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Finally something different, i`ve been wanting to build this steam engine for about 18 years. Might as well get er done, it`s mostly wood and has a real odd valve arrangement. I saw one like it at a threshing show and thought it was really cool, the one i looked at was made by a guy named Oliver Evans in 1894 i believe.
So here`s the beginning, looks like an engine don`t it.
Because I Can, and Have
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USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Thanks boys, figured ya were gettin a little sick of spinning wheels
Got a little done today, kinda a short stroke cylinder, 3 1/2 in but all its going to do is turn the flywheel. The cylinder is a air cylinder and is drilled and tapped on each end on the side for the plumbing, it will have rotery valves controlled by pegs on the flywheel spokes.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
J Miller wrote:Pitchy,
What is the little green gadget?
Joe
Pitchy wrote:Got a little done today, kinda a short stroke cylinder, 3 1/2 in but all its going to do is turn the flywheel. The cylinder is a air cylinder and is drilled and tapped on each end on the side for the plumbing, it will have rotery valves controlled by pegs on the flywheel spokes.
Yep, otter be neat! Whatcha gonna use for the pressure vessel? Surely knot wood?
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession! AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
Green gadget is an industrial air cylinder, looks like a Miller brand but I cant be sure. basically a cylinder with a piston in it. The shaft extends or retracts depending on which side of the pistol you insert a fluid medium (like air). water and hydraulic cylinders act the same way. this one is front flange mounted.
Pitchey, I definately see where you are going with this one. very kewl.
Mike Johnson,
"Only those who will risk going too far, can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Eliot
Cool! By rotary valves do you mean those centrifigal type regulartors with the spinning weights? Those are so amazine - simple design that works perfectly - as the weights pick up speed, they rise in their orbit and this closes the valve - thus regulating the speed of the engine.
Ok, a governor is what I'm talking about.... like this:
O.S.O.K. wrote:Cool! By rotary valves do you mean those centrifigal type regulartors with the spinning weights? Those are so amazine - simple design that works perfectly - as the weights pick up speed, they rise in their orbit and this closes the valve - thus regulating the speed of the engine.
Ok, a governor is what I'm talking about.... like this:
They're called Flybball Governors. As it spins at an increasing rate, the fly balls are moved out by centrifugal force. They are hinged at the top, and as they move away from the unit, the top of the lever the balls are on moves downward. It presses on a valve stem that then decreases the steam flow to whatever is being powered. If the unit slow, the balls move back toward the center, removing pressure from the stem and more steam is supplied. They work really well on equipment that has a large fly wheel. I used to work with some pretty good sized Ingersoll Rand compressors that used these. And, they are a heck of alot more robust than some of the high tech digital gee wiz stuff thats out now. Heck, one machine dated back to the twenties.
And not to steal Pitchy's thunder, but I think he wiill be having a shaft coming out of the piston that engages protrusions on the outer circumferance of the flywheel. So each time the piston strokes, it pushes on a protrusion moving the flywheel, next stroke, it pushes on the next protrusion. You could still use a flyball governor to regulate the speed, but you would then need some sort of linkage from the flywheel to the governor.
Jeepnik AKA "Old Eyes"
"Go low, go slow and preferably in the dark" The old Sarge (he was maybe 24.
"Freedom is never more that a generation from extinction" Ronald Reagan
"Every man should have at least one good rifle and know how to use it" Dad
Negitive jeepnik, this thing is really different, the valves that let the steam in and exhaust out is what i`m talking about. They will be a shaft in a cylinder , the shaft having a flat side on it. The intake hole will be on one side of the cylinder and exhaust on the other. The shaft will turn a half turn letting steam in then half turn letting steam out. There is a pulley on the end of that shaft at that cylinder end vof the engine. Just a little ways out from the center of the flywheel there will be two more pulleys, one on each side of the flywheel, they haqve pegs in the outer rim. The flywheel has pins on the spokes that hit and turn those pulleys a half turn one way then half turn the other way. Those pulleys are connected together with a rod and short piece of flat belt. Can ya picture it, very slow running engine, 35 rpm.
Got the cross head done and connecting rod.
I have a big flyball governer that i might try and hook up later.
Correct the green thing is a air cylinder and i will run the engine on air at first.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
My Uncle was a steam engine building maniac. He loved all types as long as they were steam.
The place I go hunting at has most of his steam engines still there. It was his life's passion.
He really liked shay engines used for logging operations up steep grades.
He was a real great steam guy. I miss him.
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Andrew: He is a real gun freak with way too many guns to shoot or clean.
Very neat project Pitchy! Can't wait to see it progress!!!
I grew up with steam traction engines at steam and gas engine shows and later with my father-in-law and his three traction engines. Always have loved the smell of cylinder oil!
win38-55 wrote:My Uncle was a steam engine building maniac. He loved all types as long as they were steam.
The place I go hunting at has most of his steam engines still there. It was his life's passion.
He really liked shay engines used for logging operations up steep grades.
He was a real great steam guy. I miss him.
Also a steam train nut, I love the two cylinder, two truck Shay model!!! What gauge is it? Did your uncle fire with coal or oil or lp gas?
Fast is Fine.....
But Accuracy is Final!
~Wyatt Earp~
flashpan wrote:That's a good looking Frick engine!
My F-I-L has a 16hp Aultman-Taylor, a 19hp Aultman-Taylor and a 19hp Baker.
Used to be a pair of really nice 23-90 Bakers at Williams Grove PA back when I had this one !
And an older gentleman I knew who is now gone had a 12 HP Aultman Taylor his father had bought new at the turn of the century , he lived about 20 miles from me at the fott of the Blue Ridge mountains .
The Frick you see above was made in 1914 and was what Frick called an 8 1/2x10 . I also had a 1915 Frick 8x10 traction and a 1913 Frick 5x8 portable . Oh yeah and an old Frick 10x12 stationary engine that I had no boiler for . Now all thats stuffs gone and the heaviest thing I have to worry about moving anylonger is a gun safe
Parkers , Mannlicher Schoenauer’s , 6.5mm's and my family in the Philippines !
flashpan wrote:That's a good looking Frick engine!
My F-I-L has a 16hp Aultman-Taylor, a 19hp Aultman-Taylor and a 19hp Baker.
I almost bought a 1919 Frick 7 1/2x9 traction that was owned by a gentleman named Smith back in the 50's and 60's that was from somewhere in Ohio . After he passed they had it for sale in the Iron Men Album for $15,000 I think (that wudda been in the early to mid 80's) and I couldn't quite scrape up enough money at the time !
That Smith engine was in many issues of the Iron Men Album in the 60's and 70's . I wanna say the man went by J.P. Smith but I could be wrong as that was a quarter century ago .
Parkers , Mannlicher Schoenauer’s , 6.5mm's and my family in the Philippines !
Nice looking steam engines guys thanks for posting.
Should get the crank made today and maybe a couple of those four inch pulleys that drive the valves. Gotta glue up a flywheel too.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
flashpan wrote:Very neat project Pitchy! Can't wait to see it progress!!!
I grew up with steam traction engines at steam and gas engine shows and later with my father-in-law and his three traction engines. Always have loved the smell of cylinder oil!
win38-55 wrote:My Uncle was a steam engine building maniac. He loved all types as long as they were steam.
The place I go hunting at has most of his steam engines still there. It was his life's passion.
He really liked shay engines used for logging operations up steep grades.
He was a real great steam guy. I miss him.
Also a steam train nut, I love the two cylinder, two truck Shay model!!! What gauge is it? Did your uncle fire with coal or oil or lp gas?
Not sure on the gauge of the train. Tracks are roughly 8-10 inches apart and that train is about 4-4.5 feet in length.
He used coal to fire the train. That was 1 of 2 trains he built like that, and there are 2 others that were much earlier models
he built they are called Cli Shays, I do not have pictures of them right now on my computer if I did I would post them also.
Andrew: He is a real gun freak with way too many guns to shoot or clean.
Hey guys just a note, don`t expect to much out of my engine compared to engines others built. This engine i`m building is very crude, it didn`t even have a governor on it. It is slow and mostly wood and will prob. do its best just to turn.
I like the crude oddity of it thats why i`m building it.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Pitchy wrote:Hey guys just a note, don`t expect to much out of my engine compared to engines others built. This engine i`m building is very crude, it didn`t even have a governor on it. It is slow and mostly wood and will prob. do its best just to turn.
I like the crude oddity of it thats why i`m building it.
Dont worry about it just build what ever you want. It took my uncle a lifetime to build some of these engines.
None of them were weekend projects.
Andrew: He is a real gun freak with way too many guns to shoot or clean.
win38-55 wrote:Here is another of his that I have. It is actually really a neat little engine I have actually had it running on compressed air.
Runs like a champ.
That`s a nice engine, they are fun to run on air and just sit and watch them turn.
Thanks Kim and gimdandy for the kind words of encouragement.
Getting the crank done today and some oilers installed.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Hey Pitchy,
I love the stuff that you build and post on here!
And something mechanical doesn't have to be all shiny for me to appreciate the massive amounts of ingenuity that went into its build!
Please continue to build the wonderful things that you do, and please continue to share them with us too!
Fast is Fine.....
But Accuracy is Final!
~Wyatt Earp~
Pitchy wrote:Negitive jeepnik, this thing is really different, the valves that let the steam in and exhaust out is what i`m talking about. They will be a shaft in a cylinder , the shaft having a flat side on it. The intake hole will be on one side of the cylinder and exhaust on the other. The shaft will turn a half turn letting steam in then half turn letting steam out. There is a pulley on the end of that shaft at that cylinder end vof the engine. Just a little ways out from the center of the flywheel there will be two more pulleys, one on each side of the flywheel, they haqve pegs in the outer rim. The flywheel has pins on the spokes that hit and turn those pulleys a half turn one way then half turn the other way. Those pulleys are connected together with a rod and short piece of flat belt. Can ya picture it, very slow running engine, 35 rpm.
Got the cross head done and connecting rod.
I have a big flyball governer that i might try and hook up later.
Correct the green thing is a air cylinder and i will run the engine on air at first.
Got it. I've seen some larger equipment with that type of steam drive. If I remember correctly, you have to give the flywheel a spin to get it going, then the driver takes over. The flywheel on the unit had a belt that drove a small positive displacement pump. It was used for supplying lube oil to some other equipment. This thing was in a refinery that dated back to the very early 1900's. Heck, we had valves with swaztikas on them from before WWII.
Jeepnik AKA "Old Eyes"
"Go low, go slow and preferably in the dark" The old Sarge (he was maybe 24.
"Freedom is never more that a generation from extinction" Ronald Reagan
"Every man should have at least one good rifle and know how to use it" Dad
Thanks guys, i`ll have a picture or two a little later this evening that will show the pulleys on the flywheel end.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Ok see the two four inch pulleys one on each side. The flywheel goes between them and the inside side of each one has two pegs in it. The flywheel has a couple pegs in the spokes that come around and hit and turn those pulleys one way then back the other way. The outside of those pulleys have a flat belt screwed to them for about a foot towards the other end of the engine where the rotory valves also have pulleys on them. The have a belt around them also and the ends from the front to the back belts are connected with rods. So as the engine runs those pulleys turn back and forth which are timed right to run the engine.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Cimarron wrote:It sounds like you are talking about a Corless pattern valve gear.
Kinda i guess but near as complicated.
I`ll just have to wait until i get the valve built to show ya as i`m making it the way i think it will work. There are no plans for it, generally it would be a steam chest and D valve.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Thanks guys, we even got a Governor, had this one laying around for years, it`s missing the valve but it will go around and look cool.
Paint it up a little of course.
I shot a little air in one end of the cylinder and round she went.
Heading to town tomorrow for plumbing stuff and have got a start on the valves, won`t be long.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Pitchy wrote:Thanks guys, we even got a Governor, had this one laying around for years, it`s missing the valve but it will go around and look cool.
Paint it up a little of course.
I shot a little air in one end of the cylinder and round she went.
Heading to town tomorrow for plumbing stuff and have got a start on the valves, won`t be long.
Pitchy, that is one Old flyball governor. Where do you find this stuff?
Jeepnik AKA "Old Eyes"
"Go low, go slow and preferably in the dark" The old Sarge (he was maybe 24.
"Freedom is never more that a generation from extinction" Ronald Reagan
"Every man should have at least one good rifle and know how to use it" Dad
Don`t remember where i got the gov. when i was into steam real heavy must of bought it somewhere.
Thanks gents, may have it runnin tomorrow.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Got hung up on the timing a little so didn`t get as far as i wanted today but did get half of the linkage done. You can see whats happening now as the pegs turn the pulleys they turn the valves. After i get the other side on then i mark the travel on the side of the valve cylinders for fittings for intake and exhaust.
Should be running tomorrow.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.