I'm finally getting away from making tools to making engines. As my skills develop, I'm beginning to understand more and more about making little engines.
Flywheels, for example. My first was for the EZ engine and it was just a large flat slice of steel
I found in the stuff I inherited from my Dad. No embellishments except being cleaned up and trued on the lathe and shined a bit with emory cloth. The second, a pair of 1/2? slices of 2? aluminum barstock with a relief turned in the sides. My third, was better yet. I turned the relief in the sides, and added 6 symetrically spaced holes using my rotary table, again from aluminum barstock. Mow I want to get fancier, and do a brass or alum. Center with spokes, and a pressed on steel rim for better flywheel effect. My question to the more experienced, is where can I get (read scrounge) steel pipe with at least 1/4? wall thickness, and 2 1/2? to 4? diameter? What type of businesses might have cutoffs in these sizes? Is schedule 80 pipe easy to machine to a decent finish? Would the ?Depot? big box stores have pipe nipples/caps/etc. that big?
I don't know of any scrap yards around here that sell to individuals or businesses that use pipe.
Chuck
