New guy model steam engine question

PapaDan

Registered
Registered
Joined
Sep 12, 2017
Messages
7
Howdy Dan from western Canada here, interested but no time for many years now retired and bought a Sherline 4000 lathe with milling attachment and some other goodies..

I've built a couple engines, a little wobbler of course and an open column launch engine both of which actually work much to my surprise and aren't even totally too hard to look at..wanted to try something a little more difficult so started on Elmers Slider, a small horizontal double acting steam engine with sliding valve assembly. I'm using plans from the copyright free John-Tom web site but photos are very poor and printed plans a little difficult for a new guy.

Hoping someone will have photos or a little more info on the cylinder and sliding valve assembly as I'm having trouble visualizing what this thing is supposed to look like. I'm sure there have been many of these built and look forward to hearing from anyone with more experience and info than I have, thank you in advance....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Welcome aboard! I have no idea how to give you a hand but I'm sure someone will come along with some help before too long.
 
Hi Dan
Welcome to HM. I am sure we have someone on the forum that can help you with this, many of our members have built Elmer's design's
 
It sounds like you need hand holding while making a steam chest.
Its a bolt on cavity that has a shaft (from an eccentric) entering it through a gland, operating a sliding valve, which either admits steam to the cylinder or exhausts it to the outside.
PM me (Private message, ) we can work something out.
 
I've been playing with a drawing. See below. Note the yellow color. This is the steam (or compressed air) entering the cylinder, pushing the piston up. The air in the upper chamber is being pushed out the exhaust into the steam chest which is open to the atmosphere. When the piston gets to the top, the slider valve, inside the steam chest moves up, opening the exhaust from the bottom section and connecting the steam supply to the upper end of the cylinder.

Seem Chest.jpg

Both the piston rod and the valve stem should have packing around them to seal and lubricate the shafts. I've not drawn the crosshead, crank, cam or any other parts of the engine.Do not scale this drawing, it's for illustration purposes only.
 
Thank you I do appreciate your info but do have some understanding of the way this thing works. I was really trying to visualize how it all comes together which was difficult for me due to inexperience with drawings etc. Another forum member directed me to a bunch of photos of Elmers engines which has been a great help. I have just finished up the steam chest which seems to be right as well as some other small parts while waiting for a reamer set from UPS. The other two engines I built were pretty loose as I couldn't get tolerances right, a,simple oscillating engine and vertical single acting marine type engine with a rotary valve although both do run and don't look too bad.
Thank you for your effort and time and please send a note anytime I am enjoying the forum it is the first one I have ever


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Back
Top