Today I received my centering indicator in the mail, so naturally I wanted to try it out. Today I worked on the exhaust valve. This involved many operations that I have never done before, but it seemed to work out in the end.
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Today, I came home to find a large parcel waiting on my porch. It was some new tools for the shop. A set of key-way broaches and a set of v-blocks. As it turned out, I needed both of them tonight. A few months ago, I ordered the two timing gears from Amazon. Unfortunately they did not carry the 30 tooth gear with a 5/8-inch bore, or key-way. Since I was using a 5/8-inch diameter crank shaft, I had to bore it out , and then cut a 1/8-inch key-way. Both operations went surprisingly smoothly, though I did have a bit of trouble with a dull 5/8-inch drill bit, which I promptly tossed away. Below is some photos of the gear being modified. Another job I needed to do, was to hone out the cylinder sleeve. I picked up hone used for brake cylinders at Princess Auto for about $6.00. The v-block came in handy to hole the cylinder sleeve in the vise while I honed it.
I ordered a Coaxial Centering Indicator for setting up the exhaust valve body to modify the original valve seat and bonnet. As this has not arrived yet, I did some work on the valve actuator instead. After locating a suitable spring (from Home Depot) I proceeded int machining the valve guide on the lathe. Initially I thought I could use an existing plumbing par to build this, but in the end I had to resort to using 1/2-inch brass round stock. This wasn't too bad of a part to make, though the little piece that sits at the end of the spring was a bit of a challenge because it was so small.
There are some minor work to complete on the combustion chamber which I will work on next. Then (if my centering indicator has not yet arrived) I will start working on the Main Bearing Frame. Upon further examination of the threaded part of the check valve I did yesterday, it seemed the tap was inserted a bit cockeyed, so this had to be abandoned or redone. I picked up a second 1/2" NPT non-return valve, but instead of threading in the bushings, cutting them flush and re-tapping them, I decided to bore out the 1/2" NPT threads on each end to 0.8" diameter (0.300" deep). SImilarly, I I machined down the new 1/2"->3/8" bushings to 0.8", (which is just below the point where the hex head becomes round. Using just the top 0.3" of the bushings. I inserted these into the two holes I bored out and soldered them in. This worked brilliantly, and I did not tap anything. I inserted the spring (as per Leon Ridenour's instructions), thus the intake valve is now complete. The next step is to modify the 3/8" street elbow and to begin working on exhaust valve. Today I finished up work on the cast iron tee which will become the combustion chamber. I am finally caught up to where I was before. I discovered my boo boo with the spark plug hole. After boring out the tee, I went to work on the aluminum plug for the end cap. I also started work on the intake valve.
Since I could not find a 1/2" sweat valve, I had to use a 1/2" NPT valve. In order to mate with the rest of the engine, I had to use a couple of 3/8" adapters. Since I didn't want to see the adapters, I soldered them in and machined off the excess. Unfortunately, the threading did not extend deep enough into the valve, so I had to re-thread them. Threading brass was not as easy as I thought it would be, Today I only managed to do one of the the two. The other one will have to wait until tomorrow. Today I picked up another 1" tee for my H1FE project. I am almost caught up to the point where I was before I discovered that the spark plug thread was not going to work. All that is left is to bore the tee to accept the cylinder sleeve.
Nearly finished making the combustion chamber, but I ran into a bit of snag. It seems the hole I drilled for the spark plug was a bit too large and there wasn't enough meat left to make a good thread. That means I need to re-make this part again from scratch.
Here is a picture of what I have so far. Spent the evening working on my HF1E project. Today I made up a tool to help guide a 3/4" NPT tap straight so I could tap a port on the tee I am using. Even though there is only about a 1/4" of material to tap through, it was quite tough. Since pipe threads are tapered you are always cutting material off of the walls throughout the length. I could only turn the tap about a 1/8 of a turn before backing up to clear the chips. In the end I got it tapped. Now it is time to do the other side, which requires only a 3/8" NPT tap, so that should not be as tough.
Today I picked up a few tools that I needed to continue working on my replica of the HF1E. The milling vice I had was too small to accommodate the tee which would become the combustion chamber and I also needed a 15/16" drill bit to create the exhaust port. Neither item was cheap. The mill vice (which was well worth the price) came to $160. The drill bit was almost as crazy, coming in at $67. Those larger bits are not so cheap.
Tonight I finished up drilling all the holes I needed, and tomorrow I plan on doing the tapping. Charles... |
AuthorCharles Baetsen holds a Bachelor and a Master's degree in Engineering Physics from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. Archives
February 2024
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