B
Bogstandard
Guest
Hi Mem's
I was reading a post by a new member called New Beginnings, where he doesn't have the facilities or the wherewithall to begin making little engines from barstock, but the enthusiasm was there. Are we here to sing our own praises or help less fortunate people to start in this great, I wouldn't call it a hobby, but a passion.
If you make an engine, and get it running, don't be afraid to tell people of your pitfalls and mistakes, I do and hopefully this will help someone to make their project run.
Next come the plans, these are made by generous people who have found a way to convey their way of making a running engine. But be aware, it is THEIR way of doing things. A lot of it is purely cosmetic, if it shows a beautiful turned column with tapers and bobbly bits it is their way of putting a personal stamp on it. Just this alone can put off a beginner because he doesn't know how to do it. A totally plain column will suffice, the bobbly bits come later. Look at a set of plans and say to yourself, does that have to be like that or can I leave it out, does it have to be made of that, can something else be used instead.
I am not trying to blow my own trumpet here, but I have made a simple to make elbow engine, and it seems that now everyone wants to build one. But I made so many changes to the original design because of my limitations and lack of materials, but it still ended up running. Why make the flywheel out of 3 1/2" diameter pipe with an aluminium insert. Do you have a bit of pipe knocking about, I certainly didn't, but I did have a piece of 4"x 4" thick ali plate, so that was my flywheel, took a bit longer, but it works. I hate working with steel plate, and I spell that with a capital H. So what do I do?. Again I used ali plate for the upright, but the wearing properties are no use, so I decided to put a cast iron bearing on the upright, this also made the job of cutting the ports a lot easier, just meant I had to adjust the mounting bolt holes and the port drillings slightly.
What I am trying to get at here is that drawings are not written in stone, use your imagination. If the timing and ports end up in the right place, if the rods and linkages are the right length and the holes are in the right place you should end up with a running engine, if you haven't got brass to make something, can you get away with ali with a brass insert, takes a bit longer but usually it will work. Don't get frustrated if you make a mistake, either try to put it right or make a new one. Don't rush things, their are no production times on these little engines, it will still be there the next day, they don't get up and run away. Just do it to the best of your ability, things do get better and easier with experience.
Lets help these people get started, explain what you did to make it easier, where you made changes to the drawing specs. Answer questions when asked, and no question is too silly, we all had to start somewhere.
You never know, you might just be helping the next Einstein on his (or her) way.
Machinery comes in all shapes and sizes, not everyone can have what most of us here already have. My first 'lathe' was a clamp on hand grinder where I had taken off the grindstone and put a drill chuck on, turn with the left hand and gouge out the metal in the chuck with a ground down file with the other hand, but I did make my first engine this way, nowadays I would use a cheap electric drill clamped to the bench. A hacksaw and file does the same as a miller, just takes longer with a lot of sweat and swearing involved, but can be done. A square, centre square, ruler and compass can be used to good effect, a masonry nail makes a good centre punch, the list goes on. Let people know what you can do with a bit of ingenuity. You are not going to patent all this so why not share your knowledge and get this site recognised for what it should be.
A place of help and discussion about our passion to make small (or not so small) barstock engines. This is what newcomers need.
I am sorry if this has offended anyone, but it needed to be said.
John
I was reading a post by a new member called New Beginnings, where he doesn't have the facilities or the wherewithall to begin making little engines from barstock, but the enthusiasm was there. Are we here to sing our own praises or help less fortunate people to start in this great, I wouldn't call it a hobby, but a passion.
If you make an engine, and get it running, don't be afraid to tell people of your pitfalls and mistakes, I do and hopefully this will help someone to make their project run.
Next come the plans, these are made by generous people who have found a way to convey their way of making a running engine. But be aware, it is THEIR way of doing things. A lot of it is purely cosmetic, if it shows a beautiful turned column with tapers and bobbly bits it is their way of putting a personal stamp on it. Just this alone can put off a beginner because he doesn't know how to do it. A totally plain column will suffice, the bobbly bits come later. Look at a set of plans and say to yourself, does that have to be like that or can I leave it out, does it have to be made of that, can something else be used instead.
I am not trying to blow my own trumpet here, but I have made a simple to make elbow engine, and it seems that now everyone wants to build one. But I made so many changes to the original design because of my limitations and lack of materials, but it still ended up running. Why make the flywheel out of 3 1/2" diameter pipe with an aluminium insert. Do you have a bit of pipe knocking about, I certainly didn't, but I did have a piece of 4"x 4" thick ali plate, so that was my flywheel, took a bit longer, but it works. I hate working with steel plate, and I spell that with a capital H. So what do I do?. Again I used ali plate for the upright, but the wearing properties are no use, so I decided to put a cast iron bearing on the upright, this also made the job of cutting the ports a lot easier, just meant I had to adjust the mounting bolt holes and the port drillings slightly.
What I am trying to get at here is that drawings are not written in stone, use your imagination. If the timing and ports end up in the right place, if the rods and linkages are the right length and the holes are in the right place you should end up with a running engine, if you haven't got brass to make something, can you get away with ali with a brass insert, takes a bit longer but usually it will work. Don't get frustrated if you make a mistake, either try to put it right or make a new one. Don't rush things, their are no production times on these little engines, it will still be there the next day, they don't get up and run away. Just do it to the best of your ability, things do get better and easier with experience.
Lets help these people get started, explain what you did to make it easier, where you made changes to the drawing specs. Answer questions when asked, and no question is too silly, we all had to start somewhere.
You never know, you might just be helping the next Einstein on his (or her) way.
Machinery comes in all shapes and sizes, not everyone can have what most of us here already have. My first 'lathe' was a clamp on hand grinder where I had taken off the grindstone and put a drill chuck on, turn with the left hand and gouge out the metal in the chuck with a ground down file with the other hand, but I did make my first engine this way, nowadays I would use a cheap electric drill clamped to the bench. A hacksaw and file does the same as a miller, just takes longer with a lot of sweat and swearing involved, but can be done. A square, centre square, ruler and compass can be used to good effect, a masonry nail makes a good centre punch, the list goes on. Let people know what you can do with a bit of ingenuity. You are not going to patent all this so why not share your knowledge and get this site recognised for what it should be.
A place of help and discussion about our passion to make small (or not so small) barstock engines. This is what newcomers need.
I am sorry if this has offended anyone, but it needed to be said.
John
