and machining , I'm not sure if they still do them as it's been a long time since i Went to TAFE !

Ian.

 

[Biret Agirtan]

Well hi there Ian,
Great to hear from an Aussie. Awesome tips mate.
Will follow your guidance.
Probably start with sthg small off ebay.
Cheers

 

[minh-thanh]

Biret Agirtan !
why buy a kit to build ??
You can make wobbler engines with with many available materials
This is my friend wobbler engines :

 

[joneb]

Hi Biret I agree with Minh Thanh, If I were you I would try and find a plan of a simple engine then find a part you can make such as a frame, you should be able to find a piece of suitable metal and mark the shape on the metal and start cutting . As a minimum you will need a vice, a half round file and a hacksaw. You will soon find out if you are interested enough, if you are you can start buying the next tool, a drill and Bits to complete the frame.
Don't worry about making it perfect just functional and then get onto the next bit preferably something that fits to the first part you made. You can always go back and make another when you've nearly finished.
I never make a part twice I make it the best I can and don't worry to much about what it looks like, get it working or near completion you might find the drawing was wrong or it might be better done another way.
Regards John

 

[Biret Agirtan]

Hi Biret I agree with Minh Thanh, If I were you I would try and find a plan of a simple engine then find a part you can make such as a frame, you should be able to find a piece of suitable metal and mark the shape on the metal and start cutting . As a minimum you will need a vice, a half round file and a hacksaw. You will soon find out if you are interested enough, if you are you can start buying the next tool, a drill and Bits to complete the frame.
Don't worry about making it perfect just functional and then get onto the next bit preferably something that fits to the first part you made. You can always go back and make another when you've nearly finished.
I never make a part twice I make it the best I can and don't worry to much about what it looks like, get it working or near completion you might find the drawing was wrong or it might be better done another way.
Regards John

Thanks John I would prefer that as well. However I dont have the space for tooling yet. once i do i will slowly purchase and grow my tool set. until then I cant make any parts thats why Im looking for projects where I can assemble parts regardless of how many parts there are or how long it would take. thanks for the tips. will definitely follow that when im im ready to move to real building

 

[packrat]

All good information and posts, I know you do not have much room for tools like a drill press or lathe, but you could start looking at tool catalogs and see what is out there..Most tools are not cheep even a used lathe can cost big money plus you will need hundred of small tools like drills, tap and die sets, dial calipers and micrometers. If I were you I would read and read some more, lots of books out there on lathe work and the net that has been posted...good luck packrat

 

[XD351]

For a beginner i wouldn't recommend a micrometer , start of with a set of digital callipers- Why ? Because they can measure outside , inside , steps and depth . Drill bits , try to buy a decent set but if you have never drilled a hole you are going to break drills so i would recommend maybe a set of frost bits or similar price range from bunnings or hare and forbes ( alcock ) brand for now - best settle on what you want now , either metric or inch - just stay away from those really cheap sets on ebay or at the markets !
Taps and dies - don't buy junk - i use sutton, p&n and i have used sets from hare and forbes and lpr and both are fine and you can also just buy what size you need when you need it you don't have to buy a set ! I use the frost brand i bought from bunnings to throw at the neighbours dog when it barks all night as that is all they are good for , they aren't even good enough to use as thread cleaners !
Things like lathes can be a difficult choice , there is budget , available room , what you intend to make with it and the size of the parts etc that all play a part in the decision . Some people get by with a very small lathe like a taig ,sherline or small seig and even the old adept lathe . These micro lathes will fit in a small cupboard and can be carried around easily so you only need a table to sit it on and you are machining in minutes ! The downside is they limit the size of your projects and usually can't cut threads or don't have auto feed . I use a little taig to make very small parts and pcb stand offs for my electronics projects as it is nimble and fast .
So don't think that you need an entire machine shop to get started - there are many many skills to be learned especially with hand tools before you buy machinery ! Measuring , marking out and filing are some , if you need to drill a hole you can get by with a cheap pistol or battery drill - a drill press just makes it easier !

 

[ShopShoe]

If you are starting to figure out the lathe/tooling/shop tradeoffs, looking for sources for projects, and short of room, I would suggest that visiting

www.mini-lathe.com

would give you more information. Frank Hoose has put together an array of information on the 7x SIEG mini-lathes and their users, as well as other links you may find useful.

Better Hurry, though, as of 8-03-2018 he posted a notice that part of the site is becoming too expensive to maintain and [I interpret this to mean] may be changed or lost.

--ShopShoe

 

[Moper361]

Hi Xd351
Was just breezing through this thread and seem to have stumbled upon a few other Ozzeis ,I to am from Ozz originally but have lived overseas the past 15 years but have a small work room up in Chiang mai were I live with lathe milling machine and various other welding and machining gadgets .My problem up in Chiang mai is I don't have others near by to lean on for advice due to language barriers also laying my hands on some tooling etc at times can be pressing .
Anyway that was just a small rant to say gday.Are you a hobbiest or full time machinist ? It would be good to be able to pick a few brains at times on various ideas as I am a bit green but have knocked an air engine and various bits of tooling and er collet chucks but plan on building an ic engine soon so would be handy to get to know a few more people to gather ideas .
Regards Nat