What is your purpose in getting into the hobby of building model engines?

[minh-thanh]

I just edited the thread title !
Now, please feel free to talk about your thoughts.
It's also a way to let people understand how you want...

PS : But please be polite and respectful of everyone's opinions and have fun

 

[Lloyd-ss]

This is a shame to watch.
Seeing that opinions are flying around, I thought I would add mine.
The thread started out nicely with relevant and pleasant posts.
But then it got totally side tracked, basically hijacked, and has spiraled out of control. Who needs to wade through a bunch of personal bickering just to find that there is nothing else left?
This type of activity will drive people away and can kill a forum.

Lloyd-ss

 

[Scott_M]

Minh Thanh
I think you made a mistake in combining the off topic posts. I think that it may have been better to move them all to a separate thread ( noting that in this thread), thus preserving your original post. Which I found interesting, the off topic drama, not so much. I do understand that it should be discussed, but it is WAY off topic.

Respectfully

Scott

 

[BobsModels]

Lloyd-ss
I agree with you completely, its been disappointing watching the combatants. I am waiting to see who actually gets the last word in whatever that is. You know they could have taken it off line with PM and spared us their child like behavior ie who is king of the sandbox.

Me I just like being in the shop making things and having fun. Like the forum for the rich technical exchange and assistance from the generous members.

Bob

 

[Lloyd-ss]

I had collected full size hit n miss engines for years. Had an accident at work that made moving them around difficult. Also had a drinking problem so focusing on model building has me almost 6 yrs sober and given me a bit of focus in life.

Bessemer20,
Very strong and humble of you to say what you did. My hat is off to you sir, that is not easy to do. It has been 24 years for me. And yes, you definitely need a support system and something new to focus on. I spent10 years in the gym and now 14 years with machining and some minor electronics. I tend to get hyper-focused on projects, but it keeps me out of trouble, LOL.
Lloyd-ss

 

[minh-thanh]

Minh Thanh
I think you made a mistake in combining the off topic posts. I think that it may have been better to move them all to a separate thread ( noting that in this thread), thus preserving your original post. Which I found interesting, the off topic drama, not so much. I do understand that it should be discussed, but it is WAY off topic.

Respectfully

Scott

Maybe it was my mistake

 

[Lloyd-ss]

Maybe it was my mistake
Please advise me whether I should delete comments that go too far or move them to a new place?

Minh Thanh,
Just my opinion, but I think rules 7,8,9 and 20 are relevant here. The rules should make this forum self-moderating, and the moderators should not have to monitor or referee threads nor have to modify or delete posts.
If an additional rule is needed, it should be carefully thought out. Moderator intervention should "usually" be unnecessary and a last resort.
Lloyd-ss

 

[minh-thanh]

I have deleted controversial comments.
Let's get back on topic

 

[Lloyd-ss]

I have been around machining forever but was not a machinist. I also have a passion for airguns. About 15 years ago I had a real "lightbulb" idea for making a more efficient big bore air rifle. Engineering and physics were pretty much nonexistent in that niche at the time. After talking with some trusted experts I decided to see what I could do. My wife was traveling for a month and I bought a Grizzly lathe and mill. After a month of hotdogs and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I had a prototype that worked.
The machining bug bit me hard. Then I stumbled across Find Hansen's videos, and I was hooked forever.

 

[Mike Ginn]

Guys - if it an't broke, don't fix it!!
The beauty of this forum is the diversity of views. Some views I think are just wrong but it's their view and maybe I will come to agree. We should accept different views without being personal in the comments. I watch many YouTube videos and recognise that some/many are false or not achievable in the real world but even with these there are often tip bits which can help.
Some posts are off-topic, and I have done it in the past, but does it really matter?
Lets keep going are we are and accept that there will be the occasional inconsistencies but as a "family" we move forward!
Mike

 

[gbritnell]

Ok, where do I start? As a kid I was introduced to plastic model kits and fell in love. Over the years I have probably built hundreds ranging from ships, planes, military and automobiles. I still build and enjoy this hobby today.
In my teens I met a group of fellows that were older than me and all had cars. Now were talking late 50's into the 60's. Back in the day cars and engines were worked on, souped up and customized. I learned to repair and rebuild engines and transmissions. After my time in the military my friends and I got into motorcycles and the learning process started once again. At this time I purchased my first lathe, a 6" Craftsman/Atlas lathe with milling attachment. I still have it today. My first true machining was building a Stuart 10V steam engine. I worked at several jobs before ending up at the Ford Motor Co. as an apprentice Metal Patternmaker. This was a 4 year apprenticeship and I learned a big part of my knowledge about machining during this time. Into the 80's I had built quite a few steam engines and had gotten into I.C. engines. The first were hit and miss types. Back then there was no internet, at least not like it is today so what communication and learning there was was through magazines like Strictly I.C., Live Steam and Home Shop Machinist. I also attended old engine shows where you would find some model engines and get to talk to the builders.
When I got my first computer along with Autocad I started designing my own engines. First an inline 4 cylinder, then V-8 and so on. I wasn't working on full sized engines any longer so this new hobby was allowing me to combine my engine knowledge from the past with my machining hobby.
To answer the original question I guess my enjoyment is the sense of accomplishment in creating something, solving the problems and seeing it function. Some people get enjoyment from golfing or bowling, mine is machining engines.

 

[wce4]

The simplicity of the look of a steam engine to the complexity of how they are designed and built is what intrigue me into the hobby of building model engines. The Motion, Noise and Feeling that a steam engine is Alive ,that's what makes it worth the time to me.
Although I mostly prefer stationary steam engine models, the sound and the look of a small IC model engine running gets the old heart a pumping with excitement also.

 

[Lloyd-ss]

The simplicity of the look of a steam engine to the complexity of how they are designed and built is what intrigue me into the hobby of building model engines. The Motion, Noise and Feeling that a steam engine is Alive ,that's what makes it worth the time to me.
Although I mostly prefer stationary steam engine models, the sound and the look of a small IC model engine running gets the old heart a pumping with excitement also.

Gotta love the passion! It really drives us!

 

[SmithDoor]

Gotta love the passion! It really drives us!

My father and myself had planned to model plane engines back in 1960's Single cylinder engine.
Instead we purchased we fix very old full size.
It took very large equipment and our line we need the equipment too.

Now I am working on only small size nothing over mini lathe size.

Dave

 

[Roger Taylor]

The beauty of an open forum with sometimes random information and responses is that sometimes I use all of the inputs from everyone, even if some of the inputs are a bit off, and I come up with a hybrid solution which consists of a bit of everything everyone has said, perhaps used in a slightly different way.

Sometimes the most off comments/ideas jar me to think of a solution that I would not otherwise have thought of.

Sometimes folks add their experiences regarding a topic, which may be very different than the original poster, and together, all these ideas give a much broader spectrum of experience and ideas, and make for a far more interesting topic, and not just a monchromatic narrow-scoped topic.

I will take an open-idea chaotic forum any day over something that has cherry-picked predetermined ideas.
Life is a broad spectrum of colors, personalities, and ideas, and that is a good thing.
I see the wide variety of ideas presented as a very strategic advantage, which provides a big advantage if you understand how to use it.

And a chaotic forum is just more fun and more interesting.
Don't like chaos?
Perhaps a more static situation like a website, with static information is more suited to what you are trying to achieve.

Forums are not static websites, but rather very dynamic places with all sorts of people and personalities.
Lets let forums be forums.

.

 

[Roger Taylor]

I started this little Duclos 6 cycle engine 30 years ago as a present for my dad who loved models and small engines. He passed midway through the build, so the parts and plans were stowed away. I discovered the parts and plan in a shop cleanup last year and completed the build in a couple of months. I haven't got it to run yet but when i do I plan to donate it to the Joe Martin Craftsmanship Museum. They have most of Philip Duclos's engine collection on display and for some reason this engine is not in the collection. My next engine will be George Genevro's Crusader 60 airplane engine. Dr. Genevro was my mentor machine tool professor at Long Beach State College, and I recently shipped his Titan 60 project casting kit to Mark Presing, an Australian YT presenter where he built the engine and shipped it back to the museum where it is displayed near the entrance.
Roger, Old Retired Metal Shop Teacher.

 

[minh-thanh]

There are many interesting stories behind .
Thanks for sharing!
A little expansion ;....What did you feel when the first engine ran?
For me, after many, many failures, my first stirling engine only ran for a very short time - somewhere around 5-8 seconds and I jumped for joy...like a child

 

[GreenTwin]

I struggled to learn how to machine things when I first attempted to make/machine a model engine, and only succeeded with help from folks on forums like this, including this specific forum.

I failed at so many attempts to machine engines and engine parts, that I and most folks on the forums assumed I would never build a functioning engine.
Things were not looking good in my model engine future, and folks routinely discarded any advise I offered about building model engines, since all I had to offer was a history of dismal failure.
I have a wall where I hang parts that I ruined when trying to machine them.

No doubt I would have given up on making model engines without the constant encouragement from others in and out of the hobby, but they kept saying "keep trying; you will get it figured out".
I recall telling a friend about trying to master making gray iron castings, and how I was finding it impossible to figure out.
He said "Keep trying; you will get it", and so comments like that are what ultimately led me to succeed with casting gray iron.

After many years of trying, I did get maching and foundry work figured out, and so that first run really did mean a lot to me, and brought closure to some very tedious and often painful learning experiences.
Anyone who has not experienced the struggles of trying to learn model engineering does not understand the joy of the first run, but those who have experienced how difficult it can be firsthand know exactly what it feels like to finally succeed and create a functional engine.

The first run is a game changer, because at that point you have the skill set needed to make a functional engine, and after that it is more a matter of deciding what you want to build, and how far you want to go in the hobby.
All doubts of your abilities to make a functioning engine vanish with that first run.

.

 

[wce4]

A little expansion ;....What did you feel when the first engine ran?

Funny you should ask this, while I lie here I was thinking about a engine I couldn't get to run, it is called the River Queen Open Column Launch Engine. This was my first engine, I machine it myself from bar stock.
Still to this day The River Queen Open Column Launch Engine sits idle all by itself on a shelf in my workshop. I never figure out how to machine the rotary valve the correct way to get to run.
But I did not give up hope to get a model steam engine to run by my hands.
So to answer the question I felt exhilarated like it was Christmas day when I was five years old, there is no turning back now. The engine was PM Research Steam Engine #5 a vertical coke bottle style mill engine.

 

[michael-au]

Why I became interested in model engineering

I used to fly and race RC aeroplanes with my father, he had a lathe and mill
We would make different heads and tuned pipes for the racing planes and various other modifications

I purchased a lathe and a milling machine for my self as I moved house and was not within walking distance to my parents house anymore, at the time I was flying RC helicopters so I was making parts for them

I had the pleasure of meeting John Ram (who is a member on this site) through my uncle,
I was lucky enough to see some of the radials that he has built and the V12 Merlin run, this is when I thought I should have a go at building an engine and that was the start a fantastic hobby
I am still in touch with John and visit him to see what he is up to

First engine was a Vega twin, then Bob Shores silver bullet and Peewee V4 then The Thompson engine
I am in the process of building Steve Hucks Deemon V8 and a 3 cylinder radial called PIP

I have learnt a lot from the fantastic people on this forum, its always good to see other peoples pictures of their setups

I have no background in machining or CAD CAM self taught, worked in a hospital as an Orderly for 35 years, retired in December 2023

Michael