Unfortunately I couldn't manage to get out to the workshop last week. It is very frustrating but as they say Ke sara sara (not sure about the spelling,, sorry).
So I thought I would summarise the state of play of my various projects for my benefit as well.
1. Seal engine.
Instead of the Seal engine as started earlier in this year I went and bought a second set of castings! When they arrived there was quite a bit of difference between them and at one stage Steve Huck asked if one of the sets were for the next size up (30cc instead of 15cc), So I contacted Hemingwayswho supplier material, plans and castings for many model engineering projects, who said they were not for the larger 30cc engine and gave a history of ownership which suggests there are different patterns out there.
Both blocks are about 80% completed with regards to machining. I have most of the materials to complete the engines and I started by making the two camshafts first since I considered these to be a particularly difficult task and getting them out of the way early would be a sensible thing to do. The camshaft build is covered on this blog as well as my main website and you can read more here. However I would like to praise Steve Huck for his considerable help with the camshafts since he had many emails from me and he had his article on camshafts published in Model Engineer (UK) and Model Engine Builder (USA).
To make the two crankshafts I am using a high tensile steel in round bar form. Since the cost for the raw material is so high, and I would hate to mill away most of the round bar when it could be just cut in half and get two for the price of one, I needed to consider how to saw it.
This question led to a kind model engineer from Canada contacting me and supplied carbide tipped saw blades in small sizes. This led onto the project I had in the back of my mind for a flexible saw table.
2. Saw table
The saw table was not a high priority earlier in the year but it has taken on a life of its own recently since the crankshaft requirements of the Seal. Since I have a lot of downtime due to my disability I make use of the laptop quite a lot and learning CAD besides supporting the websites forms the majority of my non workshop time. With CAD I have been trying to train myself to design then build, rather than draw up what I have built via scraps of paper. However my skill level with CAD is not high enough yet.
With making CAD plans for the table in mind I drew up a basic specification for the table and then sketched out plans for each component. One of the main requirements was flexibility and the saw table will be able to handle two different sizes, have an adjustable speed range via gears (seconded from the Myford ML7) and a late addition was to be able to hold a diamond grit wheel for tool sharpening.
Progress was going ok up until the latest stoppage of work and the build is covered here.
The remaining items to make are the backplate and table top with a variety of work holding fixtures. So it should not be too long to finish when I return to the workshop.
3.Fowler Traction Engine
The Fowler has suffered a little since I bought the part completed model. I don't know why this should be the case because I am really looking forward to steaming her, however she does take a back seat to other projects. So I have been thinking about working on two or three projects a week at a time. I am not convinced it will work since it would be difficult to stop mid point through a certain task. Accepting that as a aim and not prescriptive may work so the Fowler will come more to the fore. When the hornplates are secured (perhaps no more than a days work) then the Fowler will be on all four wheels and a start on the Tender can be made. The shafts and gears have had a lot of work done so really she is further on than I think myself. You can follow her build here.
Finally I will be taking the next couple of weeks to review the objectives I set myself for this year as a half year review.
Lets hope for an improvement sufficient to let me 'smell the oil'
Good point, if you are making something that requires two identical castings then it make sense to buy them at the same time from the same place.