Horizontal Mill Engine From Kit

[JMI]

Here's a pic of all the parts I've made...

Hey Zee,

Looking good. This is one of the things that is amazing about this hobby. Make all these individual pieces and if they are done within tolerance all the holes line up and with a little fitting you end up with a hand-made machine that operates.

What a hobby. I love it.

Jim

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Don't despair probably some minor adjustment on the valve setting and it will run just fine.

He don't know me very well...do he?

Thanks Bob.

Make all these individual pieces and if they are done within tolerance all the holes line up and with a little fitting you end up with a hand-made machine that operates.

What a hobby. I love it.

There's that big 'if' in there. I usually miss my 'ifs'. ;D Yes...great hobby. And if it doesn't work...just fix it. ;D

..............
Probably last update for the day...(or another test to see if I can stay away)...

I forgot that the bushing was supposed to be a press fit. That is to say...I knew it was supposed to be...failed to make it right...then forgot until now. The bushing keeps coming out and the engine binds up. Loosening the cylinder and rotating it slightly put sufficient pressure on it to keep the bushing in place. Otherwise, the slide block keeps popping out of the tilting valve. It seems pretty loose so I don't think loctite will be sufficient. But I can try it.

Another possibility is to drill through the side of column and install a set screw.
Yet another possibility is to make a collar with a set screw and put it on the other side. The downside there is that the oil hole in the bearing might get covered or be in the wrong place.

The bigger issue is the hole for the pin between the reversing lever and the tilting valve. I just have some audio wire in there and there's too much slop. In one direction the valve doesn't move at all. That might be the piece that I can't stay away from this evening. ;D

The good news is that it ran in one direction on air!!! woohoo1

 

[Twmaster]

Zee... You've taken on a complete project. To get as far as you have is a major accomplishment. A little tweaking and you'll be OK!

 

[cobra428]

"The good news is that it ran in one direction on air!!!"

Congrats Zee

Tony

 

[GailInNM]

Congrats Zee Thm:
"The good news is that it ran in one direction on air!!! woohoo1"
Gail in NM

 

[mklotz]

If the bushing-to-standard fit is too sloppy for Loctite, perhaps you can get a bit of very thin shim stock in there. (A box of assorted shim stock is a good thing to keep in any engineer's tool kit.) Or, maybe JBWeld it in place.

A tiny roll pin may be the replacement for the audio wire. (That's what I used on mine.) Another possibility is to turn a brass pin slightly oversize and just drive it in.

Congrats on getting it to run in at least one direction! That should be excellent reinforcement and motivation to work out these little niggly problems. Have you done any valve adjustments yet? If not, we can talk about how to do that after you've got the mechanical problems licked.

 

[vlmarshall]

Congrats, Zeep! :bow:

Don't worry, if it ends up only running in one direction, a little video-reversal during editing will fool most of us spectators! ;D

 

[Artie]

Congratulations Zee, ive read a few threads here and they have several times mentioned the 'fettling' required to make a 'creation' run. I think you are simply one of the few to actually 'document' the required work to set up the beast.

Im damned impressed mate, and if it runs in one direction on air then it will certainly do so in the other once its sorted. Dont forget...its now PROVEN.....


Cheers and all the best,

Artie

 

[Philjoe5]

Nice going Zee. I live just about 30 miles or so from you and I could have sworn I heard a very loud woohoo1 this afternoon,

Cheers,
Phil

 

[rake60]

Congratulations Carl! Thm:

Rick

 

[black85vette]

Good work! Not much more to do now. Finish line is in sight. Thm:

 

[Cedge]

Carl
Just keep tweaking it. Most new engines have some birthing pains. Running it in will go along way toward getting it going. The combination of parts has to settle in so they work together with a minimum amount of friction. You're definitely in the home stretch!!!

Steve

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Wow! Thanks all! Not done yet though!

Thanks Twmaster, Tony, Gail, Marv, Artie, Phil, Rick, black85vette, and Steve...and oh yeah...'jerk'...I mean...Vernon, uh that guy who's been putting up with my offline questions. ;D

Marv...I'm going to see what the pin I have measures out at and maybe drill again. The manual gives some instructions on setting the valve but if I run into trouble I'll certainly appreciate the help.

Still a ways to go. But I'm feeling pretty good now. Even if it doesn't run well...it runs...and that means a lot to me!

 

[ozzie46]

Way to go Zee. You'll get it done now.


Ron

 

[vlmarshall]

Thanks ...'jerk'...I mean...Vernon, uh that guy who's been putting up with my offline questions. ;D

Hahahah! No problem, the offline questions are fun, and the "insider view" of construction is even better. I can't wait for the next project.

 

[ksouers]

Way to go, zee!!

You'll get her tweaked out just fine. Can't wait to see the full run ;D

 

[va4ngo]

One of my favourite quotes from I dont know who.

"Persistence beats resistance"

Well done Zee and you will enjoy looking at this model, as I have my own, for many years to come.

Cheers
Phil

 

[joe d]

Way to go, Zee! We knew you'd get there, even when you didn't think so :big:

A little tweaking, and then your problems really begin: deciding what's next ;D

Cheers, Joe

 

[PhillyVa]

Look'n good Zeep. Was it worth it....Oh yea, learning something new is always good.

Regards

Philly

 

[Deanofid]

You'll get it, Zee.
There are always things that, at the least, need normal adjustment to get running in sync.
Sometimes you have to chase down a few problems at one time, and eliminate those as you come across them. For the fellows that have built a number of engines, they know what to check for as the build progresses, and fix them as they go along. When you've only got a couple or three under your belt, you might not know what to look for early in the build, and you kind of have to find all the trouble spots at once when you try to get it going for the first time.

You're close if you have it running at all. It can't be too far wrong.

Dean