Full of enthusiasm I went out into the garage when not feeling my best. The cast iron had at last arrived and I hoped to get the engine running today. However I am just as far from the end, in fact slightly worse off!
When looking at the parts I thought that since I was at it I would not only make a new piston but the con rod and gudgeon pin as well. That way I would have a complete new assembly and they could form spare parts for the future. As said before I was in quite a bit of discomfort, but progressed fairly well in making the new con rod. The blank was machined to size. The little and big ens holes were center drilled, drilled then reamed to size. The insets were milled in and then the con rod edges milled to shape. All that was left to do was to mill the radius on the two ends. And it was whilst milling the last ^%$££ one that I didn't concentrate enough and the end mill grabed the con rod! (see photo below)
You can read more on my website www.mikes-models.com
So that was that I stopped work and instead of trying to get the engine to run with a new piston, I hadn't even started on the new one! Grrrrr...............
About Mike Freeman
Hello, my name is Mike Freeman and I am a retired Chief Fire Officer from the United Kingdom with a keen interest in model engineering, silver caddy spoons and sea fishing. I live in the pretty fishing port of Brixham, South Devon, in the United Kingdom.
I am a sufferer of degenerative osteoarthritis, which impacts on the amount of time I can spend in the workshop, and is the reason why you will see seats and a stool in some of the photo's. I have only recently added the above sentence after a discussion with one of my Doctor's from the excellent pain clinic, based in Torbay. This does affect concentration one of the reasons why I double then re-double my measurements and set ups.
Before completing nearly 30 years of public service I and my wife Sandy, owned and ran, a small restaurant in Okehampton Devon. Prior to marriage I worked for my father in his various businesses, in the early days these were garages, which he bought in a run down state, then built them up before moving on, to start again.
I took every opportunity in those early days, to work in his workshop's
learning 'on the job' rather than as an apprentice. This, I suspect, is the reason why my building various model's in the early days, turned into model engineering, when funds allowed the required equipment to be bought.
My workshop comprises one half of a detached double garage. It has a
stud wall separating the two halves and unusually perhaps, its own
shower/toilet/washbasin compartment! (the true reason for buying the
bungalow - don't tell the wife!!!)
It is fully insulated with a ceiling and fluorescent lighting supplementing the one window. Several double electrical sockets are dotted around in
relevant positions.
Equipment consists of 2 lathes (1 Myford ML 10 and 1 Chinese variable
speed motor with etched glass DRO's), 1 milling machine (RF25 far East) floor standing pillar drill, Proxxon bandsaw, Warco bandsaw, 6" wire brush and polishing mop motor, 6" coarse and fine grinder, Proxxon mini drill, various benches and an engineers vice. I have just acquired a third lathe, a Myford ML7 which I am at present evaluating so I can decide which of the Myford's I will keep.
I have only just bought the Chinese lathe and had it fitted with DRO's prior to delivery. And what a bonus they are! So good in fact that I decided to buy another set for the Milling machine. Whilst my engineering experience can only be described as limited, I find the use of DRO's has affected my accuracy levels which have improved tremendously (although that's not saying much!) and would recommend their fitting to any model engineer.
Prior to retirement I built for my son's 17th birthday a Locost car. This
was a tremendous project and a great feeling when it passed its test. The book it was based on suggests it can be built for £250. Ours was nothing special in the sense of all new parts but still cost about £900 to build!
I admire your persistance and wish you luck in getting it started. i remember trying to start my first engine , a Mills 0.75cc and failing for three days. I kept re-reading the handbook which said how easy Mills engines are to start(!) with no success. The answer for me was amuch harder (faster) flick , like you are swatting a very fast fly.
i’m making my first model engine, having just retired – its a 6.5 cc diesel for stroke and i’m wondering how to lap the cast iron piston and cylinder – any advice/websites that you’ve found helpful?
best of luck
Andy H
Hello Andy,
You can have a look at this link re honing if you like http://www.mikes-models.com/pistonmills.html the gallery should show how I honed and lapped my piston/contra piston/cylinder liner…..
The method I use is from an article by Ken Delong in issue 2 of the American magazine, Model Engine Builder.
Basically it makes use of diamond lapping pastes (I got mine from eBay overseas, fraction of the price in the UK).
If you need more specific information than that on the web site, then let me know and I will be happy to provide a copy of the article.
Thanks for the comment on the Blog. Sometimes you think there is no one out there….although I am averaging around 6,000 page views a month at the moment.
good site wngros
I liked the story from Andy H trying to start his first engine. My first engine was an ED Bee mk2. My brother and I spent several hours trying to get it to run. It was by the way bolted to a wooden mount , which was clamped to the dressing table in our bedroom.VERY understanding parents. I got fed up and went for lunch whereupon there was this incredible noise from the bedroom. By the time I got back upstairs it was virtually impossible to see anything as the bedroom was full of oily smoke. We never did get rid of the oil stain on the wall. The explanation for starting was simple, my brother also got fed up and as he got up to join us for lunch he gave the prop an almighty whack and the engine started. It was a wonderful engine and served for a long time being used and abused until it was swopped for a bicycle.
I am also retired, build and collect model engines.
Hello Peter, great story! The only story of that type was byrning my parents shed down when I was about 8. I went on to join the Fire Service and retired as a Chief Fire Officer! Its a funny old world.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. It would be nice to hear about the modles you build….Mike
Hello please pardon my errors, it is not my native language. I found your website on Technorati “Mills diesel 1.3cc engine build or should I say saga! | http://www.mikes-models.com blog” was comparatively close to what I was search for, but after scanning through your story I still was not able locate straight-forward solution to my puzzle and this is driving me wild. I like your blog and think it is indeed helpful but I think you could make it even better if you improve your website search to make it easier for searchers to find information within your website. You can accomplish this by installing WordPress plugin… As far as I can remember it is called advanced search it has plenty of useful options like searching pages, search comments. If you need help about installing plugin you can contact me at Mandap84@gmx.com Thank you I hope you have a good day
just found your site again. I have built one of Ron Colonna’s Offenhauser engines. For those of you who do not know this engine you should look up his site – wonderful engines. I have also built a V4 steam engine, a V8 , based on the small v8 aero engine serialised in model engineer a little while back, but mine is twice size and has the prop on the end of the cam shaft which gives a 2 to one reduction. I do not like very small parts these days as I suffer from arthritis in my hands and it is a bit difficult handling small parts. I am in the process of building a V twin side valve engine, which may be finished for the model engineering show at Sandown Park in december. I also like motorcycles and have built all sorts, from frames, to my present project – a twin cam four valve Honda CR77 cylinder head.