Philip Duclos "Victorian" IC engine project

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cedge:

As I said earlier, most of what I've been doing was small steps which were taking up more time than expected. This posting documents some of them.

The modified linkage for controlling the cam and flywheel assembly changed quite a few of the dimensions given on the plans. This required making few adjustments along the way. The photo below shows the foot which opens the exhaust valve during the engine's freewheeling mode. This action is what makes a hit and miss engine "miss". With the exhaust valve held open it can't deliver any compression.

That odd silver ball on the front of the cam was not there for decoration only. It served as a pivot point for the catch arm that holds the valve foot down. This piece was supposed to be installed much earlier in the build, but I didn't like the original design which called for a piece of 1/8 inch flat bar. Once the foot was installed, I had to come up with a custom arm to fit the new linkage. This photo shows what I came up with.

If you look closely you'll see a small rod has been added to the slide linkage This rod is the remains of a broken cobalt drill bit and is where the arm catches the linkage when the gear cam is activated... assuming the governor is at full extension. As a side note.... you might want to know that drill rod (silver steel) and cobalt do not solder very well at all....so green Loctite was used to secure the joint.

Here is the completed linkage assembly. For the curious, take a little time to study the relationships between all the components and the operational sequence of the little engine will begin to reveal itself.

With the front side of the engine completed, that free swinging end of the crank shaft needed attention. The plan is to mount a small water pump behind the engine body and drive it with an eccentric mounted on the shaft. In order to accomplish this, the shaft had to be stabilized. A place to mount the pump was also on the list of things needed. The bushing was installed and the face of the piece was turned to "fit" the large opening in the rear of the base. This will let me use it to mount he pump as things progress.

While it doesn't look like much of a step, this piece had me sweating a bit. When a shaft is supported at two points, as this one has been until now, you have little chance of binding. When that same shaft is supported at 3 points, things can begin to bind in a hurry. Even a slight misalignment will cause problems. The large hole in the base is centered at 1.812 inches from the bottom of the body. This is also the location of the hole center in the front support where the points are located.

Since the body is contoured and lacking any abundance of reference points I had added one the plans never called for. That small flat spot you see in the photo below was a god send. I was able to us it to help square the work piece when it had to be put back in the mill vise. More than once it saved my bacon and is now one of the tricks that is being used regularly on other projects.

By using the flat spot, a DTI and my now much beloved DRO, I was able to nail the 1.812 inch measurement perfectly and mill the slots for the plate into the round body at exactly the right place.

The photo below shows the pump in its early stages. The bore is 5/16 with a 3/4 inch stroke. The plunger has been made and fitted with its o ring and the water hammer chamber is fitted. You'll see flat spots on the upper section which I mentioned above. Since the area will be removed when the pump gets its end cap, they won't interfere with anything. The simply make it easy to keep things square.

Here is what it all looks like at the moment. The mock up fuel tank is about to be replaced with the real deal and the round mounting plate and wooden plinth are almost ready for final finish and the pump build is well under way. The ignition system should be here next week and hopefully the first test firing will also be made before next weekend. Lots of little items to finish tying down and still more polishing to be done, but the project is quickly coming to completion. Keep those fingers crossed that the darned thing will run....LOL

Steve

sbwhart:
Stunning work Steve :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

Useful technique with that flat spot filed that one away for use in the future.

Can't seem to see the pics of the pump :scratch:

Cheers

Stew

zeusrekning:
Im sure you'll have it running with few problems. There will be some of those choice words needed to get it running properly though for sure.

cedge:
Thanks guys....
George, you almost "got it" with your last post. This project was begun with the idea of making the engine "mine", but the real message is that it doesn't matter if you're building one of Elmer's, Chuck Fellow', Jan Ridder's or even a Philip Duclos engine design, you don't have to be chained to copying every move they made.

The critical measurements were faithfully followed or at least allowed for throughout this whole project. Those are the important data points that make the engine capable running when you are done. Not everyone will want to go to the extremes I've gone to with this project, but never be afraid to make cosmetic changes to your engine so that it becomes uniquely yours and different from all others in whole world.

This is not to say that I'd make such changes to a historically accurate rendition of a specific engine or fall too far from original with a casting kit, but not every engine we build need be slavishly like every other. If only one builder takes that message to heart and runs with it, this whole long thread will have been a resounding success in my mind.

Ok... enough of the ramblings ....a few more hows are probably in order after the long gap in this thread. The cheesy little toy boiler that has been standing in for the real gas tank is now officially retired. The following photos show the beginning of the new one. This tank will be for the aspiration carb and will be replaced with a look alike once I've got time to work out the vapor tank system I want to add before all is said and done. Since my self imposed deadline is looming near, this one will have to do for now.

In the first photo, The work piece has been bored to the desired size and the first end cap has already been soldered, fitted and trimmed. I realized I needed photos just in time to share the second end cap as it was undergoing the same process.

The end caps will both be fitted with a porthole sight glass, so the huge hole is not there by mistake...(grin). This one has been cleaned, fluxed and the solder is already wrapped around the center section. I flattened the solder so it could be wrapped close enough to take full advantage of the gap I left for it to fill in the bore.

This trick also meant a much cleaner solder joint and much less clean up than trying to feed solder into the provided gap. Note there is a wide space between the two pieces. This proved to be handy as it let me see when the solder melted. As it flowed into place, the gap disappeared and the pieces mated quite close together.

Also note that the dimensions of the pieces are not final. I left some "fat" so that I could put the tank back in the lathe for clean up.

The clean up required several very light passes, but the solder lines all but completely disappeared. A bit of polishing has already begun to remove tool marks and the piece is headed back to the lathe to fit the glass, which will come in the next installment.

Here is the obligatory mock up/ test fit to see how things are going to look.

Steve

spuddevans:
I have to say that I am moved by the quality and attention to detail that you bring to this project. :bow: Your creative vision on this is superb, absolutely 1st class work. :clap: :clap: :clap:

Tim

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