All--
I finished my little steam engine! I thank everyone that helped me and thought about the issues involved.
It ran on first air!
I had great doubts about getting those tiny 0.043" steam ports to align, especially given the instructions in the book, which included things like 'Advance the feed exactly 0.212" and then the other feed 0.050"' and ' . . . then drill .043" dia. to a depth of 3/32". Back the crossfeed exactly .100" from this reading being sure to take up the play, and repeat.'
Emphasis mine. Being sure to take up the play? Gee. I never learned how to take up the play. Off-setting the features from 0,0 sure helped, though!
The instructions were written with a lathe in mind, which I do not own. I built it with my mill, substituting reverse boring for the lathe. I still have to mount it and build a boiler, but it sure whizzes along on even an almost empty can of air and I can turn it a few revolutions by puffing on the steam inlet pipe (not shown below).
When it is completely finished, I will start a thread with all the details in the Live Steam forum. My insignificant effort will be mere child's play on that forum, but it may interest those that helped me with steam questions.
I only show it here because of the substitution of a mill for a lathe and my gratitude for all the techniques many of you taught me in the process.
Thanks!
[EDIT: Log in to see the pictures.]
--Bill
Little Engine Finished
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seal killer
- Posts: 4696
- Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2007 10:58 pm
- Location: Ozark Mountains
Little Engine Finished
- Attachments
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- With the exception of the screw and dowel pins, I built everything, including the spring and washers with your help. I failed to put something in that would place the size in perspective. BUT, that screw is a 1-72x1/2".
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- A little steam engine.
Last edited by seal killer on Sun Nov 01, 2009 1:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
You are what you write.
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Jose Rivera
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- Location: Vallejo California
Re: Little Engine Finished
Chuckle! An eloquent way of insuring that one be mindful of backlash?seal killer wrote:Being sure to take up the play? Gee. I never learned how to take up the play. Off-setting the features from 0,0 sure helped, though!
No matter--you did good, Bill. Nice job!
Harold
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turkeywire
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seal killer
- Posts: 4696
- Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2007 10:58 pm
- Location: Ozark Mountains
All--
Thank you for the compliments and all the help!
Jim, patience? I dunno. I decided early on not to machine something important if I had no clue. That is why I asked so many machining questions (in the construction of the engine) on this forum . . . because I had NO CLUE! I often feel like you guys built it and I only turned the dials.
Since you DEMAND a video
, I will provide a link to a short one as soon as I get the mount machined, which I plan to do today. Of course, it will be running on a can of air since I have not built the boiler, yet. (After the boiler is constructed, I will devise a base on which to mount the boiler and engine.)
Harold, the author said to "back" the dial and be sure to take up the "play." IS there a way to do that? When backed into that corner, I always go back to either x or y zero, or both and locate the proper position by turning the dials. (Of course, this means that I have to convert the instructions that use positioning relative to the last feature created into x,y coordinates ahead of time . . . but that is no big deal.)
grimjack, I have actually been thinking about your little race car idea!
I took the picture of the assembled engine using a camera technique that would show the tool marks in their worst light. In reality, they are pretty much invisible.
QUESTION: What do I use to make them invisible and cause the brass and bronze to really shine nicely?
--Bill
Thank you for the compliments and all the help!
Jim, patience? I dunno. I decided early on not to machine something important if I had no clue. That is why I asked so many machining questions (in the construction of the engine) on this forum . . . because I had NO CLUE! I often feel like you guys built it and I only turned the dials.
Since you DEMAND a video
, I will provide a link to a short one as soon as I get the mount machined, which I plan to do today. Of course, it will be running on a can of air since I have not built the boiler, yet. (After the boiler is constructed, I will devise a base on which to mount the boiler and engine.)Harold, the author said to "back" the dial and be sure to take up the "play." IS there a way to do that? When backed into that corner, I always go back to either x or y zero, or both and locate the proper position by turning the dials. (Of course, this means that I have to convert the instructions that use positioning relative to the last feature created into x,y coordinates ahead of time . . . but that is no big deal.)
grimjack, I have actually been thinking about your little race car idea!
I took the picture of the assembled engine using a camera technique that would show the tool marks in their worst light. In reality, they are pretty much invisible.
QUESTION: What do I use to make them invisible and cause the brass and bronze to really shine nicely?
--Bill
You are what you write.
More spindle speed and a radius on the cutter!seal killer wrote: QUESTION: What do I use to make them invisible and cause the brass and bronze to really shine nicely?
--Bill
Surface finish is for sure very difficult to photograph. It always appears much worse in the image than it really is. The exception being girls!
Glenn
Operating machines is perfectly safe......until you forget how dangerous it really is!
Operating machines is perfectly safe......until you forget how dangerous it really is!
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seal killer
- Posts: 4696
- Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2007 10:58 pm
- Location: Ozark Mountains