Member postings for John Rutzen

Here are some photos of the tractor.

Thanks Roger. The compression has got better the longer I have run it. I suppose the valves are bedding in? This is the first IC engine I've made so I have no prior experience. Now it's quite difficult to flick it over by hand. I got it to run better by following ETW's advice to make the inlet tract very small. I sleeved the carb bore round the jet so the annulus left is only about 0.7mm. The carb is an 1831 ETW with a float chamber.

Hi, I've got it running and more or less completed. The engine still doesn't control very well, it's not flexible and does not seem to have a lot of power but it has good compression.

(1) First Run of Rumely Oil Pull Tractor Model - YouTube

Well, I wish I had my BSA DBD34 Goldie which I sold in 1970 for about £250 or the Venom Clubman but these things are like gold dust now! I like Allen Millyard's V Twin Velo. Being model engineers we ought to be able to make something like it.

Thanks Roger, that looks like really nice work. Meanwhile my epoxied cork float seems to be ok. I was looking up fuel resistant foam online but kind find any. Cork is free and if it works I'll stick to that.

Hi Roger, I was thinking of an overflow system but I couldn't think how to make a petrol pump. How did you accomplish that please? I've re-arranged my tank for the Rumely so it's above the float chamber now. I was reading ETW's article about carbs in a 1946 ME, in that he says the jet should be very near the throttle valve. However the 1831 carb has the jet miles away from the throttle - strange? I haven't got the next article in ETW's series on Carburation without complication though.

Hi , I wouldn't be able to get fuel proof lacquer here in Northern ireland - they won't even send enamel paint. I have gone the epoxy route and have only quite thick stuff but it seems to be ok. I epoxied a small diameter aluminium tube through the centre. Seems to float alright if you don't get too much epoxy on. I wondered if anyone had ever made a brass float?

Hi, I've made a float chamber for this carburettor but I've come across an unexpected problem.. I followed E T Westbury's design for the 1831 carb. He said make the float out of cork and shellac it to stop the petrol soaking into it. I did that but the petrol just soaks in anyway. Then a news item this week said they were going to increase the amount of ethanol in petrol to 10%. Apparently lead free petrol has 5% ethanol in it which is alcohol so it attacks the shellac. I tried a nail varnish, it attacks it too, humbrol enamel , same problem. Has anyone made a float recently?

If it's only a bird box you want it for then why not use old pallets? That's what I use for bird boxes, it's about the right width and they are treated timber. Looks good too, sort of rustic!

I built a boat out of Robbins real marine ply over 20 years ago. It's as good as new. I've only ever oiled it, never varnished. It lives on a trailer but no problems with the ply or the epoxy holding together. Mind you the stuff costs a fortune. I don't know what it costs now , over £150 a sheet for 12 mm I should imagine. You get what you pay for.

Tiny electric cars should be the only ones. Full size electric cars are a joke. 4 year lifespan? The car will last forever but the battery won't! By the time the batteries are no use it's not economical to replace them so where is the so called environmental saving?

Hi, my biggest improvement in my silver soldering kit has been my Sievert Cyclone burner [ the 10kW] one. This provides terrific heat and will work inside the firebox. I don't think you need anything else if you wrap everything you can with ceramic fibre so as not to lose heat. I got my cyclone burner on ebay for about £15 but they would be worth it if you have to pay full price. You can get the ceramic fibre from pottery suppliers.

Hi, I've got myself an action camera now and done a descriptive walk round of the Rumely engine. Here it is on Youtube. The editing isn't very good, I don't know if anyone has tried to edit a video, I used Hitfilm Express but it's not easy to do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIC9dwP_GvI

Thanks Howard, I'll have to think how I could provide a capacity fuel well. Meanwhile I can easily try enriching the mixture.

Thanks Jason, I wonder if you can suggest what the problem may be. It will run slowly like that and starts very easily but as soon as I try to open the throttle it just dies. I am wondering about that 1831 carb with the automatic air valve. Have you ever tried to make one like that? I'm sorry about the bad quality of the video. I need to get a better camera from somewhere.

I've uploaded a video on YouTube. MVI 7332 Rumely Oil Pull model engine running. - YouTube

Edited By JasonB on 17/04/2021 13:14:33

I have one of these saws and wouldn't be without it. Mine is a Draper but they are all pretty much alike. I don't find it difficult to change the blades, I usually put the blades into the guide rollers first and then twist the blade to go over the wheels, having slacked off the tensioner of course. I dispensed with the cover years ago, if the blade breaks or comes off then it just stops. Like others have said don't have the rollers tight on the blade, it should be easy to slide the blade between them. I only buy the carbon steel blades, they last a long time provided you have the saw on it's slowest speed.

I made my own bronze for my Crampton castings, the only problem was porosity. However I read in an old ME that the solution is to add phosphorus. This is easy, all you need is the solder they use for refrigeration which is cheap, I got a kilo on ebay for £14. You don't need much, it de-oxidises it. I used scrap copper, 5% tin which was from a reel of lead free solder and 5% lead. You dissolve the tin first then the lead and the phosphorus solder just before pouring. I think you would get the porosity even with ingot bronze. The ancients were wonderful at casting bronze, you should see the 2000 odd year old lost wax bronze horns in the museum in Dublin.

I always understood that easyflo flux goes off when it's mixed with water. An engineer in our club told me they used to mix it twice a day at the works because it had lost some of it's properties by lunchtime! I just mix tiny amounts as I need it.

Hi Roger, I will post a video but I don't know how to do it! Do I have to put it on Youtube? I am making the 1831 carb from stock bar as I don't have a casting and I have made it slightly bigger because this is a 30cc engine single cylinder whereas the 1831 is a twin. It looks a better design than the roller carb being a little more sophisticated.