By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more

Member postings for Ian S C

Here is a list of all the postings Ian S C has made in our forums. Click on a thread name to jump to the thread.

<< First < Prev 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 Next > Last >>
Thread: steam taxi by MARTIN RANSON
09/10/2009 10:31:39
Hi David,hes got another site,same title,started 1st oct,wants to know how to fill a gas tank ect.IAN S Cps also 20thsept and 22nd sept,the way I fill anxiliary tank,connect to main tank,invert main tank,the auxiliary tank sits on scales,open valves on both tanks,open relief valve on tank being filled,watch the scales until the required weight is reached,close vent,close gas valves.I don't know if this is the correct method,it works for me,someone will tell us I'm about to blow myself up if I'm wrong,I'v been doing it for 20yrs so it can't be too bad.

Edited By Ian S C on 09/10/2009 10:54:02

Thread: Hot air and stirling engines
07/10/2009 16:34:25
Hi clive,I'll be looking out for your pics,I havn't worked out how yet(too lazy)Good night all,IAN S C
Thread: Power hacksaw
07/10/2009 12:32:00
Before I bought a bandsaw about 12 yr ago I built a power hacksaw,being short of steel the saw frame was suspended on two 150mm links,and swung back and forth by a crank out of a washing machine,It was driven by a 1/3hp motor through belt the gear to the crank,giving a speed of 75 per min,of late I'v thought of rebuilding it,some of the steel has gone to other projects,and the legs have been incorperated in one of my hot air engines,and the motor is driving an old blacksmiths wall drill.No plans used,all materials scrap including ball races on all shafts and the swinging arms,not perfect but it works.IAN S.C
Thread: Hot air and stirling engines
07/10/2009 11:59:09
Hi mark,twq of my first attempts at making engines were electric solinoid engines,I wrote a bit in ME vol163 no 3859 in 1989.The motor that I think I could pressurise looks similar to your latest,mine has a bore of 1 1/4" stroke power3/4" displacer 1 3/16".I read lately of making cup seals of Rulon (related to teflon but expands less with heat),the artical suggested using .015" then molded using heat,melting point of electrical solder is the indicator.I,m looking for something in the stainless ware ie sugar bowl,jug,mug,what ever 55mm dia inside,for the hot end of my biggest motor,think your one is to big for me so you'r ok.For a pressure pump,see Brian Thomas' self pressuriing stirling engine,it has a bore of 1/8",and the stroke is the same as the displacer,not sure could be 1/2".
05/10/2009 12:43:10
Flame Licker/Vacuum,that tells most of it,it opperates by the pressure drop as the flame that is drawn into the cylinder cools.Unlike the stirling engine that is a sealed system that is double acting,powered by both expansion and contraction,also it can't be improved by pressurisation.Steam,I'v built some oscillators,few yrs back the local high school had a night class and built one there 5mm bore.I then made one 3mm bore and another 1/4"bore,these two were put in boats and sailed on the lake at the local recreation ground,the 1/4" one wasn't powerfull enough so I made a V twin vertion,but I havn't tried it yet.I have got a 4 stroke open crank engine slowly(very)evolving.Built my first motor(thought I'd invented something new)a pop pop boat,then after I got it going dad told me he had one when he was a boy,I think I was 10yr old.Here endeth the history of Ians engines to now,IAN S.C
04/10/2009 11:05:49
Been fiddling around with my version of Jan Ridders single cylinder vacuum engine that was in ME a while back,havn't got it to go yet,have to do a bit of thinking about it.I built one from a sketch plan in an old ME 10 yrs ago,that one took a yr or so to get going,it now runs like clockwork,so this one will possibly be something similar.I suppose vacuum motors are a form of hot air motor.
02/10/2009 12:02:16
Hi Ian,its mostly a case of what I can pick up,tried the outfit mentioned by Mark,but they only handle brass,bronze, copperand aluminium,but I got some addresses,but I think I'll check out the muffler repare shops,should be able to get welding done there also.316 is also used for marine work ie prop shafts.Yes boring thin shelled cups say 3" deep is a little tedious,and as you near the end of things a little nerve wracking,the first one was not that long after I got my lathe.The hot cap has an internal 32 tpi thread to attach it to the cold end just next to the water jacket,a good fitting fine thread seems to be enough to seal the joint,not needing O ring or gasket.'Frade don't always use the ideal materials,best is sometimes whats in the junk box.
Thread: HELP HELP HELP - Warco 1224 Gear Head Lathe
01/10/2009 12:15:55
Hi Nigel,had the same problem with my 1324 belt head,I adjusted the head about 10yr ago,it now needs readjustment and I'll shim the bed.If I was mounting the lathe fresh on the stand(home built from 6x50mm angle iron with 75 x 50 channel pieces for the mounting points,on the tail stock end I would tap two holes outboard of the mounting holes andput in screws from underneath for adjustment.Might be a bit dificult with 275kg of lathe sitting on top!
Thread: Hot air and stirling engines
01/10/2009 11:38:40
Circlip,I'll get a piece of bar 316 works ok for me,its not the best to machine (304 better),but I'v used 316 for other hot caps.I'll need 60mm dia,and I'll just see how long I can get,I'll use the existing threaded bit 6" from the end,I need 1 1/4" min length.I'v fixed the displacer,and the water leaks,and reassembled the motor,and run it,don't think its got the power it had before the repare!I re-epoxyed the cold end of the displacer after cleaning the oil from inside (not sure how it got there).Peined the end over the disc that holds the rod,then put dents in behind the disc.I might have to take the rod the full length and screw it at the hot end,or make that front disk brass or steel and solder it.The screw in your motor was in the hot end?so it would not be able to be locktited,but it maybe a good idea to lock it some how.
30/09/2009 10:46:33
Sound likely.I got problems with my biggest(also vertical)I said the hot end was distorted,took it of(just unscrews)and took the displacer out,the cold end although retained by being peined around was lose,and sliding in and out at that end,yet it had been developing good power,I'll have to fix that.Then I filled the water tank,and all the water fell out,a cracked coupling in the plumbing system,and a crack in the water jacket.I think I'll get 30mm of 60mm dia stainless bar,and carve a cup shape piece and braze it on the existing hot end after cutting off the bit on the end that is a repare done the same way but in mild steel.Perhaps I should have left it under the bench,it wasn't hurting anyone.Just thinking about your displacer,I think that with the extra heat the end is bulging and hitting the end of the hot cap,as temp drops it goes back to normal,2 or 3mm off wouldn't hurt.I had the same thing a few years back,and it knocked the end out of the hot cap,I brazed it back again and it is still going,it started off as a 3" length of 2.5"dia 316 stainless steel and cost over $30 in the early 1990s.
29/09/2009 09:59:22
Hi Mark,I was in town to pick up some castings from a foundry,promised last thurs,they say they will be ready this thurs-we'll see'I'll prob be in town friday.Yes I got a supprise when your wife opened the door,I thought-I know you,this must be the wrong place,but no when I asked about you she said you were working.Had quick look in the workshop,saw the vertical engine,and I think some bits of the new one.And I met the dog.You think your workshops a mess,you ain't seen nothing yet!I'v been working on my largest motor,put a new burner in,it came out of a Primus stove.I need to make a new hot end for it,the old one is mild steel,its got a bulge in the end so I better get a new one in stainless,Does Little Metals have stainless tube,About 60mm bore?The motor is going ok,started it the other day,hadn't been run for about 2 yrs,light it up,and of it went.
Thread: graphite year stuffing
26/09/2009 11:07:12
Nilock,the stuff I use is made in Taiwan,75m x12mm x .075mm and cheap as.IAN S.C
Thread: Hot air and stirling engines
24/09/2009 12:04:27
Murray,Ted Warbrook was the Kiwi who wrote the book etc on the stirling one engine,there was an artical in ME about Roy Darlington and his "Whatsit" engine,I'v also built one,it goes ok with a cast iron piston in a steel cylinder.Don't worry Circlip I know the dangers with Teflon and high temps,ment to mention that when I read Murray's piece suggesting Teflon bearings would be ok at high temps,its ok to use it at the cold end,as long as you can monitor the temp,ie if your motor over heats,use bronze or cast iron.
Thread: graphite year stuffing
24/09/2009 03:50:53
Haven't seen the string at this end of the world(NZ),but its proberbly out there.I just take the tape and roll it into a string.I think it comes in 50m rolls for between nz$1 &nz$2 a reel(About $3=£1).IAN S.C
Thread: Hot air and stirling engines
24/09/2009 03:40:06
Mark, i'll go and try one grain side out.Murray,yes i'v tried carbon impregnated teflon,bought a stick of it nearly 20yrs ago,still got a bit about 2" long by 1"dia,but I keep all the swafe,and use tha in a little mould to make bushes.It is effected quite a bit by heat,and it seems to swell if it gets too much oil on it.On one engine I had to ream out a bush after I had stripped the engine for an over haul,it had worn out the crankshaft,the bush was through the piston to the displacer.I'v never used commetially made plastic bushes on models,but have used oil impregnated nylon on agricultural machinery,with 35mm bore,seems to work ok.
Thread: graphite year stuffing
23/09/2009 14:55:48
Or use Teflon plumbers tape instead,it ain't so messy.Just a thought.IAN S.C.
Thread: Hot air and stirling engines
23/09/2009 14:40:50
Mark,just a question about best practice for cup seals,which is best side out?I'v been putting the inside ie furry side out,on the latest made today I rubbed in some graphite powder(its for the LTD),my idea is that this side will bed to the cylinder better.Thereis an artical in ME some where,but I haven't found it.
22/09/2009 15:36:48
Thats it Roy balsa is good,might have used it myself,but I'v got 40km to go to town and I don't drive,also I'd have to pay for it,the foams free!I know I'm mean,but why buy if you can do with what you'v got.You might use the CDs for a flywheel,I did that on a tin can one.Think I used 6 of them.IAN S.C.Good nite.
Thread: Milling collet arbor jammed in milling machine
22/09/2009 14:59:15
The taper drift through the shaft only works on a drill chuck with a tang on the end of the taper,the milling chuck has no tang but unlike the drill chuck that is attached to its tape by a Jacobs taper in the chuck its self,the milling chuck's taper is part of the chuck its self,so the two wedges will be ok,or the wedge device used on motor car suspension-no strain of hammering,just tighten the bolts.IAN S.C.
Thread: Hot air and stirling engines
22/09/2009 14:17:11
Roy,no use aluminium or copper if its going free,I used two old fry pans found in a rubbish skip.Murray CDs are too heavy,find some foam,get some nichrome wire from an old heater element,a power supply,battery charger would do.you can use a vertical wire to cut circles,make your center hole first and use a pin through this to cut the dia.Mount the wire horizontal above a board at the right hight to slice to thickness.You need to tension the wire with a spring because when it heats it goes slack.Gordon,I think the hollow shaft for the displacer might be the best bet,the inside of the displacer is at atmospheric pressure,if you seal the displacer the pressure goes up when it heats,so thats one stress got rid of.My flywheels are made of steel plate,or off cuts from steel bar-or stainless-or cast iron,what evers at hand,or old sewing machine handwheel does very well.Some people seem to think you have to have a cast wheel,but scrap metal is much cheaper(free),and doesn't take very long even with just a drill and files to make one with spokes,do it well and it looks like its cast.Welcome one and all IAN S.C.
<< First < Prev 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 Next > Last >>
Magazine Locator

Want the latest issue of Model Engineer or Model Engineers' Workshop? Use our magazine locator links to find your nearest stockist!

Find Model Engineer & Model Engineers' Workshop

Sign up to our Newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter and get a free digital issue.

You can unsubscribe at anytime. View our privacy policy at www.mortons.co.uk/privacy

Latest Forum Posts
Support Our Partners
cowells
Sarik
MERIDIENNE EXHIBITIONS LTD
Shopping Partners
Subscription Offer

Latest "For Sale" Ads
Latest "Wanted" Ads
Get In Touch!

Do you want to contact the Model Engineer and Model Engineers' Workshop team?

You can contact us by phone, mail or email about the magazines including becoming a contributor, submitting reader's letters or making queries about articles. You can also get in touch about this website, advertising or other general issues.

Click THIS LINK for full contact details.

For subscription issues please see THIS LINK.

Digital Back Issues

Social Media online

'Like' us on Facebook
Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter
 Twitter Logo

Pin us on Pinterest

 

Donate

donate