Anyone here build engines?

[Vort]

Steam? Stirling? Internal combustion?

By "build", I don't mean just assemble, I mean actually create the parts.

Edited December 5, 2009 by Vort
typo - "sterling" is for silver

[Guest mormonmusic]

No, but after my mission, I had this belief I could, through faith and effort, do anything. If I was capable of carrying the Spirit into the hearts of men (with the Lord's help) and changing their minds, I could learn and do anything by study and faith.

So I tackled my biggest handicap -- fixing and making things. I took a small engine repair course and was the laughing stock of the class. I then concluded I could do anything by faith and effort, except for small engine repair.

I did learn to build guitars though, which I then sold to local musicians. I should try the engine repair thing again. I bet I could to it....

But no, sorry, don't build engines.

[hordak]

Steam? Sterling? Internal combustion?

By "build", I don't mean just assemble, I mean actually create the parts.

Due to modern manufacturing techniques i think that's pretty rare since the days of Gottleib Daimler, Karl Benz, Ferdinand Verbiest, etc.

Talk to Pam or Moksha.

[pam]

Hordak don't make me kick you in the shins.

[john doe]

Hordak don't make me kick you in the shins.

See? that's your problem, your goals are too easy. Aim higher.

[pam]

I was being realistic. You know how short I am. I don't think I could kick higher.

[hordak]

I was being realistic. You know how short I am. I don't think I could kick higher.

It's ok, I'm short also. My mom just inched by the booster seat requirements, literally,an inch

[bcguy]

Vort,

Why do you want to know? are you interested in going self reliant, off the power grid? It has been my interest for a long time. Do you want to power a generator from a steam driven stove? Stirling engines are only used for power by one company in Arizona and the solar concentrators are as big as a house to power the 5kw sterline engine/generator.

Lots of vidios on youtube on these technologies.

Most of the USA does not manufacture anymore as sad as it sounds. We have become a country of consumers that depend on the evil empire "communist china" for our goods. Basically, the US is building up china's military!

[Moksha]

Due to modern manufacturing techniques i think that's pretty rare since the days of Gottleib Daimler, Karl Benz, Ferdinand Verbiest, etc.

Talk to Pam or Moksha.

I do remember the invention of steam but perhaps Pam can refresh us on fire. Anyway, I was wrong about that steering wheel catching on like it did.

[Dravin]

I do remember the invention of steam but perhaps Pam can refresh us on fire. Anyway, I was wrong about that steering wheel catching on like it did.

Hey, airboats (some) still use steering sticks (push foreward to go one way, pull back to go another) and motorcycles and bikes still use handlebars, and horses have yet to adopt steering wheels, so you weren't all wrong.

[jadams_4040]

Steam? Stirling? Internal combustion?

By "build", I don't mean just assemble, I mean actually create the parts.

I can tell you pretty much anything one might need to know about building gas engines; but actually manufacturing the peices nowadays is not something to be possible, unless yer thinking about a simple "caveman" style engine that does no more than perculate?:)

[bcguy]

First of all, if you cannot repair, fix build or do anything other then "Buy" the product, you have become "Owned". What I mean is, you have to DEPEND on other people for your lifestyle when you live in a condo, or rent. If you become unemployed, you are going to possibly suffer more financially then some one who owns there own home and property. Those that do, have a place to repair there car. Make there own furniture. Raise chickens for there own eggs etc. You get the point.

I used to live that lifestyle as a teen. We did not have chickens or farm animals but, we did have 3/4 acre of property with a good sized house on it. The unfortunate thing was, we lost it to the recession in the the 80s. IF only had I had a good job as a teen then, ask to be a part of the house ownership and pay into the mortgage would I still live there today.

Acquiring a skill that makes you be self dependent helps to cut cost down. Manufacturing something that "cannot be imported" is all the better and, your mfg business is being federally taxed, meaning, the tax dollars stay in the country. With 80% of today's Manufactures going overseas, the US Goverment possibly lost 80% of its taxable revenue from lost manufacturing companies going over seas.

[Hemidakota]

Gravity propulsion is the future when there is unlimited source and it is free. :)

[Vort]

Vort,

Why do you want to know? are you interested in going self reliant, off the power grid? It has been my interest for a long time.

Nothing so dramatic. I just want to build some engines, and I'm wondering if anyone else has done so.

[Guest]

Nothing so dramatic. I just want to build some engines, and I'm wondering if anyone else has done so.

Okay, since it's as simple as that, then yes, I have built a few in my lifetime.

When I lived in the Philippines, we didn't have much money to buy motorized builder toys. We were fond of building "factories" as kids. My brothers and I have built several "factories" using beetles! We would tie a beetle with nylon string keeping his wings free. We would then attach the nylon to a skinny bamboo pole. When the beetle is let go, it will fly, and since it is tied to a string, it will spin around and around making the bamboo pole spin... you put several beetles together and you could turn a few plastic gears.

[hordak]

Okay, since it's as simple as that, then yes, I have built a few in my lifetime.

When I lived in the Philippines, we didn't have much money to buy motorized builder toys. We were fond of building "factories" as kids. My brothers and I have built several "factories" using beetles! We would tie a beetle with nylon string keeping his wings free. We would then attach the nylon to a skinny bamboo pole. When the beetle is let go, it will fly, and since it is tied to a string, it will spin around and around making the bamboo pole spin... you put several beetles together and you could turn a few plastic gears.

Awesome and disturbing.

[Guest]

Awesome and disturbing.

Shhh... don't tell PETA.

[hordak]

Shhh... don't tell PETA.

oh i don't care about that.

I think you ingenuity was awesome, making "lemons into lemonade" so to speak.

That fact that you had to, that is what i find disturbing.

[bcguy]

Well, there are different kinds. I have built up 4,6,8 cylinder engines. Installed jet engines when I was in the service. To work on engines, you would obviously need access to a garage or yard that has a shed :)

My suggestion is to look at steam engines. Very simple to work on. Take a look at you tube under lister diesel engine. Very simple engine old, and I am sure very reliable.

Also, are you still in high school? You could ask to enter into automotive class. I remember this was the very first time I ever worked on a car then. Instructor was nice enough to make me the TA for the class :)

YouTube - POWERLINE (LISTER) ENGINE

YouTube - Sterling Dish 500MW solar power plant

YouTube - Solar Steam Turbine with Parabolic Solar Dish Collector

[Guest]

oh i don't care about that.

I think you ingenuity was awesome, making "lemons into lemonade" so to speak.

That fact that you had to, that is what i find disturbing.

I look back into my childhood days and I kinda wish that we had what my sons have now. My sons build factories too - I guess I passed that gene down - but they use lego pieces that comes with wheels and gears and such! Wish we had those!

But, at the same time, I am grateful that we didn't - it was much more fun, I think. My kids get bored with their legos too fast. I can tell you at least 10 toys we can make out of a bamboo pole - we had giant bamboos everywhere and they grow back fast after we chop them off.

We can make toy weapons out of them - you use a skinny bambo the width of a finger, cut the bamboo just right above the node, carve out all the other nodes except for the topmost part. Bore a hole through the top node. This is the barrel. Take another piece of bamboo of the same width. Shape it into a stick with a handle so that the stick part fits inside the barrel but is short enough that the handle will hit the barrel before the top of the stick hits the topmost node leaving a very small space. Thats your hammer. So, you can use small wads of damp newspaper (small enough to form a ball that will fit inside the barrel) as bullets. First you push a bullet into the barrel using your hammer to go flush against the topmost node. Then you put another bullet just inside your barrel - and using the hammer, you push the second bullet really fast through the bamboo, hitting the first bullet with enough force to shoot it out! Man, you can hit some kid 10 feet out with that thing! You can even make a bruise if you shoot it close enough to somebody...

And you've heard of potato cannons... yeah, same thing - we build those using thick bamboo poles. But, we can't afford to shoot out potatoes so we just shoot out air - just makes a loud BOOM! Really fun especially on New Year's Eve.

And there's the sling shots, the walls of bamboo we build as forts, the swords, the kites, etc. etc. Oh, here's some really cool use of a bamboo - you can make a spider fighting arena with it! Okay, so it's only a long bamboo stick - you put one spider on one end, another spider on the other end and make them fight... (sshhh... don't tell PETA!) You can search it on youtube using "Spider fight philippines" or something like that...

But what makes it really fun is that we can use matches with kerosene and any kind of knife and shoot wads of wet newspaper to make a bruise and Child Protective Services won't come knocking on our door. My parents were okay with it. Okay, so I've lost my eyebrows once with the bamboo cannon - but then, so did lots of kids in those days...

Okay, okay, back to engines...

Edited December 7, 2009 by anatess

[Vort]

Okay, since it's as simple as that, then yes, I have built a few in my lifetime.

When I lived in the Philippines, we didn't have much money to buy motorized builder toys. We were fond of building "factories" as kids. My brothers and I have built several "factories" using beetles! We would tie a beetle with nylon string keeping his wings free. We would then attach the nylon to a skinny bamboo pole. When the beetle is let go, it will fly, and since it is tied to a string, it will spin around and around making the bamboo pole spin... you put several beetles together and you could turn a few plastic gears.

Awesome.

[bcguy]

BME - Brano Meres

okay, now this is crazy. mountain bike is mostly organic.

Edited December 7, 2009 by bcguy

[Vort]

Close. I'm an INTJ. :)

Well, there are different kinds. I have built up 4,6,8 cylinder engines. Installed jet engines when I was in the service. To work on engines, you would obviously need access to a garage or yard that has a shed :)

My suggestion is to look at steam engines. Very simple to work on.

I've already gotten some parts to build a PVC steam engine with the kids when I get some time, probably over Christmas break. I'm about 28 years out of high school, but thanks for the idea. Actually, I called up the local community college to ask about metal shop, but they told me they didn't have any metal or wood shop (!!!) and that I should contact some local trade schools. I'd love to buy a small metal lathe or mill, but I have neither the money nor the space.

Thanks for the links, too. I've actually already seen most of them. I did a little research on production Stirling engines and was surprised to find that no one has really scaled them up to industrial usage. I wonder why not? I assume it's because internal combustion is an old, well-developed technology, and it is not financially attractive to put the effort into developing an efficient industrial-sized Stirling engine. Actually, that's a bit hard to believe, but I can't think of anything more likely.

Anyway, I'm thinking of starting very small, e.g. with my PVC steam (air) engine, and just seeing where things go. I found out how to make sugar rocket engines, and my boys and I have done a tiny bit of rocketry in Scouting, so I'm thinking of exploring that avenue at some point. Really, I just want to talk with others who have built engines of any sort and get ideas from them about how one goes about doing things.

[bcguy]

Find medium to large rear projection tv's. Then take out the Fresnel lenses in the front. The heat that those lenses concentrate at are intense. Use welding goggles or sunglasses when focusing the beam on a object the light is intense enough to make a mini stirling engine run.

[Hemidakota]

BME - Brano Meres

okay, now this is crazy. mountain bike is mostly organic.

If I weigh around 300-lbs, I be leery in driving the bike.