Swifty's build of Howell V4

[gus]

What about the maltese falcon flat four engine.

http://www.camdenmin.co.uk/products/building-the-maltese-falcon-special-price

Thanks. Just bought this book from Camden.

Engine a bit too big for my balconcy size machineshop. Will read and evaluate.

There are so many 4 cylinder engines to go for.

 

[gus]

Hi Paul,

The gear hob and 13t gear came in Monday 11. Thanks. Will buy Mr & Mrs lunch when I drop by.
Tasha and Ari has grown so fast and I have not seen them for last two years.
Mill capacity is 12mm and Gus has the excuse to make one DIY Hob.

 

[Swifty]

Gus, the shank should be soft enough to turn down to 12mm dia, just make sure that it runs true.

Paul.

 

[gus]

Gus, the shank should be soft enough to turn down to 12mm dia, just make sure that it runs true.

Paul.

Thanks. GoodBye DIY Hob. Tacho done. Will make one for you.

 

[Swifty]

That's very generous of you Gus, I'm sure that the hob will turn down to 12mm, you only need enough length for a good grip in the collet.

Paul.

 

[Swifty]

I spent this morning running around getting some more material etc. First call was to get a Bi metal blade for my 6 x 4 bandsaw, then some 1/2"square brass for the radiator, I now have enough for a few radiators. Next was some mild steel for the crankshaft, then some silver steel for the cams and other pieces. Came home with a near empty wallet, and the credit card got a going over as well.

So, after lunch, I machined some brass spacer bushes that go on the camshafts. 0.250 OD x 0.188 ID, 4 each of 2 different lengths. I turned the OD, drilled and reamed the ID then parted off. The parts were then held in a collet and cleaned up first, then taken out and measured, then returned and the correct amount taken off to bring them to size. A bit tedious, but at least there were no mistakes.




Paul.

 

[Swifty]

I was just cleaning up a bit and decided to photograph all the parts so far, still a long way to go yet.



Paul.

 

[Cogsy]

That's an impressive pile of difficult parts in a short space of time. You'll be finished in no time at this rate.

 

[michael-au]

Good lookin stack of parts you have there Swifty 😀

 

[Davewild]

I was just cleaning up a bit and decided to photograph all the parts so far, still a long way to go yet.



Paul.

Looking great Swifty, how do you guys do it so quickly?

 

[Cogsy]

Looking great Swifty, how do you guys do it so quickly?

It's all in the name

 

[Swifty]

Yes, I know, Swift by name, Swift by nature I feel that I'm moving slow on this build, but members have to realise that I worked for 35 years as a Toolmaker, so I can machine fairly fast once I get going. I also have a King Rich mill, which is just a bit larger than a Bridgeport, and a 14 x 39 lathe. Whilst the machines are great to use, they are sometimes a handicap, a lot of small parts are more suited to smaller machines, but when that larger part comes along, I'm covered.

Paul.

 

[gus]

Its true big lathe and mill do not handle small parts well. During my time with full compliment machine shop, I had to buy the smallest Leblonde Lathe to machine small parts and also as a standby. Sometimes I chip in with machining when shop gets to busy. Parts machined by sub-contractors are not stable and we waste time doing q.c. checks.

 

[Swifty]

Whilst I am working on small bits, I thought that I better make some more. I turned up a screw and a couple of spacer bushes that fit, along with some bearings, in the main 78 tooth gear assembly.




Next on the list were the valve spring retainers, one side of these is stepped and the other side has a counterbore. I turned the OD and the counterbore first, drilled and reamed the centre hole, and parted off to length. In order to hold the parts and turn the step on the other side, I used a piece of scrap and machined a .020" deep recess to fit the OD of the part, and also tapped an M3 hole in the centre to clamp the parts. This allowed me to easily hold the parts and maintain the step concentric with the outside.



The parts just have a bit of dirt on them in the photo, the material is stainless steel.



I may tackle the valves next.

Paul.

 

[Swifty]

With 8 + 2 spare valves, I have to have some type of production set up or I will be here for a week machining them. First job was to part off some over length slugs of stainless steel, whatever the grade, it's very easy to machine.



Next stage was to step one end and centredrill, I plan to finish turn between centres. The pieces were then turned around and centered on the other end with a No: 1 centre drill, I only broke 2 ends of the centre drills. I could not go any larger on the centre drill as the shank of the valve is .125"dia. I forgot to take a picture at this stage, sorry.

Next, I held the end with the reduced shoulder in the chuck and the other end with a small live centre. All the valves were roughed out in this stage, the chuck acted as a stop on one end, so I could just work to the dials on the lathe.



And here we have all the valves roughed out. They will be finish turned between centres, this will allow me to complete similar operations in one go, without having to change tools all the time.




I wasn't looking forward to doing the valves, but with a bit of thought put in to the method of manufacture, I think that it will all go smoothly.

Just a bit of a foot note, I mentioned in the previous post that I was thinking about making the valves next, that posting was at 12.50pm. Well after that I had some lunch, took my wife out for coffee, did a larger CAD drawing of the valves, and then started work on the valves. And now, just over 4 1/2 hours since the previous post, the valves are at the stage shown. It just shows, that with a bit of planning, things can move along fairly quickly.

Paul.

 

[gus]

With my 4'' chuck mini lathe and 12mm max mini mill, it will take two years before I see day light.
K.I.V. My worry is the crankcase cum cylinder block.I am accident prone. One miss-cut and thats it.

Paul .I am following and making wicked plans.

 

[Swifty]

Hi Gus, yes the cylinder block is the largest part, and the one that you have to be most careful with, one slip up, and there's no return. There are a couple of minor mistakes that I have made, but I'm not telling anyone, I can get away with them.

I started to set up to finish the valves tonight, I adjusted the tailstock slightly for the first one to get it nice and parallel, but the next one is .001" taper, will probably just have to use some wet and dry paper to correct it.

Paul.

 

[gus]

As for me, the insides of the crankcase don't look too good but can do.

Good News, taking Nellie to Penang,MAy 18----21, for four days to savour the Penang Cuisine/Cullinary. Will try hard not to over eat. Will be a good break. Mid June 3 days in Central Malaya to visit ex-air receiver supplier. Good food here too.The V-2 been very challenging and not for raw beginners and faint hearted wannabes.Budget Fare sure make flying cheap.

 

[Swifty]

More on the production line for the valves. After roughing them out, the next step was to hold the shaft in a collet and machine down the end with the small centre in it, I machined this .005"under the shaft dia, this way I can bring the tool right back to the tailstock centre and not have anything get in the way.



I then held some silver steel in the chuck and turned a 60 deg centre on it, this way I know that it runs true. After making a quick carrier (lathe dog to our US friends), I mounted up the parts and proceeded to turn the shaft down to .0005"oversize, I will finish off with wet and dry paper later to get to final size.





I didn't finish the blend radius at the previous stage, just straight turning. So next step was to grind a tool with the correct radius and machine the blend between the shaft and head. Here is a before and after picture.



Next, the parts were turned around and the head diameter finished.



After that, the parts were turned back around and the 45 deg chamfer was machined on, I use a form tool for this.



Paul.

 

[Swifty]

After the last stage, the parts were reversed and the head thickness was finished.



Next came the grooves to suit the valve retainer clip, I was lucky and found a carbide grooving tool .019"wide, the correct size for this clip. The other groove that you can see on the right, is a witness for the finished shaft length, I will trim the end off to this later.



Here's a close up of the groove detail and the head end.




And all the valves ready for a bit of a polish to final dia.



Paul.