Hi all from ireland

[peterbermingham]

Hi just want to say hello i am from mayo in Ireland have being interested in steam engines for a long time now looking to build one either from kit to get started with and then maybe a scratch build as i am new to building steam ill have hundreds of questions for ye
Regards Peter Bermingham

 

[AussieJimG]

Hi Peter, welcome to the forum

Jim

 

[itsallmememe]

Welcome to the forum Peter you won't go to far wrong with the advice from the good people here. I'm based in Sligo myself so its good to have another person interested in model engineering so close.

Adrian

 

[Tin Falcon]

Welcome peter ask a hundred question you may get a few hundred answers .Many will even be the right answer LOL.
I posted to the starter kit thread.

I will say the plus side of a kit. Usually the plans are top notch and easy to read. Some of the more popular kits you can buy a book on how to build. There is often less machining /material to remove.

a bar stock engine usually you need to gather material that can take time. But there are bar stock kits as well. The nice thing for a first build is with buying stock one usually gets extra for future projects or for the inevitable practice pieces you need to make before the one you keep to build the engine.
Tin

 

[peterbermingham]

Thanks for all the welcomes lads itsallmememe have you ever being to the steam museum in kildare they have some lovely stationary engines and about 20 working models that sales men used to sell engines The Steam Museum :: Welcome

 

[gus]

Hi Peter,

Welcome from faraway Singapore. Gus is very much a beginner and still making mistakes and scraps but I am learning fast from the senior HMEM members. I work with bar stocks. Right now three of us(Swifty,Gus and AussieJim) are working on the same Nemett-Lynx 4 stroke 15 cc petrol engine.Please view our postings.

 

[itsallmememe]

I went to it a few years ago Peter they have some really good stuff on display. Another good place is the Ulster folk and transport museum, is it mostly steam your interested in.

Adrian

 

[peterbermingham]

Being interested in steam engines for awhile just never got around to buying a kit or trying to build one. Need to get myself a mill and lathe if i want to do a scratch build also do a bit of knife making from 01 tool steel. Its a traction engine ill be looking to build from scratch something like the Fowler ploughing engine

 

[Tin Falcon]

You will need a lathe and at least a milling attachment to complete most casting kits as well. the stuart premachied kits are pretty dear like 350 gbp each.
if you want a nice little mill engine kit that is pre machined go with the PM research 3BIM only about $ 150 US the shipping may hurt a little.
just need hand tools to put it together.
mine looks like this.

Tin

 

[peterbermingham]

I can get the PM research stuff from a supplier in the uk that PM research stuff looks nice love the mini workshop equipment they do

 

[Tin Falcon]

PM research stuff looks nice love the mini workshop equipment they do

PMR is a regular vendor at the Cabin Fever Expo Here in York PA USA. So I see them once a year. Great folks great products.
The mini machine tools are something you need to machine yourself. they only offer a couple re machined kits.
Graham Industries also offers several small but very nice cnc machined bar stock engines that are ready to assemble.
http://grahamind.com/store/page1.html
These were developed by our own Gail Graham. His son now runs the business.

While most of us do it the hard way and machine an engine at a time on manual machines in our home shop it is possible to purchase pre machined ones at reasonable prices and cheaper than setting up a machine shop.

I have also noticed there are a lot of engine kits coming out of china. Can not ell you if they are any good . have not actually seen any just pictures on e- Bay.

Tin