Author Topic: Making a Wood Beam Engine (Read 32014 times)

Gerhard Olivier · « **Reply #25 on:** January 30, 2011, 04:01:29 PM »

Hi ALl thanks for popping in

Cheers Graham and Mad Jack, I think the oil cups woul look good I just dont know how they would have looked like. I decided to make some very plain oil cups like bigish modern ones???? ( see last Pic today and let me know what you think.

Turned the Hub today - I wanted it to be as big in diameter as poss to help with balance but small enough to look balanced!!!!!!!!!!!

The hub is 20mm brass and the 12mm centre with a 12mm by 1mm thread to hold the lock nut. Lock nut is a plain round nut ( when attached you can't see there is a thread) The extention is the spacer between the bearing anf the flywheel. Jusp needs a grub screw.

Then a pic of the flywheel with the hub in place.

And finally a mock up of the flywheel on the base. Note the base is extended on the flywheel side - this is going to be a crane to lift / service the flywheel. And the oil cups in the front.

Thanks again forn stopping in.

Gerhard

saw · « **Reply #26 on:** January 30, 2011, 04:13:37 PM »

I am very exciting to see your'e progress.

madjackghengis · « **Reply #27 on:** January 30, 2011, 09:36:59 PM »

Hi Gerhard, that's some fine looking progress you're making there. That's about what I was picturing as old cups in a wood bearing, I think they look very good against the fine woodwork going on with the flywheel and the framework. I hope you're building a boiler to run this engine as well

I'm interested in seeing how you arrange the beam bits and pieces with it. :beer:cheers, mad jack

Bogstandard · « **Reply #28 on:** January 31, 2011, 04:18:06 AM »

That is looking superb Gerhard, if the rest turns out as well as that, it will be a stunning engine.

Just going a little off topic now.

I made a wooden engine once, but nowhere in your league. It took about an hour to make, and even now runs like the best of them, even though all the green wood I used has dried out and shrunk.

It was held together by a few small screws, superglue and string. Basic tools used were a hand brace with a few drill bits, a hacksaw and a screwdriver. I did cheat on one bit, I used my bandsaw to split a piece of wood down the middle.

Please don't laugh.

It was a competition I organised over on HMEM, where you had to build a finger engine in as short a time as possible (most were made in well under an hour), and no machine tools were allowed, plus a wire coat hanger had to be used somewhere in it's construction. Some of the others were absolutely amazing, and one even disintegrated before your very eyes, to the great enjoyment of everyone.

Bogs

arnoldb · « **Reply #29 on:** January 31, 2011, 11:33:31 AM »

Looks great Gerhard, I like the detailing on the boss to match up with the spokes

The oil cups look just fine to me as well.

Bogs, that's no laughing matter at all! We all know wood is not your forte, but still, making _any_ kind of operational finger engine in an hour is a stretch that I think very few can accomplish.

, Arnold

Rob.Wilson · « **Reply #30 on:** January 31, 2011, 12:09:46 PM »

Hi Gerhard

I have to agree with Arnold ,,,,,,

,,, the extra bit of detailing on the boss was time well spent ,,, and the look of brass against mahogany is very pleasing to the old eye balls .

Have you drawn up plans for the engine or are you designing as you go ?

Rob

PS Bogs do you have an EN# OR ANSI # for the material specs you used in your engine build

Gerhard Olivier · « **Reply #31 on:** February 01, 2011, 06:14:53 AM »

Thanks chaps

Bogs that is a cool engine. How did you get that flywheel balaned??? Arnold and Rob thanks I wanted to make the boss as big as possible but not bigger than the wood boss - so the cutout was a compromize.

Rob there is a plan it is under the rasp in some of the first pics ( full size in MDF)

Mostly the detail is just made to fit the situation

Gerhard

madjackghengis · « **Reply #32 on:** February 01, 2011, 10:11:24 AM »

Ah Gerhard, that is the best way to build an engine, just making the parts to fit what's already together, and adapting as you go. I believe I'd tie lead weights on the flywheel until it is pretty much balanced, then drill holes and put in lead, and plug the holes with pretty wood. Looking good so far

mad jack

Gerhard Olivier · « **Reply #33 on:** February 02, 2011, 10:10:30 AM »

Hi chaps just to let you all know - im off to Sunny South Africa tomorrow. Going to drink all the Windhoek lager I get my hands on for 10 days.

Will report back after

Cheers
Gerhard

Stilldrillin · « **Reply #34 on:** February 02, 2011, 10:24:31 AM »

Cheers, Gerhard........

Hope you have a great time!

David D

arnoldb · « **Reply #35 on:** February 02, 2011, 03:27:51 PM »

"Going to drink all the Windhoek lager I get my hands on for 10 days"

Gerhard that's some "OK" stuff - been a bit bastardised in SA, as they're brewing it there as well now... Still beats Castle and Black Label hands-down though

Ask 'em for Windhoek Draught or Tafel Lager - Muuuuch better

Where in SA are you going ? - The sun's not fun at the moment - as there's a lot more rain than normal; except for the Garden Route - they have drought

, Arnold on Little Saturday and loads of Tafel

Brass_Machine · « **Reply #36 on:** February 02, 2011, 11:31:43 PM »

Enjoy your trip to SA.

Love the boss and how it matches with the flywheel.

Eric

Gerhard Olivier · « **Reply #37 on:** February 03, 2011, 02:17:43 AM »

Thanks chaps

Leaving lunch time today

Arnold will try the tafel lager

Always will to try new lager

Going to Germiston (near airport for a big family party -probably about 200 poeple i havent seen in about 10 years) Then to Dikhololo (Game farm about 2 hour north of Pretoria)

Gerhard

Gerhard Olivier · « **Reply #38 on:** February 23, 2011, 03:33:46 PM »

Hi ALL back again had a lovely trip, everybody got word about me not having had any Windhoek lager for a long time so there was botlles of Windhoek lager pressed into my hands whenever they where empty.
Just a little progress to report

Have made some Sqaure bolts - There is another thread where Lots of helfull people gave me some hint as to how to make them and how big they should be. I used 8mm brass bar drilled and threaded then moved to the mill and sqaured just a piece then back to lathe to part. John Bogstandard sugested that they should be a bit mismathed in size etc as this would be pre whitworth so I measured but only so it was about 2.5mm thick +- .2mm. Then placed them on the little arbour and cut the sharp bits off and that is it.

The cylinder is to be a 3 inch travel half inch piston with the valve soldered to it
Used the 4 jaw chuck to centre the brass bar and drilled and reamed to 1/2 inch then bored out a indentation to solder the valve plate onto.

That is it for now will post as soon as more happens

Gerhard

saw · « **Reply #39 on:** February 24, 2011, 05:04:15 AM »

This is looking greate

Gerhard Olivier · « **Reply #40 on:** April 07, 2011, 03:58:23 PM »

Hi all

I have not forgotten this project it is going on but not very fast.

Here is a pic of what I have so far. I can do much mor now without soldering so have started a couple of trial pieces??

Gerhard

saw · « **Reply #41 on:** April 07, 2011, 04:59:19 PM »

Woh, it's looking fantastic, good work.

madjackghengis · « **Reply #42 on:** April 08, 2011, 10:55:26 AM »

Hi Geroli, that wood work looks beautiful, and will make a great back drop for the brass and steel of the engine. Don't be intimidated by the soldering, but do a bit of reading up on it, get or borrow a good torch, and then jump in with both feet. In the end you will get a good piece to finish up, or you will get a piece of scrap and a bit of "earned" education, and you will know more about soldering and what not to do, than you started with. The single most important issue is always cleanliness of the metal surfaces, and good flux, to keep them clean as they get hot. If you're soft soldering, any zinc chloride based flux will work well for you, and it will work well if you are using any of the "soft" silver based solders. For hard silver, use borax or a borax based flux, such as is cheap and easy to come by for brazing. It everything is where it needs to be when it is done, and if gravity is your friend, and holding things in place, the hardest part is the patience to let the biggest lump of metal get hot enough, and that can be gauged by just touching it with the solder while the flame is directed elsewhere. The solder will slide easily across the smooth metal until it gets close to temperature, and then it will want to stick a little bit, this is just moments before you are ready to solder, so at that point, make sure you've got flux on, the parts are in place, keep the heat on, and when the solder flows like water, it will wick into every opening and crevice. Then just take away the heat, admire all sides, ensure you've got good fillets between pieces, as that indicates good solder adhesion, and once it is certainly solid, dump it in water, both to cool it, and to start the flux removal part.
What ever you do, don't let an error dismay you or make you question your ability, no one that works wood that well can't solder, and you will be very happy when it turns out well, and can be machined to go on with the build. With that holiday behind you, everything should make you happy and this build should be just a few solder joints away.

Cheers, Jack

Gerhard Olivier · « **Reply #43 on:** April 18, 2011, 04:27:14 AM »

Hi all. Madjack and Saw thank for kind coments!!!

Tried to braze but could not get the whole thing up to temp - so cleaned up and silver soldered it
looks ok some photos before and after cleaning it up

Any comment please???? It looks ok but will it take compressed air???

Gerhard

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Author Topic: Making a Wood Beam Engine (Read 32014 times)

Rob.Wilson