Member postings for John gallo

Hi, I was wondering if any one has made any real nice and possibly even appreciated Christmas gifts in their shop. I have made many wooden gifts, but never any metal ones. Just hoping some one would share their ideas. Thanks, John.

Thanks for the advise. If I were to choose to take the joint apart and resolder it with the flanges connected would I have to clean the tubing down to bare copper or would the new silver solder fuse with the old residue? I have very little experience with silver solder.

Hi, I am finally completing my Stuart double 10. I purchased the completed piping with flanges that ties the two exhaust ports together when I ordered the casting kit. In retrospect, I should have waited to drill the exhaust ports in the cylinders until the engine was more or less complete so that I could have adjusted the distance between the ports to exactly match the flanges on the piping.

As it stands now the piping needs to be "stretched" about 1/32" to allow the flanges to mate properly. My plan is to heat and melt the silver solder on the end flange/coupling fitting, quickly pull it out the 1/32" and allow the joint to cool and harden. Does this sound doable, or must I heat and take the joint apart completely, clean everything and resolder it in the correct position?

Thanks in advance, John.

Hi, I'm building the Stuart D10 and I have a question on the pistons. The plans call for 3 oil grooves equally spaced. They do not specify the shape or size of them. Rather than taking a guess on some thing I know little about, I was hoping some one may have done this before or can make an educated guess as to what these grooves should look like.

I also read that a single 1/8" groove packed with graphite yarn could be used. Might this be superior to the grooves? The piston is brass while the cylinder is cast iron, if that helps.

Thanks in advance, John.

I am asking this question only because I am curious. It has no real worth other than that.

On the Stuart D10 and I believe the 10V also the drawings show a 3/16 by 7/16 deep hole in the non flywheel end of the crankshaft. Nothing in the plans seems to use that hole. It may date back to an earlier version of these engines and I was wondering if any one knows what this hole may have been used for.

Thanks, John.

Has any one had any success making graphite yarn? I cannot find it in the U.S. and importing it from the U.K. is very expensive.

It seems like some combination of cotton yarn, graphite and grease would do it, but I am not sure of which grease to use. Thanks, John.

Thanks for all of the great advice, I really appreciate it, John.

I am building a stuart D10 They no longer supply a one piece forged crankshaft and you have to build one up from 1/4 drill rod, and 1/8 x 3/8 flat stock for the webs.They suggest two alternatives for this. Either use loctite and small metal pins at the joints, or silver solder the whole thing together.

I have some experience with the silver solder but am far from being an expert.Would the high heat tend to warp the shaft? Is the loctite and pins a suitable alternative?

Any advice as to which way to go and possible procedures would be greatly appreciated. There are two journals on the shaft.

Thanks, John.

Ian,

My mill takes 2VB collets, and I have a full set of them up to 1/2 inch. The spindle will not accept any thing larger so the question of turning down the shank.

Thanks for your concern. John

After listening to the voices of reason, I decided to go with a cutter that has a 1/2 inch shank and avoid all of the problems that were pointed out to me. Thanks for all of the great advice, John.

Thanks for the advice. The problem is I haven't purchased the cutter yet and don't plan to if I find out that I won't be able to machine it. I could purchase a smaller shanked cutter, but I really like the one with the 3/4 shank. John

I want to turn down the shank on a fly cutter from 3/4 to 1/2 inch so that it will fit in my mill. The manufacturer says that the hardness of the shank is Rc 45 - 50. I have been trying to find out what this means, but the information on the internet is confusing.

What I would like to know is: can this be turned on a lathe with a carbide tool insert? I have no idea what this rating equates to.

Thanks, John.

Hi, I am a novice ME. I have been teaching myself with the help of this and other great forums. The only thing I have built so far is the Stuart beam engine. It runs well so this is more or less my skill level.

I am thinking of building a simple IC engine and am looking for recommendations for a first try. If it came with plans and some machining advice all the better. I am thinking of the booklet that came with the Stuart beam.

I have a South Bend 9 inch lathe and a Uni- Vertical bench top mill to work with. If any one knows of a place I could find plans and possibly castings for a good first attempt IC model I would greatly appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks in advance, John.

I am finally getting to steaming up my recently completed Stuart beam engine. To any one who has used one of Stuart's displacement lubricators I have a question.

What is the proper level to fill it with steam oil? I notice that there is a valve tube near the top. Should that be covered? Thanks in advance, John.

Hi, I am installing drain cocks on my Stuart Beam engine. I would like them to be sitting vertical, but they tighten down at an odd angle.

Is it possible to back them off to the vertical position and use high temperature thread sealant to lock them in place and make a steam tight seal?

I am very new to model making and have no experience with this sort of thing. Please feel free to voice any other fixes you think may work. Thanks, John.

I saw a Benchmaster MV1 on Craigslist with no tooling for 1,200. I have never heard of this mill and wonder if any one has any experience with them? It looks like a pretty solid little mill, but the price seems high.

Hi, I am looking for some advice on buying a milling machine. I am fairly new to the machining world and currently use my rebuilt South Bend 9A with milling attachment.

I mostly do small work (model steam engines) but am finding that a separate milling machine would be a great addition to my limited shop. Ideally, If I had the room, I would like to find an older Bridgeport. Unfortunately there is no room for such a machine.

Are there smaller American made machines available? If not, are the small Chinese models such as Sieg worth the expense? Thanks, John.

Using a thread gauge they are indeed 40tpi. Thanks for your help, I should have checked the thread before posting.

Hi, has any one had any experience installing Stuart models 5/32 drain cocks? They are supposed to be a 5/32 32 thread, and that is what I cut on a scrap piece of brass. The cock will only thread on about 1 full turn before locking up. I checked every thing twice, but it will not go. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, John.

I have a Palmgren milling attachment for my South Bend 9A. I am trying to find the best way to hold an end mill in my headstock. My question is, does a 3mt, drawbar end mill holder work the same as a 3mt collet, and is one way better than the other? Might there be an even better way to do the job? Thanks in advance, John.