Recent content by kennycrawford

An Idea. If you can make a small air engine why not build a small air compressor that could be hand cranked. Basically would be a cylinder and piston, crank and a couple reed valves (feeler gauge blades). Geared crank or belt? A small accumulator tank to smooth things out. You could be...

Thanks again, the learning never seems to stop! My brass should be here next week. I have pretty much narrowed it down to bad craftsmanship due to incorrect procedure: I soldered the unit after reaming the bore. I am sure this made it out of round. I redrilled the hole after soldering and...

The link to steam oils was very interesting reading. Thank you Rich. I did use someting called "steam oil" that was purchased from a local hobby shop. After reading about the different oils and how they behave with water and in the presence of heat it seems that possiby what I used was not in...

Thanks for all of the help. I did check the aignment on the crank, the mounting area where the cylinder clock attaches and the crank pin. Everyting works very smoothly when first assembled, but it is definately sticky when heated. An observation, my cylinder is a 2 piece thing with a lower...

I did find a slight bend in the crank pin so with the help of a 123 block and a small milling vise I was able to straighten it out. This did not solve the problem though. I turned another piston and fussed with it trying to get things working but was unable to keep the little engine running. In...

I will check the crankpin to see if it is bent in any way. Would an aluminum piston slide any better on the brass bore? It is one thing I have not tried yet. Thank you, Kenny

I bought a Mamod steam engnine from a swap meet for 20 bucks last year. It was missing some componetry. But having a mill and a couple of metal lathes I should be able to fix it. It was missing a connecting rod, cylinder and piston. It did have a "block" that the cylinder soldered in to that...

Thanks for the ideas. I will check the capacitors today. I like the VFD idea and if I went that route I would not try and keep the motor in it's OEM location. My issue with VFD is lack of knowledge. The lathe is reversible in stock form with safety switches and relays that I am sure would give...

If I were to want to swap out to a VFD motor, any advice on motor and compatible electronics. Would a DC motor work as well? Kenny

I own a Grizzly 9729 that I purchased new just over 2 and 1/2 years ago. Being my first machine I was pretty happy with the lathe aspect but disenchanted with the milling part. Long story short I now own a 9x19 lathe a BF20 mill and a Taig set up. Like I mentioned the 9729 as a lathe I thought...

You can buy these from LMS. All 3 machines seem to be able to convert. One machine can be converted to the other with th appropriate kit. Kenny