Vertical steam engine build

[cheepo45]

I am working on the vertical engine from the Victorian Stationary Engines book by Stewart Hart (Excellent book by the way!)
The first part I made was the flywheel (I like flywheels!)
It started out as a 3/4" slice of 5"diameter brass that was given to me by a friend.
The Lathe work was first - face, O.D., trepann the center cutout and finish with boring bars.
Then I set it up on a fixture in the mill. The spokes were cut out using my Bridgeport Mill with a Prototrak CNC controller.
I then chamfered the spoke edges, flipped the fixture over and chamfered the other side.
It came out really well.
Scott

 

[pileskis]

I am working on the vertical engine from the Victorian Stationary Engines book by Stewart Hart (Excellent book by the way!)
The first part I made was the flywheel (I like flywheels!)
It started out as a 3/4" slice of 5"diameter brass that was given to me by a friend.
The Lathe work was first - face, O.D., trepann the center cutout and finish with boring bars.
Then I set it up on a fixture in the mill. The spokes were cut out using my Bridgeport Mill with a Prototrak CNC controller.
I then chamfered the spoke edges, flipped the fixture over and chamfered the other side.
It came out really well.
Scott

Very nice work!
Nice detail.

Keep it up!

Sid

 

[GRAUBELE]

That is a very interesting machine design.
I particularly like the crosshead deflection of the piston rod to the connecting rod.
I have a steam engine with a similar basic design.
I will follow your construction report with interest.
Thanks for showing it.

Dieter

 

[GRAUBELE]

Hi Scott

I just ordered the book (Making model VICTORIAN STATIONARY ENGINES) you showed us from Amazon.

Regards

Dieter

 

[lellasone]

Awesome looking flywheel, that first shot reminds me a bit of ClickSpring.

 

[cheepo45]

Thank you for your compliments!
I am flattered to be compared to Clickspring!
Scott

 

[cheepo45]

The next part I have completed is the top plate.
Sorry, I don't have any in-process pictures, but the part came out great!
I will be painting this metallic grey soon to go with the rest of the engine.
Scott

 

[Steamchick]

I like the flywheel, and admire you skill using CNC. But I am a bit traditional in that I prefer to see a model made with HHC,.. I.E. "Human Hand Control. Probably because that's what I learned in the 1960s, before "C" was used for such things!
So I bought a brass casting of a similar flywheel. It looks quite authentic with the flaws and natural appearance of the casting. Hard to replicate with your "non-Victorian" machining.
Not a criticism, just a different Opinion.
But we'll done for doing the CNC!
K2

 

[pileskis]

The next part I have completed is the top plate.
Sorry, I don't have any in-process pictures, but the part came out great!
I will be painting this metallic grey soon to go with the rest of the engine.
ScottView attachment 165436

What Prototrak controller do you have?

Sid

 

[cheepo45]

I have a 1983 Bridgeport with a retrofit Edge controller from 2000.
I have been running Prototrak mills since 1997. They are perfect for modelmaking.
It's kind of a crossover machine - CNC on the X and Y axes only. the Z is fully manual
There is something to be said for manual machining. I worked with rotary tables and indexers, etc. for many years, and I do enjoy figuring out things the old way. Machinists from before CNC became prevalent have my deepest respect.
Scott

 

[GRAUBELE]

The book has arrived.
I am pleased, the drawings included are metric.

Dieter

 

[GreenTwin]

Metric ?
Send it back................
LOL, poking fun at my friend Graubele.........................

Nice work on the engine Scott.
I am following along.
.

 

[Richard Hed]

Metric ?
Send it back................
LOL, poking fun at my friend Graubele.........................

Nice work on the engine Scott.
I am following along.
.

Yeah, send it back, if it's metric it isn't authentic.