its so fantastic that someone is making these type of videos. This information is INVALUABLE and historically would have only ever been passed on via direct one on one experience, or at most one on say 30 in a classroom environment, where as you are literally educating potentially hundreds of thousands of people. You are inspiring the future model engineers and that, to me, is invaluable. Well done sir.
To resurface a flat surface that is warped. 1 Use a sheet of flat glass. 2 Lay a sheet of wet or dry sandpaper face up rough side up. 3 Soak with cleaning solvent. 4 Lay object on sandpaper and push down evenly not to hard and work it in a (figure 8). This gives equal wear on work piece. If you work in a circle you will wear down the outside edges and not the center evenly. I have rebuilt many porsche carburetor's. This cures air leaks and results in surging at low RPM you resurface all mating parts and rebuild throttle bushings with line bore. Regards; Phil
I thank you for these videos they make me feel like I am a child working on an engine with my father again as he would explain what every part did and it means a lot to me how much you have taught me about steam engines cheers and I wish you all the best.
the second model steam engine i worked on it made it completely myself even al the screws I made myself cuting treads on a lahte it was the best experience ever I my workshop it is a engine like this one but a single piston I love it thanks for the inspiration it took me 10 months but worth it im 21 now I hope to stil be doing this when I'm 80 or so
well well if I ever decide to buy a car with a steam engine I will make sure the bolts are not painted you have got me convinced of that. no red or green bolts for me I truly got it. Thank you so much I learn fast. Oh I worked for Porsche for to years and I was also a Automotive teacher. Thank you.Regards; Phil
My guess would be a. the valves are not seating, b; blow by on the pistons ether loose or no rings or too small an O ring. As for the surfacing of the valve on the wet/dry paper, when I took Metallurgy back in the dark ages we had one instructor who had us use a figure 6 pattern when doing samples and another who wanted back and forth motion alternated with both clockwise and anticlockwise motion. So we had to see who was watching us do the polishing and match the proper motion, they all got the sample smooth enough that you could see the grain structure under the microscope.
I'm surprised you didn't look inside the cylinders. It's the once place air shouldn't just leak through at every point in the stroke. Although it was interesting to learn a lot about everything else that can go wrong.
Coma. check I made steam engines when I was a child. The second one was made out of copper plumbing parts and soldered together. As you may have guessed, just as soon as everything started working great and going fast, it started to melt down! Right in front of the whole classroom. Very funny! The teacher was still impressed, even though it melted down, it worked and pretty well at that.
Very nice series of videos... I decided to make a simple steam engine, using copper plumbing pipe , much like the old mamod types, for use to power chargers , while camping. For this I made a piston from a nail and some jb weld ...., works well actually, perhaps you can make a better one ?
Keith, How's the tea this morning? The other day I watched about 18 of you short videos. In the past I admired the small machines without thinking that I may give them a try. Now - maybe I will! Looks like fun and I am sure it is an opportunity for learning. I noted that you indicated you are an EE. I also, mostly retired now, just keeping the toes in my old job, while assembling a small machine shop at home. I am a bit of a hack - but eventually I hope to become more accomplished. I appreciate your humor, and I am going to offer advice in the hope that I may become the target of a bit of the dry British wit of which you are a master. The only surprising thing I noticed while admiring your pragmatism, was the condition of your screw drivers,... I think maybe after 40+ years in the hobby you might invest in some size appropriate drivers. LOL, there you go - that should be good for a laugh. All the best, Dan
i was taught, for best chance at flatness, to sand in a figure 8 and thats always worked for me. But i dont trust myself to keep the work completely flat so i need all the help i can get:)
Keith Appleton Drill sharpening is a beast unto itself. i just found your channel and im really enjoying it! I love all things mechanical and these littke things are awesome!
very entertaining my friend , Always fun to see the steam engines diagnosis of faults without getting to far into ripping it down,, Like you said time (labor) is money. Looking forward to the next videos and your big build project. PS, like the way you add the bits from the viewers methods knowledge on "how it should be " .....
The steam pump is a complicated piece of equipment and can malfunction - this one isn't working properly at the moment, hence the need for a hand pump, coupled with the fact that a hand pump is useful if not essential for filling the boiler with water before lighting the burner for a steaming session . . . a model steam boiler needs 2 methods of replenishing the water supply. (These are the rules).
Maybe you could put up a list of the problems you can see and what you think are the main reasons it won't run to avoid people guessing. There is only so much that can be seen by watching the video so most people could never guess or offer any assistance (not that you would need it). You point out some of the obvious issues but only hint at the main ones and I am certain you have a very good idea of what the main issues are and how to fix them.
I've watched them all. I love watching them. I've learned so much out of watching them, which has really raised my skills. I just didn't know if this one would run, since you said it was just an assessment. Are the videos just running behind, and its already fixed?
I usually run all of the engines that I rebuild at the end of the series, occasionally on Steam too. Very shortly I will be steam testing a boiler for a friend and intend to run some engine and make a video about it :-)) The two boats that I recently rebuilt will hopefully be sailing on a lake as soon as the weather gets warmer because the owner of the boats is of a great age and would feel the cold if we sailed them at the moment ..... the weather here is not so good currently.
I'm looking forward to it. You do great work with these. You and a half dozen other folks on youtube are the reason I'm currently employed repairing vacuum cleaners. I've learned enough about machines and what makes them stop working that I'm able to figure out most vacuums now. I had a friend who taught me how to work on cars years ago, but I didn't get the fine details of how play in a system causes it to bind or to break or to drop belts or what have you. I really appreciate the education I've gotten from you all.
Have you ever encountered a radial multi-cylinder steam engine, Keith? (Perhaps someone was building a steam powered aeroplane.) I saw one on youtube, and strangely, instead of cladding it had fins on the cylinders. Quite unexpected.
it looks like the engine has been run a fair bit, maybe water damage to the piston itself? and it doesn't seal much more.? don't really know too much about it. still just getting into this hobby.
Is it possible to disable one of the cylinders and have the engine run on the other? This might help with troubleshooting. Thanks for making these great videos Keith.
Even with leaks and bad rings it should at least move a little under pressure. Maybe problem with valves and timing, trying to push both pistons at same time resulting in no rotation. Real cliffhanger what is wrong here.
Time to be a keyboard warrior, but if you're using sandpaper to make something flat, put the backside of the paper on a window, since glass is generally relatively flat compared to a wood table or similar. I guess I don't so much want to tell you what to do, but rather maybe point out a method I've used for stuff that I've had success with. Also, how does RTV work as a gasket material?
Keith quite rightly advised not throwing your engine out of the window, unfortunately I missed that part as I had inadvertently slipped into a coma during an extended nut tightening process, and having missed his wise words threw my engine through my neighbours patio window.
llthpofh It was not a serious comment about the piston! Keith needs no help sorting things out, and my guess is he has been given the job, so will be putting us out of our misery sometime soon regarding this cliff hanger.
What if you have a bent crank shaft.. There might not be enough pressure building up to push the pistons... That could be why you're getting slight movements
Hi Keith, My error, I bought both an S50 kit and a reverse kit at the same time. When building the reverse kit, you pin the two eccentrics together. I enjoy your videos very much! Alan KM6VV
Jokes on you I turn on one of Your playlist and jump to bed, 20 minutes and I'm sleeping like a dead man. Solid stuff I tell ya, better that these ASMR shits.
its so fantastic that someone is making these type of videos. This information is INVALUABLE and historically would have only ever been passed on via direct one on one experience, or at most one on say 30 in a classroom environment, where as you are literally educating potentially hundreds of thousands of people. You are inspiring the future model engineers and that, to me, is invaluable. Well done sir.
To resurface a flat surface that is warped. 1 Use a sheet of flat glass. 2 Lay a sheet of wet or dry sandpaper face up rough side up. 3 Soak with cleaning solvent. 4 Lay object on sandpaper and push down evenly not to hard and work it in a (figure 8). This gives equal wear on work piece. If you work in a circle you will wear down the outside edges and not the center evenly. I have rebuilt many porsche carburetor's. This cures air leaks and results in surging at low RPM you resurface all mating parts and rebuild throttle bushings with line bore.
Regards; Phil
I thank you for these videos they make me feel like I am a child working on an engine with my father again as he would explain what every part did and it means a lot to me how much you have taught me about steam engines cheers and I wish you all the best.
This is how a craftsman should operate. Well done, sir.
the second model steam engine i worked on it made it completely myself even al the screws I made myself cuting treads on a lahte it was the best experience ever I my workshop it is a engine like this one but a single piston I love it thanks for the inspiration it took me 10 months but worth it im 21 now I hope to stil be doing this when I'm 80 or so
I do enjoy the deadpan commentary.
Thank you so much sir for the comical remarks as you're doing your best to figure out what's the problem. I greatly enjoy your videos.
if you don't go in circles u can wear a low spot going left to right but do what works for you sir injoy your videos
Not a huge fan of steam engines but the commentary is detailed and the odd joke here and there is enough to keep me engaged.
Nice work, nice videos.
well well if I ever decide to buy a car with a steam engine I will make sure the bolts are not painted you have got me convinced of that. no red or green bolts for me I truly got it. Thank you so much I learn fast. Oh I worked for Porsche for to years and I was also a Automotive teacher. Thank you.Regards; Phil
My guess would be a. the valves are not seating, b; blow by on the pistons ether loose or no rings or too small an O ring. As for the surfacing of the valve on the wet/dry paper, when I took Metallurgy back in the dark ages we had one instructor who had us use a figure 6 pattern when doing samples and another who wanted back and forth motion alternated with both clockwise and anticlockwise motion. So we had to see who was watching us do the polishing and match the proper motion, they all got the sample smooth enough that you could see the grain structure under the microscope.
I'm surprised you didn't look inside the cylinders. It's the once place air shouldn't just leak through at every point in the stroke. Although it was interesting to learn a lot about everything else that can go wrong.
Great vid! Wonderful! Wish there were some steam engine guys here! Lots of narrow gauge rail engines in the western u.s.
keep up the great work, you are fun to watch and the information you provide. Thanks Chuck
I hope you get the job so we can see what is wrong with it. Good video as always. 😀
I have a feeling that it's because the nuts and bolts haven't been painted a different colour to the engine. I reckon that black paint would do it. :D
"this is just a measure to prevent any viewers from inadvertently slipping into a coma" XD
Thanks so much for uploading. Like the commenting very much. Very pleasant to here all those thoughts.
I enjoy your videos I have only just found them, thanks
What a great teacher you are! Thanks for these videos.
Coma. check
I made steam engines when I was a child. The second one was made out of copper plumbing parts and soldered together. As you may have guessed, just as soon as everything started working great and going fast, it started to melt down! Right in front of the whole classroom. Very funny! The teacher was still impressed, even though it melted down, it worked and pretty well at that.
Keith looking to see what is wrong with the steam engine hope you get to repair it keep op the good work
We modeled this exact engine in my solidworks class in college :D
Very nice series of videos...
I decided to make a simple steam engine, using copper plumbing pipe , much like the old mamod types, for use to power chargers , while camping. For this I made a piston from a nail and some jb weld ...., works well actually, perhaps you can make a better one ?
Love your sense of humor
Keith, How's the tea this morning?
The other day I watched about 18 of you short videos. In the past I admired the small machines without thinking that I may give them a try. Now - maybe I will! Looks like fun and I am sure it is an opportunity for learning. I noted that you indicated you are an EE. I also, mostly retired now, just keeping the toes in my old job, while assembling a small machine shop at home. I am a bit of a hack - but eventually I hope to become more accomplished. I appreciate your humor, and I am going to offer advice in the hope that I may become the target of a bit of the dry British wit of which you are a master.
The only surprising thing I noticed while admiring your pragmatism, was the condition of your screw drivers,... I think maybe after 40+ years in the hobby you might invest in some size appropriate drivers. LOL, there you go - that should be good for a laugh.
All the best, Dan
i was taught, for best chance at flatness, to sand in a figure 8 and thats always worked for me. But i dont trust myself to keep the work completely flat so i need all the help i can get:)
I just do it by feel ...... same way as I sharpen twist drills . . . never really thought about the official correct way of doing it.
Keith Appleton Drill sharpening is a beast unto itself. i just found your channel and im really enjoying it! I love all things mechanical and these littke things are awesome!
I love your videos - this is just like meditating!
this commentary is just amazing, love it man!
That "going around for the benefit of the viewer" part made me laugh.
very entertaining my friend , Always fun to see the steam engines diagnosis of faults without getting to far into ripping it down,, Like you said time (labor) is money. Looking forward to the next videos and your big build project. PS, like the way you add the bits from the viewers methods knowledge on "how it should be " .....
The steam pump is a complicated piece of equipment and can malfunction - this one isn't working properly at the moment, hence the need for a hand pump, coupled with the fact that a hand pump is useful if not essential for filling the boiler with water before lighting the burner for a steaming session . . . a model steam boiler needs 2 methods of replenishing the water supply. (These are the rules).
I prefer a "figure 8" movement when flattening any small surface, as the varying pressure reduces the tendency of rounding the edges.
Maybe you could put up a list of the problems you can see and what you think are the main reasons it won't run to avoid people guessing. There is only so much that can be seen by watching the video so most people could never guess or offer any assistance (not that you would need it). You point out some of the obvious issues but only hint at the main ones and I am certain you have a very good idea of what the main issues are and how to fix them.
I don't know how to do steam, but drink tea while you're doing it.
The only trouble with these is you get us all psyched up to see it put right and running, and then we don't know if we'll ever get to see it run.
The engines that I work on all run after the rebuild - please check out some of the many rebuild series on my channel :-)))
I've watched them all. I love watching them. I've learned so much out of watching them, which has really raised my skills. I just didn't know if this one would run, since you said it was just an assessment. Are the videos just running behind, and its already fixed?
I usually run all of the engines that I rebuild at the end of the series, occasionally on Steam too. Very shortly I will be steam testing a boiler for a friend and intend to run some engine and make a video about it :-)) The two boats that I recently rebuilt will hopefully be sailing on a lake as soon as the weather gets warmer because the owner of the boats is of a great age and would feel the cold if we sailed them at the moment ..... the weather here is not so good currently.
I'm looking forward to it. You do great work with these. You and a half dozen other folks on youtube are the reason I'm currently employed repairing vacuum cleaners. I've learned enough about machines and what makes them stop working that I'm able to figure out most vacuums now. I had a friend who taught me how to work on cars years ago, but I didn't get the fine details of how play in a system causes it to bind or to break or to drop belts or what have you. I really appreciate the education I've gotten from you all.
Have you ever encountered a radial multi-cylinder steam engine, Keith? (Perhaps someone was building a steam powered aeroplane.)
I saw one on youtube, and strangely, instead of cladding it had fins on the cylinders. Quite unexpected.
Yes I have seen some radial steam engines, but I just cannot get my head around the combination of an aeroplane and a steam engine .... :-)))
Are there any pistons in it? Nothing at 40psi? Weird
Very interesting Keith your a man of great knowledge thanks for sharing
How were the piston ring seals on this model? Would it still run without compression?
I think I previously fitted Silicone O rings.
Keith Appleton your very talented keith. Keep it up.
Your commentary is gold.
figure eight pattern works best for honing a surface flat.
Ah a Brit with humor, very good indeed. Like the videos as well.
1/4 inch tapered or parallel?
it looks like the engine has been run a fair bit, maybe water damage to the piston itself? and it doesn't seal much more.?
don't really know too much about it. still just getting into this hobby.
great video! I have a 70s mamod se1a steam engine do you have any tips on them? thanks
Just keep it clean and well oiled }:-)))
+Keith Appleton thanks!
Horrible engines need love, too.
Should have been on Monty Python. Great commentary "This engine is bereft of life"
It is a dead engine. It is no more. If you hadn't turned the fly wheel by hand it would not have moved at all....lol
Its just resting governor!
It's not purring, it's passed on!
Is there a follow up to this video going into the rebuild?
Not yet, but there will eventually be a video about the resurrection of this scrap engine ..... }:-)))
Is it possible to disable one of the cylinders and have the engine run on the other? This might help with troubleshooting. Thanks for making these great videos Keith.
You need to watch some of my other steam videos when I do just that :-)))
Even with leaks and bad rings it should at least move a little under pressure. Maybe problem with valves and timing, trying to push both pistons at same time resulting in no rotation. Real cliffhanger what is wrong here.
gOOD ONE ON THE ECCENTRICS!
I enjoyed this one, too.
Why use oil to test for leaks instead of soap and water?
Because it works and doesn't rust cast iron parts of the engine . . . .
Keith Appleton thank you! Loving these videos :)
Time to be a keyboard warrior, but if you're using sandpaper to make something flat, put the backside of the paper on a window, since glass is generally relatively flat compared to a wood table or similar.
I guess I don't so much want to tell you what to do, but rather maybe point out a method I've used for stuff that I've had success with.
Also, how does RTV work as a gasket material?
I have a couple of these kits new in a box.
could you use rubber bushing for the fly wheel to reduce vibrations? sorta like a harmonic dampener ?
I have never heard of that . . . . .
are none of the crankshafts solid?
occasionally, but not often on the small engines.
10:13 , you should genuinely go around in a figure 8 because then you never hit the same spot twice. I, however, go left to right just like you.
Keith Appleton......... model scale Fred Dibner! Class!
Keith quite rightly advised not throwing your engine out of the window, unfortunately I missed that part as I had inadvertently slipped into a coma during an extended nut tightening process, and having missed his wise words threw my engine through my neighbours patio window.
}:-)))
Did you secretly take it to bits to find out what was wrong, or will we never ever know!! Perhaps they forgot the pistons?
or maybe the pistons rings that wold be my guess seeing that theirs a lot of blow by from the sound of it
llthpofh It was not a serious comment about the piston! Keith needs no help sorting things out, and my guess is he has been given the job, so will be putting us out of our misery sometime soon regarding this cliff hanger.
I'm a bit surprised that you did not check the piston rings first off.
it makes for a better, and more interesting video - it is all an illusion }:-)))
Maybe it has something to do with that big ass leak and loss of pressure...?
No, it would still run .....
What if you have a bent crank shaft.. There might not be enough pressure building up to push the pistons... That could be why you're getting slight movements
hes still able to turn the crank shaft by hand. if it where bent it wouldn't rotate freely at all
I just can't believe you did not bolt the steam chest down with you bahco spanner. Doing that would have fixed the engine, period.
:-)))
The S50 Stuart engine has it's eccentrics pinned together this way.
A Stuart S50 normally only has one eccentric from my experience . . .
Hi Keith,
My error, I bought both an S50 kit and a reverse kit at the same time. When building the reverse kit, you pin the two eccentrics together.
I enjoy your videos very much!
Alan KM6VV
Damaged valves?
Very interesting and entertaining video by the way
Could be, but I think it is a combination of a few problems.
I think something's very wrong with the valves. The air is blowing right through and out the exhaust.
Anything can be fixed, it just a matter of how much time and money you want to spend on it.
missing piston rings maybe or too large a gap in the end of the rings
I really want such a motor 🧐
Jokes on you I turn on one of Your playlist and jump to bed, 20 minutes and I'm sleeping like a dead man. Solid stuff I tell ya, better that these ASMR shits.
ASMR is an utter load of rubbish! If anything, it severely aggravates me.
This is real ASMR
Throwing it against the wall, lol.
Ahhh Dry Brit humor how refreshing, for a change..............
I've come to the comfy part of youtube again
Denfintley the steam Engin guy.
I come here for the comedy.
I just slipped into a coma.
I came here from looking at WW2 ball turrets....
I'll stick with mamods and wilescos for a while
Oh come on chap, a good wind up and toss the bitty through some glass. I'm sure whipping the sucker down an alley is also a good choice.
my guess would be piston rings
But watch that Action Man,,,,got shifty eyes, he has.
its a screw not a bolt :)
do this thataway, do the other thing thisawawy.. do it differently. Use peterslicker on that thing. fix it my way or toss it in the bin ;;)
apart from the technical aspect, your commentary is especially witty.
😂😂😂