Author Topic: Stuart Major Beam Engine  (Read 86985 times)

Offline Chipswitheverything

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 556
Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #465 on: August 05, 2022, 08:35:03 AM »
Your beam engine is looking very handsome as it comes together in its final painted and generally finished off form.  Worth doing the taller, period type of nuts, they look the part.  Dave

Offline Jo

  • Administrator
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15294
  • Hampshire, england.
Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #466 on: August 05, 2022, 08:57:11 AM »
It is looking very smart  8)

You are tempting Surus to let me have his set of the scaled down version of this engine's castings  :embarassed:

Jo
Enjoyment is more important than achievement.

Offline simplyloco

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 601
Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #467 on: August 05, 2022, 09:16:44 AM »
Looking good!
John
Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.” ― Socrates

Offline Admiral_dk

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3752
  • Søften - Denmark
Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #468 on: August 05, 2022, 11:37:50 AM »
And I thought it looked very good before paint ....

But now it's a Museum Quality piece  :praise2:  :praise2:

Per

Online Michael S.

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1110
  • Germany, Saxony-Anhalt, Magdeburg
Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #469 on: August 05, 2022, 03:24:59 PM »
Hello Jo, you wrote, if I interpret that correctly, there is a small variant of the "Major Beam".
Are the castings Stuart Turner too?
Some time ago I bought a model was someone else started. That looks similar to the big one.

Michael
« Last Edit: August 05, 2022, 03:28:10 PM by Michael S. »

Online Michael S.

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1110
  • Germany, Saxony-Anhalt, Magdeburg
Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #470 on: August 05, 2022, 03:31:22 PM »
Andy, I really like the look of the machine. I'm excited! 👍

Michael

Offline Jo

  • Administrator
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15294
  • Hampshire, england.
Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #471 on: August 05, 2022, 03:33:20 PM »
Hello Jo, you wrote, if I interpret that correctly, there is a small variant of the "Major Beam".
Are the castings Stuart Turner too?
Some time ago I bought a model was someone else started. That looks similar to the big one.

Michael


That is the ME beam engine redesigned by Oliver Smith H.A.Taylor back in 1968. Stuart took his design simplified it, enlarged it and so was born the Major Beam ;)

Castings and drawings are available from a number of sources including Reeves.

Jo
« Last Edit: August 05, 2022, 04:24:11 PM by Jo »
Enjoyment is more important than achievement.

Offline Jasonb

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9465
  • Surrey, UK
Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #472 on: August 05, 2022, 03:59:01 PM »
I thought the major Beam was based on George Gentry's engine form about 1914 and that the ME beam was also a rework of that.

Nice finish on the paintwork, I have a similar spray booth to yours and they seem to work well :)

Offline Jo

  • Administrator
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15294
  • Hampshire, england.
Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #473 on: August 05, 2022, 04:17:33 PM »
A bit of history:

George Gentry originally designed a beam engine for Model engineer in January to June 1914. H.A.Taylor re-designed it in June 1968.

He intentionally removed the countershaft drive and provided it instead with a triple rope pulley, this eliminated the gear driving mechanism and reduced the mounting arrangements. For his castings he borrowed the original patterns held by S.M.E.E and had Stuart Turner cast them for him. The patterns for the gunmetal parts had been lost so he made these from bar stock rather than castings. Where the original design used 64ths his redesign sought to eliminate those and he created a new set of drawings.

It was Taylor's design that Stuart took and scaled up for their Major beam engine.

Jo
« Last Edit: August 05, 2022, 05:01:22 PM by Jo »
Enjoyment is more important than achievement.

Online Michael S.

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1110
  • Germany, Saxony-Anhalt, Magdeburg
Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #474 on: August 05, 2022, 05:52:25 PM »
Thank you for the information.

Michael

Offline Chipswitheverything

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 556
Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #475 on: August 05, 2022, 06:15:01 PM »
Hi Jo, just been having a quick look at the ME mags from 1968 in which H A Taylor wrote up his award winning beam engine.
  The Major based on his engine is nominally at 1 1/2" scale, and the M.E. Beam engine is at 1" scale, actually quite fiddly with the many small parts involved, especially in the parallel motion.
  Mr Taylor, as you say, used the SMEE patterns presumably dating from the work of Geo. Gentry pre 1914, and held historically by the Society.   The drawings given by Mr Taylor in the ME for his own engine are to the 1 1/2" scale, from which I presume that the old original patterns and the medal winning engine built by him were at that larger scale.  So although Stuart Turner certainly made their own patterns, and also for the various castings they supply, for components for which H.A.T. used his own fabricated versions , I think that it could be said that the Major's scale was already established in Mr Taylor's model and some of his design drawings, rather than scaled up in size by Stuart Turner ?
  I have , but can't find quickly!, the ME mags with the 1" scale beam engine in them: I seem to remember that Edgar Westbury presented the articles, c. 1960?
I believe that there were quite significant mistakes in the smaller drawings, don't know if they were corrected in the purchased drawings over the years..?  Dave

Online Michael S.

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1110
  • Germany, Saxony-Anhalt, Magdeburg
Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #476 on: August 05, 2022, 07:24:08 PM »
It's crazy.
I wondered if I got plans for Beam back then about 15 years ago?
And indeed they were in the folder for beam machines. With a book.
There is a year number from 1959.

Michael

Offline Chipswitheverything

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 556
Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #477 on: August 05, 2022, 08:43:00 PM »
Hello Michael, you do seem to be fortunate in having already the information that you are needing to build this beam engine!  The name or nom-de-plume, "Exactus" as far as I know, was used around that time in the Model Engineer magazine for whoever, on the staff of the magazine, was doing the technical write up.   Maybe several authors involved in a collaboration on the project and the progress with the model building in the workshop of the magazine. I think that back in those days, under Percival Marshall (?) there was some sort of small workshop available on the premises. ??    Dave

Online Michael S.

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1110
  • Germany, Saxony-Anhalt, Magdeburg
Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #478 on: August 05, 2022, 09:10:39 PM »
I hope that when I can retire in 12 years, the beam will start. There's still a lot of work to be done.

Michael

Offline Jasonb

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9465
  • Surrey, UK
Re: Stuart Major Beam Engine
« Reply #479 on: August 06, 2022, 07:23:21 AM »
Also worthy of note is that the "Exactucus" articles have drawings for the 1" version but all the photos are of the larger 1 1/2" parts which may explain why there are some errors in the drawings if they were not proven at the time. Also confirms what Dave says that the scale was set early on by Gentry and Stuarts did not enlarge things.

 

SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal