Wood Beam Engine fabricated by SAM

[bearcar1]

Thanks for the update Sam. I forgot one of the benefits of working with wood - mess up a part, heat up the living room ;D Tried that once with a bad aluminum part and I put the fire out :big:

Cheers,
Phil

You must not have had the draught door open far enough Phil Rof} Rof} Rof}

BC1
Jim

 

[Hilmar]

Hi Kel,
yes that what they used, Soap.
But Soap used on screws can cause rust and eventual failure of the screw.
Also on some wood like: Oak, Cedar and some other like Cherry the moister will react with the wood and the Iron.It is the acid in the wood. The wood will turn black or even blue or gray around the hole. The acid will corode the screw to a point that it has no holding power.
So use Wax, Candle wax, Past wax or so. No stain on the wood.
Take an old oak chair, which was held together width an iron wood screw, apart you will have a two part screw.
Hilmar

PS: If the wood splits by drilling ,you go to fast, the drill can not clear itself or you push to hard.Go back to peg drilling.

 

[SAM in LA]

Today the progress meter moved in the positive direction.

I made a new "A Frame" and a bunch of 2-56 threaded studs.

The local Hobby Shop had some 2-56 hex nuts in stock. I really need to order a box of the nuts on-line. The hobby shop charged $3 for 18 and I can get a 100 for $3 on-line.

A while back I ordered a 2-56 die nut. Today I got it out and found out it is a smaller OD than all my others. So, I made a holder for it that I could mount in my three jaw chuck. I held the 0.081" diameter steel in the tail stock chuck. To thread the studs, I turned the die nut by hand as I kept pressure on the tail stock chuck. Worked great, nice and straight threads with minimum fuss.

With all of the studs I made, I was able to assemble the main support structure today.

All of the studs will be trimmed after I make some square nuts.

I think it is time to make some bearing blocks for the flywheel so it can be mounted.

Thanks for looking in.

SAM

 

[kcmillin]

Lookin good Sam. Nice trick with the small die Thm:

Kel

 

[Deanofid]

I'm enjoying this project, Sam, even if it's brown stuff. ; )
Yer doing great!

It's going to look super with the flywheel mounted up.

Dean

 

[rickharris]

Bogs,

Wood moves around if the moisture content changes. To reduce movement after cutting, some sort of sealant needs to be put on it. If you notice when you are at the lumber yard, the kiln dried boards have wax on the ends.

...

SAM

Not wishing to be picky but to clarify - The timber yard coat the end of the seasoning planks with wax to reduce excessive water loss which would result in the end cracking and splitting as it dries. In general even painted wood on both sides will change shape as it heats and cools - well seasoned hard wood which has been stored in the environment it will have to live in for a few weeks should be relatively stable. Of course cross bracing and using suitable joints will reduce any tendency to twist and warp.

That said central heating is the enemy of wood of any kind. Wood when cut may be 50% water by weight, when seasoned as little 10%.

The wood in use in this project looks like Iroko, a kind of African teak known for it's oiliness and water resistance is should be ideal.

Nice project.

 

[arnoldb]

That's coming along nicely Sam ;D

Regards, Arnold

 

[SAM in LA]

Rick,

Thanks for the clarification.

SAM

 

[Philjoe5]

Nice work SAM especially on those 2-56 studs made with the tailstock dieholder. :bow: I note that you used 0.081" steel for the work compared to a major diameter for 2-56 at 0.086".

Cheers,
Phil

 

[SAM in LA]

Nice work SAM especially on those 2-56 studs made with the tailstock dieholder. :bow: I note that you used 0.081" steel for the work compared to a major diameter for 2-56 at 0.086".

Cheers,
Phil

Phil,

I was not able to find any 0.086" material. I have a box of nails that are 0.081" so that is what I am using.

Thanks,

SAM

 

[SAM in LA]

More progress to report.

Today I finished 4 bearing blocks, the cylinder base and head. I may put a finer finish on them at a later date.

The base and head had a lot of small holes. Some were taped 2-56.

Taping some 2-56 holes. I held the tap in the drill check to make sure the tap was square to the work piece.

Both the cyl base and head will need to be set up in the four jaw check so a 7/8" diameter recess can be cut. I made a small dimple to mark the center of the future cylinder.

I machined the cyl base and head from one length of brass and cut them apart with my carbide tipped saw blade.

That's it for today.

Thanks for stopping by.

SAM

 

[Deanofid]

Going on well, Sam!
Thm:

 

[kcmillin]

That brass wil look prety damn good with the wood. Nice Work Thm:
Kel

 

[Philjoe5]

Looking good SAM. Thanks for the progress report. :bow: I'm with Kel - brass on that dark wood is going to look mighty fine!

Cheers,
Phil

 

[SAM in LA]

Kel, Dean and Phil, thanks for the support.

I need to cut the brass tube for the cylinder to length.

scratch.gif

I'm thinking of turning a piece of wood to the same diameter as the ID of the tubing. This way it will be supported when I use a cutoff tool to trim it to the specified length.

:shrug:

Am I on the right track? What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by.

SAM

 

[arnoldb]

Hi Sam - you're making good progress.

You are on the right track with your idea; it should work fine. Beware though - I think you might run into a problem with the parting tool "pinching" down the area where it breaks through, as the wood would still be a bit compressible there. You might have to clean up the "pinched" bit with a small file or emery paper wrapped around a smaller-than-the-cylinder dowel. You could also part to just over-length and trim to length with a normal toolbit running slightly into the wood.

Regards, Arnold

 

[SAM in LA]

Moving right along.

I appreciate the nice comments and words of wisdom from you guys.

I spent some time making more 2-56 and 5-40 studs. I ran out of the 2-56 nuts and refuse to pay hobby shop prices for any more of them. I placed an order today for a box of 100 and the missing drill bits in my drill set. My order should arrive the middle of next week.

It's finally starting to look like a beam engine.

Today, I mounted the flywheel bearings and support blocks to the base framework.

I decided to sleeve the bearing blocks with some oil impregnated bronze. The Bearing blocks will need to be shimmed when they are tightened down so the wheel will turn smoothly.

Next up will be cutting the cylinder and finishing the base and head for the cylinder.

Thanks for stopping by.

SAM

 

[Philjoe5]

It's finally starting to look like a beam engine.

How true SAM. Thanks for the progress report. It's looking great :bow:

Cheers,
Phil

 

[kvom]

When you get that one done, here's the next project: :big: ;D

 

[SAM in LA]

When you get that one done, here's the next project: :big: ;D

Thanks,

Looks like fun. I would be afraid of termites.

Years ago at a car show, a fellow had built a car with a wooden body. It was built up like a wood hulled boat. Really nice looking.

SAM