Reeves Emperor twin cylinder steam engine

[Peter Cox 3Participant @petercox3]

This engine is a twin cylinder adaptation of the single cylinder Monarch engine.

I bought a set of castings from AJ Reeves many years ago when my workshop facilities were limited to a lathe in poor condition and my skills were just about comparable! The engine never did get finished and looking at it now, the results were embarrassing to say the least.

However I would like to start again, buying new castings where appropriate. The first main issue is how to machine the offset pillars. I haven’t found a satisfactory way of clamping the on my milling table to be able to machine the pillars so they are identical.

Is there anyone out there that has built the Emperor or the Monarch who could offer encouragement and advice? All ideas gratefully received!

Peter

[Peter Cox 3Participant @petercox3]

Machining help required

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

Hello Peter, it would be a good idea to check with Reeves regarding casting availability. Hopefully there will be someone on here who has built the Emperor or Monarch and can advise or there may be someone who has carried out a similar task,

It can help if you would indicate what part of the world you live in as there may by someone reasonably close to you who could advise you.

Brian

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

When I did a similar engine standard I held it like this, machined the foot first and then set that as my datum for positioning the holes which in your case would be the ones to mount the cylinder, a second one could be done just the same using the same measurements.

I then set it vertically by indicating off the bolt face and located that face with an edge finder and set that as zero, simple job to then move over the required amount to drill the hole sin the foot

[Peter Cox 3Participant @petercox3]

Thanks Brian and Jason. I will contact Reeves to see if they can help. The castings are listed on their website as being available, but I will double check.

The photos are really helpful Jason. Thanks for posting them.

I think I will experiment with the castings I badly machined in the first place and then buy new replacements once I’m happy I’ve got it right.

Peter

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