skydivepaul
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| posted on 22/10/13 at 10:01 PM |
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desktop engine
Chatting with my brother yesterday and we got talking about miniature engines. He has always wanted one of the those mini steam engines since he was a
kid - he is 34 now!!!
did a bit of googling and found these - linky
Would make a great christmas / birthday gift but they are pricy.
Anyone know of something similar but not as costly - Dont think one of the tin can stirling engines will quite have the same appeal!!!
cheers
Paul
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 22/10/13 at 10:15 PM |
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model stirlings are getting something of a revival. They're actually quite hard to get working properly if you make them from scratch so to be
honest that's not a bad price.
Cheaper ones are all over the internet but they generally don't work so well.
BTW it's not a steam engine.
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iank
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| posted on 22/10/13 at 10:28 PM |
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Similar design from China, but not as shiny. Video shows at least one has worked 
eBay Item
--
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Anonymous
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skydivepaul
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| posted on 22/10/13 at 10:30 PM |
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yep I know that's not a steam engine but I think the stirling engines would be more useable than a steam engine.
The Bohm engines look well made, I have seen a few Chinese copies on ebay but they don't look like they would last very long.
Dont think I would try to make one from scratch, for one I dont have the resources or tools to make one.
A good kit so my brother could build one up easily would be the thing. The Bohm engine fits the bill so far
how long do you think the glass tube would last with a fire burning under it???
[Edited on 22/10/13 by skydivepaul]
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richardm6994
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| posted on 23/10/13 at 07:48 AM |
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My dad and I have been involved in model engineering for 20+ years.....and between us we've built 1/3scale traction engines, 5" gauge and
10.25" gauge steam locos and tons of different steam stationary engines.
The Stuart turner models are good "desk top" stationary engine, but you have to machine the castings and build them yourself. You can buy
them complete from stuart turner but very expensive! They also come up on ebay quite a lot.
Becuase of this hobby, I was given one of those hot air engines similar to that in your link as a xmas prezzy (mine had a glass tube and a dyno
powering some leds)....and I must say it works a treat and looks really nice!
The glass tube seems to last...but it does go brown.
[Edited on 23/10/13 by richardm6994]
[Edited on 23/10/13 by richardm6994]
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ashg
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| posted on 23/10/13 at 09:12 AM |
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buy him a small lathe. making sterling engines and steam engine models is where i learnt most of my machining skills, there are some really
excellent books out there for model engineering. i have a whole series of these books
Amazon Link
maidstone engineering do some beautiful models that i have personally had the pleasure of building. have a look here
http://www.maidstone-engineering.com/
Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!
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Peteff
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| posted on 23/10/13 at 04:24 PM |
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A friend of mine bought himself a Mamod steam engine last week, reliving his childhood I think 
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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jps
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| posted on 23/10/13 at 07:30 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Peteff
A friend of mine bought himself a Mamod steam engine last week, reliving his childhood I think
simple but great fun. there's a book called ' building model steam engines' or similar by Tubal Cain that I used to get out of
the library as a kid on a regular basis and read whilst wishing I had a lathe and access to the necessary raw materials!
good links on this thread, I'm thinking perhaps I DO deserve a Christmas present this year after all...!
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richardm6994
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| posted on 23/10/13 at 08:11 PM |
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A bit of showing off now....
This is my dad driving a 5" gauge midland compound that I built. I started it when I was 18 and it was finally finished 8 years later...(the
video is one I stumbled across on YouTube)
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cj4cO1JG__8&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dcj4cO1JG__8
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 23/10/13 at 09:04 PM |
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If you can show off, so can I...
This is a 5" gauge model of a narrow-gauge loco - capable of hauling a dozen adults without a struggle. Probably wouldn't go well on a
desk, as it weighed well over 100lbs (a difficult 2-man lift as there was only the buffer bar to put your fingers under).
Sadly I decided to sell it recently - it had been sitting unused in the garage for 6 or 7 years and was showing signs of deterioration. The money is
paying for a lot of new toys for the workshop though!
As for a desktop model - I've seen sterling engine models that run using a night-light under the hot end. They're quite impressive as they
run really slowly.
[Edited on 23/10/13 by David Jenkins]
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skydivepaul
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| posted on 23/10/13 at 09:51 PM |
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cracking idea getting him a lathe but he lives in a two story apartment so doesn't have workshop space.
something he can assemble from a kit with little finishing is what I am after
the ebay chinese stirling engine may be worth a punt
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 23/10/13 at 10:16 PM |
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quote:
how long do you think the glass tube would last with a fire burning under it???
They last ages.
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ashg
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| posted on 23/10/13 at 10:45 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by skydivepaul
cracking idea getting him a lathe but he lives in a two story apartment so doesn't have workshop space.
something he can assemble from a kit with little finishing is what I am after
the ebay chinese stirling engine may be worth a punt
What are you on about :-) I used to have a 14inch bed mini lathe workbench pillar drill scroll saw, bench grinder in the back bedroom of our old
house. Was more than adequate for building models
Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!
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richardm6994
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| posted on 24/10/13 at 05:34 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
If you can show off, so can I...
This is a 5" gauge model of a narrow-gauge loco - capable of hauling a dozen adults without a struggle. Probably wouldn't go well on a
desk, as it weighed well over 100lbs (a difficult 2-man lift as there was only the buffer bar to put your fingers under).
Sadly I decided to sell it recently - it had been sitting unused in the garage for 6 or 7 years and was showing signs of deterioration. The money is
paying for a lot of new toys for the workshop though!
As for a desktop model - I've seen sterling engine models that run using a night-light under the hot end. They're quite impressive as they
run really slowly.
[Edited on 23/10/13 by David Jenkins]
A "sweet pea" I believe 
Very nice ! My dad has got as far as building the rolling chassis for one. It runs off compressed air but is waiting a boiler however other projects
are getting in the way.
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navyseamonkey2011
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| posted on 24/10/13 at 07:47 AM |
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Minature engines
Now I know its not of the steampowered variety, but if I could put a toy on the list for Santa it would be one of these!!
Conley precision engines
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martinq357
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| posted on 24/10/13 at 12:51 PM |
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One of my colleagues got into building solenoid engines from scratch, never even heard of them before he turned up at work with one.
He started with a single, then V-twin, a very clever 'rotary' looking engine with a prop on it and finally a V8.... a bit like this:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhYEdD94vH0
His wasn't quite as elegant (but pretty close) but importantly he'd constructed all the pushrods for timing the solenoid switching to run
off a chain driven camshaft so it even looked like it was opening/closing the valves! The really amazing part was that it sounded like a V8 and it did
use a lot of current!!
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skydivepaul
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| posted on 24/10/13 at 10:03 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by martinq357
One of my colleagues got into building solenoid engines from scratch, never even heard of them before he turned up at work with one.
He started with a single, then V-twin, a very clever 'rotary' looking engine with a prop on it and finally a V8.... a bit like this:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhYEdD94vH0
His wasn't quite as elegant (but pretty close) but importantly he'd constructed all the pushrods for timing the solenoid switching to run
off a chain driven camshaft so it even looked like it was opening/closing the valves! The really amazing part was that it sounded like a V8 and it did
use a lot of current!!
they are pretty cool. never thought of solenoid engines before being a proper petrolhead.......................but being an electronic tech by trade i
might have a crack at building one of those
thanks
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