MAKE A STUART STEAM ENGINE pt 1 of 9 tubalcain
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ม.ค. 2025
- In this 9 part series there are 220 minutes of machining action, as I build the STUART PROGRESS STEAM ENGINE. So join me now, as I start the project using castings from England.
Watch my 860 other shop videos.
I am tubalcain "YOUR TH-cam SHOP TEACHER".
Mr Pete. At 75 I may never build a a model engine. Its the "what will I learn" that keeps me watching. As young men academics said "without an upper level degree, you will be deplorable and unemployable". So off I went and degreed several times. But unlike many my Dad made me use my hands. Now my machine shop is a Godsend. I have a talent, only discovered now. Hats off to you.
Tubalcain boring ? Never !
Interesting ? Oh yes indeed! I really enjoy listening and watching what you do, best wishes from England
Thanks for viewing
"Build it in your mind first" - machinist words to live by :)
Not boring at at! Thanks for another great video.
Thanks for watching
When I was 16 (1973), I worked on a TV repair shop as a Saturday job and back then most TV sets in the UK were assembled with mainly 8, 6 and 4 BA. I still have a set of small ignition spanners in BA sizes.
I agree 110% about building it in your head first, it's much easier to figure out and fix there then it is when you are working on it and make a mistake. I am in the process of building an Offy and am doing it all in scale drawings on the computer and "fitting" them there. That process has saved me a lot of grief as I've been off in a few measurements and was able to fix them before I machine them from chunks of billet.
I had to smile when I heard you talk about ignition wrenches, my dad taught me many, many years ago how to set points and such and those small wrenches made me think of the time I grabbed the distributor and got a good shock.
THANK YOU...for sharing. Looking forward to this build. 220 minutes of machining...I can't wait!!!!
Thanks for watching.
another great video from Mr Pete. i love about an hour from Stuart's factory and often pop in. they are very helpful and friendly. they used to be in Henley on Thames and i remember visiting their shop many years ago. my grandfather had a house full of steam engines, many of them Stuart and i spent a lot of time their when i was a kid. looking forward to part 2. my either made a 3d printed copy of this engine that runs on compressed air. thanks again Mr Pete for great videos.
Thanks for watching.--I'd love to visit Stuart
@@mrpete222 you inspired me th-cam.com/video/SdYtPpBTXcI/w-d-xo.html
never bored. always enjoy your work. I am starting to build a Shay 1.5" scale locomotive. I have and are spending a lot of time working thru the steps of machining prior to putting to the cutters. Thanks
Good luck with the shay. Thats a big project
Admirable to see all the love & preparation that goes into your work & that you use some of the same suppliers like Proops that I use here in the UK. It is amazing how the Internet opens up channels for parts that otherwise would be impossible to get.
Very exciting project! I am sure you are going to have huge interest in this project series! I totally agree with your "build it in your mind" comment. I immerse myself in "how to machine" a part many times before I flip the lathe switch. I also find that since there are no spare parts it adds significant anxiety to entire build experience. The anxiety builds with every operation on a complex part. That is why I scratch build all my engines. Thank you too for the lecture on BA series of hardware and I look forward to the following segments.
Regards- Fred
Thanks for watching.---Yes, it makes me tense-------but the engine is done, no spoilage
Please keep doing your asides and what you seem to worry are boring to some. Those little details are some of my favorite parts of your videos.
Regarding to thread-sizes, I once went to a watchmaker factory in Switzerland - they using screws, the most of you would not recognize them as such.
Thank you, Mr. Peterson, for all your precious presentations!
Love your videos as well as your shop courses on flash drive. Would be interested in hearing more about your Dad like what he did for a living, his hobbies and perhaps some photos.
I live 20 miles away from Stuart models and had no idea they were there. I might be visiting soon now I know. Amazing project again.
Yes, check them out
mrpete222 thanks for the reply! Made my day already
Great advice Mr. Pet....."Build it in your mind"....Thank you for your life learned and good stadard practiced jewels of advice....invaluable.
I built the Stuart 10H in high school back in 1969 at age 17 as a Junior. Still have it yes I agree those were the finest cast iron I have ever seen.
Yes-Thanks for viewing
Lyle,
There's nothing boring about this first video of the series. You show the URLs of companies on both sides of the pond that still sell these kits -- just that is worth watching the whole video (which I definitely did). Now, I'll have to dig out my Mark's Handbook!
Wow another great video mr Pete thanks again for putting in the time to show and teach people who might have an interest in machining. I had a machine shop teacher who was nowhere near as incredible as you. I said it many times, but I started watching your you tube videos in 2011 and have since bought a south bend heavy ten lathe, which should be up and running soon. I am particularly interested in this video series as I will be looking to start some machine shop projects of my own. Thanks again looking forward to more videos
glad to see this series, i have been building PM research engines , their kits are great, spare parts are available, and the old proverb applies---" good judgement comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgement."
Thanks for watching. true
My sweetheart heard you call yourself "Ancient"; so she renamed you "Ancient Pete".
Bless your heart.
Please keep up the outstanding work dear person. May Jesus continue to "gift" you with treasures of wisdom that you exude; like few others.
We love "yuz"!
Thanks for watching.--Praise the LORD
Stuart engines are a great project! I have a 10V to finish building after a long delay. I'm looking forward to your videos.
Thanks for viewing--yes, finish it
Wasn't expecting another video today. Looking forward to another great project. Thanks Mr. Pete.
Thanks for watching.
Looking forward to the series. Thanks for all your work in putting these videos together.
Thanks for viewing
Looking forward to this series! My Grandfather was a machinist and built one or two steam engine kits after retirement. I am thankful to have inherited his tools (to support my own garage machining) but unfortunately his engines were sold after he passed away.
Thanks for viewing--too bad they were sold
Enjoyed part 1 very much.You somehow teach, but make it entertaining as well.A rare talent I must say.Look forward to see how are going to machine the castings as I have found some cast iron to be bloody awful to work with.
With your help I might find confidence to have a try at Stuart or similar model.
Thank you and look forward to part 2.
We used (here in the U.K.) to use thousands of 2BA brass cheese-heads in steel conduit work when I was in the electrical engineering trade, so BA wasn't just for modelling. It was the 'go to' thread for fastening metal to metal before succumbing to the metric system (yuck), and I still have BA taps in my imperial tooling (along with BSW and BSF).
I have this set of castings and will be following along as you complete it. I'm having some serious heart problems right now and am unable to work in my shop. Hopefully in the near future I'll be able to machine mine.
Lonnie
Look forward to seeing this project through. Good information. Keith Appleton has a great channel as well.
Thanks for watching.-I watch him
Looking forward to... this is the sort of series I enjoy!
Thanks for watching.
Looking forward to this video series. I am currently working on an 8H that I started many years ago. I have used metric taps for some sizes of BA fasteners. Easy to get and seem to fit well enough for use on a model engine. I do like the look of the BA fasteners.
Thanks for watching.--I'm done with BA for good after this engine
Hey Mr Pete ive been watching your videos and now i have gone and purchased a 1950s hercus lathe...i have to get it home yet, it is 500km from where i live, to be honest i am a complete novice re lathes but just watching your videos inspired me to make the deal....i hope i can do even some of what you show in your videos, thanks for sharing your creativity, amazing skills and wisdom ;-)
Congratulations on the new machine
Beautiful videos ,love to watch you and thank you for turning me on to ministeam !
Thanks for watching
Nice project to follow.
Thanks for watching.
Thanks mr pete looking forward to the machining and build
When I was an apprentice GPO telephone engineer 40+ years ago BA nuts and bolts were used on a regular basis, and I still have many BA spanners in my tool box.
Thanks for viewing
Keep this up and you are going to inspire me to finish my Stuart D10 that I started years ago.
Thanks for watching.
Awesome and excited for this series. Thanks Lyle!
Thank you very much for explaining the BA information. Recently, I was looking online for miniature brass nuts and bolts. I came across a site advertising the BA nuts and bolts. I finally just gave up trying to understand, not ever hearing about the BA. Thanks for explaining all that, however I have gone back making my own nuts on my lathe. I am still working on the #5 steam engine I received for Christmas . Ken
Thanks for viewing--I'm never going to work with BA again. Will change to # 1 or #2 sensible threads & make my own fasteners
Hi mrpete, I have been watching your video's for quite a while. Thank you for the pleasure & knowledge that you pass on. I've just sent an Email to your friend Toly for your Yellow Boy Engine drawings. I'm Retired with plenty of time up my sleeve. What a great project. Thanks.
Oh boy! this is going to be fun!
Thanks for viewing
NOT skipping to Part 2!!! i see there are some free Starrett apps for the iphone/ipad -- one is catalogs and such, another is a bandsaw feed & speed rate calculator for metal... the third one -- not kidding -- seems to be a digital coloring book for *spanish-speakers only*... with the official Starrett logo... seems pretty odd.
looking forward to this... Thanks for sharing sir...
Thanks for watching.
Awesome Mr Pete! I'll be starting a 10V after watching your new series.
Thanks for watching.--good luck
I am sorry to learn from you of the demise of Coles. I remember as a boy driving with my Dad to their store in Ventura County. We also had Little Engines who produced wonderful kits and castings for the live steam railroad hobbiest. Mike Rowe is right, we need to bring back our tradesmen. Thank you for hopefully inspiring a new generation.
Yes--mostly gone-sad
great can not wait to see the way you go about it.
Thanks for watching.
Really enjoyed your video - I believe spare parts are available, for at least some engines, if you mess up a part. Stay safe.
This is very timely as I just finished watching the steam engine series from foundry through machining. I've been thinking about building a ultra safe steam engine (or wood gasifier) that could yield 5 to 10 HP to run a generator. Also reminded to refresh my memory on the original Tubal Cain from Genesis 4.Thanks
Thanks for viewing--good project for you
Looking forward to it! By the way I typically watch all the commercials on your channel in order to help out financially. I hope to see you at the Sonders Machine open house.
All the best!
Mike
Thanks for watching.--commercials too
Love your steam engine builds
Thanks for viewing
Looking forward to the rest of this series. Thanks
Thanks for viewing
Looking forward to the rest of the series!
Thanks for viewing
Oh goody! Another steam engine build. I do enjoy your model steam engine videos. I'd love to see how you get on with a kit from Bengs Modellbau.
Thanks for watching.
Tubalcain is the man.
Look like a great new series.
hope so--not many views so far
Here is a lot of info,mrpete.Nice engines.Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it
In your introduction you mentioned that the model had a 1.5" bore and a 1.5" stroke. I have often heard of the better than average longevity ( in internal combustion engines ) of the " square motor " ( identical bore and stroke dimensions ). I wonder if a "square " steam engine would also have a reputation for lasting longer.
Thanks for viewing---I often heard that term for gas engines
awesome project... thanks for sharing and teaching..
Thanks for viewing
Oah WOW!!!!! thankyou so much for doing this video. I have been wanting you to do something a little more advanced for some time. I love the casting videos you do but frankly they are just not practical in my flat.
Thanks for watching.
The BA series was used for most electrical connections in the U.K. prior to metrification. The largest being OBA, the series ran down to about 10 BA in odd and even numbers. Much of the fasteners were in Brass, but some applications used steel.
I wonder if Lucas used BA on their parts. I know everyone hated working om them
Almost certainly, my background is in power station electrical maintenance, BA was the main thread type for the smaller plant although there was BSF, BSW, UNC, UNF and metric as well for the larger plant. One correction, after consulting my Zeus book the BA sizes go down to 12, mostly for instrumentation I would think.
My friend John V. McDivitt built the Corliss shown on the Coles' catalog .I'm currently working on a Coles' Corliss.Jeff
Thanks for watching.-I wondered who made it
Hi Mr Pete, I ordered No 7ba from poops yesterday, I have a box set from 0 to 6 bout the same lose to 14ba but not one 7 so had to stop play yesterday :(
TFS "thanks for sharing" love all your vid content from the garage sales to the how too's keep em coming. Best Regards G :)
Thank you for watching
I'll be following with great interest. Great video as always.
Thanks for viewing
Just as a point of interest that many of you won’t know , BA threads are still quite commonly used in small aerospace components and electronic equipment.
I’d imagine larger industrial supply places would stock ba taps and fasteners in the us
Thanks, I did not know that they were ever used in industry. Thought they were strictly for model makers
I guess the primary reason for machining, is to trim parts down to proper size, such as the piston? And secondarily would be aesthetics?
looking forward to the build 👍
Thanks for watching.
that Stuart 5A would probably be a good littlt cleaning and repair project.
Each individual casting is available as a spare part should the machining hit a 'hic-up' :) - Nick from England.
Thanks for watching.
Lyle, just to confuse you even more with the BA threads, you can also buy in England, hex head bolts, that have a 1 size SMALLER hex head than what the bolt is. i.e you can buy a 6 BA Hex bolt that has a 7 BA head; 4 BA hex bolt with a 5 BA head etc. This is done so that you can get some extra strenght in the bolt, but keep the head size to be in scale / proportion to the model being built. Hope this helps you and others out there in TH-cam Land. I am currently building the Triple Expansion Engine, slow job, started it 35 Years ago, but built many other models in between. Good luck with the build, the castings should machine nicely, good quality iron used in all Stuart engines.
Thanks for watching.--Thanks for the BA info. I'd rather use UNF & make my own bolts-good luck with those models
We use the smaller head BA stuff almost exclusively down here in Australia when making 5" gauge steam locos. The only time we use the normal size hexes are where you can't see them and we use up the stock of stuff we forgot to order with small heads.
MrPete makes the point that BA hexes sizes are different from other standard hex sizes. This is making trouble nowdays because the people making the nuts/bolts sometimes just use the closest standard size and the BA spanners don't fit! Some of my BA draws have at least 3 sizes of nut in them.
Hi Lyle: Nice I want to see how you hold some of the rough castings because as I told you I am making the model Stuart shaper last time we talked and just interested in your approach to it.
Hope to see you this summer at Sycamore again, and Union. Want to catch up on your trip with ABOM... that must have been fun... Brian F. AKA GUSMIX on hear.
Hi Lyle: just to add I'm also working on a P.M. Research horizontal mill kit and it calls for 5-40 left hand thread that need both external and internal thread as well as a 1-72 thread and a 0-80 thread... now that is getting small !!! I did $$$ up and buy a BA thread kit from www.tap-die.com in England. and I see P.M. will sell L.H. 5-40 and 1-72 and 0-80 tap and die $$$ again... I'm going to have to ask you your approach to a left hand thread P.M. is calling for on the print when we meat again... definitely not standard. Thanks Brian F. AKA GUSMIX on hear.
Brian--Yes, I show how to hold some of the irregular castings See you at dekalb
Tubalcain, just discovered your channel. I greet you well.
Thank you, you have 1000 videos to watch. Welcome
Did you do a Stuart S50 steam build video? Found the article in Model Engineer. Good build on the Progress!
Something to get my teeth into. Cheers from Australia.
Thanks for watching.
Pete, I have the twin flywheel model, with mahogany base and upper piston covering, same height as your other shown engine. Never got to power it with air. Too bad cannot send you photo. It is supposed to be uncommon.
Thanks for watching.--interesting
Hi mr Pete I've got the same proops taps and they are carbon steel
Thanks for watching. Seemed cheap, but did not break
Thats one hell of a handbook haha
Why didn't they have machine shop in high school when i went? I now have a machine shop of my own that I built and my son wants nothing to do with it! Whats wrong with kids today?
It's an old man's thing. Like photo darkrooms, ham radio and the Elks Club. Moving towards extinction.
Thanks for watching.--my sons ignored my shop totally
MrShobar
Add model railroading to your list.
MrShobar, Machining is slowly gaining a following with the younger guys thanks to the whole Maker movement. Often, the only reason younger guys don't do machining is because there's no access to a machine-shop and building your own is pretty costly.
HAM radio is making a come back with the prepped movement
You are very busy with lots of videos. Thank You!
Yes I am. Thanks for watching.
somebody has already said. you can buy all the castings separately from stuart models.
how do i know this? lol . welcome to the dark side though. i love BA screws, they are that thread form because they anchor better in thin parts, I believe. they always look so nice.
looking forward to this build.
Thanks for watching.-- I like the looks, but will never use them again.
I will use #2 -56 & make my own screws
I'm guessing, with absolutely nothing to back it up, that the different angle and shape of the BA thread works best for smaller thread sizes. I wouldn't want to grind a tool to single point those threads though. I have enough trouble grinding 60 degree tools.
Thanks for viewing
Mr. Pete, you need a bahco spanner to tighten the nuts and bolts. Otherwise, it's no good! ;-) (see Keith Appleton's videos).
I wrote to Keith Appleton and complained about his constant use of an adjusable spanner on the model nuts. There are plent of BA spanners available as well as in socket set type and tubular type. All I got back from him was a load of abuse, and if I did not like what he was doing, then for me to stop watching him. I have now unsubscribed to his channel.
Thanks for watching.
wgm4321 Keith is very fond of his adjustable spanners.
Dave Ticehurst that’s what happens when musicians are allowed to play engineer 😁. Even though I do have adjustable’s in my workshop, I exhaust all options before using them. No excuse to use them for every single job. They are not known as the tool of the devil for nothing.
awesome, I've been wanting to see some one make a Stirling or steam engine. I keep asking ave to make or even explain how a Stirling engine works
I've made many
love those little hex heads. Are they available in standard threads somewhere?
I doubt it
here I am watching Mr pete from across the pond and he's talking about a company (stuarts) which is literally 30 min drive from my front door. lol small world.
Can I suggest Keith Appleton channel for minature steam engines? Extremely knowledgeable
Keith Appleton is the best for model steam engine rebuilds. I'm amazed he doesn't have more subscribers.
Thanks for the headsup. I will look at KA site.
Thanks for viewing--I always watch him
Lyle
Most of us hard core model engineers get our BA fasteners, taps, dies, etc from
Britishfastners.com in Lyons, NY. (I have no connection other than sending them money)
Looking forward to this engine build.
Thanks for what you do.
You can get a set of BA taps and dies (#0 - #10) on eBay for about $60. They're carbon steel made in India. Almost the same set from England in high speed steel will cost almost $1,000. BA was also used on vintage English motorcycles -- Norton, Trimuph, etc. The ones from India are typical off-shore crap but it beat having to make your own taps.
It's little wonder that British-manufactured items met their demise in export markets due to their allegiance to systems (BA, Whitworth, etc.) that were exclusively British. This is why Mr. Pete worked with the Metric System at Caterpillar. They are very dependent and very sensitive to the needs of export countries.
Thanks for watching.--I'm done with BA for ever
That's true since Britain adopted the metric system but there are still a lot of British developed machine standards being used; for example, pipe fittings. If your putting pipes together almost anywhere in the world you can figure on them being BSP. You don't find much NTP or metric. 3/4 inch pipe is about 18 mm but even in metric countries you should probably ask for 3/4. Britain colonized and industrialized most of the world and a lot of what they left behind is still being used.
You wouldn't buy a set though. 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 are the only sizes you're likely to want these days. 12 if you're building model railway size stuff.
I bought some 16BA nuts and bolts for laughs and possibly to use in some O scale valve gear but they were quite expensive for the amount of metal you get!
But those carbon steel taps are nasty. I have more than a few that feel like they're ground eccentrically. Then you use a good quality HSS one and what a difference!
Walmart goes Dutch with “Hollandia” model would be a good frame, if you fit that upright to a belt, and put a boiler on it.
a bit like the bike built by, Mr. Sylvester Roper, but with a belt clutch to avoid over running ones comfortable speed.
Lyle, do you know off hand what thread/fastener system the Brits use for watches and clocks?
Do not know
If you just run an engine like this with air instead of steam, could you make the castings out of aluminum? I've been wanting to try casting like you taught us in the videos but like you, I could only cast aluminum.
Absolutely
I swear I was born 50 years too late, lol. Machine shop in high school would have been amazing! They'd have to run me out of that place lol
Yes
Your copy of Marks' Handbook does have a typo. A #25 B.A is 0.010" nominal (or approximate). Not 0.10". My fathers Second Edition Mark's has the correct listing. Fortunately, "Ancient" information is readily available online now, as well.
Thanks for viewing--yes that was a typo
Mr Pete blackguards.co.uk are a British model supply company with many specialist products (graphite yarn for piston packing etc) might be useful in the future regards from England and keep up the superb vids
SteveD i think Keith Appleton recomments Blackgates engineering.
Thanks for watching.
My Dad bought me a Wilesco D5 steam engine when I was a kid. It ran once, but unfortunately when the water was gone, it overheated and the solder seam let go, causing the glass window to fall off.
too bad--Thanks for watching
this is wonderful. Thank You.
Thanks for watching.
As watching this video and all others videos. Something that has come to my attention, this thought may have already been showed in one of your videos. Have you ever made a cut to fit an "O"-ring. Outer and or inner cut for a "O"-ring? Do they make tools/dies to do this kind of work?
Grayhair Olds i believe you can hand grind a o-ring groove cutter. but they do make them to buy.
I suppose there are carbide production tools for the grooves
would you consider casting from blue prints if some one was to send you a nice set of technical schematics?
I have nicely hand drafted patterns,
you could then cast the bottom ends and cases in aluminum, and the cylinder in brass.
I draw them, in antique fashion to avoid tramping on toes in modern industries.
Just for interests sake, that well known US company Greenfield used to make BA threading equipment, I know this because I had some and sent a BA tap to Outsidescrewball, of youtube fame, for a project I tried to help him with.
5/32nds, almost equal to 4 MM.
I'm a mechanic, and 8 MM and 5/16ths
are a direct replacement, as are 16 MM
and 5/8ths.
steve
good to know
Well. Today while up at my parents i was looking in my fathers shed for some nuts and bolts i came across a 1982 Model Engineering magazine priced 60p. I thought i will take that home for a read later on. To my amazement on page 211 Titled "HANDMAIDEN" By Tubal Cain there is an article on this very model above. Whats the chances of that.
lol. That was an article by the now dead British double Tubalcain
You're not ancient. You're 40 years old with 30 years experience.
Thanks,
John
LOL-Thanks for watching.