Recent content by kiwi2

Hi Grasshopper, Be careful when consulting Ivan Law's book on gear cutting. He only covers two same tooth gears where the pitch cone angle is 45 degrees. I didn't realise that this is not true for the 30tooth/60tooth bevel gear combination I was trying to make. I wasted...

Hi Wayne, What about adding locking nuts to the grub screws in the same way the grub screws on the gibs on your lathe are locked in position? Regards, Alan C.

Hi, You can get sets of small drills with 1/8" shanks such as these...

Hi John, Do you have a garden sprayer of the type with an air pump on the top which pressurizes the liquid. If so, you can use it to run your engine. The easiest way is to run the sprayer empty a few times to ensure only dry air is coming out the tip, then connect the tip to your...

Hi, Back in 2015 there was a build series for a 1/4 scale RR Merlin engine here. https://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/threads/quarter-scale-merlin-v-12.24153/ It was from a commercial set of castings which don't seem to be available any more. The guy who built it did really good work -...

Hi solarenergyaventures, You're quite right. I didn't read the Wikipedia article properly. The 75 psi for liquid CO2 they quote is for the triple point at -50 degrees C. At room temperature it will indeed be 830 psi. Regards, Alan

Hi, Not sure but I don't think putting dry ice in a closed container will build pressure to over 1,000 psi. As the pressure rises the CO2 gas will liquify. The pressure over liquid CO2 will be 75psi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_carbon_dioxide Regards, Alan C.

Hi Borna, You can use some of the polythene line used in grass trimmers which fits down the threaded hole to stop the screws unthreading. Cut a piece about 2mm long, put it in the hole and tighten the set screw down on it. The screw won't vibrate out. I presume they screw into...

Hi Brian, I don't know if you are following Tinbeerwah's glow plug model aircraft engine build, but his latest episode shows what seems to be a good way of sneaking up onto the correct piston diameter. Regards, Alan C.

Hi Nigel, You might get a few ideas from this: https://www.eccentricengineering.com.au/products/turnado-freehand-metal-turning-system/the-turnado-freehand-metal-turning-system Regards, Alan C.

Hi Basil, Looks interesting but I can't see how it works. Any chance of some photos of the device by itself showing how the strip is loaded and locked into place? Regards, Alan

Hi, I generally bore out the bore using a cutting tool ground to a semicircle which gives a good finish. I then turn the piston on the lathe until it's a really tight fit in the bore. Starting with about 400# wet and dry sand paper I then slowly remove the excess diameter using...

What a good idea. Alan C.

Hi Bill, I can vaguely remember from years ago someone gluing a circle of scotchbrite(?) to the end of a piece of 1/2"(?) rod. This was mounted in a mill and plunged down onto a flat metal surface to produce a circular mark. The work was then moved 1/2"(?) and repeated. This left an...

Hi, Speaking of making CI piston rings, I came across this on YouTube: Regards, Alan