My first model steam engine!

[wildo]

I haven't been machining long- about 1.5 years now. I started out making precision spinning tops like in my profile picture. But I caught the bug and couldn't resist an attempt at my take on a single action oscillating steam engine. I'm so pleased with how it turned out! Hope you all like it:

It’s not perfect but it is completely from raw material, and built 100% by me using my own engineered plans. There should be something new to notice at just about every single angle you look at it. There’s aluminum, dymalux walnut, brass, copper, stainless, tungsten, and damascus steel- and all that is just in the base alone. The flywheel is tungsten, “stitches” pattern timascus, and bronze; the flywheel is actually bolted together with real, tiny micro bolts. The crank is pinstripe damascus with a mosaic crank pin and an inset tungsten counterweight. The connecting rod is brass and is hooked to a stainless piston in a twist timascus cylinder. The retention spring nut is zirconium and copper with a timascus inlay. The intake and exhaust is copper with brass flanges & braces- with a flamed stainless muffler. And finally the damascus main body has lots of copper laminations, and a brass inlay at the top.

 

[mikey]

WOW, Willy, that is a total work of art! I loved the attention to detail and the very cool blend of the different exotic materials. I haven't heard of Timascus before so I learned something. On top of the beautiful work you did, the thing runs!!! Congratulations on one of the most beautiful little engines I have seen!!

And you know what else is cool? You did all of it in that neat little bedroom machine shop of yours, on old iron no less.

You done good, buddy!!

 

[Tom1948]

Great work! You sir are an artist.

 

[jcp]

As Mikey said, absolutely outstanding!

 

[macardoso]

Beautiful! Nice video too. I can never get myself to slow down to document everything.

 

[BFHammer]

Very impressive! Thanks for sharing - love the integration of various material - really makes it a piece of art.

At the rate your going I expect the next step to be a forge so you can make your on damascus!

 

[savarin]

That is not a steam engine.
that is a motile work of art.
Thanks for showing.
(oops, just found this reply sitting here, should have posted as no3)

 

[wildo]

Thanks everyone! I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

 

[rwm]

Great work! How's the shop working out? how many guests have actually slept in there?!
R

 

[wildo]

Great work! How's the shop working out? how many guests have actually slept in there?!
R

The shop is fantastic. It's kind of amazing to walk into a room and start machining. Of course, the idea of a bed was entirely silly. I know that now!