Nice job on the redesign. I to was thinking of ways to simplify the design. I am working on a version that eliminates the points. I noticed that on gas weed eaters and other small gas appliences that they do not usually use points. They "time" the engine with the coil to Flywheel magnet...
Building a Alpha Stirling Engine is not for the faint of heart, so here is some info for you;
You can see my build of a alpha engine here:
http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/f31/alphavictory-engine-build-8343/
I like the Andy Ross engine like the one you posted. This is a nice engine...
Well I woke up one day late last year yearning to build a whacky engine. You know the kind; Large, made from reclaimed parts, lots of pipes and spinning things and no bling. I started with the Moriya engine plans. I like this design because you can scale it up or down and it always works...
AG.......I was lucky and scored some hi-grade graphite rod (1.125") from a friend of mine who has a EDM shop. He said it cost $100 a foot! but I think you can use a lower grade. I remember looking a few years ago on the net and I could buy standard grade for about $15 a foot
The Poppin is such a good design. I built mine a few years ago and I run it weekly. It is so nice to just light the wick, and off it goes. Originally I built mine with an aluminum piston in an aluminum cylinder. It ran OK, but needed a pre-warm on the cylinder. Recently I remade the piston in...
You don't have to worry too much about the sound the mill makes, thats the way they sound new! I was worried about the plastic gears and the racket, but mine has worked great for 5 years now. I will make the change to belt drive when the gears finally give it up.
IronHorse
Joegib: thanks for posting the pictures, I have not seen another one until your post. I thought the auto-shutoff was home made, but yours has the same one.
I know it has being 30 years, but do you remember what you paid for it?
Thamks
IronHorse