MadModder
Gallery, Projects and General => Project Logs => Topic started by: sorveltaja on February 15, 2010, 03:54:28 PM
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...model engine.
So far, I've managed to gather some materials:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/01.jpg)
Lump on the left, that says 48, is pearlitic cast iron, besides are two smaller pieces hacked out of it. Next is a 28mm(1.102") brass bar.
Aluminum piece is 50x50mm(~2"x2") bar.
At the front are two thin walled (0.2mm(0.0078"))steel tubes, that are going to be tested as cylinder liners. They definitely need a cylinder body to support them.
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That piece of aluminum looks like what's left of a "meat tenderizer". :lol:
Nice collection of raw stock. Am I right in asuming it's going to be two cylinder?
Bernd
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Bernd, yes it's going to be 2 cylinder, 4 stroke v-engine. I'm considering making overhead valves, as there could be a bit more room to adjust them.
I prefer side valves more, but at this small scale they are rather difficult, although possible to adjust, as on my previous test engine.
Anyway, there's still lot of things to figure out on the design :smart:.
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Coolio. Love V-twins. Is it going to be a narrow twin (ala harley, S&S) or a L-twin (like Ducati?)
Eric
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Nice 1 S,
This should be very interesting to watch develop much like your previous engine.
Nick
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Eric, it will be something like 60 degrees v, although I've read that 90 degrees would have less vibrations.
Here is the first candidate for crankshaft:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/02.jpg)
It gives a stroke of about 15mm(~0.59") and bore will be smaller than that.
Axle has 4mm(0.157") diameter.
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That piece of aluminum looks like what's left of a "meat tenderizer". :lol:
Bernd
Hmm.. almost right. That's just how I cut the bigger stuff. First cross-drilling, then some delicate butchering to part the stuff.
~Where art thou, my beloved chainsaw~, as Hamlet would say(http://emoticons4u.com/crazy/134.gif).
But to the point. Aluminum block, that'll form the crankcase, is almost prepared for the lathe, and then for milling operations. Good chance to test my angle milling skills.
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I vote for over head pushrod valves :)
Eric
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It's been bit quiet, because my lathe's belt snapped. It's now fixed, so back to project.
It seems that my lathe is seriously underpowered, what comes to that 50x50mm alu piece. Machining it is even more tedious, than I expected :wack:.
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/03.jpg)
I looked an alternative for solid crankcase, and found out, that the Hoglet type would be much easier to achieve. Being scratch built part, it suits the spirit of this project :med:.
Two small bars are 20mm(0.787") SS 2172, that is available nearby store :thumbup:. It machines quite well, so I use them for cylinder liners.
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Very nice so far.
I will keep up with this one:)
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Some progress on crankcase:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/04.jpg)
In the middle are the 5mm(0.196") alum crankcase walls, that have 13mm(0.511") holes bored for bearings. Smaller holes are for supporting rods. I'll make them after those two plates on the sides are fitted in place.
I'm going to make a new crankshaft, that uses split end -connecting rods. Don't remember what it was called for, but anyways same kind of, that is used on multiple cylinder inline- and V-engines. That way it's possible to support the crankshaft at both ends.
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Looking good , one to keep an eye on , sorveltaja do you do any drawings for your engines or do you design as you go ?
Regards Rob
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Rob, I've made some basic sketches, and modify them if(when) needed. Non-critical parts are done without too much precision, so that's why I need to mod the drawings as the project goes.
After all, most important thing is to get all the parts to fit together ::).
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Plates fitted in place:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/06.jpg)
It was more difficult to match those two parts, than I thought.
Angle is right, but I removed too much material, leaving an ugly gap between them(http://emoticons4u.com/crazy/1261.gif):
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/05.jpg)
Fortunately it isn't too crucial thing. Making the two crankcase walls parallel is more important.
I made the backstop for the lathe spindle, so the two supporting rods can be made equal length.
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That gap bothered me, so I had to do something about it:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/07.jpg)(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/08.jpg)
It's not only cosmetically better ::), but the brass bar also adds more meat for the cylinder screws.
On the above pictures, supporting rods are in place. Construction feels now quite robust.
Next thing to do is a new crankshaft.
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Looks cool too! :thumbup:
Eric
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New crankshaft parts are almost ready to be silver soldered together:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/09.jpg)(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/010.jpg)
Axle and shaft are 4mm(0.157") stainless.
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New crankshaft before...
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/012.jpg)
...and after cropping excess material off, and some cleaning:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/011.jpg)
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Looking good
Have fun
Stew
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It`s all shaping up nicely! :thumbup:
David D
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Bit of progress today:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/013.jpg)
Cylinder plates that are screwed in, are 1.5mm(0.059") mild steel, and have now 10.5mm(0.413") holes in them. Holes are to be bored to 13mm(0.511") on the lathe, as my small mill/drill press doesn't have the power to handle that big drills.
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Another very interesting read/build :thumbup: keep it coming
Cheers Rob
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Cylinder plates bored to 13mm, and fitted to place:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/014.jpg)
The brass piece needs slots to be filed to give room for connecting rods:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/015.jpg)
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First cylinder liner bored to bit under 12mm(0.472"):
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/016.jpg)
That SS 2172 machines well for outside turning, but boring it is much more tedious.
Also the surface is really rough, so lot of manual labor is to be expected to get it smooth.
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New brass cylinder bodies:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/017.jpg)
At first I was going to use the same method for cylinders, as on my previous test engine. Being that the cylinder liner is silver soldered to cylinder plate.
In this case, it would have been too complex. So I made some measurements, and noticed that I have just enough of that 28mm(1.10") brass bar to make two cylinder bodies, and perhaps the heads also.
Cylinder bodies still needs to be bored, for liners to fit in. Also some holes for screws. They have quite a rude cooling fins, but, after all, it suits well for the project.
Two remaining cylinder plates make an excellent drilling jigs anyway :dremel:.
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Progress so far:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/018.jpg)
Cylinder liners are fitted to place. Cylinder bodies lower parts are to be squared.
Two brass pieces on the front are for heads. Not yet sure, are they thick enough.
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Ahh, starting to look like an engine now! :thumbup:
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It looks like you're making some good progress on the engine. Could I ask how you're going to operate the valves? I know with a camshaft but where are the cam followers going to go?
George
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OHC?
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Small addition:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/019.jpg)
On previous pic there was some extra material on the cylinder bodies, to make the jig drilling easier.
It's now machined off, allowing liners to go to bottom.
One thing I discovered about SS 2172, that the SS doesn't stand for stainless steel, but for 'Swedish standard'(http://emoticons4u.com/crazy/1087.gif).
Anyways it is a low carbon steel, that can be hardened. Sort of tool steel I guess.
Stainless would have been better for liners, as the iron piston doesn't get so easily stuck with it.
When using ethanol as a fuel, ferrous metals tend to gather rust.
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Thanks for replies :wave:.
George, the whole cam/valves- system is to be made following the Hoglet design. Being the pictures that I've seen about it.
Currently I'm working on construction of the heads and valves also, to make them as simple as possible.
NickG, ohc would be nice, although bit overkill to achieve.
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Besides the valves and heads, I made housing for cams/followers:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/020.jpg)
It's indeed butt-ugly, and I doubt if the gears would mesh correctly with that. Two larger holes are drilled with 10mm(0.393") drill.
I should have done them by boring on the lathe :wack:.
Anyway, the 10mm holes are for sliding bearings, that'll hold the camshafts. One possible way to correct the timing gears meshing would be to make slightly eccentric bearings, thus allowing minor adjustments.
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Good work S, very interesting build once again. I can't quite see how the gears are working at the moment, what is the small gear on the right hand large one?
Nick
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I managed to ruin the small gear, when silver soldering the fastening part to it. Solder flooded to teeth also(http://emoticons4u.com/crazy/1271.gif).
I have set of 0.5 mod gear cutters, so it's time to machine the new gear. Never done that kind of job before, but I'll try it with brass and/or nylon.
I can't quite see how the gears are working at the moment, what is the small gear on the right hand large one?
Nick
Nick, small gear is to be machined off, so that the big gears are similar.
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I tested machining the gears from nylon and brass. No luck, since my mill just isn't sturdy enough for that. It makes horrible noise, and screams for
more mercy. Diameter of the gear cutter must be too large for it to handle, as usual small end-cutters work lot better.
But anyways, next thing I'll try is broaching the teeth, using that very gear cutter. This time the material is aluminum, being softer than brass, and somewhat more solid, than nylon.
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'Broaching' in progress:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/021.jpg)
Above picture shows also my hi-tech dividing head, that is attached to lathe's chuck(http://emoticons4u.com/crazy/134.gif).
After all, with these equipments the process is grande tedioso, allowing mighty 0.05mm(0.0019") cut to be taken at a time.
I just might get decent gear as a result. If not, there is a lot of other options to test :dremel:.
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Thanks, I get it now!
Great improvisation in the lathe there. :thumbup:
Nick
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Ruined gear, and the new gear:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/022.jpg)
Cutter wasn't centered quite right, so new gear looks more like circular saw at the end, than gear. It meshes less than well with bigger gears, but I'll use it anyway.
Generally, that broaching seems to be a good way to make gears, assuming that the required adjustments are correct.
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Cylinder liners after some smoothing:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/023.jpg)
They both have still some deep scratches and spots, that would take ages to get rid of.
But, I'll trust that the same half-baked bore finish works on this project just fine, as it did on previous one.
In the photo are the piston blanks also, that need to be machined to size.
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I agree, a few scratches in the bore isn't going to harm anything, it'll probably wear in quite quickly. Some people go to the nth degree lapping and honing to mirror finishes but I'm yet to see any evidence of the benefit to be honest.
You know it works from previous experience and I do with other engines so why change it, presume there's no luberication system as such so it's not like oil is going to come past the pistons into the combustion chamber.
Nick
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'How not to' -act 1:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/024.jpg)
Both cylinder liners were quite straight, after smoothing. But now, after fitting the pistons, they are badly tapered :scratch:.
Also, neither pistons are airtight.
I used the same methods as on previous project, to fit the pistons. I suspect, that main reason for failure is different liner material.
Also I wasn't able to get good finish, when boring liners on the lathe.
Using correct size reamer would have been an ideal solution, to ensure, that liners surfaces are straight.
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S, that's what happened on my flame gulper when I used a wooden lap with wet & dry abrasive paper wrapped around with. I got a cracking finish but it went out of parallel. The fix was to use an adjustable reamer with plenty of oil which gave an acceptable finish and straightness / parallelism.
Nick
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I made grooves to pistons for o-rings. There isn't too much room, so groove's width is only about 1mm(0.039"). Ordinary o-rings are too wide, so I made them out of ptfe. It was really hard to get both piston and o-ring to cylinder. Proper piston ring installing tool would have helped a lot.
At least pistons are now airtight, although quite stiff. Time will tell, how does ptfe last as an o-rings.
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/025.jpg)
Two bars are for connecting rods. White ring is ptfe.
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Hi sorveltaja :headbang:
looking good , great thread .
Cheers Rob
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Hi Sorveltaja, it distresses me that you had problems with machining your gears, as I just finished doing one in a piece of nasty cutting stainless that looks about similar in size, although it is American rather than a module pitch. To get my cutter on center, I put it down on top of the shaft where the gear was to be, touching it off with a cigarette paper to zero it, measured across the shaft and the thickness of the cutter, divided it in two, and used my "digital caliper down feed DRO" to put the cutter on center. With brass and bronze, as well as aluminium, you want pretty good speed, pretty close to the nominal cutting speed, and no slop at all in the ways, as brass and bronze will "grab" and pull if you let it "climb mill". Brass and bronze need no lube, but aluminium needs a good lube or it gets sticky and balls up. On my pinion, total depth was .068 which I cut in .030 twice, and a final cut of .008 for a good finish. You should be able to cut at least that agressively with the brass or bronze. The real bugger is always slack somewhere, and if you can keep that out, you generally get a good gear. mad jack :beer:
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Mad Jack, thanks for the tips :thumbup:.
Connecting rods so far:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/026.jpg)
As can be seen, holes aren't quite at the center. But in this project, it's only a cosmetic matter ::).
Anyways, there is still some excess material to be removed, so that they can be fitted in place.
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Nice looking rods S. :thumbup:
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Hi again Sorveltaja, if I might ask a few questions, I might be able to help with your gear cutting. For my own, I had to make an arbor for the cutter, making one that fit my largest standard (full depth) R-8 collet for my mill, which was .750, and with a shoulder for the cutter to bear against, so it is out of inch barstock, with the hole of the cutter being seven eighths of an inch, it got turned straight to a rather snug fit for the cutter, with the end of the bar in the tail stock center, a full depth of the thread clearance groove leaving the shoulder for the cutter just ten or fifteen thousandths narrower than the cutter, and a standard seven eighths fourteen thread chased on the lathe, and a round nut bored to the diameter of the thread minus double depth of a sharp "v" thread, and the nut chased with a boring bar till the arbor was a nice snug fit. With a sharp cutter, you should be able to take a fairly deep first cut, and taking one too shallow sometimes ends up with uneven depths, as the cutter pushes the work instead of cutting it. If the cutter is not pushing out nice curly clean cut chips, stoning the face of each tooth should sharpen it if it is just a bit worn, and if it is sharp, it ought to take a good .030 cut without a problem on the first pass. I use a cigarette paper, bring the cutter down to pinch the paper between the cutter and the gear blank, and back off the cutter carefully until I can just barely pull out the paper without tearing, knowing I've got a dead on thousandth of an inch between the two when I'm done. A caliper across the two while the paper is in place, and divide by two, move the cutter down the half, and you've got your cutter on center. I've cut splines for a PTO (power take off) for my 1953 tractor using the lathe/shaper method, splines for gear boxes, keyways through gears and pulleys, and while it works, it is slow and tedious. If you can get the cutter working right, you will be much happier a man I believe. Gears, drive and driven, should both be out of semi-hard steel with good oiling, or if the driven are brass, the driver should be steel, and have as smooth a finish as possible, for minimum wear. Aluminum is perhaps the worst material for gears that have any real load on them, and particularly bad for gears with a variable load such as valve gearing. I don't know about where you're at, but here, I often use shafts taken from junk washing machines as they are stainless steel, but definitely good quality, because they don't get twisted up when the washer changes cycles, as they would if they were junk metal. They will cut cleanly with high speed steel. I hope this helps if even a little bit. mad jack
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Cylinder head blanks in place:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/027.jpg)
Also connecting rods are in place. I did some run-in on the lathe with cylinders and pistons installed. Pistons are still bit stiff, but getting better.
Mad jack, good points. But there is seriously weak spot in my mill/drill construction. Being that the two pieces, which support the mill/drill head, are made of aluminum. So it is quite useless for steel milling.
Even on alu and brass, only light cuts can be taken.
That's the reason, why I preferably machine parts using lathe, as much as possible.
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State of the art (http://emoticons4u.com/crazy/134.gif)rocker pedestals:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/028.jpg)
At first I was going to make pedestals, that would be fastened with two screws, but as lazy as I am, looked for something easier, and simpler way.
Solution: use one bigger screw, instead of two smaller :smart:.
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Rockers need still some shaping:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/029.jpg)
Currently, pedestals and rockers have an M3 threads, and I haven't yet figured out, how the fastening is going to be done :coffee:.
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Looking great :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
Chears Rob :thumbup:
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Cylinder heads this far:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/030.jpg)
I used the above centering drill to make room for valves. Holes for valves/guides are to be drilled and reamed to 4mm(0.157").
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Cylinder head blanks in place:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/027.jpg)
Also connecting rods are in place. I did some run-in on the lathe with cylinders and pistons installed. Pistons are still bit stiff, but getting better.
Mad jack, good points. But there is seriously weak spot in my mill/drill construction. Being that the two pieces, which support the mill/drill head, are made of aluminum. So it is quite useless for steel milling.
Even on alu and brass, only light cuts can be taken.
That's the reason, why I preferably machine parts using lathe, as much as possible.
Sorveltaja, I understand, I had an 11 inch drill press which, with a cross slide table (four inch), I used for my first milling machine, with bronze bushings for bearings, and a five eighths spindle, it was not a power-house, but barely even acted like a mill. If your lathe is of decent size, such as nine or ten inches, I found kits for T slotted cross slides, casting kits really, which allowed me to turn my ten inch Logan lathe into a horizontal mill, and with an angle block, a vertical mill too. Mine came from a company called "Metal Lathe Accesories", and I ended up with two different cross slides, one with about ten inches of "T" slots, about six or so, and the other with three "T" slots in the rear, and a hole to put a top slide in, at the front, so it will do double duty. I was able to machine a three by three by eight inch iron block accurately with the long "T" slot cross slide, the block having slots on two sides, and two different arrangements of dozens of holes on the other two sides, and being extremely stiff and rigid to hold stuff for milling in the lathe. I hope this is of some help or value. I know how hard it is when you don't have the right equipment, or even a good shed to put the wrong equipment in. At least you get to work on what your hobby, cheers Mad Jack :beer:
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Mad jack, true words :thumbup:.
I hope to encourage others, even those with most modest machines and tools, that have the 'engine-itch', to make some chips.
It's easier to start building an engine, if kept in mind, that its technical functionality is most important. Ugly the appearance may be(ask me how I know).
With limited machining capacity, precision is to be used sparingly, only on critical parts.
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Valve guides in place:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/031.jpg)
I warmed the heads some, and pressed guides in. At the moment, they have different length, and will be filed shorter, after valves are done.
Also the guide holes need to be reamed to 2mm(0.078").
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I enlarged the valve holes just bit too much, and had to fill them with brass buttons and silver solder:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/032.jpg)
I guess, that I have to be more patience, when machining the valve holes :wack:.
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Sorveltaja, just to let you know, harley's from 1948 through 1965 used cast in place bronze valve seats, with good success, and they were commonly "built up" with a torch, when they had been machined too many times and needed renewal, so valves will readily seat in your "brass buttons", or in the head its self, if you get that far down. Looking good, can't wait to see the finished engine. Mad Jack :bugeye:
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Some progress with the valves:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/033.jpg)
They are made of two piece of stainless each. Shafts are from 2mm(0.078") bicycle wheel spoke, and lower parts are of some not so easily machinable stainless.
I prefer to make the one piece valves, but haven't got suitable material for that.
I also planned to drill 1mm(0.039")holes for valve shafts, to hold the valve cap, and spring. But the shaft material is very tough stuff to drill, as it's most definitely one of those famous notoriously easily work-hardening grade stainless.
So, I had to make the grooves instead of holes. I used cheapo diamond cutting wheel disc for that.
Anyways, valves need to be made equal length, and the anglular working surfaces are also to be machined.
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Sorveltaja, just to let you know, harley's from 1948 through 1965 used cast in place bronze valve seats, with good success, and they were commonly "built up" with a torch, when they had been machined too many times and needed renewal, so valves will readily seat in your "brass buttons", or in the head its self, if you get that far down. Looking good, can't wait to see the finished engine. Mad Jack :bugeye:
Mad jack, that's quite nice detail to know about older engines :thumbup:, since I have always been fascinated of nowadays maybe simple techniques, that were used to make those engines.
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Valves are almost done. I made a valve seat cutter(below) also, and it worked just fine. Simple yet great tool ::).
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/034.jpg)
Valves seat already quite nicely, and lapping process makes them hopefully even better.
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I made the circlips of 0.8mm(0.031") tinned copper wire, and caps are made of 4mm stainless.
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/035.jpg)
Must be the smallest pieces on the assembly. Especially those circlips are quite challenging to get in place. The ones on the above pic are just practising pieces, so learning is on it's way :dremel:.
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Looking good! :thumbup:
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Spark plug holes with an M6 threads:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/036.jpg)
There was just enough room for spark plug holes. I didn't make the threads all the way through, as that would have distorted the valve seating surfaces.
I did some flattening to remove machining marks from heads/cylinder body contacting surfaces.
Anyways, I guess that major machining work is done on the heads. What's left, is to make a fastening systems for carburetor and exhaust tubes.
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Looking good, and shaping up nicely! :thumbup:
David D
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I bored the cam housing holes on the lathe, and made brass bearings also.
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/037.jpg)
Gears needed some fiddling, and lengthy run-in sessions on the lathe, and although they're still quite stiff to rotate, they finally fit in the place, and start to mesh together.
Overly long cam gear axles on the above pic are just part of the test setup.
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Cam pair blanks so far:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/038.jpg)
I'm not quite sure yet, how to form the cam shapes. Apparently by filing, although it requires a lot of beer(http://emoticons4u.com/crazy/296.gif) elbow grease.
Simple filing jig for the purpose is on my mind.
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Shaping up quite nicely. Anxious to see/hear it run.
As far as doing the cam lobes... afraid I can't offer any advice. I think I have a link somewhere. Will look for it.
Eric
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I removed most of the excess cam material with that mighty diamond cutting disc, that was attached to lathe's chuck:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/039.jpg)
Rest was done by filing on the jig. Inlet lobes(the ones that point upwards) are almost finished, they only need some rounding and smoothing.
The exhaust lobes have still excess material in them, to give some room to 'tune' the final angle between lobes.
Atleast now I know, which direction the engine is going to run (http://emoticons4u.com/crazy/134.gif).
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Well Sorveltaja, it looks like you figured out the cams all right, they look like they ought to work, and that puts you another big step closer to hearing this thing fire up. Looking forward to the video, and seeing it run. Good work!! :beer: Mad Jack
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Cams after smoothing and some polishing:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/040.jpg)(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/041.jpg)
At this stage, they are ready to roll :wave:.
But before that, cam housing needs the holes for tappets drilled first. And maybe tapped for M4, as I did on the test engine.
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Well Sorveltaja, it looks like you figured out the cams all right, they look like they ought to work, and that puts you another big step closer to hearing this thing fire up. Looking forward to the video, and seeing it run. Good work!! :beer: Mad Jack
Mad jack, I hope so also :thumbup:.
Starting of tappet guides :
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/042.jpg)
There wasn't enough room to make an M4 threads, as the cams are so close together. Instead they are made of 3mm(0.118") od, 2mm(0.078") id straight brass tube.
Valve push rods are to be made of 2mm stainless, so I'm going make tappets thicker than that, say 2.5-2.6mm. Tappet guides also need to be drilled to corresponding size.
That clear plexiglass piece was made at the beginning of this project. I use it as a guide, when angled drilling/milling is required.
Next things to do: tappet guide holes drilling, tappets, and push rods.
After that, the most, if not all major parts, should be ready for assembling, and maybe testing, how they fit together :nrocks:.
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After some minor fixes, first connecting rod is ready:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/043.jpg)
Tappets are just simple T-shaped ones, that have 2mm(0.078") concaves for con rods, machined with ball-nose cutter. Valve adjusting screws have also same size concave.
Con rods will have spherical surfaces at both ends. They need to be made one by one, as they all have different length.
One thing, that I was aware already, when making sketches, was quite big angle of left side con rods:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/044.jpg)
Don't know if that's an issue in the future, but if it is, modification is on the order :dremel:.
But in any case, when con rods are made, valve lapping takes place. Then the springs can be fitted, and whole valves/springs combo can be installed.
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sorveltaja
It looks like it is coming along nicely, one piece at a time. Soon you will have it all fitted together and time to fire it up. I know that I am not alone when I say that we are watching in anticipation of that day. Thanks for showing us what you have done to date. :ddb: :ddb:
Cheers :beer:
Don
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sorveltaja
It looks like it is coming along nicely, one piece at a time. Soon you will have it all fitted together and time to fire it up. I know that I am not alone when I say that we are watching in anticipation of that day. Thanks for showing us what you have done to date. :ddb: :ddb:
Cheers :beer:
Don
You`re certainly not alone Don! :wave:
Watching, quietly waiting, enjoying.........
Thanks Sorveltja! :thumbup:
David D
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Looking good Sorveltaja, if the push rod angle is too great, and that depends a lot on the depth of your ends, and how much your rockers flex on their stanchion, set your valves half way open, and your cam half way up, line the valve end of the rocker perpendicular to the valve travel, and split the angles between the rocker and pushrod, and the lifter and pushrod, and make the rocker such that all these things come to be at the same time, or are adjustable to come together at the same time. As long as they open and close, and nothing jumps out of place, they ought to work fine. After all Harleys run, and they don't bother with engineering. Harley engines are still dealing with a cylinder stud problem which the Japanese bikes had figured out in the early sixties, and have never had a problem with, while Harley's still going the exact wrong direction toward "curing" their problem. Mad Jack :thumbup:
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Thanks for replies :wave:.
Bit of progress:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/045.jpg)(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/046.jpg)
Valves are lapped, and installed with springs, and I threaded both inlet, and exhaust ports to M5. Also flat surfaces were milled for nuts.
At this stage, everything seems to rotate and move freely when rotating manually, except the pistons are still bit tight.
Mad jack, thanks for the tips :thumbup:.
Making longer rocker arms might be one possible option also, to lessen the angular stress.
Forthcoming run-in sessions on the lathe hopefully reveal if such problems exist on the engine :coffee:.
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Forthcoming run-in sessions on the lathe hopefully reveal if such problems exist on the engine :coffee:.
Good Luck! :thumbup:
David D
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Crankshaft started to wobble during the run-in session. Reason:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/047.jpg)
One of the silver solderings failed. Similar thing happened on my previous test engine also :scratch:.
I guess the reason for that is, that I have made shaft and holes too close fit, so there isn't much room for solder.
Anyways, I replaced the end axles, reamed holes to 4mm(0.157"), and drilled them partially to 4.1mm(0.161"), to provide bit more room for silver solder to flow between the parts.
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Hi Sorveltaja, current studies show the strongest joint of this type is a technically proper press fit, lubricated with locktite, I would use 609 stud and bearing mount, and the smoothest surfaces of both the shaft ends and the holes they fit in being the last factor. If you can freeze the shafts, heat the wheels, and make it a shrink fit with the above properties, it should be stronger than a single manufactured piece. When I braze or silver solder such a joint, I almost always knurl the shaft ends, but avoid doing so in such circumstances that require accuracy in more than one plane as knurling allows shafts to wobble and the like. Press fits are best served up with square shoulders to stop against, and wheels faced dead parallel to each other with either a jig or alignment pins to allow the pressing be done in one fell swoop. If the crank is never to come apart again, you can drill holes for pins to run through both the crank pin, and the two shafts once they are all aligned, I like taper pins, and peening the small end over, after it comes out the other end. I wish I could have discovered my shafts were not straight by running, instead of by dial indicator, at least it would have seemed like progress. Looking good otherwise, you should have this solved in a jif, and be well running soon.- :headbang: Mad Jack
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S, nice work on the engine, looking really good now :thumbup:
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New crankshaft is in place, some run-in on the lathe, and the engine is bit smoother now.
I've started to look at the carburetion part. Single barrel type was in my mind, but when looking at the heads, they have threads on their inlet ports.
I must have had some brainstorm again(http://emoticons4u.com/crazy/1087.gif), since that way it's not possible to fasten single carb to two heads, without removing the other one.
Alternatively, heads might have just enough space for a short M2 screws, to fasten carb to heads.
Using a vapor carb could make whole thing much simpler technically. On the other hand, I never got it to work with previous test engine.
Maybe it just didn't have enough suction force. This time there is two cylinders, so I think I'll give it a shot.
Also the ignition is bit puzzling. Do twin engines have require two set of breakers, as I assume?
Piezo ignition is again an alternative, to simplify things, although it requires some grunt from the engine.
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Small gear made for breakers:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/048.jpg)
It was made similar way as the aluminum one earlier, except this time I did pre-cut teeth grooves with that cutting disc, to ease the 'broaching' -process.
It meshes quite well with the bigger one. A lot better than the previous alu one, before run-in. Pure luck, or I just might be on the right track on learning how to make gears :dremel:.
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Bit of an :offtopic: addition:
The diamond cutting disc on the pic is really usable piece, as it cuts also HSS like butter. Some patience is required though.
Disc was attached to lathe chuck, and rotated at rather low rpm. HSS bit was fastened to tool holder, at the required angle.
I've never had that straight cutting angles on tools before.
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Mr S,
I grind all my drills and tools, carbide & hss, on one of those 50mm discs......
(http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n95/Dayjo/P3120004.jpg)
Supported by a disc of 12mm ply, it has replaced the bench grinder in my shop. :thumbup:
David D.
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David, I sure hope to have that big diamond disc some day :clap:.
But in the meantime, I've started to warm the piezo ignition system idea:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/049.jpg)
Plan is to make those two piezos at the same angle, as cylinders. Big gear has some extra material on its fastening part, allowing an eccentric shaft to be machined.
Piezo elements are from gas grill/owen igniter, and need about 4mm(0.157") long push to make a spark.
Those tiny ball bearings are going to be attached to piezo's moving ends.
Before that, ignition timing gears need housing to be made.
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Hi Sorveltaja, not to disparage your pietzo ignition, which I'd like to see work for you, v-twins generally only use one set of points, a coil with both ends of the secondary available, and two lobes on the cam, firing both plugs at every point opening, the "waste" spark occuring during the exhaust cycle of the off cylinder. Harley's did run dual points for about three years, but they were a constant adjustment issue, and went away, going back to the old way. Have you used piezo ignition before and had success? I've long considered it, but never got around to trying it out. I'm interested to see how it turns out. :bugeye: mad jack
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Mad jack, In fact I have tried piezo ignition before, but with that engine, it was too much strain.
Seriously taken, I don't expect too much success for using the piezo ignition. One reason being, that it needs to make a one waste spark on every revolution. Other is, that can it keep up with the speed.
But who knows, testing might give surprising results sometimes :thumbup:.
Plan B is, that I have a traditional breaker set to replace the piezo, if it doesn't work.
I just had to make some harvesting on the net, to find more information :smart:.
New thing to me is, that v-twins doesn't fire at the same cycle :zap:. So there is no need for two sets of breakers, or 2:1 reducing gears.
Who ever tries to build an engine, without knowing its principal functions? That's me(http://emoticons4u.com/crazy/134.gif).
It's just the way I learn things...
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I have made some attempts to make a fastening part for piezo unit, but it isn't as simple as I thought.
It needs to be made of non-conductive material. I have some round nylon bar, but it really needs extremely sharp tools. Turning went ok, but milling it is pain in the a$$ with used milling bits. So any precision is hard(impossible) to achieve.
Enough mumbling, here is the basic construction, that I'm after:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/050.jpg)
Green part is the piezo with roller, red ones are ball bearings, and blue is timing cam for piezo. An upside down U-part is in theory the part, that keeps whole thing together.
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I think I'll skip that piezo ignition for now, as it's bit difficult to fit it, on the way that was planned. It needs some troubleshooting, and more testing, that would be a project on its own.
I might get back to it though.
Next thing to do, is to fit an ordinary breaker points set. Should be a lot easier thing to do :dremel:. Also they are known to work, as they did on the test engine.
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Breakers set fitting in progress:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/051.jpg)(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/052.jpg)
I left some extra material for that steel plate, so that a adjusting lever can be added, if needed.
It still needs a fastening system, as it rotates quite freely at the moment.
The cam on the above pics is to be replaced, with more properly shaped one.
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Little more progression with breakers:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/053.jpg)
I machined a slot for an M3 screw, that is fastened to crankcase wall:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/054.jpg)
The screw hole was tapped and countersunk, to avoid the screw rubbing against crankshaft.
Now the breaker points set and holding plate can be fastened to engine's body.
On the uppermost pic is an M3 nyloc-nut, that takes care of fastening.
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On the right side is a flywheel, that was used on the test engine. I might mod it to fit to the current engine. Another option is to use wood and brass combination, mahogany(on the pic) or maybe plywood.
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/055.jpg)
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Flywheel, and its fastening part:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/056.jpg)
That fastening part consist of brass rod and a square washer, that are silver soldered together. Washer needs two holes drilled for screws.
Brass rod will have an ignition cam machined to it:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/057.jpg)
There is enough room for two grub screws, just in case that the engine starts to kick like a mule.
One thing, that doesn't feel quite right, is that a flywheel must be attached so far from the bearing.
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Flywheel + ignition cam combo is now finished:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/058.jpg)
I also filed small flats to crankshaft, for both grub screws.
Although the flywheel might look rather crude, it's almost balanced. Fine tuning comes later, if necessary.
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/059.jpg)
Next thing is to make a head gaskets from thin copper foil, as that worked really well on the test engine.
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i love this kind of project :thumbup:
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Hi Sorveltaja, I'm really enjoying this build, despite the many difficulties, primarily because it resembles so many of my own projects. It seems you had an idea, ran with it, hit a number of stumbling blocks along the way but simply worked around each of them, one at a time, and while what is going together isn't the prettiest engine ever built, you are definitely working through the problems, and getting down to the "nitty gritty" of design and engineering: making the idea end up working, and not just a pretty picture, hanging on the wall. I'm really looking forward to seeing it run, you've got a unique engine going together there. :beer: mad jack
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Thanks for kind replies :wave:.
Whole project is a sum of compromises, as the previous one was.
In practise one could say: Use the materials, that you have available, and the tooling you already have. Be it modest or whatever, make it to happen; take the most out of it.
Philosophizing aside, at this stage, when looking at the current engine's design, crankshaft would have less stress, if the flywheel was located inside the crankcase, as it is on Hoglet(or so I assume, based on the photos, that i've seen).
For some strange reason, I just had to do it on different way(http://emoticons4u.com/crazy/1087.gif).
Same kind of oddness was noticeable, when I tried to make a fastening part for the piezo unit. I failed four times making it :bugeye:. Then I just stopped, and thought: 'this will not be a part for this project'.
So back to an ordinary breaker points -schema. Lo and behold: parts for that were a lot easier to make. In fact, they are now ready to use.
Anyways, the progress of this project is in halt -stage for a couple weeks, due to renovation on my apartment.
I'll travel away, but try to lurk as often as I can.
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Dear Sorveltaja, I was really looking forward to your attempt with the piezo ignition, but I've gone a similar route before, trying to make something work, and ending up knowing a few different ways it won't work, instead. I know I've got piles a pieces of old projects which never worked out, but taught lessons still used today. I know I learned a lot in all the mistakes I've made, but when I've had a project which the principles were pretty much already straight forward, just needing to be done according to how I knew, I may have got the job done, and a nice job, but generally have learned far less than I do when things go wrong. I still have a distributor housing I made for my tractor, to use piezos, which never worked out, yet the housing and all the parts are still around, waiting for a second chance, and maybe success at some time in the future. Keep on this engine till it runs, and then move on, with lessons learned, and new skills. :headbang: mad jack
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Finally back at home :beer:. It takes some time to get the lathe and mill to working condition, so no progress pics yet.
Also, other tools need to be spread around the apartment(http://emoticons4u.com/crazy/134.gif) found.
Next step is most probably to make the head gaskets. Then perhaps sparking plugs. After that, carburetion, that is still an open case.
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Finally back at home :beer:. It takes some time to get the lathe and mill to working condition, so no progress pics yet.
Also, other tools need to be spread around the apartment(http://emoticons4u.com/crazy/134.gif) found.
Next step is most probably to make the head gaskets. Then perhaps sparking plugs. After that, carburetion, that is still an open case.
He is back! Looking forward to seeing this move forward.
Eric
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Very pleased you`re back Sorveltaja!
Hope you can now find everything...... :scratch:
David D
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Welcome back, hope the apartment is more to your liking now. Expecting continuation with the adventure, and of course the first puffs of exhaust :thumbup:
Everyone else except Sorveltaja, ignore the following:
Suomalainen minakin olen, vaikka Portugalissa asunkin, jo yli 20 vuotta. Enka taida koskaan takaisin tulla.
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Head gaskets almost finished:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/060.jpg)
Material is 0.1mm(0.00393") copper sheet, that was annealed first. Nothing fancy, I just carved the combustion chamber -shaped holes with knife.
Making gaskets has never been my favorite thing, probably because I don't have the right tools for that (yet). I think, that some simple punching tool would make it much easier. But then again, it would be a side project on its own.
Laser cutter is almost on the top on my shopping list, just in case, that I win the lottery ::).
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Laser cutter is almost on the top on my shopping list, just in case, that I win the lottery ::).
As they say here in New York, A dollar and a dream. :coffee:
I've had several night mares that no amount of money could tak care of. :lol:
Bernd
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You are doing a fine job there sorveltaja. Glad to see you back at it after the renovations. I missed my daily dose of catching up on your build.
I've had several night mares that no amount of money could tak care of. :lol:
Bernd
:offtopic: Bernd, What the ?ell are you dreaming about??
Cheers :beer:
Don
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Not going there Don. :offtopic: :lol: :lol:
Bernd
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Spark plugs at progress:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/062.jpg)
Plugs have 3mm(0.118") holes through them, and 3.5mm(0.137") drilled for buttons at the business end. Above pic shows one button in place, that still has copper layer on one side. Some might guess already, that the material used for 'buttons' is fiberglass-based circuit board.
It stands heat, at least short periods at a time. I'm not sure, how porous it is under compression, but there is one way to find out :zap:.
One might wonder, why fiberglass; I have it already, it feels more solid, than ptfe, at the working end of the spark plug. It also has dielectric(insulativity) properties, that are needed at this stage.
Spark plug body, and center electrode, with one button, that has no more copper in it. White rod is ptfe, that is to be used to fill the rest of the spark plug's hole:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/061.jpg)
Center electrode is 1.4mm(0.055") steel, that will have an M1.4 thread at the end of it.
I'll make only one spark plug, to see if it works. Purely experimental, and not to be tried at home (http://emoticons4u.com/crazy/335.gif).
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Spark plug parts before assembly:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/063.jpg)
Finished, after some super glue and grunt:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/064.jpg)
Ptfe insulator lost some of it's shape, when I pushed it in place. As usually, it behaved like a cooked noodle.
Anyways, it's done now, and brass terminal was added.
To start the testing phase, I'll do some basic spark testings.
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I tested the new spark plug on the previously made engine, and it ran for a short time, then refused to start. Reason was the fiberglass button, that absorbed some fuel, causing almost short circuit -state.
Well not exactly short circuit, but the ethanol, that I used as a fuel, is conductive enough, to cause a non-sparking situation in that case.
So I removed the 'button', leaving bare ptfe for insulation. I also filed the center electrode's working end from round to t-shape:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/065.jpg)
Now the new plug is almost like one, that I had used on the test engine before. Appearance of the plug(s) is rather frivolous, but somehow it stands bit of flooding, though.
Anyways, what comes to that fiberglass button -thing, it should have been sealed with some hard, easily poured, dielectric material.
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Hi Sorveltaja, it's good to see your posts up to date again, we missed you. Nice expose on the spark plug, as to a pourable insulator, I can only think of ceramics as having any long term life and pourable. You might pack chopped glass fiber into the space and then use a torch to melt it so it takes the heat, and allows the ptfe to work without melting, behind it. I've looked at half a dozen or so methods of plug making, and they all seem very temporary because of the insulator material. Remember sparks like to leave sharp pointy places and arrive at sharp pointy places best and you will need the lowest voltage for a spark. I don't particularly want to use ready made spark plugs for my radial engine, but reliability is more important than being able to say I made them myself, so I will try the make it myself route, but if necessary, use a set of ready made plugs. Your success in this may make the choice for me. I'm watching closely for your success. :headbang: mad jack
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Madjack, I've done some research, of what pourable ceramic materials could possibly be used for insulator.
Some of the bonding pairs, that are possible candidates:
Porcelain/metal - Porcelain seems to require a long term heat treatment on its own, using a high temperature oven.
Glass/metal - Very unstable, and may well require some special techniques to achieve, as I have experienced, during the past Lamina -engine phase.
I destroyed a whole lot of test tubes, while trying that.
Enamel - I guess, that it's basically glass, and coloured one contain some metals.
One non-ceramic substance could be a high-temperature paint. Not sure about the dielectricity of those.
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Intake adapters in place:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/066.jpg)
Both will have two holes drilled and tapped for an M2 screws. What comes to carburetor, I think I'll use the test engine's one, as it works to some extent.
Next thing to do, is to make a manifold. It will most probably contain two brass tubes.
Anyways, I also got the second spark plug finished.
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Intake adapters drilled and tapped. Two parts on lower side after silver soldering:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/067.jpg)
Those two part's tubes need to be morphed somehow together, to form a manifold.
They need some bending first, and if any success, they are fastened in place, and final fitting can take a place.
This an unknown territory for me, as this is my first more-than-one-cylinder -engine, that's in progress.
Anyways, I'm prepared to boldly go where no man has gone before that, and lengthy filing session(s).
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Hi Sorveltaja, if I end up making plugs, I will probably try to duplicate comercial ones, with a ceramic center tube, with shoulders, fired around the center electrode, steel ends much as you've made, and a copper o-ring to seal between the ceramic, and the steel, with the seal formed by rolling over the edge of the steel compressing the copper o-ring. I've taken apart a couple dozen plugs, and that is essentially how they are all made with minor differences. With regard to your intake manifold, having dealt with many of the shape you need on Harleys, I would suggest filling the tubes with cerrro-safe, or some similar low temp melting metal, bend each tube while bolted in place without the other, so you can get the centerline of each tube basically centered, then melt out the supporting metal, do your last little pushing and the like, and cut the two tubes so they meet each other, cut a bit large, and file down to a good match, tack solder them in place, and finish soldering them off the engine, so the heat expansion doesn't leave you with too short between the cylinders. That's how I've done it with custom manifolds for Harleys, with about an inch and three quarters port diameter, and tigging up aluminum parts. I hope this helps, if not, I expect you'll figure out a way that works. :headbang: mad jack
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Mad jack, thanks for the tips :thumbup:.
Ceramic-based materials are undoubtedly best for the spark plug insulator, but machinable ones seem to be rather expensive.
Then again, more traditional porcelain would require a 'glazing', to give it a glass-like surface, similar to that of coffee cups.
Inlet tubes formed so far:
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/068.jpg)
I'm not sure yet, what the next step is, but I guess that I'll find that out before long :med:.
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One thing, that popped to my mind, after writing the previous message, was about using ceramics/glass as an insulator, that nowadays small glass/ceramics quantities can be heat-treated on microwave oven(+800 watts), using a 'micro capsule'(freely translated).
At least here in Finland, those are available in three sizes (diameters 70mm(2.75"), 110mm(4.33"), and 160mm(6.29")). Prices are from 99 to 240.
Anyone else heard about similar things/devices?
Microwave ovens do not accept the use of metallic materials, that are an essential part of spark plugs, but how about graphite?
It would be an ideal mold material, and mold for center electrode hole could be made of 0.5mm(0.019") re-fillable pencil -rod.
Lil' bit of mindstorm to lighten the thread(http://emoticons4u.com/crazy/134.gif).
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One thing, that popped to my mind, after writing the previous message, was about using ceramics/glass as an insulator, that nowadays small glass/ceramics quantities can be heat-treated on microwave oven(+800 watts), using a 'micro capsule'(freely translated).
At least here in Finland, those are available in three sizes (diameters 70mm(2.75"), 110mm(4.33"), and 160mm(6.29")). Prices are from 99 to 240.
Anyone else heard about similar things/devices?
Microwave ovens do not accept the use of metallic materials, that are an essential part of spark plugs, but how about graphite?
It would be an ideal mold material, and mold for center electrode hole could be made of 0.5mm(0.019") re-fillable pencil -rod.
Lil' bit of mindstorm to lighten the thread(http://emoticons4u.com/crazy/134.gif).
Hi sorveltaja, now you're thinking along the lines I am! I haven't heard of what you're talking about, however the issue of metal in a microwave is primarily about the life of the oven. I've been the recipient of more than one which was done for, as far as food, and a gift, so I've experimented in more than one with metal without Mrs. jack coming after me with implements of destruction. I was considering using "slip", which is ceramic slurry, used to pour castings, in plaster molds, the process basically filling the mold, letting it set for a bit, then pouring our the liquid, to form a hollow casting. My Mom makes ceramic dolls this way, which is how I know it. I was thinking of making a plaster mold say a quarter size of the insulator of a conventional plug, a two part split mold, putting the center electrode in, pouring in the slip, with a riser as one would do with aluminum casting, as the insulator needs to be solid, and once it is "green", meaning essentially dry, but not fired, and then perhaps hanging each by a wire on the electrode to keep it from losing its shape while firing, and doing a soft firing, then glazing it, and doing a final hard firing. That is the the process with the dolls, the soft firing leaving a porous ceramic, the glaze and hard firing leaving it glassy and totally non-porous. The steel "shell" it goes in typically has a packing of very fine powder I believe is ceramic, to cushion the contact of the insulator with the shell, near the thread end, and at the outer end, a shoulder on the insulator for the copper o-ring to seat against, and rolling the edge of the shell, which is probably twenty thousandths thick, over the copper o-ring and crimped down against the powder packing. I haven't tried it yet only because I haven't gotten to that stage yet. What do you think about that? mad jack
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Madjack, definitely worth trying :thumbup:. To me, even the ceramic-making terms are a new thing, and would greatly appreciate your attempt.
I'm sure there is a whole bunch of people(well, at least me ::)), that would prefer using ceramics instead of plastics.
I did some searching, and found this: http://www.microwavekiln.com/KILNINSTRUCTIONS.HTM
They look somewhat similar to those, that I mentioned earlier.
Some have even done small metal castings using microwave oven :bugeye: http://home.c2i.net/metaphor/mvpage.html
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Two Y-pieces made. One for inlet and other for exhaust.
(http://www.kolumbus.fi/kz1706/v2/069.jpg)
I'm going to test a vapor carb, before making an adapter for conventional one.
Somehow I feel, that the Y-piece should be as close as possible to the engine, to make sure, that both cylinders inhale the fuel mix, instead of each others inlet tube's content.
Gasoline/oil mixture would be an ideal fuel to test the engine, but if the ignition, or timing aren't right, it makes the engine's combustion chamber very dirty, even after short runs. No matter, how small amount of oil is used in the fuel mix. That's what I have experienced during my previous project.
Gasoline-based fuel seems to work better on vapor carb, than an ethanol, though. At least on colder winter months.
But at the moment, the environmental temperature has rapidly risen to a summery level, so the ethanol just might evaporate bit easier :dremel:
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Hi sorveltaja, what little I know about ceramics comes from watching mom and sisters casting dolls, using plaster molds, and they have made their own molds as well, so I've got some "look see" experience to start with. I figure the plug companies have tried everything, so starting with how they do it is probably the best place to start and attempt to copy. I should be able to turn a pattern with the electrode as a core essentially, and make a two part mold from plaster around that, and with it being a small tubular piece without much volume, let it dry to the point of being able to break off the "sprue", and then fire it with the electrode in place and fire it a second time for the glazing. I'll ask my mom tonight, she knows almost everything.
you're looking good on the engine, you should be about going, now, gas has naptha as a primary ingredient, which is far easier to vaporize than alcohol, but the heavier elements in it produce more goo when it doesn't burn completely, and alcohol leaves little but soot and carbon. I used to use lighter fluid, such as for a Zippo, when I was young and had a hard to start engine, it's pure naptha, and a few drops in the intake will usually at least pop off. If you know there's oil on the bearings and on the pistons and rings, a couple drops in the intake won't hurt, but if the engine is dry without oil, it can leave you with scored bearings and cylinders, as will "starting fluid". Good luck on getting the carburetion set up, it seems to be one of the trickiest parts with these small engines. Looking good, and I'm ready to hear it run :thumbup: :nrocks: :headbang: mad jack
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Today, I took the cam housing apart, disassembled it, and drilled oiling holes to the top of it. That was just one of those things, that I had forgot to do.
At this stage, the engine has an 'open column' crankcase, so no shared oil splashing lubrication available for cams.
But if(when) I manage to get the engine to run, then I'll make an aluminum or brass cover for crankcase, enabling the use of an oil sump.
Anyways, after I assembled the engine, it felt quite stiff again, so I gave it about half an hour spin on the lathe, with plenty of wd-40.
There is still some work to be done though, to get it to testing condition, such as the base, where to attach it, and valve adjustments.
Mad jack, it's good to hear, that you have guides to follow on that ceramics-thing :thumbup:.
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Today, I took the cam housing apart, disassembled it, and drilled oiling holes to the top of it. That was just one of those things, that I had forgot to do.
At this stage, the engine has an 'open column' crankcase, so no shared oil splashing lubrication available for cams.
But if(when) I manage to get the engine to run, then I'll make an aluminum or brass cover for crankcase, enabling the use of an oil sump.
Anyways, after I assembled the engine, it felt quite stiff again, so I gave it about half an hour spin on the lathe, with plenty of wd-40.
There is still some work to be done though, to get it to testing condition, such as the base, where to attach it, and valve adjustments.
Mad jack, it's good to hear, that you have guides to follow on that ceramics-thing :thumbup:. I tell you, I don't much like the idea of regular sized plugs in a model engine, or model plugs that don't work but for a short time. If we can make models of the engines, we ought to be able to make working models of the plugs. If I don't get success on the plugs soon enough, there's a guy named Bob Shores who makes model engines and pieces and parts for them, and he has proper model plugs as well as other ignition accessories, he's got a web site which should be easily found, although I don't know it offhand. Don't ever say "if" about an engine, they always get to run, even if you have to make every single part all over again, it's always "when I get this engine to run", got to think positive. Of course sometimes in the middle of things, an engine can turn majically into a flying projectile weapon, and kill a window, or some offensive weeds right outside the shop. Then it has become an engine of destruction, but still an engine, and it did "go". :lol: mad jack
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Sorveltaja and Jack, if you fellows are having trouble making spark plugs, have a look at a gent who knows how it's done. George Britnell is a member here, and has been nice enough to share his considerable experience with us. His plugs look good, and as evidenced by his many running engines, they work well, too.
The "How To" post is at the following link:
http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=2439.0
Happy pluggin'.
Dean
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Mad jack, take your time, if you intend to try the ceramics. No deadlines here :thumbup:.
What comes to the engine project, it will unfortunately be interrupted for some time.
At the moment, I have some serious official matters to take care of, so not much progress on the project.
But I'll be back as soon as possible.
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...
At the moment, I have some serious official matters to take care of, so not much progress on the project.
...
Hope all is OK. Looking forward to seeing this go on.
Eric
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Good luck with Officialdom....... ::)
Looking forward to your continuation! :thumbup:
David D
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Mad jack, take your time, if you intend to try the ceramics. No deadlines here :thumbup:.
What comes to the engine project, it will unfortunately be interrupted for some time.
At the moment, I have some serious official matters to take care of, so not much progress on the project.
But I'll be back as soon as possible.
Sorveltaja, I wish you luck in dealing with officialdom, and hope it doesn't take up too much of your time and attention. If it does, send out an SOS, and maybe we can toss you a rope. We're with you when it comes to officialdom :lol: mad jack
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Sorveltaja
Hi Sorveltaja. We haven't heard from you in a while and hope everything is OK on your end. :doh: :doh:
Cheers :beer:
Don
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I sure hope he΄s not doing some time inside... ( some serious official matters to take care of) :doh:
:wave:
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Sorveltaja
Hi Sorveltaja. We haven't heard from you in a while and hope everything is OK on your end. :doh: :doh:
Cheers :beer:
Don
Yeah!
Hope so, too...... :scratch:
David D
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Thanks for attention, guys. Yes I'm alive, also not in jail...
Nowadays, there is a phase of major turbulences in my life, so I can't focus on anything else, but surviving.
But still I hope, that some day I could get back to this most precious hobby, that has been so rewarding to me.
Anyways, if you have something to ask, go ahead. I'll lurk here once in a while.
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Sorvelta, if you're not in jail, you've at least got a life, touch bases enough to make it worth looking forward to. We all have our down times, but hang in there, know there is a light at the end of the tunnel, even if its the headlight of a train. :poke: chin up, we're with you! mad jack