Conversion of 4 Cycle Utility Engine to Steam

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tom osselton:
Hi just a shot in the dark but if you ran some steamlines through your oil would you have enough heat to evaporate the emusified water that could be vented out of the engine? I would think steam could create steam lol.

vtsteam:
Tom, that's actually the plan A if there is a problem with condensation in the crankcase! :zap:

Thanks DMIOM!! :wave:

Today's tasks:

I completed drilling the head bolt holes, and they all line up. I must ]have removed all of the old pilot drill bit, because that hole drilled fine -- I did leave it until last, though.

Then I thought about drilling the valve bore. This is a tricky one since it is 6" long and should finish out to 1/2" in diameter. It goes straight through the casting from one boss to the other.

Having just recommended to someone else on the forum that they drill a long hole by coming in from both sides, before boring to final ID, I figured I'd better take my own medicine and do it that way, too.

My 1/4" drill bit was barely 3" long, and I planned to start with that. Since I'm also doing a thread about my Gingery lathe and the use of faceplate and angle plates to do a lot of work, I decided to do the same thing here to drill the hole. I have a Sears/Atlas 12"x36" lathe now that is somewhat accessible in an unheated storage shed. The Gingery lathe is packed away.

I used some of my Gingery lathe angle plates to set up the drilling operation on the Atlas, just as I would have in the past. The head casting was bolted to one angle plate, and a reference line squared to that. Then the angle plate was bolted to the faceplate (off the lathe and in my much warmer home). Then a short trip to the brisk machine shop atmosphere of the shed carrying the faceplate setup. Metal sure gets cold fast!

Once the faceplate was mounted, I brought the tailstock up to the casting with the dead center in place, loosened the angle plate/faceplate bolt slightly and tapped with a soft hammer until the casting drill mark was just touching the point of the dead center. I already knew the casting valve center line was square to the faceplate. I just tightened the angle plate bolt, and was good to go.

I had also mounted a second angle plate to the face plate as a balance weight. I engaged the back gears and set the belts to a speed of about 60 rpm. I first checked that I had clearance all around by swinging the lathe by hand before switching on, and also did a last check of the squareness of the valve centerline with the faceplate. To start the hole I faced the boss, center drilled it, then mounted the 1/4" drill bit for the first hole. Everything went well, and I made sure to clear the drill frequently.

After I drilled right up to the end of the flutes on the 1/4" drill, I switched to a 3/8" drill to open it out more. This went quickly.

Then I unbolted the casting, turned it around, remounted it as before, and drilled from the other side.

vtsteam:
The result? The holes lined up almost perfectly. I couldn't even feel a ridge with a piece of drill rod I sent down there. :ddb: :ddb:

I unscrewed the faceplate and brought it into the warm house to think about my next move. The holes lined up so well, I'm even thinking of welding an extension onto a 1/2" drill and sending it all the way through, rather than boring. Then either reaming or lapping that. It might come out a little oversized, but I can turn the valve body to suit. Otherwise it will be tough to bore out a a small hole like this one (3/8" x 6" starting) -- since it will require a very small, and therefore flexible boring tool. I could do it, but it will be very slow going.

Anyway, looking at it and thinking about it.

DavidF:
My advice would be drill it another 64th then decide.

DavidF:
You know, after thinking for a minute, you don't really need a seal across the whole 6". Just where it counts, like maybe the length of the drill bit???

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