Scratch building the Hicks Oscillator

[vederstein]

Drill bit wandering? Been there too many times....

 

[deeferdog]

The first run of any steam engine is always a bit of a nervous affair, I guess even James Watt suffered from it a bit, however this little oscillator leapt to the task with alacrity and hummed away from the start. That has not always been the case with my models, unfortunately.
Once the glow and celebrations were over, came the necessity to dismantle and paint. I mark the parts with a pencil to ensure they are reassembled in the same order, interchangeability is something I still need to work on.
I like to give everything a really good wash in hot soapy water in the laundry tub. Best to pick a time when the boss is out shopping as they are inclined to think that laundry tubs should only be for fabrics. I then lay out all the parts, allow everything to dry and check each item for any final detailing. I no longer bother with applying a primer first, just use a good quality spray can paint and leave for a week to harden up prior to reassembly. Cheers, Peter.

 

[ACHiPo]

Beautiful.

 

[lathe nut]

Thanks for the great lay out pictures, so neat and arraigned, hope to get to build on this winter, your shop is so nice, love the painted floor and the windows it all says things are peaceful in this shop and well thought out, well laid out and not wasted space, thanks for sharing with us again, you can even add more pictures and more explanation for us new to the model engine, thanks again, Joe

 

[Oldiron]

Fantastic engine. Very creative using the wood router to round the edges. Do You plan to hook up the governor? Bob

 

[deeferdog]

Final assembly is a nice time when it comes to building model steam engines and this was no exception. I had been away for a week in Dalby Qld in our camper and this gave the paint time to fully cure. I’m usually such an impatient bugger, most of my engines have a fingerprint or two embedded for posterity. The inlet manifold tube from the governor presented a few problems due to it’s tight run, this was overcome by adding a short column and drilling a gallery to bring the steam through, I added a part of a casting from an old brass lamp as a bit of bling. The connecting flanges for the tubing were difficult to make as increasingly I find it harder and harder to work with M2 fastenings. All this tubing was soft soldered, as were the flanges. I don’t have silver stick thin enough for really delicate work, in the future I will correct this. As can be seen from the video, it runs quite well. What isn't apparent is the leakage around the valve face, not really that bad and I suspect that it will bed in over time. I tried all sorts of seals but the design of the valving makes this tricky so in the end I gave up and elected to go for a metal to metal contact, time will tell.
At the moment I’m working on the project as a whole, that is a boiler with all the ancillary bits producing steam for this engine to drive a DC generator to make enough electricity to illuminate a 10 watt globe, the final cost being just short of a Mars exploration Rover.
Back to the bench, and thanks to all who commented,Cheers, Peter.

 

[Ken I]

Peter - Man am I late to this post and guilty as charged.
What a wonderful engine - definitely going on my to do list.
Thanks for all the documentation etc. I know how big a deal it is as I spend so much time documenting my own builds - and like you I wonder if its worth it due to lack of response.
I design and build machinery for a living so its second nature to me to document everything - so I would do it anyway - but it is nice to have it acknowledged.
Keep up the great work and postings.
Regards, Ken

 

[lathe nut]

Now that is impressive, great work and that boiler looks so cute, that is going to be really nice on steam going to have that great smell that only steam and drip oil can give, I can still smell that as a Kid when I ran a larger Coreless unit, those were added to file pictures and artical, thanks for the time it take to take the pics, video and share, Joe

 

[Graham Sherwood]

Beautiful .....

 

[a41capt]

I really enjoyed the build article Peter, and glad you decided to post it after all. I’m looking forward to the live steam run and hope you’ll get us a video of that (along with your universal motor generator build) so we can see the whole project. Is the Mars Rover an upcoming project, and if so, will it be using a solar powered steam plant on far away Mars?
Thanks again,
John

 

[deeferdog]

Thanks John, I wasn't really thinking of solar power on Mars as I was hoping they might have had a bit of coal, after all isn't that what the Rover is looking for? Cheers, Peter.

 

[a41capt]

Thanks John, I wasn't really thinking of solar power on Mars as I was hoping they might have had a bit of coal, after all isn't that what the Rover is looking for? Cheers, Peter.

 

[ACHiPo]

Final assembly is a nice time when it comes to building model steam engines and this was no exception. I had been away for a week in Dalby Qld in our camper and this gave the paint time to fully cure. I’m usually such an impatient bugger, most of my engines have a fingerprint or two embedded for posterity. The inlet manifold tube from the governor presented a few problems due to it’s tight run, this was overcome by adding a short column and drilling a gallery to bring the steam through, I added a part of a casting from an old brass lamp as a bit of bling. The connecting flanges for the tubing were difficult to make as increasingly I find it harder and harder to work with M2 fastenings. All this tubing was soft soldered, as were the flanges. I don’t have silver stick thin enough for really delicate work, in the future I will correct this. As can be seen from the video, it runs quite well. What isn't apparent is the leakage around the valve face, not really that bad and I suspect that it will bed in over time. I tried all sorts of seals but the design of the valving makes this tricky so in the end I gave up and elected to go for a metal to metal contact, time will tell.
At the moment I’m working on the project as a whole, that is a boiler with all the ancillary bits producing steam for this engine to drive a DC generator to make enough electricity to illuminate a 10 watt globe, the final cost being just short of a Mars exploration Rover.
Back to the bench, and thanks to all who commented,Cheers, Peter.

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Wow. That boiler is beautiful.

 

[Ken I]

Absolutely beautiful - thanks for sharing your build.
Regards, Ken

 

[JohnBDownunder]

Have to agree that this is a beautiful engine and something to aspire to. Thanks for posting. Actually, I Don't have to at all, I WANT to.

 

[MrMetric]

Nice build. I love following along with the great photos, so thank you for that. This is a hobby in which you never stop learning. I especially liked the the idea of using the weights. I'd seen that before, but somehow forgot about it. I guess some of use get to learn the same thing more than once! (ouch... perhaps I'm losing my mind early)

 

[ianjkirby]

Hey Deefer,
Are you able to comment on the governor. I bought one based on your recommendation, and its amazing, and it seems like it should work, but I'm curious to hear of your thoughts now that its running on your engine.
Ian K.
Wollongong NSW Oz.

 

[deeferdog]

Hi Ian, the governor works very well when the engine runs on air, I assume it would be the same on steam. I haven't quite got the adjustment right, I would like the engine to have a few more revs, I have screwed the nut a couple of turns but it doesn't seem to have made a whole lot of difference. To be honest, I have put it all on the back burner at the moment as I concentrate on the boiler. What started out as a fairly simple build of a copper boiler running at around 60 to 80 psi seems now to have assumed the same engineering requirements of a nuclear power station. I have over read the whole subject and unfortunately taken notice of too many "experts" that infest the internet, as a consequence, the last two times I have fired up the boiler to make steam I have expected it to blow half of the City of the Gold Coast off the map. This has seriously impacted on my enjoyment of model steam engines and in particular the adjustment of centrifugal governors. Sorry for the rant, this has caught me at a low point. A large scotch, possibly two and I will feel better. Cheers, Peter.

 

[Steamchick]

Hi Deeferdog. Thanks for sharing all that you have presented, including the "emotional highs and lows". It adds to the real experiences we all have.
Don't get downhearted, especially at the complexity of rules on boilers!
If it is built, you will know what pressure it will take hydraulically. So with the Safety valve blowing at half that pressure, you should be safe in your garage.
If you have trouble steaming, it is probably a shortage of air - or excess of exhaust gas in the combustion chamber. Halve the burner size,or close the gas supply to a low setting (or add draught for a coal fire) until you can get a reasonable combustion and the exhaust "smells clean-ish". (But don't take more than the smallest sniff of the hot poisonous gases! - Just rely on the smell in the garage, a bit like you may sometimes detect exhaust smells from your car after removing from the Garage.). If firing indoors, please make sure you have a CO detector. CO doesn't smell so Humans can't detect it. You simply black-out with too much - and it causes permanent damage to lungs. But if the CO detector says it is safe - then I believe it.
Only when you have a satisfactory fire, and can "boil-water", do you want to increase the fire and see how quickly you can get the Safety to Blow! Just keep watching the gauge, and fire, and keep a hand free to open a steam vent, as a bit of steam vented from the outlet will help keep superheater pipes from over-heating. Just keep all hands and body parts away from every possible vent as steam cooks flesh very quickly and painfully! - Wafting a hand in the cloud after an engine exhaust may seem to be "safe" - but an accident makes people scream... so always teach everyone with you to keep back and keep quiet so you are not distracted. I wear leather gloves, as I have burned my fingers on hot valves as I am a careless sod. Also watch the water gauge. They can do some strange dances! And watch both gauges when you pump some water into the boiler. Get used to it at a low pressure before increasing the fire to get it up to Safety-Blowing pressure. Then before and when it blows, make sure everyone is clear of the Steam effusing from the Safety valve! The first time I experienced my first boiler "blow-off", the gush of condensing steam hit the roof of the garage and rained on me. I jumped out-of-my-skin! Then laughed... I now fit a shield over the valve to keep the "spray" contained in case that happens on every new job. (Sometimes this shield is my empty coffee cup perched on top of the boiler). If the pressure gauge goes over blow-off pressure, I turn off the gas and let the boiler cool before removing the safety and checking (again) with air and setting maybe 5psi lower. Don't tap it with a hammer. It is a delicate device. Valves can, and do, perform slightly differently on dry air to Hot steam...(The physics of condensing steam gets involved) and you don't want to risk anything at all when you have invested time and effort making beautiful working models like you do.
Like riding a bicycle, or horse, you know that falling-off will hurt, so think a little and take care and you won't "Fall-off". And, after any trepidation the first time, it is fun.
Enjoy the whisky and leave it for tomorrow, then have a go the day after.
I don't climb cliffs because I get frightened of heights... (and sometimes vertigo), but I do ride motorcycles, and used to sail yachts.... Enjoy the fun stuff and leave the rest to others.
I look forward to hearing about the speed required, voltage and current delivered, for the generator to deliver the 10W you are planning? What do you plan for control of the field current? - Guessing you will have a parallel field with controller, like Automotive dynamos used to have?
Happy steaming! (Enjoy another Whisky!).
Ken

 

[deeferdog]

Thanks Ken, really appreciate your help and advice. I have no desire to be the first to launch a steam powered satellite. Cheers, Peter.