ABOUT
PLANS
About
Plans
All of our plans projects are machined from metal bar stock (supplied
by the builder) and no castings are required. This is
the lowest cost way for you to build as the metals can
usually be purchased from metal salvage yards for around
$2.00 or so per pound for aluminum, brass and stainless
steel. But as can be seen, most of the model engines are
designed to look like they were in fact made from
castings instead of rectangular blocks and round bars of
metal. Please note - we do not have any ready to run
engines or bolt together engine kits for sale. The plans
are for model engines - the engines can be scaled to any
size, but no claims of suitability for practical power
generation are made.
The Plans Set drawings
are high quality computer generated drawings using a
professional CAD (Computer Aided Design) program and
printed on 8-1/2" x 11" sheets with a laser
printer. This permits you to insert them in plastic
sheet protectors so they won't get soiled as you use
them in the shop. Dimensions are in U.S. inch decimals -
no fractions - which makes it easy for you to change the
scale of your model to suit your machine tool capacity
or the materials you have on hand or have access to.
Multiply dimensions by 25.4 to obtain millimeter
dimensions. Plans do not come with a separate "Bill of
Materials" sheet, but Jerry does advise what type of material should be
used on each part drawing in the plans.Generally
the plans do not contain assembly instructions. Jerry always
presumed if you were smart enought to build the parts, you would know
how to assemble them. On complicated areas, Jerry does provide
cut-away views. Most all plan sets contain from 1 to 5 pages of
construction notes to assist with some machining, assembly, and
operation. The plans are very detailed and complete, and any
experienced builder (and most novices) should have no trouble at all. All drawings are copyright protected and all
rights to them are reserved by Outpost Enterprises, LTD. Shop working copies
may be made by the purchaser for his own use only. It is
a violation of copyright law to sell or give copies
away. We will make specific exceptions for educational
institutions, please contact us. Plan sets are not
returnable unless we make a mistake and send the wrong
one - in that event we will do whatever it takes to make
a correction. PDF Downloads of our plans are now available. Click here for details. We encourage everyone to use this method, especially overseas customers. You'll save money and time. We offer the complete plans of the Rider Pumping Engine as an example of Jerry's work for $2.00. Click here.for details
[top]
Required Machine Tools
You will need a lathe and
a milling machine with the usual tooling items. You will
need a horizontal/vertical rotary table for your mill if
you want to duplicate the visual design aspects of some
of the projects - spoked flywheels, fluted columns etc.
, but the engines will operate just as well without
those features. If you are using small equipment, most
of my projects can be scaled down to suit - but remember
that as engines get smaller, they are usually harder to
build and don't run as well as larger ones. If you
intend to only build small models that can be held in
one hand (more or less), then table top machines with
the proper accessory items will be just fine for you and
will save you money. All things considered, if you do
not have your machine tools yet, try to acquire machines
with greater capacity than the projects you intend to
build with them and of the highest quality you can
afford. Also remember there is absolutely NO SUBSTITUTE
for mass in a machine tool because it will dampen
vibration and chatter. I am often asked what equipment I
use to make my projects. I use a 1968 Maximat-7 (7 inch)
lathe, a 1990 Maximat Super 11 ( 11 inch) lathe and two
Jet JVM-836 (8x36) knee mills, one of which I converted
to CNC in January 2007. Click here
if you would like to see them. The Maximat lathes by
Emco-Maier had been out of production for a number of
years, but sometimes one will come up for sale on eBay.
[top]
Material Kits
Kits
are available for some of the engine projects. They save
the builder from wasting time running down these items
that would be hard to find in many areas, not to mention
the problem of "minimum orders" with various
suppliers, multiple shipping costs, etc. These kits will
save you time and money. Plans sets are not part of the
kits as some builders buy the plans and then later on
decide to get the kit. Others buy multiples of the same
kits because they are building several projects of the
same plan.
[top]
Experience Levels
As a general rule, if you
are new to machining and have not built any engines of
any kind, you would be advised to build a few bar stock
steam (air pressure) engines to develop a 'feel' for the
accuracy of fit that engines require before attempting a
hot-air or internal combustion engine.
Hot Air Engines from
Easiest to Hardest
1. Sideshaft Vacuum Engine
2. Mini Stirling Engine Fan
3. 4-In-1 Vacuum Engine
4. Super Stirling Engine Fan
5. Ringbom Stirling Pumping Engine
6. Vintage Stirling Pumping Engine
7. Duplex Vacuum Stirling Engine
8. Vickie Stirling Engine
9. Beamer Stirling Engine
10. Miser Low Temp Stirling Engine.
Do not let the above stop you though. Many Miser engines
have been successfully built as a first project! It all
depends on how particular and precise a builder each
person is.
Internal Combustion Engines from Easiest to Hardest
1. PowerHouse
2. Bill
3. Farm Boy
4. Plunket Jr.
5. Howell V-Twin
6. Howell V-Four.
Note - The V-Twin and the V-Four engines are for
builders who have previously built several successfully
running I.C. engines. I do not recommended these for the
novice, although some first time builders have completed
very nice running engines.
[top]
|