New Rookie to Engines

[rodbuilder]

Hello, I had just ordered a Sherline mill & lathe and found this site by accident and its a great place. I am looking at trying to build a simple IC but have not found a plan for a simple one though. If someone could suggest one I would appreciate it. I am going to have to work on my machining skill, have not done it since my class in engineering school. Designing is one thing but building is another.I am learning a lot form yall guys so thanks.

 

[wareagle]

Welcome to HMEM! We're glad to have you!

Simple IC engine... Not real sure where to point you in that arena. Probably a glow ingnition engine would be the simplist for an IC. My recommendation would be a simple wobbler or something of that nature. The build would be faster and simpler for a initial project. This would allow you to learn the personalities of your machines, and you should have a runner in a relatively short amount of time. Something to consider...

 

[jack404]

G'day Rodbuilder

Welcome!!

your in the right place

i'm new to the model building side and will be practising on steam myself
for me a IC engine is a bit ways off yet , reasons similar to what you have stated

a bit complex ..

but hang about and i'm sure someone will suggest one to you, theres a few IC experts here ( i'm jealous) :big:

there are a few nice ones in the threads from early on

i'm still discovering gems of all kinds there

good luck and enjoy your stay

cheers

jack

 

[Jadecy]

I would definitely start with plans for an engine built from barstock. If you make a mistake on barstock you can just chuck it in the bin and get another piece of stock to work on. Mess up on a casting and it could ruin your whole week depending on how much the particular casting costs.

My first engine was a model diesel. Here is a picture of it -> <A href="http://www.executive-model-design.com/acatalog/About_Us.html">

</A>

It is a MLA-17 from <A href="http://www.statecollegecentral.com/metallathe/MLA-17.html">Metal Lathe Accessories</A>

It runs pretty well but you may have to scale it down some for the Shirline equipment. I built mine with a chinese 9x20 lathe.

Another nice model is the "little angel" by Bob Shores. His family still offers the plans. It is a small hit-n-miss engine.

The one thing I learned was to have patience. It can take a good amount of time to make all the parts for even what seems like a simple engine.

 

[rake60]

Welcome to HMEM rodbuilder

Rick

 

[Tin Falcon]

Welcome
Generally an air steam powered engine of simple design is a good place to start. Then move into more complicated projects.
If you have your heart set on IC then a bob shores design or a H Upshur plan set the families are selling plans.

 

[GailInNM]

Welcome Rodbuilder,
As others have said, the best place to start is with a simple air/steam engine. If you really have your heart set on an IC engine, one of the easiest ways to get started is with a "Simple Single". With a simple two stroke engine, the hardest parts to get right are the cylinder and piston and with the Sherline equipment you are going to build something small (or be very ingenious) and that makes the problem worse as tolerances get tighter. The Simple Single uses a Cox 0.049 cylinder and piston to get around this. It was serialized in 6 issues of Strictly IC magazine years ago and plans are available from the author at reasonable cost. Link to the plans is:

http://www.modelenginenews.org/rsch/index.html

Scroll down near the bottom of the page. Additional details are at:
http://modelenginenews.org/design/design2.html

Cox piston and cylinder sets are available on ebay for nominal prices, and the Cox Surestart engine still shows up regularly for 10 to 15 dollars.

The main problem will be if you do not have the thread cutting attachment for you Sherline lathe. The Cox Cylinder mount uses a special thread and I only know of one source for a tap. Jerry James had a special run of them made up, but they are not cheap, but it is an alternative if you can't cut threads on your lathe.
http://www.jamesengine.com/index_files/Page435.htm

If you use a tap, you will be limited to using the Cox glow head and they are a little hard to come by. If you can cut threads, then you can make a conversion head to use standard 1/4-32 glow plugs or make a compression ignition head and use model diesel fuel. If you should go this way, email me as there were a couple of errors on the original plans. I have not seen a current set so I don't know if they were corrected or not. I have built four versions of this engine and they all run well.

A very good source for model internal combustion engine construction information is:
http://www.modelenginenews.org
Start with the editorial index and click on the links and photos and just search the site in general. All the back information is there with how to articles on most aspects of building model IC engines. Plan to spend a week of evenings there, two weeks if you have a family.

Also subscribe to Model Engine Builder magazine. It has plans for engines in every issue and back issures are available. It is a high quality magazine, but publication dates tend to wander around a bit. We all wait anxiously for it to come.

Gail in NM,USA

 

[rodbuilder]

Machining is not the problem its the combustion problem for me. I work at an engineering/building firm and we have two full time machinist that I have been learning from, and they will help me anytime I want. Also have the use of the company machines and the guys tools, if I need more than I have. I am an engineer so details and time I can do its just the IC I have never learned. So a complex model is fine as long as I can get it to run after building.

 

[wareagle]

With the resources you have, you should be fine. I would suggest you pick a couple of designs and run it by the guys you will be leaning on for help and get their feedback. They can probably help you out in picking a design to build that will not be so much of a burden on them, and they will also know the capabilities of the "company shop" and that can be a plus when the time comes.

As far as IC engines go... Don't let the IC stump you. Really it is simple, thought timing events can be very challenging to get right. First, you need compression which requires valve timing to be correct and the valves and piston(s) to seal. Now that you have compression, you need a means of igniting the fuel/air mixture whether it be spark plug or glow plug ignition. Speaking of the fuel/air mixture, that needs to be in the correct proportions as well, otherwise you will be running the engine lean (too little fuel with the air) which creates a very hot flame front, or rich (too much fuel with air) which will foul plugs, create smoke, and cause other issues. You do want to run a new engine a little rich in the beginning to allow it to break in. When you have all of these things in place at the right time, then you will have a running engine.

This is a very simplistic description of how an IC engine works. If you have questions, throw them out here! That's what this place is all about.

 

[Tin Falcon]

Here is the web page for Uphur Engine works the plan sets are 20- 30 pages each 8 1/2 x 11 actually a small self published book. $10 each set +$3 s/h
one of the sets has four engines. These plans are designed by an amateur for amateurs so should be very doable with the support of a company shop. Bar stock engines
http://hamiltonupshur.tripod.com/
And here is Bob Shores web Page castings available.
http://www.bobshores.com/home.html
I know of a guy that did a Stuart Triple expansion as a first engine . Sounds like you have the support and background to make your first engine a success.
Tin

 

[Cedge]

I know of a guy that did a Stuart Triple expansion as a first engine.
Tin

Tin
I'm not sure I could spit fast enough to chew that much tobacco....LOL.

A definite case of battleship ambition and rowboat capabilities

Steve

 

[Tin Falcon]

A definite case of battleship ambition and rowboat capabilities

Well the guy is a friend and co worker of Don Sandler. Don is a master machinist who made his career as an electronics tech.
Don tells me his buddy kept saying one of these days I am going to biuld one of those engines(Stuart triple) after years of hearing this Don Said "just buy the D***b thing and build it." Well he did. I have no Idea of how long it took. I will say he had one of the best mentors and teachers of model engineering to be found in the world. He also had use of machine tools at work.

The Stuart

The guy Do not recall his name with his display

Don And his display

Tin