Plumbing Parts Engine

[cfellows]

I guess this can officially be called a work in progress now. The plumbing tee used for the cylinder block is a 1/2" brass tee. I bored it out so the 1/2" brass nipple cylinder is a sliding fit inside the tee. This will be soldered into the tee permanently at some point.

As a point of reference, the flywheel is 7.25" in diameter. The cylinder bore is ~.65 and the stroke will be around 1.5" - 1.75". I'm working on the cylinder head now. It will be an overhead valve arrangement and the head will attach to the cylinder block with 4-40 SHCS.

I'm trying to keep the design as simple (rustic) as possible. I'm hoping the combination of a low compression ratio, large flywheel and long stroke will keep the engine RPM's pretty low.

Chuck

 

[Captain Jerry]

Good start Chuck. I'm in. Is this going to be IC or steam?

Jerry

 

[cfellows]

Yeah, it's gonna be an IC engine. I changed the title from Henry Ford engine to Plumbing Parts engine since my engine will not be a reproduction of the original. My valve and head arrangement will be much different than Ford's. I also plan to use a foam vapor carb instead of the drip used by Ford.

More to follow.

Chuck

 

[Deanofid]

This sounds like a fun project, Chuck. Where did you find/buy the flywheel?

Dean

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Chuck---I will be watching this with interest too. I haven't made the leap from air/steam to internal combustion yet, but----

 

[cfellows]

This sounds like a fun project, Chuck. Where did you find/buy the flywheel?

Dean

Dean, I don't remember for sure, but I think I picked that flywheel up at NAMES a number of years ago. Wish I had more like it!

Chuck

 

[cfellows]

Chuck---I will be watching this with interest too. I haven't made the leap from air/steam to internal combustion yet, but----

Brian, my intent is to make this as about as simple as an IC engine can be without buying a lot of parts. The head is going to be an interesting exercise in milling but shouldn't be too much of a stretch.

Chuck

 

[ariz]

uhmm... an ibrid Ford - plumbing parts engine... looks interesting!
I'll follow you too, cfellows

recently I started to like IC engines more than steam engines (maybe my old passions, mechanic, cars, etc. were coming back )

 

[cfellows]

Got started on the cylinder head today. Here is probably more nauseating detail than you ever wanted!

Faced the end of a 1.25" cast iron bar:

Here I've turned 7/8" of the bar down to the diameter of the pipe tee end (1.220").

After cutting off and facing the other end, the cylinder head height is .75"

Next I bored a void in the head 3/4" diamter and 3/8" deep.

Next I milled a 3/8" wide flat on one side for the spark plug. Not enough room for the valves and sparkplug all on the flat face of the head:

I drilled and tapped the hole for the 1/4" x 32 spark plug. Here you see the plug in place. Sorry, kind of blurry...

And here you can see the sparkplug bottom inside the void in the head:

Finally, another mockup of the engine so far. I made a new cylinder block out of a black cast iron pipe tee and a length of 1/2" steep pipe nipple. I decided the brass looked too fancy!

The steel pipe nipple is pretty lousy material and it's hard to get a smooth bore. I got a pretty acceptable bore by honing with a 5/8" flex hone like this:

Gotta figure out what the next operation will be for the head...

 

[black85vette]

Nice project. I'm watching but don't have questions..... yet.

 

[arnoldb]

Nice going Chuck Thm:

Love this:

I decided the brass looked too fancy!

Regards, Arnold

 

[bearcar1]

Oh, I don't know Chuck, that brass fitting would look pretty nice. Not too 'blingy', but period character just the same. The cast iron one just leaves the impression of Uncle Billy Joe's still up in the hills. ;D

BC1
Jim

 

[4wheels]

Hi Chuck,
I just wished you had not done this! I have too many projects started and not finished and you pop up with something far too interesting to ignor.
I will be following with interest and maybe advancing this up the list of things to do.
Cheers,

 

[cfellows]

Thanks for the comments, folks. Here's a couple more pictures. I drilled the holes for the valves guides and the inlet and exhaust ports. Since the valve guides will just be pressed in, I'm a little concerned that I may have to remake the head a little longer so I have more of the valve guides in the holes. There's only about 1/16" inch between the the ports and the top of the head. I'm thinking I'd like at least 1/8".

 

[chuck foster]

looking good so far chuck.................ic is the way to go ;D

chuck

 

[cfellows]

Nice work! What will you be using for the valves, stressproof, drill rod or standard steel ?

Drill rod is my usual material of choice for valves. These will be 5/16" face diameter. I'm thinking I may have to make a valve seat cutter...

Chuck

 

[cfellows]

Okay, I'm not as fast as Brian, but making slow progress. I got the holes drilled and the head mounted to the cylinder block. I'm shooting for the "not-gonna-do-too-much-work-until-I-see-if-it-works" look.

Chuck

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Chuck--You're just not as obsessive/compulsive as I am!!! ;D ;D When I start a new project that really interests me, I just can't leave the darn thing alone. This is both a blessing (Projects do get done quickly) and a curse (I can't stop thinking about what I will design/machine next on the project) and can't go to sleep at night because my brain is on fire thinking about it. One would think that after 63 years I would "pace myself" better, but it just doesn't work that way. One thing about your projects, they certainly are interesting!!!---Brian

 

[cfellows]

Thanks, Brian. I think the real reason is you're just younger than me! I'm almost 66! :big:

Here's the last one for today. Maybe for a few days since I think my wife has plans for me tomorrow.

This is a picture with the Valve Guides pressed in. They are brass. The top part is about 3/16" diameter and the hole for the valve stem is 1/8".

 

[cfellows]

Been shopping for a mattress and kitchen cabinets, so I haven't had much time to spend on the engine the past few days. However, I did get out in the shop today and got the Crankcase, if that's what you'd call it, pretty well put together. These pictures are in reverse order so you can see what's going on.

This is the mockup with the crankcase in place. It's made from two pieces of angle iron welded together to form a "U":

Here is a closeup of the finished weld. This is the first time I've used a MIG welder and I am impressed with the ease and the finished weld. I've never been an accomplished welder and my old sputter-box welds were pretty rough. This was done with my new Lincoln 140SP using flux cored wire.

Here's the setup ready to weld. The angle halves are clamped together in an old machinist vise:

In this picture, I've just faced off one leg of the angle iron to be sure it's square to the other leg. I did this to both halves.

And here's the two halves clamped back to back and mounted in my milling vise so I can drill the holes for the crankshaft. I was a little worried about the holes lining up after I welded the halves together, but I lined them up with a 3/8" bar when I clamped them in the machinist vice. I also waited until after I'd welded them to ream them to final size.

That's it for now.

Chuck