Author Topic: Ryan's Engine  (Read 44697 times)

Online steamer

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Re: Ryan's Engine
« Reply #105 on: September 15, 2012, 10:37:26 PM »
there ya go....coming along Jim.

Dave
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline Bearcar1

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Re: Ryan's Engine
« Reply #106 on: September 15, 2012, 10:46:11 PM »
Thanks Dean.  You know, I just feel like I'm 'cheating' somehow by doing it his way, but then again, what tools would a young lad have had available to him back in '63? I know I sure didn't have any of the tools that I have now such as the mill and the lathe. Shoot, I suppose doing it this way beats cutting the slot with a hacksaw which I'm sure has been done many times in the past  :o  I used two wheels stacked on top of each other and it seemed to fair out very well for me, albeit that sucker sure got hot in a hurry. I had to stop several times along the way to quench the lot and to let it cool down for a few minutes before resuming. I was even able to get things pinned together and I called it an afternoon.





Hiya Dave, you snuck up on me there, I'm gonna have to put a bell on you if you keep that up.  :Lol:  Yes, it shouldn't be too much longer here. Now that I'm this close to the finish line I'm beginning to fret about getting the beast timed up without a great deal of hooplah. That is something for another day.


BC1
Jim





Offline Bearcar1

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Re: Ryan's Engine
« Reply #107 on: September 18, 2012, 04:27:40 PM »
Getting back into the shop has been quite the challenge the past few days. Life's obligations have a tendency to do that to a person. I had this plan hatched pretty much from the get-go that having the big end of the connecting rod riding directly on the crank pin as shown in the original drawings was not going to happen. So, I set about coming up with a solution. A bearing of some sort was in order of course and after some head scratching, I decided to combine this feature with the spacer that was shown to keep the rod from fouling the counter weight. I had drilled the hole in the rod oversize and turned up a small, top hat looking bushing that was a press fit to this hole. Then, I turned up a small ring that would press over the outside diameter of the bushing to act as a backer. I used a bit of loctite and pressed everything together and after letting it set up overnight, reamed the hole to .1875". Remember now, i had taken extreme pains to hit this diameter when I turned up the crank pin. Well, I'm here to tell you that it rides on the pin like silk, with no discernible play whatsover. I'm talking SMOOOTH.  :whoohoo:





Here's the finished con-rod/piston assembly





And finally, the part as fitted on the crankshaft.





All of the pieces have been made now. It's just a matter of timing the beastie. I think what I will do is use some shellac or nail polish even to 'stick' the crank disk on until I can get the timing set, at least I can make any degree changes easily by dissolving either of these or apply some gentle heat and move the crank disk. I had thought of making provisions for a set screw of some type early on in the build but did not pursue that option, I may wish that I had in the days to come. We shall see.


BC1
Jim

Offline arnoldb

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Re: Ryan's Engine
« Reply #108 on: September 18, 2012, 05:39:31 PM »
Ryan's engine is coming along great Jim  :ThumbsUp:

I was wondering why you'd have to fiddle much with the timing - that is until I went back to have a look at the plans...  Now I understand though  ;)

Kind regards, Arnold
Building an engine takes Patience, Planning, Preparation and Machining.
Procrastination is nearly the same, but it precludes machining.
Thus, an engine will only be built once the procrastination stops and the machining begins!

Offline Bearcar1

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Re: Ryan's Engine
« Reply #109 on: September 19, 2012, 03:25:21 AM »
Thanks Arnold, and I must apologize to all. It occurred to me that not everyone has seen or owns a copy of these original drawings and would not therefore have any idea of what is required to set the timing of this little jewel. For whatever reason, the designers thought it a good idea to over-simplify this procedure down to using different melting temperature solders (they even go so far as to explain how to make ones own) on holding things together and that by using low melting stuff to hold the crank disk on the crankshaft, that any adjustment could be achieved by careful application of heat to that particular joint. I'm sure that method will/can/has worked, but it just seems too agricultural  for my taste. The newer drawings that member Julius De Waal has drawn (these drawings are available in the 'plans' section here on MEM) allow for the timing adjustment to altered by using a set screw as per normal practice. What I propose to do is use shellac to hold the disk in position for initial testing. If any changes are required, the shellac can be heated and will release, the timing change made and a small dab of new shellac added to hold the disk in its new position. Once the final setting has been determined, marks can be made to indicate the same and the disk can then be soldered permanently onto the crankshaft. That's my plan at this time anyway.


BC1
Jim

 

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