Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines

The Regular Stuff: Chat, Buy, Sell, Off Topic, etc. => General Discussion - Model & Toy Steam Engines – Stirling Cycle – Flame Lickers – Small Antique Originals => Topic started by: Brad on January 05, 2022, 11:00:29 am

Title: Stuart Beam Engine Governor
Post by: Brad on January 05, 2022, 11:00:29 am
 have started to make the governor for my Stuart beam engine. I want to capture the look of an early Watt governor
Title: Re: Stuart Beam Engine Governor
Post by: Quickj on January 05, 2022, 11:52:06 am
Looking good so far.
Title: Re: Stuart Beam Engine Governor
Post by: txlabman on January 05, 2022, 02:16:22 pm
 
Very nice Brad.

Title: Re: Stuart Beam Engine Governor
Post by: Brad on January 05, 2022, 03:08:31 pm
Moving along. Got to make smaller balls as they look out of scale.
Title: Re: Stuart Beam Engine Governor
Post by: txlabman on January 05, 2022, 05:43:35 pm

Those are definitely some big balls!  :)
Title: Re: Stuart Beam Engine Governor
Post by: St Paul Steam on January 05, 2022, 07:14:44 pm
Looking good Brad , your Watts scale looks correct.
Title: Re: Stuart Beam Engine Governor
Post by: Brad on January 06, 2022, 02:18:30 pm
I fitted the finished parts to the engine. Closely matches those on small beam engines in the Henry Ford Museum. Don't pay attention to the Phillips head screws. They will be gone when my 0-80 hex-head bolts and nuts arrive.
Title: Re: Stuart Beam Engine Governor
Post by: parallelmotion on January 06, 2022, 03:14:55 pm
Looking good Brad. What's wrong with big balls?
Title: Re: Stuart Beam Engine Governor
Post by: Brad on January 06, 2022, 03:34:59 pm
Use any size that looks good to you. I prefer to keep the aesthetics close to what is in my photos of the small beam engines at the Ford Museum. There is so much science to centrifugal motion. RPM, weight of governor balls, amount of work to be done. etc. Since a model engine governor usually does not actually govern unless the engine is run at warp speed, I choose to stick with what looks right. I run my engines at scale speed, which for a small beam engine like the Stuart, would be about 45 RPM. It is a model and I feel it should look prototypical.
Title: Re: Stuart Beam Engine Governor
Post by: Quickj on January 06, 2022, 03:37:32 pm
Looks really good to me.  I have always liked the Stuart Beam.

Title: Re: Stuart Beam Engine Governor
Post by: Brad on January 06, 2022, 03:40:20 pm
I always did too and it is a very nice runner. The simplistic design makes it robust. I am also working on an M E Beam engine and it is much more fickle. Beautiful engine, but not robust.
Title: Re: Stuart Beam Engine Governor
Post by: tenniV11 on January 07, 2022, 03:18:15 am
Good job on that Governor
I have the same Beam Engine and here a picture
of my governor, Have a nice day, Arnold :D

[attachimg=1]
Title: Re: Stuart Beam Engine Governor
Post by: Brad on January 07, 2022, 08:56:10 am
Does the spring drive work well? I am planning to use an O-ring.
Title: Re: Stuart Beam Engine Governor
Post by: txlabman on January 07, 2022, 10:04:45 am
Use any size that looks good to you. I prefer to keep the aesthetics close to what is in my photos of the small beam engines at the Ford Museum. There is so much science to centrifugal motion. RPM, weight of governor balls, amount of work to be done. etc. Since a model engine governor usually does not actually govern unless the engine is run at warp speed, I choose to stick with what looks right. I run my engines at scale speed, which for a small beam engine like the Stuart, would be about 45 RPM. It is a model and I feel it should look prototypical.

Thoughtful and well said Brad!
Title: Re: Stuart Beam Engine Governor
Post by: tenniV11 on January 07, 2022, 01:07:35 pm
Does the spring drive work well? I am planning to use an O-ring.

The problem is that the bronze balls are very heavy and without a
spring they have too much travel at low speed. With the spring it is really
a fully functional governor. Regards, Arnold
Title: Re: Stuart Beam Engine Governor
Post by: Brad on January 07, 2022, 01:11:37 pm
No, I meant the spring drive belt, instead of n O-ring.
Title: Re: Stuart Beam Engine Governor
Post by: tenniV11 on January 07, 2022, 02:21:25 pm
No, I meant the spring drive belt, instead of n O-ring.

Yes agree - an O-ring would be much more accurate - but the spring belt was
easier to install -haha
Arnold