A stone steam engine

[Majorstrain]

What better time than the start of a new decade to go back to the stone age. ;D

Well the tools have arrived and it's time to make a start.
Diamond polishing pads, assorted burs in different grades, small drills and a cup wheel all diamond coated. The hones I had already.

Here are the raw materials and the tools that I think will get the job done.

Disregard the beam engine, I'm still rapped at finishing my first engine. ;D

I polished up a piece that was cut down the middle to see what it would look like. not a mirror finish yet but not bad for 10minutes work.

I will be attempting to make John Tom's rocking engine out of granite.
http://www.john-tom.com/MyPlans/SteamPlans3/RockingSteamEngine/ROCKING%20STEAM%20ENGINEs.pdf

SBWHART and Foozer along with others have already made some fine examples of these engines.
If you want to check out their threads, here are the links

SBWHART's
http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=5461.0
Foozer's
http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=5485.0

The granite is surplus from an unrelated job and is from outback Australia. 1225 meters is the depth it was cored from.

Cheers,
Phil

 

[tmuir]

I'm very much looking forward to following this build.

 

[steamer]

OK I'll bite.....where did you come up with the idea of a granite engine?

Very ingenious!
Inquiring minds want to know....

Dave

 

[Majorstrain]

OK I'll bite.....where did you come up with the idea of a granite engine?

Very ingenious!
Inquiring minds want to know....

Dave

Tmuir dared me, and I bit. Rof}

Now theres a set up you don't often see.
But go one, make a granite engine. :big:

Vernon is responsible for the name it will have when complete, (following the ship naming convention - nameless until launched) and through that the leaning towards a rocking engine rather than a wobbler. It just suits the medium.

Phil puts the ROCK in Rocker engines! ;D

This is where it all started - http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=7111.msg75916#msg75916

Cheers
Phil

 

[vlmarshall]

Haha! I'm so glad to see this project getting started! :bow:I think this will be a fun thread to follow. ;D

 

[zeeprogrammer]

This is great. A definite must see on YouTube.

 

[Majorstrain]

Well the mill is all dressed up with no where to go. :big:
I used some 500mm wide paint drop sheet that has tape pre-attached to one edge to dress her up for this dance.

And I started squaring up one end of the 50mm core.

I'm using a home made cutter that is just a cheap diamond cut off blade from Bunnings and backed it with a piece of aluminium to stop it flexing. It's then mounted in my silting saw arbor.

If I had got my act together earlier today, I should have cut the end roughly square with the blade in the angle grinder. oh: Half way through now so no big deal.

The mill is running at 250 rpm with a slow feed and a 0.25mm depth of cut.
I'm tacking it slow so I don't have to use water with this setup.


Cheers
Phil

 

[Majorstrain]

Done!, That's one end squared away.
Only took an hour and a half. ;D

Nice little moonscape happening there.

I think I'll start on the flywheel first, something easy.

Till tomorrow, cheers
Phil

 

[ksouers]

I didn't know you were also going to use a granite vise and v-blocks ;D

 

[zeeprogrammer]

It begins. This is cool.

 

[tmuir]

I'm sorry I dared you to do this, but I am looking forward to the results.

 

[Majorstrain]

I didn't know you were also going to use a granite vise and v-blocks ;D

It certainly looks that way ;D The vise is all wrapped up but the V block is in the dust. I figured it would be easy enough to clean.

It begins. This is cool.

Thanks Zee, I'm just sitting here wondering how I will manage a 0.5mm piston face. ??? I'll give it a go but I think it will end up being brass rather than granite.

I'm sorry I dared you to do this, but I am looking forward to the results.

Don't be sorry Tony, I'm into odd or wacky projects. I'm glad you did.


On A side note, I miss Knudge's posts. He had some really cool idea's and projects going on.

Tomorrow arvo I'll mount up the rotary table and get into the flywheel.

Cheers,
Phil

 

[vlmarshall]

Thanks Zee, I'm just sitting here wondering how I will manage a 0.5mm piston face. ??? I'll give it a go but I think it will end up being brass rather than granite.

Don't sweat it, even METAL engines use dissimilar materials on sliding faces. A sliver of Talc or Mica should do the trick. ;D

Ah, this engine is exciting already... and it's just a cylindrical lump.

Edit: Ok, not Mica... I was thinking of oscillating engines' cylinder backplate. ;D

 

[rake60]

I like your cover up job on the mill.
I hadn't even considered how abrasive that dust
would be when you first proposed this build.

Great thread!

Rick

 

[Kermit]

Hey Phil, did you consider putting the extension hose of a vacuum up near the cutting action to reduce the amount of 'stuff' that is layered on everything?

It is a trick I have used alot with many different tools. Never gets everything but sure does reduce the volume to something managable.

I'll be looking forward to seeing this engine running. Good Luck with it,
Kermit

 

[itowbig]

I'm sorry I dared you to do this, but I am looking forward to the results.

ya ya ya u know u wanted to see somebody build it so just admit it. :big:
i too am looking forward to this build and will be watching very close. :bow:

 

[Majorstrain]

A sliver of Talc or Mica should do the trick. ;D

Iv'e never seen talc not in it's powder form. I'll have to do a Google and check it out.
I might give slate a go if I can get my hands on some.
Good suggestions Vernon, Thanks

Cheers Rick, I'm surprised at how fine the dust is.

Hey Phil, did you consider putting the extension hose of a vacuum up near the cutting action to reduce the amount of 'stuff' that is layered on everything?

I considered it, but didn't because of the noise at night. After seeing the fine dust that just would not settle, i'm going to have to.
Thanks for the reminder Kermit.

ya ya ya u know u wanted to see somebody build it so just admit it. :big:
i too am looking forward to this build and will be watching very close. :bow:

Yep Sid, there might be more than one closet stone mansion here. :big:

Cheers
Phil

 

[Noitoen]

Iv'e never seen talc not in it's powder form. I'll have to do a Google and check it out.

You could cast a talc piston :hDe: mix it up with some "glue" and use a mould with some pressure to make it compact and then "machine" it Thm:

 

[Majorstrain]

You could cast a talc piston :hDe: mix it up with some "glue" and use a mould with some pressure to make it compact and then "machine" it Thm:

Now there's an idea Noitoen Thm:, but instead of talc I just happen to have a good supply of granite dust. ;D

 

[Noitoen]

Now a bit "of topic", here in Portugal, land of fine "Italian" marble (they extract it from our quarries, ship to Italy and sell the finished product as Italian.....but never mind), many stone shops have a huge box like mould and deposit cleaned "left overs" from stone and when the mould is full, they mix some drums of epoxy or polyester resin and fill the mould. The result is a big block of stone that is cut in slices and after some polish come out with spectacular effects.