Elmer's Fancy II

[EricB]

Only three small parts today, the cylinder pivot pin, piston, and connecting rod.

Earlier the cylinder was drilled and tapped 10-32 to accept the pivot pin. Doing so raised a burr on the inside which I discovered when I made the piston. Since I didn't ream the bore to a standard size (no reamer on hand) I had to knock down the burr with a small half round file. It's not a critical area as it's completely covered by the piston except at bottom dead center.

The piston is to size (length anyway) to the plan.

The connecting rod is shortened to compensate for the change in distance between the cylinder pivot and the new crankshaft position.

This completes all the major components. I still need to drill the steam passage into the cylinder, make the spring and nut for the cylinder, get or make a set screw for the flywheel, and finish the decorative features of the main body. The permanent installation of the crank bearing and drilling the oil hole will be last.

Eric

[paul gough]

The name ‘fancy’ is not sufficient for this work. Classy at least! but my preference would be elegance. Either way, a simple engine made into a delightful object. Complex engines are a marvel, but sometime ‘less is more’ and this is a classic demonstration of it in my opinion. Hope everything will run smoothly and slowly. Regards, Paul Gough.

[EricB]

The name ‘fancy’ is not sufficient for this work. Classy at least! but my preference would be elegance. Either way, a simple engine made into a delightful object. Complex engines are a marvel, but sometime ‘less is more’ and this is a classic demonstration of it in my opinion. Hope everything will run smoothly and slowly. Regards, Paul Gough.

I do like the more artistic engines!

[EricB]

I'm almost done with this one.

Today I completed the cylinder, wound a spring from brass wire, made the cylinder pivot nut (I had borrowed a nut from my hold down set and I liked the look so I copied it.), and made a set screw for the flywheel.

Well that's enough to make an engine so I gave it a shot of air. It ran for a few seconds before the big end of the connecting rod seized to the crank pin. I fixed that and added a few drops of oil in the appropriate places and it ran fine the second time.

After much thought I decided against any decoration on the cylinder end to the body and turned it flat. Then rounded and drilled out the center hole on the crank end to accept a small plug, to come later.

All that is left is to try and improve the finishes (It seems like everytime I touch it I leave a mark), make the bearing and center column permanent, and drill the oil hole for the crankshaft. For now I'll call this one done!

I think that compared to most of Elmer's other wobblers this is a large engine. I'm glad I decided to give it a try. I've included a group shot of this year's builds for scale.

I still have a PMR #3 waiting but it's almost warm enough for gardening!

Eric

[EricB]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ukc4oV9r28" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ukc4oV9r28</a>

[Kim]

Beautiful!  It just runs to beat the band, doesn't it!     

Kim

[Krypto]

Great build and engine! Thanks for taking us along for the ride.

[Roger B]

Very nice 

[EricB]

Thanks for the comments. I really enjoyed the process of making these.

I learned a few more lessons along the way, like make sure the stock is long enough to make the part. I learned that Loctite 271 won't hold aluminum to aluminum because aluminum is non-reactive, but it works fine with brass to aluminum. I learned I need better tooling if I ever need to bore a deep blind hole again. I also learned I need to check machine alignments before I start a project.

Eric

[JCvdW]

Beautiful!