Nalon Viper

Made the front housing out of the only piece of 6061 Alum ( plans indicate this spec) I had and started looking for more to make the c/case, backplate etc. Seems none of the suppliers to the model trade offer this spec and after searching online seems only the big boys list it. Haven't approached anyone yet to see if they'll supply but past experiences haven't been positive in the quantities I've wanted. Anyone know of someone who might oblige?

Cheers

GW

Hi Graham,

I,ve made many similar I.C engines and used 6082 T6. It,s readily available. If you let me know the sizes I have many kilo"s of assorted section and cut what you need.

Regards,

John Feeney

As said 6082 is fine or several of the ME suppliers will still be listing it as HE30. 

Edited By JasonB on 13/10/2019 14:12:11

Thanks guys and thanks for the offer John. 6082 is readily available locally but as the Viper was/is a high performance engine (in its day) believed that the spec quoted was necessary over the 6082. will make a cheeky 'phone call to the local Aalco tomorrow on the off chance that they'll help but won't hold my breath. If it's no-go then 6082 will have to be used and fingers crossed it'll hold together.

Cheers

GW

I have a feeling 6082 T6 has a higher tensile strength than the same temper 6061.

EDIT my feeling was right

Edited By JasonB on 13/10/2019 17:13:38

Hi Graham,

As said by Jason 6082 T6 is of higher tensile strength than 6061. In all other properties they are virtually identical. In terms of performance the Nalon Viper was not of such performance that would need any kind of so called "high strength.

Regards<

John

Just another question then. Was 6082, or same spec different identifier, not available or not readily available when the Viper was designed to 'take-on' the best engines of the day, presuming that's the Olivers and ETAs.

Cheers

GW

May have been that the drawings were done in the states as they tend to use 6061 far more than in the UK. The link I posted also suggest 6082 is newer.

Graham, Olivers, ETA's and many other top performance motors of that era had castings for the case which usually provided good support for the running components.

As others have said IMO 6082T6 has the strength you need for the engine mentioned but if you want something with a better spec try 2014A (HE15), usually available at M-metals. Cost of this will be more than either of the other options.

Emgee

It certainly will, that's why I tend to just use it for conrods.

Material specs and applications can be a minefield for the home machinist. The Viper was designed and sorta developed by one Norman Long in this country. He was involved after the war I believe in the company making YULON engines in Birmingham so not American though the drg spec is 6061 TO43 or 2024 and 2130 steel for the crank (will use EN24T) which I think are American specs. Will try Aalco tomorrow and see what their response is, if it's what I expect, will go as you suggest and use 6082, HE15 is just to expensive and I only use it for con-rods as Jason says.

Cheers

GW

Apologies for slightly re-purposing this thread but it seems appropriate given its title, where can I get hold of Nalon Viper plans? I feel that I should be able to locate them but searching has come up with nothing. I know they were sold by Motor Boys but not sure where they went after Ron Chernich left us. Thanks in advance, Roy

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**LINK**

http://www.adriansmodelaeroengines.com/catalog/main.php?cat_id=214

MichaelG.

Compared to 6061, 6082 is a newer and somewhat superior general-purpose alloy. My understanding is that, for most purposes, they are interchangeable. Here in backward NZ, as in USA, 6061 is the default alloy, and I haven't found a supplier of HE15-equivalent. "Tooling plate' 7075 is available, but I'm not sure why, and it isn't a substitute for 2014 / HE15. Perhaps 6061 (or something with '6061' printed on it, supported by 'certification'  pours out of China, so is cheap... Excuse my cynicism.

(Edited to remove damned stupid winking smiley. Isn't it time this bug were fixed?)

Edited By Kiwi Bloke on 16/10/2019 02:47:59

6061 was a no go with the local high spec supplier so picked up an offcut of 6082 sufficient to make 2 crankcases at an affordable price so going with that for the rest of the engine. Seems more interest in the Nalon in recent years than there was when it was designed lol.

Thanks everyone for your input.

Cheers

GW

Hi Kiwi Bloke

7075 is an excellent material with a better spec than either 6061 or 6082 but at greater cost and not so widely available.

Emgee

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Sadly ... There is no bug to fix

It’s simply a matter of choice whether or not the relevant “auto-correction” feature is switched ON or OFF.

Those in control of this forum have elected to have it switched ON.

MichaelG.

I need to correct my previous post. 7075 does seem to be a reasonable substitute for the high-strength alloy 'Dural', aka HE15, or 2024 (or 2014?). I had thought that it had inferior fatigue characteristics, but its mechanical properties seem just a little better than those of 2024 and its corrosion resistance is much better. Apologies for any confusion caused.

Perhaps the ‘original sin’ can be identified as the convenient use of the name Dural

In the years following WWII [by which time ‘Dural’ was being mis-used, in the same way that we mis-use ‘Hoover’ or ‘Loctite’] the model engineering community seems to have adopted the word.

Wikipedia has quite a good page about Duralumin and related alloys.

MichaelG.

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Edited for clarity ... I hope.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 17/10/2019 09:11:45

Hello Graham - I don't post very much these days but always willing to help another engine maker when I can.

All the 5cc engines I have made so far have had all major ali parts from 6082 (He30) . This machines very easily, takes a good thread and, if required, anodises well. As already said and like Jason I only use a higher strength - 7075 or He 15 for the conrods.

I have a scaled 5 cc Nalon Viper 'on the cards' - the cases are made, as said, from 6082 which I'm confident will be more than strong enough.

The Model Engine Boys drawings were done by Model Engine News owner Ron Chernich from, I believe, an original engine - I would assume he called out the spec on the case parts to suit his views. Personally I would not have thought a higher strength than 6082 would be necessary for the case parts even if the engine is to be used in the team race environment as originally intended but of course if you have the material then why not.

I have just looked for 6061 on ebay - there is plenty of choice at reasonable cost but it appears to be mainly round section.

Hope that helps some - good luck with your Viper - is it destined for a vintage T/R BTW?

Regards - Ramon (aka Tug)