Open Column Launch Engine from Kit

[zeeprogrammer]

Thanks Robert. You've been a big help on this thread.
Now to disappoint...next thread may not start for a bit...but I don't think you'll suffer much withdrawal.

Parents are coming in a week or so.
I'm going to visit wife in a few weeks.
Wife comes back home shortly after that. Woo hoo!
And there's the special projects I need to do for Marv :big:
Plus the grand-daughter will arrive in August.

I haven't had baby-puke on me for more than 20 years. Say...I wonder if anyone has tried that for getting a drill bit or tap out of a piece of metal? Don't ask me to try it...I don't expect to break anything .

 

[Foozer]

Now to disappoint...next thread may not start for a bit...but I don't think you'll suffer much withdrawal.

No No No.. The voices will return without a proper diversion, of course I could continue the Plato Republic discussion with my fan club We were just getting into the merits of the cave when you started this thread

 

[PhillyVa]

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ,


th_wav Way to go....Great runner th_wav

woohoo1 woohoo1 woohoo1

Regards

Philly

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Hi Robert,

From the wiki...

"Plato asserts that it is the philosopher's burden to reenter the cave. Those who have seen the ideal world, he says, have the duty to educate those in the material world, or spread the light to those in darkness. Since the philosopher is the only one able to recognize what is truly good, and only he can reach the last stage on the divided line, only he is fit to rule society according to Plato."

A philosopher machinist. Interesting. This explains a few earlier posts.

Philly: Thanks very much.

 

[zeeprogrammer]

If we all call it a rose...then it must be a rose.
:big:
Blame Robert...he put me in a philosophical mood.

 

[AlasdairM]

Just woken up here in the UK and logged on - brilliant stuff Zee/Carl. Mega congratulations. :bow:

As I've said before, as a fellow newbie - nowhere near as "advanced" as you are - this has been a tremendous thread to follow.

I have learnt more from this than the last two months of reading books and magazines etc. As you say, Marv and Foozer and all the other posters give fabulous, practical help and information without patronising in any way at all.

Summary - brilliant forum, and even better thread!!

Enjoy your "break", and I look forward very much to seeing the tools you make to keep Mr K off your back (and don't forget the piccies....) ;D

Regards, A

 

[Foozer]

If we all call it a rose...then it must be a rose.
:big:
Blame Robert...he put me in a philosophical mood.

We all sit at wait for you, the "Door Keeper" to allow us through the passage

OK, so you have to read Kafka now

Still a good job and no wobble on the flywheel, thats a WooHoo

 

[ariz]

Congrats zee!!! :bow: :bow: :bow:

I saw a day or two ago that it wasn't running, but I was sure that you could do it to run (apologize for my english, too many verbs here :-\)

very well done, now you can go to the next engine

 

[kvom]

Nice to see it running! ;D

You should be able to make a little hose barb to keep from having to hold the tube.

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Alaisdair: Thanks. That gives as much satisfaction as building.

Robert: First, I have to get through the machinist books that are piling up. But if you have Cliff Notes...

ariz: Thank you. I'm always impressed by people who take the time and energy to learn another language. I wish I'd kept up with my German. (Right now I need to learn some Spanish - it's a job thing - but learning any language is interesting.)

kvom: Thanks. Yeah...I saw someone recently post some stuff about making a hose barb. Actually...what I want to do is find a small router table and make some decent displays...mount the engine...and install some proper piping to a fitting on the edge of the display. If I remember my aquarium days right...a hose barb can be a 'pain' to deal with.

As for the router table et.al., I already have the 'go' from my wife...I just can't make up my mind on what to get. I don't intend to do much else with it...maybe picture frames and small boxes. So it's the usual 'go inexpensive' or 'better' conundrum. It's all about the features I think.

 

[bearcar1]

Say Z', If you want to go cheap, er, uh, that is I mean inexpensive, you could make a very simple one from one of those "P-lam" faced shelves that they sell at Menard's and such. I made up one for a simple project once and have used it many times since. It clamps to a bench or table top. A single 3/4" hole bored through the piece to clear the cutter bit and four wood screws through existing holes in the router base to secure it to the bottom is all it takes. A super simple strip of square stock with a small through hole near one end and a wood screw to hold it to the slab to act as a pivot while the loose end is secured with a C-clamp all acts as a guide fence. Like I said, cheap, er, uh inexpensive, sorry. But it does function well.

BC1
Jim

 

[mklotz]

I thought you had said that you didn't put the specified bend in the connecting rod - hence the incorrect interpretation of the video. Troubleshooting across a continent isn't easy.

It works. That's what counts.


Hose barbs, etc. ...

For small engines, it's worth standardizing on a size for the air connectors. I chose 3/16" because that pairs perfectly with the green silicone aquarium tubing. The slight gumminess of the silicone means that it "grips" an unbarbed 3/16" stub tightly enough to stay on with the low air pressures typically used for these engines. None of my engines have barbed air stubs. A further advantage is that 3/16" stock doesn't need to be cut down to thread 10-32 (major diameter = 0.060 + 10*0.013 = 0.190", 3/16 = 0.1875"). As a result, all my air inlets are done with that thread.

The silicone tubing has other advantages. It doesn't deteriorate or harden with age and is impervious to oil and, seemingly, UV damage. Surprisingly, it can also be used with live steam. I've run several of my engines with the last link between the boiler and engine a piece of silicone tubing. The tubing remains, after several years use, supple and apparently undamaged. Petco is a national (USA) chain and I've never been in one of their stores that didn't carry the green silicone tubing. Plus, it's cheap

As you build more engines and a display stand, you'll want to have a manifold. (Note to self: take pictures of the "heptapus" I use at shows.) There are numerous options but, when you're working up your personal design, include a regulator and a water trap - you'll thank yourself later when you go to a show where the organizers supply air.

I don't have the patience to build my own throttle valves for each engine so I use the small brass valves sold in hardware stores for refrigerator water lines. As the name suggests, the heptapus has seven of them emanating from a common reservoir so seven engines can be separately controlled.

 

[zeeprogrammer]

I thought you had said that you didn't put the specified bend in the connecting rod - hence the incorrect interpretation of the video.

That's right. But I/we thought we'd wait until it was time to assemble the engine and see if it was necessary. As it turned out, it was necessary. Sorry that I hadn't mentioned it during the assembly process.

Thanks for the tips on the tubing, manifold, and valves. That should be a fun project in itself.

While I have no experience yet going to a model engineering show (I hope that gets rectified soon) I've been to plenty of industrial shows to know you can't go wrong to bring anything and everything you might need. (Even then...depending on where you are...you might not be allowed to use, much less connect, your stuff up.) Don't forget spares! Murphy's Law and all that. At work...if I want to really test a new development...I ask to demo it to the boss. If it's going to fail...it'll fail there.

 

[Foozer]

Hi Robert,

From the wiki...

"Plato asserts that it is the philosopher's burden to reenter the cave. "

No good deed goes unpunished . . .

So your motor is running, now you can do a timing check. Timing tape (not hard to make) around the flywheel with TDC and the intake and exhaust points marked. Pull cylinder head and bring piston to Top Dead Center, align pointer to TDC mark on flywheel. With low air applied, slowly rotate flywheel and at the intake mark 34' the air should just begin to flow, stopping at the 235 mark. Ditto with the exhaust. Easy way to check valve relationship to piston movement.

 

[zeeprogrammer]

No good deed goes unpunished . . .

So your motor is running, now you can do a timing check. Timing tape (not hard to make) around the flywheel with TDC and the intake and exhaust points marked. Pull cylinder head and bring piston to Top Dead Center, align pointer to TDC mark on flywheel. With low air applied, slowly rotate flywheel and at the intake mark 34' the air should just begin to flow, stopping at the 235 mark. Ditto with the exhaust. Easy way to check valve relationship to piston movement.

Did I say I was a philosopher? And wouldn't this have been done when they created the plans? Are you suggesting I did something wrong? Or that they did? ;D

Seriously though...it's very helpful to understand how one would go about verifying the timing. Another member emailed me some info on how to do that too. Surprise surprise...you both suggested the same method. Well I guess it shouldn't be a surprise. Guess I'll go and learn how to do it.

Thanks Robert.

Wait...are you just trying to get a fix? Man that's the 2nd deceptive fellow I've run into here. (Yeah I'm thinking about you 'V'.) :big:

 

[Foozer]

Did I say I was a philosopher? And wouldn't this have been done when they created the plans? Are you suggesting I did something wrong? Or that they did? ;D

Seriously though...it's very helpful to understand how one would go about verifying the timing. Another member emailed me some info on how to do that too. Surprise surprise...you both suggested the same method. Well I guess it shouldn't be a surprise. Guess I'll go and learn how to do it.

Thanks Robert.

Wait...are you just trying to get a fix? Man that's the 2nd deceptive fellow I've run into here. (Yeah I'm thinking about you 'V'.) :big:

Like I had to actually mow some of the yard today to mask the twitching from the ZEE withdrawal systems

Not that anything is wrong with the design or method of producing the part, checking the timing is an expansion to the knowledge you have gained. With a degree wheel you can alter the timing and compare that against engine performance. Course then you'd have to make some sort of engine dyno, pony brake, gizmo to measure changes in horsepower, Ok hamster in a cage power to actually have comparative data. That or face the bride for forgetting her birthday. Oh wait that's me today

 

[zeeprogrammer]

That or face the bride for forgetting her birthday.

Oh man thanks Foozer. This might be your greatest contribution yet. I've been so busy working on this engine and all...

 

[1Kenny]

Nice going Zee. This has been fun to watch.

Kenny

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Thanks Kenny.

The whole thing is such fun. It's such a struggle not to go ahead and get started on the next project...but must do laundry, wash dishes, eat something. :big:

 

[bearcar1]

Thanks Kenny.

The whole thing is such fun. It's such a struggle not to go ahead and get started on the next project...but must do laundry, wash dishes, eat something. :big:

And don't forget to get a present for Foozer's wife's B'day!! Rof} Rof} Rof}