Shed Matters 3

[Stanley]

Not mine Ken!



I only had an hour so I limited my aim to preparing the base and fitting the engine to it. Here is the base in the vice and I am making shavings with the smoothing plane, not seen on the bench very often. I decided to varnish the wood after I'd mounted the engine. I threaded a 5BA stud into the base so the back fastening under the cylinder can be a nut screwed on from the top.



Here we are at knocking off time. A few little jobs left to do on the engine, finishing touches like levelling studs and fastenings. Nice to be on the final stages.

[chinatyke]

Another good looking engine, well done.

[plaques]

An engine without elastic bands. What's this world coming to? And for an encore a V4 compound.

[Stanley]

Thanks China and Ken.... Kahara will like this one because he can hold it in his hands. They tell me he plays with his beam engine regularly. He may be infected....

[Stanley]

The varnish was hard enough so I put the finishing touches in, filing the heads of studs down and making sure it was free enough for Kahara to be able to turn the flywheel. It's sat on the table as eye candy until Susan collects it.



Then I turned my attention to something that's been on my mind for a while, I took a slug of 3" steel left over from making the crankshaft for my big compound, Chucked it and started making it pretty.



Ready for the next cuts but too late to start on that this morning so I put the inside jaws on the chuck and turned to another matter that's been on my mind.



One of the leather faces of my Thor hammer had come loose. I mixed up some Araldite and had a go at making it stay in place.
But of course, being nosey buggers you want to know what I am making with the 3" slug....



Its a bench block or staking block. Amazing how often one would came in handy.

[BobH]

Just what we like to see, start them early

[Stanley]

No, you're not on the wrong thread! I went looking for something this morning and in the course of looking in toolboxes I haven't opened for years, I came across these Teng tool drivers for splined head fasteners. This seemed like a better place than hidden in a box upstairs.



I wanted to put the 60degree groove across the centre of the block. I found a cutter in my collection of odd cutters, sharpened it and set it up in the mill using the Wilson vise which is very handy for odd shapes. This was asking a lot of my El Cheapo mill drill but by going at it carefully and patiently I finished up with my groove.



The finish of the groove needed improving so I did that the old fashioned way in the vise with a big file.



This was knocking off time. I have my groove and I have taken the Wilson Vice off the VM and cleaned up. The normal cutter is back in the chuck and tomorrow I'll tram the normal vise in.
Nothing earth shaking but a nice morning in the shed with good results.

[Stanley]

Today was dead simple, drill the necessary holes through the block in the right places!



This was knocking off time. The block is finished and ready for use, I've cleaned the pillar drill off and swept the floor. The external jaws are back on the chuck and I'm ready to re-install the mill vice tomorrow morning.

[Stanley]

My dial indicators are getting a bit lazy. I reckon that despite looking after them, oil and muck gets inside them. The answer of course is to send them off to an expert who will dismantle them, clean them and reassemble. But I can't afford that...



So what I am doing is taking the backs off, washing them out with lighter fluid, drying that off with careful use compressed air and then using tiny amounts of clock oil on the pivot points.



It worked, an hour and a half well spent. Now I need to remount them and get on with tramming the vise in.
Oh, by the way, I ordered another 10H kit from Stuarts. It'll be good to build another while the problems with the first are fresh in my mind....

[PanBiker]

You could almost certainly use electronic switch cleaner for internals like that Stanley. A one can solution, the aerosol versions have application nozzles for precision cleaning and will evaporate completely but leaving a thin lubricant film behind.

[Tizer]

I reckon that despite looking after them, oil and muck gets inside them.

That reminded me of the `Secrets of the Transport Museum' programmes on the Yesterday TV channel about how they look after the inmates at Brooklands, ranging from motorcycles to Concorde. The episode I watched last night had an old Delahaye racing car having its engine fettled and a Vickers Vimy twin-engined biplane having its engines tested ready for an open day. Oh, and this beastie shifting a 4000lb bomb! (From this web site: LINK )

[Stanley]

Thanks Ian. Next time you are close to one grab it for me and I will pay...
Even when mechanical items are stood they deteriorate quietly Peter. I like the AEC militant. I had a look at the link. 130 pages of pics! The lads who put it up could be described as enthusiasts I think...

[Stanley]

First job was to mount the indicators that are in every use on their stands and accessories.



One of them was the mount that fits in the chuck on the mill. Here I am using it with a bar of ground steel stock, to tram the vice in to within half a thou of perfection.



Last job was to glue the insert into the Thor hammer. No, this isn't the one I did yesterday, that's fine. What has happened is that using the hammer has loosened the other head, they dry out and shrink over the years....
An hour and a half spent on doing useful things. Tomorrow could be a day for checking the accuracy of me lathe....

[Stanley]

Breaking news, Stuarts have delivered. I have a set of castings for another 10H! I see they have sent a modification for the valve rod and eccentric strap and arm.

[BobH]

Sounds like Stuarts have been reading your blog, Stanley.

[Stanley]

You could be right Bob, they sent me two steam chest lids, if you remember the last one was chilled.

[Stanley]

The castings have arrived, including two steam chest lids.....



I gave the small grinder a chance but it's not up to it.



I've put the old 8" grinder with a 1hp motor back in place. I shall put up with the built in vibration as I can't afford a new one....
That wasn't as easy as it looks and I have knocked off early to recover. I am better equipped now to go forward....

[Stanley]

Today's report is simple, I finished my grinder maintenance by fitting the green grit wheel for sharpening carbide tools and dressing both wheels with the diamond. Made more difficult by an unexpected burr inside the large washer the nut tightens on. That fixed all was well.



Last job before shopping was to touch up my HSS cutter and check it's on centre. Only one way of doing that, face a slug. It passed the test. Tomorrow will be engine castings!

[Stanley]

The first job this morning was to fill the export order from Hertfordshire... It is done, in the envelope and will be posted today to the customer for approval.





The rest of the time in the shed was to do with the boring job of cleaning castings up. I spent all my time on the bed casting. Incredible how many little nooks and crannies there are to clean out!
Nice to be starting another engine....

[Tripps]

That looks just perfect. Thanks in advance. Knurled as well. I love that word.

The postal address is Hertfordshire, but actually in Cambridgeshire. Source of much grief down here. The village took on the Post office to get a CB postcode . It was a long contest and the village came second.

[PanBiker]

County wise in Barlick the post office have given up, we don't need to specify any or we can append Yorkshire or Lancashire if we wish, the post will still get here on postcode alone.

[Stanley]

Let me know if it fits and if you want another to match it..... (I should have made two yesterday.)
By the way the piece of scrap brass it was made of is at least 100 years old so it can be described as antique....

[Stanley]

The first image is of a long ambition fulfilled. We all know that there is a stigma attached to adjustable spanners but they save so much time if they are handy, they fit any nut ever made! I've often thought this as I search for an obscure spanner. Now, at last, I have it sorted!



Back to the castings, I decided to carry on with the bed casting and actually get it to the point where it was ready for building instead of just removing the flash.











I think the pics tell the story, the bed casting is as far forward as it can be taken.



Knocking off time. The next candidate is the base. In case you're wondering, the reason why there is an ugly slug of lead in the picture it's to remind you that when you are putting a drill into a Morse taper the best way to ensure it is seated properly is to bump it with something that won't damage it, a lump of lead is ideal.
A good 90 minutes and I have enjoyed it.

[Stanley]

The base casting today. First job was to get it into the mill and give it level faces.The top side was OK but one part of the bottom edge was chilled and although I managed to do a rough cut I buggered the edge on my cutter.



So a trip to the T&C grinder and put an edge on it. I know I say it over and over again but I don't know how you can run a mill on HSS cutters without a grinder. (Or a very healthy bank balance to buy new ones.)







Some careful marking, drilling and tapping.



By knocking off time I had the studs temporarily fitted and a trial fit. Perfect.... The studs can come out and I can press on tomorrow.

[Stanley]

We started the day with a bit of woodworking. Experience with the last 10H build showed me that there were better ways of building the engine and if you are following me and thinking of building one yourself, take note.



I've plugged the core hole in the cylinder and started the process of getting the Cylinder to its finished size with faces that are parallel to each other.



Here's the result, a rough finished cylinder that is the correct size.







Next I made the front lid for the cylinder, including threading it for the gland and Drilling the hole for the piston rod. The idea is that I use this as a template for marking the cylinder for boring.



Here we are at knocking off time. I think you can probably see the justification for doing it this way. The core hole was not on centre. The last one was the same and I trusted it and bored it meaning I finished up with a cylinder in the wrong place. This one will be dead in line with the centre line of the bed. Nice!