True Blue Sam the Travelin' Man: Weekend Steam: One For The Kitchen Table

Friday, August 1, 2014

Weekend Steam: One For The Kitchen Table

The Stuart Mill Engine and a few other of the small Stuart engines are available as machined kits, so anyone can have a little steamer to play with on cold winter nights.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...: Years ago I seem to remember seeing "conversion kits" to make small gas engines run on steam. It seems to me it would not work well, but... Have you ever seen such a thing?

Merle; August 2, 2014 at 12:21 PM
David aka True Blue Sam said...: A fellow student from my hometown converted a Briggs engine when he was in the ninth grade. The major change was building up two extra lobes on the camshaft so the intake and exhaust opened every revolution. It ran well on compressed air. He did it himself in his dad's workshop. He was one of those quiet genuiuses that is ignored by everyone else as they go through school. He does refrigeration and electrical work all over southeast Iowa.; August 2, 2014 at 1:02 PM
Anonymous said...: I suspected that steam would cause big problems with washing the lube out of the cylinder walls, but there SHOULD be a way to inject some.

Merle; August 3, 2014 at 12:30 PM
David aka True Blue Sam said...: The little brass thing he was adding oil to is a displacement lubricator. Steam condenses, falls to the bottom, and oil floats out to the steam chest. Steam engines originally used tallow to lube the cylinder, but tallow wouldn't stand up to high pressure steam. Some bright person tried mixing tallow with mineral oil, and Voila!!!, Steam Cylinder Oil was invented. That is what is still used today, so the oil mixes with the steam and keeps the cylinder, piston, and rings slick. As water drips out of the petcocks it is a milky color because the steam cylinder oil is emulsified in the water.; August 3, 2014 at 9:56 PM
Anonymous said...: OK, thanks for the info. It seemed that someone smarter than me had figured it out a long time ago, but I just couldn't see how it would work in a converted gas engine.

Merle; August 4, 2014 at 12:45 PM
David aka True Blue Sam said...: It would be a problem in a closed crankcase system, and I don't know how that is handled. If the crankcase were kept hot, then the water that slips past the rings would evaporate out. I am guessing that the bearings were lubed with a total loss system even in closed crank cases to avoid having water contaminate the lube oil for the bearings. Anyone with experience, please jump in!; August 4, 2014 at 1:31 PM

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Rules To Live By

Firearms; Col. Jeff Cooper's Rules
1. All guns are always loaded.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
4. Be sure of your target and what lies beyond it.

Knives
1. Never cut toward yourself.
2. Always cut away from yourself.
3. Never cut yourself.

AND
If you drop a knife or gun, let it fall!

Chainsaws

1. Always wear your safety gear when running your saw: hard hat, eye, face, hearing protection, cut resistant protection for your legs, heavy boots, gloves (depending on work conditions).

2. Safety devices on the saw must be in working order: front hand guard,chain brake, chain catcher, throttle lockout, and right hand guard.

3. Hold the saw on the ground or lock it between your knees for starting. No 'Drop Starts.' Set the chain brake before cranking.

4. The engine must idle reliably without turning the chain.

5. The chain must be sharpened properly, including properly set depth gauges.

6. The chain must be adjusted to remove slack and still run freely.

7. The operator must understand the forces on different parts of the bar as the saw runs: push, pull, kickback and attack.

8. Both hands must always be on the saw when the chain is running. The thumbs must be wrapped around the handles. Both feet should be firmly planted on the ground.

9. The operator must always know where the end of the bar is, and what it's doing.

10. Don't let the upper (kickback) corner of the bar contact anything when the chain is running unless the tip has been buried with the lower corner.

11. Let off of the throttle before pulling out of a pinch on the top part of the bar.

12. Make a plan for every tree you cut. Assess hazards, lean, escape routes, forward cuts, and back cuts. Evaluate the forward or backward lean, and the side lean of every tree you cut. Know your limits.

13. Clear your work area and your escape path of brush, vines, and other hazards that can trip you or catch your saw.

14. Escape from the bullseye when the tree tips. 90% of accidents happen within 12 feet of the stump. Go more than 15 feet, and stay out of the bullseye until things stop falling.

15. Keep spectators away more than twice the height of the tree in the direction it will fall.

16. Don't cut alone.

17. Keep your body and the swamper's out of the line of the bar in case of a kickback.

18. Set the brake when taking over two steps or when moving through tripping hazards. Keep your trigger finger off of the throttle when you are moving.

19. DO NOT operate a chainsaw from a ladder! Operating with your feet off the ground requires special training.

20. Do not cut above your shoulders.

21. Springpoles must be shaved on the inside of the apex between the ascending and descending sides. If the apex is higher than you shoulders, stand under the springpole and cut it low on the descending side. It will release upward, away from you.Leaning and heavily loaded poles that are too small to bore cut for a hinge should be shaved on the compressed side until they fold.

22. Do not cut a tree that is holding up a lodged tree. Do not work under a lodged tree. Think about a mouse trying to steal the cheese out of a trap.

23. Instruct your swampers and helpers to NEVER approach you from behind or the sides to within the reach of your saw when you are cutting. If you pull out of a cut with the chain running, or have a severe kickback, the swamper can be killed if he is coming up behind you!

24!! Quit When You Are Tired!

25!! Pause and review; reflect, when you are being pushed. You may be pushed into danger. Do not let pressure cause you to ignore safety rules!

Cutting dead and rotten trees is extremely risky, and your safety always comes down to basics and following the rules. Build a good hinge, even if there is just a thin shell to work with. Support the back side of the hinge with wedges if the tree is punky or hollow before you cut out the back. Don't fight side lean or back lean when cutting unsound trees. Release it quickly and get away from the stump. Tell your co-workers what your steps are before you crank your saw. You will live long.

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Friday, August 1, 2014

Weekend Steam: One For The Kitchen Table

6 comments:

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