Show Us Your First Steps

It's not unnatural that when we post pictures of our work, we tend to showcase our latest and greatest creations. Let's be honest, we all started off with far more modest models.

Later I'm going to photograph a couple of my early projects and put them up here to show the sort of thing beginners can reasonable expect to achieve in their first year in the hobby.

Would anyone else like to share pictures of their humble first steps?

I'll do it when I get in from work.

The beam engine "Mary" on the left was my first model. Mind you the book by Tubal Cain describing the building process is excellent and taught me a lot.

Russell.

my first attempts made from whatever was in the scrap bin last year.

A great idea for a thread

John, how well does that coffee machine work as a steam supply ? I'm needing something similar for my small efforts till I can get my head around making a simple boiler.

I reckon an electric shower unit could be another source perhaps.
BobH

Great little engines John, nothing like seeing something you have made whiz round to get you hooked.

I started with a cappuccino machine as well, until the domestic authorities caught me in the act. I have the 'boiler' from one set aside waiting for me to figure out how to make a safe enclosure for it.

Russell, no shame in tackling a big project as a first go! Do you want to post a bigger picture?

Neil

I built this little wobbler and boiler for a high-school science project, with supervision from the old man, done on the old Drummond lathe.

It still works today, having survived two generations of boys.

Here's some of my early attempts at steam engines, the one in the middle was made by someone else, and I rebuilt it so that it would work, the one at the rear is the one I made at night school class's about twenty years ago, Both those engines were made at the same time. The engine at the front is a V twin with improved boiler casing that I had in a boat. The v twin replaced the larger single at the front. Those plus the Mamod SE 2 are about as far as I go for now with steam.

Ian S C

My first effort made at school when I was about 15. Double acting oscillator of about 3/4" bore I think. Never did make a boiler for it but it runs on a few psi of air.

John

Edited By John Baguley on 13/11/2015 12:44:57

My first engine was a complete chaos of bits of scrap with a piston valve and transfer tubes soft-soldered in place. Amazingly it worked. I can't find any bits just yet. I also need to dig out my number 2, a Stuart 10V which was my first one from castings:

Number three was an experiment to help me figure out how Stephenson's valve gear works. I wasn't particularly worried about making it look like a real prototype... it has a smaller flywheel now (original donated to my 'Buxton' engine) but still runs frantically on air or steam:

This is Edgar T. Westbury's Trojan, an excellent subject for a first model (I it was my second from castings). Gunmetal castings are very forgiving, but a make it a bit more expensive than if they were CI.

This one was a solenoid operated beam engine almost entirely from card, it used to work but the coil got very hot:

This little single acting steamer with a sort of spool valve was my first build, it's got quite a few amateurish parts (the flywheel isn't very well balanced) but I made it only a few weeks after first getting my lathe and it runs well.

After first completing it, it would only run in the vertical position which kinda defeats the object of a horizontal engine ! after a lot of tinkering and hair pulling I noticed that in the horizontal position the piston rod would tend to slide toward the open end of the crank pin - 2 minutes work to make a small retaining ring and a dab of glue and I was well pleased how it ran

And a little video of it running :-

**LINK**

Edited By Peter Nichols on 13/11/2015 14:39:07

The coffee machine says the pressure vessel is rated to 15 bar Peter. I haven't put a gauge on it yet. It certainly does make them go for a short time

my first attempt at an engine , age 75 not exebition standard but runs well so I am quite satisfied. Working on a beam engine now

My first attempt with a simple oscillator running on air back in 2014 ...

A video of it's first run...

**LINK**

[URL=http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n490/mechman48/Running2.mp4][IMG]http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n490/mechman48/th_Running2.mp4[/IMG][/URL]

Can't seem to rotate video...?

George.

Edited By mechman48 on 13/11/2015 16:50:47

Edited By mechman48 on 13/11/2015 16:52:34

My very first was a Wobbler of Mr Pete 222 design

My second was a Potty - Horizontal

Here you go:

After 2 failed attempts at the Puddleduck engine, this was my first engine that ran.

**LINK**
 

Edited By Alex Collins on 13/11/2015 21:31:40

Great model Alex, have you tried it on steam ?

I have always worked in mechanical engineering as a design draftsman but never in a workshop running a mill or a lathe. The only time that I used a lathe was way back at school in metalwork. The old lathe that I purchased is the same as the ones that we used at high school and I had never run a milling machine before. Fortunately I have some friends who could give some good advice about machining. The post for my traction engine is the biggest model engineering project which I have made. It has been a steep learning curve for some things but has been well worth the effort. (only had to re-build a few components, which is why I model everything on the computer in 3D before attempting it in steel). My advice is to join a model club and have a go.

Paul.