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Author Topic: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine  (Read 80836 times)

Offline NickG

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #125 on: April 30, 2009, 10:17:50 AM »
Darren, looking great, all that attention to detail is definitely paying off.

Nick
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Offline Darren

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #126 on: April 30, 2009, 02:47:22 PM »
Thanks guys, I'm just taking my time and being careful, thankfully no real slip ups yet,  :)

Look what I found in a skip today, that's solid alloy at each end and a chrome tube in between, it's quite heavy too....

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Offline Divided he ad

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #127 on: April 30, 2009, 04:11:45 PM »
Wow Darren.... You got that roof on quick!!!

What you gonna do with that then?


Got you some simple brass bits today.....(wasn't a lot there!!)   We'll sort out what you'd like later   :thumbup:




Ralph.
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Offline kvom

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #128 on: April 30, 2009, 05:46:27 PM »
May be a grinder stand in Darren'd future  :scratch:
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Offline Darren

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #129 on: April 30, 2009, 06:53:45 PM »
Cheers Ralph  :thumbup:

No idea what I may do with the stand thing, what ever it was? I just saw the alloy and grabbed it. If I hadn't sorted my tapping stand/drill a little morphogenesis would be going on  :)

« Last Edit: April 30, 2009, 07:42:46 PM by Darren »
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Offline Darren

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #130 on: April 30, 2009, 07:17:58 PM »
Decided to do a bit more to the crank webs tonight..

First thing was to drill and tap the holes for the clamping screws. I used a center and the mill to find the center between the two rods. The center finder is 5mm and the mill showed me a 1/2mm gap. Exactly as it should be  :) So let the center finder kiss one rod and back away 1/4mm. Perfect.



Using the stop each piece was center drilled, note the use of a Stanley knife blade to lift the 4mm rod.
(the rods are 4 & 5mm dia, so from the center line the 4mm rod is 1/2mm shorter than the 5mm, the blade is exactly 1/2mm)



Drilling the 2.1mm hole right through. Note the liberal use of WD40, I find Stainless a bear to drill as it work hardens in a flash, grabs the drill bit and snaps it off. Or it just rounds the end of the drill bit.
So what I did here was use cobalt drill bits, plenty of fluid and peck drill leaving plenty of time to let things cool. It worked a treat.



Then I drilled 2.5mm to half the depth for thread clearance. Finally the remaining half of the hole was tapped 2.5mm.



Not a very clear picture, the parts where marked with a sharpie that Ralph left behind the other day  :) and two center lines scribed with digital calipers from both sides. This leave two marks with a tiny gap in between. This shows the true center and any error clearly.



My slitting saw didn't like SS  :( So I attacked it with a junior hacksaw..... :dremel:



A bit more cleaning up and they are done





Unless you are really sad like me, forget SS here, you might find brass to be much easier to work with  :thumbup:
« Last Edit: April 30, 2009, 07:20:32 PM by Darren »
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bogstandard

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #131 on: May 01, 2009, 12:53:05 AM »
Darren,

Quote
Unless you are really sad like me, forget SS here, you might find brass to be much easier to work with 

I was wondering how long it would take you to realise that barbed wire knickers hurt. Those crankwebs were a good example of self flagellation.

But you have done a great job with what you had.

Nothing against the way you did your slots as you achieved the correct result, it is just that I would have used a slightly different method to obtain the same result. There are always more ways to get the same results, and by showing them, people can choose the way they want to go.
The pic shows how I do it. If you take it steady, you can get results as good as a slitting saw.
I drew it up incorrectly, so I put my excuse at the top of the sketch. Makes it look like I am one of those brainy lefties.

John
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Offline Darren

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #132 on: May 01, 2009, 04:49:56 AM »
Quote from: bogstandard on May 01, 2009, 12:53:05 AM
Darren,


I was wondering how long it would take you to realise that barbed wire knickers hurt. Those crankwebs were a good example of self flagellation.

But you have done a great job with what you had.



Yep, only bar I had the right size at the time, still is.......not that I would put myself through this again, I must shell out and buy some brass next time.... :poke:

Nice tip on sawing there, mine are off a bit but ok.
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Offline Darren

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #133 on: May 01, 2009, 03:49:43 PM »
I'd had a good nights kip and it's been raining all day so no garage building to tire me out today. So being nice and allert, instead of the usual deleted tired self I decided that I wanted to tackle something a little complicated this evening.

So I picked on the eccentrics as the plans suggested these could be taxing to produce.

Started with a 20mm SS bar, turned it to 18mm



I had a nice 4mm parting blade so I squared it off with the grinder and honed it with a diamond stone to give a good edge to cut the 4mm slots.



Parted them off and took them to the mini lathe to tidy up and true up the lengths. I used the mini lathe cos it's metric and easy to understand the dials as I dislike imperial measurements.



I used the lathe to find the center, lined them up on the mill and used the mill dials to set the off center by 3mm.



Finished with a 5mm drill bit



Drilled and tapped a bar 5mm and machined the off center to a true center  :scratch:



Here I'm using the center finder to locate the position for the grub screw holes



Drilled 2.4mm and tapped 3mm for the grub screws



All fits nicely



You could say I'm



All turned out nicely and true to size, can't see what the fuss was about these are easy peasey to make, it's the rest that worries me  :lol:
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Offline sbwhart

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #134 on: May 01, 2009, 04:06:37 PM »
Nicely done Darren

Your realy pushing out some good work  :clap: :clap: :clap:

Stew


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bogstandard

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #135 on: May 01, 2009, 04:10:39 PM »
Darren,

The reason people have trouble with eccentrics is they think the sky will fall on their head if they don't use a four jaw independant to make them.

The way I showed is the easiest way I think they could be made, and your comment proves it. Once you have set up the first one, you can make a hundred all the same, without having to set up the four jaw every time.

Doing everything the way the 'flat earth society' (old phart machinists) does it, can lead to all sorts of problems, a bit of lateral thinking cures all that.

If it turns out right, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the method.


John
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Offline Brass_Machine

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #136 on: May 01, 2009, 04:18:04 PM »
Quote from: bogstandard on May 01, 2009, 04:10:39 PM
...

If it turns out right, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the method.
...

OT
Woohoo! Had the same thing in a different sense. Common practice in performance engines is to port (making bigger and polishing) the intake and exhaust ports of the head. Now depending on the make of the engine, the ports may already be to BIG. We found (with dyno testing) we would get more HP by decreasing the intake port size and dimpling the walls (think golf ball) than with a traditional port job!In fact, several motorcycle manufacturers have now been decreasing stock ports!
/OT


Truer words were never said John!

Eric
« Last Edit: May 01, 2009, 04:29:08 PM by Brass_Machine »
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Offline Darren

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #137 on: May 01, 2009, 04:19:26 PM »
Don't get me wrong John, If I hadn't read your instructions I'd probably have used the four jaw as well, and struggled.

Nope, your ideas show that a real newbie could do it....opps...I just did..... :lol:
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Offline Divided he ad

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #138 on: May 02, 2009, 06:33:51 AM »
Got to Say Darren that lathe of yours really does do a good job of the Stainless  :bugeye:

This method of eccentric making will be logged and certainly referenced for future use.... It really does look damn easy!!!   :ddb:


Oh Darren..... Not too "allert" then ehh!!  :lol:



I have the strangest feeling that your going to be really proud of this little engine when it's finished   :beer:



Glad your keeping us up to date on it's progress  :thumbup:




Ralph.
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Offline Darren

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #139 on: May 04, 2009, 07:03:24 AM »
Quote from: Divided he ad on May 02, 2009, 06:33:51 AM
Got to Say Darren that lathe of yours really does do a good job of the Stainless  :bugeye:



Yes, I've manage to get turning SS down to a fine art, either 303 or 316. Those grooves are a 4mm plunge cut at full width and they turned out rather good.

I found the trick with HSS tooling and stainless is low rpm and low feeds, about 3-400 rpm. With tungsten tips the opposite is true and here I use 2-3000 rpm with a high feed rate, slower and the finish is not so good.

I think that's why peeps have difficulty with tips and SS, not enough speed. Of course others may have different ideas, though the above seems to work for me.


Drilling, milling and tapping is another ball game, but at last I'm beginning to get a feel for those too. A little way to go yet but it's comming.

Practice, practice, practice  :)
« Last Edit: May 04, 2009, 07:14:20 AM by Darren »
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Offline Darren

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #140 on: May 04, 2009, 02:50:31 PM »
The eccentric straps....

After testing my patience last night trying to drill a piece of plate/sheet brass and achieving nothing but broken drill bits and ruined pieces I eventually turned my attention towards some bar stock. If this means nothing to you see here for an explanation...http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=1127.msg9154#msg9154

As you can see this is hex bar stock



Two pieces where trued up to an exact 4mm thickness in the mini lathe



I find the collet holder makes an excellent square, stands there all by itself leaving two hands free  :ddb:



The piece was positioned using my center finder (I'd be lost without this now  :dremel:) Then center drilled before drilling to a depth of 11mm 1.5mm dia.
I then ran a 1.6mm drill bit through ready for tapping.



Just to prove there are indeed two of them  :)



The center was found and a step drill used to take the bulk of material away before cutting in half with a slitting saw.



Yep, still two of them, not messed up yet  :ddb:


The slitting saw leaves an excellent finish. All these joints will need is a quick swipe over with a diamond file to de-bur and dress them.

I need to order some 2mm screws and taps to clamp these back together before continuing. Having drilled the holes before splitting I can be sure that they will line up perfectly   :thumbup:


I used a pair of these as ultra thin parallels, they work quite well....

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Offline Darren

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #141 on: May 04, 2009, 02:58:18 PM »
Gosh that post sounds so dry....... :poke:

I had lots of fun making these honest.... :)

 :ddb: :ddb: :ddb: :ddb: :ddb: :ddb: :ddb: :ddb:
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bogstandard

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #142 on: May 04, 2009, 03:11:13 PM »
Darren, it was most probably the frustration from yesterday showing thru.

Now you have drilled your new ones quite successfully, you must be feeling a lot happier.


John
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Offline kvom

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #143 on: May 04, 2009, 03:13:53 PM »
I love the idea of shaping the straps with the hex stock.   :headbang:

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Offline Divided he ad

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #144 on: May 04, 2009, 03:32:45 PM »
Nicely done sir  :thumbup:


You'll find tapping those easy with the combination of your "easy machining" bar stock and your tapping stand  :)



Post read fine to me.... What does that say about me?!?




Looking forward to the continuing developments  :)





Ralph.
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Offline sbwhart

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #145 on: May 04, 2009, 04:05:32 PM »
Well done that man.

 :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:


Hope you remembered to mark them up so you don't get them mixed up  :doh:

Cheers

Stew
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Offline NickG

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #146 on: May 04, 2009, 05:58:28 PM »
Darren, they are looking good, great idea using the hex bar and like the ultra think parallels!  :thumbup:

Well, I probably won't be back on here until the weekend, at which point I may have met some of you at Harrogate hopefully.  :D

Nick
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Offline Darren

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #147 on: May 05, 2009, 04:08:30 AM »
Quote from: bogstandard on May 04, 2009, 03:11:13 PM


Now you have drilled your new ones quite successfully, you must be feeling a lot happier.


Never a truer word spoken, I was starting to worry about my machinery being a bit naff, thankfully this normal brass drilled very smoothly.

I did swipe the tips of the drill bit to take the edge off, though I don't know how much this helped cos I wasn't taking any chances with a sharp one.
You could say I'd had enough of frustration by then  :lol:

Thanks for this little tip John, all added to the database for future ref  :thumbup:
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Offline Darren

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #148 on: May 05, 2009, 04:09:42 AM »
Quote from: kvom on May 04, 2009, 03:13:53 PM
I love the idea of shaping the straps with the hex stock.   :headbang:



Thanks but the idea really came about due to what I had to hand that was big enough. Should look nice though  :thumbup:
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Offline Darren

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Re: Twin Cylinder Steam Engine
« Reply #149 on: May 05, 2009, 04:11:47 AM »
Quote from: NickG on May 04, 2009, 05:58:28 PM
Darren, they are looking good, great idea using the hex bar and like the ultra think parallels!  :thumbup:

Well, I probably won't be back on here until the weekend, at which point I may have met some of you at Harrogate hopefully.  :D

Nick

Nice description, the blades where just sitting there staring at me saying, "me, me, me"  :lol:

Worked really well too  :nrocks:
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