My "Modified" Lindsey Beam Engine

[bretk]

Well here is the start of my beam engine project. Bore .575", Stroke 1", Cylinder 2" tall, made from 1" Dia Brass stock, Beam 1/8 by 3/4 6" between cl bore and cl of crankpin. shaft 1/4" drill rod, platform 2" by 1/4" brass, flywheel 3-1/4" dia. It will have an exposed shaft kind of reminiscent of a lineshaft. I am also ducting both the intake and exhaust thru the cylinder base not the center of the shaft.

Bill, I hope you don't mind the liberty I took with your design. I do have a question: Is the .013 flat on the shaft depth critical or is it that the flats must be 180 degrees apart?

I have also included pictures of Aspen AKA The Swarf Magnet my workshop companion, and a picture showing I do indeed, on occasion Generate some swarf! ;D ;D

Regards, Bret

 

[Philjoe5]

Nice work there Bret. I'm a fan of beam engines and have one currently on the factory floor!

Cheers,
Phil

 

[Brass_Machine]

Bret,

Nice swarf magnet!

Eric

 

[b.lindsey]

Bret,

I don't mind the changes at all...as I had said when Marv posted his pictures, its fun to see the creativity that others apply. Your's is obviously a scaled up version too.

As for the flats, I show .031" depth on a .1875" shaft. This seemed to work but wasn't derived in any scientific way really. One a 1/4" shaft you might go just a bt deeper but the .031" depth should still work too. As you said, the main thing is that the flats are 180 degrees apart. Any variations in depth would only effect the time that the flats are open to either the intake or exhaust ports as the shaft rotates. This could be calculated in degrees of rotation but it didn't seem necessary when the prototype was built and the .031" worked fine.

Please post more pics as you pregress.

Bill

 

[bretk]

Well, here is the progress on my beam engine, was sidetracked on a few additions to the shop. Picked up a harbor freight vibratory tumbler to try to use for polishing, then found out I needed rouge to add to the walnut media : oops, well I ended up ordering some pre impregnated corncob stuff from eastwood company after spending some time talking to a jeweler. Still needed to sand down to about 600 grit, but saved me from the darn buffing/polishing wheel which has ripped more than one part out of my hands in the past. Anyhow, starting to come together. still need to work on the shaft and finish the connecting rods as well as some other minor work. I am also working on a few of the Liney thimble engines for friends, am going to mount them on rods and attach a wooden prop instead of a flywheel for something different as the little engine kind of looks like a glow plug aircraft engine anyhow.

Here are the pics
-Bret

 

[ChooChooMike]

Picked up a harbor freight vibratory tumbler to try to use for polishing, then found out I needed rouge to add to the walnut media Roll Eyes oops, well I ended up ordering some pre impregnated corncob stuff from eastwood company after spending some time talking to a jeweler. Still needed to sand down to about 600 grit, but saved me from the darn buffing/polishing wheel which has ripped more than one part out of my hands in the past.

Look really good !!

I tried out the small tumbler from H/F with just using the crushed walnut (dry) media. That by itself did almost nothing on some small brass and aluminum parts. I too was/am hoping to avoid the buffing/polishing cycle (using my Dremel tool) on parts smaller then my fingers. How was your experience with the other media ? Any recommendations ? Been thinking I need some of those small ceramic cones and some water/detergent mix to get it all working ??

Thanks,
Mike

 

[rond]

My brother uses a small vibratory tumbler with some dry media and some "Brasso" squirted in to polish rifle brass before reloading. Might be worth a try.

Ron

 

[BobWarfield]

Those little vibratory polishers can be had pretty cheap. I've got one kicking around that I got at a garage sale, but no media yet, so I haven't tried it. Would love to know the "best" formula for a home shop for general polishing.

Very nice engine!

BW

 

[bretk]

Thanks for the comments on the beam engine ;D, I started a new topic in questions on the tumbler media to try and answer with what I have learned so far.

-Bret