Recent content by Swede

For reference, here is the carb I am currently running with... it is a Super Tigre carb, but I don't remember the exact model. Off a .30 or so glow engine. It looks ridiculously small, but works very well. Over the years, I have measured full-throttle RPM with various ignition and carb...

A few thoughts - carbs designed for glow fuel will work with gasoline, but some caveats must be kept in mind. Most of us at one time or the other in our lives have operated a glow engine on an RC plane or similar. They behave well, and are generally easy to start. Importantly, the mixture...

Hi Terry - VERY nice build, and your descriptions of the carburetor issues and difficulties in a first run mirror my own to a certain degree. First, I'm not sure why you feel that you need to use methanol with a stock RC model carb like the super tigre. True, often the needle valves...

Beautiful! I've always loved these little "all in one" desk-engine setups. I think a fun way to go would be to keep the boiler small enough - or simply not put much water in it - so that you can go from cold to steam in just a minute or so. Those little alcohol lamps put out gobs of heat...

I suspect you will get a nice price. You know what is best for you, but I do regret selling a couple of steamers a few years back. Be sure you emphasize its origin - "One of a kind, hand crafted by expert machinist, blah blah" so that people know it's not something off the shelf. There are...

Awesome! So the spindle bearings are pneumatic? That'd be the only way I can think of to even come partway to such incredible tolerances. Or are they hydraulic? I'd think air, being compressible, wouldn't perform as well as an incompressible hydrocarbon or some other working fluid. The feed...

I stumbled across this video on a science web site. These machines use a diamond tool + air, and some unbelievably rigid machinery, to turn copper down to nearly the atomic level for some sort of optical purpose. Neat stuff! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAvfrrlMZg4&feature=player_embedded

Is it there yet? Is it there yet? :P ;D

Nice! A beautiful wooden box or case goes well with quality tools, and as a bonus, they do a good job protecting from corrosion.

I'm not sure what you mean by "diagonal holes." Two holes perpendicular to the shaft, 180 degrees apart? Without a mill, drilling holes with relative accuracy to each other is probably going to require a jig of some sort. Without knowing more about your requirements, I'm a bit hesitant to...

Carbide is amazing stuff, and I've used it to cut high speed steel, so there's a strong chance good carbide tooling will do the trick with your gear. Good luck!

I'm looking forward to what you come up with! Is there anything on the induction side that could benefit from lubrication? In other words, would there be components that might NEED that flow of fuel + oil?

Did I miss what fuel is going to be used? I think that will influence the final decision. Gasoline vaporizes easier than methanol, and I thing the former will be a bit more forgiving in the sense that distribution will be more even in a given setup vs. methanol. I also built my H9 before an...

I can see it all in my mind... :D I built an early MW-54 from plans, and my cone was turned from delrin - I haven't had any problems like yours, but such things are ECU related as much as anything else. Back then, there were few electric starters. Guys would start turbines with air, lots of...

Oooooh, that's bad. :( Obviously you had some sort of compressor stall. Did the compressor wheel survive?