Trout's Twin

[metalmad]

brilliant work
so bright even I could see lol
love it
cheers Pete

 

[Troutsqueezer]

It's been a week since my last post so I've managed to finish another part, maybe two. There aren't too many parts left to make for this engine so this puppy could be up and running sooner rather than later.

I should have taken more pics when I made the eccentric strap since it involved my first real use of my rotary table. But then, the way I had to clamp the piece down was pretty hokey-looking so maybe it's not a bad thing.

I centered the RT by chucking a 3/16 transfer punch in the mill and placing it against one side of the hole in the RT, I put a DI on the punch to detect any movement. I found one edge of the hole, zeroed the DI and then moved to the table until the DI moved again. I divided that number by two and moved the table the center of the hole in the X direction. Then I did the same for the Y direction. I'm sure there's an easier way to do that but it was all I could think of at the time. Down the road I plan on making something with an MT1 taper to use for this. Once the table was centered I drilled a 3/16 hole into the cross mark on the eccentric strap for the 1/2 inch hole. With the transfer punch still chucked, I slid the eccentric strap onto the punch, lowered the spindle and clamped the brass bar onto the table (over a piece of scrap aluminum). This centered the hole on the eccentric with the RT and mill. From there it was just a matter of spinning the RT to the edges of the scribes. I did much the same thing for the smaller hole at the other end of the eccentric. I opened the larger hole on the eccentric enough to get my boring bar thru it and then bored the hole to the finished 1/2" dimension, taking off .001" at a time as I was getting closer to get a nice close fit. Lastly I milled the straight edges, then a little sand paper.

Next on the parts list (working my way up the engine) was the slide plate. This was pretty straightforward milling and drilling but I took some photos none-the-less.

After drilling all the holes I slotted the center section with a 1/8th end mill.

The finished part.

I can't stand crisp edges so I had to do something to get rid of them. :big:

I've been thinking of what to mount this engine on when it's finished. Wood bases are a common platform and certainly add a lot to the finished product. I've been doing a little experimenting with a metal base, brass and aluminum that will have some panache which will go with the highly polished look I've striven for here. I will post that next time.

That's it for now.

Yes Honey.....I'll be there in a minute.....

-Trout

 

[Shopguy]

Beautiful! :bow:
Regards
Ernie J

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Naturally we'll expect the same attention to polish and sheen with the base. ;D

Very nice stuff Trout. The polish is extraordinary.

 

[Troutsqueezer]

Thanks guys.

Here is my engine stand, as promised. I've got a little more polishing to do on it yet but it's lookin' purty.

 

[Metal Butcher]

Beautiful! I just love the base. Very, very creative. :bow:

You need to buff it a bit more! I think I see what looks like a "crisp" corner!!! :big:

I'm just kidding you. ;D

Real nice work Trout.

-MB

 

[BigBore]

Dang Dude!..................................Yeah, that's about all I can say.........................Dang Dude!

Ed

 

[SAM in LA]

Thanks guys.

Here is my engine stand, as promised. I've got a little more polishing to do on it yet but it's lookin' purty.

What a good looking engine. Great job. I like the polish job.

SAM

 

[gbritnell]

Hi Trout,
Very classy looking engine. When I'm building something I debate about buffing. On some engines or tools it really adds to the build like yours.
gbritnell

 

[cfellows]

Very nice. I really like the base. Greatly adds to the appearance.

Chuck

 

[Troutsqueezer]

I appreciate the nice comments guys, especially since it has been some of your posts that have helped me greatly.

MB, as I was caressing my engine stand I found that crisp corner as it was about slice into my thumb so I immediately slammed it into the buffing wheel! Now it's just a bad memory....Arghhh..... :big:

gbritnell, I agree. Some engines don't lend themselves to polishing. This one reminded me of an automobile engine and since I used to own a few hot rods, I went into polish and shine mode, an artifact of an obsession I had in my younger years.

I'm trying to think of a unique exhaust manifold now...so many possibilities.

A little while ago, firebird had a thread going where he made a steam inlet valve for his engine/boiler project. I'm also thinking of putting that on the intake hole in the block.

By the time I'm done maybe this engine will give the 20 Grand Duesenberg a run for its money in terms of polish.

-Trout

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Ah...missed the post of the base. Very nice!
Gives me some ideas for other kinds of bases too.

 

[Troutsqueezer]

Nothing glamorous to report this time. Just some run-of -the-mill shiny stuff.

I made the slide pin assembly, maybe should have taken some pics as it was being made but it was pretty unexciting.

These didn't take long but you can see they are massive as compared to the size of my cat Tiger who jumped up on the platform just as I was taking the shot. :big:

The eccentric, slide pin and misc. parts are fastened to the engine block now. I put a coat of gun blue on the steel parts to ward off rust.

Thats it for now. Thanks for lookin'.

-Trout

 

[xo18thfa]

Very nice work. All time spent polishing parts is paying big dividends.

 

[kendo]

Hi Trout
This build just Keeps getting better, The base loooks fantastic.
Even the cat tiger looks proud to be in the picture :big:

Ken

 

[Troutsqueezer]

Thanks a lot for the compliments guys, it helps make burning my fingers on the buffing wheels for an hour at a time worth it.

I'm liking MB's method of grained finish and paint more and more. Thm:

-T

 

[Troutsqueezer]

Greetings once again, fellow Earthlings....

Lo and behold, I've finished up my engine at long last! Here are some final pics to show how I got there. This is some pretty basic stuff but it was mostly all new for me. Did I mention it runs like a champ? woohoo1

I'm working on the video and should have something to post by the end of the weekend.

Taking a cue from Metal Butcher's build, I carved out the steam valve before separating it from the larger piece.

Then I flipped it over and v-e-r-y carefully milled out a .030" cavity.

Next on the list was the pack nut. A few weeks ago I had no idea what purpose this served. It was easy to make and fun too.
Started by turning down some hex rod, spot drilled then followed up with a thru hole drill.

Threaded the end to 1/4-40 then parted off.

I had to grind off the end of my new 1/4-40 tap so it would thread into the steam chest far enough. A test fit and photo op shows I'm ready for the next step.

The valve rod was a logical choice for the next part. Starting with a pretty long rod of brass I had to set it up using a live center on the lathe. First I turned it down to the diameter required for threading the valve nut.

Then I turned the end down to the diameter needed to allow the die to pass over and to match the hole in the far end of the steam chest.

Threaded the rod for the valve nut.

Threading ready for prime time.

Into the collet block and mill for a few passes to cut the slot in the end.

Flip the collet block (gotta love'em) around to drill the linkage pin hole.

Tin Man likes it, so do I.

Made a plexi glass cover for the steam chest but didn't get any pics. It was too easy...

Time for the inlet nipple, an easy process.

I called to Dinky my dog and had him balance it on his nose so you can get an idea of the size of this thing. It must weigh 5 pounds!

After almost 5 months, one or two parts per week, at last it's here! Thm:

I would like to thank all the contributors to this forum for their helpful advice and comments in general for helping me complete this engine. :bow:

Stay tuned for the video!

-Troutsqueezer.

 

[CMS]

Good looking piece of art work there, bet it runs as the same. :bow: BRIGHT & SHINNY, me like!!!! 8)

 

[cobra428]

Very Nice Trout,
What did you do.....raid the kids toy box? Very creative!

Tony

 

[BigBore]

Love the Plexi-glass cover. I am definitely going to snarf up that idea. As soon as the video goes up I will upload the PDF.

That's a plum purdy pile of parts, Dennis!

Ed