building a Duclos "flame sucker"

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madjackghengis:
I had a visit from a good friend the other day, for the purpose of getting the lathe of his back together so he can take it home, and he made a nice contribution with the last four videos. Once you see a "flame sucker" close up, it's a fascination hard to overcome, at least for some, and it can be mesmerizing to watch the flame sucked into the port with no visible exhaust, knowing it is being blown out the back edge of the valve mere miliseconds before fresh fire is sucked in. They sound far more powerful than they are though.
The lathe being repaired was up for sale, and was taken to a shop it was going to "reside" in, but some idiot decided to find out if one could change gears in the quick change box while the lathe was running at high speed, and broke off teeth I meticulously made for gears years before, and bent all the teeth on other gears on top. Stock gears from Boston Gear were modified, pinned, soldered, and pressed together and machined to fit, and the lathe is fit to be fully re-assembled and usable again. My thanks to my friend Jamie, for the extra videos. :nrocks: mad jack

NickG:
Well done Jack I missed this somehow - brilliant engine, running well there! :thumbup:

madjackghengis:
To Nick and all who have looked and commented, the accolades are appreciated, this engine is a testament to how the smallest things can keep an engine absolutely dead, and the least important thing, done right, can bring it to life when all was lost. I enjoy being able to flick this engine over when someone new sees it, and asks, and see the look of delight which invariably comes to the faces of those who love engines. I even enjoy running it, when I'm all alone, just to hear and see it run. I will be back on the radial engine very soon, too many little jobs crop up in the fall, and I'm waiting on cylinders being finish honed, so I can start making pistons and heads to match them. :nrocks: :poke: mad jack

Powder Keg:
Great job!!! I built a Fire eater years ago. It was very temperamental! I made a new piston out of graphite and now it always starts on the first flick. These are pretty neat to watch run I think.

Wes

madjackghengis:
Dare I drag out this log a little bit more, thanks for the input, Wes, I have made two additional new cylinders, and four pistons of bronze, since getting it running, as each gets galled, and I believe I will order some graphite and make a piston out of that, as it probably won't gall at all, and I might quit making new pistons and cylinders for the same engine. Thanks again for that bit of wisdom. :mmr: :headbang: mad jack

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