E-gad, he’s making another one of those crazy pop-up things

[Craig DeShong]

Jo:  I hope that doesn't hold true for here in the USA.  I'm expecting Martin Models to deliver my flywheels by February-March, any delay much past that and this project is going to go on “hold” till I get them; and... yes; my lovely wife, shortly after I built my shop, started using it as her personal storage space.  I'd step in the door, and there would be a pile of crap, piled just in the doorway.  We had a “discussion” about it and it hasn't happened since.  She's is a reasonable girl once you describe the problem from your side of the issue.

Kirk; again, thanks for another offer.  The thinnest diameter of the column is 3 ½ inches so I would have declined; but I would have declined anyway.  Can't take something from you that is so easily obtainable with merely the outlay of a little cash.  Interestingly,  I got my honed cylinder for this model from CRC Distribution Inc. in Alabama.  This is the same product I bought for the 3rd Gen Otto Langen I finished this fall but the quote came out at half the price I paid for the one for the 3rd Gen.  It DOES pay to shop around.

[Roger B]

These engines have some fascinating mechanisms    I will be following along   

[Craig DeShong]

Thanks for stopping by to comment Roger, nice to have you aboard.  Thanks also for those who just stop by to see the goings-on.

Yesterday was a nasty, drizzly day; so I didn't make it out to the shop.  Today, however was warmer and a bit brighter so I spent a few hours finishing the profile of the base for the engine.  As I said up thread, this was cosmetic work, trying to make this chunk of aluminum look like the base on the full size.

After much profiling and blending, filing and the sanding; I managed to get the profile to look as shown in the photo below.




A bit more fine sanding and I'm pretty happy with the result.



The next steps will be drilling the various required holes and then cutting out a pie shaped slice where the valve body will eventually reside.

[crueby]

Beautiful turning on the base! Love watching these engines come together, the styling on them is classic.

[Craig DeShong]

Thanks for the complement Chris, glad to have you along during the build.  Thanks also for all of you who silently stop by to see the latest installment.

A dreary day today, but warm enough to squeeze in a little shop time.  My goal was to finish the base and I managed to accomplish that task.

I have the base mounted on my rotary table; I didn't really need the rotary table for the next few steps but my using it will be apparent if you follow along to the end of this post.  Here I've drilled the four holes through the base that will be used to mount the engine to a platform (I've yet to build).  You see the progress just after I've milled a recess into the base over these holes so the mounting bolts have a flat surface to be drawn up against.



The next task was to drill the through holes used for bolts that will a-fix the lower column to this base.  Once that was accomplished, I drilled and tapped a hole that will be used to mount the bearing for the push rod that actuates the ignition switch.  This push rod will be actuated by the movement of the slide valve in the valve body as in the other Otto Langen engines I've built; all these parts have yet to be made.



Now I finally get to the need for the turntable.  I needed to cut this pie shaped wedge into the base so that the valve mechanism can be a-fixed to the lower column.  I did all this work on the turntable so that with one setup, all the work could be accomplished.  Thus I assure myself that this wedge is “true” to the mounting holes.



After a bit of clean-up work, the base is complete.  I'll set it aside and start work on the lower column  next.

[Craig DeShong]

Thanks for stopping by to see the latest progress.

I purchased a 4 inch diameter piece of aluminum in which to make the lower column.  Since the lower column has a 4 inch diameter I didn't have any extra diameter I could use to center the column and then turn the column around around that center.  I located the center carefully and I appear to have missed the exact center by less than .010 inches; good enough.

The next task was to face this piece of aluminum and set it's height to eight inches.  Below is a rather bizarre setup for facing the lower column, but I don't need to face it all the way through to the center since that will be cut out when I bore the column for the sleeve insert.

The photo below shows the setup.

[Admiral_dk]

Looks like you are rather productive -> nice progress 

I can't say that I have any questions, but I do enjoy reading and seeing the pictures of builds. That this is a very historical engine even if it wasn't the most usable this early in the developement of the IC engine.

Per

[Craig DeShong]

Thanks for your interest Per; your (and others) comments are always appreciated.  You are correct in stating that these Otto Langen engines had limited applications and had a relatively short useful life span; once the 4-stroke engines were offered, the termination in production of the Otto Langen type engines was cast.  Still, I've had pleasure in building the few I've made and I'm hoping this one will follow likewise.

Thanks also for those of you who merely stop by to see the latest developments/progress.

On with the build. 

A good friend, a retired tool and die maker, states that he can spend half his time making 'fixtures' to facilitate  the machining operations he performs.  I can't say I spend that much time on fixtures but in this case, one is required.  I'm contemplating boring and profiling the column and I'll need some support out on the end away from the lathe chuck.  I can't use a tail stock center because I need to bore the column.

Once again I'll be using my steady rest to support the outboard end of the column.  Unfortunately, my steady rest will not accommodate the diameter of the column, so a fixture to assist the machining operations is required.

I've spent the better part of the day fabricating a fixture to help me bore and the form the outside profile of this column.  Below is a photo of the completed fixture.



Below I give you a photo of the column,mounted in the lathe chuck.  As you should see, the column is way too long to expect stability during a boring operation, let alone allow exterior machining operations on the column.



The following two photos show this 'fixture' applied to the end of the column with the steady rest in place.





The next operation will be boring the column to accept the cylinder sleeve.

[Craig DeShong]

Thanks for stopping by.

Lots of progress over the last two days; through it doesn't look that way.  Boring out these columns is a lllllooooonnnnnggggg drawn out process.  I've drilled the column all the way through; actually from both ends- meeting at the center.  I'll bore the column from both ends also.  Now I'm boring to a depth of 5 inches; the long bore.  Once I get this done; I'll turn the piece around and bore the other end a mere 3 inches to meet. 

As I already stated, the long bore doesn’t need to be exact.  I only need clearance for the cylinder insert to pass through.  On the the opposite side from this side (the one with the three inch bore) I'll need to hit a specific measurement in order to press in the column and have a good tight  fit at the bottom of the cylinder sleeve. 

[Art K]

Craig,
Just wanted to drop you a line so you know I'm following along, by the way how long is that bore that you need to work from both ends?
Art

[Johnmcc69]

"Thanks also for those of you who merely stop by to see the latest developments/progress."

 

 

 John

[Craig DeShong]

Thanks for stopping by.

Art:  the bore on the lower column is eight inches thru.  five on the upper which will be next after I complete this lower column.

John.  Thanks for your comment and to know you're aboard.  I too silently stop by many threads without often making comment.

Another boring day (ok- that was funny huh  HUH???)

I managed to make it thru the one side to the final diameter.



Now, turning the piece around In the lathe and repeating again... kinda, sorta.


I'll need to hit a specific diameter on this side since it takes a press fit to the cylinder sleeve.

[Craig DeShong]

Thanks for stopping by.

Another busy day was spent boring out the lower column


and by the end of the day I managed to complete all the interior work on this part.  I still have some external work to perform on this piece, but I'm going to set it aside temporarily and perform the boring on the upper column.  This column is only 4 1/2 inches in length, so I'm thinking I probably won't need the steady rest any longer.

[Craig DeShong]

Thanks for stopping by.

This is the fourth one of these Otto Langen models I've built, and I keep forgetting what an ordeal it is to bore out the column.  I could purchase aluminum tubing, but the price is even higher than the solid; still if I build another of these I might just spring for the extra expense just to eliminate some of the tedium.

I put in a long day at the lathe today and got the majority of the work completed in boring out the upper column.  Below is a photo when I was just getting started.


And below is a photo after I'd finished the one side.


I was originally planning on just boring this upper column through; it's only 4 ¼ inches in height but I need a good resistance fit against the liner at the top and I was concerned with controlling the diameter of the bore out at the end of the cut with no real way to measure it's diameter there. As I have stated above, the cylinder liner doesn't need  to fit the column snugly, in fact the full size has a water jacket between the liner and the outside casting.  I'm not providing for a water jacket with the model.

Next I'll turn this piece around in the lathe and finish the bore.  I only have less than an inch to go in depth to meet the bore from this other side and I should be able to get an accurate diameter I can measure.

[Craig DeShong]

Thanks for stopping by.

Work continued on the column today.  First on the agenda was to turn the upper column member around and finish the bore from the top side.  I needed to hit an exact measurement with this because the cylinder sleeve needs to fit snugly so it isn't prone to wobbling around at the base of the table top.  Here I'm just getting started on the bore.



Once that was complete, I had some external work to do on the lower and upper column members.  I did these in what we might consider “out of sequence” but there was a method to my madness.  In all cases I wanted to support the cylinder out on the tailstock end of the work and this required making a plug that fit into the bored cylinder with a center drilled hole on the outside for the tailstock live center on the lathe.  By choosing the largest diameter to work first, and then working on down to the smallest, I was able to use only one piece of material which was discarded after all the work was complete.

Here I'm shaping a flair on the top end of the bottom column member.  This flair gives a little decoration where the lower column and upper column join.


Next, since the stock I used for the upper column was ¼ inch larger in diameter than what the drawings call for, I turned the upper column to the required diameter.



Next I placed a small shoulder on the bottom of the upper column so it fits into a recess in the top of the lower column.  This will keep the two members aligned during and after assembly.



Lastly, I formed a shoulder in the bottom of the lower column.  This shoulder fits into the recess in the column base.



With all the lathe work complete for the column I did a  “mock” assembly to see how everything fit.  Looks good so far.  I have a few holes to drill in the upper column and then I can set these parts aside and continue to do the required machining on the cylinder sleeve.



Today UPS delivered my flywheels and a small curved spoke flywheel I'll use as the basis for a pully.  All these from Martin Models.  65 lbs. Shipping.  The castings are just gorgeous .... almost to nice to put a tool to.   (Jo: hide this post or Surus will want a duplicate set ). I'll be removing almost all of the outer rim to get these castings to resemble the thin rimmed Otto Langen flywheels.