Vertical hit and miss engine

[Brian Rupnow]

Thank you Jason.  I've sent him off an email.---Brian

[Brian Rupnow]

After a long and eventful war with Paypal, I ordered the rings from the source Jason suggested.--thank you.

[Brian Rupnow]

After a two day break from machining, I came down to my shop this morning and made two brass valve cages and two 1018 cold rolled steel valves. I haven't trimmed the valves to length yet, as I have to drill  the 0.039" cross holes in the valve stems for spring retainers, and still have to lap the valves into their seats, which are part of the cages.

[Brian Rupnow]

I'm trying something a little different here. I have always, in the past, drilled a 0.039" cross hole thru the end of the valve stem for a short piece of 1 millimeter round stock to keep the spring retainer from flying off. Last year I bought a hundred 1/8" circlips and 100 3/16" circlips, and I also bought the special tools to install them. The tools are really great and make installing the circlips very easy.--So--This time I have put a 0.025" wide slot in the ends of the valve stems and I will be using circlips instead of the 1 mm round stock.

[Johnmcc69]

I'll be interested in how well those "circlips" will hold up. I don't think it's a good idea/application to use them as part of the valve train.

 John

[Jasonb]

E-clips have worked OK for me in the past and quite a few others

[Ian S C]

E-clips should be ok as long as they are like JasonB's ones ,set in a pocket so they can't expand and pop off.
Ian S C

[Craig DeShong]

Wow Brian, last time I looked at this thread it was still pretty much in design.  You sure have been busy!!!
Nice work and a nice looking engine.

[Brian Rupnow]

I said in my earlier post that I was using circlips to hold the keeper and spring in place on my valves. After a check of the names of these things, it seems that they are called "e-clips". They are small---Very damned small. Knowing the disaster which will be caused if one of these things flys off, I have redesigned the keeper plate. It now has a recess in the outer face, 3/16" diameter x .035" deep. The e-clip fits right down into the recess and can't fly off.

[Jasonb]

Brian. they should have a third point of contact on them which makes thel look like a letter "e" as used for Euro. See attached file

[Brian Rupnow]

The valves have been lapped and cut away from the parent material. Valve spring keeper plates, valve springs, and e-clips have been installed. Valves have been match marked so I don't mix them up. I may have to play with spring strengths when I get farther into this, but those springs were ones I had in a "kit". Whatever type of clip this is, it should work well when setting down in a recess in the spring retainer as you see here.

[Brian Rupnow]

Just to set the record straight, those are neither circlips nor e-clips. They are sold by Spae-Naur and are called "external retaining rings". They are the R2000 series.

[gbritnell]

Brian,
If you do a Google search for external retaining ring you will find that it's a ring with an enlarged area on both of the open ends. In the enlarged areas are holes for snap ring pliers. The body of the ring is also widened opposite the open ends to give it more strength.
What you are using is an E clip, at least by searching for it.
gbritnell

[Brian Rupnow]

George--Every manufacturer has a different name for what is basically the same thing. E-clip, snap ring, retaining ring, or circlip. there are minor differences, but the rings are all designed to do the same thing.

[Jasonb]

not seen those ones before Brian, looks like they should still do the job.