What to drive with my steam engines???

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.

Brian Rupnow

Design Engineer
Project of the Month Winner
Joined
May 23, 2008
Messages
14,915
Reaction score
8,219
Location
Barrie, Ontario, Canada
When I finish building my current engine, the double horizontal, I would like to build something to run with a couple of the engines I have built, for display. (This one will be my fourth engine). Whatever it is it should be mechanically oriented (Not a man chopping wood, etc.) A circular saw is too simple. A pump pumping water is one possibility. An entire sawmill is far too complicated. ----I am looking for suggestions from all you mechanical types out there.--Thanks in advance.---Brian
 
Brain,

I don't know how mechanical this would be considered, but I have been wanting to build either a ferris wheel or a carousel to run off of a steamer.

Eric
 
Eric--Thats funny, I have thought about a ferris wheel myself. There is a "recycle store" not far from me that has a collection of brass cymbals about 12" in diameter, and I was considering buying a pair of them and machining out "spokes" to make the 2 sides. It becomes a bit much though, by the time you make all the seats, and a support tower for each side. I haven't totally given up on the idea though. A carousel would be interesting, but a real challenge if you put horses on it and made a movement to make them go up and down----
 
How about a stamping battery - I'm pretty sure you would have had those in Canadia. Mine's always a real attention grabber

22a8ea00.jpg
 
Brian Rupnow said:
Eric--Thats funny, I have thought about a ferris wheel myself. There is a "recycle store" not far from me that has a collection of brass cymbals about 12" in diameter, and I was considering buying a pair of them and machining out "spokes" to make the 2 sides. It becomes a bit much though, by the time you make all the seats, and a support tower for each side. I haven't totally given up on the idea though. A carousel would be interesting, but a real challenge if you put horses on it and made a movement to make them go up and down----

You could always get a model ferris wheel and adapt it or use the cars etc...

Something like THIS but I have no idea on the size of it.

Eric
 
Build a generator and then you can keep adding electric motor driven equipment. It will keep you busy for years.
 
Stan said:
Build a generator and then you can keep adding electric motor driven equipment. It will keep you busy for years.
Stan---I don't do "electric". Mechanical shtuff only, and something with a bit of visual "appeal" to it.
 
Brian,

How about a crane ??? ??? ???

Best Regards
Bob
 
Marble elevators always look cool to me, used to love seeing that sort of thing as a younger kid! (Just an almost 42 kid now) A steam powered one would be even better. Did Birk (Oldmechthings) build one?

I'll have to check when at home as I can't see most publicly hosted pictures at work.
 
I'll have to check when at home as I can't see most publicly hosted pictures at work.

There y'go, tossing four letter words about again
 
In my involvement with a museum we have demonstration days with engines (steam and i/c) driving many things. Some are full size machines but some are models. Most are farm oriented but you can take your pick from complexity.
Threshing machine
Hay press
Water well pump
Corn sheller
Corn chopper
Bone grinder
Cord wood saw
Shingle mill
Saw mill
Dynamometer

MVC-558F.jpg


Here is the steam power for the little separator

MVC-557F.jpg
 
Depending on the size and power, how about a chipper/shredder for making mulch?
 
Brian,

I made it myself. The design is by Rudy Kouhoupt. It was first featured on the cover of the January 1996 issue of "Home Shop Machinist" and the four part construction article extended into the July 1996 issue of the magazine.

The gears on it were my first serious venture into proper gear making and, fortunately, turned out very well. For the crown gear there's no option other than making it since no supplier sells the size gear used.

It was a great build - a welcome change from engines and an opportunity to learn some new techniques as well as make use of some of my machining programs to form the contours of the cross bar and the barrel.
 
Brian,
If you don't want to be too practical, and I think that is against the rules in this hobby, a Slinky toy operator is a great crowd pleaser. I have seen several at model engineering shows a dozen years or so ago and they attract interest from everyone from kids to model engineers. I have photos some where, but I have no idea where.

Think of a double platform balance scale with a parallel linkage to keep the platforms level while they move up and down. Then drive the platforms with any kind of odd linkages that you can think of. Belts, gears, bell cranks, push rods or anything else from the junk box. I have seen cog gears like used on the old Dutch windmills, gears sliced at an angle so the mating teeth move in and out along the axis of rotation, elliptical gears, chain and sprockets, bevel gears, worm gears and other assorted drives. On top of the platforms is a Slinky toy so it pours from one platform to the other. If y0u don't remember Slinky toys, they are the coil spring toy that would walk down stairs. Been around a long time and are still available at most any toy store for a few dollars. Use the full size Slinky and not the Slinky Junior. The platforms have to be close together. Still simpler is to make just one platform move and the other stationary, but it does not have near the appeal when operating.

The period of operation should be about 15 so operations per minute so set your reduction ratios from the engine to platform accordingly.

I have a new Slinky I picked up a couple of months ago for just this purpose.

Gail in NM,USA

 
Gail---I love that idea. As for slinkys and hula hoops, I was the right age to have them when they first came out in the fifties. --Brian
 
tel said:
How about a stamping battery - I'm pretty sure you would have had those in Canadia. Mine's always a real attention grabber

22a8ea00.jpg

Did you build the stamp battery yourself, or is that a model kit from somewhere ? I've taken lots of pictures of those stamp batteries in old mills/mining areas.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top