Hi from Pennsylvania!

[datosi81]

Hi all,
My name is Darrell and I'm essentially brand new to this hobby. Starting about 20 years ago I got into building electronics. I was around 11 or 12 years old at the time. Simple things at first, like crystal radios and such, and it progressed from there. As I grew up, I became more interested in automotive endeavors and spend most of my free time (what little I have between work, school etc.) in the garage working on my cars. I've had many projects over the years and currently have a mustang cobra, 5.0, turbo, running megasquirt. But I've always had a fascination with model engines. For me it started when I was 15 and found an old RC magazine from the early - mid 80's. There was a model in that mag of a home built V8 that I seem to recall was a 32 ford. I'm sure this is a well known car among you guys, but I've never found it online after all these years.

Anyway, I just wanted to say I've been reading on some builds here the last few days, particularly keith5700's and stevehuckss396 V8 builds. Absolutely unbelievable talent!!! I'm inspired to start into this hobby, now realizing it doesn't necessarily require CNC machines etc. to get the job done. Don't get me wrong, I have no delusions of slapping together ANYTHING near what some of these builds have shown me, but I feel like I can at least get started now, perhaps a simple kit like listed in the "getting started" thread.

Thank you again for this great forum, I hope to learn a lot here and maybe be able to contribute in some way!

Darrell

 

[maverick]

Welcome aboard Darrell, this a great place to look for inspiration and
knowledge. You are correct that CNC is not needed, most of these engines were designed to be made on manual machines. It's a lot of fun and very rewarding when its all together and running.

Regards,
Maverick

 

[dreeves]

Darrell, welcome to the party. Where in pa are you from?

Dave
West Chester PA

 

[datosi81]

Thanks guys! I'm from Clarks Summit, right outside of good old Scranton.

 

[johnmcc69]

Hi Darell,
I'm from NW Pa, Erie. You've found a great resource here.
This place is FILLED with talent.

Welcome!!

John

 

[rythmnbls]

Welcome Darrell,

I'm about an hour south of you in Weatherly, we're almost neighbors ;D

Regards,

Steve.

 

[Philjoe5]

Welcome Darrell,
I'm a neighbor in Lancaster, PA

Cheers,
Phil

 

[skyline1]

Hi Darrell

Welcome from England. Great site here. and they're a friendly bunch. Huge range of experience and expertise on anything Engineering

Regards Mark

 

[Generatorgus]

Welcome Darrel,

I'm right down the road in Mountain Top.
Stop by and visit.

GUS

 

[compspecial]

Welcome to the forum Darrell, I'm sure you will find something not too complicated to get you started!
Stew

 

[Cogsy]

Howdy Darrell, I'm a neighbor too! Google tells me just 16,221 miles down the road and across 2 oceans...

You'll have fun here, it's a great place to learn.

 

[terrywerm]

Welcome aboard, Darrell! You will find that you have much to learn in order to build a V8, but this is a great place to learn the things you need to know. There will be times when your ultimate goals may seem a long way off, but have patience, you will get there.

 

[datosi81]

Thanks guys,
I expect it to be a long road, but I love learning anything engineering/fabrication related. I'll certainly start off small. I see there are a bunch of small steam engine kits that can be had for relatively cheap. What are some suggestions for a good first kit? At this point I'm thinking a kit just requiring assembly as I my tools are nothing more than what you'd expect a gearhead to have. I will be looking for a lathe and mill soon though. I saw some of the suggestions being the sherline brand. Not sure what size I'd really need, I don't want to get something well beyond my scope being so new, yet don't want to get something I will "outgrow" quickly. What are thoughts on harbor freight equipment? I know we kind of wince at there products in general, I've had good and bad experiences with some of there equipment (jacks, engine lifts etc.) in the past.

Thanks again for all the help guys, my apologies if I ask all the typical noob questions. lol

 

[jason4420]

Hi i'm from Sandy Lake,PA it's right along the PA/OH border smack dab half way between Erie and Pittsburgh

 

[Philjoe5]

Darrell,
If you spend some time in the "Tools" section of this forum you'll find a lot of opinions regarding the quality of the common import machine tools for this part of the world, eg, Grizzly, Harbor Freight. Basically, if you think you'll need help when something goes wrong, Grizzly will often give better tech support.

Little Machine Shop offers some interesting upgraded Sieg products and they usually bring them to the Cabin Fever show to be held in York, PA April 2013. Otherwise their shipping costs from CA to PA are steep. Their tech support gets high ratings.

I don't have experience with finished model engine kits. Grizzly offers this one:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Vertical-Stirling-Engine-Machined-Kit/H8104

For $195 it's pricey and in my opinion, making it yourself from scratch would offer valuable learning experiences and cost less.

Good luck in starting out in what has been, for many of us, an interesting and challenging hobby.

Phil

 

[Sshire]

Hi Darrell
Another Pennsylvanian here. About 1/2 mile from the Philly city line.
Take advantage of the expertise here. I started about 16 months ago and read nearly every post on this site.
Look in the Plans section for the EZ Engine. A great first build.
My first engine from Stan Bray's Simple Steam Engine book was made on a mill (didn't have a lathe at the time)
I started with a Sherline mill and realized very quickly that it was too small for what I wanted to do. That said, many beautiful and amazing engines have been built with Sherline Machines.
I sold that and got a Grizzly lathe and mill. No regrets. Might be worth a trip to Grizzly's showroom in Muncy, PA.
Do not miss Cabin Fever (in April 2013). York, PA.

 

[datosi81]

Thank you guys for the suggestions. I was looking at Grizzly's website and it dawned on me I've been right next door to that place a dozen times without realizing it lol. I work as a loss prevention manager for Macy's and a few times a year I make my way out to the Muncy store, which is in the same plaza as the Grizzly showroom.

Looking at some of their products, what are the thoughts on the combo machines? Seems it'd be a good way to save money. Is there any disadvantages to combo machines as far as functionality? How is the Grizzly brand regarded as far as quality among the hobbyists? Here's the 3 options that caught my eye.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Combo-Lathe-Mill/G4015Z

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Combo-Lathe-w-Milling-Attachment/G0516

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Combo-Lathe-Mill/G9729

Would any or all of these be what I'm looking for? As I said previously, I have every intention of starting off with small projects, but would eventually want to (attempt) to build a V8 or similar type of project, even if it's years down the road.

 

[Tin Falcon]

First of all read my getting started in model engineering thread. and selecting a first engine to build thread in the About HMEM sub fora.
I think these two threads will answer many questions.

Combination machines while they have there appeal and are a good choice for some are somewhat limited, the capabilities are less than a comparable set of machines and time is needed to change for lathe to mill mode and back.

I will say that my feeling is the most popular choice for starting out would be something along the lines of a g8688 7 x 12 lathe

And a seig x-2 mini mill. G8689

You will also need to spend several hundred on tooling to get you going.

Micromark has similar machines that have some nice upgrades but IIRC will cost a couple hundred a machine more. MM is in North Jersey IIRC about 45 minutes from the Thomas Edison National Historic site.

And I think most buy bigger machines down the road.
You may also want to read my thread on selecting a lathe in the tool sub fora.
Tin

 

[jason4420]

http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_lathe/Reviews/Reviews.htm

 

[jason4420]

Www.projectsinmetal.com