Red

[rdean]

I have started another engine build I but couldn't decide what to call it and as it will be painted red then I might as well call it that.
This project started because I was thinking about a ball bearing crankshaft and connecting rod. All ball bearings so I started messing around and came up with a design to try with a 1 1/2" throw.
This shows the two webs and the outer shafts.


Since I didn't have engine in mind I just made a rather short 5" connecting rod to go with it.
Here it is assembled and ready for paint.


It did turn out quite well so I decided to make an engine to go around it but that didn't happen.

"Royal Blue" is an engine I had built previously and there is a build thread on this forum if you are interested. That "Hit Miss" engine is a nice slow runner with several revolutions between firings so how would a similar engine with a longer stroke perform?
As I was looking over Royal Blue and thinking about what supplies I had in stock when it struck me.
Royal Blue already has a 1 1/2" stroke. No reason to build another engine with the only difference being a ball bearing crank and connecting rod. So back to the drawing board and I came up with A 2" stroke crankshaft.

This shows the two cranks together with the 2" model in the rear.


I made a crude drawing to see where I might run into interference problems. I did not want to increase the 1" bore so this engine will have to be longer with the cylinder further away from the crank in order to get room for the rod. After several sketches it looks like a 7" long connecting rod that should work and here it is all painted and ready.




More to come
Thanks for looking
Ray

 

[markba633csi]

I admire the folks that get into building engines- the bug hasn't bit me yet but who knows? Maybe someday soon.
Either that or clockbuilding, both seem like fun

 

[rdean]

This engine building is something that grows on you and is habit forming. Just when I think I have made enough engines and time for something different a thought pops into my head and a new build is started. This is engne number 7 and I have ran out of cabinet space to display them so I will have to build another cabinet but it keeps me happy and out of trouble.

I cut out some side rails and a base plate for the engine.


Cut some bearing caps and sat this chunk of aluminum on the rails to see how it looks.


There is a cylinder in there some place but there will be a lot of cutting and waste. I think I will get a smaller piece of aluminum to begin with.

I drilled the bearing caps and then drilled and taped the side rails. I bolted the caps on the rails and then bored out for the crank shaft bearings.


The piston is 1" in diameter and 1 1/2" long. I know it doesn't have be that long but as I get further along in the build I may have to trim some off the length to compensate for the compression ratio.


Now before you ask why the base plate and the rails are so long I will tell you. The 0.375 stock I had was 12" wide and since I didn't know exactly where the cylinder would mount I decided to just leave it that length for now. I can probably cut off a little over 2" but I will wait until the cylinder is mounted. On another build I cut the rails a 1/2" too short and it didn't cause any problems but it just didn't look right.

That's all for today.
Thanks for looking
Ray

 

[rdean]

If you look at the last two pictures above you can see the crank shaft throws are different. I removed 14ozs of material off the throws to help with vibration.
I have no experience on balancing an engine and until now I haven't given it much thought but because I made the webs so thick I thought I should try. My understanding is in order to statically balance a crank the rod and piston need to be attached to the crank. My rod and piston weigh around 7ozs and I wish I could say I that after exhaustive tests and removal of material I was successful in balancing my crank. Well that isn't what I did in truth I just followed the current angle and cut the weights off the webs. With the rod and piston attached to the crank I then spun it up using a hand drill. Spinning the crank in this way allows you to see and feel how it is running. The vibration was greatly reduced doing this and should result in a smoother running engine.

I started with a smaller piece of aluminum and cut that down even smaller in size and then over to the lathe for the boring and other operations. The bore is just 1" here for the piston to fit but will be enlarged later for the liner.
I mounted the cylinder to the rails to check if I had any interference with the connecting rod. Yes I did so I thinned the rod in the area needed.


This is the cast iron liner and the cylinder with the enlarged bore.


Thanks for looking
Ray

 

[rdean]

I cut the top off the cylinder and removed a lot of aluminum for the cooling water area.
The cylinder liner is clamped in the cylinder until the sealant drys. On a different engine the sealant expanded while it was drying and pushed the liner out so now I clamp it in place.


Made a top hat from the piece I had cut off to purty things up.




Thanks for looking
Ray

 

[rdean]

I did some sculpting on the lower part of the cylinder and polished the top hat and the base plate.

What do you think of the color?




Much of the cylinder head done.


Thanks for looking
Ray

 

[rdean]

A thank you out to all the followers of this thread. It does make a difference.

I mounted the timing gears with the cam lobe behind the large gear. (sorry no pic)



Drilled and taped the cylinder for the head bolts and polished the head.


Made 2 valve guides from brass and 2 valves from drill rod.


Thanks for looking
Ray

 

[brino]

You make it all sound and look so easy!
I'd be weeks planning and drawing, and re-designing.....
Thanks for sharing this.
Brian

 

[rwm]

Looking great. If the cylinder is mounted horizontally, what is the purpose of the top hat?

 

[frankly2]

Looking great. If the cylinder is mounted horizontally, what is the purpose of the top hat?

Coolant tank ?