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

[Tomo1]

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!

 

[jwcnc1911]

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.

 

[Wizard69]

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.

 

[Tomo1]

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 But recently have found carving wooden fishing lures rather relaxing! ( and cheaper when the snag/rock fish doesn't want to give the, back! )

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.

 

[ConductorX]

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"

 

[amvolk]

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.