Plumbing Parts Engine

[cfellows]

Well, for those who had almost given up on this project, I'm back. Got side tracked by a project by SWMBO... installing a new tile backsplash in the kitchen. As Red Green would say, if you can't be handsome, at least be handy!

Here is the finished Jan Ridders style fuel tank and and mixer. It's made from a piece of copper pipe 1 5/8" in diameter and 2 1/2" long. This is the mixer end.

And here's the other end. You can see the pocket watch crystal in the end. It's not glued into place yet. That will have to wait until dead last.

This little hoody doody is the piezo electric igniter out of a discarded butane lighter I found lying in the gutter a number of years ago. Still generates a spark. I'm hoping this will replace the points, condenser, coil, and battery.

If this all comes together like I'm hoping, I should be pretty close to showtime. Just have to rig up the igniter to work off the cam gear and make a few other final touches. Of course, it will probably take a lot more work than I imagine, because I'm not real confident that the igniter will fill the bill. Several other "features" are kind of iffy as well.

Chuck

 

[Deanofid]

The fuel tank looks really nice, Chuck.
What type (brand) of glue do you use to adhere the glass to the inset in the tank?

Dean

 

[Powder keg]

Great job on the tank!!! I'd never thought of a crystal for a sight glass. I like it)

 

[cfellows]

The fuel tank looks really nice, Chuck.
What type (brand) of glue do you use to adhere the glass to the inset in the tank?

Dean

Super Glue according Jan Ridder. I went one better and used super glue gel to fill any small voids. I'll test it tomorrow to see if it leaks.

Chuck

 

[Deanofid]

"Super Glue"

Neat. Thanks Chuck. Didn't know that stuff was fuel impervious, but I'll bet Jan Ridder knows.

 

[4wheels]

Hi Vernon,

Like this!
http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=4922.msg58355#msg58355

or, this...
http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=4922.msg58376#msg58376

Thank you for your response. I was getting 'Crystals' and 'Jewels' mixed up - another senior moment! Makes a lot of sense now. Thanks.

Cheers,
Brian

 

[Troutsqueezer]

Like others here, being somewhat new to this hobby I find following along on these builds is highly educational and this thread is no exception but with each build I follow, I do so with some trepidation. To put it plainly, each build thread I follow, costs me money.

From the photos and descriptions I can see clearly how certain tasks are done but what I also see is equipment being employed which I don't yet own and which may or may not be required for me to complete that task. Even if there is a work-around to get the job done, if I don't own that particular tool I will want it anyway because I can see how it makes the job easier.

Now I have to get myself a boring bar that will handle a radius of that size, a dividing plate, gear cutting blades, arbors...the list never ends.

-Trout

 

[cfellows]

Yeah, it's a balancing act. FYI, my boring head is home made. The carbide boring bars were pretty inexpensive and I've had them for a long time. Rotary tables, in my opinion, are well worth having for a number of different tasks. And, unfortunately, they aren't cheap. I think I paid $150 or so for my 6" rotary table and that was several years ago.

I always try to build tools that I can and buy those that are either more work than I want to go through or are, in the end, probably not much more expensive than building my own. The rotary table was a case of both.

I have made the mistake, numerous times, of buying something I thought would be useful only to have it wind up on the bottom shelf collecting dust. And, I'll probably do it again! :big:

Chuck

 

[NickG]

Nice build chuck! I've just found this but will be watching the closing stages. When I make an i.c. engine one day I was planning to use the petrol vapour carb too. Do you think it'd be possible to incorporate a throttle body into the design with the vapour carb?

Nick

 

[ariz]

very nice engine, and beautiful fuel tank too!!!

I wish to be able to make a tank like your for the scuderi engine (jan ridders design) that I'm making :

 

[zeeprogrammer]

As Red Green would say, if you can't be handsome, at least be handy!

So I should be getting handier as I get older. As a matter of fact...I should be real handy already.

To put it plainly, each build thread I follow, costs me money.

Even if there is a work-around to get the job done, if I don't own that particular tool I will want it anyway because I can see how it makes the job easier.

Now I have to get myself a boring bar that will handle a radius of that size, a dividing plate, gear cutting blades, arbors...the list never ends.

Yeah. That's been my world since I started this last February. But be careful in saying that. You'll get several notable characters bugging you to make your own tools. It happened to me and now my 'tool to-do' list is longer than my 'engine to-do' list. If someone mentions 'D Reamer' to you...they might be one of them. :big:

I too am looking forward to seeing the whole thing. It's certainly a display piece.

 

[mklotz]

Yeah. That's been my world since I started this last February. But be careful in saying that. You'll get several notable characters bugging you to make your own tools. It happened to me and now my 'tool to-do' list is longer than my 'engine to-do' list.

Just remember that it was tool making that distinctively marked the point at which humans separated from their ape ancestors. (Although I'll admit that I've met a number of amateur machinists where the separation doesn't seem to have been perfectly accomplished.)

 

[vlmarshall]

Just remember that it was tool making that distinctively marked the point at which humans separated from their ape ancestors. (Although I'll admit that I've met a number of amateur machinists where the separation doesn't seem to have been perfectly accomplished.)

Rof} :bow:

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Just remember that it was tool making that distinctively marked the point at which humans separated from their ape ancestors. (Although I'll admit that I've met a number of amateur machinists where the separation doesn't seem to have been perfectly accomplished.)

Not me! I don't think we've met. Right? I think that's right. :big:

In any case...these old opposable thumbs will soon be doing some opposing (instead of the short sideways movements to the space bar that they're used to). ;D

 

[mklotz]

No, Zee, that wasn't aimed at you. (BTW, glad to see you posting again.)

Hmm, early man, toolmaking...I feel an anecdote coming on.

When I was in college we used to devise mental games to sharpen our perception and analytic ability.

One was: Name an object that is totally useless. (Certain weight-based "uses" such as doorstop and anchor were exempted.) The game then was, of course, to think of uses for said object.

Another was: If you were abandoned on a deserted island and could have only one hand tool, what would you select? Amazingly, most of the smarter people ended up selecting the modern equivalent of the first tool to be manufactured by early hominids. Coincidentally, it is also the tool that most primitive tribesmen are willing to trade their most valued possessions for today.

 

[zeeprogrammer]

I knew it wasn't...just having fun. ;D (Thanks for the welcome back.)

I like those kinds of games. Also...'what else can you use it for?'.

Hm...'axe'? or 'hammer'?

Wasn't it a hammer that the monkey, or rather ancestor, used in 2001? To beat other ancestors (monkeys)?

But poor Hanks used a skate blade as an axe on his island.

I'd want an axe. Don't know if that puts me in 'most smarter people' but I'll be happy to be in the other group...the 'some smarter people'. :big:

 

[shred]

Depending on said deserted island, you'd want a sharp edge of some sort-- axe, knife, machete. The things pacific islanders do with machetes is pretty impressive.

Of course I know how to knap flint as well, which would be a plus, should there be any suitable stone around



Anyway... isn't this thread supposed to be about a primitive engine

 

[cfellows]

Been awhile since I posted on this. I been thinking and working on it as time permits, but I'm making it up as I go and that's not always easy for me. Anyway, here is the ignition setup. The small black thingy with the wire coming out is the piezo electric igniter module out of a small butane igniter used for lighting barbeques, etc. I have fastened a small ball bearing race to the cam gear which will actuate the igniter by pressing down on aluminum lever. I've got it firing right at TDC but do a have a little adjustment for timing with the adjustable screw at the tip of the lever.

Chuck

 

[Tom T]

Looking good Chuck . I'm glad to see some progress stay at it. Thm: Tom

 

[cfellows]

I am very close to a trial run. Have to run a ground wire from the igniter to the base of the cylinder, hook up the hot lead from the igniter to the spark plug, and fashion a push rod guide at the base of the exhaust valve. Also, I haven't tested the fuel tank for leaks, but I'll try to be optimistic about that until a test proves otherwise! If my energy holds out, I may be trying to start it later this evening or perhaps tomorrow morning. Got company coming tomorrow afternoon, and with all the Holiday hoopla, not sure how much time I'll have to spend on it. I sure hope it runs right out of the chute, but have to admit, I'll be really surprised if it does!

Chuck