my attempt at Rupnows imperialized ridders flame eater

[Cogsy]

Congrats on sticking with it and getting it done! Frustrating little things aren't they, but so satisfying when they finally run.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Congratulations---Brian

 

[werowance]

i didn't sleep hardly any last night. wife said I couldn't take the engine to bed with me...

Brian, if you want to give yours another shot, ill send you some left over graphite. make it tight in the cylinder while cold, then pre heat cylinder before running. seems to make the perfect fit.

I also re-lapped my cylinder with the aluminum lap to a mirror finish before I made my graphite piston / valve.

thanks
Bryan

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Thank you Werowance, but I already have graphite. I am really glad you got your engine to run.---Brain

 

[werowance]

wonder which would be easier, a fords first engine or a Webster for my first I.C. engine?

 

[Brian Rupnow]

By all means, build a Webster!!

 

[werowance]

and I guess technically it wont be my first, I tried and failed at a bj cicada diesel aero engine a while back. hopefully my skills have improved since then.

 

[el gringo]

wonder which would be easier, a fords first engine or a Webster for my first I.C. engine?

I have built three 'fords first' engines and many IC and EC engines. I am now building a Webster My suggestion would be the Ford engine first.

 

[werowance]

maybe a little better video of it running again. also the fancy fluted glass shot bottle is what I plan to use as a alcohol filler bottle. hope to make a cap with a brass pipe out of it sort of like those fancy cooking oil bottles my wife uses.

 

[werowance]

and here is a video showing how tight the piston is when cold before I pre heated it to take the running video above

 

[werowance]

I felt like the engine needed some accessories, so I took the cut off end left over from making the ss cylinder and made a stainless funnel to fill the burner and glass shot bottle I am going to use to hold the alcohol. the shot bottle cap wasn't much to look at so I made a knurled cap for it, used the original cap and jbwelded it inside the aluminum cap because there was no way I was going to be able to cut threads to match the glass bottle. I think they both came out nice

 

[werowance]

 

[werowance]

and then next I decided the whole engine needed bling and polish. thinking back to what first sparked my interest in machining, it was when I was a kid at the county fair looking at the crafts and such exhibits. there was this beautiful stainless steel meat tenderizing hammer that a student had made and entered in the fair. it had diamond milled faces on both sides, knurled handle and the thing that really caught my eye is the sides of the head were "jeweled" at the time I didn't know what those swirls were called but someone told me it was called jeweling, later I learned it was also called engine turning. so I thought that I might jewel the base to my engine. first thing was to polish to mirror finish - and then stop... wait the shine and sparkly things distract me.... once I had it polished now I'm undecided whether to jewel it or to leave it mirror finish.. oh well in the mean time I'm polishing the other parts which just need polishing anyway as the only piece I will jewel if I decide to is the base. what do you all think? after seeing that meat hammer I later learned about Amelia airheart and her air plane and saw the engine cowel was jweled, then later the fire dept visited the school and I saw the aluminum covers jeweled on the truck... those swirls just kept showing up after I first saw that hammer.

I have read that some profesionals consider jeweling just a way to hide imperfections and don't like it. what do you all think?

 

[Cogsy]

I think that's a nice polish job on the base that will show every fingerprint and speck of dust really well...Seriously though - you say you've always wanted the engine turned finish, and you're at least halfway there on the base already. Follow your heart.

 

[Jamie Barton]

finished the fins, and parted it off last night. now to make an arbor for it and get it on the rotary table.
and while I'm thinking about it, laps - I have made a few from brass and understand how they work. but brass is expensive, aluminum I would think might be to soft and I was thinking I have some 12L14 leaded steel laying around close to size. what about a lap made of it? its definitely softer than the stainless the cylinder is made of. do you think it will be still to hard to expand properly or it might scratch things up to much?

View attachment 94929

I

finished the fins, and parted it off last night. now to make an arbor for it and get it on the rotary table.
and while I'm thinking about it, laps - I have made a few from brass and understand how they work. but brass is expensive, aluminum I would think might be to soft and I was thinking I have some 12L14 leaded steel laying around close to size. what about a lap made of it? its definitely softer than the stainless the cylinder is made of. do you think it will be still to hard to expand properly or it might scratch things up to much?

View attachment 94929

I lapped my first flame eater with an old broom handle with a slpit and wedges. It worked a treat and I wish I had never sold it.. Coincidently Ibdid the opposite - a metric version of the poppin

 

[Jamie Barton]

while I'm ordering supplies, I think ill shop for the wick. I found 1/4 round cotton wick on ebay. Brian, is that what I should use given the size of the wick holder? or should it be larger so as to be tight in the holder?

I just used an old mop for wicks, I think from the same mop which I chopped up to make my crude lapping tool. I'm a cheapskate but it worked well!

 

[werowance]

well this is going to take forever. 2 afternoons and this is all I have so far.

 

[werowance]

to make the swirls I am using a 3/8 wood dowel with some fine scotch brite pad hot glued to the tip. I made a cutter for the discs using a piece of drill rod, got the idea I think from Brian Rupnow cutting gaskets. I might be wrong on who it was but it was on this forum.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Google "Craytex" sticks.---Brian

 

[werowance]

wow, wish I had known of those sooner. that would have worked great. will file this one back for the next time

thanks Brian