Big pic is a sidecar installation. A guy was making them for Brit F2 chairs until the 4 strokes took over. I read somewhere he'd bought all the tooling from Armstrong. Not surprised they've come on the market again.
Big pic is a sidecar installation. A guy was making them for Brit F2 chairs until the 4 strokes took over. I read somewhere he'd bought all the tooling from Armstrong. Not surprised they've come on the market again.
Any more action in the metal pouring department these days?
There seemed to be a few quite interested people earlier, I hope that they continue to be! I also hope that Yow Ling is still persevering and gets there soon - I would maybe like to compare notes with some others as no doubt I'll eventually need a little help here and there.
I haven't got to the stage of melting quite yet but I'm still plodding along and at the moment getting my gas burner up and running. I've also got the ceramic materials needed to build the furnace just about ready to mix and that's all in the middle of trying to set up a workshop in half a two car garage.
I hate to think what the neighbours will say when I finally fire it all up!
Hoping the original thread hasn't petered out.
Will.
Hi Will, the thread will live again, I have most of my stuff sorted but am lacking some enthusiasm in the evenings. Winter will be here soon and Ill get back on track
My neighbours diary says I have boundary issues
Good to hear you're still working on it, I got sidetracked with the whole ceramics thing when trying to sort out clays and castable stuff etc. - it's a vast vast subject - helluva interesting too, I don't think I've got enough years (or brains) left to go into it too deeply!
But do keep going!
Will.
There will still be plenty of people interested but as actually doing it is out of the time/space/ability resources of people like me we are relegated to spectating.
Keep up the show!
Heinz Varieties
I've got the time, a bit pushed for space maybe, but I believe I have the ability, probably you do as well, but it depends on how keen you are on this dirty, hard slog, dangerous, anti social hobby some of us want to indulge in! (not to mention bikes!).
However, my ability to see it through depends on my fast disappearing stamina! - you know, the mind is willing but the body sometimes finds it hard to comply.
I'll get there (probably sooner than later).
Will.
Getting a bit off track here I know but this is why I've not been doing any cylinder patterns lately. This gyro engine has been causing me problems. I decided to fit a one way clutch to the reduction drive to help the unit idle a little smoother ( break up the sign wave ). Works well when the engine is running but this now makes the starting of the engine much harder with the flywheel effect from the prop gone the starter isn't big enough. So either I put a largish flywheel on or a bigger starter. Bigger starter, then a bigger starter, still hard on the whole drive system as the prop drive cuts in and out through the starting process. Back to the old drive system with just the rubber drive in the prop drive gear but a much tighter gear clearance, now the smallest starter will work fine. I feel like I'm going round in circles. Here is a picture of the new starter gearbox, machined out of soild not cast. Because I had some alloy as an offcut from another ( paid ) job sitting around. This alloy is 7075 good to machine and quite strong.
This was the one way clutch I built
And now the exhaust has to change because the new starter motor is in the way! Small flywheel ( YZ250 unit ) on the end of the starter shaft is there to charge the battery. Original flywheel position ( front end of the crankshaft ) is now taken up driving the counter rotating ballance shaft system.
This is the ballance shaft drive with one bob weight.
The other bob weight
The last lot of castings from Thames Foundry ready to machine
Can the rubber in the prop drive be "tuned" to eliminate the undesirable harmonics at idle ?
Similar to a harmonic balancer on a crankshaft - which are actually harmonic dampers.
7075 machines well, yes...but hand tapping the stuff.....sticky as fuck.
Nice work - as usual.
cartridge starter would be cool even if not super practical, be like a Canberra or dh venom
My neighbours diary says I have boundary issues
Yes, there has been may suggestions, some unprintable. The truth is, the engine needs more of a flywheel.
The next engine will have a different layout using only four gears to dive everything ( and a similar flywheel geared at twice crank speed).
No chain drive to the ballance shaft.
Flettner,
A few years ago, I read a few good discussions on torsional vibration and I distinctly remember a guy saying that a one way clutch was not the answer (ie mostly in geared light aircraft engines) because of exactly the same problem with the freewheeling prop,
II'm no expert of course, so I'll try my best to dig up the discussion (ie the one on torsional vibration) - I did find it very interesting.
I think that problems of this sort and other similar problems can also apply to bikes, so we're not too far off track!
Will.
Here is the rubber drive, I've tried removing rubber elements one at a time to see the difference, seems to me to get worse as the number reduces. So they are all back in again.
Ballance shaft, bob weight and water pump.
Bob weight drive chain
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