Remember your first?

Home Model Engine Machinist Forum

Help Support Home Model Engine Machinist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

stevehuckss396

Model Engineer
Project of the Month Winner
HMEM Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2008
Messages
4,933
Reaction score
1,680
Location
Sterling Heights, MI
I was going through some old pictures and found these. They were taken in January of 2007. This is the first engine I made that actually runs. It was built with some donated brass that someone could do without. It was machined on a brand new lathe and mill that I had little idea how to use. I cannot remember where I got the plans but they were free from somewhere. This were not the first pieces that I ever made but they were done at the very start of my engine building history. I can still remember the day it first ran. The quality is terrible. Nothing fit the way it should. It took forever to build. Other than all that, It's still my favorite.

DSCN0652.jpg~original


DSCN0651.jpg~original



Where did your engine building start? Post some pictures of your first finished project.
 
Steve
My first engine ran about three weeks short of two years ago.
All I had was a mill; no lathe. It's a Stan Bray design, "Slim Sam."
As with yours, it was a bit wobbly, but it ran!


SlimSamdone.jpg
 
Made this when i was 16 (43 now!) In-line 4 cylinder air motor with rotary valve. I know it don't look much, but it still runs, all be it a bit rattly.
 
Well they all look great, and they RUN...I'd call that a success.
Stew.
 
Thanks mate,

Love your work, runs well.

I made a KJ66 turbine a while ago. Didn't balance the turbine well enough obviously, it exploded during acceleration between 100 000 - 120 000 rpm.

Left a wild shrapnel pattern in a 180 degree arc in my workshop walls and roof, luckily I walked away unharmed. :hDe:

Scared the crap out of me so I cheated and bought a Kingtech K80, I don't run it much because I keep getting noise complaints from the local council.

Thanks for the link.

Baz. Thm:
 
This is the first model engine I got to run reliably



That was in late 2007. It's not my favorite but it sits on my shelf as a reminder of how I got started. I still remember the first time it ran...I was like a kid with a new toy. I still get that feeling when I run an engine for the first time. It's all about having fun

Cheers,
Phil
 
Mine was an LTD Stirling "Coffee Cup" engine. I still recall the thrill when it ran. It still runs and I still enjoy it.
One winter it sat on top of the slow combustion wood heated just ticking away for months. Awesome. And quite a conversation starter.

Jim

P1200005.jpg
 
Mine was not long ago and still fresh in my mind. Jan Ridders Flamelicker with Internal Valve. I'm still tossing up whether to go back and refine it some more or build another one now that I have a few more skills.

fl40d.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: gus
Mine was a Wells Stationary. I made one at school when I was 15 which I gave to a gentleman who collected steam engines. Nearly 20 years later it was my first when I started model engineering. This is the result

Runs nice

Brock
 
g,day folks new member trying to get a few posts in ,i am not much good in the intro dept type stuff but anyway here is my first, finished about 2 weeks ago , yep its rough or as my mate says a bit agricultural . elmer's wobble plate engine double plan size , all non ferous all done on the newly aquired lathe , hopefully i will get better . it does run have had it running on air and kinda ran on a hose hooked up to the steam wand on our commercial coffee machine ( gunna fit a steam whistle to that machine one day just tap into the steam line .

P1010031.JPG
 
G'day Texta, that's a great looking engine and one that will always have a special place in your affections. And you can tell your mate to dip his eye - it doesn't look agricultural to me.

Jim
 
thanks jim , it was 2 firsts for me , first engine ever and the flywheel started life as a old holden intake manifold until i melted it down in an old stainless pan and poured it into a tin to make the blank for the wheel which was my first bit of turning metal to liquid .

johno
 

Latest posts

Back
Top