Author Topic: Stuart Major Beam Engine  (Read 86988 times)

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #30 on: April 23, 2014, 01:19:23 AM »
Nice work on that  beam Andy...and I can't help but notice that dandy looking height gage too!! Still following along here even if quietly  :popcorn:

Bill

Offline Chipmaster

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #31 on: April 23, 2014, 08:22:14 PM »
Yes Bill, the 'Dandy height gauge' was a good investment, no more peering at verniers through a magnifying glass, I recommend digital height gauges.
Andy

Offline Chipmaster

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #32 on: August 03, 2014, 10:25:30 AM »

« Last Edit: August 03, 2014, 06:15:30 PM by Chipmaster »

Offline Chipmaster

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #33 on: August 03, 2014, 11:16:04 AM »
Making a plinth and base sent me off on a tangent earlier this Summer as I learned to use a dovetail jig and other woodwork techniques.
I used new one inch thick sapele.
S Major 0258 by AGB engines, on Flickr
Fitted on the plinth using thread inserts screwed into the wood to allow the use of studs to bolt the engine down rather than wood screws
S Major 0258 by AGB engines, on Flickr
Wooden plinth finished with Rustins Plastic Coating. The base is cut from a 10 foot x three foot laboratory bench top that I have kept for 30 years. I think the wood is teak.
S Major 0275 by AGB engines, on Flickr
Watch and mug posed to give indication of size
S Major 0287 by AGB engines, on Flickr
I decided to hide a "bad news dovetail" behind the flywheel. That was the first joint and I struggled to set the router cutter depth correctly.
S Major 0271 by AGB engines, on Flickr
Next job is to machine the crank. Cable tie stopped the parallel flying out.
S Major 0281 by AGB engines, on Flickr
Crank pressed on to a snug or mandrel for further machining.
S Major 0291 by AGB engines, on Flickr
Boring the hole for the crank pin. By holding the crank on a face plate
S Major 0297 by AGB engines, on Flickr
Milling the outer surface of the crank, mounted on a rotary table
S Major 0303 by AGB engines, on Flickr
Milling the crank pin end of the crank on a rotary table
S Major 0307 by AGB engines, on Flickr

S Major 0308 by AGB engines, on Flickr
The flywheel side of the crank - more fettling required.
S Major 0310 by AGB engines, on Flickr
S Major 0312 by AGB engines, on Flickr

Andy
« Last Edit: August 03, 2014, 03:56:15 PM by Chipmaster »

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #34 on: August 03, 2014, 03:34:30 PM »
Not to ignore the fine metalworking Andy, but the woodworking looks excellent. Not sure what it is the flywheel is hiding, but the dovetails showing look beautiful!! That's going to be quite a beastie you have there when done too!!

Bill

Offline Chipmaster

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #35 on: August 03, 2014, 04:04:32 PM »
Thank you Bill. That particular dovetail came out rather slack and required filling whereas the other three were tight fits. I wanted a strong assembly to ensure the outrigger crank bearing stays in line. Trouble with this model is that it is already becoming rather heavy!!!
Andy

Offline Perry

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #36 on: September 17, 2015, 10:06:19 PM »
How is the build going?

Offline Chipmaster

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #37 on: September 18, 2015, 08:15:43 AM »
Hi Perry,
the build stopped just over a year ago because I changed priority to finishing three smaller models that can be seen on other threads I have posted - too many engines but not enough time!  However, l will resume work on the Stuart Major during October after finishing the painting of an Economy petrol engine and making up a trolley for it.

Andy

Offline Jasonb

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #38 on: September 18, 2015, 08:28:16 AM »
The Economy would look good on a Hercule drag saw I have details  :LittleDevil:
« Last Edit: September 18, 2015, 08:32:22 AM by Jasonb »

Offline Chipmaster

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #39 on: September 18, 2015, 08:41:30 AM »
Hi Jason, I am interested in the drag saw details but the Economy is too heavy to lift single handed already. My Economy is all cast iron unlike the other Economy model build logs I have seen on the Internet which appear to have aluminium castings for the base and hopper. The Stuart Major is also becoming too heavy.
Andy
« Last Edit: December 05, 2015, 09:24:03 PM by Chipmaster »

Offline Chipmaster

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #40 on: December 05, 2015, 09:20:05 PM »
I resumed work on my Stuart Major today. The finished length of the cylinder is 5.125", bore is 1.75" with larger counter bores of 1.29/32" at each end which register with the cylinder head at the top and a spacer attached to the engine bed at the bottom. The cylinder will take quite a long time for me to bore out taking small cuts at slow speeds also using a fixed steady to minimise the chance of the casting working loose in my chuck. As the upper cylinder flange has a protuberance I machined that end flat so that when reversed it would sit against the face of the 3 jaw chuck. A close fitting bung was used with a live centre to keep the casting pressed against the chuck while I machined what would be the bottom flange to go in the fixed steady. A few light cuts with an indexable carbide boring bar but I hadn't got a continuous cut by the time I packed up for the day.
I intend to leave the lathe boring out the cylinder while I machine another engine bed on my milling machine, the lathe automatically disengages the feed when the saddle touches an adjustable bed stop.
Andy
« Last Edit: December 07, 2015, 08:28:16 AM by Chipmaster »

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #41 on: December 06, 2015, 01:40:26 AM »
Nice to see an update on this one Andy. With the size of the cylinder, I can well imagine the whole engine will be a bit heavy in cast iron.

Bill

Offline Chipmaster

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #42 on: January 03, 2016, 05:28:19 PM »
After boring out the cylinder I worked on the ports. Started out by milling the port face flat then milling the ports to size.
I find it difficult to see what's happening when using a small cutter so I used adhesive copper tape for guidance. The third picture shows a 1/32" rebate being milled around the edge of the ports, this will match the interior of the valve chest.

Andy

Offline Chipmaster

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #43 on: January 31, 2016, 06:01:37 PM »
Thought I'd take a break from working on the Retlas this afternoon and finish off the Stuart Major valve chest. My set up in a four jaw chuck was clearly dodgy and I broke the casting and ceramic tool insert with a bang. One piece flew off where I can't find it!
I feel a right plonker for what I did - a momentary lapse of reason and a few hours work wasted  :toilet_claw:
 Fortunately I was able to order a replacement on-line from Stuart at a cost of £38.34 delivered. I'll take much more care with the next one.
Andy

Offline Jasonb

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Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #44 on: January 31, 2016, 07:03:14 PM »
Ouch

And another ouch to the price, could you not have silver soldered 4 bits of bar together to make a rectangular box? I have done a few large valve chests that way.

 

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