The Workshop Progress Thread (2016)

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

As I'm waiting on some ignition parts for teh Allman I decided to make a start on the next engine. And got most of the head done, there is still a bit of work to do on the underside but the majority is done

Can you tell what it is yet?

A few other raw materials may help you guess

J

[Nick_GParticipant @nick_g]

Posted by JasonB on 19/03/2016 20:25:00:

Can you tell what it is yet?

.

I know, I know, I know. …………. Do I win a bag of jelly babies and a garden gnome.?

Truth is though Jason told me he was working on one so perhaps I don't get a prize.

Nick

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Well I've eaten all the Jelly Babies and don't have a Gnome, will you settle on a couple of gear cutters as a consolation prize?

Any other takers 30cc, 2-stroke, spark ingition, water cooled

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Stuart Turner lightweight?

Very smart, you will show us how you did it, won't you.

Rod

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Rod's got it and don't I always show what I have been upto

And some progress on the cylinder

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

I notice that the schedule shows a number of components made from 'Electron'.

What is (or was) Electron?

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Magnesium alloy – usually spelt with k

Rod

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

A Magnesium, I have handled a set of castings and they are very light though did have a couple of casting flaws.

[Bill PudneyParticipant @billpudney37759]

Elektron/mag alloy…very popular in the late 40s and 50s. Until people realised it could and would corrode very quickly, once the protective coating had been scratched.

At one time I had the misfortune of seeing a Whirlwind (or was it a Wessex??) helicopter that had fallen into the Solent. It had been in the water for less than 24 hours, most of the fuselage skinning was gone and in the main gearbox there were holes that you could put a clenched fist in. Both the skinning and gearbox casting were mag alloy, different alloys, but mag alloy.

cheers

Bill

[Nick_GParticipant @nick_g]

.

The Bank of England online inflation calculator 'says' that £3 7s 6d in 1935 would be in todays money about £225.

I think that if Stuarts still produced those castings that they would ask considerably more than £225 for them.!

Nick

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

My God, don't let Windy see that advert. 30 mph in a speed boat, he's going to want one

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

Thanks for the answers, the Elektron spelling rather than Electron as in the advert, was probably why my search results did not work.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Some of those castings would be quite costly to produce as there are some quite complex cores for the water cooling and transfer passages, though with modern resinset core material failure rate should be less than in teh 30s when Stuarts started to produce this engine.

Not sure if the friction welded crankshaft blank would be included now, probably leave the builder to his/her own devices.

I think if Windy wanted to change from steam to IC he may prefer a 15cc Nitro engine, for boat use they put out about 7.5HP at 30,000rpm and would probably make the hydro run a bit faster than 30mph.

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

At least some chainsaws have magnesium alloy body parts.

Ian S C

[JAParticipant @ja]

Cast magnesium alloy is still a popular material today for non-structural items. In addition to rapid corrosion it has two other problems, it ages and sensitivity to stress concentration is poor. The former means that devices like the AJS Porcupine cannot be used and the latter dictates that all fillet radiuses have to be large. However I believe that it is an easy metal to cast, particularly die-casting.

JA

Edited By JA on 21/03/2016 12:00:46

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

The recommended method of repair for the chainsaw I was given was : first step, take outside and place it in the green wheelly bin, second step, put it out the gate on rubbish day. Complete overhaul finished.

Ian S C

[JAParticipant @ja]

Towards the end of last summer I started thinking about tachometers during which I posted a thread on 555 timers. Following advice given I decided to fit a MachTach tachometer to the milling machine.

It took less than a week to arrive from the States and I was quite impressed with it, the finish and the instructions were particularly good. The only things that let it down were some off the shelf items such as the knob – the locking grub screw was seized. The electronics were assembled quite rapidly in the autumn and thought was given on how to fit the sensor to the milling machine. In the end I used a floating collar to carry a single IR reflective strip as shown.

Finally, last week, after the cold weather and doing jobs for others, I fitted it to the milling machine. It works but I have yet to use it in anger.

Many thanks for the advice.

JA

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Got the Lightweight's cylinder finished today.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

That looks predictably amazing, Jason

MichaelG.

[Another JohnSParticipant @anotherjohns]

CNC Mill ball screw/slides backlash.

My larger CNC Mill, a "Grizzly G0704 equivalent" had a bit of an issue on the Y axis (the in and out one) Sometimes, one could see that the cuts did not register – sometimes the Y axis just would not be positioned properly.

Whilst LinuxCNC is rock solid, the physical metal was not. I was able to move the Y axis ball screw back and forth by about 1mm – it was "loose" in the double angular contact ball bearing that holds it in place. Mind you, I needed a prybar to move it, could not move it by hand.

So, spent an hour or two trying to tighten the nuts holding this ball screw into the bearings. I think I got it.

Backlash on that axis is still 0.09mm, about 3 or 4 thou in old units.

Oh well…

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

The ignition for the Allman arrived yesterday so had a play today. Sorted out a few niggles and still needs some more tweaks as it won't run for more than 30-40 secs at a time but shows promise.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, today (Sat evening) started to make a bespoke traveling steady for my Conquest lathe. First job was to find a suitable piece of metal and remembered this old railway truck buffer that been standing around outside for the last 15 years or so waiting for a job.

So out came the 9" angle grinder and cut off the remaining corner of the mounting flange.

Then after facing off both sides to get about 16mm thickness and milling the edges, I'm sure I will be able to find the basic shape of my traveling steady in there somewhere.

Next job will be to mark out and cut a shape that will look a bit like a figure 2.

Regards Nick.

[Nick_GParticipant @nick_g]

.

Out of curiosity Nicholas what sort of quality was that cast iron and how did it machine.?

I also wonder what and how broke it all those years ago.

Nick

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi Nick_G, I think it is actually cast steel and it machined very nicely, which I was much relieved by, it looks to be very good quality also.

No idea how it got broke all those years ago, but the buffer plate, (the bit still covered with the weeds) is a little bit bent, I guess the shunter that the works had, may have jumped the track, which happened once in a while. I just found it one day when we had to do a whole works clear up of maintenance scrap, so I popped it round mine instead of the scrap bin.

Regards Nick.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

When I cleaned up the swarf I found the Lightweight's crankcase had progressed, still some more carving to do.

No more progress today, Tour of Flanders and Grand Prix for me this afternoon

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