Very roughly approximately this is where it would have been centre marked for drilling -
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
I think you will have some trials and tribulations getting this to where you want it, but the end effort will be rewarded with a fantastic engine.
I'd guess he just put a drill bit up against the piece and let it walk to wherever it started actually cutting, which is where the hole is now!
Trust me ..... there is much more like this to come. 8<O
So now to continue this tale of woe (sorry Tommy), I'll follow the valve linkage back into the steam chest and see what there is to see in that locale.
I should add here that with the steam valve linkage fully disconnected from the eccentric, and free from the crankshaft and flywheel, the bind/drag/stiff spot in the rotation is still there, so its source must be elsewhere, which is good information even if not immediately helpful to resolution.
It was with some trepidation that I removed the six nuts from the steam chest studs, as I really didn't know what I would find, having had the air I tried to run the engine on just blow straight through and out the exhaust, suggesting that the D-valve was not seating. Certainly relieved to find that things actually looked reasonably okay in the steam chest. Did note that the top center stud was loose, so I'll be fixing that one with a bit of shim material to tighten it back up. Both the D-valve and port face seem acceptably flat, and only a bit scored, so some judicious lapping should be all they need, but only after a little file work to dress the actual steam ports, which though not too bad, could certainly use a bit of squaring up and deburring.
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
I must confess to being very glad to see some actual liquid oil upon opening the steam chest, as up to this point all the lubricant that I'd come across was either gummy or solid varnish, so seeing some that could actually perform the proper function, especially in such a critical place, was encouraging and even a bit reassuring. At the same time I'll have to say that upon opening up the valve linkage packing gland I found no solid substance at all, where there should be a few winds of graphite yarn or a Teflon O-ring or something of the kind, all I did find was the most sticky, jet black, get on everything and impossible to wash off, tar like compound. Alcohol doesn't touch it, Acetone does little better, Gasoline sort of works it with a lot of mechanical action and any soap short of Lava is hopeless! Even GoJo had a tough time with it!!!
A bit of a mystery, this engine has plenty of them, is the two holes in the top flange of the steam chest cover that are on either side of the center stud. They do also appear in the cylinder casting, so I suspect that they were used with pins to properly locate the steam chest cover on the side of the cylinder casting for properly locating and drilling the steam chest studs. Can't really think what other purpose they would have?
One other issue noted was that the end faces of ears and channel that surround the valve linkage rod have a slight taper that might be why the D-valve wouldn't seat for me, as the jam nuts on either side of the D-valve to locate and traverse it may be just a little too close together such that if the D-valve falls away from the port face it could get wedged between the nuts instead of "floating" between them, so perhaps I'll chuck that up in my mill and square those two faces to be parallel, even though they are only tapering by a bit more than .006".
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
I'm glad to report that although still showing evidence of a poor build, at least the steam chest seems to be readily redeemable, and not requiring any too much work.
The builder wasn't too great at drilling holes accurately
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
Hi Daniel, a big CONGRATS on a fine acquisition for your collection.
Perhaps a bit of timing will help. 60 to 80 psi ought to be downright scary on one of these without a work load and without a governor.
I couldn't even get the D-valve to seat, so all the air I was putting in was just blowing out the exhaust!
Most, if not all of the issues with this engine will be revealed in due course .... so stay tuned!
Hi Daniel, It is a bit clutzy but with a Sipp you can often lift it up on edge from the flywheel side with air going in and gravity in combination with air will seat the D Valve. Another solution if the engine is well worn is to pull the outside part of the D-valve rod away from the engine frame. If it is loose enough it can force the D-valve onto the port face.
Gil
The builder wasn't too great at drilling holes accurately
(Attachment Link)
I am wondering if the casting was a little off because the 3 holes at the top all line up near perfectly in relation one another if you lay a straight edge on your screen at the bottom of each hole. Or is that a camera created illusion?
Hi Daniel, a big CONGRATS on a fine acquisition for your collection.
Perhaps a bit of timing will help. 60 to 80 psi ought to be downright scary on one of these without a work load and without a governor.
I couldn't even get the D-valve to seat, so all the air I was putting in was just blowing out the exhaust!
Most, if not all of the issues with this engine will be revealed in due course .... so stay tuned!
Hi Daniel, It is a bit clutzy but with a Sipp you can often lift it up on edge from the flywheel side with air going in and gravity in combination with air will seat the D Valve. Another solution if the engine is well worn is to pull the outside part of the D-valve rod away from the engine frame. If it is loose enough it can force the D-valve onto the port face.
Gil
Actually did try both of those techniques Gil, and I did find the D-valve wedged between the jam nuts once I did pull the cover off, so there was a clue.
The builder wasn't too great at drilling holes accurately
(Attachment Link)
I am wondering if the casting was a little off because the 3 holes at the top all line up near perfectly in relation one another if you lay a straight edge on your screen at the bottom of each hole. Or is that a camera created illusion?
The hole locations in the steam chest cover all seem quite acceptable. The only issue really is the top center stud is loose in its threads. The stud location is fine, it just droops a bit, so I suspect that hole was wallowed out a little when drilled, or perhaps it was originally started to be taped at an angle and needed to be re-taped at a different alignment. I'm not too worried about it, as it just needs to be lifted slightly when putting the cover on, and it cinches up fine. I think the old bit of copper wire trick will tighten it up just fine when I go for final reassembly.
Hi, very interesting restoration project. You seem to have a lot to correct that was badly done in the first place, but with some effort it should turn into a beautiful steam engine.
I had a similar project (but on a much smaller scale), an oscillating antique engine with many hand made parts that never were right, and ended up having to build several new parts to get it to a good running condition. But it was worthwhile and I learned a lot in the process.
Very exciting report. I have restored a few big model steam engines and
have seen many issues. The Screw underside of the Cylinder may be an
inspection hole for perfect adjusting the position of the piston or it is just a
train hole if you storage for longer time. Often these old engines have
all steel Cylinder, Piston, Connecting Rod and the rust is not far away
if there is not a perfect maintenance after use. The Slider must be free
floating and will be pressed to the surface by the steam - never mount too
tightly. Im am sure, that the rough run comes from inaccuracy of the Piston,
Piston rings, Cylinder, Stuffing box and Connecting Rod and TIMING. All others
like bearings etc. are not so important. Straightforwardness is the solution.
Hope you will get it to a smooth running - after all the engine is in a good
condition to restore. The Cylinder cover has to be made from scratch - that will
be an other nice job.
good luck, Arnold
So now to continue this tale of woe (sorry Tommy),
I must confess to being very glad to see some actual liquid oil upon opening the steam chest, as up to this point all the lubricant that I'd come across was either gummy or solid varnish, so seeing some that could actually perform the proper function, especially in such a critical place, was encouraging and even a bit reassuring. At the same time I'll have to say that upon opening up the valve linkage packing gland I found no solid substance at all, where there should be a few winds of graphite yarn or a Teflon O-ring or something of the kind, all I did find was the most sticky, jet black, get on everything and impossible to wash off, tar like compound. Alcohol doesn't touch it, Acetone does little better, Gasoline sort of works it with a lot of mechanical action and any soap short of Lava is hopeless! Even GoJo had a tough time with it!!!
No problem Dan. For that black stuff, did you try Zippo lighter fluid? Mom always had it in the house for when
we tracked in tar on the linoleum. Goof-off is pretty good stuff too but I think you have to watch the paint with
that one.
I did not try lighter fluid, and yes, when I was growing up my household used lighter fluid as a sort of dry cleaning fluid for various purposed, besides keeping the folks Zippos topped off. I did eventually get it cleaned up using the methods and materials I described, but it was a lot of mechanical wiping and re-wiping to get it done. Of course I ended up wearing more than my share along the way, so personal cleanup was a time consuming followup challenge as well.
Here's the offending GUNK:
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
Dang, that is some nasty looking stuff.