Thanks again for you time and explanation, I know that is almost time consuming as the build, appreciate to file it has gone, Joe
Scratch building the Hicks Oscillator
- Thread starter deeferdog
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Cleaning up the cylinder was done mostly with needle files, I do have a Dremel style die grinder but I can inflict serious scarring without any effort so I mainly stick with the files and it gives me time to think of the next steps. The cylinder has two heads, top and bottom but only the top one is on show so I decided to make that in brass for a bit of bling and the bottom in steel. For the piston I turned down a piece of mild steel and gave it a good honing with the electric drill and Gumption cleaning paste. (I must buy some proper grinding paste I said for the hundredth time). The connecting rod was a section of 6 mm ground rod from an abandoned printer, I love picking these up at kerbside cleanups. I lapped the heads and flanges with 600 paper on the surface plate as it doesn't take long and removes the need for gaskets, just a thin smear of flange sealant. A quick blast in the cabinet and all finished. I’m sure there were easier ways to build this and I’m more than happy to listen to any advice. I use the plans mainly as a guide and for critical measurements but make up a lot of things as I go. I really admire other contributors, such as Brian Rupnow who designs in CAD and then builds, mine always seem to be indecipherable scribbles on scraps of paper. I’m often quite surprised when things turn out as well as this has so far, I hope it continues. Cheers, Peter.
JohnBDownunder
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Don't knock Gumption too hard.
As far as I know, it breaks down during use, can be flushed out with water and any residue is unlikely to give you grief. I keep swiping a bit from the wife's cleaning cupboard and find it great stuff.
John B
As far as I know, it breaks down during use, can be flushed out with water and any residue is unlikely to give you grief. I keep swiping a bit from the wife's cleaning cupboard and find it great stuff.
John B
Like daChurchPcGuy, I am new here - only days, literally. And my only experience with metalwork - and machine work in particular - is metal work in school about 45 years ago.
So I want to do more of this kind of work: I come here to admire, to learn, to gain inspiration. It saddens me that people with such skills as deeferdog and others are so disheartened as to not post their experiences.
I can only imaging the amount of effort posting in detail would require, but we are all poorer for their absence - especially the likes of me trying to gain knowledge and hopefully follow in the footsteps of others.
So I want to do more of this kind of work: I come here to admire, to learn, to gain inspiration. It saddens me that people with such skills as deeferdog and others are so disheartened as to not post their experiences.
I can only imaging the amount of effort posting in detail would require, but we are all poorer for their absence - especially the likes of me trying to gain knowledge and hopefully follow in the footsteps of others.
Hey Besty, we were all new here once, I'm only a hacker but I sometimes spend over eight hours a day on my hobby so if I hadn't picked up a few skills by now I'd give it all away. Thanks for your comments, I enjoy writing and now that photography is so easy posting is not as hard as it once was. Most of us are extremely interested in the other persons setup, so if you can find the time, take a few pics of your shed or whatever and tell us what you'd like to build, there's a load of help to be had. Cheers, Peter
Great engine.
Thanks for sharing !
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gunner312
gunner312
What a beauty that is. I just finished a Stuart engine and am looking forward to my next STEAM ENGINE. I spent several years in your country some time ago. Did not know anyone who was interested in model stem engines but wish I had. I think that you will find that there is alot more interest in model stem engines than evident. Stay with us.
Some years ago I picked a discarded cast iron weight to do what you have done here. Mine was so very hard that I never tried again. You have given me hope for next time.
The valve gear is confusing to anyone reading the plan who has never built an oscillating steam engine, and that was me. I basically just followed the instructions and made the parts as described but didn't really understand the operation until I was nearly finished. Most of the work is in brass making galleries for the steam to pass through. The oscillating interface between the inlet/outlet manifold was lapped using 1200 paper on the granite block as I had been alerted to the fact that most oscillators suffer severe steam leakage at this point.
Most of this section is a bit fiddly and involves a bit of setup on the rotary table for indexing. A few things were changed from the plans but these were only minor and were mainly made to accommodate the material I had on hand. Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel now, the engine has been very enjoyable up to this point and I would recommend it to any provided you have the equipment, lathe, mill rotary table, good tooling etc. A few pics here and continued in the next post. Cheers, Peter.
Most of this section is a bit fiddly and involves a bit of setup on the rotary table for indexing. A few things were changed from the plans but these were only minor and were mainly made to accommodate the material I had on hand. Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel now, the engine has been very enjoyable up to this point and I would recommend it to any provided you have the equipment, lathe, mill rotary table, good tooling etc. A few pics here and continued in the next post. Cheers, Peter.
Here are the remain pics for the valve gear and manifold. Cheers, Peter.
That is beautiful! Nicely done. Sorry I missed this thread until now!
Please don't stop posting, have them all saved to file and getting so close to the end, I would not only have the build pictures but the explanations of how and why the parts function, there might be more like me who are and were lookers to get out attention, will only become educated by building on not by looking at the pictures, please continue with the show and tell, Joe
Peter,
What did you use to fasten the manifold pipes into the valve system? Is that silver solder, or some form of epoxy?
John
What did you use to fasten the manifold pipes into the valve system? Is that silver solder, or some form of epoxy?
John
Hi John, Most of the joins in the model are silver soldered using 5 or 15 per cent silver stick. If the join looks a bit rough after clean up and will not be painted I sometimes use JB weld as a filler to improve the looks. Cheers, Peter
The Governor
At this point I had completed making all of the parts and was in the process of detailing and general cleaning up, however, as I said at the beginning of this post, the model is part of a bigger project. That project is to have a steam plant, i.e. boiler, water tank, etc, so I decided to add a governor to the model, this is not part of the plans. In my bits and pieces box was a small flyball governor that I had purchased from Bangood in China. These are beautifully made, way beyond anything I could produce and importantly in the right scale for this steam engine. I had to modify it a bit and work out a way to drive it that was in keeping with the engine design. I soft soldered on a pedestal after cutting off the base and mounted it near the manifold. For the shaft I used a 6 mm ground bar from a printer running through two pillow blocks attached to the flywheel supports. In the end it all worked OK but it was a bugger of a job to align. The slightest misalignment as I tightened things down would cause the governor to bind, eventually it proved to be the longest of all things to get right. I think it was all worth it as it enhances the model quite a bit and I will need it later. Cheers, Peter.
At this point I had completed making all of the parts and was in the process of detailing and general cleaning up, however, as I said at the beginning of this post, the model is part of a bigger project. That project is to have a steam plant, i.e. boiler, water tank, etc, so I decided to add a governor to the model, this is not part of the plans. In my bits and pieces box was a small flyball governor that I had purchased from Bangood in China. These are beautifully made, way beyond anything I could produce and importantly in the right scale for this steam engine. I had to modify it a bit and work out a way to drive it that was in keeping with the engine design. I soft soldered on a pedestal after cutting off the base and mounted it near the manifold. For the shaft I used a 6 mm ground bar from a printer running through two pillow blocks attached to the flywheel supports. In the end it all worked OK but it was a bugger of a job to align. The slightest misalignment as I tightened things down would cause the governor to bind, eventually it proved to be the longest of all things to get right. I think it was all worth it as it enhances the model quite a bit and I will need it later. Cheers, Peter.
Deerferdog, thanks for the more show and information, I was getting ready to ask about the governor but that is now solved, thanks for the tip on where to get it, again, I appreciate your time.
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Thanks LN, here is the link, some good stuff. Cheers, Peter model steam engine governor - Buy model steam engine governor with free shipping | Banggood.com
I know this is a modeling site, but as somebody who hasn't tried doing it yet, this thread is amazing to me!
He does do some pretty fantastic work!
John
Richard Hed
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Well get to it!
