Search results

It is with a heavy heart and sadness that we, Harold's family, are writing to let you all know that he died peacefully in his sleep on Sunday December 22. It was very sudden, and he had been feeling wonderful lately, so we are thankful he was able to enjoy every single day up to his last. I...

I have a Stuart 10V that I occasionally run for the grandkids. The problem is if it sits for a period of time the cylinder will start to rust and pit and the the engine must be disassembled and the rust removed. My question - What is the proper way to "put away" a steam engine after it has...

I was going to call this topic "What I Did Today" but Tin and Tel have already made topic headings similar to this so I landed on the basement theme. Now I do not want to rank myself, but this is not as good as Tel becoming a grandfather for the seventh time, but it is better than the way Tin...

My 8 year old grandson said "Papa Can we make a tree house?" There are two problems... First, there are no trees on his property and second, his three sisters want one too... I think i solved it by giving him an elevated clubhouse and then used the empty space below for his sisters.... I hope I...

It was not until I started machining in my shop that I realized that there is a fourth dimension. We all know from our first drawings that with projections and isometrics that we can simulate the third dimension. Today with the CAD programs we are very comfortable in working with 3D models where...

I don't know if this post belongs here since I am about 90% complete with my Steam Tractor build. About 5 years ago I started building a steam tractor from Rudy Kohoupt's plans featured in Popular Mechanics Magazine in the 70s. The plans which were $10 and were ordered from the publisher...

After completing my Topsy Turvy engine last month I wanted to build something that was relatively simple and would still be somewhat of a challenge. Since I am a huge fan of both Phillip Duclos and Rudy Kouhoupt in their designs I decided upon the Pioneer Engine designed by Rudy Kouhoupt. This...

I just tried and failed to silver solder up a crankshaft made from 12L14 steel. Can this be done? My attempt ended in it looking like something was dug up by and archeologist from a old junkyard. I was using a MAPP gas torch which is all I have.... I have silver soldered many brass, copper and...

I have completed my Phil Duclos designed Topsy Turvy. It is a one inch bore and a two inch stroke water cooled engine. The plans were taken from the book "Two Shop Masters" from Village Press. The build in documented in the work in progress section as well as two videos of it running. The...

On March 20th 2010 in a comment on Captain Jerry's Steam Donkey build blog I mentioned that I wanted to complete my Steam Tractor and a Topsy Turvy before I tackled building a steam donkey (page one comment number eight)... Well that was eighteen months ago and like many others this past year...

In February I completed my first gasoline Hit & Miss engine which I gave to my grandson. My 30 year old son then asked me to build him one. I figured I could build two in almost the same amount of time as one since I could take advantage of setups and fixtures. First of all it was not as much...

I am in the process of making a set of 1 to 1 32 DP bevel gears. My question is, which involute cutter number do I use? Do I use the 135-rack since the teeth are flat? Do I use the one that corresponds to the number of teeth as if I were cutting a spur gear? Does it matter since both gears will...

I built this engine last winter when I needed a break from building a much more detailed engine. This was a real fun 3-4 evening project. I actually built one in the mid 70s which I show on the YouTube video as well as this one. I have built more complex engines but there is a tremendous...

This was the first steam engine that I built from castings. I bought them in the mid 70s and finished them after I retired last year. I had lost a few parts in my moves around the US and had to replace them before I completed it. ::)

This is a two cylinder marine compound that I completed this last winter. There were no castings used as it is built completely from barstock. It also has A Stephenson Linkage reversing gear. It is based on a design by Rudy Kouhoupt...

I completed this engine in February and gave it to my 5 year old grandson. He calls it "Old Bessie". This was designed by the late Philip Duclos and was published in Home Shop Machinist in 1987. The plans are in his book "The Shop Wisdom of Philip Duclos" This is a very sweet running engine. I...