The Journey Begins, PM Research #5.

[EricB]

I faced the inner surfaces of the bearings.

Alternate use for that boring bar I purchased for this build is between the frame and the hold downs.



It had to be done anyway but I was hoping it would make the boring go a bit smoother. Here is my setup for that job. The tail stock is just there for reference to line it all up. It was out of the way when I was working.

I would like to say it went well. What I didn't expect was some misalignment with the lathe headstock. It turns out that the farther away the work gets from the spindle, the end of the tool (drill, reamer) goes higher than the tail stock center. I checked it with dead centers in the spindle and tail stock and they were very close when tip to tip, but 9" out the center of the reamer was about 1/8" above the tail stock center. I still need to investigate this further. While I was doing the job I thought the tools were flexing or the caps were much softer than the frame so I corrected the best I could by adjusting with shims. In the end the bore climbs about 1/64" from one end to the other. It did seem like a good idea at the time, but I would probably have had better results on the mill.


Anyway the crank is in and it turns freely. Just a few more holes to drill to mount it to the base and I can try to make it run.

Eric

 

[EricB]

Here are some pictures of the assembled engine. At this point it's just a paper weight. Everything moves but it seems like everything binds too. I'll figure it out eventually.




Some of the visible details.




Eric

 

[EricB]

Despite all the flaws it does run. The binding was caused by a couple of things, the main culprit that kept if from running was the top valve slide bearing. I removed that and gave the engine some air just to see and it ran. This is with no gaskets or gland packings. Sorry no video but here is a picture.

This is somewhere around 5 psi.

Eric

 

[Janderso]

Eric,
I've had so much fun watching your thread, I ordered a PM Research #7.
I know my skill level will improve and that's my motivation.
I have learned quite a bit from your thread and two Youtubers.
Tubalcain (Mr. Pete) and Keith Appleton.
I just hope my lathe isn't too big. May have to fire up the little Craftsman
There are many ways to perform the machining operations. I like your approach.

An example of a series by Keith Appleton The first few are pretty basic. -

 

[EricB]

Eric,
I've had so much fun watching your thread, I ordered a PM Research #7.
I know my skill level will improve and that's my motivation.
I have learned quite a bit from your thread and two Youtubers.
Tubalcain (Mr. Pete) and Keith Appleton.
I just hope my lathe isn't too big. May have to fire up the little Craftsman
There are many ways to perform the machining operations. I like your approach.

An example of a series by Keith Appleton The first few are pretty basic. -

Jeff,
I had a lot of "fun" building it. Prior to this I've mostly done simple turning on the lathe or squaring blocks on the mill, so I learned quite a bit too. I certainly feel a lot more confident using the machines. Like I said at the beginning I like to solve puzzles. A few times I figured out better ways do do things after I made some of the parts.

I picked up part of the technique for making my eccentric from a Joe Pieczynski video on youtube about boring internal features. There's lots of good info online.

Please post your progress with #7. I've been thinking of that one for my next build.

Eric

 

[Janderso]

I hope I am as successful as you.
I have made a conscience effort to go about this slow and easy. There must be ten ways to turn a flywheel or cylinder.
Looking forward to it.

Just for kicks, Mr. Pete has some good ideas as well. I enjoyed this series.