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Hi, With a friend I swapped a couple of Hornby tin plate carriages for a Stirling engine that wasn’t working. I have never made a Stirling engine from scratch though along with some steam engines I have repaired/restored some. The job turned out to be quite straight forward, the model was...

Hi, At last, to the great relief of all, not least the author, we are at the finishing post, and the last posting on the construction of the Biscuit Tin Steam Engine. With the exception of the ‘T’ pipe connector, all the original parts were used. The original and new components were assembled...

The last major component to be made was the regulator, its construction being similar to that of the warm up valves and the cylinder port block. Namely, a rectangular plate of brass with holes drilled in it, some of these holes being plugged. The vale fitted being the same as the warm up valve...

Hi, Continuing, the description of the construction of the displacement lubricator made for the Biscuit Tin Steam Engine. A top plug was made for the lubricator which had a recess turned in it for an ‘0’ ring and was threaded for a screw cover. (P.111). The top plug fitted in the lubricator...

Hi, If the engine is ever to be run on steam it will need a lubricator, I am not very keen on displacement lubricators that have a drain cock as they can be a bit messy when being drained. I prefer to empty the water from the lubricator with a syringe; as well as being cleaner, it has the...

Hi, As can be seen in the last photograph of the previous post a start had been made on fitting the reversing valve. Which when found looked like this. (P.082). It had been taken apart and cleaned at the beginning of this project. (P.083). To be able to fit the reversing valve to the engine...

Hi, As promised in the previous posting a short video of the water pump in operation. The pump works quite well and is self-priming. It would probably work a little better if the pump ram went into the space between the two valves. Possibly at a later date a new longer ram might be tried...

Hi, Meanwhile back with the water feed pump. What follows is usually how I construct a water pump. The diameter of the ball seating is calculated by dividing the diameter of the ball by 1.40, which should seat the ball as shown in the drawing. (P.063). Usually for this type of pump a ‘T’...

Hi, When running on steam oscillating engines often have a problem starting as there is no easy way of getting rid of the condensing steam and any residual oil in the system. Unlike most steam engines it isn’t easy to fit drain cocks. A way that I have found of at least easing this condensation...

Hi, Well, from the parts in the biscuit tin we have an engine that runs reasonable well. There are still a few original parts not used, the reversing valve, the ‘T’ pipe connector and the mystery part. It was intended to try and incorporate all these parts in the model and add a few bits of my...

Hi, Well the first cylinder of the engine seemed to work OK, now onto the problem of the off-set cylinder engine. Quite a lot of thought had been given to how to correct the position of the ports and trunnion, from major rebuilds a completely new cylinder to what did happen; doing absolutely...

Hi, With the steam port holes spotted and later drilled to size the position of the steam passageways were marked on the port block. (P.030). As the port block was quite long, the steam passageways had to be drilled from both ends into a hole drilled half way along its length. This hole...

Hi, The bottle empty and cogitation over; the decision reached being that work would continue with the complete cylinder, while thoughts would continue of what to do about the off-set ports of the other cylinder. Now the previous put off problem, of what to do about the lack of piston...

Hi, Having decided to go ahead with the project, some drawings and sums were needed. The model had been made using Imperial dimensions. The cylinder had a bore of ¾” and the cranks had a throw of 5/8” giving a stroke of 1.1/4”. Quite a large engine, so should be quite powerful! A drawing was...

Hi, The following is a building log of a model steam stationary engine recently completed. Over the years, a lot of the projects that I have worked have come about in unusual ways, and often by chance. I am a member of the Cardiff Model Engineering Society, who twice a year holds a ‘Bring and...

Hi, Happy New Year. Take care Tony.

Hi, Unlike some I haven't been eating and drinking too much over the festive season, well not much. Our family Christmas was a week or so before Christmas which was the only time we could all get together in the same place. So, as the weather was fairly kind SWMBO played in her garden and...

Hi, Twin Cylinder Oscillating Engine. Part 1. Crankshaft. The Cardiff Model Engineer Society during a year have several Bring & Buy Sales. The rules are simple anything slightly inclined towards model engineering can be offered for sale and a small donation is made to the society. The only...

Hi, I am helping a friend who bought a Mercer Traction Engine kit many years ago to convert it to a Showman's Engine. The original flywheel wobbled a bit so a new one was made, sadly the crank shaft is a little bent as well so the result is far from perfect. Along with the flywheel a pulley...

Hi, Might be found interesting: Take care Tony.