Simple Steam Engine - No Machine Tools Required

[Paula]

Hi all,

I built one of these many moons ago (more moons than I will admit to), and always had a soft spot in my heart for it. It's a "wobbler" of the most fundamental design, and was the first engine I built that actually worked when I finished it. I even fancied it up a bit by making a flywheel from a section of steel pipe, nails for spokes, all soldered to a drilled steel hub. The one I built is long gone, having been given to an admiring nephew years ago, but I still have fond memories of that first running.

Anyway, the beauty of this design is that it utilizes widely available telescoping brass tubing, stocked by many hobby shops (here is one on-line source), and so machining a piston and cylinder is not required. Made almost entirely of square tubing, it has kind of a minimalist appeal. It's a great project for beginners, and "old hands" might get a kick out of it as well.

Now that Google has made all the Popular Mechanics back issues accessible on line, many of these otherwise "lost" projects can be brought back in to the mainstream. Here's the link:

Popular Mechanics, July 1970, page 154

Paula

 

[dparker]

Paula: Thank you for finding the spot where the plans were for this engine. I built it many years ago and could not remember where the plans came from.

Please excuse the dust as this model has been sitting around for years on the window sill.
Thank you.
don

 

[lathe nut]

Thanks Paula for the info. is one able to print that page out in that program, take care, Lathe Nut

 

[joe d]

I still trip over the cylinder and the crank for one of these the few times that I clean up in the shop... and I still have the copy of PM that the plans are in. Maybe someday I'll finish it! ( I was 15... there were girls and cars interfering with shop time....)

Thanks for the memories!

Joe

 

[Paula]

Is one able to print that page out in that program?

My interpretation of the copyright law is that you are permitted to make a copy of the on-line document for your personal use -- beyond that, you're on shaky legal ground.

Is one able to print out that page? I was not, using the IE print icon in the upper right corner, but I much prefer to use a screen-capture utility, such as MWSnap. Note that you can maximize the Google viewing pane, as well as increase the "maginfication" to get a more usable-sized image.

Paula

 

[nevadablue]

Please forgive me for reviving this ancient thread, but I need help. The link to the Google version of PM shows the first two pages of the article, but doesn't finish it. The article is continued on page 192 and the scan quits at 178. Does anyone have the rest of the article? I know there is enough info to build the engine on the two pages shown, but I just want the entire article.
Yesterday, I was rummaging in the top drawer of my tool box (inherited from my Dad) and found the tubing I bought in 1975 or so for this project. I must build this...

 

[dparker]

Nevadablue: Go to http://books.google.com/books?id=mt...tal+shaper"&lr=&source=gbs_all_issues_r&cad=1
The Googlebooks.com for Popular mechanics site will let you look at any of the magazines from early 1900's to nearly present issues, the start of the article is on page 154 I believe and go to page 192 for the rest of the article.
My Son found a program online that permits the printing out of these articles- but I will need to wait until he gets home for Christmas to see what it is that allows you to actually print the individual pages out for your home use.
Best of luck------don

 

[nevadablue]

Thanks. The problem is that the page number jumps only go to 178, so I tried that and then paged forward to 192... it worked! It was only a few paragraphs, but I got it, and now I know how to navigate those silly magazines.
I guess I'm more than a little slow. I'm on an iPad now and rotated the screen to make the visible page larger and captured each one. Then I noticed that the 'continued on' thing is a live link, and clicking on it takes you to the rest of the article.