To build a model steam engine in a really sound way, an

engine that will run continuously and withstand hard work,

it is not always necessary to purchase castings and labori-
ously machine and fit them up in the orthodox manner. means of turning it. With this cylinder and piston work can
Quite good results can be obtained by making up the com- proceed.
ponent parts out of odd pieces of raw material or scrap parts The cylinder should be cut to the required length and built
from some entirely different machine. up with four long studs or bolts on to the A frame, which is
The little vertical engine illustrated in the accompanying bent up out of stout sheet material and is mounted on a rectan-
photographs was designed and built in this manner by a one- gular metal base plate. The top of the A has to be drilled for
time apprentice to the writer in his spare moments, and I the four bolts (or drilled and screw, tapped if studs are uti-
have prepared a drawing of a similar engine for our readers lized), and an opening made to clear the piston and the pis-
to try their skill. ton rod.
Naturally, it is impossible, where use is made of the metal
junk box, such a collection of what mother would call “that
boy’s rubbish,” is always worth preserving to specify that
each and every part shall be of certain dimensions. There-
fore, in putting the scheme before you, I have prepared a
general arrangement drawing and attached a scale thereto,
which will determine all the main proportions of the model.
If it is necessary to adapt any particular piece of scrap mate-
rial the dimensions can be amended to suit the case. The
detail drawings are drawn in perspective, and clearly indi-
cate the shape of each part. The basis of the whole design As designed, the cylinder spigots into the A frame, but this
will be the acquiring of a short piece of tube to form the construction is not absolutely necessary. Where a lathe is
cylinder and, if it is at all possible, a plug of brass or steel available it can be adopted. In fact, the operations of turning
which fits it easily, but with sufficient tightness to retain the are only necessary where a better job can be obtained by
steam. I have also shown a groove in the piston which, if using this king of workshop tools. Every amateur engineer
not already there, can be made with a narrow file failing aspires to the possession of a lathe sooner or later, and lucky
is the boy who possesses one or is in a position to get such rial. The eccentric and the flywheel are the only things that
work as the turning-lathe produces done to his own require- may have to be purchased, and are both quite common and
ments. reasonably cheap model engine fittings.
On the metal base plate is also fitted two bearings, roughly
of the profile illustrated. These can be screwed and soldered,
or soldered only to the metal base as shown in the sketch,
the space between them being sufficient to clear the eccen-
tric. The bearings must be drilled at exactly the same height
for the crankshaft. The best way to do this is to clamp the
two bearings together, drilling them at one operation. Any
slight error can then be corrected by threading the bearings
on a short length of shaft of the same size as the final crank-
shaft and filing the under surfaces exactly level with each
other.

The total travel of the eccentric should not be less than three-
sixteenths of an inch, although an eighth-inch throw eccen-
tric can be utilised by reducing the lap of the valve. The
The wooden sub-base may be left to the last, but if the fly- eccentric should have a setscrew, so that its position on the
wheel is available or its diameter is known the thickness of shaft can be adjusted to give the highest possible speed. The
the wood that will be used can be settled upon, a piece cut to most notable feature in the whole engine is the adoption of
size and fixed on to the metal base. The flywheel must clear what is known in model engineering circles as the “ Spicer “
the table on which the finished engine rests. slide valve. The valve is operated from its exhaust cavity,
and this scheme eliminates all glands. No moving spindle is
subjected to high-pressure steam. So long as the slide valve
is efficiently fitted, as it should be, no leaks can occur. The
port block is soldered to the cylinder tube and has, when
fixed, a port drilled through to the cylinder, marked P on the
sketch. Below it is a larger drilling (E) which meets the ex-
haust pipe hole, and a vertical hole in which the intermediate
spindle works.

The crankshaft is made out of a length of steel rod about 1/

4in. diameter, and has a disc crank fitted on to one end of it.
The other end should fit the flywheel as tightly as possible.
Nothing is so annoying to the user of a model engine than a
loose flywheel.
The piston is drilled with as large a hole as is possible, leav-
ing only walls of about a sixteenth of an inch in thickness to
take the little end of the connecting rod. It has then to be
cross-drilled for a piece of say 1/8in. steel rod forming the
gudgeon pin.
The connecting rod can be made out of brass strip, the big
end being arranged with the longest length possible to with-
stand the wear of the crank pin. The big end could be made
by soldering a long brass bush on to thin strip, in which case
The latter has the upper end drilled to engage the pin fixed in
the lower extremity of the strip (the rod portion) should en-
the exhaust cavity of the valve and is slotted and drilled at
tirely encompass the bush. Otherwise it is a better plan to
the lower end to take the eccentric rod, as shown in the
saw and file the whole connecting rod out of the solid mate-
detail sketch. The slide valve is a rectangular block of brass,
which should neatly fit in the sides of the steam chest so that pect to obtain a tight steam joint unless the parts fitting to-
it works up and down freely, but without any tendency to gether are quite flat, i.e., don’t expect the paper joint to make
wobble or work crab-fashion across the steam ports. The up for bad workmanship. If you find you cannot file quite
working face has a slotted cavity formed by drilling two blind flat in the orthodox manner, take the part firmly in the fin-
holes as close together as possible. gers and rub it on a large, smooth-cut flat file. Finish it in the
The slide valve and the face of the port block should be quite same manner on a piece of plate glass with some abrasive
flat. They can be ground together with a little bath brick and between to do the cutting. If the parts are not working joints
water (don’t use emery on brass parts) until a good working emery powder call be used on brass parts. Why it is not rec-
and steam-tight fit is obtained. ommended for working parts is that the particles of sharp
Brown-paper joints, smeared with a little thick oil, or oil and powder are apt to stick in the metal and cause rapid wear
paint, are used between the adjacent surfaces of the cover, and tear during the future running of the machine.
port-block and steam chest. Another don’t, you cannot ex-
It is the usual practice for amateur model-makers to use cast- slightly smaller diameter than the bore of tube and round
ings for the cylinders of small steam engines, and for ma- one end of the rod glue a piece of fine emery cloth, as in Fig.
chining the castings a lathe is necessary. For the benefit of
those readers of HOBBIES who do not possess one of these
useful tools the writer describes in this article how an effi-
cient double-acting slide-valve cylinder can be constructed
from a piece of brass tubing and odd pieces of metal.
Only a few hand metal working tools are necessary and a
fair knowledge of soft-soldering, as the ultimate success of 4.
a cylinder made by this method largely depends on the vari-
ous parts being well soldered , or sweated together.
The sizes of the different parts given in the accompanying
drawings are for a cylinder of 5/8in. bore and 1in. stroke,
When dry, apply a little oil and insert rod in tube, corking it
which is about the smallest size that could conveniently be
round with a twisting movement. After a little application of
made by this method.
this sort the bore should be nice and smooth and can then be
The largest size cylinder that could safely be made on this
cleaned well with a piece of rag to remove all the oil etc.
principle is one of 1in. bore.
Having done this, file out the slots A, B.(Fig. 4) to the size
This and any intermediate size can be made by simply in-
shown, and then polish up the outside of tube. For the flanges-
creasing the dimensions given in proportion to the increased
two brass washers should be procured of the size shown in
amount of the bore or stroke of the cylinder adopted. For
Fig. 5. the hole in the centre being a little less than the out-
instance, for a cylinder with a bore of 15/16in., make all the
side diameter of the tube.
parts half again as large as indicated in the drawings, and so
on.
This rule, of course, only applies so long as the ratio of the
bore to the stroke is kept the same, i.e., 5/8" to 1in.

Cylinder Barrel.
The first part to be taken in hand is the cylinder barrel. For
this a piece of the best, solid-drawn brass tube will be re-
quired, with an internal diameter of 5/8" and from 1/16in. to
3/32in. thick.
Square up one end carefully with a smoothcut file, and test
with a small square. Stand the squared end of tube on a piece
of Plate glass, and, with the aid of a compass or dividers, If these washers or collars cannot easily be obtained from
scribe a line around tube exactly 1-13/32in. from the end. stock, they must be cut out and filed to shape from sheet
Now cut off this piece with a hacksaw, and very carefully brass of the required thickness. The holes in the collars should
square the end down to the line. A good. way of doing this is be filed out with a half-round file until they are a nice fit on
to lay a wide, smoothcut file flat on the bench, then hold the the cylinder barrel.
piece of tube in a vertical position between the thumb and Slots C can now be filed out, and should be of the same
fingers of the right ‘hand, and without pressing too heavily, width as A and B, the upper parts of the slots being filed at
work the end to and fro over the file, keeping the latter quite an angle, as indicated at D (Fig. 5).
still with the other hand. The inside of tube should now be The collars should now be pressed on to the ends of the
cleaned up. To do this get a piece of circular wooden rod of cylinder tube so that the slot C coincides with A and B. By
using a small square, set the flanges at right angles to the slightly and tapped with a suitable thread to take the screwed
tube and solder in position. end of the exhaust, pipe, which should be 7/32in. diameter.
The valve face H should be faced up true on a small surface
Steam-Port Block. plate or piece of plate glass. This completes the “steam-port
The next part to be taken in hand is what might be termed block.”
the “ steam-port “ block, shown in Fig. 6.

“Sweating” the Parts Together.

Now take the cylinder-barrel and “ tin “ the parts between
the slots A and B on which the concave surface G rests. The
latter should be treated in the same way, and also the two
ends of the block, and part of the inside face of each flange
To make this, procure a piece of stick brass 1in. by 1/2in. which come into contact, as indicated at N (Fig. 1).
and cut off a length of just over 1 1/4in. Having done this, press the block between the flanges and
Cut away as indicated at E and F with the aid of hacksaw see that the steamways L are in alignment
and file, and then, with a half-round file, proceed to shape with slots A, B and C. By using a suitable clamp, hold
the, under part G, which must be made a true fit to the cyl- these parts firmly in position, and sweat well together by
inder barrel. holding them in the flame of a small blowlamp or gas ring.
To do this, first prepare a fairly stiff mixture of red ochre At this stage, it will be as well to fix the holding down lug in
and oil, and apply a thin coating to the cylinder barrel. The place. This can be filed to shape out of a small block of
surface G should then be pressed against the coated part of brass of the dimensions given in Fig. 7.
the barrel and rubbed lightly up and down. On separating, it
will easily be seen which parts of the surface have to be filed
down. After repeating this operation three or four times, the
surface G should be true enough for the present purpose.
After removing all traces of ochre and oil, the sides and ends
of the block should be squared up, so that when finished, the
block will just fit between the collars, as in Fig. 1.
Clean the top face H, and then carefully mark out the posi-
tions of the steam and exhaust ports. At the point marked K
at the side of the block, drill a 5/32in. hole to a depth of
3/8in. Now drill and chip out the exhaust port to meet this
hole. The underside must be bedded down to the cylinder barrel in
Next, drill and file out the two steam ports right through the the same way as the “steam-port “ block, after which two
block, as shown in Fig. 1. These, it will be noticed, must be holes can be drilled and tapped near the ends for 3/32in. fix-
drilled at an angle so as to clear the exhaust port. The ing screws.
steamways L can be chiseled out to the depth indicated at This lug or boss is then sweated on to the cylinder barrel in
M. The hole in the side of the block at K should be enlarged, the position indicated by dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2. The
surface of the boss should be’ made to project a little be-
yond the level of the cylinder flanges. Provision is made for this in the dimensions given in Fig. 8.
The box-shaped strip should now be held in a clamp and the
four corners well sweated together from the inside. A f -
ter this is done, a 3/16in. hole can be drilled in the centre of
one of the narrow sides, as shown at S (Fig. 9), to take the
valve-rod gland.
The steam-chest flange (shown in Fig. 10) is cutout of a
piece of flat sheet brass 3/32in. thick. Mark out the size on
the piece of brass and proceed to drill and file out the rectan-
gular hole, which must he made to fit nicely round the bot-
tom of the steam chest. Now roughly cut round with a hack-
saw, place in a vice, and file up the edges as squarely as
possible. Next drill four 3/32in. holes-one at each corner, as
indicated. Now press the flange in place on the bottom of
steam chest, and after adjusting so that the edges of the lat-
ter are flush with the face of the flange (as at T, Fig. 10),

Steam Chest.
We can now turn our attention to the steam chest. To make
this, get a piece of sheet brass 1/16in. thick and file up square they can he soldered together. By using an old file, remove
to the size shown in Fig. 8. the superfluous solder from the bottom of flange and face up
in the same way as the valve face. Cylinder Covers.
We will now turn our attention to the cylinder covers. For
these two flat brass discs 3/32in. thick and 1 1/8 diameter
will be required. If these cannot be obtained ready made,
they must be cut out of sheet brass the required thickness
with hammer and chisel, the edges being nicely squared up
afterwards with a file.
Four holes should now be drilled in each cover for the fixing
screws, at the points indicated in Figs. 2 and 3.
With the aid of a small square and scriber, mark off the lines
1, 2, and 3. Now, with a fine-cut file of square section Take one of the discs and face up one side. This will com-
file nearly through the strip of brass at each of the lines, as plete the back cover.
indicated at O. The strip can now be bent so that the faces of Now drill a 1/8in. hole through the centre of the other disc
the filed nicks come together, as at P. Fig. 9 shows and face up on one side. The other side should be slightly
the shape the strip will now assume, and also the overlap- countersunk round the hole in the centre by using a 3/8in.
ping of the end-piece at R. flat drill bit.

Stuffing-Box and Gland.

To make the stuffing box for this cover, procure a short length
of brass tubing of 1/4in. bore and about 3/3/8in. outside di-
ameter, and tap a thread inside one end to a depth of 3/8in.
Cut off this piece of tubing, and with a small screw clamp
hold it firmly in place on the cover. Adjust it so that the hole
in the cover is exactly central with the tapped hole in the
stuffing box, and then solder it in place. For the gland, get a
piece of brass tubing. 9/32in. outside diameter, the bore of
which must be a nice sliding fit to the piston rod (1/8in. di-
ameter). With a screwplate, cut a thread on one end for about piston to rod by using a soldering iron. File off all superflu-
1/4in. along the tube, corresponding to the thread tapped in ous solder and carefully clean up the edges W, which must
the stuffing box. be left quite square. The piston-rod can now be cut off to the
This piece can then be cut off. Now obtain or make a length required and the end squared up.
small brass washer, which should be about 3/8in. diameter
and 3/32in. thick. and drill a 1/8in. hole in the centre. Slide-Valve.
Hold this washer and the small screwed gland in a clamp The slide-valve is made out of a piece of stick brass or gun-
and, after carefully adjusting, sweat well together. The stuff- metal, and should be filed to shape and the cavity chipped
ing box and gland for the valve rod are made in a similar out with a small chisel to the size shown in Figs. 1 and 2.
way, but their positions are reversed, the gland being sol- Only a small amount of lap is indicated (about 1/4in. which
dered into the steam chest. It will also be noticed that slightly will be found suitable for general use. The valve rod can be
different sizes of tubing are used. (See Fig. 1.) of brass or German silver, being filed away where it engages
in the slot in the valve. (See Fig. 2.)
Having got so far, proceed to drill and tap the holes in the
Piston and Rod. cylinder flanges for taking the fixing screws for covers. The
The piston should claim our attention next. Of course. if any positions of the four holes must, of course, exactly corre-
reader intending to make this little cylinder can get a friend spond with those already drilled in the covers. Each hole is
who has a lathe to turn up the piston, so much the better, if to be tapped to take 3/32in. screws or bolts, the latter are
not, it can be made up as follows: Get two brass discs 3/ preferred.
32in. thick, and which fit nicely into the bore of cylinder, The piston can be packed in the usual way with asbestos-
and one smaller one 1/8in. thick and smaller in diameter than string or hemp saturated with Russian tallow. We are now
the other two. (see Fig 11) Take the two larger discs, and ready to fix down the covers, but before doing so cut two
after slightly tinning one side of each, hold them in a clamp circles of thin brown paper the diameter of the cylinder flange
so that they exactly coincide, and sweat together. With a and soak well in linseed oil. These are placed between the
centre-punch, carefully mark the centre and drill a 3/32in. flanges and the covers when the latter are screwed down,
hole through the two discs. It is, of course, essential that the and will make a perfectly steam-tight joint.
hole should be quite square with the face of the disc. Now
tap a 1/8in. thread right through, and hold in a gas flame to Setting the Valve.
separate, then clean up both sides. The small disc should The valve can now be set. To do this first place the valve rod
have a 1/8in. hole drilled in the centre. and steam chest in position, and fix the latter down with a
For the piston rod obtain a length of German silver rod of 1/ couple of screws.
8in. diameter. This metal is preferable to steel owing to the Screw up the stuffingbox sufficiently to hold it tight, and
latter being subject to corrosion, which soon upsets the then, holding the valve in mid-position, with a scriber make
smooth working of the piston rod through the gland. a slight mark on the valve rod flush with the face of gland, as
Grip the rod carefully in a vice and cut a 1/8in. thread along indicated at X (Fig. 1).
one end a distance of 5/16in. with the aid of a screw-plate. Now carefully measure the distance Y, and make a note of it
One of the tapped discs can now be screwed home, as shown for future reference. This method allows the position of valve
at U (Fig. 11). and length of eccentric rod to be determined when all the
ports have been assembled.
The two screws and the valve rod can now be withdrawn
and the stuffing-box unscrewed.
All that remains to be done now to complete the cylinder is
the steam chest top.
This is simply a piece of sheet brass 1/16in. thick, cut out to
just fit the inside of steam chest.
(See Figs. 1 and 2.)
In the middle of this brass plate sweat on a small brass washer,
and having marked the centre, drill a 5/32in. hole, which can
be tapped to take the screwed end of the steam pipe. Now
take the plate and press it down so that its surface is a little
below the top of steam chest, and then well solder all round.

Packing and Lagging.

The parts can now be assembled and the steam chest screwed
The middle part of the piston can now be slipped on and the down, having packed the joint in the same way as the cylin-
other disc screwed up tight, clamping the middle part in place. der covers. The stuffing-boxes can be packed with the same
Now apply a little soldering flux at V and sweat this end of sort of material used for the piston, and the cylinder is then
ready for steam. amply repay him for the time and trouble expended in its
Although not shown in the drawings, the cylinder should be construction.
lagged in the usual way to prevent excessive radiation. In conclusion, it would perhaps be as well to mention here
With regard to the steam pressure, 20 to 251b. could be that the writer some time ago constructed a small model
safely used, provided that all the joints have been well sol- horizontal steam engine, the cylinder of which was a “ built-
dered. ’up “one, similar to the one described, and which worked
If the instructions given are carefully followed out, coupled very satisfactorily. With the Editor’s permission, particulars
with a good deal of patience, the builder will find that he is of this model will be given in a later article.
in possession of a neat and efficient little cylinder which will