More flywheel questions

[chucketn]

I'm finally getting away from makingtools to making engines. As my skills develop, I'm beginning tounderstand more and more about making little engines.

Flywheels, for example. My first wasfor the EZ engine and it was just a large flat slice of steel
Ifound in the stuff I inherited from my Dad. No embellishments exceptbeing cleaned up and trued on the lathe and shined a bit with emorycloth. The second, a pair of 1/2” slices of 2” aluminum barstockwith a relief turned in the sides. My third, was better yet. Iturned the relief in the sides, and added 6 symetrically spaced holesusing my rotary table, again from aluminum barstock. Mow I want toget fancier, and do a brass or alum. Center with spokes, and apressed on steel rim for better flywheel effect. My question to themore experienced, is where can I get (read scrounge) steel pipe withat least 1/4” wall thickness, and 2 1/2” to 4” diameter? Whattype of businesses might have cutoffs in these sizes? Is schedule 80pipe easy to machine to a decent finish? Would the “Depot” bigbox stores have pipe nipples/caps/etc. that big?

I don't know of any scrap yards aroundhere that sell to individuals or businesses that use pipe.

Chuck

 

[Entropy455]

Schedule 80 Steel pipe in the 2” to 4” NPS sizes are still relatively thin wall.

I recommend checking with your local steel supplier for solid bar stock.

They will sell solid steel round bar by the foot, in both hot and cold rolled. Some of the larger diameters are sold by the inch. The cut fees are reasonable too. Figure you’ll spend about $1.15 per pound for hot-rolled, and upwards of $1.50 per pound for cold-rolled. Cut fees vary. Usually the first cut is free.

Note: steel has a density of about 0.284 pounds per cubic inch.

 

[kuhncw]

Hi Chuck,

I don't know what style wheel you are looking for, but Gary Martin has a nice selection of cast flywheels of various sizes.

http://www.martinmodel.com/MMPflywheels.html

Little Machine shop also sells flywheel castings.

Regards,

Chuck Kuhn

 

[Entropy455]

Another place where you can find a quality flywheel –

Most treadmills are powered by pulse width modulated DC electric motors. To smooth out the driveline operation, the treadmills contain a nice beefy cast iron flywheel (around 8 to 10 inches in diameter, and between 10 and 20 pounds). The nice part is that the flywheels are machined and dynamically balanced by the factory. They turn rather fast in a treadmill, thus they are balanced quite well.

Keep your eye out for free or broken treadmills. Take the the flywheel, and scrap the rest.

Well - - - some treadmills contain rather nice aluminum belt roller bars - you might want to take those also. . . .

 

[Entropy455]

Granted - a treadmill flywheel would be used for what I'd consider a medium sized model engine.

If you're looking for a 2" to 4" diameter flywheel, forget the treadmill idea. . . . .

 

[Herbiev]

Drilling companies ( bore water wells) often have offcuts around 4 ft long 3,4 and 6" diameter 1/4 to 3/8" wall

 

[chucketn]

Entropy455, I collect "Freecycle" treadmills, and have several of those flywheels handy, but they are much to big for what I need as of yet. I've not found any aluminum rollers in the ones I have acquired.
Herbiev, I will check out any well drilling companies I can find around. Thanks for that idea.

Chuck

 

[archer3d]

If there are any comercial building going up near you, check with the fire sprinkler guys the piping used for that can range anywhere from 1 inch up to 8" and the ends for the couplings can be almost a 1/2" thick iron

archer3d

 

[gus]

Went to a stockist to cut a hollow Bronze 3"O.D. x 2" I.D. x 1/2" thick, to make the fixed steady and flywheel for my American Pop Corn Engine.
Spokes were screwed on to hub and Locktite to Rim.

See fotos.

 

[MachineTom]

Look for CORED tubing, it is available in AL, Bronze, Brass, Steel. This is cast or drawn material with a rough hole in the center. Often sold in lenghts of 13". An example is I have 4" Diameter bronze with a 1.5" center hole, the finish will be an as cast or mill finish. Also look on ebay for cutoffs, often cheap. Yarde metals online has Drop zone material, odd sizes but short stuff is always cheap.

 

[terrywerm]

You could also look for DOM (Drawn Over Mandrel) steel tubing. It is available in various OD / ID combinations. Cutoffs and even whole bars are common residents at discount steel suppliers that sell surplus metal items.

Granted, I am lucky, since I live within 40 miles of such a steel vendor, but they are more common than you might think. Search the phone book in your area, a few phone calls might just find what you are looking for.