Farm Boy finally finished

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simonbirt

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I thought I should post an update on the Farm Boy project. I finally found the time to make a base and give the engine a paint job. I have sorted out all the teething troubles, in fact it started first pull after it was reassembled, caught me off guard as I wasn't expecting that.

Following advice on this site I have settled on Colman fuel, which seems to work well and despite dire warnings on the notes from Jerry Howell about carbon build up on the plug I have had no problems. Talking of spark plugs, I am still running on the original plug which was the first of a batch I made; not sure if this design of plug would work in a higher performance engine, as it uses PTFE for an insulator and a brass electrode. I recon that the ignition module, built with information gleaned from this site and the spark plug have had possibly 100 + hours of testing and running the engine.

By far the hardest part of the build was casting the name and builders plate in white metal. The process nearly drove me mad. A friend who used to design dies for injection moulding said that it was very difficult to cast thin items in silicon moulds as they do not retain heat very well. In his view it was way too difficult, good job I did not know that at the time.

Now thinking about the next engine project, I'm building a filing machine at the moment which would have been nice to have when making the flywheels in the Farm Boy. I have a set of plans for Edgar T. Westbury's Seal , which looks like a possible candidate, may have a go at making the camshaft before I order a set of expensive castings. Any thoughts anybody?

 
That turned out well. I like the color, too. Incredible hit and miss action. You have achieved a wonderful fit and finish and I think the base makes a great complete display package.

Congratulations and Thank You for posting.

--ShopShoe
 
That turned out well. I like the color, too. Incredible hit and miss action. You have achieved a wonderful fit and finish and I think the base makes a great complete display package.

Congratulations and Thank You for posting.

--ShopShoe
Thank you. The colour (color,I think the America spelling is more sensible), was inspired by an old friends racing MG.
 
Another fan here! Great looking engine, and it runs beautifully. And as a fellow YouTuber, the video is excellent quality too!

Would you be willing to share your plans / designs for the ignition module and the spark plugs? I've never built an ignition engine, only steam ones. The ignition parts are an area I don't fully understand.

Anyway, great work. As others have said, beautiful colours, and it looks to be beautifully made too.

Del
 
Excellent work and a great runner! Even the video composition was well done. I especially liked closing with the final tack driven into your nameplate. Perhaps you’re missing out on a career as film editor? ;)

Wonderful, and thanks for sharing Simon!

John W
 
Another fan here! Great looking engine, and it runs beautifully. And as a fellow YouTuber, the video is excellent quality too!

Would you be willing to share your plans / designs for the ignition module and the spark plugs? I've never built an ignition engine, only steam ones. The ignition parts are an area I don't fully understand.

Anyway, great work. As others have said, beautiful colours, and it looks to be beautifully made too.

Del
 
Hello Del,

I have put some plans on here somewhere for the plugs. I will put a link up when I find it or re load them here. The ignition module was based on design on this site, I have tweaked it a bit and designed the PCB. Electronics is not really my area of expertise, but happy to provide more details.

Thank you for all the positive comments.

There is a video on YouTube showing the development of the ignition. I could send you a circuit board if you want to have a go at building one?

Simon
 
Excellent work and a great runner! Even the video composition was well done. I especially liked closing with the final tack driven into your nameplate. Perhaps you’re missing out on a career as film editor? ;)

Wonderful, and thanks for sharing Simon!

John W
Thanks John, your comments mean a lot.

Simon
 
Another fan here! Great looking engine, and it runs beautifully. And as a fellow YouTuber, the video is excellent quality too!

Would you be willing to share your plans / designs for the ignition module and the spark plugs? I've never built an ignition engine, only steam ones. The ignition parts are an area I don't fully understand.

Anyway, great work. As others have said, beautiful colours, and it looks to be beautifully made too.

Del
Another fan here! Great looking engine, and it runs beautifully. And as a fellow YouTuber, the video is excellent quality too!

Would you be willing to share your plans / designs for the ignition module and the spark plugs? I've never built an ignition engine, only steam ones. The ignition parts are an area I don't fully understand.

Anyway, great work. As others have said, beautiful colours, and it looks to be beautifully made too.

Del
Hello Del, the plans for the plug are here:

https://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/threads/spark-plug-constructlon-revisited.30665/post-363765
 
Amazing, many thanks. I'm definitely going to look into an internal combustion engine for one of my future projects! :)
Any suggestions for an easy build and a forgiving runner are more than welcome.

D
Hello D,

Many experienced builders of IC engines here on this forum. I am sure they could offer better advice than me; I am a beginner, this is my first internal combustion model, its all been external so far.

No doubt that IC engines require closer fits and accurate machining compared to steam. Have you built a stream engine?

Simon
 

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