The Steamboating Forum

""shouldn't better sealing valves eliminate some quantity of blow by""

Obviously, I mean in the overall scope and goal of your rebuild project. You mentioned valve program and timing without really explaining why, it's typically to increase performance and limit steam consumption.

This forum is becoming very monotonous. The sky is blue "no it's more of an off-shade of aqua with a hint of amber".... Same thing every thread...

"Believe me, any place that works on weed eaters or chain saws will have plenty of old cylinders and pistons that they will gladly give you. One run on gas with no oil and they are toast!"

Very true, I got about a dozen from a lawn maintenance place, they were glad I took them. I have used just the crankshafts to make model steam engines.

"This forum is becoming very monotonous..... " Ron, I hope you are referring to this thread and similar ones. I think many other forum threads are efficiently providing answers to people who just want to get the knowledge and move forward.

fredrosse wrote:"This forum is becoming very monotonous..... " Ron, I hope you are referring to this thread and similar ones. I think many other forum threads are efficiently providing answers to people who just want to get the knowledge and move forward.

Well I want you to know I appreciate discussion and hearing different ideas, or just hear the same idea shouted loudly at me until I absorb it.

This Toledo Tuneup is slated to take some time, so don't expect this thread to disappear.

To recap and quote myself..

Goals:
1) Fabricate new piston valves - possibly with a different profile.
2) Investigate Laser Measure or making latex patterns? Let me know if you would have any interest in either a digital model/scan or pattern or castings.
3) Repaint and/or plate TBD
4) Examine wear and investigate fabrication/machining if necessary

This goals have been whittled down to
1) Fabricate new piston valves - same profile (possibly rings if I can figure this out, but I won't mess with the cylinder block.)
3) Paint but no plating
4) Examine wear and investigate fabrication/machining if necessary
5) Remake stephenson linkage blocks with grinding and hand fitting.

My steam mentor showed yesterday me an example of exactly how to make a pattern with holes in it, and what the cores he made look like and how cattail foundry uses it. It's very impressive, and certainly an art. With no interest right now, and nothing really damaged with what I've got I won't be doing this. I also looked into scanning into a 3D model that could be 3d printed and sent to the foundry, and it can be done - I have no access to scanning equipment that is good enough for this.

-CB

Sorry, I apologize for entering the answers to one of CB's questions about valve knowledge and adjustments on the wrong thread. "Can you name one (reference book) that you like or think might be a good place to start?

A very good reference for knowledge about steam engines, their design and technical features:

A free PDF here: https://www.pdfdrive.net/the-steam-engi ... 56206.html

The Steam Engine, by Holmes, 1895, one of many that will educate you about valves, valve diagrams, adjustments, etc.

Getting started with steam engine valves and their technical features is efficiently covered in the chapter beginning on page 249. The Zeuner valve diagram, and its practical application to knowledge of, and adjustment options is well covered on pages 273 to 302. Understand these 50 pages of text and you will be able to have the question of your original post answered.

I like this book because it is written more from a practical approach compared to many more theoretical writings in many other books about steam engines. I only have about 90 similar books from this era, and have only spent about 9000 hours examining this technology, so I am not knowing everything here, but I do consider myself fairly well versed in the subject matter.

Could you please have another go at putting the link the that PDF up, I can't get it to work.