Model Engine Maker
Engines => From Plans => Topic started by: 90LX_Notch on April 12, 2015, 09:02:50 PM
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This is Elmer's Tiny done at 1/4 scale. I'm calling it "Ultra Tiny".
Bore: .046 (1.16)
Stroke: .046 (1.16)
Column height: .312 (7.94)
Ports: .013 (.33)
Center Distance of ports .023 (.58)
Crank Pin .016 (.41)
Fly Wheel Dia. .156 (3.96)
This thing has driven me crazy for years. I would walk away from it some times for over a year. It finally runs. I should make a new cylinder for it because the one on it has some blemishes; but, I'm going to leave it for now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdNC389vruY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJau0iNTYOg
-Bob
Edit 1/21/17- Added family picture of parts due to failure analysis from CF 2017.
6/3/18 added YouTube video from the repair.
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Having seen it in person this weekend Bob, I know how amazing (and tiny) it is. Looking forward to the video. The pictures are great but don't do it justice!!
Bill
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Awesome Bob and I wish you would of had it running at the show. That is truly amazing little engine and did I say tiny....................... :praise2: I will be waiting for the video.
Don
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Thanks Bill and Don. I just can't get the video to load up to YouTube. I've been trying off and on for hours. It just won't go. Our ISP always runs slow on Sundays. I think I'll call quits for now and try tomorrow.
-Bob
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Holy gnats knees, that thing is small! How did you tell what was swarf and what was the part you were making? Wow. Cant wait for the video - must sound like a hummingbird.
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Chris-
There were a lot of Boo-Boos with this one as well as a lot of lost pieces. You are right with the hummingbird analogy; that or a pesky bug, which is more like it for me. I have a love hate relationship with this one.
-Bob
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That is an amazingly tiny engine! Sorry I missed it in my video of Cabin Fever. There was a lot going on there. It was good to meet you!
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Bob
Amazing! Fantastic machining. You should get endorsement money from Bausch and Lomb. "Bob uses a Magnavisor...."
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Bob
Amazing! Fantastic machining. You should get endorsement money from Bausch and Lomb. "Bob uses a Magnavisor...."
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I can certainly understand the "love/hate" relationship you'd have with this project! At least the hard part is over and you can now bask in the success of your accomplishments. Well Done!
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Bob I thought I was a bit crazy tackling my small engine,! You sir are amazing, are you intending to provide the world with some detailed pictures of the parts and or a drawing.
When I read .046 bore and .046 stroke my jaw fell so far that I bumped the keyboard with my chin.
I love it when the bar gets raised, you put it pretty high up there.
Mike
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Magnificent work :praise2: :praise2:
In the last edition of Maschinen im Modellbau there was a modeller who made a series of 12 twin cylinder oscillating engines (1.1mm bore 1.2mm stroke) all of which fitted in a thimble. One was assembled with a boiler, the baseplate is about 30mm square (one matchstick by one matchstick).
http://www.vth.de/maschinen-im-modellbau/21016-bau-einer-mini-dampfanlage/
The link is in German but I hope the picture comes through.
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Paul- No problem. I think you came over when there were a few people asking about it. I'm sorry I didn't get to talk to you about your tach.
Stan- Thanks. I did use a Bausch and Lomb handheld magnifing glass that I bought at Rite Aid.
cwelkie- Thanks.
Mike- Thank you. Your's is amazing; it's i.c. this is only compressed air. The plans are Elmer's Tiny. The John-Tom site has them. I just multiplied everything by .25 to scale it down. It's a pretty faithful scaled down model from his original. I didn't use a coil spring because I couldn't find wire that small. I also didn't cross drill the .016 pivot for a retaining pin. I have just a few pictures that I'll post. I usually don't take many build pictures because I don't get a lot of shop time with three young kids, so when I do, I try make parts. I didn't raise the bar. There are other real small engines out there. That's why I didn't title the video "Worlds Smallest...." I think I can say it's one of the smallest, but not the smallest.
Roger- Thanks. Wow, you just have to love micro engines. That guy is real good.
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Some more pictures.
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Some early pictures. None of these parts made it the final engine. These were done on a Chinese Mini Lathe and Mill.
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Can you build me a steam powered Rolex?!
Took me a minute to realize that giant green blob was an m&m!
Awesome work!
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Congratulations on the build.
They sure test you're patience and you soon learn to keep the part on the parent stock as long as possible.
best wishes
frazer
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Thanks Frazer and yes it was a good test of patients.
Chris, thanks once again. A steam powered Rolex is beyond my abilities. There are people on this board that could do it I'm sure.
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Nice work Bob. I did get to see it at the show and was amazed at how small it really was. I'm glad that you finally got it running, congratulations :ThumbsUp:
Cheers,
Phil
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Thanks Phil, it was good to see you once again at the show.
-Bob
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That's Awesome! Nice! :ThumbsUp:
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Bob I checked your YouTube videos out and man that little engine purs bud. Great job and glad to have seen it at CF. :praise2:
Don
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I just did too Bob. You need to post the link on the sight even thought its easy enough to find on our youtube page. Truly amazing!!
Bill
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Thanks Dave, Don and Bill.
Bill I don't understand. I embedded the YouTube link in the first post. JavaScript needs to be enabled for people to see it in that first post. I'll see if I can get a plain link up. Thanks.
-Bob
I tried, it automatically puts it as embedded player. For people having trouble search Ultra Tiny or 90LX_Notch on You Tube.
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Now that is something to be proud of.
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Awesome Bob.
I remember seeing it at CF. I would have missed it had I not come up at the time people were talking about it.
A small suggestion for the next time you show...some big, really big, bright red arrows pointed towards the engine.
Maybe with some text like..."Yes...there's a working engine right here."
Anyone walking by would have thought it was a mere bit-o-brass. ;D
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If you want to see the video just click at the bottom of Bob's post he has a YouTube link this is how I saw it.
Don
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Here you go Bob...
[youtube1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdNC389vruY[/youtube1]
Bill
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Thank you Johnb.
Zee, you are absolutely correct about changing the way I displayed it. A lot of people at the show suggested to have it under a magnifying glass.
Thanks Bill. Maybe it's my equipment; but the link that you posted is, showing up as an embedded player like the one in my first post of this thread.
-Bob
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(Reposting from last weekend due to database loss.)
At Cabin Fever 2017 Ultra Tiny failed to run. Upon an investigation into why, I discovered that the flywheel under certain circumstances would bind with the base of the column. In order to correct this, I elected to shim the flywheel .003. This was done by building a punch and die set to produce the necessary shim. (See: http://www.modelenginemaker.com/index.php/topic,6812.0.html)
The reason that I have brought this thread back from the grave is that there were a few people at Cabin Fever that expressed building a 1/4 scale Tiny. I am going to include the reassembly of the engine going forward.
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The first order was to fix the flywheel bind and reassemble the lower end.
Picture one shows the shim on the crank.
Picture two shows a slight .028 counterbore that I added to the fly wheel. This was done to create a pocket for the super glue to set in.
Picture three shows the crank and flywheel reassembled.
Note- Due to the size of the engine I elected to use loctite and super glue when originally assembling it two years ago. The other areas where they were used will be forthcoming as I further reassemble the engine.
As of today I am debating wheather or not to make a new cylinder. The original has a blemish on it that has bugged me from day one.
-Bob
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Looking forward to seeing it reassembled and running Bob. I remember seeing the body of it a few years back at CF, so I know how small it really is!!!
Bill
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I haven't had much shop time as of late but I did manage to Loctite the nipple in.
It's pretty straight forward. I used a piece of .020 music wire with an angle ground onto it as an applicator to prevent the Loctite from closing the port off. The nipple was held with a pair of tweezers and the music wire was dipped into a puddle of Loctite. This allowed for a small amount of Loctite to be dabbed around the nipple. The nipple was then gently pressed into the column and any excess Locite was wiped away.
The engine was then placed in a jar that has a hole drilled in the top and vacuum was applied using a hand held vacuum pump. This insures that the Loctite will totally cure.
Red Loctite was chosen because originally the nipple was a press fit which failed. Before Cabin Fever I had dabbed some superglue around the nipple; but, that did not work as the nipple became unseated at CF. The Red Loctite is nice because it isn't an instant bond which allows for adjustment of assemblies. Also, excess can be wiped away for a cleaner appearence.
-Bob
Ps: Slowly getting there Bill.
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Interesting trick with the vacuum jar Bob. Can your really tell a difference in the cure time? Boy that engine is well.....um.....Tiny!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bill
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At one show I attended there was an older guy who had an engine about that size mounted to a finger ring. A tiny hose ran up the sleeve of his shirt to a rubber bulb in his armpit. A bit of chicken dancing and he had the engine running. I've also seen something similar done with the engine mounted on a tie clip but who wears ties to engine shows these days?
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Bill- When I originally assembled it two years ago I found that the Loctite would not cure even after two days. I had used it on the pivot pin for the cylinder and it would just pull out. Then it hit me, it must be anaerobic. That is when I came up with putting it in a vacuum container overnight.
Marv- I've seen the tie clip engine at CF. It is about the size of the 1/2 scale Tiny that I did years ago. This is half the size of that one. I like the ring idea. The stone on my college class ring is a .500 x .375 ellipse. This engine could actually fit underneath it with room to spare. The ring would make a good back drop for a picture.
-Bob
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Man you really have to be careful with the parts. So easy to toss out with the swarf.
Looking forward to the run.
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Bill- When I originally assembled it two years ago I found that the Loctite would not cure even after two days. I had used it on the pivot pin for the cylinder and it would just pull out. Then it hit me, it must be anaerobic. That is when I came up with putting it in a vacuum container overnight.
-Bob
Bob I have to remember this trick I knew Loctite only sets up with the absence of air and presence of (is it copper ions) any way never ever gave it a thought about creating a vacuum chamber :praise2:
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Karl- Boy do you have that right about being careful with the parts. During this process I lost the original pivot for the cylinder. So, I made a new one. I picked it up with tweezers and didn't have it quite right. The new one shot out of the tweezers to never be heard from again.
This did run the first time I put air to it (see YouTube video in this thread). That was the only time that I ran it prior to this year's Cabin Fever. I am pretty sure I know why it failed to run this year. I would dip it in airtool oil to lubricate it. I believe the airtool oil attacked the superglue because the flywheel had loosened up.
Doc- It took me a while to figure it, but it solved the problem. It was one of those "duh" moments.
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During the dissassembly to figure out what went wrong, the pivot pin pulled out. It is .016 x .150 and was originally cut to final length when the engine was assembled for the first time with wire cutters. This caused a problem by leaving a burr at the end of the pivot that would not pull through the column. Something had to give and it was the pin pulling out of the cylinder. This created a challenge for reassembly. A fixture was made that would allow the pin to be set to the correct depth in the cylinder and insure that it was square. The same techniques for applying and curing Loctite to the nipple were used for the pin and cylinder.
Picture One shows the cylinder, pin and fixture.
Picture Two shows the pin's height being set.
Picture Three shows the cylinder against the face of the fixture after being pressed onto the pin.
Picture Four shows the final results.
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I almost threw the damn thing across the shop this morning and called it quits. I put the cylinder and piston together and mounted them on the engine. Everything turned nicely. I made a new retaining collar and put that on the end of the pivot. I set the collar and everything was good. My compressor is unavailable right now; but, I was able to use the handheld vacuum pump by switching the hose to the outlet port to send air to the engine. It was enough to push the piston down. Great! Everything looked like a go.
So, I setup the tire inflator and said what the heck, we'll see if it will run. Well, while I was trying to get it to go the flywheel loosened up again. The super glue will just not work the way I did it with the counter bore. Okay, dab a little on the crank and set the flywheel, then use the Loctite to fill the c'bore. That seemed like a great plan. During the execution of said plan, the super glue instantly bonded the flywheel to the crank. The only problem was that this occured at the very end of the crank. No problem, a little acetone should fix that. Well, it didn't want to loosen up like the other times I used acetone. You could hear the air escape from my lungs. I kept at it and finally did get the flywheel off.
This time I used the Loctite on the flywheel. I hope I got it right because that will be a real PIA to undo. It's in the jar curing now. I'm going to see if I can retrieve my compressor so that I have a better chance of getting the engine to run during the next attempt.
-Bob
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I almost threw the damn thing across the shop this morning and called it quits.
I'm happy you didn't. Keep at it! :ThumbsUp:
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Perhaps you could make a key by drilling a small hole in the flywheel and shaft so that it makes a half-round hole in each. Then use a piece of drill rod or music wire the size of the hole and push it in. You might need a bit of loc-tite or super-glue to keep it in place, but maybe not if it is a press fit. Another option would be to tap the hole and use a screw. Maybe two at 180 degrees for balance.
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Thanks Carl.
Paul- The flywheel is steel and is only .047 wide, .156 od with a .020 bore. The crankshaft is .020 dia. If you can do a Dutchman on that you will be my hero.
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Put it down for a while Bob, take a deep breath, and then keep going. Its such a unique little engine it deserves to be finished and shown off. You will get it I am sure. I wouldn't even attempt it in that size.
Bill
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We're good Bill. It's assembled. I retrieved my compressor.
The hard line from the pump to the distribution tee ruptured due to ice. That's fixed. The compressor still works. Tomorrow I plan to try to run it. If it runs you'll hear the "hooray" down in NC. Heck, Jo will hear it across the pond.
What drives me nuts is that it did run. I never changed anything.
-Bob
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What drives me nuts is that it did run. I never changed anything.
That happens so often to me at work. What? It works now? But I didn't do anything.
Usually it means you did. Might be the same steps. But a different order.
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I had never heard of the term "Dutchman" for a round shaft key. I found this:
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general-archive/round-keys-keyways-will-work-89082/index2.html
I guess I just don't have a good sense of how small this thing is. The close-up images make it look bigger than it is. So the only other things I can think of are (1) shrink the hole in the flywheel by peening it so the shaft is a press fit, (2) expand the diameter of the shaft by mechanical means or plating, (3) making the shaft and the flywheel from an easily soldered material like copper or brass.
Good luck. It's an amazing piece of micro-machining!
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No joy.
"This time I used the Loctite on the flywheel. I hope I got it right because that will be a real PIA to undo. "
That was my prophetic statement of the day. The crank is locked up. It's soaking in acetone right now. So far, a one hour soak has had no effect on the Loctite. If that doesn't work I'll try the soldering iron next.
Paul- I've considered a press fit but am afraid of bending the crank. I do have a mechanical idea that should solve the whole flywheel problem. The only problem would be that it strays from Elmer's original design. When I set out to do this thing the idea was to make it as close to possible to Elmer's drawing.
-Bob
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Well darn Bob. Heat should loosen the Loctite but the issue then is holding such small parts to pull them apart. It can still take some force to do so and trying not to scar up the parts in the process of getting them apart is the issue I have had when doing so. Hang in there though, you will beat it yet!!
Bill
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Success in getting it apart!
The flywheel is now blue, but it is off. The crank was a pain. Too much of a heat sink present with the column, but I stayed at it. There's a nice burn on my finger but it is well worth it if I don't have to remake any parts. I still have to check the crank and make sure it didn't get "tweaked".
I'm going to take a little break from it for now. I need to machine something and have some type of success.
-Bob
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And, for your next act, you're going to build a 1/4 scale model of this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3KdpzL3Hkk
We'll be waiting anxiously.
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Touche' Marv.
-Bob
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Chuckle, Chuckle,
But Marv, I wanted to see him build the little tiny wheel puller.
ShopShoe
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That would have been "a walk in the park" ShopShoe.
-Bob
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And the journey ends....
It runs once again. Hopefully it stays running this time. I shot some video, but I don't know how it turned out. Now I have to find the correct cable to upload to YouTube, so it might be a day or two.
Picture one is it sitting still.
Picture two shows the blur of the crank while it is running.
Picture three is it next to a standard USB cable connector. I hope that it might be a universal size indicator.
Picture four is for Marv. I made sure to have the engine in the same plane as the stone. The earlier M&M picture never really gave an accurate size indication because the engine was forward of the M&M due to to the parent stock (3/8 bar). This caused the engine to look bigger then it actually is.
I would like to thank the members of MEM for their support.
-Bob
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Awesome Bob. Glad you got the problems sorted out and fixed, hopefully for good as you say :) Now to find a place to keep it where it won't get "lost" :pinkelephant:
Bill
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"Picture four is for Marv"
What, did you think I doubted how small it is? I didn't but the picture is still a good one. Next picture of a miniature I take I'll have to use my Brass Rat as a size reference. I normally use a penny because they're exactly 0.75" diameter.
Villanova, huh? I always heard good things about it up in the intellectual tundra of Allentown but never visited the campus. In what did you major there?
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Bill- Thanks.
Marv-I never doubted that you understood the size. When you mentioned that you had seen a ring size engine it gave me the idea to pull out my ring. Even I was shocked when I realized that it could fit under the stone. I just thought it would make a neat picture.
I majored in Geography with a concentration in Urban. At that time, I was interested in becoming either a Phd or an urban planner. I wound up working in Quality for a 2nd tier defense contractor when I left grad school. The rest is history. The higher education opened the door into management; but, it was the two years of metal shop and two of auto shop in high school that set my career on it's way.
-Bob
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That is a most amazing little engine. Well done!! :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp:
Pete
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Thank you Pete. Hopefully, it stays running this time.
-Bob
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Bob, impressive work, you have obviously got lots more patience than I. A coincidence - before I saw the ring I hadn't heard of Villanova Uni (I'm on the other side of the pond) but this evening, on the radio, they interviewed the cosmologist Sean Carroll who did his first degree at guess where.
Steve.
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Thanks Steve.
Wow, he was there at the same time I was. I don't recognize him from the Wiki photo; but I'd bet that our paths crossed back then. It's not a big place.
-Bob
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Wow, Bob. That is SMALL! I knew it was small from the pictures and discussion, but seeing it next to the USB connector really did it for me. The ring was good to, of course. Nice picture! But I can relate to the USB connector quite well! That thing is small.
Kim
PS Don't sneeze!
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Splendid :praise2: :praise2: Your perseverence paid off :wine1:
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Yeah gods Bob that's small!
Hope you don't suffer from hay fever or Chris elves will have a new toy!
Magic work!
Cheers Kerrin
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Thank you for the compliments gentlemen.
I don't have a new video yet. I was able to locate the cable. However, I am not happy with the video I shot Tuesday.
Tuesday night we had a family medical situation that involved the ER. Everything thankfully turned out fine with that situation but it was scary. Today everyone is home due to a snow storm; so shooting a video is out.
-Bob
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You guys stay warm, Bob. Looks pretty bad from what I am hearing down here in the sunny south. It was in the low 70's yesterday.
Bill
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Bill,
We only got around nine inches. East of us is supposed to get more. We are going down to 14* F tonight. Yesterday around noon we were in the high 50's with blue skies. Go figure.
Bob
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So, I made a new video and I am getting an error message when I try to upload it to YouTube. "Unexpected error....". According to their "trouble shooting guide" it is on their part and to try again. I did, several times, and it won't go.
I'm using an old PC running Vista which may be a contributing factor. Technology is just great until it doesn't work.
-Bob
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This is the best I can do at this time. At least it shows it running.
-Bob
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COVLVZxshjI
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Great job Bob. It sounds like a mad bee in a thimble :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp:. I think YouTube is on the fritz, been getting error messages this evening myself.
Cletus
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Awesome Bob...I love it!! Sorry about the video issues but it shows up fine on the forum. Quite an accomplishment that one is!! :praise2: :praise2:
Bill
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That is just incredible!
Even though you mentioned the size, it wasn't till I saw that picture with the ring that it sunk in.
Wow!
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What a great little engine :)
I'd be curious to know what kinda a rpm it must be running at when it buzzes away like a bee.
I couldn't resist doing the maths - I reckon it's just over 1/1000 of a cc capacity !
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Wow! that's amazing!
Dave
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Thanks gentlemen.
Hopefully, it is that YouTube is on the fritz. More then likely, it is my outdated pc. The clip above was shot with my iPad. I don't have an editor for it; so, I have to keep it simple.
It's a shame because I found some machining videos of the engine that I included in the edited video on the pc.
-Bob
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That's impressive, Bob! That's gotta be the biggest knurled knob I've ever seen! It must be at least 3 feet across and probably must weigh 100 lbs! Thanks for putting your wobbler on it to give it some perspective.
OK kidding aside..............that is a really impressive build. Well done. I hope you're able to post some machining videos.
Jim
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That is mighty impressive, Bob!
Thanks for posting the video. It does sound like a bee, doesn't it? ;)
Kim
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Damn Bob missed your post but just say your video. That is one small engine and is that the same one you were working on that I seen at CF a couple of years back? Very nice work by the way..... :praise2:
Don
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Thanks Jim and Kim. It's not looking good for the "trapped" videos. I've definitely got stung by this bee!
Yes Don it is. I ran it for the first time the the next day after that show. It had a hiccup this year so I took it apart and fixed it. Right now it runs great. I hope it stays that way.
-Bob
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Bob I just watched the little blighter. that is amazing so what are you going to run with it? a small water pump perhaps? :lolb:
Mike
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Update-
I just added the YouTube video to the first post of this thread that I made in February 2017 of the repair that I was unable to post at that time. It also includes some pictures and video from when the engine was originally being built.
-Bob
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Still an amazing piece of work Bob. Thanks for adding this latest video!!
Bill