Author Topic: Hello from Washington, USA  (Read 776 times)

Offline 2E26

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Hello from Washington, USA
« on: February 21, 2024, 03:58:08 PM »
Hi everyone. I'm Jon, a filthy colonial who somehow manages to work a lathe. I work for the big boat club (flying chapter) and leave for extended periods. I'm mid thirties and married with kids, so I don't get all the time I need to make chips.

My main piece of equipment is a Grizzly 8x16 mini lathe. I also have much in the way of wood tools, such as a Craftsman drill press, wood band saw, etc. I also have bench grinders, belt sanders, and an abrasive cutoff saw for chopping down long bar stock. I don't have a mill and I'm conflicted between choosing a full sized mill or just getting an attachment for my lathe. Space is an issue where I am.

Although I got started in wood engines (wood engines that worked, mind you), I have built several oscillating engines starting with a couple in the book by Stan Bray. I've also made a couple of Wig-Wag engines and I'm currently working on a PM Research 2A.

In the future I want to make some mechanical loads for my engines such as a dynamo, water pump, and blower fan. I also don't have a boiler yet. My dream goal is to build several Stuart steam engines, but they're incredibly expensive so that might be some time from now. Another lofty goal is a traction engine.

Thanks for letting me into your group. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone is up to here.

Offline Dave Otto

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Re: Hello from Washington, USA
« Reply #1 on: February 21, 2024, 04:58:24 PM »
Welcome to MEM!

Dave

Offline cnr6400

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Re: Hello from Washington, USA
« Reply #2 on: February 21, 2024, 05:19:25 PM »
Welcome to MEM Jon!  :ThumbsUp:  :cheers:
"I've cut that stock three times, and it's still too short!"

Offline mklotz

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Re: Hello from Washington, USA
« Reply #3 on: February 21, 2024, 06:12:38 PM »
Welcome aboard, Jon; I think you'll enjoy the time you spend here.

If you're interested in a dynamo load for your engines, I can recommend the PMR kit.  I built it and paired it with a two cylinder engine designed by Elmer Verburg and built from bar stock...

https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/miniature-generator-set-60635#post91833

The plans for the engine are in Chapter 44 of Elmer's book.  A downloadable pdf of the book is available here...

http://www.myheap.com/images/stories/Metalworking/Resources/downloads/ElmersEngines_byElmerVerburg.pdf

The Stuart engines are indeed beauties.  However, building from castings is more difficult than building from bar stock.  You'll get a taste of what I'm on about with the PMR generator.  It does involve machining castings but only minimally (and PMR is good about replacing totally botched attempts).

My recommendation is to develop your skills on a few bar stock engines before taking on a casting set.
Regards, Marv
Home Shop Freeware
https://www.myvirtualnetwork.com/mklotz

Offline 2E26

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Re: Hello from Washington, USA
« Reply #4 on: February 21, 2024, 07:24:31 PM »
I have the PMR Dynamo on the shelf. I also have a couple of motors from cordless drills, which are functionally the same.

I've made five bar stock engines. Two Simple Sam and one Twinkie twin- cylinder engine, and two Wig-Wag engines. All of these have been single-acting oscillators. I need the ability to perform milling operations to do some of the things I've been up to. I should be able to do most of the Stuart operations on my lathe, with a small milling slide for others. That being said, I'm not sure I want to put $200 into a milling slide when it won't get me what a small bench top mill could.

Another engine I want to try is the German upright, the "Stehende Einzylinder Dampfmaschine...". That's another bar stock engine with almost as much complexity as the Stuart 10V. I don't think as many people do that machine as they do the 10V.

I need to build a water pump, and I've considered making an engine driven one that will allow me to test the performance of engines. I could get a 5 gallon (20L) bucket and pump the water out of it. Measuring the time it takes to do that could provide some kind of metric.

Here are links to some of my engine projects:

Engines 15L and 15R together https://imgur.com/gallery/SmBKXqm

Engine 16 - New Flywheel https://imgur.com/gallery/IpKUqbb

Beavis and Butt-Head - two Wig Wag oscillating engines https://imgur.com/gallery/dkmHkvs

Jon

Offline Roger B

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Re: Hello from Washington, USA
« Reply #5 on: February 21, 2024, 08:17:52 PM »
Welcome to the Forum  :ThumbsUp:  :ThumbsUp:j
Best regards

Roger

Offline RReid

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Re: Hello from Washington, USA
« Reply #6 on: February 21, 2024, 08:36:10 PM »
Hello Jon, and Welcome!

I built my first several engines, including the little live steamer in my avatar, without benefit of a milling machine, just a milling attachment for my Taig lathe. This obviously worked, but was very limited, especially in the size of the work envelope and often awkward work holding. Milling also seemed likely to cause more wear and tear to the lathe than normal turning, and the frequent switching back and forth between "modes" got tiresome. Once I sprung for a proper milling machine (also Taig), the pleasure and the project possibilities improved significantly.
Regards,
Ron

Offline crueby

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Re: Hello from Washington, USA
« Reply #7 on: February 21, 2024, 08:42:30 PM »
Hello Jon, and Welcome!

I built my first several engines, including the little live steamer in my avatar, without benefit of a milling machine, just a milling attachment for my Taig lathe. This obviously worked, but was very limited, especially in the size of the work envelope and often awkward work holding. Milling also seemed likely to cause more wear and tear to the lathe than normal turning, and the frequent switching back and forth between "modes" got tiresome. Once I sprung for a proper milling machine (also Taig), the pleasure and the project possibilities improved significantly.
Same experiences here, just with Sherline vs Taig. I find myself going back and forth between the lathe and mill very often, and having to change setups on one machine got old very fast.

Offline Kim

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Re: Hello from Washington, USA
« Reply #8 on: February 22, 2024, 05:56:27 AM »
Hi Jon,
Welcome to the group!

I started with just a Taig lathe with the mill attachment.  It worked great for a few projects but when I got the Taig mill, it's like Ron said - things really became more fun!  I've got some other bigger machines now, but really enjoyed my Taigs  ;D  Great machines! (as are the Sherlines, I just don't have the direct experience with those.)

Kim

Offline ShopShoe

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Re: Hello from Washington, USA
« Reply #9 on: February 22, 2024, 01:31:58 PM »
I can add another vote in favor of a milling machine.

I started with a 7x Mini-Lathe with millling attachment and it worked OK, but started looking for a mill soon after.

I would recommend a mill with a little bit more capacity than your lathe, but you don't need a full-sized knee mill if you can't afford it or make room for it.

With a mill, you can start coveting all kinds of attachments and tooling: rotary table, DRO, setup acccessories, exotic cutters and etc. A tremendous expansion in capabilities.

Keep posting your questions and projects: We'll all be glad to see them. And....... We like photos.

ShopShoe

Offline 2E26

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Re: Hello from Washington, USA
« Reply #10 on: February 22, 2024, 06:03:45 PM »
Here's another project that's kind of on hold. It's a double barreled boiler from Stan Bray's book on simple steam engines. Essentially it is two lengths of 1-inch copper pipe joined at the bottom with water tubes. The end plates are brazed on flat and are made of the same pipe, cut and hammered into a sheet.

I'm thinking of making stays for the plates so it's not an exercise in frustration to assemble it for silver solder. I'll have to make several bushes for a fill port, a safety valve, and maybe some indicator plugs.

The main thing keeping me from moving forward with this is no silver solder. I have some lead-free type but I'm not going to use it for the pressure vessel. Target pressure is 10-20 PSI.

Copper Double Barreled Boiler Project https://imgur.com/gallery/B3u6lb2

Jon

Offline dudeface

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Re: Hello from Washington, USA
« Reply #11 on: February 23, 2024, 02:25:52 AM »
My dream goal is to build several Stuart steam engines, but they're incredibly expensive...
Aren't they!? That's why all my engines are made out of LEGO!
I'm not sure if I'm worthy of welcoming you yet, but welcome.
Miles-- Lego may be expensive, but machine tools are several orders of magnitude more expensive, so I guess I'll stick to Lego for now.

Offline 2E26

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Re: Hello from Washington, USA
« Reply #12 on: February 23, 2024, 02:31:16 AM »
Quote
Aren't they!? That's why all my engines are made out of LEGO!
I'm not sure if I'm worthy of welcoming you yet, but welcome.

The first 14 engines I made were from wood, and that counts the handful of finger treadle engines I made. I've only made five engines and they've all been bar stock. I'm only now getting around to my first PM Research 2A, and I'm doing such a mediocre job that I'm sure I'll want to do it again.

If you have ideas I can learn from, I'll consider you worthy.

Offline bent

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Re: Hello from Washington, USA
« Reply #13 on: March 07, 2024, 11:06:26 PM »
Welcome, it's good to see a fellow PNW dweller on the site. 

I've always had access to a mill, as well as my 7x14 mini lathe, since starting on model engines.  Prior to that, the lathe was a useful tool for making prototypes and tooling at the plant I work at.

I've been away from model engine making for awhile, but now that I'm half-retired I hope to get back into it.

 

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