Author Topic: Quarry Bank Mill Engine  (Read 15936 times)

Offline Captain Jerry

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Re: Quarry Bank Mill Engine
« Reply #75 on: May 20, 2019, 01:17:50 PM »
Thanks for the kind comments.  Its all about the motion isn't it?  There are some engines that capture your interest  and this is one of them.  When I first saw Stew's model years ago, I was hooked.  I built two smaller single cylinder versions back then, one horizontal and one vertical, relying heavily on Elmer's style cylinders but I knew that the twin cylinder would be a different challenge.  It still has a long way to go.


There will be a proper flywheel.  I have two  pieces of steel pipe that I have set aside for flywheels. One too small at 4' and one too big at 7 1/2" but until then, during testing I rely on my big brass baton.  As silly as it may look, it provides a large mass and does not get in the way of clumsy fingers making timing adjustments.


If you started watching at the beginning, your popcorn must be stale by now but it's not going to move any faster so you might want to switch to trail mix.


Jerry
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Offline sbwhart

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Re: Quarry Bank Mill Engine
« Reply #76 on: May 21, 2019, 07:05:34 AM »
Hi Jerry

I get my fly wheels from a firm in the UK, and they now stock part finished castings.

 https://www.rdgtools.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?WD=casting&PN=STEAM-ENGINE-7--FLYWHEEL-MACHINED-CASTING-COMPATIBLE-WITH-STUART-298379%2ehtml#SID=227

I think they will deliver to the US

Stew
A little bit of clearance never got in the way

Offline Captain Jerry

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Re: Quarry Bank Mill Engine
« Reply #77 on: May 28, 2019, 04:25:39 AM »
Thanks for the link for a machined flywheel, Stew, but I would rather find a way to build one for this engine myself.  Your original build thread gave a good method and I have considered following your plan.


I have been fiddling with the finer points of timing and decided that I must have not been thinking very clearly or was just plain lazy or sloppy when I made the steam chest and valves so I did it over.  New valve plate, new valve bodies, and new valve rods.  I also redid the cover and the mounting of the inlet piping. Nothing unique, just being a little more accurate.  Then I cut gaskets for the cylinder heads and the valve chest.


I then borrowed a more appropriate flywheel from another engine  and started fine tuning the timing.  I got it to running very smoothly and slowly.  There is plenty more to do but it was getting late in the day so I just decided to hang it up!


https://youtu.be/SGy_EfuSZOg




It is a wall engine after all.
« Last Edit: May 28, 2019, 04:32:05 AM by Captain Jerry »
NOTARY SOJAK

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Offline crueby

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Re: Quarry Bank Mill Engine
« Reply #78 on: May 28, 2019, 01:27:58 PM »
That's running great! Love it on the wall too.

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Quarry Bank Mill Engine
« Reply #79 on: May 28, 2019, 02:34:52 PM »
Looks great to me in any orientation :)  Well done Captain  :ThumbsUp:

Bill

Offline ShopShoe

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Re: Quarry Bank Mill Engine
« Reply #80 on: May 28, 2019, 03:17:51 PM »
I like that. Definitely there is some interesting action to look at there.

Gotta love it running slowly.

ShopShoe

Offline crueby

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Re: Quarry Bank Mill Engine
« Reply #81 on: May 28, 2019, 06:19:43 PM »
Hi Jerry

I get my fly wheels from a firm in the UK, and they now stock part finished castings.

 https://www.rdgtools.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?WD=casting&PN=STEAM-ENGINE-7--FLYWHEEL-MACHINED-CASTING-COMPATIBLE-WITH-STUART-298379%2ehtml#SID=227

I think they will deliver to the US

Stew
Just went and checked out RDG, pretty nice selection, and yes they will ship to US.

Offline Captain Jerry

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Re: Quarry Bank Mill Engine
« Reply #82 on: May 28, 2019, 09:37:02 PM »
That knock that is so loud can barely be heard over the compressor when you are in the same room. Now I have two things to check out. Engine knock and compressor noise. I have another compressor that needs a new pump to tank hose.
NOTARY SOJAK

There are things that you can do and some things you can't do. Don't worry about it. try it anyway.

Offline Captain Jerry

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Re: Quarry Bank Mill Engine
« Reply #83 on: June 03, 2019, 04:33:04 AM »



I have gotten my other compressor working and I now have a reliable supply of 120 psi air.  I also dug through some drawers and came up with a bunch of control valves that I had made some years ago.  I found one of appropriate size for this engine and all it needs is a couple of transition pieces and it will look OK. 


Here is a view of the engine from a different viewpoint showing it running under the control of the valve and running smoothly at low speed.

https://youtu.be/BfhMy0f8rAM


This view shows a part of the model that needs a complete re-work.  The slide bearings and stands are badly out of character for the time period.  None of the photos that I have seen of this engine give a clear view of the stands.  Lighting and color make it very hard to see the actual shape and style of the stands but I am pretty sure that they weren't cobbled together from aluminum angle bar. They were probably cast iron and likely did not include brass slides but I have no idea of the shape. Any suggestions?


Jerry


« Last Edit: June 03, 2019, 04:52:27 AM by Captain Jerry »
NOTARY SOJAK

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Offline sbwhart

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Re: Quarry Bank Mill Engine
« Reply #84 on: June 03, 2019, 07:24:24 AM »
Gerry

The slide bearings are nothing more complicated than how you have built them simple cast angle brackets:- all you have to do is file all the sharp edges back with nice rads so that they look like cast iron parts.

Stew
A little bit of clearance never got in the way

Offline Captain Jerry

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Re: Quarry Bank Mill Engine
« Reply #85 on: June 03, 2019, 01:40:41 PM »
Stew


Thanks for the help.  A little bit of filing is within my abilities. Then I'll see if a little bit of paint helps to bring it together.


Jerry
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There are things that you can do and some things you can't do. Don't worry about it. try it anyway.

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Quarry Bank Mill Engine
« Reply #86 on: June 03, 2019, 03:09:36 PM »
It really is running smoothly Jerry even at low speed. Love all the motion too as others have noted already.  Well done.

Bill

Offline Captain Jerry

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Re: Quarry Bank Mill Engine
« Reply #87 on: June 07, 2019, 10:52:22 PM »
I think I have fiddled with this enough for a while.  I took Stew's advice and eased the edges of the slide bearing stands and I think it made a big difference.  I have more or less finished with the piping. The last thing that I have added is a quick connector for the air line. I really hate trying to push a plastic tube onto an engine to run it.  More than once, I have knocked an engine of it's stand or turned on the compressor and watched the tube blow off. The last frames of his video show my first attempt at a quick connector.  I will refine this a bit for the next version but it does work well.  There is another attempt using a wire clip to hold a connection together.  You can see the clip where the pipe joins the valve at the top of the engine.  I don't think I will try to make that one work out.


MVI_2288 by captain.jerry Ginn, on Flickr


https://www.flickr.com/photos/140341766@N06/48021225522/in/dateposted/


This is probably the last view I will post for a  while.  It is now time to start preparations for painting.  Black is nice but it has been done. I think I am favoring a very dark red if I can find it in a spray can.  A very deep green could work too.
« Last Edit: June 07, 2019, 10:58:08 PM by Captain Jerry »
NOTARY SOJAK

There are things that you can do and some things you can't do. Don't worry about it. try it anyway.

Offline crueby

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Re: Quarry Bank Mill Engine
« Reply #88 on: June 07, 2019, 11:30:01 PM »
The engine is running very well, like that connector too. Is there an o ring or something inside?

Offline Captain Jerry

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Re: Quarry Bank Mill Engine
« Reply #89 on: June 08, 2019, 12:10:37 AM »
The engine is running very well, like that connector too. Is there an o ring or something inside?


Chris



There is no O ring in the connector.  I thought about it but I couldn't put my finger on one the fight size.  It seems to hold air well, at least up to 50 psi which is the max I get out of my compressor at the moment.  This one is made from stock brass tubing so the fit is very good.


Jerry
NOTARY SOJAK

There are things that you can do and some things you can't do. Don't worry about it. try it anyway.

 

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