Resurrection and Bling Fairies

[Bogstandard]

Towards the end of last year I made an engine out of bits and pieces and ideas pinched from Chuck, and it developed rather well.

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=612.0

Come Christmas, because I had been very naughty, the bling fairies byepassed my workshop and then when a certain spouse of mine did a quick shop cleanup for me, one of the engines cams went mysteriously missing.

So due to me not having anything else to do other than interfere and butt into other peoples posts, I have decided to give this engine a going over to finish it off.

Because I only have a mill at the moment, I will have to restrict it to use of that bit of kit for the time being. So this post will be a rather long one, until I get all my machines up and running.

But it will stop me climbing on the roof and howling in the middle of the night, and it might give you a few minutes enjoyment when I stick another bit to the post over the following weeks.

I hope to start on it this evening, if the boss will let me out to play.

Bogs

 

[Bogstandard]

So now, back to work.

Last year was one of my most creative ever, with new ideas filling up my little sketchbook daily.
I think it was partly due to minor insanity, as a few on this site found out late last year. This engine was one of the last I designed and produced at that time, and although I really enjoyed getting it to run, I have since grown to hate the damned thing. Not the engines fault, but mine because it reminded me of difficult times in the past.
Anyway, all now almost seems to be forgiven, so I have decided to give this lump of lifeless metal a new lease of life.

As you can see, it is butt ugly, from all angles.

The only good looking part on it is the baseplate, and that is nothing special.

I need to make some more parts for it, a new set of cams, a control inlet valve, nice pipework and an exhaust. Most of that can't be done without the use of a lathe to get the required shape and finish, so I am going to concentrate at the moment on hacking about on the mill.

I sat down this evening, and using a felt tip, put a few marks where I thought it could do with a bit of an uplift.

The flywheel will have steel inserts fitted into it, not mainly for decoration, but to add weight to the outer edge. While making this, a few people thought the flywheels needed to be slightly larger, but due to the frame of mind I was in, I ignored their advice, then found that it really did need heavier flywheels. Never turn down good sound advice.
The standards will get a bit of an uplift, just by making them less angular, and the cylinder will get fins all over it to simulate a high speed ic engine.

If all that doesn't turn it into a reasonable looking engine, no-one can say I didn't try.

Bib & brace washed, cutters all sharp. Back to serious work.


Bogs

 

[Philjoe5]

<snip> As you can see, it is butt ugly, from all angles.

Personally I think it looks Art Deco cool ;D. If and when it runs the cool factor will increase 10x. Keep at it man!

Cheers,
Phil

 

[Bogstandard]

Phil,

It has already run, I just want it to run better.

John

 

[bentprop]

Hell,John,I wish I could make my measly efforts look that "butt-ugly". :big:You'll see what I mean when i post some pics of your piston valve twin I'm hacking out.
regards.Hans.

 

[Kludge]

As you can see, it is butt ugly, from all angles.

Gotta go with Phil & Hans on this one. It has the look of raw functionality to it, kind of an in-your-face "I'm an engine. Deal with it" attitude. I love the feel of the exposed gears and if you insist on blinging it, it wouldn't take much to make it Neo-Victorian (aka Steampunk) in nature.

On the other hand, I'm interested to see what you do with it.

Best regards,

Kludge

 

[Bogstandard]

We will see.

Bogs

 

[Divided He ad]

Bout time you made some chips John ;D

Having seen/heard this running about a foot from my face I can say it seemed pretty good then

But also having heard your projected ideas to get it running in the different ways (multi cam) etc I am also looking forward to seeing the end result.

All our personal tastes must be visible in what we make. That is what makes this hobby so much fun, being able to do it as you like regardless of what a plan might say (obviously it still has to run!!). We can all add a little or a lot to any design we choose ;D


Glad you found something to do, Have fun ;D



Ralph.

 

[kvom]

I like the look myself. A bit of bling that might improve it is metal tubing between the valve and the cylinder, rather than the plastic tube from the video.

 

[Bogstandard]

Kvom,

The silincone tubimg was only temp, it will have the correct metal pipework when it is finished.

John

 

[Bogstandard]

After fitting a new flap in the kitchen door for Bandit (he smashed the old one out when trying to get to the delivery man, to lick his knees to death and piddle on his shoes, and I'm still grovelling to SWMBO), I was allowed to make a few chips.

After a lot of looking, even more sketching and eventually measuring up and laying out what I wanted it to look like, I started.

The first thing was to get the corners of the cylinder looking a bit more interesting. Just a quick swipe with a round nosed cutter made it look in my eyes, 100% better.

Now to those three flat faces. Again, using a round nosed cutter, I machined a recess in the face. This was followed up by cross cutting (same cutter) to produce the finning effect I was after.

This pic looks terrible, but in real life, it is smooth and all the fins are equally spaced and the same width.
Nothing looks worse than unequal finning, it shows up straight away and makes the engine look like a bodge job. It took me an hour of working out and planning to get things into the correct position. Rush it and it will look like a cat's a**e, permanently staring at you.

The other two sides will get the same treatment, and once the block is polished to chrome finish, and the recessed area of the finning is given a bit of colour, it should look a lot better.

Bogs

 

[Bogstandard]

After a few hours of high concentration and continual interruptions because of visitors, I actually managed to get the finning done on the cylinder block, and it turned out just as I wanted it to.
I had forgotten the metal that the block was made out of is of unknown origin, it wasn't until I reread my old post about the engine that it reminded me just what a lump of junk it used to be.
But a little experimental machining in the beginning soon got it cutting as nice as could be. Flood the initial channels with a bit of coolant, a 0.050" cut using a 1/8" round nosed bit, and it was smooth as silk.

A touch of red felt tip gave me an insight into what the finished cylinder should look like, and I must say, I am delighted with the result. To my eyes, the engine is starting to 'come alive'.

So not having any metal turning facilities, I will carry on with all the platework for the time being.

Does anyone else notice the difference in looks? Or is it just me.

Bogs

 

[Metal Mickey]

Bogs I must admit I was pleased to hear the history of the engine and I then looked back at the original posts. Your approach is one I feel comfortable with so take a gold star for giving me confidence. Something I find this forum is usefull for. When working alone knowing how others work is priceless.

Regarding your latest photo's I think they look very good. Have you thought about anodising some of the ally parts? The red highlights in particular made me think it it was anodised red..........just a thought.... :big:

 

[Divided He ad]

A good spruce up that one John, I like the re-vamp so far.

Is the head staying the same?



Ralph.

 

[Bogstandard]

Mike,

Thanks for the compliment, and I am not into anodising, even though it looks a straightforwards process.

Ralph,
I think that is it for the cylinder, I am undecided yet on the head, I was going to make a new one, but it is a working one, and a new one might not work as well, I will make a decision later.
One bit at a time with this one.

John

 

[wareagle]

John,

Your bling fairies are doing a marvelous job. And this is a very interesting engine. I enjoyed watching it come together before, and certainly will keep and eye on the bling thing.

W/E

 

[Bogstandard]

W/E,

Glad you are liking it.

After such a long layoff from machining, it is very difficult to get the thought processes moving again, and I think this was the best approach for me, nothing really lost if it ends up as a hotch potch, anything is better than the original.

Plus I am learning how to handle a new machine.

I think I can feel a bit of my trademark coming on. A few hours of restful engine turning seems to be on the cards.

John

 

[Twinsquirrel]

I think I can feel a bit of my trademark coming on. A few hours of restful engine turning seems to be on the cards.

ooooh, looking forward to that, engine turning is one of those things I have never tried and is probably something that looks easy but isn't. Personally I love the look of it.

Any chance of one of your "walkthroughs"?

Cheers

David

 

[Bogstandard]

David,

It is rather easy, especially if you have DRO's fitted, it only takes half the time.

I will do my best to try to explain it, but a lot of it is due to 'feel' and until we get grope-o-vision, you will have to take my word for it.

I did start an article on bling at the end of last year, unfortunately a few of the pics are missing due to an accident I had, but there are a few good links and some good reading in there if you have an hour to waste.

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=757.0


John

 

[Twinsquirrel]

eew! not sure I like the idea of "grope-o-vision"..... although thinking about it.......

Forgot about that thread, will revisit it tonight.

David