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I am at the point where I will be starting on the flanges on my Stuart Twin Launch and am a little confused. I think I have it right but I wanted to run it by you guys. This is what the print calls out: Qty. 1.... Exhaust Tee Flange 1.... Exhaust Elbow Flange 1.... Steam Tee...

Thanks for your reply. I understand all that you say in your post. Basically what I am asking is: Can coiled copper tubing be used as a replacement for straight rigid tubing? Are there trade offs? If the wall thickness for a given size is the same are they interchangeable? I have Harris's book...

I am researching building a boiler. Everything is still up in the air, just trying to gather facts. Looking at some boiler designs I see two basic types. I know there are more but I'm looking at these two. 1. Straight tubes through the boiler body. 2. Bent tubes attached on the outside of the...

The first thing I did with the castings was to square both ends. This will allow it to sit flat. Then I indicated in the hub for drilling. I centered and drilled a .250" hole which will be a tight fit for the 1/4"-20 screw I will be using. Then I took my 1.5" diameter piece of aluminum...

I found a great deal on a Twin launch with reversing gear on ebay a couple of weeks ago. I would imagine that the build has been posted many time before so what I'm going to do is to document things I assume that I have done differently than most. So far I have completed the sole plate and...

Thanks for the replies! Looks like 1144 is the way to go. If I were going to be building this for real work and not just demonstration, what material would you recommend? Any idea what the original Stuart crank was made of? Thanks, Gary

I recently purchased a Stuart Twin launch on ebay and figured that I would start with the crankshaft. After examining and measuring it I determined that it was so far out of tolerances that it would be impossible to turn it according to print. Therefore I will be making one from a solid bar...

I can understand with hydraulics, but I'll have to take your word about the blow through using steam. When I plan on actually running something with steam, I'll keep that in mind. Gary

I am looking at the drawing for the Stuart twin launch and came across something I've never heard of before. The drawing for the piston call out 2 "Tommy Holes". Now only don't I know what they are but I have no idea what they are used for. See drawing below: My English to English translator...

The ring fit tight in the cylinder bore before I cut it. Since I used a razor to cut it, no material was removed. After I cut it I placed it back in the cylinder by itself to check it and saw no gap at all. Any air that gets past the ring will be microscopic. Gary

I used a small Craytex (rubberized abrasive) in a Dremel tool. I also used a water based polyurethane on everything. Mainly because if dries very fast and it's what I had. Brass isn't cheap anywhere that I know of. Gary

This is a modified steam engine from a Jan. 1953 Popular Science magazine. I have made several modifications. The most notable is the reversing gear.

Just under 6 weeks and it's finally done. Here's some pictures: And finally a video to prove it works! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktq28UbOf9Y Gary

I thought I would give you an update on my progress. I thought that since this engine was more of a show piece rather than a work horse I would make it look good. I have added what I call a "Random Jeweled" finish. Here's a picture of it on my workbench. I have it all cleaned up, assembled...

Here's the new crankshaft. Made in a more traditional way. My press fit one just had too much runout. This one is a lot better! I like to double pin the parts in place. It eliminates any pivoting like with a single pin. You will notice I also cut a groove in one end. This is to keep the set...

Soft jaws are for wimps! :D 30+ years and I have yet to hit them. Seriously, I ALWAYS check for clearance before I ever do anything near the jaws. The press together crankshaft doesn't seem to work out like I had hoped so I will be making a new one. I also got the engine running on one...

That might work with nylon, but Teflon is a lot more temperature tolerant. The temperature of steam won't affect it so boiling it won't. Cast iron rings have a gap so I really don't think it will have much difference. Gary

Now for the last part. The piston rings. Teflon is a good material for this job. They can stand the temperatures if I were to use steam and not just air to run this engine. Easy to machine and available. All I has was some sheet stock so I started with that. I had to use a Forstner bit to...

Not much to making a flywheel. First I cut a pocket in one side. (I forgot the picture. I was actually holding the part on the OD in the chuck.) This allows me to hold it on the ID to turn the diameter and face the other side. Then cut the pocket (for lack of a better term) in the other...

I don't know why, but I wasn't looking forward to making this part, but It turned out pretty easy. This picture is a little out of sequence since I didn't show if being made on the lathe. (actually I forgot to take a picture). Anyway just turned the part and removed the bar and mounted it in...