My first engine, a PM research #5

[Nikhil Bhale]

My first engine.
This is the first engine that I built.
I had the kit lying with me for more than a year but I was afraid to touch it.
Mainly the imperial dimensions were giving me a scare.
Faced many challenges mostly due to my inexperience and lack of tools and fixtures.
I learned a lot building this engine.
Now that the engine is finished I don't have any means to run it. I am looking for a small air compressor to buy. It turns freely by hand so I am fairly confident that it should run on air.
Now next job is to paint it and mount it on a wooden board.

Regards
Nikhil

 

[rac37]

Nikhil,
Very nice, looks like you did well on the PM 5 especially since it was your first build. I built one a few years ago and once I got it all dialed in it really runs great.
It will run very slow on just a couple pounds of air pressure, nice and smooth. Congrats and hope to see it running soon.

Bob

 

[Nikhil Bhale]

Some of my setups

Drilling main bearings

Machining crank pin. Crankshaft was machined between center. Sorry no images.

Machining cylinder bore in lathe.
Hardest part was machining the inlet and outlet slots. The operation was done blindly in mill with cutter out of sight. I was watching my dials and praying that nothing bad happens.

Machining the frame.

In hindsight I could have done a better job.
I have a PM #1 castings kit and will attempt that next. I am watching ongoing YouTube series on machining the kit.

Regards
Nikhil

 

[davidyat]

Well done. Congratulations on your first build. I gave one of my machines to a nephew who is working on his PHD in AI Robotic Computer Programming. Computers doing all the work for you. I gave him this message, "No CNC machine will ever give you the same satisfaction as getting dirt, grease and oil under your fingernails and building something with your own two hands"!!!

 

[TubeTech]

My first engine.
This is the first engine that I built.
I had the kit lying with me for more than a year but I was afraid to touch it.
Mainly the imperial dimensions were giving me a scare.
Faced many challenges mostly due to my inexperience and lack of tools and fixtures.
I learned a lot building this engine.
Now that the engine is finished I don't have any means to run it. I am looking for a small air compressor to buy. It turns freely by hand so I am fairly confident that it should run on air.
Now next job is to paint it and mount it on a wooden board.

Regards
NikhilView attachment 120404

I got small airbrush compressor from eBay for $99 and it runs all of my engines so far.

 

[vederstein]

Ahh...

You get to have the initial joys of fiddling the the valve timing. If your experience ends up like mine, it'll be about a hour of fine adjustments then all of a sudden the thing jolts to life. Then you'll try to improve it and screw it up.

...Ved.

 

[davidyat]

Ved, great words of advice.

 

[Danuzzo]

Very nice. Looking forward to you getting it to run.

 

[Larry G.]

My first engine.
This is the first engine that I built.
I had the kit lying with me for more than a year but I was afraid to touch it.
Mainly the imperial dimensions were giving me a scare.
Faced many challenges mostly due to my inexperience and lack of tools and fixtures.
I learned a lot building this engine.
Now that the engine is finished I don't have any means to run it. I am looking for a small air compressor to buy. It turns freely by hand so I am fairly confident that it should run on air.
Now next job is to paint it and mount it on a wooden board.

Regards
NikhilView attachment 120404

A junked refrigerator compressor will silently supply compressed air. Make a trap to capture the oil and return it to the inlet.

 

[packrat]

Quote "Now that the engine is finished I don't have any means to run it "

If you can get access to a co2 cylinder and a regulator you can run the engine, I got my regulator from the Coke man free and used a little co2 from work
just to test a engine or two..

 

[cheepo45]

Looks great!
A car spare tire will run it for a while with the right fittings.
Scott

 

[vederstein]

As for air compressors, they're Chinese made, but the brand "California Air Compressor" has units that are very quiet (e.g. 65db) compared to most rattletraps sold to consumers now days. I have the 10 gallon version and yes, you can actually have a conversation beside it while the compressor is running. You won't be talking in hushed tones, but you won't have that urge to evacuate the room until the thing shuts off either.

An American made pump from GAST (about $600 for the compressor, no tank) is also very quiet. The company for whom I work uses them.

...Ved.

 

[Nikhil Bhale]

Thanks for all the inputs.
I am thinking about using a tyre inflator type compressor to run the engine.
Now its Diwali time in here.
I will try it after the holidays.

Regards
Nikhil

 

[Nikhil Bhale]

It lives.
I used a car tyre inflator as a compressor.
Initially when I tried to run it, air was leaking from exhaust all the time.
My slide valve was tight and not "floating" as Mr Keith Appleton has explained in his serval videos.
I opened up the slot in the slide valve so that it was free.
I also lapped the slide valve and valve ports.
First by 400 grade emery paper and then valve lapping paste of 800 and finally 1000 grade.

Below link for the video


I am holding the air pipe by hand as the fitting is not compatible.

Regards
Nikhil

 

[Steamchick]

SPLENDID! A good looking result! The reward for a lot of hard work.
Now make the boiler, gauges, valves, burner, feed-pumps, superheater, casing etc... then on to the generator - or other load for the engine - and something for the generator to power - like a model drilling machine, or lathe or something, with an electric motor...
Or a boat...
Or just a more complicated engine...?
K2

 

[Richard Hed]

My first engine.
This is the first engine that I built.
I had the kit lying with me for more than a year but I was afraid to touch it.
Mainly the imperial dimensions were giving me a scare.
Faced many challenges mostly due to my inexperience and lack of tools and fixtures.
I learned a lot building this engine.
Now that the engine is finished I don't have any means to run it. I am looking for a small air compressor to buy. It turns freely by hand so I am fairly confident that it should run on air.
Now next job is to paint it and mount it on a wooden board.

Regards
NikhilView attachment 120404

It's absolutely beautiful. Did you ever thimpfk of maybe making your own compressor? You probably would not have to actually have all that much pressure--maybe 50 or 60 PSI (don't know what that would be in metric). I had the opposite problem with metric. I bought a couple casting sets from England and there were old British threaded parts in it. I changed all them to regular imperial. If I hadn't done that, I would have had to buy a bundle of new taps and dies which would only be good for those two castings. I have you beat on the length of time I had another set of castings sitting about. When I was in college I bought a "Coles Corliss (Ray)" set of castings which one cannot get at all now, and got about halfway thru using the college's tools. Then I got married and that was the end of college. So now I am retired and have been pulling all the old projects out of their hidey holes. I find that MOST of the parts can be made on a lathe alone, but some of the setups would be much easier on a mill. And SOME parts are nigh impossible to do with out a mill.

I have a question for you: how easy is it to buy a center drill in India? I ask because I bought a milling attachment gfrom an Indian source in which the outside, important parts of the attachment were quite well made except the sharp edges were not filed. The screw for tightening the vice was well done except for ONE PROBLEM. The end of the screw had been drilled out with a regular drill bit in order to fit into the tail stock dead end (Or live end or whatever). This made the end of the screw where threads were made to put the tightening handle very weak, about 20thousandths thick, which naturally broke. It arrived that way in the mail, so I am curious how difficult it would be to obtain the correct tool to fix that problem. The vice turns easily and is nicely made. I will probably make a new screw, will not be too hard to do.

 

[Nikhil Bhale]

Did you ever thimpfk of maybe making your own compressor?

I am thinking of making a small compressor myself. I got some drawings from internet for a small workshop compressor. I will try to at least copy the design concept if not actual dimensions from it.

I have a question for you: how easy is it to buy a center drill in India?

You ask very tough questions. I am sorry for faulty part you received.
I am not into production or manufacturing so I cannot say this is due to negligence or wrong working practices or time saving in tool changes.
I am not sure if small scale industries employ properly trained people to do these jobs (non critical jobs). Most people start as a helper and learn at the job itself. They may have never attended proper technical school and may not know where to use a center drill and where to use a normal drill.

Rgrds
Nikhil

 

[Richard Hed]

I am thinking of making a small compressor myself. I got some drawings from internet for a small workshop compressor. I will try to at least copy the design concept if not actual dimensions from it.


You ask very tough questions. I am sorry for faulty part you received.
I am not into production or manufacturing so I cannot say this is due to negligence or wrong working practices or time saving in tool changes.
I am not sure if small scale industries employ properly trained people to do these jobs (non critical jobs). Most people start as a helper and learn at the job itself. They may have never attended proper technical school and may not know where to use a center drill and where to use a normal drill.

Rgrds
Nikhil

I know exactly what you are saying. The lack of a proper tool, however, made a faulty part. I communicated with the fellow, whom I liked, and who was responsible for the faulty part which I let the part go, that is, I told him he didn't need to send a new part as he said it would cost him his profit. Well, I am not responsible for anyone's profit but HE is responsible to sell good parts. I can easily make a screw for it. Actually it will be a pleasure to make the part as I have never made an Acme thread and I would enjoy making one. I told him the two things that happened: The sharp edges cut my thumb upon opening the package and the screw was broken.

Anyway , all this leads me to believe that money is so tight in India that the average small business in India cannot afford to buy proper tools OR the proper tools are difficult to even find to buy. So I understand what you say above but I still do not know whether you can EASILY find a counter-sink in India. You see, I wish to buy from India every time I can do so over China but if a person does not buy the proper tools because they are too stingy, then that influences my decisions. It is my belief that any sensible person would buy the correct tools IF THE TOOL IS AVAILABLE and he has the money to buy. The thing is, the "profit" the fellow claimed is enough to buy several counter-sinks.

He promised to have his people file the sharp edges. Also the exterior, that is, the places that mattered were well made, slid well and were finely machined, so I still do not know with that quality of machining that his people could not use a proper tool or could not find one to buy. Can YOU tell me if a small tool such as a counter-sink is easily available in India?

PS, can you show me the compressor design?

 

[Steamchick]

I have an ex-fridge compressor I have been using since the 1970s... runs 1" bore x 2" stroke engines nicely. Decades ago it would reach 90psi, but now 45psi is as good as it gets as it is getting a bit worn out.... But it won't do big engines. I have (10~15 years ago) bought a small compressor (smallest in the shop!) which is noisy (90dB!) - but OK if you use a long power lead and hose and park it outside while doing the proper job behind closed doors... Only about 2cfm, but I think these are still only about £80? 4l reservoir. OK for tyres and spraying, but not for proper air tools.
K2.

 

[Nikhil Bhale]

So I understand what you say above but I still do not know whether you can EASILY find a counter-sink in India.

My home town does not have many industrial manufacturing units or big workshops. We have some lathe shops that cater to mostly automobile repairs. We have two shops that sell all the common cutting tools required by machinists. There I can get a 8mm countersink for about USD 2. So countersink must be fairly common to buy in industrial cities.
But you will be surprised to know that neither the shop or the workshops have heard about carbide insert tooling. All they use is HSS tools.
If I need something I usually order it from Mumbai (Bombay) where everything is available.
Indian manufactured tools are more costly then Chinese imports.
I always feel that Indian tool manufacturers lack the business acumen for online trading as online shopping for tools is very difficult.
There are some websites but they are B2B and you have to order for a minimum quantity which is expensive for hobby purpose. The reason for this may be that DIY culture in India is non existent.

Rgrds
Nikhil