Hi all;
I wanted to make something today. I didn't have anything in mind, except I felt like something simple. Looking
at "The List", I see I have the words 'alcohol lamp' written among a hundred other things, and that sounded easy
enough for how I felt when I got out of bed this morning.
It's not an engine, but was a "Work" while it was in "Progress" this morning.
Last summer, I found this piece of brass tubing at a yard sale. It's 1.5" dia and .040" wall. It was made for
a shower curtain rod, and the guy had cut off what he needed and this was left. For $5 I couldn't leave it lay.
Cut off a piece and faced the ends.
Then cut out a couple of discs from .025" brass sheet.
Silver brazed one end on using a few pieces of 45% silver bent into arcs to approximate the ID of the tube.
Well, it needs to go into the pickle for about 20 minutes.
Used a step drill to put a hole in what will be the top. This hole is for the wick tube.
I've had this step drill for years, but I often forget to use it. Every once in a while Stew or Bogs will
mention them. I finally put the thing next to my brass drill bits a while back so I'll see it.
The hole is 1/4", and I have some modeling tubing the same OD to fit.
With the wick tube cut to length, a step reamer is used to clean up the edges inside. The reamer is also
used on one end to expand the tube so that end will be slightly larger than the hole that was drilled in
the previous step. To do that, I just tapped the reamer in a few thou using a small plastic mallet.
Next step is to drill another hole to tap for 1/8" NPT. This will be the filler. I tapped it at a slight
angle so the filler neck will cant slightly away from the wick tube. Probably not needed, but I thought I
should do it, so did it.
I used a 1/8" brass pipe nipple. The reason for that is, electric lamp fittings are made with that thread.
Things like finials, little caps, and decorative dingle-bobs for people who make or restore table lamps and
such are threaded to fit 1/8" NPT. Kind of handy, and I'll use a table lamp cap for the filler cover.
Another brazing heat, and then into the pickle again.
In the above pic, the base has also been brazed on. I did that last piece with 56%. It melts a couple
hundred degrees below the 45%. I didn't want the smaller pieces coming loose on the last heat.
As you'll see, it wouldn't have mattered. A goof is imminent.
Ahhh-ha-ha-ha! Ugh. Very funny. Obviously, something didn't go right when I was finishing this up
in the lathe. This stuff happens, sometimes. Nooo, I wasn't on my meds. Not when I did this stupid
thing, anyway. I was taking bitsy little cuts and all was fine. Then I bumped the cross slide handle
as I backed out of the last cut, and suddenly, Chubby Checker was singing "The Twist".
So I fixed it. Filed off a bit of the threads on the filler and cut off the wick tube. Putting in the
new wick tube, I just used regular solder. Also made a loop handle from 3/32" brass rod, and put it on
with regular solder too. None of this needed brazing silver anyway. I did the other parts with it for
the fun of it, and for practice. The whole thing could be done with plumbers solder.
Well, it came out okay, after all that. I'm not very good at polishing all the pink out of heated brass,
but it will have to do.
I don't think it will hold an ounce of alcohol, but it burns for over 15 minutes.
Last time I made a lamp type thing, it was the small Jerry Howell propane burner.
Then I had to make an engine to go with it...
Thanks all, for having a look.
Dean
