The Workshop Progress Thread (2017)

[Nigel McBurney 1Participant @nigelmcburney1]

The angled split bearing theory was probably the idea of some early inventor rather than engineer as later on in the 20th century that it became common practice for horizontally split bearings, the production engineers won,its a lot cheaper and easier to plane or mill and bore the split ,parallel to the base plus drill and tap the bearing cap holes vertically ,also it is easier to assemble .From my experience it is far easier to fit the crank with flywheel attached as it drops into the bottom bearing without the tendency to roll out the bearing,and also easier to align the skew gears on an oil engine.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I got the ends of the cart wheel spokes all rivited over in the week so first job Saturday morning was to turn down the ends of the axles, 1/2" square by 14" long.

You may also remember a few months back I was asking about the availability of small section steel channel, well I could not find anything this side of the pond so decided to make my own. I bought some 13x13x3 steel angle and welded two bits together, doing short 1" sections at a time and alternating sides until they were fully welded with the work clamped to a heavy bit of angle iron to keep distortion to a minimum.

After a bit of work with a grinding disc in the 115mm angle grinder followed by a quick lick with a flap disc they did not come out too bad, less than 1mm gap between them when held back to back over 620mm length.

Next I needed to copy the brackets that hold the axles to the channel so sized up some 1/4 and 3/8 x 1" flat bar and then set to on the mill.

After a bit of filing and a going over with some Roloc abrasive discs to soften the corners for that cast look they fit quite well

Front bolster next.

J

[Jim NicParticipant @jimnic]

Slow progress on the Popcorn engine but I've got the cylinder done:

It was only when I was taking the picture that I realised that it didn't look right and I had done a upcock; the valve face is 4mm too close to the bore. I didn't want to waste a good piece of brass or the time spent in making it so I think I can rescue it with a deeper valve chest and a modified slide valve.

It was then a quick (for me) job to make the cylinder base and here are the 2 pieces together:

Cylinder ends and valve chest up next

Jim

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Over the weekend and between a bit of gardening and watching Paris-Roubaix I got the front end of the cart done.

The axle top plate was milled from some 1/4" material and a bit of 5mm plate located into a shallow slot then soldered into place before being drilled for the pivot and milled back to the angled sides.

The fork was just a bit of turning and milling from 40mm dia bar so did not take any photos.

The bolster that the fork pivots in takes the form of an "I" beam. The lower part of the "I" was milled out of 3mm material and then bent to give a slight rise in the middle. The slot along its length is to locate the vertical leg of the "I"

A few more bits of 3mm material were shaped and slotted so they all located together then another blob of silver solder which looks to have flowed nicely along all the joints.

Then it was just a case of drilling and reaming the pivot hole and adding a few screw holes in the end plates followed by a quick trial assembly. Still needs a bit of a cleanup and fettle to make it look the part but it functions and the angles on the fork came out right stopping the axle articulation just before it contacts the rails.

[Steven GreenhoughParticipant @stevengreenhough56335]

My Cracker Lives…

Edited By JasonB on 13/04/2017 19:33:48

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Cracking job!

I've added the embedded video link

[Steven GreenhoughParticipant @stevengreenhough56335]

Thanks Jason.

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

I've decided to throw out the mats on my workshop floor as they curl up and I'm worried about tripping up. I have ordered some interlocking mats that are claimed to be suitable for garage floors but I wondered if anyone else has used these and has an opinion.

Brian

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

I have plastic interlocking mats for my lathe and milling machine, they take the chill out of the concrete floor and they have an anti slip surface.

Martin P

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Nice on Steven!

I keep looking at the cheap Rolson mats in Halfords. Anyone used these?

Neil

[Gordon TarlingParticipant @gordontarling37126]

I investigated these floor mats for my own workshop. There seems to be two main types – those of a spongy nature, which are quite soft and (I feel) unsuitable for a workshop. There are also those that seem to be made of a harder plastic, which are a fair bit more expensive and sold for use in garages etc. This latter type will probably be fine, but I felt the inbuilt patterning would make them difficult to clean, so I went with cheap laminate flooring in the end.

[Gray62Participant @gray62]

Neil,

I've used the cheap Rolson ones from Halfords, they are ok and do help relieve the pain in my lower legs when standing for extended periods. The only downside is that hot metal chips do have a tendency to embed into them but they are cheap enough not to worry. I managed to pick up about 50 tiles and edging strip from my local recycling yard for a few quid so I've got a good stock of replacements now.

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

I have the interlocking matting from MMart on my garage floor; they are comfy on the feet & alleviate my back probs somewhat, good insulation too, so am satisfied with them, actually looking to get some more as have a couple of gaps where concrete shows, not too pricy if funds are restrictive so would recommend them ( usual discl 'r )

George.

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

That all sounds very encouraging, thanks for the replies. The ones I have on order are from ebay item number 291940476587 and are £51.99 for 192 sq ft which will give me a couple of spare pieces. Fortunately, my milling machine is only a small one but it may pay to put a guard around the machine to prevent chips from being embedded in the tiles.

Brian

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I have a suspended OSB floor, which is a lot more comfortable than supermarkets and shopping malls (which always give me backache!) But I do fancy trying these out, i suppose for a tenner I can't go wrong!

Neil

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Not much worth showing on teh R&V but have got several little items crossed off the to do list.

On the cart front I welded up a couple of short lengths of angle to make two cross members that will tahe the bolts that hold down the engine base.

Silver soldered on some end plates and notched them out to fit insid ethe two main side rails

Then set about making some of the square headed fixings, mostly all cut from 8mm round bar as that suits the 5.5mm AF I wanted on the M4 threads so the Stevo spin indexer got a good workout.

J

[Stuart BridgerParticipant @stuartbridger82290]

I use the mats available from Machine DRO. Good on the feet and easy to clean.

[Chris Evans 6Participant @chrisevans6]

I bought "Rolson" branded mats when on offer at Halfords. Each 500mm square interlocking and about 14mm thick.

I did the whole 17ftx17ft garage for around £100. They are a bit soft and squashy so nice to stand on, the chips don't seem to embed easily but I do sweep up a lot. Downside of them is that they mark with things like motorcycle stands and weight but this tends to be in the same place most of the time.

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

My mats arrived on Saturday and I've nearly finished laying them. The look good and are very easy on the feet. The only problem is that they crush down under weights. My Austin Seven was parked on them overnight and left tyre impressions this morning. Not a great problem, even corruugated card, which I keep under to catch any oil drips, helps but I think that some pieces of hardboard under the wheels should do the trick.

Brian

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

A bit more done on my S50 engine…

George.

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

Machined up the conrod & crosshead for my S50, getting there…

​couldn't be a****d changing from 3 – 4 jaw chuck so made up a split bush…

​Machining taper on conrod, bit to go yet …

​Ready for, cutting to length, mark out & drill crank pin & crosshead pin holes, actually marked out on t'other side…

Trial fit to engine…

George.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

You are getting there George, keep up the good work.

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

Machined up the flywheel yesterday…

reaming for crankshaft…

nice smooth fit…

George.

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

… Set up & machined the eccentric & strap, just need to drill & tap for 7BA lock bolt & split, drill for 7BA grub screw in the eccentric. Etch primed cylinder assembly, 1st coated flywheel… clean up & polish…

Establishing centre of eccentric strap…

Looks good…

Eccentric…

So far so good…

​Etch primed cyl. Assembly & 1st coat flywheel.

​George.

Edited By mechman48 on 07/05/2017 12:19:55

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

For a bit of a break from the hit & miss engine carts I knocked this up over the last couple of weeks.

About a 2/3rd size replica of the Alyn Foundry "CHUK" flame licker. Will do a build thread with drawings on MEM forum and probably post it here too.

With thanks to Graham Corry (Alyn Foundry) and Andy over on MEM.

Edited By JasonB on 10/05/2017 21:02:36

[Author]

Posts