Author Topic: Large Flywheels  (Read 7494 times)

Offline Jo

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Large Flywheels
« on: August 24, 2021, 02:07:10 PM »
One of our casting sets was short of a flywheel and Graham offered to get one cast for me. When it finally arrived I could only describe the parcel and its contents as a "heavy lump".

Quote
Hi Jo.
Yes a heavy lump indeed….
It was the final addition that made Vincent’s engine run smoothly. The pattern was made from a Vee belt pulley with three rings of flat bar rolled and welded to form the rim. If you can find a spare half hour perhaps you’d machine it and let me know if it’s sound?

Its not going to take half an hour to turn up  :hellno: It took 1/2 hour to file off the flashing from the inner edge of the rim in between three spokes so I could try to see if it could be held on a three jaw chuck. I decided no it could not be held safely on the three jaw chuck. So this is how I machined it on the faceplate.....

This flywheel is not massive, only rather heavy  :paranoia: One side of the flywheel was better than the other so I have clamped that "good face" against the faceplate and roughly centred the flywheel by eye using the edge of the tool as a reference. Its within about 3mm of centre.

I started with the obligatory chicken stick making sure it stayed put against the faceplate, selected slow speed and turned Big C on  :paranoia:



Slowly hand feeding the cross slide, listening to the chink, chick as the tool cut the nasty uneven lumps off. Another 2 cuts and:



As you can see I have a flat surface but it is not yet smooth and it will do for now, that extra cut that needs to come off is going to save me a potential problem shortly  ;)

You can see how big the faceplate is relative to the cross slide position and how I have had to angle the tool post to enable the tool to cut the surface:



Time now to test my muscles by turning it round ready for the main part of the turning ::)

Jo

« Last Edit: August 24, 2021, 02:10:50 PM by Jo »
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Offline Vixen

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2021, 02:46:25 PM »
Hello Jo,

That looks to be a big heavy lump of iron. Whats it's weight and diameter? It's appears to be about at the diameter limit for your lathe, so I hope it stays safely in place on the faceplate. 

What does the cryptic message on the tailstock refer to?

Stay safe

Mike
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Offline propforward

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #2 on: August 24, 2021, 02:46:48 PM »
That is a big lump of metal. Impressive!
Stuart

Forging ahead regardless.

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #3 on: August 24, 2021, 03:44:48 PM »
Hi Jo.

Good to see the flywheel on the lathe.

I’ve definitely got one “ waster “ here. We just discovered that they’d run one into the rim and “ risered “ the hub. This has left a very porous looking ingate. Only time and machining will tell.

I have my fingers crossed for phase two.

Here’s one I prepared earlier, much earlier…. :)

Cheers Graham.

Offline Jo

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #4 on: August 24, 2021, 04:53:45 PM »
Mike: The post-it on the tailstock is to remind me that the DRO X-axis read head had been skipping - I think I have fixed it but to be aware of it.


I think they risered the hub on this one and then broke it off  :facepalm:


Before I put the flywheel back up I thought I would capture a quick picture of the edge:



While it looks horrible the wider edge seems to be on only one side so I will be cutting on the smaller diameter side.

I had to use the uneven centre where the riser had been broken off while remounting the flywheel, not easy as it was all over the place:



So first job was to face that off and centre drill:



Now to position the tool to cut the rim... First off set the top slide so I can get round the back:



Zero the DRO while the tool is touching the faceplate as I don't want to cut into that  :hellno:  Then check, yes as suspected  :ShakeHead:



I cannot use the chuck guard as it hits the tool post and of course that means it needs to be up and..



then it blocks the Z axis readout  :Doh: Now that I am aware of those time to check the available movement of the tool, first to the outside facing edge:



And check that there is sufficient space to move in without hitting the tailstock:



With tailstock support we can now finally we can face the outside of the rim.



The outside of the rim will have to wait until tomorrow, I have some important watering and cross stitching to do  ::)

Jo
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Offline maury

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #5 on: August 24, 2021, 05:59:56 PM »
I used to machine large flywheels, and I was using a foundry that made parts for the oil field industry here in Texas. Needless to say a lot of them came back quite rough.
I found using a light hammer and chisel worked well for removing the flashing.
Good luck on your flywheel.

maury
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Offline gbritnell

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #6 on: August 24, 2021, 08:26:16 PM »
Well at least the iron looks clean!
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Offline Roger B

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #7 on: August 24, 2021, 08:28:03 PM »
That's quite a piece, way beyond my capabilities. I am stretched by an RCM 125mm flying wheel  ::)
Best regards

Roger

Offline RReid

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #8 on: August 24, 2021, 08:36:43 PM »
Quote
That's quite a piece, way beyond my capabilities. I am stretched by an RCM 125mm flying wheel
I agree with Roger. I once turned a 27" diameter part on a 28" (or 14" by UK reckoning) lathe. Now I have to use the same technique to turn a 3" diameter flywheel!
Regards,
Ron

Offline Jo

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #9 on: August 25, 2021, 07:17:37 AM »
I've machined a fair bit of Cast Iron and what ever type they made this out of it is making everything go black (including the white t-shirt I was wearing yesterday  :facepalm:)

+1 for the chisel to remove flashing but you need to make sure it doesn't break into the bit you want to keep. I resorted to cutting down the stuff between the spokes with a hacksaw there was so much of it  ::)

That's quite a piece, way beyond my capabilities. I am stretched by an RCM 125mm flying wheel  ::)

Its the flying bit that I always get concerned about  :paranoia:


Hope to get the outer rim outside face done later.  :) 

Jo
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Offline jadge

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #10 on: August 25, 2021, 11:01:16 AM »
Hmm, not sure I'd want to stand in the way of a flywheel with only two clamps.  :o

Here's how I held my flywheels for machining:



The two diametrically opposed posts bolted to the faceplate locate the flywheel in the plane of the faceplate and also provide the drive, ie, the drive doesn't rely on friction between faceplate and casting. The clamps simply prevent the flywheel from falling off the faceplate and are only nipped up. The flywheel is held off the faceplate so the OD can be machined at the same setting as the front face and bore. For scale the faceplate is 18" diameter and the flywheel a bit under 17" diameter before machining.

Andrew

Offline Jo

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #11 on: August 25, 2021, 11:58:20 AM »
Hmm, not sure I'd want to stand in the way of a flywheel with only two clamps.  :o


It is being held on by a pair of Unbrako Tee bolts which have a tensile strength of 180 Ksi (Kilopounds per square inch pressure)  plus the tailstock as backup = it is not going anywhere. And of course the faceplate has 8 slots and only 2 line up on a 6 spoke flywheel in a position you can get a clamping plate on :disappointed:

I have the larger faceplate as well, thankfully this one fits on the diddy faceplate so I don't have to take out the gap  ;)


2mm off so far and you can see just how far the two sides of the flywheel were out: one side is showing half machined and the other nothing  :-\

Jo


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Offline Vixen

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #12 on: August 25, 2021, 12:07:16 PM »

2mm off so far and you can see just how far the two sides of the flywheel were out: one side is showing half machined and the other nothing  :-\

Jo

Hello Jo

Did you centre the flywheel casting on the hub centre? or on the inside of the flywheel rim?

Just asking.

Mike
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Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #13 on: August 25, 2021, 12:15:55 PM »
Good morning Jo.

May I provide a minor correction about your casting?

Yours was run directly on the hub. This means that the “ sprue “ effectively became  the riser after the pour.

In your opening post you presented my email reply to you after delivery where I explained about the patterns origins. This is what is termed an “ odd side “ in foundry parlance. This means that to be able to make a casting the moulder has to dig down to find the split line. Because I wanted 4 flywheels they made an odd side box so that the digging down to the split was reduced to a minimum. The pattern, by my standards today is absolutely awful, a foundrymans nightmare. No draft on the rim which makes the “ pull “ very difficult to do without damaging the fragile edges of the sand. Because an odd side box is used there’s always a major chance of “ flashing “ occurring on the spokes etc.

Every foundry that I’ve used over the years was instructed not to “ fettle “ the castings other than to remove heavy flashing and runners. This ensured that the recipient wouldn’t complain about any missing detail on their casting. This policy led to minimal returns other than the odd, unseen flaw.

The Iron…. Well, I’m impressed. Reminiscent of the grade that Rhuddlan did all those years ago. I’ve had a tussle with a hub on a smaller flywheel recently. A really “ chilled “ spot caused some choice words but some quality Carbide won the battle.

Here’s a photo of one of theirs but made from a split pattern, the difference is astonishing. Apart from a quick tickle with my Powerfile under the rim in three places for chucking, zero fettling was required.

Cheers Graham.

« Last Edit: August 25, 2021, 03:23:55 PM by Alyn Foundry »

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #14 on: August 25, 2021, 12:26:13 PM »

Hello Jo

Did you centre the flywheel casting on the hub centre? or on the inside of the flywheel rim?

Just asking.

Mike

Hi Mike.

Obviously not Jo but my method is to get the inner rim looking as true as possible to the eye when it’s rotating.
There’s very little that can be done in this area, machining wise. The hub is then trued up along with the outer rim and hopefully the whole assembly looks good when it’s done.

Cheers Graham.
« Last Edit: August 25, 2021, 04:15:20 PM by Alyn Foundry »

Offline Jo

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #15 on: August 25, 2021, 04:24:47 PM »
I centred partly on the inner rim of the flywheel but also on the two other ridges and found a happy medium between the two.

Another 2mm off the flywheels and I still have bits of casting showing and that around that area it is a little harder than the machined surface:



The other side is still showing the casting mark and this is a bit deeper:




Finally having removed the casting marks from the outside area you can see it is still slightly hard:




The other side is looking better:



Finally after taking 6mm off the outside of the rim I am going to stop with only this slight mark showing:




Ignoring the temptation to smooth off the first of the inside curves it is time to bore for the crankshaft. Start by finding a suitable piece of bar to use as a plug gauge:

 

As you can see this piece of 3/4" bar is not 19.05mm diameter, clearly someone was sold 19mm bar when they asked for some more mature material  ::)

Back to boring the hole: I started by drilling a small hole through from the tailstock. When the lathe is doing 85rpm it takes a long time to drill a small hole  :Doh:



But drilling becomes much quicker as the sizes go up:



Now I need to bore the hole  so that it is a nice snug fit on the plug gauge. What this needs is a long thin boring bar which is small enough to go through the hole (17.5mm). I have a 16mm diameter bar but the two tee bolts are sticking too far out to be able to use my boring bar held directly in a tool holder on the tool post, without some dreadful flexing  :ShakeHead:.

So time to support the bar by finding one of my DA tool holders to hold the boring bar in, then hold the DA tool holder in the toolpost holder:



Having checked that the tool can go all the way through without anything hitting  :paranoia: We come to the boring part   ::)



At this point I decided best not finish it today and risk rushing it but leave it until tomorrow when there is less chance of making mistakes  ;)

Jo


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Offline Jasonb

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #16 on: August 25, 2021, 06:51:14 PM »
Graham, is this flywheel much larger in diameter than the 11" one shown on the retlas drawings?

Jo what was the reason you had to drill at such a slow speed? that may have been what you chose for the rim but would have thought you could wind up the wick for drilling and boring as clamping looks reasonably well balanced.

Offline Roger B

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #17 on: August 25, 2021, 06:53:26 PM »
Discretion is the better part of valour. I think I would have done the same with an unknown casting  ::)
Best regards

Roger

Offline Jasonb

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #18 on: August 25, 2021, 07:21:02 PM »
I thought all castings were a bit of an unknown as you can't really tell what's going on inside until you cut into them :LittleDevil:

Then again I do tend to turn my flywheels quite fast, usually around 250m/min but make sure they are held securely

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #19 on: August 25, 2021, 07:54:38 PM »
Graham, is this flywheel much larger in diameter than the 11" one shown on the retlas drawings?

Jo what was the reason you had to drill at such a slow speed? that may have been what you chose for the rim but would have thought you could wind up the wick for drilling and boring as clamping looks reasonably well balanced.

Hi Jason.
Just a smidgen, 1/4" to be exact. but one heck of a lot heavier, weighing in at just under 8Kg.

Judging by Jo's photos I'm hoping there weren't any " hidden extras "  supplied.   :)

I too run at much greater speed when at the hub. If nothings moved whilst doing the rim then I assume we're tight enough to go.

Cheers Graham.

Offline Jo

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #20 on: August 25, 2021, 08:01:18 PM »
Then again I do tend to turn my flywheels quite fast, usually around 250m/min but make sure they are held securely

I would like to see you try mounting that flywheel on your lathe and spin it at that speed. I reckon when you turned it on it would take a large lump out of its bed   :stir:

Jo
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Offline Roger B

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #21 on: August 25, 2021, 08:03:11 PM »
I did some calculations a while ago on maximum speeds for cast iron flywheels they are actually quite low I will have to look them up.
Best regards

Roger

Offline Jasonb

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #22 on: August 25, 2021, 08:51:36 PM »
Then again I do tend to turn my flywheels quite fast, usually around 250m/min but make sure they are held securely

I would like to see you try mounting that flywheel on your lathe and spin it at that speed. I reckon when you turned it on it would take a large lump out of its bed   :stir:

Jo

Well I've happily turned 10.75" ones at 250rpm (215m/min) that's cutting speed at the rim, faster for the hole , Though they were a bit lighter I was limited by the fact they had cast in balance weights. However as I did it with the 4-jaw griping inside the rim all up weight probably not far off.

The Allman is just under 7kg and 10.5" dia that was done at 300rpm again with the 4 jaw weight and that's almost spot on 250m/min cutting speed

I'd actually need to cut a hole in the bed BEFORE turning it on as 11" is my max diameter :Lol:

Roger, tip maker's data gives 140-380m/min for CI so I'm about mid range. https://www.shop-apt.co.uk/carbide-inserts-for-turning-carbon-alloy-steel-general-use/ccmt-09t304-mpn-pc15-carbide-inserts-for-turning-cvd-coated-for-steel.html
« Last Edit: August 25, 2021, 08:59:38 PM by Jasonb »

Offline jadge

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #23 on: August 25, 2021, 08:58:29 PM »
For a 4ft flywheel with a tangential rim speed of 6600ft/min the rotation speed is 525rpm. So I don't think speed is likely to be a problem for the smaller flywheels being discussed.

I initially turned the OD of my flywheel at 85rpm, but that proved a bit sporty for the boring bar, so I dropped to 40rpm with a feed of 8 thou per rev and depth of cut of 40 thou. The hub was drilled and bored at 180rpm, again 8 thou per rev, for the boring and turning.

Andrew

Offline kvom

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #24 on: August 25, 2021, 09:04:26 PM »
That's about the same size as on my Greene engine. Casting was bigger to start.

Offline Jo

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #25 on: August 25, 2021, 09:43:28 PM »
I'd actually need to cut a hole in the bed BEFORE turning it on as 11" is my max diameter :Lol:


Exactly: if you mounted it on your faceplate it would hit the bed on the first rotation. As they say: size matters  ::) It is in industry where speed matters at home we can take our time and do things less stressful.

Graham expressed concern over potential casting problems so I took account of his concerns in choosing to turn at 85 RPM. In fact the casting has proven to be very nice and of good quality :)

Jo

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Offline Jasonb

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #26 on: August 26, 2021, 07:20:26 AM »
It is in industry where speed matters at home we can take our time and do things less stressful.

I've long been an advocate of faster can be better in some situations and said it many times, if you missed it this is my reasoning.

Those with variable speed hobby lathes will know that the torque drops off as speed is reduced and this becomes even worse as the diameter of the part increases. It is for this reason that using carbide and running the lathe faster than the "lowest backgear" favored by the old Myford stalwerts method is a far better option as it allows the motor to run at a better speed not only increasing torque but also increasing airflow from the inbuilt fan which saves the motor getting too hot which it would running dead slow under a lot of load and maybe even getting stalled.

The feed and DOC also need to be somewhat lighter (compared to Andrew's figures) due to the reduced torque and general lighter build of machine, I would be looking at a max DIOC of 0.25" (0.6mm) and a feed of 0.0025" ( 0.06mm) /rev. on a 9-10" flywheel.

Hopefully from this you can see that the job will not actually be done any faster as although my work may be moving faster it will need more passes. But the tool will be cutting within it's parameters and motor not getting stressed.

Just had a count up and having now done 34 cast iron flywheels of various sizes I'm happy that my methods work on the type of machines many hobby users have and would suggest they give it a try and also run faster when drilling the hole.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2021, 07:27:31 AM by Jasonb »

Offline Jo

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #27 on: August 26, 2021, 07:34:50 AM »
Those with variable speed hobby lathes will know that the torque drops off as speed is reduced and this becomes even worse as the diameter of the part increases.  It is for this reason that using carbide and running the lathe faster than the "lowest backgear" favored by the old Myford stalwerts method is a far better option as it allows the motor to run at a better speed not only increasing torque but also increasing airflow from the inbuilt fan which saves the motor getting too hot which it would running dead slow under a lot of load and maybe even getting stalled.

Big C is a British made quality industrial lathe with a geared head so lower speed = more torque, same motor speed.

Jo
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Offline Jasonb

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #28 on: August 26, 2021, 07:46:40 AM »
I know that and did not query your turning speed but that is the reason why the same methods of machining don't work well on the imported hobby machines

J

PS Missed three flywheels of the count should have been 37 :facepalm:

Offline jadge

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #29 on: August 26, 2021, 08:30:18 AM »
Those with variable speed hobby lathes will know that the torque drops off as speed is reduced and this becomes even worse as the diameter of the part increases.

And they'd be wrong. In general as the speed is decreased the torque stays constant. However, since the speed is decreasing the power also decreases in proportion. Torque does not vary with work diameter, although the tangential force available, and hence cutting force, does. With an old school belt or geared head as the speed decreases the torque increases, keeping the power constant.

Andrew

Offline Jasonb

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #30 on: August 26, 2021, 08:51:03 AM »
Thanks for putting me right Andrew.

Maybe best to say they don't have so much guts at lower revs an large dia work compared to belt/geared machines. But can still produce the goods if working methods are adjusted to suit.

What units would the reduced cutting force be measured in lbs.ft or the metric equivelent? If so maybe that's why I said torque as the units are similar :headscratch:

Offline Charles Lamont

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #31 on: August 26, 2021, 09:40:37 AM »
Well, a force will be Pounds force or newtons, while a torque is foot pounds force or newton metres (unless you like some odd Elbonian system of units).

The units for torque are the same as for work done. Multipy be speed to get power.

On the rare occasions I use imperial units in calculations I am careful to distingush between pounds mass, lb, and pounds force, lbf. For heavy duty calculations I normally convert everything to metric first (then convert the answers back, eg to tons [force] per square inch, to get an idea what they mean).  The clearer distinction between kilogram mass and newton force is one of the things that make life easier in ISO units.

I am of age where, although aware of them, I thankfully did not have to get my head round ergs, slugs and poundals.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2021, 09:45:27 AM by Charles Lamont »

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #32 on: August 26, 2021, 11:56:21 AM »
Good morning Jo.

Very pleased to read that the casting is sound.  :ThumbsUp:

Are you going on to the rest or putting it away for a future build log ? The engine, although with a few castings presents some quite challenging operations for the home machinist.

Cheers Graham.

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #33 on: August 26, 2021, 12:21:14 PM »

PS Missed three flywheels of the count should have been 37 :facepalm:

Not wishing to brag Jason….

But I’m now into the second hundred or so over the last 40 years.

Cheers Graham.

Offline Jo

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #34 on: August 26, 2021, 12:22:17 PM »

Are you going on to the rest or putting it away for a future build log ? The engine, although with a few castings presents some quite challenging operations for the home machinist.


I normally do not look to start an engine before all of the castings are to hand and one of this casting set is "on holiday"  ::) . I will be back on my Bee shortly. As for when I do next it all depends on how I feel when I get to the end of a specific model and what casting sets I am allowed access to


Its bored and the piece of undersized 19.05mm bar is a tight fit - so tight that I had to put the drive dog on it to get it out again. I will leave it like this as I can always hone it out to fit which ever bar I choose to make the crankshaft out of.



Then the outside of the hub was cleaned up using a 10mm button tool:



Same tool to do the inside of the rim:



The flywheel has been turned round and while using the centre in the tailstock to centre the flywheel and hold it up tightened against the face plate ready for the final couple of cleaning up cuts:



Lunch finished off so time to complete the turning  :)

Jo
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Offline steamer

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #35 on: August 26, 2021, 12:56:04 PM »
Coming along very nicely Jo....what engine is that?

Dave
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Offline Jasonb

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #36 on: August 26, 2021, 02:17:16 PM »

But I’m now into the second hundred or so over the last 40 years.


Ah but you have made a lot more for reward than me ;) How does the number of flywheels machined tally with the number of engines made? I would have thought a few more flywheels than complete engines. :thinking:

I did get asked to make a Retlas but turned it down due to the flywheel diameter, could have been interesting as the owner had quite a few Gardner drawings and wanted things altered to make it look more like one of those. Though of the few I have made for people they have all been engines I would have wanted to build but unlikely to get the chance as they were all out of production and hard to find casting sets, unfortunately the Retlas was not high on my want to build list anyway so I may not have been so enthusiastic therefore probably no bad thing that it would not fit on the lathe.

Almost there Jo and interested to see the Bee progress some more.

I think the dirtiest cast iron I have machined was some flywheels from TS in germany who get them cast in the Saxony region, more like machining a 9H pencil than iron but lovely castings.


Offline Jo

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #37 on: August 26, 2021, 02:21:16 PM »
Thanks Dave, its our Retlas - Graham showed a partial picture of one earlier. Odd looking thing with lots of nice hard to hold castings to keep me occupied  :)

The other side of the flywheel is a repeat of the first so I did not bother with any more pictures. The last stage is the fettling - which has just been abandoned due to a blister beginning to form on my left thumb  :Doh:

If you recall that large ridge on the outside which was caused by the two sides of the flywheel not being true in the pattern box well it also exists on the inside of the rim  :toilet_claw:



This is the on going filing challenge  :facepalm: Overall the flywheel looks ok,



it feels much lighter than when it started  ::) It still needs the centre broaching for the key but that will be done along with the crankshaft so everything fits together.

Once my thumb recovers I will finish off the filing and give it a coat of primer before handing it over to my casting custodian  .

Jo
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Offline Jasonb

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #38 on: August 26, 2021, 02:35:45 PM »
Don't know if you have any of those rubber "thimbles" used for counting money but they can be handy for sore fingers or thumbs, I have a woodworking tool that can cause the same issue so just slip a couple of those on if using it a lot. Alternative is to just do a bit each day while mostly working on something else.

Offline steamer

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #39 on: August 26, 2021, 03:10:24 PM »
Hi Jo

Thanks for the post, that activity is the only time I'd consider gloves....and leather ones at that.

Do you have compressed air in your shop?   A rotary carbide burr would knock the worst of that off in a hurry....and you could clean it up with a file after...easier on the arms...

Dave
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #40 on: August 26, 2021, 03:48:39 PM »
Coming along very nicely Jo....what engine is that?

Dave

Here you go Dave.

This is the last one I built for a customer some 20 odd years ago.

I won’t go into too much detail here but it’s “ loosely “ based upon a size 1 vertical Gardner engine. For the Gardner aficionados they should notice that I put a great deal of effort into making it more Gardnerish.

Offline steamer

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #41 on: August 26, 2021, 04:10:23 PM »
Has a definite small boat flavor to it!   I like it!

Dave
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Damned ijjit!

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #42 on: August 26, 2021, 04:29:50 PM »
Has a definite small boat flavor to it!   I like it!

Dave

You’d need a long gas pipe for that Dave !  :lolb:

On a serious note Gardner also built a “ Spirit “ and an “ Oil “ version too.

Offline Jo

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #43 on: August 26, 2021, 04:47:44 PM »
Do you have compressed air in your shop?   A rotary carbide burr would knock the worst of that off in a hurry....and you could clean it up with a file after...easier on the arms...

I do not have an air die grinder any more. I did give it a go with my dremel with one of those sanding drums. It was doing a good job I will probably use that towards the end of the fettling process.

Looking forward to getting back to finishing off the Bee  :) .

Jo
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Offline Jasonb

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #44 on: August 26, 2021, 05:15:48 PM »
Don't you need a Dia Grinder for the Alyn castings :LittleDevil:

I find the Dremel sanding drums wear quite fast, the orangeish grinding bits or carbide burrs are more effective though you have to watch out as their small diameter can soon give an uneven surface if you are not careful, at least a file covers a larger area and give sa more even surface

Offline Jo

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #45 on: August 26, 2021, 06:38:41 PM »
Don't you need a Dia Grinder for the Alyn castings :LittleDevil:

You will have to explain your attempt at humour Jason. I have never heard of "Dia" Grinders and neither has Mr Google  :headscratch:

Jo
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Offline Jasonb

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #46 on: August 26, 2021, 07:06:19 PM »
It's the Welsh version ;)

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #47 on: August 26, 2021, 07:12:57 PM »
It's the Welsh version ;)

Typical….

Dai Affectionate name for David or Dewi in the mother tongue.

I was “ Dai cast “  :)

Offline steamer

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #48 on: August 26, 2021, 07:17:51 PM »
It's the Welsh version ;)

It's the Welsh version ;)

Typical….

Dai Affectionate name for David or Dewi in the mother tongue.

I was “ Dai cast “  :)

It's clear you Blokes have a lot of time on  your hands over there...... :stickpoke:
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline crueby

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #49 on: August 26, 2021, 07:19:29 PM »
It's the Welsh version ;)

It's the Welsh version ;)

Typical….

Dai Affectionate name for David or Dewi in the mother tongue.

I was “ Dai cast “  :)

It's clear you Blokes have a lot of time on  your hands over there...... :stickpoke:
I thought it was a takeoff on the Toronto 'Eh!', guess I was way wrong! 

Offline Roger B

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #50 on: August 26, 2021, 07:47:08 PM »
Croeso i Gymru  cariad (it was many years ago I lived there)
Best regards

Roger

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #51 on: January 31, 2022, 01:18:10 PM »
Well….

This I think is the “ mother “ of them all ! Weighing in at a staggering 20 Kg and 15” in diameter.

Finally arrived the fruits of Jason’s labours last year. I now have to find a lathe to machine it on.

Cheers Graham.

Offline Jasonb

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #52 on: January 31, 2022, 01:25:10 PM »
That looks a nice crisp casting. Cover it up quick before you start an elephant stampeed :pinkelephant:

No excuses for not finishing off the Bryston now :LittleDevil: Did the Yoke and caps get cast at the same time?
« Last Edit: January 31, 2022, 01:36:14 PM by Jasonb »

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #53 on: January 31, 2022, 01:39:51 PM »
That looks a nice crisp casting. Cover it up quick before you start an elephant stampeed :pinkelephant:

No excuses for not finishing off the Bryston now :LittleDevil: Did the Yoke and caps get cast at the same time?

Other than the fact that the rest should arrive in about 28 days, no, no excuse whatsoever Jason. ( yoke went off today ) Thanks again, the crispness is entirely due to your excellent work, nothing more.  :ThumbsUp:

Cheers Graham.

Offline Jo

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #54 on: January 31, 2022, 03:11:53 PM »
That got someone's interest  :pinkelephant:  He will be complaining about wanting more castings next  :ShakeHead: We had no end of problems when he found I had been using some of his empty casting boxes for things other than castings  :facepalm:

Its only 15" in diameter that's smaller than Big C's faceplate, that should be easily turnable on your face plate Graham  ::)

Jo
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Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Large Flywheels
« Reply #55 on: January 31, 2022, 03:51:47 PM »
Loads of castings here at present Jo.  ;)

Sadly the LeBlonde doesn’t have a “ gap “ I’m stuck at 14” maximum with my machine. Perhaps you’d like to machine it for me?   :)

Cheers Graham

 

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