Model Engine Maker

Engines => From Plans => Topic started by: Bearcar1 on July 22, 2012, 09:43:34 PM

Title: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on July 22, 2012, 09:43:34 PM
  Some 45+ years ago, while in attendance of my Grandfather's funeral, I ran across an article that was featured in the January 1963 issue of Popular Mechanics on building a small vertical steam engine. Now being just a young lad at that time and having attained a love for steam engines from hanging around with Grandpa in the shop, I was certain I could build one and dreamed about how cool that would be. The only problem was, how? I did not want to ask my Dad to take time away from his work and the availability and cost of materials at that time was pretty scarce, so I settled upon making one in my head and spent hours on end for days at a time looking at the drawings and daydreaming about it. Over time, other things in life came along and my interest was drawn away from the matter but still, through all the years since that time, that engine article has surfaced several times to once again re-kindle my inner desire of building one. Just recently, I was at a visitation service and while there, ran into a friend of mine and his young grandson Ryan. On the drive home, for whatever reason, I began to think about my Grandfather and that engine article once again. Ryan was about the same age as I was when I found that article and I thought why not build the thing and give it to him as a present. The fact that I now had both the tooling and the skill sets needed for just such a project, and a motivation, by the time I got home I had convinced myself this would be my next project. So, pull up a thumb *ahem* chair and have a seat, 'coz  here we go.

After scrounging around in the seconds drawers, I came up with a nasty looking remnant of and old "who knows what that was" piece of 3/16" steel plate and I proceeded to cut the base part out. First I had to use a torch to soften up whatever coating was on the piece and scrape it off, followed by some judicious chain drilling and a rather lengthy session of character building (using a file) to arrive at what is shown. Not much to look at but it is a good start.
(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_1base.jpg)

BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: lazylathe on July 22, 2012, 09:56:27 PM
This looks lie it will be a fun project Bill!

Consider the chair pulled up, front and centre!


Andrew
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Dean W on July 22, 2012, 10:11:47 PM
Hi Jim.  I remember when Pop Mech used to have actual cool mechanical stuff, like steam engines!  It's neat that you
thought of that all these years later.
You did a nice job of "character building" on that piece.  Off to a good start.   :)
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on July 22, 2012, 11:25:58 PM
Thanks Andrew, it should be a fun ride. Glad to have you along.

Dean, you as well. Yes, PM magazine did have some neat articles once upon a time, model rockets, steam engines, simple toys, everything a kid could dream of. As far as the character building, I dunno about that last part but DOG GONNIT do my hands ache  from it!  :o ;D


I did some more poking around in the drawer and came up with a few more bits and bobs that I think I can use in this project. A length of brass bar for the cylinder, the beginnings of a flywheel from some long ago abandoned project and a bronze bearing bush from an old tractor along with a short drop of steel I plan to use for the crankshaft. That round slug is a piece of nickel alloy that was the cutout from some decorative moulding used on the old financial trading floor of the Chicago Board of Trade building so this project will possess a wee bit of historical virtue. I plan to use it as the crank disk. 8)
(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_2parts.JPG)

Thanks for looking guys.

BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: zeeprogrammer on July 24, 2012, 01:42:03 AM
Very nice story and the engine will be a nice present.

Popular Mechanics always got my imagination going when I was a kid. But the only article I can remember was a project for building your own submarine. It was nothing more than a fiberglass pod with releasable ballast. A float was attached by pipes hinged on either side. Drew in air from one float to the other.

Do you have a picture of the engine?
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on July 25, 2012, 03:20:16 AM
Thanks Carl, I'll see if I can put a picture of the best together or find the link to get to the magazine article. Your submarine article sounds to have been a bit, um, how should we say, dangerous? Be my luck the thing would spring a leak and go to the bottom of the lake.  :hellno:

BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: arnoldb on July 25, 2012, 06:41:49 PM
That's a good start Jim  :)

I'm really looking forward to the rest of your build  :ThumbsUp:

Kind regards, Arnold
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: NickG on July 25, 2012, 06:48:24 PM
Nice work Jim and nice story, looking forward to seeing more.  :ThumbsUp:

Nick
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on July 26, 2012, 01:20:51 AM
  Thanks Arnold, and thanks Nick, I appreciate the company. Work finally became available for me for the remainder of this week and maybe next so things will be going a bit on the slow side till then. I did however out how I am going to go about the cylinder standards. I am going to make them from some mystery stainless steel sheet that I found in the dumpster (that's the tip) for our friends across the Atlantic, or Pacific for that matter I guess, depending upon how the wind is blowing.  :cheers: I'm still rummaging around for a picture per Zeep's request  :ThumbsUp:.

BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Pete49 on July 26, 2012, 03:40:47 AM
If it is the one I built it will be a fun engine. To save getting the camera out there is a good article on this site http://john-tom.com/index.html    saves trying to find the magazine as well. ;D
Hope this helped zeeper
Pete
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: zeeprogrammer on July 26, 2012, 11:51:38 AM
Thanks Pete. I've been on that site a few times. Lot's of interesting stuff.

Your link takes me to the home page but I don't know what I'm looking for. Did I miss something in an earlier post (other than Pop Mech 1963)?
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on July 27, 2012, 12:56:50 AM
Say Pete, thanks. I did not realize that John-Toms had the drawings available.

   Zeep', you didn't miss anything, click on that link and go to 'page three' of the engines. Scroll down to the article named "Midget Steam Engine" and there it is. The image depicts an elder gentleman, trying to blow himself up firing a crude pressure vessel for a young man that is probably thinking the old geezer  :old:  is nuts for attempting to do so in such a manner. :ShakeHead: That article captured my imagination a long time ago, and I've always had a soft spot in my heart  :Love: for it ever since.

BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Pete49 on July 27, 2012, 04:24:27 AM
No worries Jim. The boiler is an item I decided to give a miss, just didn't look or sound safe I use air but will make a boiler one day but to modelling regs. Having said that I look at my old model with a vertical boiler and never worry about it steaming u but I guess soft solder and brass sheet is safer than steel pipe  :mischief: Quote "That article captured my imagination a long time ago, and I've always had a soft spot in my heart for it ever since." end quote says it all
Pete
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: zeeprogrammer on July 27, 2012, 11:16:18 AM
Found it. Thanks Jim.

I remember articles like that as a kid. Always inspiring.
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on July 28, 2012, 04:23:11 PM
 Oe of the design features of this engine, that even as a kid I did not think was a very good approach, was the main bearing standard. As shown on the drawings, it is merely a piece of .0625" aluminum sheet stock that gets folded into a deep "U" channel with a flange on either side to secure it to the base. Now that isn't so bad I suppose, provided that the builder has access to a metal brake and is careful in making certain everything is square. The article suggests using a block of wood as a former, but I could just imagine myself as a youngster doing that and winding up with something looking more like impressionist art than an actual useable part. The other thing that concerned me was the method used to secure the main bearing in place, an unspecified size machine screw threaded through the top of that thin sheet metal. I mean SERIOUSLY? :shrug: Anyway, the only real thing to be concerned with was the distance from the top of the base to the center of the crankshaft. I set out to come up with what I thought to be a better construction method and after drawing up several designs that would work, I settled upon what is being presented here. I began by cutting off a lump of 1.500" square brass and cleaning up the cut edge by facing it off in the lathe. Then I flipped the piece around in the chuck and faced that end down until the piece was .9375", the critical distance mentioned earlier.
   I Took the piece out of the chuck and after laying out the center, the piece was remounted using a sacrificial block as I was going to bore out a hole .625" to accept the bearing that I had already prepared.

(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_3bore.JPG)

Boring continued until I had a nice slip fit with the bearing.

(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_4borea.JPG)

It got late so I stopped for the night and will continue in the A.M.

BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: vcutajar on July 28, 2012, 09:45:32 PM
Hi Jim

Just found this build log and will be following you on your journey.

Vince
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on July 29, 2012, 04:30:53 AM
 Hi Vince, glad to have you along for the ride.   :atcomputer: After completing the boring operation on the bearing pedestal last night, I was left with a half-hole in the top of the lump where the main bearing would rest. I did some more layout and located and drilled through at six locations to provide for the mounting studs. It was easier to do now when the part was just a square lump.  At that point, it was into the mill to do some profiling with a ball nosed end mill. This operation took a bit of time as shallow depth cuts were the order of the day. One will notice the round bar I used in front of the moving jaw of the vise, this insures that the piece is held squarely against the fixed jaw. Once this slot was finished, the part was turned over and the same slot was mirrored on the opposite side.

(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_5mill.JPG)

BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: cfellows on July 29, 2012, 03:53:24 PM
I started collecting Popular Science and Popular Mechanics magazines when I was a kid back in the 1950's.  I managed to accumulate most issues from the 1930's up until the 1970's when they changed format and became a lot less interesting.  A few years back I gave the collection to a good friend who had a young son that I thought might get some good from them.  Now I think most issues of the older magazines are available for viewing on Google Books. 

Nice work on this engine, Jim.  Can't wait to see what it's going to look like!

Chuck
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on July 29, 2012, 05:53:41 PM
Thanks Chuck, and a good thing you did with your magazine collection. (I wish I was that kid) I can distinctly remember, as a young lad,  going to the library in our small town and anxiously checking the rack to see if the latest issue of Popular Science and Popular Mechanics had arrived. Also, the place was air conditioned so it was a great place to hang out in the summer months.  :happyreader:

 During the last session in the shop, I did some more layout on the part and returned it to the mill to profile the two opposite sides to get a "waisted" effect. In order to prevent any distortion of the part, I placed a .625" piece of round stock in the half round hole and tightened up the vise. This piece has already been through several design changes and will most likely go through some more as I get further along. I have a 'vision' in my head of what I want this piece to look like so am kind of going with the flow. (does anyone else ever have visions in their head?  :DrinkPint: just asking)

(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_6milla.JPG)

I got things cut to the proper depth by cutting to the line, a few thousandths difference would be no big deal as these cuts were purely cosmetic in nature. Then I began to form up the shell that would ultimately be placed over the bearing, a sort of cap if you will. To form this, I drug out a plate that I had used on another project and bolted  small stub to it. Then, using a block of wood as a stop (not shown in this image) and a mallet, I form the piece of brass around the stub. That's as far as things are going to progress today.

(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_7bearing%20shell.JPG)

BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Dean W on July 29, 2012, 10:19:00 PM
I think I see what is intended here, Jim;  The bearing has a curved strap over the top of it to hold it to the block?
Sort of like a pillow block bearing?
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on July 30, 2012, 03:34:05 AM
I think I see what is intended here, Jim;  The bearing has a curved strap over the top of it to hold it to the block?
Sort of like a pillow block bearing?

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!!  You are correct Dean :ThumbsUp:, what I am shooting for is a pedestal that will support the bering and have that brass strap over it. I was going to simply use a rectangular block with a hole through it for the pedestal and then changed my mind. Then I was going to use a smaller rectangular piece with the bearing attached to it and finally settled upon this arrangement. It is truly amazing how such a little thing as this can mushroom into a major undertaking, but in the end, a visually appealing and functional part is the name of the game.

BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on July 31, 2012, 02:44:40 AM
Well, I did some more work on the bearing pedestal and think that I am pretty close to having it the way I want it. That "U" shape that I bent up got cut oversize and then transfered to the mill for sizing. Instead of using a slitting saw, I used one of hose abrasive cut-off wheels made for the Dremel style tools. Here it can be seen making quick work of slicing through the legs of the piece.

(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_8trimmng.JPG)

After which I spent some time with the torch and some solder and I had the part almost finished. Quickly back into the mill for a 'haircut', trimming the ends up nice and flush to the bottom of the main base piece.

(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_9shell%20sizing.JPG)

And then finally, after some work with a bit of emory, some character building (a file) and a quick polish.

(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_10bearing%20standarda.jpg)

BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Dean W on July 31, 2012, 03:04:37 AM
That looks really smart, Jim!  It's a beautiful piece all on its own.  Nice work!
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: swilliams on July 31, 2012, 04:16:51 AM
The bearing pedestal looks great Jim

Steve
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 01, 2012, 12:34:41 AM
 Steve and Dean, thanks for the support.  One thing that I forgot to mention was that I used two discs with a quarter inch hole in their centers to hold the crankshaft level while i soldered the lot together. Without them the crankshaft had a small amount of tilt along its axis, probably not enough to be of any consequence and certainly nothing that would be noticeable but I wanted to have everything plumb before proceeding. I'm thinking now of rounding over the bottom corners of the upper portion to give it a bit less of a 'clunky' look. Overall, I'm pleased with this design, it just looks so much more substantial over what the drawings called out. Hmmm, perhaps an oiler cup :noidea: ? I most likely won't get much done for the rest of the week but that's OK, it will give me time to plan how I'm going to get away with go about fabricating the standards for the cylinder. :toilet_claw:

BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: ironman123 on August 01, 2012, 04:09:27 AM
Looking real nice.  Keep going.

Ray
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 03, 2012, 05:40:39 PM
Thank you Ironman, I shall, do my very best in order to do so. A couple of nights ago, I got home from work late and was pretty wound up from the daily grind  :fos:, so instead of going to bed as I usually do because I have to get up before dawn, I ventured downstairs to the shop for what was to be just a short R&R session. Previously, I had mentioned an oil cup in passing and I once again began to form a picture in my mind. I was going to turn one up and began sifting through the seconds drawer looking for material, when I remembered that I had made up a bunch of them for another project several years ago and set about the task of looking for them. After a brief search, I located the small jewelers tin labeled "oiler cups" and to my mild irritation  :facepalm:, there was only one left. On the other hand, I was glad and relieved, because now I would not have to fool with all that goes into their makings tonight, and made a mental note that sometime in the future I needed to replenish the stock. After doing a visual check for the approximate location, I used the height gage to layout the center of the top portion and made a center pop. Getting the piece in the 4 jaw chuck and using the wiggler/DI method, the center pop was soon running true and I proceeded to drill the the oil hole. I used a size about half the diameter of the oiler cup throat to break into the hole for the crankshaft, followed by the tap drill size for the 5-40 threads that were on the oiler. This hole was not drilled completely through but left just shy and was then threaded. Then I chucked a .1875" end mill in the tailstock and advanced it into the piece until I had a nice flat surface for the oiler to seat against. Before the oiler was screwed into place, I cut a tiny piece of industrial felt and poked it down into the threaded hole and then installed the oiler cup. My grandfather would do this on his engines as it slows the oil from flowing freely out and has a wicking action much like an oil lamp. It is very effective in providing just the right amount of oil to the shaft and cuts down on the mess and having to keep refilling the oil cup so often. Now, FINALLY,  :pinkelephant: I think I have this piece finished. I left the side of the bearing that faces the eccentric tapered so that one could see the action a bit better and to also cut down on the frictional surface. I slept very well that night and now can move on.

(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_10aPedestal%20w_oil%20cup.JPG)

BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: zeeprogrammer on August 04, 2012, 03:22:33 AM
I'll leave a comment here rather than the Shoutbox since I apparently 'stink' at that...   ;D

That's really good looking.
Also glad to get the tip on using felt.
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: swilliams on August 04, 2012, 03:24:50 AM
Yep, looks great Jim. What material do you use to make your oil cups?

Steve
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 04, 2012, 03:40:02 AM
I'll leave a comment here rather than the Shoutbox since I apparently 'stink' at that...   ;D

That's really good looking.
Also glad to get the tip on using felt.


LoL!! :ROFL:  That's funny Zee'. I have the shoutbox  :atcomputer: disabled anyway. Glad to know you found the felt tip  useful.


Yep, looks great Jim. What material do you use to make your oil cups?

Steve


Steve, I'm not exactly sure what the grade of material is. My father gave me a handful of brazing rods he had not used up, when he retired, and I have found hem to be quite handy for small rounds like this. It may be some sort of a bronze alloy as it is a bit harder than 360 brass and makes a flaky sort of chip.


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 04, 2012, 10:54:31 PM
Having completed the redesign, and fabrication of the main bearing pedestal, I decided to continue on to the next
piece that I see as a challenge and that is the standards that support the cylinder. They have the appearance of a tall letter "A" when viewed face on. They have a wide flange on the bottom edge that is used to secure the piece to the base and a smaller flange at the top that gets bolted up under the cylinder. The whole piece, from flange to flange sets at about a 15* (est.) angle. Since this model may or may not see some rough handling during its life, I decided to make them out of stainless steel, rather than aluminum, thinking that the former will be much less prone to getting distorted or bent, should the engine encounter any undue physical abuse.


This afternoon, I have been busy laying out the shapes on a .063" sheet of some unknown stainless. I did the two pieces side-by-side as doing it this way would allow me to make the required bends exactly the same to both pieces at the same time. I then drilled the holes in them while they were still connected together and flat. I rarely have had a reason to use my box/pan brake but man, did it work in spades for me on this project. I bent a piece of copper wire to the angle that the plans in the magazine article had and used that wire as a guide in bending and after a few minutes of squaring things up, a few "just a little mores", I had the sheet bent to the angles I wanted, or at least I was very close. The blade in my band saw was broken so I had to resort to using a cut-off wheel mounted in the Dremel to separate the pieces. Then came the session with the grinding disc and the right angle grinder to get things to "pretty close" shape.


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_11standards.JPG)


Now, I'm going to have to do some more character building and file to the line. This is going to take a while but stay tuned.


BC1
Jim


   
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: arnoldb on August 05, 2012, 11:41:37 AM
Coming along well Jim  :ThumbsUp:

I hope it's cooler there for your character building session  :)

Kind regards,Arnold
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: cfellows on August 05, 2012, 04:20:04 PM
All the parts are looking really nice.  Is there a picture somewhere of what this engine will look like when finished   ...or did I just miss it somewhere?

Chuck
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 05, 2012, 05:04:07 PM
Thanks Arnold, and yes, it is a bit cooler here now, after some showers yesterday afternoon late. I really do enjoy the character building sessions but boy do my hands ache after a while from gripping the file so hard.  :insane:


Chuck, let me apologize for my short-sightedness as well as to the rest of the members, for not posting up a picture of the finished engine sooner. My bad  :fro: . Here is an actual photo image from the magazine to give everyone an idea of what it is I am trying to accomplish. A rather simplistic looking thing but I can see that there are some interesting challenges yet to be discovered as I go along.

(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_Ryan%27s%20Engine%20Pic.jpg)

BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Dean W on August 06, 2012, 01:25:56 AM
Oh, I remember seeing one like that!  Probably in some of the old magazines that google copies, but might have
been in an original or repro I saw somewhere. 
I don't remember if you had already said, but do you know the name of the author from the article?  Rudy K. did a
number of them back in the day, before HSM mag started.
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 06, 2012, 02:49:24 AM
Hello Dean,


 Glad to see you're still hanging around. This article was written by a fellow by the name of Manly Banister if that helps in any way. The entire article is not written to any length of detail and I believe there is quite a bit of "wiggle room" for improvements. The dimensions for some of the pieces are in two separate places on these drawings, so it is a bit confusing at times when looking at a piece as drawn. Also, as many of the plans of the time, they are represented in fractions and not decimal measure. No big deal but just a bit arcane.  :thinking:


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: swilliams on August 06, 2012, 03:15:07 AM
Filing stainless should be good for the character Jim. Either that or catastrophic  :ROFL:

Steve
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: rleete on August 06, 2012, 03:19:31 AM
Article I have is titled "Midget Steam Engine" by Manly Banister.
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Dean W on August 06, 2012, 07:15:38 AM
Yes, that's a name I remember too, Jim.  I can think of four or five articles in PM by him that had steam engines
in them.  I recall one that showed him and a boy both smiling, looking down on a small engine and boiler.  I think
the boiler was made of black pipe.  The articles were mostly pictorials with notes on the drawings, and a few
sparsely worded construction paragraphs.
Rudy K. also had a few articles in PM that showed the typical PM way of doing things.  One of his I remember is
a beam engine made from sheet metal, brass stock, and a largish high pitch (small teeth) gear for the flywheel.
We could probably find all of those old workshop engines if we had time to look through the google copies of the mag.

I'm enjoying your re-living one of these old PM construction articles, with your improved (and much more attractive)
parts building along the way.  This is a fun thread, for me.
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: tvoght on August 06, 2012, 03:33:46 PM
The Rudy K. Beam engine Dean speaks of is in the August, 1969 Popular Mechanics. Unfortunately, the drawings appear to be a fold-out page and the google scans only show the first page of the folded section. It looks like a pretty neat engine and has a Watt linkage, which so many of these simple beam engine models leave out for simplicity. It would be great if someone had that copy of the magazine and could scan the complete drawings.

--Tim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 06, 2012, 03:53:48 PM
Filing stainless should be good for the character Jim. Either that or catastrophic  :ROFL:

Steve

Well Steve, I don't know about *ahem* good character  :ShakeHead:  or not, but it sure as heck makes my hands sore. I used a method of clamping each piece up in a set of vice-grips (mole grip) using some small pieces of aluminum to prevent scratching. This was OK but I soon found that I needed something a bit more stable and resorted to the same process only this time I put everything into the bench vise and that seemed to alleviate the majority of my troubles. When I got down really close to the line, I brought out a small, brand new, flat bastard file and proceeded to use the draw method for final finishing. This took me the better portion of the afternoon to complete all four of the sides and get the flanges relatively square. Here they are as finished. I had to make a small roundish cutout in the upper flanges for piston and valve clearance using a mounted stone in the Dremel. (handy little buggers aren't they?)

(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_11astandards.JPG)


Article I have is titled "Midget Steam Engine" by Manly Banister.

RL, that is the same article that I am working from, it happens to be available on the John-Toms site on page three of there 'engines' listings.
 
  Dean, yeah, it has been a 'blast-from-the-past' in terms of remembering some of the very same feelings of trepidation regarding how to go about building one of these engines, but now that I have the ways and means, it doesn't seem to be nearly as formidable of a challenge that a young lad once had.


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: swilliams on August 07, 2012, 07:32:26 AM
Legs look great Jim. Who needs character with legs like those  :o

Steve
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 07, 2012, 05:04:31 PM
Now that's just sick Stevo,  :toilet_claw:  sick I tell you. But I like it   :cheers: Hey maybe if I borrowed a tutu from one of our members whom will go un-named at this time (*snookie Z*) I might be able to complete the look. :naughty:


BC1
Jim



Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: zeeprogrammer on August 07, 2012, 10:22:06 PM
Hey maybe if I borrowed a tutu from one of our members whom will go un-named at this time (*snookie Z*) I might be able to complete the look. :naughty:
BC1
Jim

No one touches my tu-tus. (tu-ti?)  :hellno:
No one but me.
Sorry...but past experience tells me that this must be so.  :-X
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: swilliams on August 08, 2012, 02:39:56 AM
Zee - you didn't account for how lightning fast Jim is. Too late, you'll have to be more vigilant with your stuff   :stir:

Steve
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: b.lindsey on August 08, 2012, 02:37:37 PM
Hi Jim...Have been following along quietly from the beginning and enjoying the build muchly!!  Like many, I recall those old articles in PM, looking at them in wonder and never even imagining back then that someday it would become a hobby.  Thanks for the completed picture of the engine, though your pedestal will enhance it tremendously I think. Looking forward to the rest of the build for sure.

Bill
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 08, 2012, 11:56:09 PM
Bill,
 I thank you and am glad that this build is generating some old forgotten memories from our youth. Looking at these articles that were written some fifty years ago, I am reminded of the stark contrasts in how these drawings were presented. To gaze at them is almost amusing. Today, with the advent of CAD, they take on a surreal life of their own somehow. Still, I feel very much like that young lad once again, reading and wishing, and dreaming. Hoping to build one of these engines somehow.


I've been faffing about, this past few days, turning the cylinder and drilling and reaming the valve and piston bores. Nothing out of the ordinary in terms of machining, just indicating the piece in the four jaw chuck using the DI and wiggler point as has been shown in other posts. Really the only excitement in the whole thing was I was not certain the piece of brass  round I had would clean up to be long enough for the job at hand. It was though, and I was so "on a roll  :thinking: " that I forgot to take any pictures of the methods and procedures. For this I apologize to all. :slap:


BC1
Jim


Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 11, 2012, 12:16:53 AM
 For those that have been following, I thank you, and for those that are just now joining us, welcome, there is always room for one more and we never close. I've been busy doing "real work" and have not had a great deal of time for this engine, however, I was able to cross another milestone today and got the cylinder mounted to the uprights and the holes located and drilled into the base so I now have some pieces put together that resembles something more than just a bunch of pieces. (Yogi Berra would be proud of that quote  :shrug: ) One of the things that concerned me was getting the center lines lined up both laterally as well as radially. This is what I came up with and it seemed to work a treat. Carpenters use a plumb bob, which is nothing more than a pointed weight on a string to find the exact position below an elevated point in such cases, but I obviously could not use that method. What I could do was devise a way to 'extend' the centers of both the valve and piston bores down to the base. I turned up a couple of aluminum rods that were a close sliding fit in both, and then turned a point on one end to serve as an indicator. With these two indicators pushed into the respective bores and a piece of duct tape, which I had drawn the centerline on, I was able to quickly get things lined up without any difficulty. A slight rotation of the cylinder and a very small "tweak" of the standards and things were spot on.


 (http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_12cylcloseupbottom.JPG)


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_13aligning%20cyl%20on%20center.JPG)


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_14cyl%20alignment.JPG)



That's as far as I got but hope to get some time in the shop this weekend to get the bearing pedestal lined up and mounted. Then things will REALLY slow down for the making of the moving parts.


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 12, 2012, 04:30:49 PM
 The weekend's to-do list was a bit longer than I thought so I did not get as much shop time in as I would have liked. When I finally was able to get to the shop, I was to the point that I did not want to get too involved into something that required a great deal of concentration so I settled upon something quite simple. Knowing that until this engine is completed, it would have to be taken apart and put back together several times I decided that it would probably be a good idea to make up some tools in order to make it easier to do so. Tools!  :whoohoo:  What a splendid thing for a young and inquisitive engineer to have. Not to mention, it would make things a whole lot easier on me by having them readily at hand during construction. I took the aluminum rods that were used in the alignment procedure and made them into the nut drivers that you see here. The handles were nothing fancy, merely eyeballing them to get the same general shapes. On the working ends I used over-the-counter hex head cap screws, the size of which fit over the fasteners I was using. I cheated here as well in that I did not drill and tap the ends of the rods, but merely drilled them clearance size a bit over depth and secured the screws in the holes with JB Weld. Great product that stuff. After allowing things to set up overnight, I finished turning the outside diameters to clean them up and then did a counterbore into the opening so that they could be placed over a nut that had a longer stud sticking out without fear of the tool bottoming out before engaging the nut. A cross drilled a hole near the top was added for a tommy bar to provide for some added leverage and then, for the final 'finishing touch', I stamped the number size of the tool in a recess in the head. I was going to do a bit of knurling on the handle but I got lazy and left that part off.


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_15anutdrivers.JPG)


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_15cnutdrivers.JPG)


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_15bnutdrivers.JPG)


Overall, it was a nice, relaxing session and these tools will be of huge benefit in the future. I'm even considering the idea of making a complete set like this in sizes from #1 through #6 just to have in the tool chest, maybe even do a small wooden holder with a lid ........... :LittleAngel: ... "uhh, slow down there Bear', you've got an engine to finish so don't get distracted with these 'siders'. "  :slap:  yes mastah  er, um, boss :BareBum: .


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: dsquire on August 12, 2012, 07:21:13 PM
Jim

Very nicely done those tools. I think a complete set in both inch and metric in a nice wood box should be placed high on your todoit list.

Cheers  :cheers:

Don
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: swilliams on August 14, 2012, 02:59:19 PM
Nice thinking out of the square on that one Jim. I'll remember that trick

Steve
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: b.lindsey on August 14, 2012, 03:19:16 PM
Those nut drivers look great Jim and will come in handy I'm sure. Somewhere I used to have a list of which sized SHCS's fit particular hex cap screws from 0-80 up to 5-40 or so.  Never got around to making a set yet but still love the idea and yours look very nice. Still following along on you build progress as well!!

Bill
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 19, 2012, 03:11:53 PM
Don, Steve, and Bill,


  Thanks for the kind words of support  :NotWorthy: . I have to say that those little nutdrivers were super-simple to make and I can see that a full set in all sizes from #0 thorough say #8 would be a huge boon to a model builder and the cost would not break the bank either. After the dust settles on this project, I do believe that I will make up a full set with a nice fitted case.


Now then, after working my tail pipe off this past week at 'real work', I was able to get into the shop for a little while. I  decided to make up the eccentric as I rather enjoy 4-jaw chuck work. Here is how I started, by laying out the center and offset on a piece of hard steel. Using the height gauge to find the upper and lower edges of the rod as it was held in a vee-block, and then splitting the difference in the two readings, the centerline was scribed across the end. Next, the center of the throw was scribed by adding the offset dimension to the center height figure and again the end of the rod was scribed.


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_17laying%20out%20cam.JPG)


After scribing the offset, I used a magnifying glass and placed a center pop at the required location, followed by the customary indicating the piece in lathe using a dial indicator and wiggler, again, a procedure that I enjoy doing. After the eccentric was drilled and reamed, I was satisfied with the results and then sawed off the piece and faced to length using a collet to keep from scarring the running surface.


 Most of you know by now, that I am not one to leave things alone as drawn, usually, and once again this affliction was in action. The drawings show the eccentric strap running without any type of lateral support and I'm sure that that may have been adequate, BUT, I felt the need to provide a means of retention to keep the valve rod centered up underneath the cylinder, so I quickly made up some 'spacer' rings out of brass that will get affixed to the eccentric in an attempt to do just that.


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_17acam%20blank%2Bspacers.JPG)


A bit of careful solder application followed with a jeweler's file and a single edged razor blade to remove any excess solder, left our hero with this, an almost finished crankshaft with the eccentric affixed and waiting for the eccentric sheave and crank disk to be installed.


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_17cCam%20and%20spacer%20ring%20on%20CS.JPG)


The next thing I am thinking of tackling is the eccentric strap and valve rod assembly, again, I have plans to 'alter/bash' the original design features, we shall see.


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Dean W on August 19, 2012, 11:10:55 PM
That looks good, Jim.  Nice to do some of your own work after a week or "real work".  ;)
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 21, 2012, 12:04:27 AM
That looks good, Jim.  Nice to do some of your own work after a week or "real work".  ;)


Indeed it is Dean, indeed it is.  :pinkelephant:  This evening I have been faffing around reworking the flywheel for the beast. I had started this part for somehing long forgotten but I am pretty certain I can make it work for my application.


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Pete49 on August 21, 2012, 04:26:34 AM
Well blow me down with a feather :cheers: Once I saw the full picture I knew the engine straight away as I too have built it. :whoohoo: It had the older bloke and the child looking at it but the boiler is a bit iffy but then oh&s didn't ruin a child's fun those days. Just don't know how we survived childhood going by the do's & don'ts we have now. :ShakeHead:
Pete
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: b.lindsey on August 21, 2012, 12:52:20 PM
Jim, while i know this is based on that magazine article and the picture you showed of it, your personal touches and attention to details are far exceeding the more simplistic original design. I am most anxious to see this one completed and those childhood memories magically transformed into your elegant rendition of this model.

Bill
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 24, 2012, 02:35:25 AM
Well blow me down with a feather :cheers: Once I saw the full picture I knew the engine straight away as I too have built it. :whoohoo: It had the older bloke and the child looking at it but the boiler is a bit iffy but then oh&s didn't ruin a child's fun those days. Just don't know how we survived childhood going by the do's & don'ts we have now. :ShakeHead:
Pete


Thanks for watching Pete, and yes the boiler featured in the magazine article is questionable at best. Fortunately for me I won't be making one in my lifetime. :hellno:


Jim, while i know this is based on that magazine article and the picture you showed of it, your personal touches and attention to details are far exceeding the more simplistic original design. I am most anxious to see this one completed and those childhood memories magically transformed into your elegant rendition of this model.

Bill


Bill, I do appreciate your kind words. While a young man's fancy  :Love:  was stimulated to new heights when this article was written, mine is being driven by inspirations from that time with some new twists and tweaks added :happyreader:
The flywheel that I had from a long forgotten project proved to be a bit of a challenge but nothing out of the ordinary. When I mounted the unfinished part on a mandrel in the lathe, I found that there was a fair amount of runout and wobble, so I removed the part from the mandrel and chucked it up in the four jaw chuck and indicated the outer rim to run true. Then, I bored out the central hole to just under .500" and press fit a piece of brass that had a small shoulder on it into the hole until the shoulder was flush and then proceeded to center drill, drill, and ream a new hole that was true to the rim. Before turning the piece end for end, I cleaned up the inner rim surface by using a trepanning cutter. Then, I turned the part around and did the very same to the inboard side of the flywheel.


  Here can be seen the setup that I used to drill and tap the hole for a grub screw. Two pins can be seen in the the decorative holes to keep the piece level in the small vise, while it is being held at an approximate 45* angle. The drill chuck was closed on the tap just enough to allow the tap to rotate while cutting the threads.


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_16tapping%20flywheel.JPG)


Cheers


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 24, 2012, 03:21:10 PM
 It occurred to me last evening  :zap:  that I had not featured an as-built photo to show the progress  :shrug:  that has been made and have been asked by a few members to post a picture. Between real work and concentrating on the machining aspects of this project, I haven't been doing a very good job of documenting  :wallbang: such things and hope to improve on that as we get further along  :-[ . So without any further delay, I present to you Ryan's Engine built to date.


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_18progressview.jpg)


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: arnoldb on August 24, 2012, 05:39:01 PM
 :ThumbsUp: That's coming along well Jim  :) - and thanks for the progress photo  :ThumbsUp:

Kind regards, Arnold
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Dean W on August 24, 2012, 07:47:37 PM
Thanks for the photo, Jim.  I like the looks of it a lot.  It does remind us of a different time and way of doing
things, albeit with some modern improvements.  Looking great!
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: zeeprogrammer on August 24, 2012, 11:41:53 PM
Happy to see the photo.

And shapely legs.
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: rleete on August 25, 2012, 01:06:08 AM
And shapely legs.

His or the engine's?
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 25, 2012, 02:29:07 PM
Zeep, you smooth talker you  :-[   :ROFL: :BareBum:  They are a great set aren't they.  :help:


Arnold and Dean, you are quite welcome. I should have posted up an overall picture sooner but it never occurred to me to do so. DOH! :facepalm:  I still have to trim down and dress the mounting studs, which are actually model bolts. The heads of which having a counter bored hole in the bottom of the base plate to accommodate them and will be silver soldered and filed flat when the time comes.


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 26, 2012, 03:40:46 PM
I'm still plodding along here, and decided to tackle the moving pieces that go roundy-round, beginning with the sheave for the eccentric. As I stated before, the original drawings are a bit rudimentary and call for a rather simplistic ring that has the valve rod butted to it and secured with nothing more than a solder joint. Simple and effective I suppose, but not very mechanically sound in my opinion and so I set off to improve on that design feature. I began with a small lump of brass that was just a tiny bit wider than the outside diameter of the ring and 'tall' enough for me to accomplish my goal, that of providing some better support to the valve rod. I did some layout and placed a center pop at what would be the center of the ring and then scribed a circle indicating the outside diameter, followed with marking two lines that would act as guidelines when I got the piece in the mill. When I finally got the piece square in the mill vise, I used a ball nosed cutter to mill away the sides of the piece down until I reached the scribed circle and also until the side of the cutter was just at the two scribed lines. This probably is a bit confusing but perhaps this picture will clear things up somewhat.


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_19profiling%20sheave%20in%20mill.JPG)


Here you can see the lines I was speaking of as well as the radius left by the cutter. At this point, I am using a flat bottom cutter to rough out the outside diameter.


BC1
Jim


Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 26, 2012, 05:32:01 PM
I quickly made up a set of filing buttons and then a wee bit of quality time spent performing  some "character building",(a file and some emery cloth) I was left with this blank. I'm going to take a break here and plan out the next order of events.


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_20filing%20sheaves%20to%20shape.JPG)


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_21sheave%20blank.JPG)


Cheers  :DrinkPint:


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: zeeprogrammer on August 26, 2012, 06:07:54 PM
That looks really good Jim.
And...gives me some ideas for some of the parts I'm working on.
They're pretty small too.

What are the buttons made of? Are they hardened?

Thanks
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Dean W on August 26, 2012, 08:17:16 PM
That looks really nice, Jim.  You're going to be the most characterful person around here.  ;)
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: b.lindsey on August 26, 2012, 09:32:59 PM
Coming along nicely Jim...still following along with great interest.
Bill
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 27, 2012, 02:07:17 AM
That looks really good Jim.
And...gives me some ideas for some of the parts I'm working on.
They're pretty small too.

What are the buttons made of? Are they hardened?

Thanks

Hi Zeep, glad some good ideas may be coming out of all of this. The filing buttons were made out of a piece of mystery metal steel bar that I had in the drawer. It is fairly tough stuff. I did not harden the buttons as I really did not see the need, that and a dull file were all I used to shape the piece.
 
That looks really nice, Jim.  You're going to be the most characterful person around here.  ;)
Dean, I'm gaining character alright  :insane:  just ask old what's-her-name, she'll fill in all of the blanks  :Jester:

Coming along nicely Jim...still following along with great interest.
Bill


Thanks for dropping in for a visit Bill, this engine has become an almost obsession for me now. At every twist and turn, I see room for improvement. Sad thing is, I don't want to stray from the original design so much that the engine loses its unique character. :zap:


For all of those that may be interested, I ran across a set of drawings for this engine that was done by Julius De Waal and after several email exchanges, he has graciously given permission to place them here on MEM in the plans section for our enjoyment. They are very detailed as compared to the originals and hopefully, some of you may even wish to build this engine from them.


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: swilliams on August 27, 2012, 04:44:59 AM
Looks like I blinked and missed all the action. Nice progress Jim, and to a high standard of finish

Steve
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: steamer on August 27, 2012, 10:47:51 AM
Hey Jim,  That is coming along beautifully!   Well done!    I think I'm going to have to change my name! :ROFL:
I want pictures of the presentation....man is he going to be suprised!
Dave
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 28, 2012, 02:13:37 PM
Steve and Dave, I thank you. :NotWorthy:  Things have progressed a little bit the past couple of days. Hemming and hawing about how to best finish this part has been interesting at best :noidea: . The chances that there could possibly be a major stuff-up was factored in, hence the overall length of the piece was left extra long from the get go. That and it is much easier to see and grip a larger piece also figured in that department.  :old: :shrug:  What I ended up doing was using a slug of brass that was found rolling around in the bottom of the seconds drawer to make up a 'fixture' to hold the piece while cutting the slots required as well as boring out the ring to fit over the eccentric. On this fixture, I turned down one end to fit the largest collet I owned and left a small shoulder on it to assist in keeping things square. -Through the center of the piece I drilled a .125" hole, the same size that is currently in the sheave blank. Into this was placed a short length of aluminum rod and over that, I slid the blank, which was then very carefully soft soldered to the fixture. After it had cooled, I did some lay out work to find the center of the part as well as where the slots were to be cut. The valve rod, which is really not a rod at all but a .062" piece of flat brass will be fitted into this slot and being as how I did not have a slitting saw of that size, I decided to use my trusty Dremel cut-off wheel instead. It measured out to be slightly undersized but close enough. As luck would have it  :LittleAngel: , I had an aluminum plate that featured a hole in it that was a nice sliding fit to the fixture and I used that on the drill table to work the part into the cutoff wheel. A bit of a crude setup i admit, but it worked a treat and I was successful in cutting two slots into the sheave blank without incident. (remember now, I am making two parts, "just in case", but only require one)


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_22slotting%20cam%20sheaves.JPG)


The next step in the journey was to bore out the piece to a nice fit on the eccentric. Here is the fixture in the lathe as I am drilling the excess material out. Notice the small ring I mentioned earlier flush against the face of the collet. Following the drill, I used a small boring bar to bring the hole to size, taking cuts of .0005" and using the eccentric as a plug gauge to arrive at the final, slightly-tight, fit.


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_23drilling%20cam%20sheaves.JPG)


thats as far as I got this time, more to come so stay tuned.


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 29, 2012, 04:07:38 PM
 Well, I got things pretty much finished making the eccentric sheave and I must say that it wasn't so bad as I had first thought it would be. Picking up where I left off, I used a jeweler's saw to separate the pieces and faced the part that remained on the fixture. Jeweler's saws are fantastic for making very accurate cuts such as this. They leave behind a very narrow kerf which is nice in a situation where there is not a great deal of material to begin with. Then I removed the fixture from the lathe and applied a bit of heat, the solder let go, and then all I had to do was remove the small amount of excess and I was done with that part. I then remounted the fixture in the lathe and took a skim cut just to clean up its surface and then soldered the already faced side of the first cut-off sheave to it and proceeded to face it down to the desired thickness. Repeating the steps on removal and clean up I found I now possessed not one, but two perfectly sized sheaves.  :pinkelephant:


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_24cam%20sheave.JPG)


 After a sigh of relief and a short session of patting myself on the back, I turned my attentions to making the 'rod' portion of the piece. This flat bar will get soldered into the slot in the sheave when it is all said and done. TALLYHO!  :toilet_claw:


BC1
Jim




Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: zeeprogrammer on August 29, 2012, 11:44:24 PM
Nice job!

You're going to have to consider another project to use the spare one.  ;D
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 30, 2012, 02:19:16 AM
Actually Zee', I was thinking more along the lines of placing it the collection of 'spare parts' to go along with this engine when I present it to Ryan. What more could a young mind wish for, his very own engine, tools to work on it with and lots of 'spare' parts. I've already got a small baggie of extra nuts, bolts, and the occasional bit of brass and rod started. Maybe it's just me but I wish I was Ryan when he gets this surprise. Ahhhh, to be young once again.  :whoohoo:


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: zeeprogrammer on August 30, 2012, 02:34:37 AM
Actually Zee', I was thinking more along the lines of placing it the collection of 'spare parts' to go along with this engine when I present it to Ryan.

Counts as a project in my book.

It's a great idea.
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: b.lindsey on August 30, 2012, 11:45:49 AM
Nice job on those Jim...its really starting to come together now and a long weekend just ahead too!!
Bill
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Dean W on August 31, 2012, 03:00:11 AM
Maybe it's just me but I wish I was Ryan when he gets this surprise. Ahhhh, to be young once again. 

It's not just you, Jim.  That's a nice thought, and one I think many of us more "mature" guys can relate to.
We remember joyous things and happenings fondly.
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: RMO on August 31, 2012, 05:07:18 AM
Just found this build log this evening. It was very relaxing to read it from the start. You just might change a young mans life with this project.  Way to go.

Mike O
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on August 31, 2012, 09:49:06 PM
Counts as a project in my book.

It's a great idea.
Thanks Carl, I'd like to think so anyway.  :cheers:

Nice job on those Jim...its really starting to come together now and a long weekend just ahead too!!
Bill

you are oh so correct  Bill, and my plan is to hopefully get the valve and the crank disc completed in that time frame  :shrug:

Maybe it's just me but I wish I was Ryan when he gets this surprise. Ahhhh, to be young once again. 

It's not just you, Jim.  That's a nice thought, and one I think many of us more "mature" guys can relate to.
We remember joyous things and happenings fondly.
Hey! who are you calling mature?  :hellno:  "wye I oughta ...  :slap:      no not really, Dean, and you are so right about our remembrances from the past. As strange as it may sound, there are time when I have been working on this project that I find myself back in my Grandpa's shop when he was making a much larger engine for me.

Just found this build log this evening. It was very relaxing to read it from the start. You just might change a young mans life with this project.  Way to go.

Mike O

Glad you found us Mike, and am also glad to know it as being relaxing. It doesn't seem like i to me at times but slowly it is taking shape. Too slowly I think at times but then again I just despise doing things over due to impatience.  :zap:




Yes Elizabeth, there is a Santa Clause!  :pinkelephant: I was able to complete the valve rod without incident and it was not as hard as I first thought it was going to be.  I began by bluing up a piece of .062"x.750" brass strip and then proceeded to scribe three lines on one surface the long way. The first was the center line reference and the other two were scribed .0625" on either side of it and those were to indicate the actual sides of the finished part. Towards one end of the strip, and on the centerline, I placed a center pop mark and drilled a this location, a .0469" (3/64) hole. This would later get opened out to .062" to fit the wrist pin. Once all of that was done, I took the piece over to the mill and clamped it in the vise. The flat side of the strip made it easy to get level and I proceeded to use the thinnest slitting saw that I had available to cut the strip right up to the perviously marked out lines but leaving a tad extra material around the area of the hole located in the one end. Once again I made up a set of quick and dirty filing buttons in the lathe that were the diameter of the round, 'doughnut', portion of the part. In the buttons, I drilled a hole using the same drill size I used to make the hole in the rod. After parting off the buttons, I used the drill bit as an axle in the holes and proceeded to round over and final shape the end of the rod using a sharp file. Hopefully everyone did not get lost in my description here and I apologize for not having any photos to document these happenings. Some 'jiggy-jagging' around got the rod centered in the sheave and an easy application of solder left me with an almost finished part that only required a short bit of time to get cleaned up. Here is the result.


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_25finished%20valve%20rod.JPG)


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Dean W on September 01, 2012, 10:43:24 PM
Looks really good, Jim.  You're catching all the nice details on these parts.  It shows up good on ya!
Well done.  :)
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on September 02, 2012, 06:31:13 PM
Thank you very much Dean, for your kind words. :NotWorthy:

 I've been chugging along and ran into my first major CRAP  :hellno: moment. (I stole that one from Zeep  :Lol: ) Having spent numerous hours (several attempts to get it right) turning down what would become the valve, and then polishing it all up to a fine finish and finally lapping the pig to the bore, I find that it is too long! WTF??? I know it is too long because I hooked it up to the valve rod and did a dry run of it and the piece bottoms out on the up stroke of the eccentric. I remeasured it and it was exactly to plans so I set about seeing exactly how much too long the beast was. I unbolted the legs with the cylinder still attached, from the base and began to place small pieces of brass shims under them until the valve was no longer being fouled. Turns out that height was .125". Hmmm.....   Now going back to a much earlier post, I had mentioned that these original magazine article drawings were "something less than desired" in terms of clarity, that very stigma had reared its ugly head. In all due fairness, I made an error when I bent the legs by failing to take into account the thickness of the material used. (.062"x 2=.125")  :facepalm: CRAP.  What I had done was made the bends exactly on the bend lines, instead of making the bends 'outside' the lines so that the finished height was what was called out for (but not thoroughly documented) in the drawings. CRAP. I had a few options and making two new legs wasn't at the top of the list. I could make up some spacers to raise the the legs up, or I could reduce the length of the valve by the required amount. What I decided to do was shorten up the valve rod instead. So I unsoldered the pieces and shortened the rod accordingly. This seemed to be the easiest and most practical as I  did not think a set of spacers would look right and I wanted to keep the valve as long as possible, I felt the longer it was the better support in the bore it would provide. Now the valve has a wee bit of clearance at the top of its travel and is smooth as silk. All is good with the world once again (I hope)  :NotWorthy:


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_25afittedvalverod.JPG)


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: zeeprogrammer on September 02, 2012, 08:07:37 PM
Wow. That certainly did warrant the caps lock.
Nice recovery. Engine looks great.
Not much longer to a video right?

No problem stealing from me.

My crap is your crap.  :Lol:
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Dean W on September 02, 2012, 09:02:07 PM
My crap is your crap.  :Lol:
Isn't it so nice how folks here are willing to share?  :)
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: b.lindsey on September 02, 2012, 10:56:18 PM
Sorry about the glitch Jim, but you seem to have overcome it, so well done. Take solace in the fact that others will benefit from your analysis and working around the issue.

Bill
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on September 03, 2012, 03:32:13 PM
Wow. That certainly did warrant the caps lock.
Nice recovery. Engine looks great.
Not much longer to a video right?

No problem stealing from me.

My crap is your crap.  :Lol:
Yes it did indeed Zee, although that word wasn't the one being used at the time  :censored:   :rant: A video is in the very back of my mind and will prove to be a challenge as I have never posted a video before, something else to worry about but not right now. As far as stealing your crap,  :embarassed: well, I left you most of it, besides, I did not think that you would miss what little bit I took, and thank you  :paranoia: .
My crap is your crap.  :Lol:
Isn't it so nice how folks here are willing to share?  :)
Absolutely Dean! It is good crap too, you should see it. Zee has nothing but the finest, I gotsta tell ya'.  :ROFL:
Sorry about the glitch Jim, but you seem to have overcome it, so well done. Take solace in the fact that others will benefit from your analysis and working around the issue.

Bill
Bill, thank you. I never really thought of it in those terms and perhaps you are right, hopefully anyone else wishing to erect one of these engines will not make the same silly mistake as I did. I have to make an adjustment in the length of the connecting rod now as well, I'm thinking. I'll make make up a 'dummy' part out of some scrap to test my theory. Something along the lines of a thin plate with two holes drilled the required dimension apart and test fitted. If the piston doesn't bottom out, I'm good to go, but I think that it will and would rather know before going through all of  gyrations of making up a spec'd part only to find it doesn't fit. I know it has been known to happen before but, CRAP, what a let down :disappointed: . (there, that's the last of it Zee', I'll be coming over to get some more so be sure all your doors and windows are locked :naughty: )


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on September 05, 2012, 03:54:36 PM
 There were some outside obligations that required my attention for a couple of days and then it was back to the task at hand, that of drilling the valve ports in the part itself. I've never been keen on drilling holes through round stock because I usually get them off-center just a fraction for whatever reason and I was absolutely dreading having to do what was called for here. Especially now that I had the piece perfectly fit to the bore in the cylinder and nicely polished to a fine finish. I would not be a happy camper if I had to start over again at this point in time. Anyway, I came up with a the idea that I think worked out quite well (that remains to be seen) and only took a short amount of time to prepare. It entailed making up a jig to hold the valve body directly under the center of the mill spindle. I found a scrap of aluminum flat bar and proceeded to cut a short length from it to make the strap. I then drilled and tapped a set of holes through both pieces to accommodate a set of hex head cap screws. I then mounted this jig plate to the mill table, taking care that the spindle center would pass between the two hold down screws of the clamp. With this done, I mounted up a 45* router bit and proceeded to cut a 'vee' slot in the base plate. This slot would ensure me that when the round valve was clamped in it, the center of the valve would be accurately located, which was my main concern to begin with. Here's the arrangement before I clamped the valve in place.


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_26valve%20jig.JPG)


In the image below, I have clamped the valve in the fixture, making certain that the axis of the pivot hole was at 90* using a drill bit in the chuck as a guide and then tightening the clamping strap down. Then, after finding the end of the valve and using the hand wheels, I determined the locations of the holes to be drilled. One was to pass into the central core hole that had already been drilled to depth, and another hole that overlapped the first and was only about .030" deep. Oh joy.


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_27drilling%20valve.JPG)


What I wound up doing was drilling the holes and then I used a small burr in the Dremel to open out the metal between the holes. I hope it will be effective, but that remains to be seen.


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_27avalveport.JPG)


Thanks for checking in,


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: smfr on September 05, 2012, 04:52:15 PM
That jig is a great idea, I like it!

Simon
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Pete49 on September 06, 2012, 03:56:32 AM
I made exactly the same mistake as you with the hight and did the bends exactly the same as you. I wonder how many other budding model makers did this  :Lol: On reflection it seems like it would catch anyone without an engineering background. Nice job with the jig.
Pete
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on September 07, 2012, 12:34:48 AM
That jig is a great idea, I like it!

Simon

Thanks for that Simon. I try to look for ways that will assure accurate locations without a great del of 'pain' and this one served a treat.
I made exactly the same mistake as you with the hight and did the bends exactly the same as you. I wonder how many other budding model makers did this  :Lol: On reflection it seems like it would catch anyone without an engineering background. Nice job with the jig.
Pete


I'm just a bit put-off by the fact that the drawings are so vague in there representation. No harm. no foul, I suppose but man did it have me going for a little while. :cussing:


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on September 09, 2012, 03:29:44 PM
Things got down to some serious tolerance keeping for a little while as I set to work on the crank disk. Here can be seen the crank pin being turned. I spent a great deal of time applying a stone to this cutter and used .005" DOCs to finally sneak up on the exact finished diameter I was shooting for of .1875". Bingo missy! The original drawings show just a plain pin that has a thread cut on one end. This then, would get threaded into a tapped hole in the crank disk. I was thinking to myself, "not good enough" :thinking:  in that if the threads were not cut precisely, there was a very good chance the pin would wind up not being truly square to the surface of the disk. So.... I set about turning up a slight shoulder on the pin that would eliminate any mis-alignment when the pin was screwed firmly home.

(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_28turning%20crank%20pin.JPG)


The disk itself is a piece of nickel alloy from trim adorning the old financial trading floor of the Chicago Board of Trade. I had to make some holes with a hole saw through these trim pieces one evening while doing work on the floor so I can attest to its providence. The hole in the center of this knock-out was a bit wonky so I had to bore it a tad oversize to clean it up and then turned down a small reducer bushing from brass to fill the hole. The counterweight is from a piece of scrap bearing bronze that was in the seconds drawer and it is held in place by two aluminum rivets. (I didn't have any copper ones of that size)


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_29finished%20crank%20disk.JPG)


The next piece will be the connecting rod and I have some minor modifications in mind there as well so stay tuned, there's plenty more to follow.


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: rleete on September 09, 2012, 04:18:09 PM
if the threads were not cut precisely, there was a very good chance the pin would wind up not being truly square to the surface of the disk.

Good thinking, as I have discovered this is the source of binding on previous engines like this.  I, too, cut a small shoulder to help keep things square.
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: zeeprogrammer on September 09, 2012, 04:18:42 PM
Looks good.

How did you do the rivets?
Why not use bolts?

I don't have a good visualization...will that counterweight with rivets get in the way?
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on September 09, 2012, 11:33:08 PM
Good thinking, as I have discovered this is the source of binding on previous engines like this.  I, too, cut a small shoulder to help keep things square.
Thanks RL', seems we have the same thought process ...  :toilet_claw:  all great minds think alike ???  :hellno:


Looks good.

How did you do the rivets?
Why not use bolts?

I don't have a good visualization...will that counterweight with rivets get in the way?


Hi Zeep'. I could have used bolts I do suppose  but the drawings called for rivets and I think it gives the piece a bit of character as well. If I were to use bolts, screws actually, I would probably used oval head countersunk bits as the back of the disk needs to be flat in order to seat flush to eccentric. I used a small countersink and cut small divots in the back at the hole locations, then, after installing the rivets I merely peened them a bit to get them to mushroom into these cavities and when it was all over, filed and sanded the back flat. There should be no clearance problems as there is supposed to be a spacer behind the con-rod in order to keep it from fouling the counterweight assembly.

BC1
Jim

Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: steamer on September 10, 2012, 01:38:15 AM
I like that crank Jim!

Dave
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on September 11, 2012, 03:47:32 PM
Thanks for that Dave, and yes, I am pretty proud of my crank as well  :embarassed: :help: :naughty: :toilet_claw: :Lol:


'this boy needs some some serious help I tell you, cuz' he's not right, if you know what I mean"  :Doh:


I've been puttering around with the con rod for a day or so now and may have something to show later today. Been molling some idea about the piston as well.


later


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: b.lindsey on September 11, 2012, 09:26:02 PM
Nice work on the crankdisk and pin Jim. The assembly looks like it shoudl work perfectly. I like the added character provided by the counterweight and rivets too!!

Bill
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on September 12, 2012, 02:20:47 PM
Nice work on the crankdisk and pin Jim. The assembly looks like it shoudl work perfectly. I like the added character provided by the counterweight and rivets too!!

Bill


Hi Bill, yeah, that collection of bits and bobs was a bit fiddly as it were, but turned out to be an acceptable variation of the original. I think the center hub (bushing/adapter) gives the overall piece a bit of added depth. I really wished that I had some copper rivets that small but, this worked out OK in the long run. The crank pin had me going for a little while getting that nice smooth as silk finish and spot on at that.


After gaining some working experience with the stainless steel sheet used on the standards, I dove into creating the connecting rod. It began by first dying up a small-ish strip and scribing a center line as a reference. The the lines for the outside edges were scribed, leaving me a strip of metal with three lines on it. I then used a center punch and popped the hole locations, followed by drilling .0625". I then concentrated on making up a set of filing buttons the diameters of the two ends and drilled a .0625" hole through their centers. These holes would be used for the 'axle' when it came time to file the ends to their final shape. I turned my attention back to the strap and had a brilliant idea, why not use my Dremel with a large cut-off wheel mounted, to remove the excess material of the waist portion of the rod. It worked a treat! I clamped the piece with the edge of the piece overhanging the side of my work table and carefully ground away material until I was very close to the scribed line. Doing the opposite side was a little tricky because there was not a whole lot of surface area left to clamp, but I took my time and got the job done. After getting this far, I went to town using the filing buttons and a lengthy session of 'character building' and formed the rounded portions of the ends. Here is the results. I still have just a bit of detail profiling yet to define the corners better but that should not be too bad. Then I have a plan for the big end that I hope will work, but I won't spoil the surprise for you guys just yet.  :naughty:


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_30con%20rod%20blank.JPG)


TALLYHO!


BC1
Jim





Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on September 13, 2012, 07:34:17 PM
I don't have any pictures as yet to show of my efforts, but I decided to get along with making the piston for this beast. It has been interesting to say the very least. You all have known the feeling, turn to over-size and then sneak agonizingly up on a finished size in .005" increments. Gees, I don't know what is worse, a trip to the dentist or this. At least at the dentist they give you something to knock the edge off a little.  :insane:  Anyway, I got the 'slug' turned to it's final size +.001-ish and was satisfied with the finish. The slug was turned over-long and was still in the lathe when I cleaned it all off with brake cleaner and applied a paste of dental polish. I cleaned out the cylinder bore with blake cleaner and a cotton swab thoroughly as well. Man, you should have seen the amount of crud that came out of the hole when I did this. I then started to wring the cylinder onto the slug by hand and with no power applied and found that it was reasonably tight but I took my time and backed it out regularly and reapplied some more paste and went at it again. After several times of doing this, it got to the point that the slug would turn in the bore with just a hint of resistance and I then stopped, cleaned them both again and did a final lap using some metal polish. Smooooth as a babies butt I'm here to tell you. I was stoked. Another thorough cleaning and the application of some light oil and the piston slug would produce a resounding pop when pulled out, rather forcefully (only because of the vacuum being created) from the cylinder.  :whoohoo:  Now I'm off to finish shaping the slug which should not be too bad of an ordeal. At least the worst part of it is over ......... for now.


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: b.lindsey on September 13, 2012, 08:18:50 PM
Congrats Jim...that can be a tedious job but it sounds like it went very smoothly (no pun intended) :)

Bill
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: zeeprogrammer on September 13, 2012, 10:43:26 PM
Sounds really good Jim.
So far all my pistons just kind of rattle.
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: swilliams on September 14, 2012, 12:10:17 AM
Sounds like its all coming together really well Jim. It'll be chugging along soon enough

Steve
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on September 15, 2012, 02:03:27 PM
Bill, Zee', Steve, hey thanks for hanging in there with me. I'm closing in on the final gun-lap and have to force myself not to rush things at this point. Finishing up the piston took more time than I think was really necessary but in the end, it produced a good useable part. The slitting saws I have are all very thin and I had such good results in using the Dremel and cut-off wheel method on the valve, so I figured, "why not?". I've used this method  on other occasions and it seemed to work its magic here once again. A piece of .750" steel hex, floats around the bottom of my seconds drawer and I put it to use here as a holding and drilling fixture. There is a small lump of copper wire underneath the end of that cap screw to prevent marring the piece.


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_31slotting%20piston.JPG)


I've got to work on getting things pinned together now and then its on to finishing off the big end, followed by the all knowing, all revealing smoke test, which is going to be quite interesting I think.  :shrug: :smokin2: :help: :slap: :ThumbsUp: :whoohoo: :DrinkPint: basically all in that order........ I hope.


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Dean W on September 15, 2012, 09:53:09 PM
Good show on slitting that piston end, Jim.
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: steamer on September 15, 2012, 10:37:26 PM
there ya go....coming along Jim.

Dave
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on September 15, 2012, 10:46:11 PM
Thanks Dean.  You know, I just feel like I'm 'cheating' somehow by doing it his way, but then again, what tools would a young lad have had available to him back in '63? I know I sure didn't have any of the tools that I have now such as the mill and the lathe. Shoot, I suppose doing it this way beats cutting the slot with a hacksaw which I'm sure has been done many times in the past  :o  I used two wheels stacked on top of each other and it seemed to fair out very well for me, albeit that sucker sure got hot in a hurry. I had to stop several times along the way to quench the lot and to let it cool down for a few minutes before resuming. I was even able to get things pinned together and I called it an afternoon.


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_32con%20rodpiston.JPG)


Hiya Dave, you snuck up on me there, I'm gonna have to put a bell on you if you keep that up.  :Lol:  Yes, it shouldn't be too much longer here. Now that I'm this close to the finish line I'm beginning to fret about getting the beast timed up without a great deal of hooplah. That is something for another day.


BC1
Jim




Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on September 18, 2012, 04:27:40 PM
Getting back into the shop has been quite the challenge the past few days. Life's obligations have a tendency to do that to a person. I had this plan hatched pretty much from the get-go that having the big end of the connecting rod riding directly on the crank pin as shown in the original drawings was not going to happen. So, I set about coming up with a solution. A bearing of some sort was in order of course and after some head scratching, I decided to combine this feature with the spacer that was shown to keep the rod from fouling the counter weight. I had drilled the hole in the rod oversize and turned up a small, top hat looking bushing that was a press fit to this hole. Then, I turned up a small ring that would press over the outside diameter of the bushing to act as a backer. I used a bit of loctite and pressed everything together and after letting it set up overnight, reamed the hole to .1875". Remember now, i had taken extreme pains to hit this diameter when I turned up the crank pin. Well, I'm here to tell you that it rides on the pin like silk, with no discernible play whatsover. I'm talking SMOOOTH.  :whoohoo:


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_33finished%20big%20end.JPG)


Here's the finished con-rod/piston assembly


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_33afinished%20conrodpiston%20assembly.JPG)


And finally, the part as fitted on the crankshaft.


(http://www.nam-engineering.com/cm/albums/userpics/10006/normal_34conrodbearing.JPG)


All of the pieces have been made now. It's just a matter of timing the beastie. I think what I will do is use some shellac or nail polish even to 'stick' the crank disk on until I can get the timing set, at least I can make any degree changes easily by dissolving either of these or apply some gentle heat and move the crank disk. I had thought of making provisions for a set screw of some type early on in the build but did not pursue that option, I may wish that I had in the days to come. We shall see.


BC1
Jim
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: arnoldb on September 18, 2012, 05:39:31 PM
Ryan's engine is coming along great Jim  :ThumbsUp:

I was wondering why you'd have to fiddle much with the timing - that is until I went back to have a look at the plans...  Now I understand though  ;)

Kind regards, Arnold
Title: Re: Ryan's Engine
Post by: Bearcar1 on September 19, 2012, 03:25:21 AM
Thanks Arnold, and I must apologize to all. It occurred to me that not everyone has seen or owns a copy of these original drawings and would not therefore have any idea of what is required to set the timing of this little jewel. For whatever reason, the designers thought it a good idea to over-simplify this procedure down to using different melting temperature solders (they even go so far as to explain how to make ones own) on holding things together and that by using low melting stuff to hold the crank disk on the crankshaft, that any adjustment could be achieved by careful application of heat to that particular joint. I'm sure that method will/can/has worked, but it just seems too agricultural  for my taste. The newer drawings that member Julius De Waal has drawn (these drawings are available in the 'plans' section here on MEM) allow for the timing adjustment to altered by using a set screw as per normal practice. What I propose to do is use shellac to hold the disk in position for initial testing. If any changes are required, the shellac can be heated and will release, the timing change made and a small dab of new shellac added to hold the disk in its new position. Once the final setting has been determined, marks can be made to indicate the same and the disk can then be soldered permanently onto the crankshaft. That's my plan at this time anyway.


BC1
Jim
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