Philip Duclos "Victorian" IC engine project

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cedge:
After a short break for a busman's holiday at the beach, with all my young ones, I finally got caught back up on my sleep and hit the shop, ready to work. I'm getting the first feelings of melancholy that a project nearing its end seems to cause. I like having something to work on and I almost feel sad to see one finishing up. Anyway.... Rounding the clubhouse turn and getting ready for the sprint down the home stretch.

The last installment had the gas tank in its early machining stages. Since I planned to use glass ends a bit of machining to the ends was required to accept "O" rings and the glass disk. Then I had to turn up a couple of outer rings to clamp the "O" rings and glass firmly in place in order to hold the fuel.

Everything was bound not going to go perfectly, even though the 2-56 tapping went very smoothly. The first test fit found me wringing 2 of the 2-56 stainless screws off in one of the soldered ends. Note to self.... double check Z axis DRO before you begin drilling as you just might have moved the drill bit in the chuck.... Yeah he did....LOL. The DRO's proved to be worth every dime as I placed 32 bolt holes in a circular pattern with accuracy in the .00015 range.

You never know where you'll find your materials. The glass used in the tank ends came from a pair of ... oooops... three cheap watches purchased at Walmart. It's only 1/16 thick but it's tested to withstand pressure to 100 ft. They do not, however, stand up well to ham handed tightening of hex head cap screws. I managed to break the first one I installed.

The wire that has served the tank so well is now history and the supports are well on their way to getting bolted on. The 1/8 inch square brass had to be annealed before being bent to create a nice snug friction fit around the tank. The ends will bolt to the engine body and will hold the tank 1/4 inch below the crab jet to prevent siphon action, something that would cause severe flooding and an engine that doesn't run. additional bracing will be added to give the supports some added rigidity.

The pump has been trimmed up in preparation for fitting. Yeah... the copper wire is back in a new application, but it certainly proved handy when trying to get a look at elevations and such. The required eccentric is on tomorrow's list of projects, along with finishing the pump's end cap and the beginnings of the plumbing fittings.

The pump has to have a water supply and the engine "needs" a means for cooling the water, so a reservoir comes in handy. The screen will act as a cooling surface as water cascades over it to air cool. The screen is from a kitchen drain strainer and was a very cheap source of stainless mesh.

It all is beginning to come together as small details are developed. The electronics have arrived and the plug will be drilled and tapped tomorrow, as I begin tearing the engine down for wiring and final polishing. The wooden round base has already been hollowed out for the ignition system and I've begun marking out to locate the mounting holes for the engine body and the end support. It sounds as if I'm multi-tasking, but it's more like all the final steps are dependent on each other at least being there so the next can be started.

Keep those fingers crossed as this thing gets closer to its first smoke test.

Steve

zeusrekning:
I was gonna ask where you got the glass from. The tank mount is perfect. I would have to say this engine is very "Cedgiesh". :clap:

Divided he ad:
I've got to say it's looking rather fancy now Steve (Well it has been looking that way for a while!)

I do like the fact that you found the glass in the watches :thumbup:

It's 01:30 here and my eyes are getting heavy. So this had me re-reading 3 times before I figured out the typo!!..... "What the hell's a crab jet? " (as he tries to wake up his brain!!) :lol:

--- Quote ---The ends will bolt to the engine body and will hold the tank 1/4 inch below the crab jet to prevent siphon action,
--- End quote ---

Looking forward to seeing the "Smoke test"

Ralph.

georgeseal:
Ralph,
A crab jet is what they use on the Deadlest Catch to get 'm back to shore before they spoil :doh:

cedge:
Hell... I'd fix it but you guys are having way too much fun....LOL

Steve

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