i'm 73 years old this year, the only machine tools i own are some files and an electric drill . . . i think my first investment toward building a model steam engine should be in a time machine. keep up the good work you lucky sonofagun!
I started with a Stuart oscillator. Sadly I no longer have access to an engineering workshop. Kits of castings and of pre-machined kits are still available. I moved on to an S50 which I still have. Forgot to say my late mother was a machinist during WWII with Vickers at Brooklands. She started off in the office, but when they became short of machinists she moved over.
Hi Keith, it is time for me to say thank you for all this superb videos. In 2017 I did a CAD course. As a final thesis, we constructed a model steam engine. Although the construction was not from scratch, it was still very interesting. Since then, I've wanted to build my own steam engine. By profession I am an international welding specialist and I work at a mechanical engineering company. This gives me access to a wide variety of materials. I had a small lathe and a milling machine anyway. Your videos gave me the final impetus and I started construction on the computer in August 2020. September 2020 I made the first chips. Your most important statement for me is: "Every single part is a model in itself" It's a steam engine made of bar stock, but it doesn't look like it. And now, the engine is 99% complete. ;-) Thank you, stay safe and healthy Rudi Here's a little note about your accent. For me as a North German, it is very easy to understand you.
Couldn't put it any better myself, there's no shame in putting together a machined kit, you can still learn a great deal that way. I wanted a locomotive, so I went for an Accucraft Ruby kit, definitely made some mistakes along the way but that's how you learn, in the end I stuck with it and got it running right, and it's still steaming along to this day.
It worked, I showed my now wife my steam engine from my flip phone, & now she has gotten into the hobby; she has her very own electric steam engine. :) 9:10
I read the title my first thought was ,we get to vote on the next steam engine for Mr. Appleton to build . Not so, after watching the video . Enjoy watching your video's . Thanks for sharing.
Thats AWESOME! I am about to dip my toe in castings my dad has a full workshop with lots of engines and trains but I am soon going to learn to use them and what things are this is a little difficult as I work in metric he works in both but mainly imperial tooling I plan to start with a Stuart pillar drill or lathe as they are the same price and caught my eye at the midlands engineering show
As a complete novice to model making I've always had a desire to build one. This looks perfect for me to learn about model building. I've also just found you on patreon so look forward to sitting down and going through the videos on there!
Thanks very much for this great video. I would love to build a Victoria, but as my first engine, I have just bought a 10H kit from Stuart models. For me it was down to the cost of the kit, if I screw it up then it hasn't chewed up as much cash. Incidentally I am a long time viewer of your channel and it is largely down to you that I have caught the bug to build a model in the first place. Thanks very much and keep doing what you do! All the best, Tommy
@@keithappleton that was one of the reasons I chose it. It was a toss-up between a 10H and an S50, but I didn't like the fact the base casting is integral with fake screws and fake bearing caps. That was a deal-breaker for me.
while tempting and affordable, I don't think I am going to build a kit steam engine I've been putting together a DIY injection molder and the main cylinder and piston gave me a few aha! moments makes me wonder why no one makes one from steel pipe instead of cast iron I guess I'll have to fail at building one from scratch to know why for sure
A lot depends on how pretty you want the engine to look, and how far 'outside the box' you're willing to go. I didn't have any proper machine-tools or a lathe while I was growing up, or after moving to my first apartment. Over the years I built a number of working steam engines from scratch - basically junk, hobby-shop, and hardware-store parts. I'm talking about low-speed, low pressure (under 10 PSI), non-reversing engines. I made cylinders from 3/4" hard copper plumbing-pipe, piston-valve assemblies from brass tubing, using nails with the heads ground to size for valve pistons, and thick wire hanger rod bent to make a one-piece 4-cylinder crankshaft. In the case of a single-cylinder double-acting walking-beam engine I built for a model paddle-steamboat, the bed plate, pylons for the shaft supports, and 'gallows-frame' for the walking beam were all made from thin galvanised sheet-steel - light-weight and corrosion-resistant. All my engines are a simple design that eliminates the eccentric. Instead, the valve operating rod is connected directly to either the bottom of the connecting-rod or the crank-pin.
Bonjour Keith, What an amazing engine ! I have several D10 in my RC model boats and I could easily install this one... As just a collectour without any tool, I just can't imagine how much it would cost me :+( Amicalement, Raphaël
I keep wondering it it would be possible to make a double acting cylinder using two brass copper tubes with holes for the inlet and outlet ports. To eliminate the need to cast a cylinder block.
People will be annoyed and start cussing when they get faulty cheap items made in Asian countries. But when they get bad castings from a fairly expensive kit made in western countries they just accept the fact and move on.
I guess I am surprised at what you suggest for a first build. Flywheel looks large to do on a small lathe.seems like you would need a mill for that long base? 10V or 10H seems like smaller and fewer parts.
If you watch my series called "How To Build A Model Steam Engine" showing how I machine the Flywheel and shape the Base, you will see that your observations are incorrect. (www.patreon.com/keithappleton)
@@keithappleton A 7 inch flywheel just does not allow machining on my 7x12 lathe. Finished my first from castings but it is a PM Research #3 . It runs at least on air. Aluminum casting version but I did put in bronze shaft bearings.
Curious on your thoughts of the 1846 Scotchcrank engine designed by Anthony Mount which is offered by Polly Model Engineering, it seems very simple looking at it, and the kit is only a little over 100 Pounds for a fairly large model. So it looks like it would also be a good contender for a starter engine, but I don't have much experience to draw from myself in that assessment.
i'm 73 years old this year, the only machine tools i own are some files and an electric drill . . . i think my first investment toward building a model steam engine should be in a time machine.
keep up the good work you lucky sonofagun!
This was the perfect video suggestion after watching someone demonstrate riding around behind a model engine.
I had just taken a good swig of my tea when you said about the young lady wanting to have your baby's almost spat it out.
}:-)))
I started with a Stuart oscillator. Sadly I no longer have access to an engineering workshop. Kits of castings and of pre-machined kits are still available. I moved on to an S50 which I still have. Forgot to say my late mother was a machinist during WWII with Vickers at Brooklands. She started off in the office, but when they became short of machinists she moved over.
Hi Keith,
it is time for me to say thank you for all this superb videos.
In 2017 I did a CAD course.
As a final thesis, we constructed a model steam engine.
Although the construction was not from scratch, it was still very interesting.
Since then, I've wanted to build my own steam engine. By profession I am an international welding specialist and I work
at a mechanical engineering company. This gives me access to a wide variety of materials. I had a small lathe and a milling machine anyway.
Your videos gave me the final impetus and I started construction on the computer in August 2020. September 2020 I made the first chips.
Your most important statement for me is: "Every single part is a model in itself"
It's a steam engine made of bar stock, but it doesn't look like it.
And now, the engine is 99% complete. ;-)
Thank you, stay safe and healthy
Rudi
Here's a little note about your accent.
For me as a North German, it is very easy to understand you.
Just made Xmas pressie. Enginediy beam engine. Brilliant
Keith, you aren’t the only one who misplaced the holes in a con rod! Hehe. Up until that point it was a work of beauty.
}:-)))
Couldn't put it any better myself, there's no shame in putting together a machined kit, you can still learn a great deal that way.
I wanted a locomotive, so I went for an Accucraft Ruby kit, definitely made some mistakes along the way but that's how you learn, in the end I stuck with it and got it running right, and it's still steaming along to this day.
That’s brilliant thank you
Glad you enjoyed it {:-)))
It worked, I showed my now wife my steam engine from my flip phone, & now she has gotten into the hobby; she has her very own electric steam engine. :) 9:10
Picking up women with pictures of model steam engines......funniest thing I've heard for a long time.
I can only Dream of such a scenario :-)))
The trick is showing her how large the piston is! In my case, that probably wouldn’t help either! Ha!
Very good video keith, the first modle i built was a stuart 10H with a 4 jaw chuck on a 8 inch lathe
I read the title my first thought was ,we get to vote on the next steam engine for Mr. Appleton to build . Not so, after watching the video . Enjoy watching your video's . Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Boyd }:-)))
Terrific video Keith. Thank you
Thank you Gilbert {:-)))
Thats AWESOME! I am about to dip my toe in castings my dad has a full workshop with lots of engines and trains but I am soon going to learn to use them and what things are this is a little difficult as I work in metric he works in both but mainly imperial tooling I plan to start with a Stuart pillar drill or lathe as they are the same price and caught my eye at the midlands engineering show
Have fun!
As a complete novice to model making I've always had a desire to build one. This looks perfect for me to learn about model building. I've also just found you on patreon so look forward to sitting down and going through the videos on there!
thank you
Thanks very much for this great video. I would love to build a Victoria, but as my first engine, I have just bought a 10H kit from Stuart models. For me it was down to the cost of the kit, if I screw it up then it hasn't chewed up as much cash. Incidentally I am a long time viewer of your channel and it is largely down to you that I have caught the bug to build a model in the first place. Thanks very much and keep doing what you do! All the best, Tommy
Good luck Tommy, the 10H models are slightly easier to build than the 10V type.
@@keithappleton that was one of the reasons I chose it. It was a toss-up between a 10H and an S50, but I didn't like the fact the base casting is integral with fake screws and fake bearing caps. That was a deal-breaker for me.
good luck building
Thank you for the useful information. Much appreciated. Also, thank you for the laugh.
Glad you enjoyed it! }:-)))
while tempting and affordable, I don't think I am going to build a kit steam engine
I've been putting together a DIY injection molder and the main cylinder and piston gave me a few aha! moments
makes me wonder why no one makes one from steel pipe instead of cast iron
I guess I'll have to fail at building one from scratch to know why for sure
It could be done, but you'd have to get seamless pipe or remove the weld seam from inside
A lot depends on how pretty you want the engine to look, and how far 'outside the box' you're willing to go.
I didn't have any proper machine-tools or a lathe while I was growing up, or after moving to my first apartment. Over the years I built a number of working steam engines from scratch - basically junk, hobby-shop, and hardware-store parts. I'm talking about low-speed, low pressure (under 10 PSI), non-reversing engines. I made cylinders from 3/4" hard copper plumbing-pipe, piston-valve assemblies from brass tubing, using nails with the heads ground to size for valve pistons, and thick wire hanger rod bent to make a one-piece 4-cylinder crankshaft. In the case of a single-cylinder double-acting walking-beam engine I built for a model paddle-steamboat, the bed plate, pylons for the shaft supports, and 'gallows-frame' for the walking beam were all made from thin galvanised sheet-steel - light-weight and corrosion-resistant. All my engines are a simple design that eliminates the eccentric. Instead, the valve operating rod is connected directly to either the bottom of the connecting-rod or the crank-pin.
Excellent stuff!
A WILESCO kit... (Sorry i realy could not resist that one...)
Bonjour Keith,
What an amazing engine ! I have several D10 in my RC model boats and I could easily install this one... As just a collectour without any tool, I just can't imagine how much it would cost me :+(
Amicalement, Raphaël
major in music minor in steam engine restoring
I keep wondering it it would be possible to make a double acting cylinder using two brass copper tubes with holes for the inlet and outlet ports. To eliminate the need to cast a cylinder block.
What would you recommend for an absolute beginner?
A Stuart Victoria, I always recommend that.
Do you have any recommendations for a bench top lathe? I've found some that look like they would do a good job for models, but I'm not sure.
"That's an absolutely wonderful steam engine, I like to have your babies". My dream girl
I like to build machined steam engines . To machine all those parts is more expensive than to buy the finished kits.
You're hysterical. :)
People will be annoyed and start cussing when they get faulty cheap items made in Asian countries.
But when they get bad castings from a fairly expensive kit made in western countries they just accept the fact and move on.
Don Young Doncaster? Michael Breeze P2?
This was before seeing what the video was actually about.
I guess I am surprised at what you suggest for a first build. Flywheel looks large to do on a small lathe.seems like you would need a mill for that long base? 10V or 10H seems like smaller and fewer parts.
If you watch my series called "How To Build A Model Steam Engine" showing how I machine the Flywheel and shape the Base, you will see that your observations are incorrect. (www.patreon.com/keithappleton)
@@keithappleton A 7 inch flywheel just does not allow machining on my 7x12 lathe. Finished my first from castings but it is a PM Research #3 . It runs at least on air. Aluminum casting version but I did put in bronze shaft bearings.
Curious on your thoughts of the 1846 Scotchcrank engine designed by Anthony Mount which is offered by Polly Model Engineering, it seems very simple looking at it, and the kit is only a little over 100 Pounds for a fairly large model.
So it looks like it would also be a good contender for a starter engine, but I don't have much experience to draw from myself in that assessment.
I have never built one so I can't comment. I recommend the Stuart Models "Victoria" as a first build.
@@keithappleton Fair enough.
i built anthony mounts crosskill engine from polly i found it an ideal first engine
A 5” version of Martin Evans’s “Rob Roy” ...
He's pulling while he's filing 😨 5:15
That’s a lovely steam engine. LETS GET PREGNANT!
Whatever floats your Boat }:-)))
Where can I buy a pre-built model steam engine?
Stuart Models ?
Yeah I think I don’t really know I’m new to the hobby
👍😊⭐️
😂