Recent content by Wez1

many thanks! Another thing I forgot to mention in any of the vids is the lack of vibration - it's a well balanced machine.

Yes, sound is everything and a good indicator of engine health etc. This one has now clocked over 5 hours run time and is going really well. Starts first swing and idles smoothly at 1000. Accelerates up to 2100 almost instantly with no coughing. Measured static thrust was 20Kg at 2000rpm. The...

Please send £50 to <[email protected]> at Paypal. Let me know your email and I will then send them. Thanks for your interest. Please note that the price has recently gone up to £65 so you would be getting them at the original price, now 15 years old.

My half scale replica of this early engine is now finished, complete with prop. All appears to be OK. It stays cool and doesn't leak coolant (Evans Waterless). The carb needs some adjustment to get the idling right. The rev counter indicated around 1600rpm at 2/3 throttle which seems about...

Many thanks! I am a great fan of Leno's - it was he who put me on to Evans coolant too. The brass/copper/ steel jacket system survived until they cracked the problems of casting alloy in a solid block with water passages. I used electroforming to make the jackets which has its pros & cons like...

4.75"

This is the Zenith carb in 1/2 size, fabricated from brass and zinc plated. A friend cut the lettering out on his high speed CNC mill. I made the jets adjustable for obvious reasons. The hardest part to get right was the float valve. The sight gauge tells me if it's working! The extra air inlet...

Thanks Robert!

Thanks Peter. I hope to run it again early Dec and then do some tests to get static thrust etc. If I don't get decapitated in the process I will report further.

good question. Scaled weight net of all ancilliaries was supposed to be about 35 lbs but last time it went on the scales (other sort) it was heading for 45. So I would guess total about 50 lbs. Output should be max 10Hp at about 1500rpm. Quite fast enough. This is 1910 remember.

Well you haven't had to pick it up yet!

That's interesting Tim. It certainly is used in industry and more particularly for depositing nickel. However I meant that there is very little of any practical help out there for the amateur working at home. BTW which acid will dissolve aluminium but not copper?

Many thanks to all for such kind comments. Bore & stroke are 52.5 x 55mm. Total capacity 950cc Cams are simple tangential on a single shaft working side valves. Valve overlap is minimal and timings had to be worked out from scratch and typical of the period. Interesting that many features of...

All the copper you see apart from the coolant pipework was made by electroforming. This is a complicated procedure but in essence involves a heavy deposition of copper onto a substrate that is then removed to leave a shell. In this case I used a low melt alloy (mp 150 C) which was first cast...

should be better still with a prop as then I can open up a bit. Having anchored it to a tree first of course!