Rotary valve engine and bonus

[swilliams]

Thanks Jim

I milled the ports in the valve rod. The first time I went too far so I made a second one. The detail is too subtle to see what went wrong in the photos. Anyway it was basically a matter of milling, assembling, and looking down the inlet and exhaust holes until all was correct. Things look good, but seeing how it runs will be the acid test.



Here's the whole thing as it stands. The main piece to go is the inlet manifold. The end is in sight now



Steve

[steamer]

Interesting valve gear on that Steve.....that will be wonderful to watch....bobing and weaving...

Dave

[ironman123]

  Steve, you have done an outstanding job on this engine and such a great build posting.  That is going to be a good runner, Right.

Won't be long now before it is Video time.  I have got to get more popcorn for that.

Can almost see light at the end of the tunnel.  Great job Steve.

Ray

[Don1966]

OK Steve I am taking a break for commercial when I come back it will be running right. We like videos. Nice job.

Don

[swilliams]

Hey Dave, Ray and Don. Thanks for all your support 

Well I'm getting there but you'll need another break or two yet Don. I need to find a compressor to give her a test run. I'll find a way around that soon enough though. Then all going well a video.

I made a start on the inlet manifold. It's made out of two hat shaped pieces of brass with a T-piece between them. Here's the start of the first hat being parted off in the lathe



I needed to drill 3 holes in each of the hats. Here's my lathe drilling spindle, it's made from a Chinese milling spindle for an 8mm lathe I got off Ebay and a 12V DC motor. When I place it on my topslide it's at centre height.



Here's the indexing at the back of my lathe. All made from the indexing gear for my rotary table



Here's drilling the holes



Then drilled a hole through the side in the milling machine



I made the T-piece out of some square brass. Here it is being drilled



and here's the thing mock-up assembled



I now need to attach it to the head with some 10BA studs and solder it together. I'm going to soft solder it with it in place on the head. On second thoughts the brass tube in the head is stuck in with loctite
Well, I'll come up with something 

Getting there 

 
Steve

[ironman123]

 :cheers:Almost there  .

Really like that drill setup for your lathe.  What size motor is that?

Ray

[NickG]

Looking great that Steve, getting more complex up the top end now! 

[swilliams]

Thanks Ray and Nick

Ray - I think this was the motor - http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=YM2776

It's good enough for small drills. If you wanted to get more serious you could go the motor and controller off a Sherline lathe. They sell them separately.

Steve
 

[swilliams]

Got a bit more done. Started by making a fixture to solder the manifold together. The pins go in the holes and hold the two pieces the correct distance apart for soldering



Ready to solder



Then clamped on and spotted a couple of the holes



Bolted the manifold on with the two outer studs, then spotted the other 4 holes



Managed to drill and tap the four remaining holes. No broken taps and no more holes to tap  . I've got to make 4 more studs and some gaskets.

That's it for today
Steve

[swilliams]

And now for the final bits. Made the last 4x10BA studs. Then the gaskets.

Made a couple of mini wad punches out of ordinary soft steel. Good enough for gaskets



Then the gasket for the inlet manifold



and the head gasket



Then to test her out. Only had my bicycle pump



So I can confirm that she's a runner and a good one  

But I need to get her on a compressor to make a movie. Hope to arrange that in the not too distant future with a bit of luck.

 
Steve

[steamer]

Yo Steve....turn my back for an instant...and your done!

Congrats man!    Get your air sorted and get a video going!



Want to talk to you about your spindle indexer...did you use the expanding arbor type mount?

I'm considereing that but wanted the through spindle.....but I'm still dithering.....must just make a decision!

Dave

[swilliams]

Thanks Dave

Will get the promised video one way or another. We can discuss indexing in your Southbend thread

Steve

[zeeprogrammer]

Looking forward to the video Steve.

Tested with a bicycle pump eh? I have to try that. Reminds me that some people have suggested using inner tubes or tires too.

[swilliams]

Thanks Carl

Bicycle tubes, that's a good one. I'm going to have a look at the shops later. Yesterday would have been the day to go, but I was busy. Anyway - stay tuned

Steve

[AussieJimG]

Gotta car? Gotta spare wheel? Then you gotta source of compressed air.

or

use a petrol drum (or similar), make an air connection out and a water connection in. Attach to water tap and turn on the water. As the water goes in the air comes out. Useful for small jobs and short duration.

Jim