Give this man a lathe! Wooden 4cyl air engine. No Lathe work

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Tomo1

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It never ceases to amaze me what people can do without a lathe.

This guy builds wooden air engines. http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=relmfu&v=IHJDU181K80

His mini V8 is a little basic but considering his tools it's pretty good.
Imagine what he could come up with if given a metal lathe?

Might give it a go while I wait to buy my new lathe. Good conversation starter for the work desk.

While on the topic I remember reading about a flash steam teather boat racer who before he had a lathe made steam engines for little straight running boats out of cans and brass pipe. Yep can tell it was before tv came in!
 
I've seen those before and they are amazing. It even appears to be balanced better than many model engines made of metal on lathes and mills.
 
It never ceases to amaze me what people can do without a lathe.

This guy builds wooden air engines. http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=relmfu&v=IHJDU181K80

His mini V8 is a little basic but considering his tools it's pretty good.
Imagine what he could come up with if given a metal lathe?
You never know. He may have no interest at all in metal lathes.
Might give it a go while I wait to buy my new lathe. Good conversation starter for the work desk.

While on the topic I remember reading about a flash steam teather boat racer who before he had a lathe made steam engines for little straight running boats out of cans and brass pipe. Yep can tell it was before tv came in!
If these are what I think you are talking about people still make them. They basically run on puffs of steam. Pretty cool actually.
 
So true, Most talented woodworkers don't enjoy working with steel.

At high school I was always frustrated in woodworking class. Especially on the lathe, as everything looked nice and polished until it stopped turning :p But recently have found carving wooden fishing lures rather relaxing! ( and cheaper when the snag/rock fish doesn't want to give the, back!;):D )

On the hand made steam engine I think it was a type of wobbler? Maybe wrong though. Those put put engines that run on puffs of steam are quit amazing though. I'll never forget the local agricultural show when I was about 10. A man was selling put put boats ($6) and I spent ages transfixed watching his display ones Merrily putting around a tank of water. Sadly my $10 spend limit was already maxed on the mega choc show bag back when they had a decent amount in them. Always wondered how they worked until I googled it a few years back. Sad most kids will never see one work when they are so easy to build and fun to play with.
 
You never know. He may have no interest at all in metal lathes.

If these are what I think you are talking about people still make them. They basically run on puffs of steam. Pretty cool actually.

I helped my daughter make a steam boat for a Science Fair. It used a candle to heat a copper coil, both open ends were in the water. I bent the tubing, she built the boat, demonstrated it and wrote up the paper. She won first in her school and district science fairs with it.

"G"
 
I've seen the plans for this engine and one like it that is rotary. The value for each piston is in the adjacent cylinder. Quite a clever scheme. While he doesn't use a metal lathe (like me), he does use metal for the piston/valve, cylinders and shafts. If you want to see an all wood machine, go to http://woodgears.ca/air_engine/index.html. Very basic design but all wood. One builder posted a video on youtube with the engine going over 1000 RPM (http://woodgears.ca/reader/zorn.html) just using the power from a central vacuum system. Not bad! Don't poo-poo wood.
 

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