A simple Vertical Steam Engine.

[Jo]

6 rings have been turned out of cast Iron. The boring bar scratched the inside and snapped on the line. Stretched around a piece of plate and heated just enough for them to drop off... and left to cool.

Gaped with a couple of strokes of a needle file and the fit checked. Before fitting to the pistons. the final fit into the cylinders will have to wait until I make a sleeve to get the rings past the shoulder in the ends of the cylinder 

Nearly there 

Jo

[bent]

Wait...what?  CAST iron piston rings?!

How did you get them into the piston grooves without breakage?     Or is that piston a multi-part assembly?

[b.lindsey]

Bent, it's done on every automotive production engineer. It will work on models too unless you get really small. It's usually best to make some extras though as some will break despite being careful. Those look good Job!!

Bill

[Jo]

Wait...what?  CAST iron piston rings?!

How did you get them into the piston grooves without breakage?     Or is that piston a multi-part assembly?

Ev'ning Bent, sorry I am still catching up... 

The piston is a simple turning. The trick with the heat treatment of the cast iron rings is to get them to spring out and set to the mid position between what is needed to get over the piston and what is needed in the cylinder.

Getting the rings into the cylinders with that internal lip is not proving easy  A bit more machining is required on the cylinders 

Jo

[Jo]

Getting piston rings into the cylinder is easy when someone points out the error or lack of an important feature in the drawing 

The answer to getting the rings into the cylinder is to machine a chamfer in the counter bore in the bottom of the cylinder so that the rings just slide in  As you can see I cheated and have not even disassembled the cylinder to do this machining Actually calling it machining is stretching the point a bit: I just rotated the boring head round by hand a couple of times and piston with rings slid straight in   Two more to go.

Jo

[bent]

Ah.  Thanks Jo! 

[Jo]

I've decided that the easiest way to get air into these two engines is to make quick release adapters that go straight into the steam pipe flanges. So one is the 3/8 by 26 TPI for the 5A and the Swan one is 1/2" by 26 TPI.

I think I deserve a casting after that 

Jo

[b.lindsey]

I wondered where you had been Jo. Working on the quick connects no doubt

Bill

[Stuart]

Looking the bee’s knees there Jo
Stuart

[Jo]

Thanks Guys, it does seem to be getting close to puffing some air in these and you have already seen I have the next engine lined up 

Bill am still fighting with my poor internet speed problem The lineman turned up a week ago and claimed that he would send a broadband engineer out as he couldn't find anything wrong.. I am now promised that he will turn up next Friday in the mean time snails have been seen to move faster than my connection speed 

Jo

[Jasonb]

Wonder if a Q type coupling would have been better given the air you say these may need

Good to see you have been making a bit of swarf unlike me who can't move as fast as a snail having done my back on Friday

[Jo]

Wonder if a Q type coupling would have been better given the air you say these may need

I had to look those up: I don't have any of those. My compressor and its air lines has the quick release connectors fitted to it.

I won't ask what you were doing  At least it is Xmas so you can have some time off 

Jo

[Jasonb]

Type of connector you find the man digging up the road using with a big compressor.

I wish, actually did it closing a sliding door that was sticking a bit, would like to finish some work for clients before Xmas but can't see me doing that carrying 25kg sacks of tile adhesive on my shoulder probably won't help with recovery.

[Jo]

would like to finish some work

The "W" word  I need to go and lay down... just the thought of it 

Jo

[Jasonb]

Thing is Jo I don't like to send an invoice until the job is complete unless it is a very large one where a few stage payments would be applied for, not helped by the usual words from the clients of "while you are hear could you just........" Might have to be Turkey nuggets for Xmas lunch

Also being self employed I'm quite happy to work when the work is there unlike some who get paid to sit a home and pretend to be working while fondling castings when their employer does not know what to do with them

J