Re: First Engine No Plans.

[Jack]

I have been buying from Enco for about 5 years now and although I get the big book, monthly sale flyers, emails of specials and the closeout flyers along with each shipment, BUT I have yet to see or get a free shipping code. Where does everyone get these from? Someone always post the code of the month but just once I would like to actually see one for myself.

P.S. I am working on the Webster gas engine and I will post photos when I get some more parts finished.

 

[chuck foster]

another good bit of tooling to use is a suburban block/cube.
it is a block of steel that is ground on all sides and all sides are perfectly square to one another.
there are bolt holes on all sides and you just clamp your part to the block and away you go, all holes and slots are square and parrallel to each other.
i use it to machine gas engine blocks. set up the block on the cube and machine your main bearings first, then turn the block around so you can machine the cyliner bore and they will be square to one another.
if any one is interested will try to post a pic of it in use tommorrow.

chuck

 

[lugnut]

Chuck has had a very bad experience this day and we all join in wishing him the very best recovery. I can’t think of many things that would be worst than loosing all my tools( not including friends and family) to some scum bag thief.
He has a big problem just trying to recall all he had in that tool box (way too many little things to remember). I try to at least once every 6 months to take my digital camera out to the shop and take bunch of photos of every thing in the shop. Now days with the new digital cameras it’s not a matter of cost other than your time. Your insurance is more likely to honor your claim if you have some photos of what you lost.
Chuck we wish you the best of luck in this
Mel

 

[bob ward]

Drill sharpening has always been a black art to me, so after following this thread I'm going to buy a DD750. But...

Checking Australian suppliers, the 240V 50Hz version is expensive compared to the price of the US 110V 60Hz? version mentioned in the thread. At US pricing levels I could import one airmail and land it here for half the best local price.

Does anyone in the 240V world have a source for well priced 240V 50Hz DD750's? I've done all the usual searches overseas, but without success so far.

[email protected]

 

[chuck foster]

well first of all i would like to say thanks guys for all the kind words

steve no offence was taken...........you were right i was affraid too move lastnight.............i thought with my luck i would get hit by lightning. :shock:

my boss let me have all day to order stuff and go get tool boxs and all sorts of tools he is indeed a great guy.

i think my boss will be suprised when he see's the total bill. :shock:

as far as the crank in my model.........a new one is almost finished.

the end mill will live to do some work, instead of 4 flutes it is now a 3 fluter. first solid carbide end mill i have ever had in my home shop and it just had to get broke :cry:

oh well as one of you guys said, no one was hurt or killed.

oh yea my sons high school football team won tonight, so it has been a good day

still hav'in fun inspite of it all

chuck

 

[lugnut]

Well the Drill Doctor is a wonderful machine. It’s not idiot proof, I was a great test for that, but if you follow the instructions and develop a feel for the operation, and pay attention to detail, you can sharpen bits like a Pro. I have hundreds of bits of all kinds and grades. This little wonder is going to put them all in working order. I tried the118° and the 135° and the split point. I like the 135° split point. I only got up to the ½ inch bit. Tomorrow I will try the larger sizes up to the ¾”. I guess my larger ones up to 1 inch will still be done by ME.
I love it
Mel

 

[ronm]

When I got my BP, it came w/a few so-so R8 collets. Not long after, I went to an estate auction hoping to buy a set of collets. Having done my homework, I knew when to quit on a coffee can full of Enco collets still in the boxes...2 fools met, & the biggest one paid $350 for 13 collets! There was one guy there that seemed to be bent on going home w/all the tooling. A friend & I had a laugh over the price & I went home & ordered a brand new set of 13 Enco collets for about $140. They are Chinese, but very well made & accurate. I did come home with a nice shop-built surface gauge, some boring bars, & a box of misc. small hardware that will last me as long as I need them...
Ron in CO...

 

[Julian]

Hi All

I am eagerly awaiting delivery of a Caswell 'Plug n Plate' kit for Nickel plating. Looks good so will report back to y'all when it has arrived and had a play. Should be the best fifty quid spent so far today. I upgraded the kit from 250ml of solution to 1 ltr

Julian.

 

[Julian]

This is definitely going to be electric. The plan was for it to be ready for christmas so with a suitable trailer myself and Firebird can chuff around the garden with a can of beer. Will not happen this year cos wont be ready but we will still drink the beers and will probably be in my workshop.

I have chosen electric because I cannot afford the materials for steam at the moment and feel that this will be a useful start. Also it only needs insurance to run in public no steam and pressure tests and all the H&S b*****ks that appears to go with it. I fully intend building steam in this lifetime but not while the metal prices and so extortionately high. I am new to machining and work on the principal that too much planning and forethought gets me nowhere. I build a part and see if it works. If not I do it again or repair it. I have no patience with planning and build what looks right and feels right. Works most of the time. If it does not it ends up in the scrap bin after several choice sentences and then the part bouncing off several walls on its journey to oblivion.

Julian.

 

[leweee]

a few more sources.

LINK

 

[IanN]

Hi,

I have to disagree with Macona about HSS taps and dies.

For our hobby use there is negligable difference in the thread accuracy and so, in my opinion, the only real factors to consider are:

1) Cost - HSS taps are between 1.5 and 2 times more expensive than CS taps (in the UK)

2) CS taps remain sharper for longer.

3) If everything goes horribly wrong and you break a tap and none of the usual 'tricks' can remove the jammed tap fragment, CS can be softened with a reasonably small amount of heat allowing the remains to be drilled out.

CS wins every time.

Ian.

 

[cfellows]

It's not clear to me from the plans how the engine is throttled? Looks like a simple, needle and jet carb with no throttle control?

Chuck

 

[Jack]

Here is the result of a few more days worth of work on my little engine build, I plan to keep posting photos until it's done.

 

[Jack]

OH Great!!! I've only been here a few days and already I have started a fight. (LOL)
Seriously, I have the drawing, got the piece of steel, even have the rotary table now how do I cut this out of round thingy?
Can it be explained in 500 words or less or do I have to go to a old time machine shop and watch someone do it?
I guess I could take it to someplace and do it on a CNC machine but then I wouldn't be able to say that "I made this little engine" now would I. :lol:

 

[Julian]

Why not build two or three slightly separated 3m by 3m buildings then you should not need permission and the money can go towards your lathe.

Julian.

 

[bob ward]

Would the crankshaft turning adaptors work for 4 cylinder cranks if you had an adaptor and a chuck at each end?

 

[tmuir]

Why not build two or three slightly separated 3m by 3m buildings then you should not need permission and the money can go towards your lathe.

Julian.

I have only one flat section of land left I can build on and once I leave space for access paths and clearance required by law to septic tanks leaves a space about 4.5m by 4.9m so only enough room for one building and the biggest 'off the shelf workshop I can fit into that space is 4 by 4.8m.

I live half way up a hill in the forest and although I own an acre of land most is too steep to do anything with.
Just to create the area of flat land cost me $5000 and this was an easy spot to do. If I want any more level land it would be cheaper to sell the house and move.
But on the plus side I think my workshop will have a brilliant view compared to most workshops.
My window will look out between the trees and down the valley to the top of the next hill a few kms away.

 

[Jack]

Yesterday (Wednesday) I asked for help with cutting a cam for a model engine that I am making, within hours help was on the way. Thanks Again... John.

I followed his instructions this evening and it worked.

Turning the blank to size

Laying out the profile on the end of the blank

Drilling the bore out to size

Milling the sides of the cam

Almost Done

Some filing and sanding to remove tool marks and I'm amazed how easy it was

All you have to is ask for help and someone will offer, I certainly appreciate the help that I received, Thanks

 

[Jack]

Either your studying my photos to much or you have a flair for catching small details. After I started to make the cuts the hole thing loosened up because the round bar was bending so I switched to something tougher, a short allen wrench. :roll:

 

[firebird]

Hi

Thanks for the nice comments. You guys don't miss a trick do you. Well spotted on the corkscrew kenny. The racks for the steel bar are made from square plastic drain pipe. The shops have just had a good clean out Mel so it was a good time to take some photos, I must admit I'm impressed myself how tidy they are. The overal dimensions Chuck are 8 foot X 18 foot in the wood shop and 7 foot 6 inch X 24 foot in the metal shop. The chair is the best seat in the house and it's mine!

Cheers