Crossley Otto Langen

[Craig DeShong]

Andy: Thanks for the compliment, and thanks for adding a little more humor to this thread.

Thanks also to those of you stopping by to mark the progress.

Today I started making the piston rings.  The rings are made of cast iron and the model requires two of them.  If you’ve followed some my previous build threads, this procedure will look familiar to you… but with a slight twist that I’ll get to, when we get there.

I always make more blanks that I need rings.  Lots can go wrong and if you have some extra blanks, you don’t have to go back to the beginning and make more.  I usually loose one or two along the way and this build was no different.

The first step in making rings is to make the ring blanks.  These are thicker and wider than the finished ring.  Here I’ve faced off a piece of cast iron and I’m starting to work it down to the required OD.



With the correct OD of the blank established, I’m working toward the required ID.



And now parting off the individual ring blanks.



This is where the Otto Langen rings are a bit different than standard IC engine rings.  As you can see, the ring gap is cut on a diagonal; at least the original one’s I’ve seen are.  I’m doing this with the model too.  The diagonal ring gap must help seal the ring from gap leakage, especially as the ring wears.



Below, a photo of the completed ring blanks.



The first step in bringing these ring blanks to size is to get them to the correct width.  My surfacing machine was made for this kind of work.




As the ring gap is closed, the round blank is pulled out of round.  To machine the correct OD of the ring you need to make a fixture.  To use this fixture the ring is compressed so the ring gap is removed (I use a radiator clamp) and then the compressed ring is placed in the fixture and the clamp is drawn down tight onto the ring so it can’t expand back.




Here’s a photo of a ring blank installed in the fixture, ready to begin working the ring blank down to the correct OD.



I lost one of my blanks when the lathe tool picked an edge of the ring gap and pried the ring out of the fixture, shattering it.  I’m down to three but I only need two. Here’s a photo of the ring blanks so far.  They have the correct width and OD.


The last procedure is to establish the correct ID.  For this you need to make another fixture.  I’ll be working toward that end tomorrow.

[mike mott]

Wow there is quite a lot of work to make these rings.

Mike

[gbritnell]

Great work on the rings? I only used this method once and now use the Trimble method most of the time.
They're both a lot of work!
gbritnell

[Roger B]

Piston rings are fun  I have my way which is probably not the best but it works for me. I use a heat treatment jig and a skimming jig. The Trimble system seems too hand skill dependant 

[Craig DeShong]

Mike If you think this was a lot of work, wait till you see this post
George: I agree, lots of work.  I’ve never tried the Trimble method, probably ought to read up.
Roger: Yep, piston rings are a pain in the arse fun.  There seems to be a few different ways to make piston rings.  From time to time I hear of new ways/modifications to old ways.

Thanks for your comments; and thanks to those who just stop by to see the going-on.

Today I finished up the piston rings.  I didn’t break any more so I have one extra.  If you’ve followed my previous posts I’ve detailed making rings with this method before; however that was with rings with a “standard” ring gap, not one of these cut on a slant.  In those methods I used a “collet” type holder to compress the ring and hold it by the outside diameter while I brought the inside diameter to size.  I can’t do that with these rings because with the slant ring gap, the ring ends just slide by each other.

I’ve devised a different type of holder/clamp to use for these type rings which I show below.   



The idea is to insert the ring into the fixture fully compressed, and then screw a ring clamp onto the fixture to hold the ring securely against the fixture while the inside diameter is brought to size.

Here you see the first part of the two part fixture in the lathe with a ring placed within it.




And this photo shows the same fixture but with the ring clamp threaded onto it and tightened down, ready to begin bringing the inside diameter of the ring to proper size.




This photo appears to be the same as above, but in it I’ve used a boring bar to bring the ring to correct inside diameter.




In this photo, the ring clamp has been removed with the ring still in place.  You can see the ring is much thinner than in the third photo back. 




Here I give a photo of the three completed rings.  Since I need only two I have an extra which is always handy in case I break one in installation.




This is a photo with a ring inserted in the cylinder bore.




And finally a photo with both rings installed and the piston inserted in the cylinder.




The piston slides fairly easily in the bore but no longer slides freely in the bore; there’s a bit of resistance that keeps the piston from dropping down to the bottom of the bore as it should.  I’ll need to oil the assembly and run the piston in and out some which should free things up.

[awake]

Great fixture to do the rings!

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[Craig DeShong]

Thanks for the comment Andy; thanks also to those taking the time to stop by and see the latest…

I’ve been whittling away on the uprights over the past few days.  These are the columns that sit on the platform above the cylinder and support the shafts and most of the mechanics.  In the full size they are part of the top casting but would be nearly impossible to fabricate in one unit without using castings on the model.

I designed some “style” to these; that style doesn’t exactly mimic the castings they represent but should carry the same “flavor”.  To implement this “style” is taking a bit of work but should enhance the finished appearance of the model; at least that’s the hope.

There is a left and right upright, both are unique to themselves. 

You have the start somewhere, so after I rough sized the material I drilled and tapped all the required mounting holes.




Here I’ve started rough shaping the left upright.




Here I’m shaping the other side.  Looks like the same photo but not so because the uprights are not symmetric about the center axis.




Now begins the tedious work of forming these reduced circumferences.  My rotary milling head made this job much easier than using a turntable.




Here I show the right upright with the circumferences complete.  The drawing shows a lot more work is required before I can call this piece complete.




So you can see where I’m going with this, I’ve placed the partially formed left and right upright on the platform that sits atop the cylinder.  I still need to make the journal caps (which will get a similar “style” treatment as the uprights.  After they are complete and attached I’ll drill and ream the journal pockets.

[Craig DeShong]

Thanks for stopping by to see the goings-on.

Over the past few days I’ve continued working on the uprights I started on the last post.  I haven’t shown any progress because it’s just been more of the same meticulous work; you'd see more milling but I'm not sure the end result would have been obvious.

I’m happy to declare that I’ve completed the work on these uprights and am ready to move on to the next phase… haven’t decided what that will be as yet, probably by tomorrow morning I’ll have some idea after thinking on it some.

Below I’ve included a few photos of the uprights, installed on the upper platform.

Below is a photo of the right upright; the more complicated of the two.  You can see the journal pocket for the main shaft in in the rear while the journal pocket for the secondary shaft is in the front.  The arm protruding out the front provides a pivot for the starter lever.  The Crossley Otto Langen, because of the way it’s constructed, can be started with a lever that rotates the inner core of the secondary shaft, cycles the valve and lifts the piston.  This allows the engine to fire without rotating the flywheel to start the engine.  I’m hoping I can reproduce this with this model.


Below I provide another view; this view includes both the left and right uprights.




Below, a closer look at the left upright.



Finally I give you a photo of the assembly sitting atop the cylinder.

[Dave Otto]

Impressive work Craig!

Dave

[Johnmcc69]

 
Very nice! That's a lot of work in there!
 
 John

[awake]

That is some intricate work, especially the right hand side!

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[Craig DeShong]

Dave, John, and Andy; thanks for your comments.  It’s GREAT to get comments.  (To everyone: I appreciate your opinions, words of wisdom, suggestions, etc. as much as the complements.  I’ll remind you that this is my hobby; it wasn’t my occupation so all the above from the more experienced  is welcomed. ) 

Thanks also to those of you that silently stop by to see the progress.

I haven’t posted an update for a while, but I have been busy.  I had to cut the thickness of the piston rings down  to get the piston to slide smoothly through the bore with minimum resistance.  Unlike engines with a connecting rod; with the Otto Langen the weight of the piston and rack must be sufficient to allow the piston to return to the bottom of the cylinder, yet still be able to seal the cylinder under pressure.  It’s a delicate balance.

I also cut the drive gear and attached it to the clutch I made WAY up thread; then made the drive shaft and bearing races.  Since the bearings on the main shaft are needle bearings the bearing races need to be hardened which I accomplished with some “cherry red”.  I then assembled the components as you can see in the video below.

At that point it was time to test to make sure the main shaft turned freely in the bearings, the rack engaged positively in the drive gear, and the whole mechanism would run freely without binding.  As you can see from the video, I’ve accomplished all that and I’m quite happy with the progress.

Rotating the main shaft in reverse engages the clutch and lifts the piston and rack.  The main shaft spins freely in the bearings and clutch in the forward direction and the piston will fall to the bottom of the cylinder (the bottom of the cylinder is open) engaging the clutch and rotating the main shaft.
   
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Lu9dnbRZsw" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Lu9dnbRZsw</a>

[Craig DeShong]

Thanks for stopping by to see the progress

I decided I would tackle the flywheels next.  They needed to be put on a strict diet  to get them down to the size of Otto Langen flywheels.  Though the Otto Langen flywheels are large, they are somewhat spindly compared to those on the average hit-and-miss engine. 

Since the flywheels I purchased are much larger than needed, considerable material needs to be removed to get them down to a scale size. 

I mounted the casting on my faceplate and then removed nearly a quarter inch from the side of the casing.  I worked from the inside-out so I wouldn’t inadvertently catch the clamps holding the casting to the faceplate near the end of the cut.




After reducing the thickness on the one side I reversed the casting on the faceplate and did the same to the other side.

With the flywheel to the correct width I worked on removing material, working the diameter down to the ten inches required.



I then drilled and bored the center hole for the axle and made a final pass on each side to profile the sides correctly.

The result is a flywheel that closely resembles the Crossley Otto Langen.  A purest might say the spokes are out of scale but I’m happy with the result.

Here you see a before/after shot of the finished flywheel and the raw casting together.  Now I need to machine the other of the two flywheels.

[crueby]

Well done - thats a lot of metal off!

[Brian Rupnow]

Craig--You are doing a lot of nice work on an engine which I know very little about. I am following your posts with great interest, and kind of wishing you lived close enough for me to drop by and see your neat stuff.---Brian