The Le Rhone 9C

[Craig DeShong]

Kim. Ben, Per; thanks for your comments.  Thanks also for those who take the time to stop by to see the latest.

Between the Physical therapy for my knee and the reduced shop time the knee demands, progress has been slowed.  I still am getting in some shop time though.  Last week brought another wrinkle; the VFD on my mill surrendered to age and refused to deliver a reliable, constant spindle speed on the mill.

I found a replacement and purchased and installed it. I still need to set up an on/off switch at the mill (as opposed to using the start/stop function on the new VFD mounted to the wall) but that will require some step-ladder work and I’m not too keen on addressing that till the knee gets a bit better.  The on/off function on the VFD will work for now.

I show the progress below.  This is a photo of the completed gear train that will drive the cam disks.  The cam disks will attach to the center gear on top of the stack. (need to drill some mounting holes for the cam disks yet).



I also made a “false” front for the engine case.  There is a bearing in the front of the engine case that stabilizes the front of the crankshaft extension.  With a solid crankcase front it would be impossible to observe the cam disks and cam rockers to verify their operation.  I made this ‘temporary’ front for the engine so I can ‘look in’ and verify that everything is functioning as designed.

[cnr6400]

Great work Craig!   

[steamer]

Kim. Ben, Per; thanks for your comments.  Thanks also for those who take the time to stop by to see the latest.

Between the Physical therapy for my knee and the reduced shop time the knee demands, progress has been slowed.  I still am getting in some shop time though.  Last week brought another wrinkle; the VFD on my mill surrendered to age and refused to deliver a reliable, constant spindle speed on the mill.

I found a replacement and purchased and installed it. I still need to set up an on/off switch at the mill (as opposed to using the start/stop function on the new VFD mounted to the wall) but that will require some step-ladder work and I’m not too keen on addressing that till the knee gets a bit better.  The on/off function on the VFD will work for now.

I show the progress below.  This is a photo of the completed gear train that will drive the cam disks.  The cam disks will attach to the center gear on top of the stack. (need to drill some mounting holes for the cam disks yet).



I also made a “false” front for the engine case.  There is a bearing in the front of the engine case that stabilizes the front of the crankshaft extension.  With a solid crankcase front it would be impossible to observe the cam disks and cam rockers to verify their operation.  I made this ‘temporary’ front for the engine so I can ‘look in’ and verify that everything is functioning as designed.

I hear you about the knee Craig.   I had mine surgically reconstructed about 3 years ago....torn quad tendon....bad.....kneeling is just becoming possible, and I recently put a new sink in complete with some pipe sweating!     but it's just never going to be the same that's for sure.

The engine is coming along great!    Can't wait to hear her come to life!

Dave

[kvom]

I've been told that switching at the mill can damage a VFD.  On mine, the VFD is wall mounted but has a remote control pad that I mounted on the mill.

[Craig DeShong]

Kirk

For that possible reason I’m using the controls on the VFD to start/stop the mill.  The VFD does support the facility for a remote switch I’ll mount on the mill, to control the on/off function of the VFD and that is what I’ll use when I get to it.

[bent]

Looking good Craig!  The false front is a good idea, I can imagine a bit of fiddling being required to get the cams/lifters/springs/followers set properly.
 

[Craig DeShong]

Ben: we think alike. 

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and see the latest.

A bit of progress today… somewhat hampered by having to coordinate the replacement of our washing machine… which was showing signs of wanting to puke all over the floor of the house.

Today was a day of assembly; installing the cam rockers and push/pull rods to the engine case.  I’m thinking I might take an aside here and make a cam disk without cams.  With the specified diameter, it should allow all eighteen of the rollers on the cam-followers to rest on this cam-less cam disk.   This should uncover any in consistencies in placement of the cam-followers.  If any are out of place, it should be easy to tell.  The cam-followers have to be in alignment in order for the valves to operate properly.

[bent]

   Wow.   That's really coming together nicely, Craig.  I like the idea of an alignment jig/false cam.  Possibly a couple diameters?  Thinking you could also (i.e. in addition to alignment of followers) preset the rod lengths if the "cam" was sized in the neutral (all valves closed) position...then use the smaller one to verify the spring force is sufficient to...um which was it, open the exhaust?  Or intake?  Whichever.  Maybe that's too much work versus just installing the true cam next and working on timing.  Is there an adjustment for timing other than slipping the cam along one gear tooth at a time?

 

[ddmckee54]

Craig:

Some time ago we discussed that these were push/pull rods, and that you'd probably have a lash to set in both directions.  Would it be possible to make your "cam-less" cam disc of the correct dimension that you could set the lash of all 9 of the cylinders in one of those directions at once?  Kill 2 birds with one cam-less cam?

Don

[Craig DeShong]

Thanks for stopping by to see the latest.

Ben: I am hoping that the action of the two cam disks, working against the cam rockers will push/pull the valve push/pull rods to an alignment where the valve springs will not need to exert force against them; their job should just be to close the valves.  The valve springs aren’t near strong enough to move the push/pull rods.  There will be a bit of clearance between the valve rockers and the valve stems, so the push/pull rods will have a bit of travel before they actually open a valve.  At least, that’s the plan.

Don: It doesn’t appear that the full size had a way to adjust valve/rocker clearance.  I’m assuming they must have, I just haven’t been able to uncover the method in which they did it.  I suspect I’ll need to re-make a few valve rockers to get the lash I want.  Seems I’m re-making a lot of things with this model.

Well, I haven’t posted for a while.  Things have gotten rather hectic here at the DeShong abode.  Last week a storm came through and dropped power poles and power transformers in the roads in the neighborhood.  One of the huge oak trees in the yard was blown down in the storm.  It grazed the house, only causing minor damage but it fell in the driveway and destroyed beyond repair, the wife’s car, my son’s truck, and my eighteen year old Ford F-150- all the vehicles we own.  Between getting the tree removed, talking to insurance adjusters, searching for new transportation, and trying to attend Physical Therapy for my knee there hasn’t been much time left for shop activity.

Before all the above occurred I did get a cam disk made and fitted well enough to realize the I needed to re-design the cam rocker system, changing the pivot points of the cam rockers so they can ride up over the ramps on the cam disks better than with the current design.  I have a new design and I’ve started re-making parts.

So- stay tuned and I hope to have a more encouraging update in a week or so.

[crueby]

Ouch on the house/car/trees, but glad you all came through it okay! And glad the workshop is okay!!

[Kim]

Yowsa!  That was some storm. Sorry it hit you so hard, and sorry about your cars and having to deal with insurance.  That's never any fun So much more fun to go play in the shop.  Hopefully, you'll get that stuff behind you in a few weeks and be able to put your effort into the fun stuff again!

Kim

[propforward]

Sorry to hear all of that - sure hope you can get past the hassle and back to some quality time soon.

[Admiral_dk]

Ohh - that Storm where too close for comfort and sorry about the damage - but the important fact is that none of your where injured 

Need for parts remaking ehh - though annoying - we have all been there and at least you will be happier with their replacements ....

Per

[MJM460]

Hi Craig, sorry to hear about the storm damage, you would think it could have at least given you a bit more time to get over the knee surgery.  I hope the insurance company can treat you kindly but such events always involve time and effort before they are completely resolved.  Good that no one was hurt and the house damage is not too severe.

MJM460