Stuart 10V model steam engine circa 1920s by Rik Thistle - FINISHED- 1:12 (est)

[popeye the sailor]

that's a neat look'in engine  

[Rik Thistle]

Popeye,

 

Thanks. It was a fun build. These little engines and their full sized cousins produce a lot of power ...some say  a can of spinach is added to their boiler tanks at the start of each day 😉

 

This gentleman runs a professional steam powered workshop using no equipment made later than 1925* .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WXHNBMLZZM  He deserves a medal for doing this.

 

Interestingly, steam still provides most of the power we use today.

 

Richard

 

*He does admit to using some modern measuring equipment but tries to keep it out of sight.

 

Edited October 14, 2021 by Rik Thistle

[Roger Pellett]

A wonderful job Rik!  I hope that you get to run it, at least on compressed air.

 

Many many years ago when I was in engineering school, our thermodynamics class went on a field trip to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn Michigan, about 25 miles from Ann Arbor where the University of Michigan is located.  At that time, the museum had a large collection of steam engines ranging from a Newcomen Atmospheric engine to a relatively recent steam turbine.

 

The most spectacular was a very large Corliss stationary mill engine, c1880.  The flywheel was probably 30ft in diameter and 4 ft wide, the bottom half was  of course in a pit in the floor.  Our guide, a retired mechanical engineer asked if we’d like to see it run.  It turns out that it was hooked up to compressed air. By manually manipulating the valves he singlehandedly got this huge engine running.  It was beautifully balanced and very quiet.  Quite impressive.

 

Roger

[Rik Thistle]

Hi Roger,

 

 I hope that you get to run it, at least on compressed air.

 

I'll post a short report when I do - a compressor is on order.

 

Just done a quick read-up on the Corliss engine ...very impressive, and 30% more efficient than any other competitor, which is a huge advantage.

 

Here is a model version which looks superb .... https://www.1stdibs.co.uk/furniture/more-furniture-collectibles/collectibles-curiosities/models-miniatures/complex-working-corliss-steam-engine-model/id-f_6868103/   No info though on the builder that I can see.

 

Richard

[thibaultron]

An interesting note on the Corliss type engines, is that the valves were partially controlled by vacuum dashpots, like were used on some cars. Most models of them get around this, somehow.

 

Several years ago, there was an article in a machining/steam model magazine, about a modeler that actually build a 1/32 scale one with working dashpots! He also used completely scale nuts and bolts, for which he made his own taps and dies! Some of the bolts had to be viewed through extreme magnification to even see. He also made a complete scale set of tools capable of installing all the fasteners!

[Rik Thistle]

Ron,

 

I had a Google for the model you mention but no luck...it sounds exquisite though.

 

I did find this YT video on how museums actually built models of the day down to very fine detail ... https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/science-and-technology/corliss-engine/   That would be a very pleasant job, working in the museum caring for those models.

 

Richard

Edit: I wonder if this might be the model you refer to Ron?... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXOJ1UEfikI

 

Edited October 14, 2021 by Rik Thistle

[thibaultron]

No, he built his from scratch, not a kit, but that one is a beautiful model!

[Rik Thistle]

Hi all,

 

I first tested my 10V with compressed air a few weeks ago. She runs well, from a slow speed to a 'bouncing off the bench' speed. Highest pressure I've dared use is 20 PSI.

 

It's quite amazing the power these engines develop. OK, it's currently being fed compressed air from a 500W compressor but I believe steam contains even more energy so would provide even greater power.  I now have a better understanding of how a single steam power plant had the oomph to work multiple machines in workshops over a century ago.

 

I'd post a short mobile-phone video of her running but I don't think that's possible ...one needs to link to a YT channel?

 

Richard

[mtaylor]

You can post a link to the YT video.   

[Rik Thistle]

Mark,

 

I don't have a YT channel, Facebook account etc, or plan to.

 

And I can understand MSW not allowing even a 10 sec video to be directly hosted on this website...bandwith, storage etc.

 

But, I have got the reversing geat kit for the engine so will be adding more pics to the build over the next 12 mths.

 

Richard

[Rik Thistle]

Hi all,

 

Stuart 10V Steam Engine - Reversing Gear (RG) update. The RG is used in marine applications for changing the rotational direction of the propeller shaft.

 

I finished and test ran the RG, using compressed air, about a week ago - it performed fine.

 

Following, are some snippets and thoughts/puzzles/errors I encountered during the build.

 

Firstly, as usual, the Stuart drawing/instructions are a single fold-out large sheet, and it uses Imperial sizes so I will tend to stick with those during this post.

 

Below, the exploded views and an indication of the succinct instructions (in English, German and French).

 

The 10V as it stood before the RG was added. Some parts of the engine were removed and modified to work with the RG.

 

Below, a typical part being drilled. In this case the Eccentric Strop(s) that link to the valve rod. The brass part is sliced in two once all the machining is completed, resulting in two Strops.

 

The Expansion Link with a Rod Head about to be machined out of 1/4" square brass stock.

 

The finished Rod Head fitted to the Expansion Link. The Expansion Link is used to switch between Forward and Reverse rotation of the flywheel by locking the Rod Head at either end of the curved, rectangular slot..

 

There were many holes requiring tapping, mostly 7BA (British Association), which has an O/D of 0.081". Here, I am using the drill chuck (loosely closed)  to maintain a straight tapping action, with the tap being held in a pin vice. I could turn the tap by hand since the material was brass, mild steel was a bit more challenging for me and the tap.

 

Below, the four Drag Link brass Ends part way through manufacture. It was important that the the tapped holes and the cross-holes were made square.

 

The Drag Linkage. It did turn out very square. Six months ago it wouldn't have been as good but I'm slowly getting better, and also remembering the skills I learned decades ago.

 

Below is the Anchor Rod Bracket being turned. This part attaches the whole RG assembly to the top half of the engine.

 

A collection of  all the parts that needed making. Next was to assemble them all and in a fashion that allowed smooth running...easier than it sounds 😉

 

Below, one of the two Eccentric Sheaves being marked out to accept a 1/16" pin that passes though it and the other Sheave, locking them together at 120 degrees. The two Sheaves (similar to cams)  control the valve movement (ie when pressure enters/exits the Valve Chest) and so controls the piston/flywheel forward and reverse rotation.

 

Test assembly of the parts. Two 1/16" panel pins were (finally) used to lock the Reversing Lever and Connecting Rod in position. I had initially used thread lock liquid since it allowed positional 'tweaking'.

 

Below, the RG assembly attached to the engine. The Valve Chest cover is removed to observe the valve movement (- small brass square shaped object in the chest middle). For pressure testing I fitted a clear Perspex square to seal off the chest whilst allowing me to observe the valve movement.

 

Ouch!...when I first removed the Valve Chest cover I was confronted by rust. I had been meticulously oiling all the moving parts but had forgotten about the inside of the valve chest. I was impressed by how easily the rust had formed, but bare mild steel + air + moisture always leads to one thing.

 

After faffing about for a couple of days trying unsuccessfully to get the valve timing set correctly to allow smooth running in Forward and Reverse I started to re-examine the parts, particularly the Eccentric Sheave spacing (120 degrees). So I cobbled together a test set up on the mill - finding the high point of the first Eccentric then zero'ing the dial indicator, then rotating the hexagon collet block by two flats (120 degrees) and measuring the second Sheave's high point ...turns out they were only 0.010" apart, if that...well within my acceptable tolerance. That 10 thou would directly translate to the valve movement ie the there would only be 10 thou difference between forward and reverse port openings.

 

Eventually, I got the valve timing sorted. The 10V now runs extremely smoothly in Forward and slightly less smoothly in Reverse but close enough for Jazz.

 

Below, the finished Stuart 10V with Reversing Gear.

 

The Reversing Gear, although a smaller project than the 10V itself, there was more time spent on 'set up'. Lots of new things learned and the time passed enjoyably and quickly, which is what model building is all about 🙂

 

All the best,

 

Richard

Edited March 31, 2022 by Rik Thistle

[bruce d]

Looks gorgeous. All that 'faffing around' was worth it.

Stuart used to (still do?) sell machined sets of this RG, ready to bolt on, but it still needed the meticulous setting-up process you describe.

👍

[Rik Thistle]

Hi Bruce,

 

Yes, you can buy the fully machined, assembled and tested versions of all their products, including the RG ...but they ain't cheap.

 

Thanks for the kind words. The 10V is now sitting between my Dallas and Fifie and seems very happy. I'm sure there's meant to be another ship there also but it seems to still be stuck in the shipyard ...I'll need to find out who's responsible for that ...cough.  😉

 

Richard

 

[Theodosius]

Wow, this is an mostly underrated form of art! When I was younger, I dreamed of and RC-modelship with an steam engine. At least, I'm building historical ships, ok, one, lol, out of wood 🙂

[mtaylor]

Beautiful and precise machine work and it even works.  It does deserve a place of honor in the shipyard.   Thanks for letting us follow along.

[Rik Thistle]

Theodosius, Mark,

 

Thank you for the kind words.

 

It's taken me about a year to go from machine shop beginner to beginner+. Many decades ago I was put through a crash-course workshop 'apprenticeship', but havent used the hands-on side of that for many decades. However, with a bit of practice and perseverance it does (mostly) come back.

 

And these days, there is the internet with all the useful info it can provide. A couple of my favourite YouTubers are Keith Appleton and Blondiehacks ...both well worth watching if you want to get in to this side of the model build hobby. 

 

Someone mentioned in a thread here the other day that they tend to have a variety of different hobbies on the go at one time since, I imagine, variety is the spice of life...I'd agree.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

Edited April 1, 2022 by Rik Thistle

[RichardG]

Wonderful.

 

I'm just beginning my machine shop journey. Hopefully I will reach your Beginner+ stage 😀.

 

I got a Sherline lathe in October last year. Now spring has arrived it's out of storage and in the garage and I've got as far as turning a few test pieces in 1/2" 12L14 steel rod. I enjoy Blondihacks' YouTube channel. I'll have to check out Keith Appleton. 

 

Thanks for posting this.

[Rik Thistle]

Good stuff Richard. You'll soon get the hang of it.

 

As I mentioned there are lots of very informative YouTube videos out there that can be of great general help and more specifically on certian model builds.. I think Keith Appleton only started about 4 yrs ago and has very quickly got to grips with it and then some.

 

Although I've never seen/used Sherline equipment I've read they are very well made and highly regarded. So that sounds like a good choice.

 

One final word, and forgive me if I'm teaching my grandmother to suck eggs, but remember to be 'safe'..ie always wear safety glasses and don't let loose clothing (ties, shirt sleeves ect) anywhere near working machinery. And do some practice emergency stops with the Off button to train memory muscle.

 

Have fun 🙂

 

Richard.

Edited April 1, 2022 by Rik Thistle

[RichardG]

Yes, safety is always important with any machinery, even with a small lathe like mine. I also have a variety of woodworking power tools. The 10" table saw in particular makes me very safety conscious (AKA "it terrifies me").

 

[Rik Thistle]

Richard,

On 3/31/2022 at 8:04 PM, RichardG said:

Wonderful.

 

I'm just beginning my machine shop journey. Hopefully I will reach your Beginner+ stage 😀.

 

I got a Sherline lathe in October last year. Now spring has arrived it's out of storage and in the garage and I've got as far as turning a few test pieces in 1/2" 12L14 steel rod. I enjoy Blondihacks' YouTube channel. I'll have to check out Keith Appleton. 

 

Thanks for posting this.

 

I had responded by mentioning Keith Appleton as a 'beginner who started  4 years ago....whoops... https://www.youtube.com/c/keithappleton/featured.  Keith is actually a very experienced hand at building and fettling steam engines and anything but a beginner. He also builds model steam powered boats/ships, amongst many other activities.

 

I had meant to point you towards Andrew Whale .... Learning Turning Metal - https://www.youtube.com/c/LearningTurningMetalbyAndrewWhale/videos. Here is Andrew's first video - Sieg SC3 mini-lathe unboxing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP1MzFsrSLE

 

Richard

 

 

 

[Roger Pellett]

A great job, Rik!  Not only machining but all of the fine tuning required to get it to run smoothly.  Some of the kinematic relationships are.hard to visulize.

 

The old timers injected lubricants into the steam line just ahead of the inlet to the engine to lubricate internal parts like the cylinder and valve chest..  Downstream of the condenser the condensate passed through a “feed and filter box” full of all sorts of pre-synthetic materials like horsehair in an attempt  to remove the lubricant.  I am the proud owner of a steam engine indicator that was used on a Steamship on the US Great Lakes.  This instrument still smells of the animal tallow injected into the steam.

 

Roger

[bruce d]

For what it is worth ...

I have a set of Stuart 10v reversing gear drawings if anybody wants them. The drawings are adequate to make the RV mechanism from scratch for the 10v, D10 or I believe the Score (all Stuart Turner items based on the same castings).

PM me if interested. free to good home.

 

Bruce

 

[GrandpaPhil]

Excellent work!

[Rik Thistle]

Thanks Phil.

 

I really enjoyed building the 10V. I've now started the Beam Engine .... https://www.stuartmodels.com/product/stuart-beam-unmachined/

...which is a step up and should see me through the summer .... and then I have the Governor set to add to it.

 

HMS Flirt is still sitting on my desk half finished.... I really need to get started on the rigging etc but I don't feel ready for it at the moment. I guess initiative  comes and goes in cycles 🙂.  I do miss the daily 'forum chat' associated with a ship buld log so I hope to get back to Flirt in the not-too-distant future.

 

Richard

[ruben kan]

My friend----!  I`ve been in London last october for the first time in my life ; I bought a Stuart 10V and a Stuart lathe kits both unmachined.....I feel lost....the more I think, tue greater my confusion, however I am going little by little; I do have basic (almost stupid questions), such as , should I make threads in the boxbed, soleplate and standard? or I simply make holes to introduce  corresponding studs and then place corresponding nuts on tops and bottoms of those pieces??

I thank you for your attention-----!!

Ruben Kan

[Rik Thistle]

Hi Ruben,

 

however I am going little by little

 

That's the best approach. Don't rush in - study the drawings for a week or more to get a feel for what machining (and order of machining) is needed.

 

As for clearance holes -v- tapped holes....I don't have my drawings at hand but the drawings will tell you 'clearance or tapped'. If I recall correctly the Boxbed had a couple of clearance holes for a piece of studding (or screw) plus nuts - that is because there are no other parts (apart from a piece of mounting wood) attached to the bottom side of the Boxbed. But the topside of the Boxbed and the parts above that need to be more accurately placed so the holes will generally be tapped + studding.

 

The 10V booklet is a useful buy....it doesn't 100% match the current 10V product but does give lots of useful tips and diagrams.

 

There are also lots of helpful 10V YouTube videos out there eg

- Part 1 - Making a Stuart 10V Steam Engine. The Boxbed and Soleplate. By Andrew Whale. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhnU3HtNx10

- Joe Pie is currently building a D10 .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN61UNW9zys&list=PL4wikbEbcE3LgNegsjLoFKQE8P1u45aT6  This is basically two 10Vs joined together. Joe is a highly experienced machinist and has a very well equipped workshop since he runs his business from it. The home hobbyist will not have similar equipment but an awful lot can be learned from how he tackles the puzzles and challenges of building these models.

 

Good luck,

 

Richard