Archive for The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam Forum The Original Unofficial Toy Steam Forum Established 2006 The biggest, most popular steam forum around! Accept NO imitations! We have a growing community of regular posting members who chat about all aspects of toy and model steam.          The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam Forum Forum Index -> Technical tips, Details, Home Builds and Help Me!! andysleigh help me! piston thinking about building a basic stationary engine, just wondering if its easy or hard to build a piston cheers andy MTA You should've asked me yesterday You can pick up thick walled brass tube for a cylinder, but would need to solder a cap over one end. Then find some brass rod that fits in the tube nicely and this can be used for your piston head A couple of others have made cylinders and pistons in this way. I'll leave it to them to go through the processes andysleigh piston fast reply lol ok thanks would it work if i got a solid square bit of rob and drilled a hole down the middle but not all the way through MTA That would definitely work, but make sure you drill perfectly straight. Otehrwise you might but stress on the piston rod and it will snap when you run it For a simple engine, try and source Tubal Cain's 'Simple steam engines' book tmuir I think this is a good question for oldstuff to answer as he has just finished building his second (or is it third) scratch built toy steam engine. He doesnt have a lathe and has managed quite well. If you have a look at this thread and go about half way down it shows the cylinder and piston the oldstuff made. http://modelsteam.myfreeforum.org/ftopic1564-0-asc-70.php andysleigh piston ok thanks guys andysleigh engine can you give anymore tips like what materials etc i have an old mamod loco boiler, is it ok to use that MTA Depends on how big it is, and how big the cylinder is tmuir As long as the boiler is sound that would be fine to use. The link I listed above is you go back to page one and work your way through it. It will show you how Oldstuff scratch built his boiler too. Old copper or brass pipe is a great source for making toy boilers from. Tubal Cains book as MTA mentioned is a great reference and only costs a few pounds but give really helpful information in it. Sandman Maybe this would be the right time to ask Oldstuff for a step by step guide . I for one would like would like to attempt to build my own engine in the future. How about it Chuck?? Mamodman123 Better to make a cylinder from the solid! Brass tubing and soldering end caps on isn't ideal. The new Mamod pistons are solid tmuir Mamodman123 wrote: Better to make a cylinder from the solid! Brass tubing and soldering end caps on isn't ideal. The new Mamod pistons are solid Solid is better but end caps soldered on will do if you dont have machining capabilities. MamodFan Mamodman123 wrote: Better to make a cylinder from the solid! Brass tubing and soldering end caps on isn't ideal. The new Mamod pistons are solid perfectly fine mm to use end caps. Mersey models did so and the made three cylinder reversers!! K&S brass tubinging is the best to use, it is availiable from most GOOD model shops, they have a range of tubes and rods that telescope together. it is not a very good idea to drill a blind hole though as you tend to get a tapered hole ie tighter at the bottom. SPOKESMAN My Luton PW201 uses end caps. steamyjim i machine mine from a solid lump of brass on a lathe oldstuff Re: help me! piston andysleigh wrote: thinking about building a basic stationary engine, just wondering if its easy or hard to build a piston cheers andy Hi andysleigh, welcome to the forum! The whole scratch built thread is good for tips, etc. K & S Supply tubing and rods should be available at most hardware and hobby stores. The engines I've been making are similar in size and power to Mamod Minor1. Easy or hard? Hmm, I'd say it's frustrating at times, but do-able and rewarding! This is from the link tmuir posted: The piston was cut from 1/4 rod stock and is same diameter as a Minor 1. The rod is a simple nail...later I flattened the end with a vise and drilled a hole for the crank. The cylinder was cut from 9/32 tubing and I soldered some sheet over one end and trimmed off the excess with a Dremel. The block was cut from 1/4 X 1/2 flat bar stock and shaped with a bench grinder and a Dremel. Steve_S I'd go for the brass tubing with soldered end caps... much better than drilling into solid brass. If you're careful and clean up with emery paper and steel wool after soldering it can be almost impossible to see the seam. Really! Pistons are straight forward... just a bit of close fitting rod with another rod soldered into a hole drilled in the end to act as the connecting rod. I've made a few like that and they work well. (And so has Chuck!) SPOKESMAN Re: help me! piston oldstuff wrote: andysleigh wrote: thinking about building a basic stationary engine, just wondering if its easy or hard to build a piston cheers andy Hi andysleigh, welcome to the forum! The whole scratch built thread is good for tips, etc. K & S Supply tubing and rods should be available at most hardware and hobby stores. The engines I've been making are similar in size and power to Mamod Minor1. Easy or hard? Hmm, I'd say it's frustrating at times, but do-able and rewarding! This is from the link tmuir posted: The piston was cut from 1/4 rod stock and is same diameter as a Minor 1. The rod is a simple nail...later I flattened the end with a vise and drilled a hole for the crank. The cylinder was cut from 9/32 tubing and I soldered some sheet over one end and trimmed off the excess with a Dremel. The block was cut from 1/4 X 1/2 flat bar stock and shaped with a bench grinder and a Dremel. That looks the part Chuck - simple but very effective!        The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam Forum Forum Index -> Technical tips, Details, Home Builds and Help Me!! Page 1 of 1