SHED MATTERS 2

[Stanley]

I finished milling the block I left in the vise yesterday down to 2" and then set about getting a square face on one end so I could measure accurately for the width.



I blued them up and marked them 2" 5/8".



I set off to mill them like this, two at once but ran into trouble. Can you see the circular marks on the cut? Even though I had my quill set as short as possible I was running into problems through lack of rigidity. I tried tightening the gibs but only got a slight improvement. My mill has its limitations and I am getting too much leverage on the vise during the cut which leads to the cutter grabbing. Time for a rethink....



Here's a different set up. Far closer to the bed so less leverage. The head brought down a lot and the quill length at minimum. Much better, I was taking cuts 1/4" deep and almost 3/8" wide with no problem beyond the fact that the chips were burning my hand and I had to get the welding gauntlet out again!



It didn't take long to do the first one and a far better result.



You can see by the size and colour of the chips that I was shifting metal a lot quicker. They were flying all over the shed!



It didn't take long to get them knocked off. Getting near knocking off time...



Guess what I did next.... That's right, a chip chase and vacuum the carpet!



The result of the morning. I'm ready to mark the pedestals up, bore them for the bushes and Drill the holes for the holding down bolts. But that's another day.... Enough for this morning.

[micktoon]

Hi Stanley, nice work again, looks like its business as usual after your birthday break. John and I are planning another casting session tomorrow afternoon weather permitting and no last moment rush of work spoiling John's plan for the afternoon off. So fingers crossed again
Cheers Mick

[Stanley]

I shall be with you in spirit Mick. The very best of luck!

[Stanley]

Today is a red letter day. We've reached the stage where the engines have to be given an identity, the parts marked up with fitting marks and from now on they are dealt with separately and each engine's parts fitted to their mating parts. The reason for this is, like the original engine makers, we aren't accurate enough to guarantee interchangeability of parts so each engine is slightly different when it comes to final fitting. So, out with the number and letter punches and they become Deb's and Sarah's engines.



The crankshafts are included as well.



They begin to feel like engines.....



The next stage is to bore the holes in the pedestals for the holding down bolts. I've marked all the holes so it's just a matter of carefully drilling each one. No shortcuts, change the centre drill for the 1/4" drill for each hole. Bleeding obvious tip, the worst thing that can happen to you now is forcing the drill and breaking it off in the hole. 2" is a fair depth for a 1/4" drill. So plenty of withdrawing and charging the hole with oil. Less haste, more speed and a better job.



If you get everything right, this is where you finish up, eight clean holes de-burred on both sides with a countersink. Next move is to mark the centre of each block with the centre punch.



Then the usual progress towards boring a 1" hole for the flywheel shaft bush.





Ending up with a drill just under the 1" you are after. Ready for boring now but by this time it was clocking off time. Nice clean start for tomorrow, bore all four pedestals to exactly 1". (Or as near to it as you can get!)

[Stanley]

Great news from John and Mick! Yesterday's casting session was successful. Mick did the pics....



They used bigger risers.



John's furnace at full chat.



Shrinkage as the metal cooled.



One of the raw castings straight out of the sand.

I'm so glad they cracked it. It's not easy and I know they were both getting frustrated. Now I start nagging them about delivery!

[PanBiker]

What do they weigh? You can send 10K end to end tracked for about £22.00 with £300 insurance cover. 2 day service but you don't get the social aspect of the delivery (apart from the delivery guy).

[Stanley]

Thanks for that Ian but there is some return traffic as well and I think John and Mick want to visit anyway.



I get idle at times. For instance, I always tend to use the same Stag Brand boring tool and while it's a good tool it's quite small. The bigger the bar the more rigid so I thought I'd move up the scale a bit, I'm thinking about cylinder boring as well. I have this big boring bar that Johnny made and as I'll never use it at that length, it fits a bore that is under 1" so I decided to cut the end of it.



Mrs McMaster is a star, dead easy to set up and very fast. Bugger the upper body development!



I set the shortened bar up, set the height and then found I had slipped up. The cutting line is above the centre of the bar and so it's effectively too big to enter the bore. Never mind it's still useful so I grabbed another of Johnny's bars, an old Squire tool. I replaced the square head lock screw with a socket cap screw, sharpened the cutter and set it to centre height. This will do nicely and is still a lot more rigid than the small Stag tool.



I got serious, 1" standard, micrometer and bore gauge. Then I set off drilling and boring....



After some honest endeavour I had them all bored to 1" and stuck a sheet of sandpaper down on the surface plate so I could clean all the faces off. Not going for a high polish or even getting rid of the milling marks, I just want them good looking, even and nice to handle.



Knocking off time. All four pedestals ready for their bushes. Good morning, no mistakes, steady progress, that'll do me.

[Stanley]

Word from Mick this morning, he has been busy fulfilling my request that he save me the bother of plugging the ends of the bores, essential for finding a true centre. He sent these pics, the wood is walnut....







Another small step forward!

[Stanley]

I was a bit late in the shed, other stuff got in the way. First job was to clean the lathe and the carpet because today we are on bronze and I want to harvest clean chips for John. Then I took the two jaw off and put the big Pratt 3 jaw on because the centre hole in it is big enough to accommodate the bronze bar I shall be using so no cutting into slugs and less waste.



The treasure chest surprises even me at times. My ideal was a piece of inch and a quarter bronze bar and lo and behold, there it was! I'll say it again, grab materials while you can afford them!



Good to go but before starting I sharpened a new tool. All the cutting I have been doing lately has entailed rounded cutting points and for this morning I wanted a clean 90 degree finish to the cut so I dug an old cutter out and re-sharpened it to exactly what I wanted. I sharpened the small boring bar as well because I shall need it for the 3/4" bore for the shaft.



I had to get the pedestals and the shafts together and make sure I had them matched because this morning we are marrying the shaft to the bearings and there are slight differences.



Time to get serious about measurements. I decided to go with the Digimatic in the end because it is accurate and quicker. One bleeding obvious point, the external diameter of the bush wants to be a light interference fit but when you are boring for the shaft make sure you give them a bit of room to breathe and hold oil. One of my faults is I tend to make the fit of the shaft too good, it's a mistake. I'll not bother you with the turning, bog standard and the usual progression of centre drill, 1/4" pilot and an 11/16" drill to get the meat out. I parted off with the trusty Burnerd parting tool holder.



By knocking off time I had Sarah's shaft matched to its blocks and bearings. Tomorrow I shall start by doing Deb's, it will be quicker because I have everything set up. The advantages of doing two engines again.....

[Stanley]

This was where we started from this morning. I had finished last night by parting the second of Sarah's bushes off and fitting it. Two more to make for Debs and easy peasy because I had everything set up. Away we go, happy as Larry!



Dave was kind enough to compliment me on my talents a couple of days ago. How about this for a talent.... I made a perfect job of the outside fit and then bored the centre too big. There's talent for you! I parted the mistake off and set into it again. This time I got my outside circumference and bore mixed up and took too much off! I took myself outside and beat my bottom with a rolled up Woman's Weekly then back in for my third attempt.



Well, at least the outside diameter is right! Get your brain in gear Stanley!



I did better this time. Third time lucky!



No dramas on the second bush, soon had it knocked off and then I decided to tweak the fit of the shafts to make sure they were as good as possible.



Debs shaft fitted. A nice tight assembly.



Next job is to make the oil cups for the bearings while I have a lathe mucked up with bronze chips. So, into the treasure chest for a bar of 3/4" bronze.



Knocking off time. All my ducks in a row. Pedestals marked for drilling for the oil cups. 1/4" X 26tpi tap and die ready and the right tapping size drill ready for action. We know where we are starting tomorrow! Another morning of quiet progress.... (except for the two failures!) By the way, I forgot to mention the bleeding obvious tip that before you poke a big drill into a 1/4" pilot hole in bronze make sure you grind the face of the cutting edges so that they are neutral or even backed off into negative rake. If you don't the drill will grab straight away and give you nothing but grief.

[sister sarah]

Hi Stanley,

Good to see all is going well in the shed and as you know the same has been going on 'Up North'.(At last) Mick asked me today where I was going to put my engine when its done and I said, in pride of place in the centre of my dining room table. Can't wait!

Love & hugs,

Sarah
xxx

[Stanley]

" Can't wait"......
Sorry Sarah but you'll have to be patient! These things can't be rushed. One useful thing you could do is nag Mick and John about delivering the castings. I am approaching the point in the build where I need to make the cylinders in order to proceed with the rest.
How's the recovery going? Are you eating better now? You sound cheerful but knowing you......
Last night I spent some of the Burial Fund on a compressor big enough to run the engines properly on test when they are finished. Not a word to the Kids!

[Stanley]

Today we are making and fitting the lubricating cups to the bearing pedestals. No short cuts! Centre drill, tapping drill and tap all on the same setting so you
are certain it's square and accurate. Lot of chuck changes but believe me, well worth it, there's too much work gone into these to cock up now. I'm drilling tapping size 5.3mm right through the bush and tapping right through. The idea is to make the threaded stem on the cups long enough to interfere with the bush so that they act as locators. No chance of the bush turning in its mounting.



All four drilled and tapped ready for the cups.



Away we go. I'll not bore you with all the operations but will just mention this one....



It's one of my bleeding obvious tips.... If you want to make sure you are tapping squarely on to the workpiece, either use a tailstock mounted die holder or use the flat face of the tailstock quill to keep the die square.



By knocking off time I had the cups finished apart from boring the actual cup. You'd be surprised how many different operations there are to making something as simple as these.... I'm satisfied with the morning. Now all I need is for the courier to knock on the door. I hate this bit, the waiting around.



The UPS man came at 2PM. The usual DIY bit putting it together but it's up and running and seems to be OK. I had a plan to hide it away in the corner to the right of the HM but have decided against it because I need to get at the drain cock and relief valve. I shall live with it where it is for the moment. If I am doing something in that corner and it's in the way, no big job to wheel it into the kitchen or out in the yard if it's good weather. Now I need an air line for it..... I think I did good, it looks like a lot of compressor for £100.

[sister sarah]

Hi Stanley,

I'm doing fine, dont worry about me. The boys are keen to come down its just about timing for them both but boys being boys they will want to come down and see you and your shed as soon as they can.

Love & hugs,
Sarah
xxx

[Stanley]

Good on both counts. Just spent more money and bought air hose and fittings....

[Stanley]

An easy morning in the shed after a late start, someone has to do the shopping! I started by vacuuming the carpet, covered with bits of cardboard and polystyrene after unpacking the compressor yesterday. I know, OCD kicking in again but I hate mess! Then I finished the oil cups and fitted them.



I've finished with the non ferocious for a while so I harvested the chips for John and gave Mrs Harrison a good clean.



The next job was to have a look at the rabbit. I want to mount the raising blocks but before I do I wanted to check on how much clearance I had between the webs of the cranks and the blocks, I knew they were designed a bit tight. You need to make sure the flyshaft has a bit of end float so it can align itself properly when running, you never get it dead right and then there are things like future bearing wear to think of. If you watch any full size engine running you'll see the float at work, essential. I decided they needed a touch taking off the inside face so I marked them up with the odd leg callipers, that's accurate enough for this stage.



I sharpened the cutter and got going.



Closing time at 10:30. All four raising blocks adjusted to the same width and slightly narrower. All the edges broken with the file and a coarse diamond hone. I'm ready for fitting the blocks tomorrow and once they are in place, making the studs to hold the pedestals down and fitting them. Quietly away and no slip ups.
I gave a bit of thought to the compressor and I can live with it where I parked it last night. A crowded shed but nothing under the feet that can't be moved easily.

[Stanley]

The task this morning is dead simple, to fix the raising blocks to the bed plates of both engines in the correct position. I've reckoned up and to do the job properly following all the rules is going to mean 96 separate operations not counting things like setting in vises, altering the position of the workpiece, chucking different tools, lubricating holes and doing the pics. Then there are things like sharpening the drill, and getting tools together. It's quite amazing how these things add up.
The first job was to clamp the block in the right position, use a transfer punch to mark the plate, then a good blow with the punch to get a better mark.



Then into the compound vice under the pillar drill, centre drill, drill, tap and finally de-burr all the holes with the countersink on both sides. No short cuts, all the operations done in order on the same setting. One bleeding obvious tip, setting tools in the chuck works just the same as the lathe chuck, give a nip on all three positions for the chuck key to make sure the grip is good. Otherwise you can finish up with drills that have roped shanks!



I'm using standard 1/4" Whitworth set screws which have 'Atlas' embossed on the top, better if they are made plain.....



They look better don't they.....



A couple of hours later and they are ready for the next stage, fitting the studs that will hold the pedestals down. I knocked off here and took Jack for a walk.....



When I came back I had a bit of a surprise. Amazon had delivered a day early and I had my air hose and fittings so I fixed the compressor up. Luckily I had ordered the right sizes so it was painless. I took the old tyre inflater I have been using into the outside shed and called it a day.
By the way, when I went in the shed this morning I turned the compressor on and let it run until the cut out operated. Then I unplugged it and left it. Three hours later the tank hadn't lost any pressure which must be a good thing! Not a bad morning. All I have to do now is work out how best to manage the air hose!
If anyone has a use for a good little tyre inflater, a Clarke Jumbo, which has enough volume to run a spray gun.... give me a shout!

[Stanley]

Friday is a busy day so I was late in the shed. Today's task is to start mounting the pedestals on the raising blocks. It just so happens that I started with Sarah's engine. If you get this alignment wrong the engine will never run easily so it's worth spending a bit of time getting it right! The piece of 3/4" bronze bar I used to make the oil cups is just the job for getting the alignment right. I know from my previous measurements that the inside face of the pedestal must match the inside face of the raising block to give the correct end float. The only other thing I need to do is get the pedestals central on the length of the raising blocks. I had to make sure that all the marks were put in without this set up moving so I clamped them down before using the transfer punch to mark the centres of the holes. Take your time and get it right!



Mark the prick marks with a good punch mark and then repeat for the other bed....



I decided that now was a good time to make sure I had studding and nuts. I have this 1/4"BSF threaded rod amongst me treasures and plenty of nuts. Incidentally the reason why the nuts are rusty is that there are two breeds in the box, shiny new ones which are formed not cut so they have rounded edges and these old machine made ones which are heavier and a 'proper' nut shape so I'm using them. Then sort out the 5.3mm tapping drill and sharpen it. I went into the BSF taps and found they were a mixed bag and the 1/4" ones are old and dull but I remembered that 1/4"BSF is identical with 1/4" brass thread, both 26tpi and the brass taps are new so I shall use that.



Sarah's bed set up in the drilling machine. Notice that I am using my centre finding point that I use in the VM for locating the pop mark. Then it was just a question of going through all the stages to get the finished hole. No rush and no short cuts.



At knocking off time Sarah's bed is ready for its studs but I shall do Deb's bed first thing tomorrow before getting on to stud making and fitting. Another step forward and the threaded holes should be accurately located.

[Stanley]

I have to start today with a terrible confession. Adam Booth recommended a McGraw Hill book published in 1976 on the technology of machine tools. I liked the look of it so I ordered it and it arrived this week. It's good, the sort of book that reminds you of what you already know and teaches you new things. I think I have read just about every book that has been written on this subject but got the shock of my life when I found out that according to this book I have been sharpening drills by hand wrong all my life! So I took notice, did it the way they recommend and found that my drill cut far better than as sharpened by the old SG method. It just goes to show that even an old dog can learn new tricks. I dressed the wheel, marked the cutting angle on the hand rest for reference and did it their way. I shall never use any other method!
Then back to the job in hand, I drilled and tapped the holes for the studs in Deb's raising blocks.



Once that was done I measured to find the length of stud I was going to need. 3".



The big Record bolt cutters don't often come out to play but they did this morning. Far easier and quicker to shear the studding than cut it with the hacksaw.





The eight studs ground tidily at each end and the die run down them to make sure the threads are clean and they will start easily in the hole or the nut.



I built both assemblies up and then put Sarah's in the vice so I could run it in. I've done my usual trick and fitted everything too close and you couldn't turn the shaft by hand. No problem, some thin oil and fine lapping paste in the bearings....



Then spin the shaft with the electric drill until it spins freely. Once I had done this I popped Deb's assembly into the voice and did the same thing. Not so easy! Debs was a bit awkward! I managed to seize the bush on the shaft and had to do a bit of unstitching....



The bush is fast as a thief and I had to warm it to get it turning. I have put oil in the oil hole and left it in the vice to have a bit of a think! I'll soon sort it tomorrow.

[Stanley]

The seized bush has been on my mind. Experience kicked in this morning and I am following Newton. The bush is nothing, the danger is damaging the shaft as you try to get it off so I decided that the best course was to ditch this bush, turn it off the shaft and make a new one. So I got my 1 1/4" bronze bar out of the treasure chest.



No stress on the shaft this way and everything under full control..... Worth remembering this and it applies if you have a piston fast in a bore. Bite the bullet, bore it out and make a new one, far better than buggering a cylinder.



The shaft was slightly roped so a good clean up with emery cloth. Good as new.



It didn't take long to knock a new bush off and install it. In the course of doing this I found out what had gone wrong in the first place. The pedestal need a bit taking off the bottom of it, it was riding too high on the raising block. It was a bit tight when nutted down but nothing serious. All it needed was spinning with the electric drill to bed it in, no lapping needed, only straight oil.



Nice result, two assemblies accurately fitted and running freely.



Next job, box on! I need to make two crossheads to fit these slides. I know the centre of the piston rod so into the drawing office, a fag packet drawing and find this piece of scrap which I can rescue to make them.



Into the VM and the usual stages to make a piece of scrap into a square machined block. Then I realised the drawing office had slipped up, I needed 1" thick not 3/4" for the blank! Rolled up Woman's Weekly time and then back into the scrap!



This slug will do nicely. A bit of marking up and then into Mrs Macmaster's jaws to get it closer to size.



By closing time I was getting nearer! Tomorrow is all set out for me. By the way, I had to sharpen a couple of drills this morning and both of them were much better using the revised method!

[Stanley]

Apologies to my two ladies, Debs and Sarah this morning for not getting more done. I was late in the shed because I had to reply to an email from an old friend I thought I had lost and then Kev came in half way though the morning to sort the connectivity problem out on my smart TV. Look at computers topic for the story, I am still laughing at myself!
So I started this morning by doing another cut on the blank for the crossheads. I shall machine them both at the same time and split the block afterwards. All I needed was to cut the excess off.



I did this pic to show how I'm managing the air compressor, it's not heavy so I simply wheel it out of the way when I want to get to Mrs McMaster.



I milled the block square and to the right height after sharpening the 3/4" milling cutter.



I need to mill a 5/16" slot down each side of the block so I stretched a point and sharpened the cutter, a slot drill actually.



Closing time. I am ready for a clean start tomorrow. In case you're wondering, I left the sides of the block rusty so my scriber marks showed up nicely, I can clean it up later before splitting it.

[Stanley]

Looking forward to uninterrupted time in the shed today bolstered by news from Mick that he and John are working on a visit but in the meantime he has mailed the cylinder castings to me so I will not be waiting for weft!

[Stanley]

Everything left set up last night for cutting a 5/16" slot down each side of the block. Quietly away at 530rpm until I had them both chopped out.



A couple of hours later and I had all the major dimensions cut and the block fits both crosshead slides. All the edges broken... Then I marked it up for splitting into two blocks.



The block set up in the HM for sawing in two. One tip here, when you are working with a small piece hung out from one end of the vice jaws spend time getting a matching block in the other end so that the jaws stay square when you are tightening up. If you don't your grip won't be square and there is a real chance of breaking a casting in the vise itself. Quiet cutting at 96rpm, no rush, no slip ups!



Knocking off time. The crossheads fit nicely, match each other and all the edges are broken. Like I say, we spend all our time making lumps of metal smaller! I had a good chip chase and sharpened the cutter I have been using. Leave the mill ready for the next job!



We're further forward than you might think!

[chinatyke]

Now I can see why they are called crossheads, I've never noticed the cross section before. Obvious when you know about these things!

[Stanley]

That has never occurred to me China but you're right! Thanks for keeping an eye on me.
Mick says the castings will arrive today, if so my path is clear. If otherwise I will have to put my thinking cap on to keep the momentum going.....
One thing that I thought of. Wonderful how even in this cold damp weather the shed keeps rust at bay......