Bar-stock "Mary"

[RReid]

That's a really interesting sequence Joe; very instructive and a beautiful result. It looks like you had fun!

[Bear]

Very clever, Joe. You are truly a machinist. I may have asked in the past; but, what is the other lathe you are using, the green one?

[joe d]

RReid:  Thanks, yes this was a fun bit to make!  Bear, thanks, that lathe is a far east product, badged as "Craftex" by Busy Bee here in Canada,
no doubt available under many names around the globe!  It has served me well, lots of grunt compared to a Taig.  Dropped enough $ to get the model that screw cuts.


Joe

[Bear]

Thanks, Joe.

[Kim]

Nice work on the connecting rod, Joe!  Love how you did the flutes along the length.

Thanks Charlie.  It's those fiddly bits that keep us coming back!  A good primer for brass is like that winning lottery ticket... it's out there, but odds are long.

Why don't you ask Chris (Crueby) what he uses?  He paints plenty of brass - he must have some method he uses!
Kim

[crueby]

Nice work on the connecting rod, Joe!  Love how you did the flutes along the length.

Thanks Charlie.  It's those fiddly bits that keep us coming back!  A good primer for brass is like that winning lottery ticket... it's out there, but odds are long.

Why don't you ask Chris (Crueby) what he uses?  He paints plenty of brass - he must have some method he uses!
Kim

I have had good luck with Duplicolor engine enamel with ceramic spray paint, meant for car engines. Holds up great to heat, no baking, dries quick, goes on thin. Cleaning off any oils first is important, just very hot water and dish soap will do. A good etching primer would likely help, I have not found one  these days. The engine paint holds up well, still nothing like a baked on paint or powder coat for durability. The bake on ones I tried required mixing and spraying which was not great for small batches. A lot of great paints went away with reduced VOC rules.

[joe d]

Thanks Chris, I'll give that a try.  Local autoparts dealer stocks duplicolor.

Joe

[joe d]

More connecting rod:

Trimmed the small end, milled the relief for the bearing, drilled & filed the slot for the cotter & gib


Milled out the centre of the big end, then on the rotary table to shape the outside curves


Cut off the excess material, milled the bearing locations, drilled & filed the key & cotter slots


soldered together two pieces of brass that had been cut in half lengthwise, centred the part line in the lathe,
turned & drilled the bearings.  Wrapped some wire around them for the drilling & parting off to prevent them separating


Where it goes:


As before, some simple cutting, filing, & bending for the strap & cotter & gib


Assembled on the crank pin


More of the same for the big end


Won't be long now!

[joe d]

Connecting rod in place:


And a short run on air!   IT'S ALIVE!
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6d1eU0psQI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6d1eU0psQI</a>
Running on about 20 PSI from the compressor reservoir, hadn't fitted a valve to reduce the flow.  Should run nice and slow once it's all run in.

Joe

[Admiral_dk]

Congratulations - you got a runner 

It is a bit tight, but I expect that this will disappear after more running time or are you doing more work on it first ?

Per

[joe d]

Thanks Per.  Still have the inlet & throttle valves, and the governor left to do.  May well jury rig some sort of belt drive to run it in while
I'm playing around with those parts.  Then, of course, take it all apart for finishing!

Joe

[RReid]

That looks great now, will look fantastic all prettied up and just ticking over. 

[Bear]

Great job, Joe. It has been a treat to watch this build and the ultimate accomplishment of it running well.

[crueby]

Terrific! Always a big grin when it first takes off!

[joe d]

Ron, Bear, Chris:  Thanks guys!  Definitely big grin time here.

Joe